The Vice President, John Dramani Mahama, on Tuesday, paid a surprise visit to inspect a multi-million sorting and composting facility being put up by waste management giants, ZoomLion Ghana Limited, at Adjenkotoku, a suburb of Accra.
Mr. Mahama was taken round the company by the Chief Executive Officer of ZoomLion Ghana, Mr. Siaw Agyapong
The facility, which is about 90% complete, will have the capacity to pelletise recovered plastics to be sold to end-users for the manufacture of plastic items such as plastic chairs, carpets, bowls and many others.
The facility is also expected to produce compost or organic fertiliser to feed local farmers to support the production of food for human consumption.
The plant would be able to process 300 tonnes of waste in an eight-hour shift, and will have a sorting and buy-back centre, where several people can be engaged in the recovery of useful materials to serve many other uses.
Directly and indirectly, the establishment of this sorting and composting centre would provide employment to several hundreds of youths, especially, those within the immediate environs of the facility.
Owners of the facility, after the presidential tour, said frantic efforts were in the pipeline to expand the centre to include recycling and liquid waste treatment plants in the shortest possible time.
They called for government partnership, since the facility was cost and labour intensive.
Mr. Mahama speaking to journalists, after inspecting the facility, said he was impressed with what he saw, and promised that the government would consider the proposal being put up by owners of the facility in good faith.
He said the project, which is currently on a pilot basis, would be replicated in other major cities such as Kumasi, Takoradi and Tamale, where generation of garbage is very high.
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Thursday, August 25, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Ghana: Faith Baptist School denies child molestation charge
Authorities of the Faith Community Baptist School have dismissed claims that their students were left unprotected during the school’s recent clash with some irate youth in the Madina community over a disputed piece of land.
“I wish to state emphatically, that what was said or reported is false, and does not represent the facts on the grounds. Some parents who were present during the attack can attest to the fact that our teachers and school authorities were on hand to provide the necessary protection to the students.
“In fact, all students were with their teachers in their classrooms, while the main gates to the school were locked. Students were later moved out of their classrooms to the chapel. Parents rushed to pick up their children, and students were allowed to leave after the police had secured the school area.
“Also, officers from the Madina Urban Council hurried to the school and led the younger ones with their teachers to the Madina Urban Council,” noted Kate Oduro Sarfo, Headmistress in charge of Primary section of Faith Community Baptist School, at a press conference in Accra yesterday.
Child’s Right International, a non-governmental organization, with the sole aim of fighting for children’s rights, immediately after the Madina riot, went public to criticise Faith Community Baptist School for leaving students of the school “to their own mercy to run for their lives, while teachers and school authorities were nowhere to provide protection for the children of the school.”
A week ago, the entire Madina community woke up to witness one of the most unfortunate behaviours exhibited by some irate youth, who identified themselves as “Concerned Youth of Madina Zongo.”
The youth subjected the leadership of the school to all manner of attacks, in their attempt to claim a parcel of land, which it said, belonged to the Madina Zongo community, but had been claimed by the Faith Community Baptist School/Church.
The incident attracted the attention of the Ghana Police Service, which went to the scene to rescue the school authorities.
The incident turned nasty when the irate youth turned their anger on the police for preventing them from achieving their purpose.
The police had to use all manner of tactics, including tear gas and the firing of live bullets to disperse the crowd.
Twelve people were arrested in the said riot, and are currently on bail. Calm has since returned to the school, with the authorities and students going about their normal duties.
According to Madam Sarfo, the authorities of the school do not intend to criticise Child’s Rights International, but would have preferred they visited the scene upon hearing what was happening to get first hand information, before going public with its press briefing over the issue.
She said no official of the NGO had, till date, visited the school to ask about the welfare of the students, after the horrific incident.
Madam Sarfo noted that no student died or sustained any injury as a result of the riot.
Touching on the ownership of the disputed piece of land, the Head Pastor of the Faith Community Baptist Church, Rev. Joseph Oduro Yeboah noted that the church, in 1982, entered into an agreement with Redco, a subsidiary of the Bank for Housing and Construction, for the use of the six-acre piece of land for purposes that would benefit both the church and the community.
The school, ever since it acquired that piece of land, has faced stiff opposition from the community, in its attempt to reclaim it. The two factions have over a decade been back and forth at the law courts, all claiming ownership of the disputed land.
Pulling a catalogue of documents to buttress his claim, Mr. Yeboah said that the six-acre piece of land was sold to the church for an amount of ¢34 million and was meant for the construction of a health facility and vocational school.
According to him, since the church was not ready with its project, it allowed the community to use it for all social purposes, including serving as a polling station for the community during elections.
“The most important fact that the public must know is that the land was not a ‘community land’ or public arena that the church had gone to take from the community. It is rather the church’s land which the public has been using for parking of trucks, Christian crusades, Ramadan activities, political rallies and other purposes,” he emphasised.
Rev. Yeboah, therefore, assured parents and guardians of the school that the unfortunate incident will not happen again, since the administrators of the church and school were exploring all avenues to ensure the cordiality that had existed for the past twenty-four years between the church, school and community.
“I wish to state emphatically, that what was said or reported is false, and does not represent the facts on the grounds. Some parents who were present during the attack can attest to the fact that our teachers and school authorities were on hand to provide the necessary protection to the students.
“In fact, all students were with their teachers in their classrooms, while the main gates to the school were locked. Students were later moved out of their classrooms to the chapel. Parents rushed to pick up their children, and students were allowed to leave after the police had secured the school area.
“Also, officers from the Madina Urban Council hurried to the school and led the younger ones with their teachers to the Madina Urban Council,” noted Kate Oduro Sarfo, Headmistress in charge of Primary section of Faith Community Baptist School, at a press conference in Accra yesterday.
Child’s Right International, a non-governmental organization, with the sole aim of fighting for children’s rights, immediately after the Madina riot, went public to criticise Faith Community Baptist School for leaving students of the school “to their own mercy to run for their lives, while teachers and school authorities were nowhere to provide protection for the children of the school.”
A week ago, the entire Madina community woke up to witness one of the most unfortunate behaviours exhibited by some irate youth, who identified themselves as “Concerned Youth of Madina Zongo.”
The youth subjected the leadership of the school to all manner of attacks, in their attempt to claim a parcel of land, which it said, belonged to the Madina Zongo community, but had been claimed by the Faith Community Baptist School/Church.
The incident attracted the attention of the Ghana Police Service, which went to the scene to rescue the school authorities.
The incident turned nasty when the irate youth turned their anger on the police for preventing them from achieving their purpose.
The police had to use all manner of tactics, including tear gas and the firing of live bullets to disperse the crowd.
Twelve people were arrested in the said riot, and are currently on bail. Calm has since returned to the school, with the authorities and students going about their normal duties.
According to Madam Sarfo, the authorities of the school do not intend to criticise Child’s Rights International, but would have preferred they visited the scene upon hearing what was happening to get first hand information, before going public with its press briefing over the issue.
She said no official of the NGO had, till date, visited the school to ask about the welfare of the students, after the horrific incident.
Madam Sarfo noted that no student died or sustained any injury as a result of the riot.
Touching on the ownership of the disputed piece of land, the Head Pastor of the Faith Community Baptist Church, Rev. Joseph Oduro Yeboah noted that the church, in 1982, entered into an agreement with Redco, a subsidiary of the Bank for Housing and Construction, for the use of the six-acre piece of land for purposes that would benefit both the church and the community.
The school, ever since it acquired that piece of land, has faced stiff opposition from the community, in its attempt to reclaim it. The two factions have over a decade been back and forth at the law courts, all claiming ownership of the disputed land.
Pulling a catalogue of documents to buttress his claim, Mr. Yeboah said that the six-acre piece of land was sold to the church for an amount of ¢34 million and was meant for the construction of a health facility and vocational school.
