DFP TO CO-EXIST WITH ALL POLITICAL PARTIES — GANDAA (PAGE 15)

THE Chairman of the Lawra Constituency of the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), Mr Mohammed Gandaa, has said the DFP intends to co-exist with all political parties to provide a congenial atmosphere for the development of the country.
It has, therefore, given the assurance that it would honour all invitations extended to the party.
He explained that it’s absence at the recent National Democratic Congress (NDC) primary held in Lawra was not deliberate.
“We wish to put on record that the DFP was not invited to the said conference and no letter was delivered to the DFP”, the Constituency Chairman, Mr Mohammed Gandaa, told the Daily Graphic.
It would be recalled that during the constituency conference of the NDC held on May 24, 2008 and published in the Daily Graphic two days later, Dr Kumbuor expressed disappointment over the absence of the DFP.
According to Mr Gandaa, even though the DFP had an office in Lawra which opened daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. no invitation was sent there.
He added that the constituency chairman and organiser were well known in the constituency and yet no such letter was delivered to either of them.
“It is, therefore, most unfortunate for Dr Ben Kumbuor to have made such remarks”, he said.
The DFP constituency chairman, congratulated Dr Kumbuor on his election as the NDC parliamentary candidate for this year’s election.

KUMBUOR, DERY, ZEDIENG TO CONTEST LAWRA-NANDOM (PAGE 16)

Story: George Folley Quaye, Lawra

THE Member of Parliament (MP) for Lawra-Nandom Constituency in the Upper West Region, Dr Benjamin Kumbuor, has been re-elected the parliamentary nominee for the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
With his re-election, the stage is now set for a political battle between him, Mr Ambrose Dery of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and Mr Bede Zedieng of the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP). The battle has been dubbed by many as the “clash of lawyers”.
At a constituency delegates conference held at Lawra, Mr Kumbuor was elected by popular acclamation in an election supervised by officials of the Electoral Commission (EC), led by Mr Festus Owiredu-Amankwah.
In an acceptance speech, he told the delegates that the contest in the constituency was between the NDC, NPP, and the DFP, but not personalities.
“Kumbuor is not in any competition with anybody, but it is a competition between the NDC, NPP, DFP, CPP, and the PNC,” he added.
According to Dr Kumbuor, the real battle was on the ground, but not in the media, and gave the assurance that come December 7, 2008, the NDC would win both the presidential and the parliamentary elections in the constituency.
He also attributed the expected victory to what he termed, ”I thought my competitors would change their old methods but they are still using them in their campaigns.”
Dr Kumbuor said the NDC was going to use scientific methods to campaign, but not the provision of water, electricity, among others, to bait the people.
“If anybody wants to claim to be a politician, then they should have the resources of the Lawra District Assembly alone. I have not been able to provide motorbikes and roofing sheets, but I have served my people with integrity and honesty, which has put the constituency on the international map, and is now attracting people to the constituency,” he said.
He was, however, disappointed that unlike the other political parties which were present at the conference, the DFP was conspicuously absent.
Dr Kumbuor commended the EC, and hoped that they would continue to be impartial in the discharge of their duties.
The Regional Secretary of the NDC, Mr Kale Caesar, called on the supporters of the party to remain united, since victory for the NDC was a forgone conclusion.

GT EXPANDS SERVICES IN UPPER WEST (PAGE 21)

Story: George Folley Quaye, Wa

THE Upper West Regional Office of Ghana Telecom (GT) has embarked on an expansion programme to draw more people into its network.
The project, which includes the laying of cables and eraction of poles, among other things, is expected to be completed in August. this year.
The Regional Manager of GT, Mr James Egyir, who made this known, said 2,300 more customers were expected to enjoy the services of GT when the project was completed.
He further hinted that GT was also working feverishly to improve on its Onetouch services in the Wa Municipality and the entire region.
Mr Egyir, who was addressing a forum to mark this year’s World Telecommunications Day in Wa, called for the support of all Ghanaians, since GT was prepared to offer the best of services to its customers.
The forum had the theme: “CARE, Meaning Customers Are Really Everything.”
Mr Egyir said GT was working to increase its capacity, widen its coverage and offer the best of services.
He, however, expressed concern about debts owed the company by its customers and appealed to users of land line telephones to endeavour to honour their debts.
He pointed out that the problems associated with Onetouch services in the region would be addressed soon.

