NEW SCHOOL BLOCKS UNAUGURATED AT GODOKPE (PAGE 21)

THE Volta Regional Manager of the Salvation Army Educational Unit, Mr Richard Kudedzi, has inaugurated a cluster of four classroom blocks comprising 10 rooms for classes, offices and stores at Godokpe, a deprived community in the Ho Municipality.
The Grace Project of the Salvation Army Church of the United Kingdom financed the $3,000 project, known as the Grace Salvation Army Model School.
The project was sited at the village with the initial aim of providing quality education to children of cured lepers in the area and has offered the opportunity for the enrolment of 150 pupils to date.
The project was initiated under the auspices of a Ho-based non-governmental organisation, Ghana Outlook, and has prevented the closure of the school which was hitherto housed in thatched sheds, which made teaching and learning difficult as result of the unpredictable weather.
In an address, Mr Kudedzi recounted the obstacles in the acquisition of land for the project, and thanked a sub-chief of Ho, Torgbui Adzimah, for leading the task in the search for land.
He expressed regret that many parents had the notion that the government had absorbed all payments of school fees and so there was no need to provide learning tools to their children.
He said the motive behind the Capitation Grant was a laudable one but in the current economic conditions, the GH¢3 per child was woefully inadequate, adding that the remittance of the money to schools was irregular and compounded the problems of the school administration.
Mr Kudedzi, therefore, suggested that parents should rather be made to pay GH¢3 so that the state took over the supply of learning materials like exercise books, pens , pencils and eraser.
The Territorial Commander of the Salvation Army, Colonel Dennis Strissel, said the project was a symbol of the grace of Jesus Christ, adding that human beings did not deserve grace but as there was the need for it, it could be described as unmerited favour.
He said the sponsors did so out of grace and that the rhythm of grace covered virtues like sacrifice, forgiveness, potential talents and relationships, among others.
The general manager of Salvation Army schools, Ghana, Martyn Beecham, said the project was aimed at offering opportunities for equal development of children so that they could develop themselves and establish a sustainable livelihood for their families, society, friends and the nation.
In an address read on her behalf, the Ho Municipal Director of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Ms Rosemond Keteku explained the state’s policy on education.
She said past and present governments had not been able to fulfil the task and assured the new school of the needed support for it to emerge as one of the best in the region.
The Headmaster of the school, Mr Gershon Badasu, in an address, said enrolment had increased from 70 pupils with three teachers in September, 2007 to 150 with nine teachers at the moment.
He stated that the school which started under a shed, with no seats, was now housed in standard classrooms with suitable seats for each pupil and modern writing materials, through the efforts of donors in the UK.

106 CANDIDATES FILE IN VOLTA REGION (PAGE 16)

A total of 106 candidates have filed their nominations to contest the parliamentary elections in the 22 constituencies in the Volta Region.
The Akan Constituency had the highest number of eight candidates with three independent ones whilst South Dayi recorded the lowest number of three.
The two constituencies, in addition to Ho-West, also had no incumbent members of Parliament contesting.
The Regional Director of the Electoral Commission (EC), Ms Laurentia Kpatakpa, disclosed this to the Daily Graphic in an interview in Ho.
She said the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) were represented in all the 22 constituencies, while the CPP filed for 19 constituencies with the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) filing in 17 constituencies.
Ms Kpatakpa said the People’s National Convention (PNC) filed in 10 constituencies with the Democratic People’s Party (DPP) filing in only four constituencies.
She disclosed that a total of 12 independent candidates had filed to contest in the Avenor-Ave, South Tongu, Ho-East, Buem, Akan, Krachi-West, Nkwanta -South and Nkwanta -North constituencies.
The regional director said no candidate was disqualified since no complaint was received against any candidate after the notice of filing of nominations was mounted in each constituency.
There were 10 female candidates who had filed in the Ketu North, South Tongu, Central Tongu, North Tongu, Ho-East, Ho-Central, North Dayi and Buem constituencies.