According to him, since the church was not ready with its project, it allowed the community to use it for all social purposes, including serving as a polling station for the community during elections.
“The most important fact that the public must know is that the land was not a ‘community land’ or public arena that the church had gone to take from the community. It is rather the church’s land which the public has been using for parking of trucks, Christian crusades, Ramadan activities, political rallies and other purposes,” he emphasised.
Rev. Yeboah, therefore, assured parents and guardians of the school that the unfortunate incident will not happen again, since the administrators of the church and school were exploring all avenues to ensure the cordiality that had existed for the past twenty-four years between the church, school and community.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Welcome on board: Ghana: Security probe cache of arms
Welcome on board: Ghana: Security probe cache of arms: "The Government of Ghana has tasked the various security agencies to conduct thorough investigations into the circumstances under which a cac..."
Ghana: Security probe cache of arms
The Government of Ghana has tasked the various security agencies to conduct thorough investigations into the circumstances under which a cache of arms was found buried at Akweteyman, a suburb of Accra.
Consequently, the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service, the Bureau of National Investigations, and the intelligence unit of the Ghana Armed Forces have began prying into how the ammunition, said to have been buried in the ground for the past 30 years, came to be located right in the centre of Accra, without the security services knowing about it.
The ammunitions were discovered by accident late Friday, when workers of a construction firm working on a road rehabilitation were digging a trench to lay a culvert. The workers first discovered five rusty pistols buried in the ground. Their suspicion for more discoveries heightened and they, therefore, decided to dig further, resulting in the finding of a sack containing pistols and other weapons.
They called in the police who immediately arrived on the scene to cart the weapons away. “After the police had examined the items, they realised that parts of the weapons were missing, and, therefore, decided to come back to the scene to search the area more intensively,” our sister paper, The Chronicle on Saturday reported.
The police, The Chronicle on Saturday noted, uncovered two more sacks full of pistols, which they took away to the regional headquarters in Accra.
Reacting to the arms find, the government issued a press release through the Ministry of Information at the week-end.
Signed by Deputy Minister of Information, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the statement described the weapons discovery as “relatively small quantities of stripped and corroded parts of arms and ammunition.” The government suspects the ammunitions “to have been buried in the area in the late 1970s.” So far, no arrest has been made, but the government said the owner of the land, suspected to be a former military personnel, has been invited to help in the investigation.
At the time of going to press last night, the name of the landlord of the house where the cache of arms were found was not known, but the Acting Public Affairs Director of the Ghana Police Service, DSP Cephas Arthur, when contacted on his mobile handset, said a proper briefing on the issue would be made today.
Security experts The Chronicle talked to opined that if the government suspects that the arms were buried in the 1970s, then it could be linked to the junior and non-commissioned officers revolt of June 1979, when arms and ammunitions were released by some military officers without lawful authority.
Consequently, the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service, the Bureau of National Investigations, and the intelligence unit of the Ghana Armed Forces have began prying into how the ammunition, said to have been buried in the ground for the past 30 years, came to be located right in the centre of Accra, without the security services knowing about it.
The ammunitions were discovered by accident late Friday, when workers of a construction firm working on a road rehabilitation were digging a trench to lay a culvert. The workers first discovered five rusty pistols buried in the ground. Their suspicion for more discoveries heightened and they, therefore, decided to dig further, resulting in the finding of a sack containing pistols and other weapons.
They called in the police who immediately arrived on the scene to cart the weapons away. “After the police had examined the items, they realised that parts of the weapons were missing, and, therefore, decided to come back to the scene to search the area more intensively,” our sister paper, The Chronicle on Saturday reported.
The police, The Chronicle on Saturday noted, uncovered two more sacks full of pistols, which they took away to the regional headquarters in Accra.
Reacting to the arms find, the government issued a press release through the Ministry of Information at the week-end.
Signed by Deputy Minister of Information, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the statement described the weapons discovery as “relatively small quantities of stripped and corroded parts of arms and ammunition.” The government suspects the ammunitions “to have been buried in the area in the late 1970s.” So far, no arrest has been made, but the government said the owner of the land, suspected to be a former military personnel, has been invited to help in the investigation.
At the time of going to press last night, the name of the landlord of the house where the cache of arms were found was not known, but the Acting Public Affairs Director of the Ghana Police Service, DSP Cephas Arthur, when contacted on his mobile handset, said a proper briefing on the issue would be made today.
Security experts The Chronicle talked to opined that if the government suspects that the arms were buried in the 1970s, then it could be linked to the junior and non-commissioned officers revolt of June 1979, when arms and ammunitions were released by some military officers without lawful authority.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Reading is key to acquiring knowledge -Prof. Oquaye
The second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Aaron Michael Oquaye, has called on students in the country to inculcate the habit of reading in themselves, to improve on their knowledge base.
According to Prof. Oquaye, it was only through reading that one could acquire knowledge, in order to be part of the changing world.
“If you are not knowledgeable in today’s world, I’m afraid, you are hardly part of the world,” he said.
Prof. Oquaye made this remark when he officially launched the literacy project at the forecourt of Parliament, in Accra yesterday.
The project aims to improve on reading in the rural communities, especially, cocoa growing areas in the country.
To Prof. Oquaye, a lot of children were not reading, simply because of the unavailability of books, a situation, he said, infringes on the rights of the children.
“The most important human right is the right to read, the right to know, and the right to an informed society,” he said.
Over 34,000 books, ranging from novels, fiction, reference, science and mathematics, according to the Executive Director of Child Rights International (CRI), Bright Appiah, would be distributed to communities, especially, those in cocoa growing areas in 120 selected constituencies, from the kindergarten to the Senior High school.
Mr. Appiah said research had proven that almost 54% of children in cocoa growing areas cannot read and write, hence his outfit’s decision to empower children in those communities. The lack of libraries, he said also, were the main hindrances in those communities.
To address the problem, the CRI Executive Director said his outfit, in collaboration with Memifee Valley College from California, donor of the books, would establish e-libraries in 300 communities.
According to Mr. Appiah, the CRI was also looking at the one laptop per child initiative for those in the cocoa growing communities, to further address the problem.
“We are aware of a number of risks in this area, especially, lack of electricity, and that is why we are opting for the one laptop per child scheme. The computers could last for over four hours, and to us, the most important thing is to let the children have access to those laptops and things would improve.
Another option is to send the computers to the district level, and periodically invite the children to have access to the laptops. By so doing, their knowledge base would be enhanced,” Mr. Appiah noted.
Present to grace the occasion were Mrs. Akosua Frema Opare-Osei, Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayawaso West Wuogon, the Charity Baptist Church School, Accra, and children of the Adabraka Presbyterian Junior High School.
According to Prof. Oquaye, it was only through reading that one could acquire knowledge, in order to be part of the changing world.
“If you are not knowledgeable in today’s world, I’m afraid, you are hardly part of the world,” he said.
Prof. Oquaye made this remark when he officially launched the literacy project at the forecourt of Parliament, in Accra yesterday.
The project aims to improve on reading in the rural communities, especially, cocoa growing areas in the country.
To Prof. Oquaye, a lot of children were not reading, simply because of the unavailability of books, a situation, he said, infringes on the rights of the children.
“The most important human right is the right to read, the right to know, and the right to an informed society,” he said.
Over 34,000 books, ranging from novels, fiction, reference, science and mathematics, according to the Executive Director of Child Rights International (CRI), Bright Appiah, would be distributed to communities, especially, those in cocoa growing areas in 120 selected constituencies, from the kindergarten to the Senior High school.
Mr. Appiah said research had proven that almost 54% of children in cocoa growing areas cannot read and write, hence his outfit’s decision to empower children in those communities. The lack of libraries, he said also, were the main hindrances in those communities.
To address the problem, the CRI Executive Director said his outfit, in collaboration with Memifee Valley College from California, donor of the books, would establish e-libraries in 300 communities.