READY TO MEET TASK OF POLICING CAMPAIGNS — DERY (PAGE 15)

THE Volta Regional Police Commander, Mr Bernard Dery, has assured the people in the region of the preparedness of the security agencies to meet the task of policing political campaigns to ensure a peaceful, free and fair elections.
He said 3000 security personnel would be required in the Volta Region alone to man polling stations, do patrol duties and part as a stand-by force in addition to the normal duty of crime prevention.
Mr Dery was addressing 150 police personnel drawn from the Volta and Eastern regions at a two-day election monitoring seminar in Ho. It was sponsored jointly by the British High Commission and the National Election Security Task Force.
According to Mr Dery, the Volta Region was a deciding ground for all political parties many of whom were proclaiming victory in the region and posing a challenge to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) which had claimed victory in the region in past elections.
He said out of 1,095 polling stations, 300 were flashpoints and that there was the need to handle issues carefully against the background of a rugged topography of the region.
Mr Dery said the police would create an enabling environment of transparency, neutrality and credibility.
He also cautioned security personnel not to wear the logo of any political party and also try to
prevent clashes between those who would celebrate victory and others who might grieve after the declaration of election results.
The regional commander announced that the period March 10, 2008 to March 10, 2009 had been declared as operational year and that it had been divided into three phases — before, during and after elections.
He said the structure of the region as the longest in the country created problems and needed to be tackled with adequate supply of communication equipment.
Other topics to be discussed at the two-day seminar are” Roles of security agencies in elections”, “ Handling Media in elections”, “ Role of Civil Society in elections”, “ Democracy, Elections and Human Rights” and “ Managing Conflicts in Elections”.

EDUCATE MEMBERS TO ENSURE BETTER SERVICE DELIVERY (PAGE 40)

THE Volta Regional Manager of the State Insurance Company (SIC), Mr Richard Fenuku-Doamekpor, has stressed the need for the Ghana Insurers Association (GIA) to educate its members to ensure better service delivery to the public.
He said education was crucial to the individual insurers because it would enhance their capacity to educate others and even market themselves better.
Mr Fenuku-Doamekpor said this when he addressed representatives of insurance companies to mark the insurance night of the national insurance week at the Steven's Hotel in Ho.
He said the association should protect and advance the common interest of insurers and re-insurers transacting insurance business in the country, adding that it was pertinent to promote and maintain efficient standards, honour, discipline and integrity among members.
He stressed the need for the promotion of good relations among insurers and re-insurers and the need to harmonise and simplify the wording of policies in the insurance industry.
Mr Fenuku-Doamekpor said the creation of awareness and better understanding in insurance and the promotion of insurance education in the country would lead to a better economy.
He advocated the promotion of retention of premiums in the country by the two re-insurers and 35 insurers made up of 16 life companies and 19 non-life companies in the country.

OHENE-NTOW GRATEGUL TO VOLTA REGION...As Ho Central elects Letsa as aspirant (PAGE 16)

THE General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Ohene-Ntow, has expressed appreciation to the people of the Volta Region for the greater goodwill they have increasingly been accorded the party in the region.
He said this when a Ho-based private medical practitioner, Dr Archibald Letsa, was elected the party’s parliamentary aspirant for the Ho-Central Constituency.
This was at an extraordinary delegates conference to choose a new parliamentary aspirant following the stepping down of an earlier aspirant, Mr Walter Glalah, for personal reasons.
The massive ovation at the conference generated so much hope in the General Secretary that he thanked the constituents for their great show of support.
He said at the beginning of the democratic dispensation in 1992, stones were hurled at the NPP followed by booing and indifference.
He said he was happy that the people of the Volta Region were openly identifying with the party through the wearing of party T-shirts and other paraphernalia, adding that a new epoch had emerged in the region.
He attributed all these past maladies to the negative propaganda peddled against the party in the region by its opponents but said gradually and eventually the truth had manifested through the dispassionate execution of development projects in the region.
Nana Ohene–Ntow said the NPP was committed to the peace of the country before, during and after the election on December 7 and charged the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and other opposition parties to publicly announce their commitment to this cause.
In an acceptance speech, Dr Letsa said history had been made in the constituency and the region and predicted that the headlines in some newspapers on December 8, next year, would be, for instance, “Ho –Central falls to NPP” in the Daily Graphic, and “The World Bank is broken” in the Ghanaian Times and “World Bank now Rural Bank” in the Chronicle.
He said the record of achievements of the NPP in the execution of development projects should be the motivational factor for them to vote for him and the party and that they should not allow themselves to be deceived again.
Earlier in an address, the Volta Regional Chairman, Mr Ken-Wuud Nuworsu, said the Ho-Central Constituency formed the nucleus of the region and with the election of the new candidate, it was a testimony that the race had begun to break the jinx of domination by the NDC.
He congratulated Mr Glalah on his decision and also thanked the polling station chairmen for their support, adding that the conference was an eruption for an intensive campaign for the NPP to win more parliamentary seats in the next elections.