According to Mr. Appiah, the CRI was also looking at the one laptop per child initiative for those in the cocoa growing communities, to further address the problem.
“We are aware of a number of risks in this area, especially, lack of electricity, and that is why we are opting for the one laptop per child scheme. The computers could last for over four hours, and to us, the most important thing is to let the children have access to those laptops and things would improve.
Another option is to send the computers to the district level, and periodically invite the children to have access to the laptops. By so doing, their knowledge base would be enhanced,” Mr. Appiah noted.
Present to grace the occasion were Mrs. Akosua Frema Opare-Osei, Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayawaso West Wuogon, the Charity Baptist Church School, Accra, and children of the Adabraka Presbyterian Junior High School.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Boankra Inland Port needs $210m to complete
The Minister for Transport, Alhaji Collins Dauda has ruled out the possibility of completing the Boankra Inland Port project in 2012 as result of unavailability of funds.
Touted as part of the Government of Ghana’s Gateway projects, the Boankra Inland Port project is currently faced with a deficit of US$210million for the completion of Phase II of the said project.
Alhaji Dauda made this remark when he appeared in Parliament on Wednesday to answer to a question posed by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ejisu-Juaben, Kwabena Owusu-Aduomi on what plans the Ministry of Transport has to make the Boankra Inland Port operational before the end of December 2012.
Lack of funds coupled with the inability to rehabilitate the existing Eastern corridor Railway Line has been the two most outstanding factors impeding the project since its inception in 2002.
Construction of the project including the rehabilitation of the Eastern Rail Line was expected to be completed in 2007 after taking off with the acquisition of land in 2002.
Phase I of the project according to the Minister of Transport has been completed with funds being sought for the execution of Phase II which is projected to be completed in two years.
Phase I of the project included; payment of compensation for land and crop farmers, clearing of vegetation and fencing of site, building of two schools for Boankra and Hwireso to replace the one on the site used by the two communities, feasibility study, business plan, detailed drawings, construction of an administration block and provision of water, electricity and telecommunication.
Phase II of the said project comprise; the provision of roads, drains, culverts, security posts, sewerage, Customs Bonded and Open Warehouses, truck and car parking lots, commercials estates and light industrial estates.
Securing investors to undertake the project also forms part of Phase II, according to the Minister.
Alhaji Dauda told Parliament that three companies have shown beyond their expression of interest in completing the Boankra Inland Port project. The companies include; China Harbours Engineering, ACI-USA and Dominion Associates Mart.
The aforementioned companies, the Minister said has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ghana Shippers Authority (GSA) for the execution of the project.
Messrs Dominion Associates Mart is said to be on the verge of securing a US$250million facility from the Bank of Baroda, a premier Indian Bank with operations in Ghana and other parts of the world.
The GSA, according to Alhaji Dauda, has approached its bankers, Ghana International Bank in the United Kingdom for the required due diligence on the project.
The Ministry of Transport, Alhaji Dauda said has also taken up the issue of due diligence and is being pursued with the appropriate authorities.
Touching on the issue of rehabilitation of the Eastern Railway Line, the Minister said his outfit has reached out to several investors but is yet to settle on one who has proven to be competent and have the requisite fund and logistics to execute the task.
Touted as part of the Government of Ghana’s Gateway projects, the Boankra Inland Port project is currently faced with a deficit of US$210million for the completion of Phase II of the said project.
Alhaji Dauda made this remark when he appeared in Parliament on Wednesday to answer to a question posed by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ejisu-Juaben, Kwabena Owusu-Aduomi on what plans the Ministry of Transport has to make the Boankra Inland Port operational before the end of December 2012.
Lack of funds coupled with the inability to rehabilitate the existing Eastern corridor Railway Line has been the two most outstanding factors impeding the project since its inception in 2002.
Construction of the project including the rehabilitation of the Eastern Rail Line was expected to be completed in 2007 after taking off with the acquisition of land in 2002.
Phase I of the project according to the Minister of Transport has been completed with funds being sought for the execution of Phase II which is projected to be completed in two years.
Phase I of the project included; payment of compensation for land and crop farmers, clearing of vegetation and fencing of site, building of two schools for Boankra and Hwireso to replace the one on the site used by the two communities, feasibility study, business plan, detailed drawings, construction of an administration block and provision of water, electricity and telecommunication.
Phase II of the said project comprise; the provision of roads, drains, culverts, security posts, sewerage, Customs Bonded and Open Warehouses, truck and car parking lots, commercials estates and light industrial estates.
Securing investors to undertake the project also forms part of Phase II, according to the Minister.
Alhaji Dauda told Parliament that three companies have shown beyond their expression of interest in completing the Boankra Inland Port project. The companies include; China Harbours Engineering, ACI-USA and Dominion Associates Mart.
The aforementioned companies, the Minister said has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ghana Shippers Authority (GSA) for the execution of the project.
Messrs Dominion Associates Mart is said to be on the verge of securing a US$250million facility from the Bank of Baroda, a premier Indian Bank with operations in Ghana and other parts of the world.
The GSA, according to Alhaji Dauda, has approached its bankers, Ghana International Bank in the United Kingdom for the required due diligence on the project.
The Ministry of Transport, Alhaji Dauda said has also taken up the issue of due diligence and is being pursued with the appropriate authorities.
Touching on the issue of rehabilitation of the Eastern Railway Line, the Minister said his outfit has reached out to several investors but is yet to settle on one who has proven to be competent and have the requisite fund and logistics to execute the task.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Let's empower Unit Committee members- Deputy Minister designate
The Deputy Minister designate for the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Aquinas Quansah has said it was time to empower Unit Committee members at the local assembly, to enable them perform better in the discharge of their duties in local governance.
“It is about time we train the people at the local level, especially those at the Unit Committee. By so doing, they will perform better.”
Mr. Quansah made this remark yesterday, when he appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament for vetting. Article 78 of the Constitution of Ghana empowers the President to appoint Ministers of State with the prior approval of Parliament.
Article 78 (1) states that “ Ministers of State shall be appointed by the President with the prior approval of Parliament, from among members of Parliament or persons qualified to be elected as members of Parliament, except that the majority of Ministers of State shall be appointed from among members of Parliament.
Unit Committee members have in the eyes of the public being perceived not to be performing any function. This perception necessitated the Member of Parliament for Ayawaso West Wuogon, Mrs. Akosua Frema Opare-Osei to ask the deputy Minister designate on how he will liaise with the sector Minister to use the Unit Committee as a tool for effective development.
Responding to the question, Mr. Quansah said when the Unit Committee is given equal attention as the Assembly members, he had no doubt that they will perform better.
“Mr. Chairman, it is time the MMDCEs seriously interact with the Unit Committees to enable them feel part of local governance. The way we deal with our Assembly members, we should do same to the Unit Committee members. We have to swear them into office just like we do the Assembly members,” he noted.
Reacting to how he will deal with the frosty relations between DCEs and MPs, the deputy Minister designate said he will collaborate with his sector Minister to bring the two on board, in a dialogue whenever there was a problem.
As to whether District Assembly election should be organized on partisan basis, Mr. Quansah said he totally disagree to that proposal. He maintained that the District Assembly election should be organized on non-partisan basis.
Also appearing at the Appointments Committee for vetting was Emelia Arthur, Deputy Minister designate for Western Region, and Ernest Attuquaye Armah, Deputy Minister for Communications.
Smart looking Emelia Arthur, after taking her oath, looked uncomfortable in her seat.
Seated at her right hand side, to lend their support to her were the Western Regional Minister, Mr. Paul Evans Aidoo and the Central Regional Minister, Ama Benyiwa Doe. The two couldn’t afford coaching their colleague to be brief, when responding to questions from the members of the Appointments Committee.