MINISTRY LAUNCHES PROGRAMME FOR MASTER CRAFTSMEN (PAGE 14)

THE Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines has launched a capacity-building programme for master craftsmen in the wood sector, with the view to arresting the wasteful utilisation of wood products and restoring loss in biodiversity.
It is an integrated skills development programme designed under the Natural Resource and Environmental Governance (NREG) programme, with support from the development partners, to put master craftsmen in a strategic position to appreciate and realise the value of wood, both in terms of commercial business and the sustainability of biodiversity and the ecosystem.
To this end, 600 master craftsmen drawn from four districts in the Volta Region have been trained in modern techniques in furniture designing, finishing methods, the use of sand paper, costing and the use of portable hand tools to help them to reduce waste and make the needed profit to enhance their livelihoods.
In an address read on his behalf by the Director and Programme Administrator of the Land Administration Project (LAP), Mrs Gifty Biyira, the sector Minister, Mrs Esther Obeng-Dapaah, noted that although designs of wood products were fashionable, the finishing was poor and made the products less appealing to buyers and less competitive on the international market.
She said the training programme was expected to inject a new sense in the use of lower volumes of wood to generate high value- added wood products, stressing that the Forestry Commission should introduce a standardisation scheme in the production of doors and frames to minimise waste in the production process.
In an address, the Human Resource Director of the Forestry Commission, Mr Henry Atta Paidoo, said the commission would not sit down unconcerned as the inefficient and uneconomical use of forest resources went on.
He disclosed that a number of interventions had been fashioned out to confront the challenges posed by the fast rate of forest depletion due to human activity, adding that all stakeholders in the interventions would be equally rewarded under the environmental governance programme.
Mr Paidoo said the expectation was to adopt low volume, high value projects, adding that it was time to move from a vicious circle into a virtuous circle in consonance with the objective to achieve growth and poverty reduction.
He urged all the participants to transfer the knowledge gained to their apprentices in order to build more capacity to attract investment in the wood sector.
In an overview, the Director of the Wood Industries Training Centre (WITC), Mr Alex Offei, said the course content was to upgrade professional skills in the wood industry to help participants to appreciate the values and build their capacities to enable them to train other craftsmen.
The Ho Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Mawutor Goh, said one problem that had bedevilled the environment was the issue of chain-saw operators who produced cheaper lumber than sawmill lumber, although a lot of harm was being done to the environment.
He, therefore, commended the ministry for the initiative to re-orient the master craftsmen in a strategic manner that would lead them into the realm of best practice to win international recognition with their products.
The Wood Manager of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Mr Theophilus Gadzanku, who chaired the function, said the programme was unique, since it would broaden the horizons of participants.
Certificates were presented to all participants.

CPP WILL ENSURE GENDER BALANCE (PAGE 16)

THE wife of the presidential aspirant of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Mrs Yvonne Nduom, has reaffirmed the commitment of her husband, Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, to reform the political machinery towards the achievement of gender balance in accordance with the Constitution and international conventions.
She promised that the next government under Dr Nduom would ensure that more women were appointed to positions of governance at the district and regional levels, adding that it had been projected that out of the 10 regions in the country, five regional ministers would be women.
She also said more women would be elected into positions of district chief executives, and wondered why Ghana was practising the blend of European and American constitutional democracies, and could not implement the challenges inherent in them to ensure gender parity.
Mrs Nduom said this when she toured the Ketu-South, Keta and South Tongu constituencies in the Volta Region at the weekend.
She visited Dabala, Adafienu, Keta, Aflao, Blekusu, with whistle stops in some communities along the Atlantic Coast where she addressed pockets of women to sensitise them to appreciate the messages of Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom on the need for change.
Mrs Nduom touched on the plight of market women, whom she said had been neglected over the years which had partially contributed to their low life expectancy in the country.
She said under the government of Dr Nduom, education would be made more accessible and continuous to make Ghanaians more skilful and marketable, adding that facilities would be provided at market places to provide meaningful education to the children of market women.
Mrs Nduom said the new sense of Pan –Africanism would be demonstrated through intra African trade, and that all factories of the state would be revived and nurtured until they were viable, for any form of partnership.
The queen of Adafienu, Mama Ayaba II, commended Mrs Nduom for her efforts and asked her to encourage her husband to be focused in his campaign.
Mrs Nduom also addressed a rally at the Aflao market. She was accompanied by the Ketu South parliamentary aspirant, Mr Pascal Kumaza, and the constituency chairman, Mr Agyei Ashiboe-Mensah.