Responding to a question from the MP for Amenfi East, Joseph Boahen Aidoo on how she will deal with challenges of refugees from neighboring La Cote d’Ivoire, Ms. Arthur said the country already is faced with the provision of space for the refugees, but that not withstanding, “in the spirit of good neighbourliness, it is important Ghana provides space for the Ivorian refugees coming into the country.”
According to her, the Western Regional Coordinating Council, in collaboration with the UNHR and NADMO has programs in place to address the issue.
Ms. Arthur, a staunch Nkrumaist, believes that when there is equal distribution of national resources, the issue of party foot soldiers agitation would be solved.
“RCC has the responsibility for ensuring that all monies that come from the Central Government are used for the benefit of the people. We will do our best by getting the district assemblies to invest in places that will create jobs,” she said.
The Deputy Minister designate for Communications, Ernest Attuquaye Armah had a field day as he was spared from probing questions from the Appointments Committee. He lasted for seventeen minutes before the Committee.
However, he had some problems with his Curriculum Vitae. He was ordered by the Chairman of the Appointments Committee, Edward Doe Adjaho to withdraw his CV and furnish the Committee with the amended version before the Committee would consider his approval.
“It is about time we train the people at the local level, especially those at the Unit Committee. By so doing, they will perform better.”
Mr. Quansah made this remark yesterday, when he appeared before the Appointments Committee of Parliament for vetting. Article 78 of the Constitution of Ghana empowers the President to appoint Ministers of State with the prior approval of Parliament.
Article 78 (1) states that “ Ministers of State shall be appointed by the President with the prior approval of Parliament, from among members of Parliament or persons qualified to be elected as members of Parliament, except that the majority of Ministers of State shall be appointed from among members of Parliament.
Unit Committee members have in the eyes of the public being perceived not to be performing any function. This perception necessitated the Member of Parliament for Ayawaso West Wuogon, Mrs. Akosua Frema Opare-Osei to ask the deputy Minister designate on how he will liaise with the sector Minister to use the Unit Committee as a tool for effective development.
Responding to the question, Mr. Quansah said when the Unit Committee is given equal attention as the Assembly members, he had no doubt that they will perform better.
“Mr. Chairman, it is time the MMDCEs seriously interact with the Unit Committees to enable them feel part of local governance. The way we deal with our Assembly members, we should do same to the Unit Committee members. We have to swear them into office just like we do the Assembly members,” he noted.
Reacting to how he will deal with the frosty relations between DCEs and MPs, the deputy Minister designate said he will collaborate with his sector Minister to bring the two on board, in a dialogue whenever there was a problem.
As to whether District Assembly election should be organized on partisan basis, Mr. Quansah said he totally disagree to that proposal. He maintained that the District Assembly election should be organized on non-partisan basis.
Also appearing at the Appointments Committee for vetting was Emelia Arthur, Deputy Minister designate for Western Region, and Ernest Attuquaye Armah, Deputy Minister for Communications.
Smart looking Emelia Arthur, after taking her oath, looked uncomfortable in her seat.
Seated at her right hand side, to lend their support to her were the Western Regional Minister, Mr. Paul Evans Aidoo and the Central Regional Minister, Ama Benyiwa Doe. The two couldn’t afford coaching their colleague to be brief, when responding to questions from the members of the Appointments Committee.
Responding to a question from the MP for Amenfi East, Joseph Boahen Aidoo on how she will deal with challenges of refugees from neighboring La Cote d’Ivoire, Ms. Arthur said the country already is faced with the provision of space for the refugees, but that not withstanding, “in the spirit of good neighbourliness, it is important Ghana provides space for the Ivorian refugees coming into the country.”
According to her, the Western Regional Coordinating Council, in collaboration with the UNHR and NADMO has programs in place to address the issue.
Ms. Arthur, a staunch Nkrumaist, believes that when there is equal distribution of national resources, the issue of party foot soldiers agitation would be solved.
“RCC has the responsibility for ensuring that all monies that come from the Central Government are used for the benefit of the people. We will do our best by getting the district assemblies to invest in places that will create jobs,” she said.
The Deputy Minister designate for Communications, Ernest Attuquaye Armah had a field day as he was spared from probing questions from the Appointments Committee. He lasted for seventeen minutes before the Committee.
However, he had some problems with his Curriculum Vitae. He was ordered by the Chairman of the Appointments Committee, Edward Doe Adjaho to withdraw his CV and furnish the Committee with the amended version before the Committee would consider his approval.
A legislator's shocking revelation: 80% MPs are womanisers
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Afram Plains North, Emmanuel Aboagye Didieye, yesterday bolted away from Parliament in typical ‘Usain Bolt’ fashion, for fear of being dragged before the Privileges Committee over a statement he made earlier on Adom FM, alleging that 80% of his colleague MPs were “extreme womanisers.”
The MP for Bimbilla, Dominic Bingab Aduna Nitiwul, before the commencement of Public Business in the House, drew the Speaker’s attention to Mr. Didieye’s ‘loose’ talk. Immediately the issue was raised on the floor of the House, Mr. Didieye sneaked out of the Chamber to escape the wrath of his colleague MPs, who were furious over his comments on Adom FM, made on March 17th and 18th 2011, respectively. But his vanishing act even worsened the situation. The Second Deputy Speaker and MP for Dome-Kwabenya, Prof. Aaron Michael Oquaye, who conducted the affairs of the House, ordered him to appear before the Privileges Committee of Parliament, after a thorough search for him in the House had proved futile. Mr. Nitiwul had dared the Afram Plains North MP, who was calmly slouching in his seat in the Chamber, to name and shame MPs he (Didieye) claimed to be “extreme womanisers”, or withdraw and apologise to Parliament.
“I stand on authority, and say that if you are a thief, at least symptoms should begin from your house. You can ask all the pretty women in Parliament whether I, Dominic Nitiwul, have ever talked to them, much more want to go out with them. He can go and find out. And for him to say that at least 80% of members of parliament are womanisers is uncalled for.”
“Womanisers are not women, they are men. Women are close to 20% of parliament, and that means that every Member of Parliament, who is a male here, is a womaniser. I want the honourable here to stand up to name and shame, or withdraw and apologise to Parliament, or I will propose that he be dragged to the Privileges Committee, and we will debate that report before we rise,” charged the furious looking Nitiwul. The Afram Plains North MP, on Adom FM’s ‘Dwaso Nsem’, alleged that with the exclusion of female MPs, most of his colleague MPs use their resources to chase women, especially, the “small girls, and even married women in the streets”. He could not, however, name any MP as an example to buttress his claim. According to him, he was once a womaniser, but stopped after realising that the practice was an immoral act. Male journalists were also not spared by the quiet looking MP, who hardly contributes to debates on the floor of the House. “Because they (journalists) are popular and famous, they use their offices as an advantage in chasing girls. Most male journalists have more than four girlfriends at a time.” This attitude is an ordinary instinct in men, which does not change even if tomorrow you become a Member of Parliament.” Even pastors talk about how to resist the temptation of chasing women,” he told Adakabre Frimpong, host of Adom FM’s ‘Dwaso Nsem’ program. His revelation came to his colleague MPs as shock, with some insisting that he be dragged before the Privileges Committee. “I will want to rise on the point of privilege. For far too long, when outsiders denigrate this House, we come here shouting with one voice against such denigration, how much more for such a person who should know better. “It is sad when matters of this nature are being raised, and members of the opposite side will encourage such a member to walk out from the Chamber. Such an irresponsible statement should not have come out of the member on air. I will propose that the member be dragged to the Privileges Committee, and we will produce the tapes,” said Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, MP for Manhyia. However, the Majority Leader, Cletus Avoka, pleaded with the Speaker to enable the Members have access to the recorded tape, to enable them make an informed decision over the matter. According to him, Mr. Didieye cannot easily be dragged before the Privileges Committee when the leadership of the House does not have the content of his alleged statement. “At the moment, it is hanging, it is on air, but we want to have information about the issue before the matter could be sent to the Privileges Committee. Let us trace the source of the alleged statement, and the leadership of the House will critically look at the whole issue, and decide on it,” noted Mr. Avoka. His plea was, however, not taken by the Speaker, who insisted that there was enough evidence before the House to decide on the matter, after Mr. Nitiwul named two members who were in the studios of Adom FM when the incident occurred, to buttress his argument.
“Honourable members, our country will not be engaged in the pollution of politics. It is increasingly becoming a sad custom that in politics, people can say anything. They give the impression that politics is a dirty game. That is not so.
“There are decent people in politics. And it cannot be allowed to become the norm and the political culture of Ghana that in politics you can lie about anyone, say any dirty thing about somebody any time, just because it is politics. “It will augur very badly for the governance of our nation. There should be men and women with dignity who want to enter into politics and serve their nation. In fact, after service to God, the next service is service to the nation, and that is why soldiers go and even die for their country. “People who are duly trained, and who have served in various capacities, should be able to bring the experience they have gathered over the years to serve their nation in politics, and as representatives of the people, even in Parliament, without even having the privilege to insult them anyhow and mar their well-acquired reputations overnight, just because it is politics. It cannot be true. “I will refer this matter before the Privileges Committee. The Honorable Nitiwul has given us enough prima facie evidence to work upon,” noted Mr. Oquaye. He added: “It is noteworthy that when the honourable member who lodged this complaint, members saw the Afram Plains North MP, Mr. Aboagye Didieyie leave the honourable House. I am told by the leader that all attempts to bring him back have failed. “He is, therefore, referred to the Privileges Committee accordingly. This matter will be reported back in one week from today, as a very serious matter, and for appropriate steps to be taken.
The MP for Bimbilla, Dominic Bingab Aduna Nitiwul, before the commencement of Public Business in the House, drew the Speaker’s attention to Mr. Didieye’s ‘loose’ talk. Immediately the issue was raised on the floor of the House, Mr. Didieye sneaked out of the Chamber to escape the wrath of his colleague MPs, who were furious over his comments on Adom FM, made on March 17th and 18th 2011, respectively. But his vanishing act even worsened the situation. The Second Deputy Speaker and MP for Dome-Kwabenya, Prof. Aaron Michael Oquaye, who conducted the affairs of the House, ordered him to appear before the Privileges Committee of Parliament, after a thorough search for him in the House had proved futile. Mr. Nitiwul had dared the Afram Plains North MP, who was calmly slouching in his seat in the Chamber, to name and shame MPs he (Didieye) claimed to be “extreme womanisers”, or withdraw and apologise to Parliament.
“I stand on authority, and say that if you are a thief, at least symptoms should begin from your house. You can ask all the pretty women in Parliament whether I, Dominic Nitiwul, have ever talked to them, much more want to go out with them. He can go and find out. And for him to say that at least 80% of members of parliament are womanisers is uncalled for.”
“Womanisers are not women, they are men. Women are close to 20% of parliament, and that means that every Member of Parliament, who is a male here, is a womaniser. I want the honourable here to stand up to name and shame, or withdraw and apologise to Parliament, or I will propose that he be dragged to the Privileges Committee, and we will debate that report before we rise,” charged the furious looking Nitiwul. The Afram Plains North MP, on Adom FM’s ‘Dwaso Nsem’, alleged that with the exclusion of female MPs, most of his colleague MPs use their resources to chase women, especially, the “small girls, and even married women in the streets”. He could not, however, name any MP as an example to buttress his claim. According to him, he was once a womaniser, but stopped after realising that the practice was an immoral act. Male journalists were also not spared by the quiet looking MP, who hardly contributes to debates on the floor of the House. “Because they (journalists) are popular and famous, they use their offices as an advantage in chasing girls. Most male journalists have more than four girlfriends at a time.” This attitude is an ordinary instinct in men, which does not change even if tomorrow you become a Member of Parliament.” Even pastors talk about how to resist the temptation of chasing women,” he told Adakabre Frimpong, host of Adom FM’s ‘Dwaso Nsem’ program. His revelation came to his colleague MPs as shock, with some insisting that he be dragged before the Privileges Committee. “I will want to rise on the point of privilege. For far too long, when outsiders denigrate this House, we come here shouting with one voice against such denigration, how much more for such a person who should know better. “It is sad when matters of this nature are being raised, and members of the opposite side will encourage such a member to walk out from the Chamber. Such an irresponsible statement should not have come out of the member on air. I will propose that the member be dragged to the Privileges Committee, and we will produce the tapes,” said Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, MP for Manhyia. However, the Majority Leader, Cletus Avoka, pleaded with the Speaker to enable the Members have access to the recorded tape, to enable them make an informed decision over the matter. According to him, Mr. Didieye cannot easily be dragged before the Privileges Committee when the leadership of the House does not have the content of his alleged statement. “At the moment, it is hanging, it is on air, but we want to have information about the issue before the matter could be sent to the Privileges Committee. Let us trace the source of the alleged statement, and the leadership of the House will critically look at the whole issue, and decide on it,” noted Mr. Avoka. His plea was, however, not taken by the Speaker, who insisted that there was enough evidence before the House to decide on the matter, after Mr. Nitiwul named two members who were in the studios of Adom FM when the incident occurred, to buttress his argument.
“Honourable members, our country will not be engaged in the pollution of politics. It is increasingly becoming a sad custom that in politics, people can say anything. They give the impression that politics is a dirty game. That is not so.
“There are decent people in politics. And it cannot be allowed to become the norm and the political culture of Ghana that in politics you can lie about anyone, say any dirty thing about somebody any time, just because it is politics. “It will augur very badly for the governance of our nation. There should be men and women with dignity who want to enter into politics and serve their nation. In fact, after service to God, the next service is service to the nation, and that is why soldiers go and even die for their country. “People who are duly trained, and who have served in various capacities, should be able to bring the experience they have gathered over the years to serve their nation in politics, and as representatives of the people, even in Parliament, without even having the privilege to insult them anyhow and mar their well-acquired reputations overnight, just because it is politics. It cannot be true. “I will refer this matter before the Privileges Committee. The Honorable Nitiwul has given us enough prima facie evidence to work upon,” noted Mr. Oquaye. He added: “It is noteworthy that when the honourable member who lodged this complaint, members saw the Afram Plains North MP, Mr. Aboagye Didieyie leave the honourable House. I am told by the leader that all attempts to bring him back have failed. “He is, therefore, referred to the Privileges Committee accordingly. This matter will be reported back in one week from today, as a very serious matter, and for appropriate steps to be taken.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Ghana: 15 orphanages closed down
The Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare has closed down 15 orphanages, out of the one hundred and twenty seven operating in the country. This followed the rot exposé at the Osu Children’s home by ace investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas.
The Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, Enoch Teye Mensah disclosed yesterday, when he appeared in Parliament to answer a question posed by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Asunafo South, George Boakye, about what his outfit was doing to improve conditions in orphanage homes in the country, in the light of the recent revelations at the Osu Children’s home.
The names of the orphanages were not immediately disclosed. The Ningo-Prampram MP said the closing down of the orphanages formed part of his outfit’s ongoing campaign to discourage people from running such homes.
On August 23, 2007, the Department of Social Welfare launched the Care Reform Initiative to discourage the setting up of new Orphanages in favour of encouraging community based care and support.
Its aim is to transform the current system to ensure that Departments, Agencies and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in the country have the training and resources to encourage appropriate parental care, and ensure that institutional care in orphanages is used only as a last resort.
Mr. Mensah said the Department of Social Welfare under Legislation has also produced a data base of children in institutions, drafted guidelines for foster care and adoption and is in the process of drafting a Cabinet Memorandum for Ghana to accede to the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption.
The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption is an international convention which aims at protecting children and their families against the risks of illegal, irregular, premature or ill-prepared adoptions abroad.