PROTECT ACTIVITIES THROUGH INSURANCE COVERAGE (PAGE 36)

THE Volta Regional Manager of the State Insurance Company (SIC), Mr Richard Finuku-Doamekpor, has urged organised groups to consider insurance coverage of their activities as the surest means of protecting and sustaining their businesses to ensure their growth.
He, however, stated that the company would not compromise groups that would engage in drugs to enhance their trade, since that might eventually mar the reputation of the company in the insurance business.
Mr Finuku-Doamekpor made the call when he received 20 members from the Volta Body Building Association who visited the company to show appreciation for sponsorship of their event during the just ended Asogli Yam Festival and the fifth anniversary of the coronation of the Agbogbomefia, Togbe Afede XIV.
He urged them to compete with their counterparts in other parts of the region to enable them to realise their strengths and weaknesses.
The chairman of the association, Mr Kingsley Ledo, praised the SIC for the sponsorship, which covered awards like wall clocks, T-shirts and souvenirs.
He expressed the hope that other organisations would emulate the gesture.
Mr Ledo gave the assurance that they would sustain their discipline and remain focused and steadfast to bring glory and honour to the region.
He allayed the fears of the public that weightlifters were a threat to the society due to their weight and size compared to the ordinary citizens.
Mr Ledo said they were not “machomen” who would cause riot or mayhem, but disciplined people in society whose objective was to win laurels for the nation through weightlifting.
The weightlifting contest comprising bench, squatting, dead lifting in the heavy, middle and lightweights divisions, attracted a large crowd to the palace of the Agbogbomefia.
In the heavyweight division of the bench, Emmanuel Tsey was the winner with Michael de-Souza as the runner-up while Cephas Klu won the squatting with Michael de-Souza as the runner-up. The dead lifting division was won by George Megbenu with Cephas Klu as the runner-up.
In the middleweight division, Cornelius Ankrah won the bench, squatting and dead lifting events while Joseph Opoku was the first runner-up in the squatting event.
Winfred Sitso won all the lightweight divisions in benching, squatting and dead lifting while Raphael de-Souza was the first runner-up in the squatting and dead lifting competition.
A three-member executive committee of the association was inaugurated with Kingsley Ledo as Chairman, Joseph Opoku as Secretary and Michael de-Souza as Organiser.

ASPIRANTS MUST BE CAUTIOUS WITH PROMISES (PAGE 15)

PROSPECTIVE Members of Parliament (MPs) have been urged to be cautious about their campaign strategies in order not to give false hopes to the electorate in their constituencies.
They should be telling the electorate how they intend to play the core roles of the MP as regards legislation, oversight and representation and not the provision of physical infrastructure such as roads, schools, and hospitals which are in the ambit of the executive and local government.
The Executive Director of a Ho-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), Community Action, Mr Orisha Afa, said this in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Ho.
He said, in reality, many of the things the MPs promised during their campaigns were not achievable, and said these unrealistic promises misplaced public expectation and that the public could not ensure that their representatives in Parliament were doing what they should be doing.
“In their bid to please the electorate, they divert their energies towards doing things that they shouldn’t have done,” Mr Afa said.
According to him, many past MPs had sterling qualities in Parliament, yet they lost their seats because of the empty promises they had made to the people.
Mr Afa indicated that the NGO would embark on an intensive public education programme on the roles of the MP and what the electorate must demand from their prospective candidates.
He said radio and television would be used to set the records straight and to correct misconceptions and wrong expectations from MPs.