It does so by establishing principles for countries to follow that focus on the need for intercountry adoptions to occur only where it is in the best interests of the child and with respect for his or her fundamental rights.
The Convention also focuses on the need for countries to work to prevent the abduction, sale, or trafficking of children. It was concluded on 29 May 1993 and came into force on 1 May 1995.
But surprisingly, Mr. Mensah said five new orphanages have been issued with licenses to operate in the country. He did not disclose the names of these five orphanages.
n Ghana, according to Mr. Mensah, 4,000 children were recorded in the 127 orphanages, but there was evidence to prove that not all the children were orphans.
He told Members of the House that lack of funding has been an impediment to the smooth operations of the Department. He said a small amount of GH¢5,000.00, is allocated yearly to the various Departments of Social Welfare in all the 170 districts to carry out their duties. This amount he said is woefully inadequate.
Mr. Mensah said in spite of the move by the Department to regularize the operating of orphanages, many well-meaning public figures continue to organize fanfares to donate to orphanages out of the usually misplaced notion that “this is in the interest of the Ghanaian child.”
He, therefore, appealed to public to channel their donations to the Department to help strengthen to enable it carry out its operations. He also appealed to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to have a second look at the finances of the Department.
Instructively, UNICEF and global partners define an orphan as a child who has lost one or both parents. By this definition there were over 132 million orphans in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean in 2005.
This large figure represents not only children who have lost both parents, but also those who have lost a father but have a surviving mother or have lost their mother but have a surviving father.
Out of the more than 132 million children classified as orphans, only 13 million have lost both parents. According to UNICEF, evidence clearly shows that the vast majority of orphans are living with a surviving parent grandparent, or other family member, while 95 per cent of all orphans are over the age of five.
The Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, Enoch Teye Mensah disclosed yesterday, when he appeared in Parliament to answer a question posed by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Asunafo South, George Boakye, about what his outfit was doing to improve conditions in orphanage homes in the country, in the light of the recent revelations at the Osu Children’s home.
The names of the orphanages were not immediately disclosed. The Ningo-Prampram MP said the closing down of the orphanages formed part of his outfit’s ongoing campaign to discourage people from running such homes.
On August 23, 2007, the Department of Social Welfare launched the Care Reform Initiative to discourage the setting up of new Orphanages in favour of encouraging community based care and support.
Its aim is to transform the current system to ensure that Departments, Agencies and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in the country have the training and resources to encourage appropriate parental care, and ensure that institutional care in orphanages is used only as a last resort.
Mr. Mensah said the Department of Social Welfare under Legislation has also produced a data base of children in institutions, drafted guidelines for foster care and adoption and is in the process of drafting a Cabinet Memorandum for Ghana to accede to the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption.
The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption is an international convention which aims at protecting children and their families against the risks of illegal, irregular, premature or ill-prepared adoptions abroad.
It does so by establishing principles for countries to follow that focus on the need for intercountry adoptions to occur only where it is in the best interests of the child and with respect for his or her fundamental rights.
The Convention also focuses on the need for countries to work to prevent the abduction, sale, or trafficking of children. It was concluded on 29 May 1993 and came into force on 1 May 1995.
But surprisingly, Mr. Mensah said five new orphanages have been issued with licenses to operate in the country. He did not disclose the names of these five orphanages.
n Ghana, according to Mr. Mensah, 4,000 children were recorded in the 127 orphanages, but there was evidence to prove that not all the children were orphans.
He told Members of the House that lack of funding has been an impediment to the smooth operations of the Department. He said a small amount of GH¢5,000.00, is allocated yearly to the various Departments of Social Welfare in all the 170 districts to carry out their duties. This amount he said is woefully inadequate.
Mr. Mensah said in spite of the move by the Department to regularize the operating of orphanages, many well-meaning public figures continue to organize fanfares to donate to orphanages out of the usually misplaced notion that “this is in the interest of the Ghanaian child.”
He, therefore, appealed to public to channel their donations to the Department to help strengthen to enable it carry out its operations. He also appealed to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to have a second look at the finances of the Department.
Instructively, UNICEF and global partners define an orphan as a child who has lost one or both parents. By this definition there were over 132 million orphans in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean in 2005.
This large figure represents not only children who have lost both parents, but also those who have lost a father but have a surviving mother or have lost their mother but have a surviving father.
Out of the more than 132 million children classified as orphans, only 13 million have lost both parents. According to UNICEF, evidence clearly shows that the vast majority of orphans are living with a surviving parent grandparent, or other family member, while 95 per cent of all orphans are over the age of five.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Power struggle @ Tema Parents Assoc. School
Tension is said to be mounting at the Tema Parents Association School, following an alleged attempt to re-register the school by executives of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA).
The PTA executives, led by its Chairman, Justice Senyo Dzamefe, an Appeal Court Judge, were also allegedly fingered in a plot to seize and operate the accounts of the school in their name. The management and teachers of the school do not understand why the PTA executives, who are yet to be inaugurated, should make attempts to re-register and manage the school.
However, at an emergency meeting called by the PTA last Thursday, February 3, 2011, to calm nerves down as a result of the impasse between the staff of the school and the PTA, Justice Dzamefe described as 'palpably false' the allegations leveled against him and his executives.
According to him, the intervention by the PTA is to bring sanity and 'checks and balance' in the day-to-day running of the school.
The authorities of the school, alarmed by the decision, denounced the existence of the PTA in a memorandum dated January 18, 2011, and copied to the executives of the PTA, citing the aforementioned grievances among many others, as their bone of contention.
'Tema Parents' Association School, as we all know, is registered as a company limited by guarantee. It is guided by regulations (referring to Companies Code, 1963 Tema Parents' Association School Regulations of Company Limited by Guarantee, and presented by C.K.S. Kodi, Chartered Secretary).
'No where in the school's regulations, or in the conditions of service, is PTA mentioned. The subscribers of the school must have good reason why they did not incorporate PTA in the structure of the school. We do not need a PTA to run the school. There is no where in Ghana that school funds are kept by PTA, in a PTA accounts, or any account operated by PTA,' noted the management and teachers of the school, in the memorandum to the executives of the PTA. They also noted: 'We are very mindful of the fact that an attempt was made by the PTA to re-register the school in their name. We deem all these actions and utterances as interference in the day-to-day running of the school, and this is disturbing the peace of the school.'
According to the management of the school, somewhere last year, in the course of a crisis created by the former headmistress in challenging the legitimacy of the Board of Directors, a group of parents emerged as mediators, with the sole objective of resolving the impasse between the two bodies.
The group, the management of the school said, failed to achieve its objective, after giving it all the necessary cooperation, and was surprised see the group 'metamorphose itself into an Interim Management Committee, and subsequently, into a substantive PTA executive.'
The formation of the PTA, according to the management of the school, had brought about the current power struggle, as to who should run the school. A situation, it said, had brought fear and panic among the teaching body and other working staff of the school.
The management has, therefore, resolved not to cooperate with the PTA executives, since the 'Company Code which governs the school has not been amended to include the PTA.'
It however, requested for a Board of Directors, and therefore welcomed 'anybody who has any influence, whatsoever, should channel it towards bringing a Board in place.'
In sharp rebuttal to the allegations against the PTA executives, Justice Dzamefe said it had never be the intention of the PTA executives to re-register the Tema Parents' Association School in their name, neither has it be their intention to intrude into the affairs of the school.
Justice Dzamefe, in an address to parents who attended the emergency meeting on the school's premises last Thursday, said the stand of the PTA was to call for an independent audit of the school's accounts, and verification of the teachers' qualifications, since a recent ranking of the school in the Tema metropolis was not encouraging.
'The school is currently placed 28th on the table of best performing schools in the Tema Metropolis. This is not encouraging, and we called for verification of the teachers' qualifications, and to know from the Ghana Education Service, whether the teachers were placed under the right subjects. Our second request was for an independent audit of the school's accounts. My brothers and sisters, these are the two issues that we requested for, which has landed us in trouble,' lamented Justice Dzamefe.
According to him, as a result of a court action instituted against the school by its former headmistress, Mrs. Nsaki Kaseem, there was no Board of Directors, and a substantive headmaster or headmistress in place to run the school.
The situation, he said, had affected the school, since its Ecobank account, of which Mrs. Kaseem is a signatory, had been frozen by the court, resulting in a stay of execution motion filed by the out-gone Board of Directors.
Justice Dzamefe further said the accounts of the school had for the past two years not been audited. With a student population of about 1,500, the school currently takes GH¢470 per head, with about GH¢705,000 being paid into the coffers of the school per term. This huge amount, according to Justice Dzamefe, had been redirected into the Teachers Welfare accounts, an interest yielding account with two signatories.
'Fellow parents, because the school's Ecobank accounts have been frozen by the court, the teachers have been encouraging parents to pay hard cash and not cheques, to enable them have access to the money. The monies been collected are therefore, channeled into the Teachers Welfare Account, being operated by two signatories. This, I said, is unacceptable, since anything could happen,' he said.
But, the school authorities, when contacted, denied ever channeling monies belonging to the school into the welfare account.
According to the management of the school, due to the aforementioned court action, it had temporarily opened a new account with Unibank, where monies meant for the school are paid into that account, pending directives from existing subscribers of the school.
Justice Dzamefe also denied allegations against the PTA of attempting to re-register the school in its name.
He said their intention was to register the Tema Parents Association School PTA as a company limited by guarantee, under the Company's Code of 1963.
The objectives, he said, was to give the PTA the needed legal power to help parents and teachers of the school have a common understanding, and better appreciation of their education and social responsibilities, and also to facilitate the process of reaching agreements between parents and teachers, or the best solutions to common problems affecting the children of the school, as well as seeing to the welfare of teachers.
Parents who attended the emergency meeting pleaded with the PTA executives to find a lasting solution to the impasse, by engaging the management and teachers of the school in a dialogue in the interest of their children.
The PTA executives, led by its Chairman, Justice Senyo Dzamefe, an Appeal Court Judge, were also allegedly fingered in a plot to seize and operate the accounts of the school in their name. The management and teachers of the school do not understand why the PTA executives, who are yet to be inaugurated, should make attempts to re-register and manage the school.
However, at an emergency meeting called by the PTA last Thursday, February 3, 2011, to calm nerves down as a result of the impasse between the staff of the school and the PTA, Justice Dzamefe described as 'palpably false' the allegations leveled against him and his executives.
According to him, the intervention by the PTA is to bring sanity and 'checks and balance' in the day-to-day running of the school.
The authorities of the school, alarmed by the decision, denounced the existence of the PTA in a memorandum dated January 18, 2011, and copied to the executives of the PTA, citing the aforementioned grievances among many others, as their bone of contention.
'Tema Parents' Association School, as we all know, is registered as a company limited by guarantee. It is guided by regulations (referring to Companies Code, 1963 Tema Parents' Association School Regulations of Company Limited by Guarantee, and presented by C.K.S. Kodi, Chartered Secretary).
'No where in the school's regulations, or in the conditions of service, is PTA mentioned. The subscribers of the school must have good reason why they did not incorporate PTA in the structure of the school. We do not need a PTA to run the school. There is no where in Ghana that school funds are kept by PTA, in a PTA accounts, or any account operated by PTA,' noted the management and teachers of the school, in the memorandum to the executives of the PTA. They also noted: 'We are very mindful of the fact that an attempt was made by the PTA to re-register the school in their name. We deem all these actions and utterances as interference in the day-to-day running of the school, and this is disturbing the peace of the school.'
According to the management of the school, somewhere last year, in the course of a crisis created by the former headmistress in challenging the legitimacy of the Board of Directors, a group of parents emerged as mediators, with the sole objective of resolving the impasse between the two bodies.
The group, the management of the school said, failed to achieve its objective, after giving it all the necessary cooperation, and was surprised see the group 'metamorphose itself into an Interim Management Committee, and subsequently, into a substantive PTA executive.'
The formation of the PTA, according to the management of the school, had brought about the current power struggle, as to who should run the school. A situation, it said, had brought fear and panic among the teaching body and other working staff of the school.
The management has, therefore, resolved not to cooperate with the PTA executives, since the 'Company Code which governs the school has not been amended to include the PTA.'
It however, requested for a Board of Directors, and therefore welcomed 'anybody who has any influence, whatsoever, should channel it towards bringing a Board in place.'
In sharp rebuttal to the allegations against the PTA executives, Justice Dzamefe said it had never be the intention of the PTA executives to re-register the Tema Parents' Association School in their name, neither has it be their intention to intrude into the affairs of the school.
Justice Dzamefe, in an address to parents who attended the emergency meeting on the school's premises last Thursday, said the stand of the PTA was to call for an independent audit of the school's accounts, and verification of the teachers' qualifications, since a recent ranking of the school in the Tema metropolis was not encouraging.
'The school is currently placed 28th on the table of best performing schools in the Tema Metropolis. This is not encouraging, and we called for verification of the teachers' qualifications, and to know from the Ghana Education Service, whether the teachers were placed under the right subjects. Our second request was for an independent audit of the school's accounts. My brothers and sisters, these are the two issues that we requested for, which has landed us in trouble,' lamented Justice Dzamefe.
According to him, as a result of a court action instituted against the school by its former headmistress, Mrs. Nsaki Kaseem, there was no Board of Directors, and a substantive headmaster or headmistress in place to run the school.
The situation, he said, had affected the school, since its Ecobank account, of which Mrs. Kaseem is a signatory, had been frozen by the court, resulting in a stay of execution motion filed by the out-gone Board of Directors.
Justice Dzamefe further said the accounts of the school had for the past two years not been audited. With a student population of about 1,500, the school currently takes GH¢470 per head, with about GH¢705,000 being paid into the coffers of the school per term. This huge amount, according to Justice Dzamefe, had been redirected into the Teachers Welfare accounts, an interest yielding account with two signatories.
'Fellow parents, because the school's Ecobank accounts have been frozen by the court, the teachers have been encouraging parents to pay hard cash and not cheques, to enable them have access to the money. The monies been collected are therefore, channeled into the Teachers Welfare Account, being operated by two signatories. This, I said, is unacceptable, since anything could happen,' he said.
But, the school authorities, when contacted, denied ever channeling monies belonging to the school into the welfare account.
According to the management of the school, due to the aforementioned court action, it had temporarily opened a new account with Unibank, where monies meant for the school are paid into that account, pending directives from existing subscribers of the school.
Justice Dzamefe also denied allegations against the PTA of attempting to re-register the school in its name.
He said their intention was to register the Tema Parents Association School PTA as a company limited by guarantee, under the Company's Code of 1963.
The objectives, he said, was to give the PTA the needed legal power to help parents and teachers of the school have a common understanding, and better appreciation of their education and social responsibilities, and also to facilitate the process of reaching agreements between parents and teachers, or the best solutions to common problems affecting the children of the school, as well as seeing to the welfare of teachers.
Parents who attended the emergency meeting pleaded with the PTA executives to find a lasting solution to the impasse, by engaging the management and teachers of the school in a dialogue in the interest of their children.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Job creation still number one priority of Government of Ghana
Job creation still remains the number one priority of the Government of Ghana (GoG) in the pursuit of her “Better Ghana” agenda.
To help realize her dream, the GoG through the National Youth Employment Program (NYEP) and the National Youth Council (NYC) has partnered with the Youth Enterprise and Skills Development (YESDEC) in an ambitious project aimed at engaging scores of unemployment youth in job creation.
The focus of the project is in Agro-processing, Manufacturing, Services and Environmental Sanitation sectors.