ORGANISED GROUPS ADVISED TO TAKE GROUP INSURANCE (PAGE 59)

THE Volta Regional Manager of the SIC Insurance Company (SIC), Mr Richard Finuku -Doamekpor, has urged organised groups to consider insurance cover for their activities as the surest means of protecting and sustaining their endeavours.
He, however, said the company would not compromise with any group, especially in the physical fitness club, who would engage in drugs to enhance their power, since that might eventually mar the reputation of the company in the insurance business.
Mr Finuku-Doamekpor gave the advice when he received a 20-member Volta Body Building Association, who called on the company to show appreciation for the sponsorship of their event during the just-ended Asogli State Yam Festival and the marking of the fifth anniversary of the coronation of the Agbogbomefia, Togbe Afede XIV.
He urged them to compete with their counterparts in other parts of the region to enable them to realise their strengths and weaknesses.
The Chairman of the association, Mr Kingsley Ledo, commended the SIC for the sponsorship that covered such awards as wall clocks, Tee-shirts and many other numerous souvenirs and expressed the hope that other organisations would emulate the gesture.
He gave the assurance that they would sustain their discipline, remained focused and steadfast to bring glory and honour to the region and allayed the fears of the public that weight lifters were a threat to society by indulging in nefarious activities, due to their weight and size compared to ordinary citizens.
The weight-lifting contest, comprising bench, squatting, dead lifting in the heavy, middle and light weight divisions attracted a large crowd at the palace of the Agbogbomefia.
In the heavyweight division of the bench, Emmanuel Tsey was the winner, with Michael de-Souza as the runner-up, while Cephas Klu won the squatting, with Michael de-Souza as the runner-up. The dead-lifting division was won by George Megbenu, with Cephas Klu as the runner-up.
In the middle weight division, Cornelius Ankrah won the bench, squatting and dead-lifting events, while Joseph Opoku was the first runner-up in the squatting event.
Winfred Sitso won all the light weight division in benching, squatting and dead lifting, while Raphael de-Souza was the first runner-up in the squatting and dead-lifting competition.
A three-member executive committee was inaugurated, with Kingsley Ledo as Chairman, Joseph Opoku as Secretary and Michael de-Souza as Organiser.

GREEN GHANA PROJECT LAUNCHED AT KPANDO-TORKOR (PAGE 65)

THE Ministry of Tourism and Diasporan Relations, in collaboration with the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB), has launched a Green Schools project for basic schools in the country.
The project starts on a pilot basis, with schoolchildren from selected schools in the Kpando District and the Ho Municipality undertaking a tree-planting competition that will be closely monitored by the ministry and the GTB to ascertain which school will be the most successful in greening its compound and surroundings.
The sector Minister, Mrs Oboshie Sai Cofie, inaugurated the project at a durbar to climax World Tourism Day which was celebrated on the theme, “Tourism, Responding to the Challenges of Climate Change”, at Kpando-Torkor in the Volta Region.
“This catching-them-young programme will gradually instil in Ghanaian children the essence, merit and benefits of growing trees around our surroundings,” she stressed.
The minister said the winning schools would be given various incentives and prizes that could include air tickets, bursaries, excursions, book gifts and public acclaim.
She also said teachers and head teachers who led the programme in their schools would also have some surprise benefits.
Mrs Cofie underscored the need for non-governmental organisations to intensify their efforts at protecting and rehabilitating the environment, since tourism depended on a sound environment.
She said it was pertinent for schools and colleges to be encouraged to take up the practice of greening Ghana, adding, “We have only one environment and we must jealously protect it.”
In an address read on his behalf, the Volta Regional Minister, Mr Kofi Dzamesi, called for increased efforts towards the professional development and marketing of the tourism potential of the region to increase tourist visits in order to improve the local economy of communities.
Mr Dzamesi said the theme for the celebration was appropriate because the present high spate of disasters across the world should be a wake-up call to every citizen, in view of the destruction that had occurred from tidal waves, hurricanes and changes in rainfall patterns leading to floods and landslides.
The Member of Parliament for North Dayi, Ms Akua Dansua, said climate change was real, noting that it needed a frontal attack by all stakeholders to ward off its negative aspects.
She said it was time the German government responded to the tourism development agenda of the Kpando District, in view of its colonial relationship with the area, adding that the German government could be useful in tapping the tourism potential of the district to foster economic growth.
The Fiaga of the Awate Traditional Area, Togbe Noagbesenu III, who chaired the event, expressed concern over the underdeveloped tourism potential of the Kpando District and charged the assembly to rise up to the challenges to lift the area up.
A Ghana peace train group, led by Nana Adwoa Awindor, read a peace message to the gathering, while a drama troupe from the Volta Regional Centre for National Culture rocked the gathering with an educative drama on the effects of tree felling, charcoal burning and fishing with chemicals that are detrimental to the environment.