Employment in the public sector is already overstretched and the Government of Ghana therefore sees this initiative as an avenue to cut the ever increasing unemployment rate down.
“Recruiting young people and putting them on payroll was going to be unsustainable in the near future” remarked Abuga Pele, Coordinator of the National Youth Employment Program at the program’s launch in Accra on Wednesday.
The NYEP Coordinator sees the public-private initiative as one that would encourage and afford the youth of Ghana an opportunity to create wealth and participate in the development of the nation.
“This is a legacy we can leave as a nation for our young and up-coming youth,” he noted.
Initiators of the project say over forty thousand unemployment youth including beneficiaries of the NYEP who are exiting after their tenure are expected to benefit from the program.
However, a target of one thousand youth, according the NYEP Coordinator, is expected to be engaged by November 2011.
Madam Akua Sena Dansua, out-going Minister of Youth and Sports under whose jurisdiction falls the NYEP said over ninety seven thousand youth are currently engaged in various programs in the areas of Youth in Film production, Grass cutter rearing, Airport Assistants, Community Police among many others.
She expressed the hope that the YESDEC-NYEP module would compliment the Government of Ghana’s effort aimed at creating direct employment for over seven hundred and fifty thousand (750,000) youth through a four-year period, beginning in 2010-2013.
The Coordinator of YESDEC, Mavis Yamoah told The Chronicle in an interview that her outfit’s partnership with the NYEP is targeting the setup of micro businesses for one thousand youth in the ten regions of the country by the end of 2011.
So far, the YESDEC project has till date trained and assisted over two hundred youth in business to successfully set up new businesses.
Key areas that YESDEC has provided training and simple logistics include Transportation of food stuff from farm gates to commercial or market centres, agro-processing and packaging, water tanker delivery services in water deprived communities, machine shop enterprise, ICT support centres, block construction, catering services and garment and beauty care enterprises.
The beneficiaries, according to initiators of the project would have the opportunity to own the equipments and supported to payback through the various banks by installment over a two-year period.
To help realize her dream, the GoG through the National Youth Employment Program (NYEP) and the National Youth Council (NYC) has partnered with the Youth Enterprise and Skills Development (YESDEC) in an ambitious project aimed at engaging scores of unemployment youth in job creation.
The focus of the project is in Agro-processing, Manufacturing, Services and Environmental Sanitation sectors.
Employment in the public sector is already overstretched and the Government of Ghana therefore sees this initiative as an avenue to cut the ever increasing unemployment rate down.
“Recruiting young people and putting them on payroll was going to be unsustainable in the near future” remarked Abuga Pele, Coordinator of the National Youth Employment Program at the program’s launch in Accra on Wednesday.
The NYEP Coordinator sees the public-private initiative as one that would encourage and afford the youth of Ghana an opportunity to create wealth and participate in the development of the nation.
“This is a legacy we can leave as a nation for our young and up-coming youth,” he noted.
Initiators of the project say over forty thousand unemployment youth including beneficiaries of the NYEP who are exiting after their tenure are expected to benefit from the program.
However, a target of one thousand youth, according the NYEP Coordinator, is expected to be engaged by November 2011.
Madam Akua Sena Dansua, out-going Minister of Youth and Sports under whose jurisdiction falls the NYEP said over ninety seven thousand youth are currently engaged in various programs in the areas of Youth in Film production, Grass cutter rearing, Airport Assistants, Community Police among many others.
She expressed the hope that the YESDEC-NYEP module would compliment the Government of Ghana’s effort aimed at creating direct employment for over seven hundred and fifty thousand (750,000) youth through a four-year period, beginning in 2010-2013.
The Coordinator of YESDEC, Mavis Yamoah told The Chronicle in an interview that her outfit’s partnership with the NYEP is targeting the setup of micro businesses for one thousand youth in the ten regions of the country by the end of 2011.
So far, the YESDEC project has till date trained and assisted over two hundred youth in business to successfully set up new businesses.
Key areas that YESDEC has provided training and simple logistics include Transportation of food stuff from farm gates to commercial or market centres, agro-processing and packaging, water tanker delivery services in water deprived communities, machine shop enterprise, ICT support centres, block construction, catering services and garment and beauty care enterprises.
The beneficiaries, according to initiators of the project would have the opportunity to own the equipments and supported to payback through the various banks by installment over a two-year period.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Yara injects $20m into Tanzania’s economy
Yara International ASA, a leading global fertilizer company is injecting US$20m into Tanzania’s economy to fuel the country’s agricultural growth.
The amount according to company officials would be invested into a new fertilizer terminal by the port in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s commercial city.
Announcing the feat on Thursday in Dar es Salaam, CEO of Yara, Joergen Haslestad said “This strengthens Yara’s long term commitment to development of Tanzania’s agricultural sector. In the years to come the agricultural sector has the potential to be a key driver of economic growth, providing business opportunities. Tanzania stands out as a natural hub for regional growth.”
Yara believes that investing in increased port capacity is a strategic step that would position the company for the growth it has long been yearning for whilst providing a boost in the value chain.
Yara presently supplies 120,000 tons of fertilizer annually to the region. The new terminal will have a revolving storage capacity of 45,000 tons of fertilizer, which will be sufficient for the medium term requirement, and the location allows for new capacity to be added for long term requirements.
Sustainable growth
The initiative raises a promise of sustainable growth, aiming at reducing rural poverty both through providing opportunities for smallholder farmers and creating new jobs, says Mr. Haslestad.
Officials of the company estimate that the US$20million investment in Tanzania would lift two million people out of poverty, and bring in annual revenues of US$1.4billion.
Yara has been a partner in the Tanzania Agriculture Partnership since 2006 and was also instrumental to the process leading to the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT).
The SAGCOT is driven by a unique partnership of public, private and donor companies and organizations.
In the recently released ‘Blueprint for Investment’, the SAGCOT outlines how a shared value creation approach can be used to tackle some of the key constraints to development. The result, over a 20 year period, would be over 350,000 hectares under commercial production, much of it farmed by emergent and smallholder farmers.
Yara International ASA is the world’s leading chemical company that converts energy, natural minerals and nitrogen from the air into essential products for farmers and industrial customers.
The amount according to company officials would be invested into a new fertilizer terminal by the port in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s commercial city.
Announcing the feat on Thursday in Dar es Salaam, CEO of Yara, Joergen Haslestad said “This strengthens Yara’s long term commitment to development of Tanzania’s agricultural sector. In the years to come the agricultural sector has the potential to be a key driver of economic growth, providing business opportunities. Tanzania stands out as a natural hub for regional growth.”
Yara believes that investing in increased port capacity is a strategic step that would position the company for the growth it has long been yearning for whilst providing a boost in the value chain.
Yara presently supplies 120,000 tons of fertilizer annually to the region. The new terminal will have a revolving storage capacity of 45,000 tons of fertilizer, which will be sufficient for the medium term requirement, and the location allows for new capacity to be added for long term requirements.
Sustainable growth
The initiative raises a promise of sustainable growth, aiming at reducing rural poverty both through providing opportunities for smallholder farmers and creating new jobs, says Mr. Haslestad.
Officials of the company estimate that the US$20million investment in Tanzania would lift two million people out of poverty, and bring in annual revenues of US$1.4billion.
Yara has been a partner in the Tanzania Agriculture Partnership since 2006 and was also instrumental to the process leading to the Southern Agricultural Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT).
The SAGCOT is driven by a unique partnership of public, private and donor companies and organizations.
In the recently released ‘Blueprint for Investment’, the SAGCOT outlines how a shared value creation approach can be used to tackle some of the key constraints to development. The result, over a 20 year period, would be over 350,000 hectares under commercial production, much of it farmed by emergent and smallholder farmers.
Yara International ASA is the world’s leading chemical company that converts energy, natural minerals and nitrogen from the air into essential products for farmers and industrial customers.
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