GHANAIANS CAN'T VOTE IN CHAOS — NCCE (PAGE 17)

Story: George Folley Quaye, Wa

GHANAIANS cannot exercise their sovereign will or their franchise in an atmosphere of chaos, Mr Kofi Adomah, the Upper West Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), has stated.
He has, therefore, appealed to the leaders of the various political parties in the constituencies to resolve all disputes, possibly before the elections.
“In addition to that, as registered voters, we need to observe simple electoral regulations in the interest of peace”, he added.
Mr Adomah was addressing students of the Jahan Training College as part of activities marking this year’s constitution week in Wa.
His topic was “The sovereign will of the people and election 2008”.
According to Mr Adomah, to make the concept of sovereignty as enshrined in the constitution a reality, contesting parties and individuals vying for positions in the 2008 elections should be magnanimous enough to accept the verdict of Ghanaians.
By this, he said, the parties would be contributing their quota to the development of the country instead of dwelling on frivolous issues to reject the results of the elections, if things showed that the elections had indeed been fairly conducted.
“Our sovereign will does not end with elections, I therefore do not expect Ghanaians to wash their hands off national issues after casting their votes in the 2008 elections” he pointed.
He said it was the people who through their sovereign power, were going to put in place a government in the presidential elections, and stressed the need to ensure that they used the power given them for their welfare.
The NCCE regional director called on Ghanaians to attach great importance to this year’s elections by turning out massively to exercise their sovereign will and ensure that there was peace before, during and after the elections” bearing in mind that Ghana belongs to all of us and that we sink or float together.”
Mr Adomah urged the students of the college to educate people who threatened not to vote because they did not benefit materially, and that voting was not a job that brought instant payment.

GOVT URGED TO RELEASE SCHOOL FEEDING GRANT (PAGE 11)

Story: George Folley Quaye, Wa

THE Upper West Regional Director of Education, Mr Cletus Paga, has made a passionate appeal to the government to release the school feeding grant to senior high schools in the three northern regions.
He said further delays in the release of the grant would seriously jeopardise the future of students, who were currently at home.
Mr Paga made the call at the regional education sector’s annual review meeting at Wa.
He noted that the development gap between northern and southern Ghana would further widen, if students of second-cycle institutions in northern Ghana, were made to stay at home while their counterparts in the southern sector were busily learning.
The regional director acknowledged the contribution of UNICEF and the Rural Aid Action Programme (RAAP), a non- governmental organisation based in the Upper West Region.
He said the provision of bicycles to selected girls in schools in the region, had facilitated their movement to school.
The Upper West Regional Minister, Mr George Hickah Benson, was not happy about the shortage of teachers in the region.
He, therefore, called on the regional directorate of the Ghana Education Service (GES) to strategise in order to attract more teachers to the region.
He lamented on the low number of teachers with study leave in the region and called for an increase in the quota to enable more teachers to continue their education.
He cautioned teachers who were involved in active politics in their schools to desist from such acts.

NORTHERN HIGH SCHOOLS POSTPONE RE-OPENING (BACK PAGE)

Story: George Folley Quaye, Wa

THE reopening of the third term for senior high schools in the three northern regions with boarding facilities has been postponed indefinitely, due to the failure of the National Scholarship Secretariat to release funds for the feeding of the students.
As a result, first and second year students who were to report at their schools on April 27, 2008 for the third term are still at home.
The Northern Sector branch of the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) has, therefore, appealed to the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports (MoESS) to intervene.
In their petition to the ministry, they stated that as the heads of the affected schools they were appealing to the Scholarship Secretariat and the authorities concerned to expedite action on the release of the grants for the second and third terms to enable schools in the three regions to reopen.
The signatories were Francis Avonsige, (Upper East), Charles Nyabu (Northern) and Moses Donneyoung (Upper West). The petition was addressed to the sector minister, the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service and all the regional directors of education in the three northern regions.
The heads explained that the affected schools managed to feed the students for the first and second term of the academic year by purchasing foodstuffs on credit from suppliers.
They said the credit facilities were made possible when they promised the suppliers that the Scholarship Secretariat would release the feeding grants to the schools to enable heads of such schools pay the bills by the middle of the first term.
“The first term ended on December 14, 2007 without the feeding grants being released by the Scholarship Secretariat. Notwithstanding the breach of faith, heads of these schools went further and persuaded their food suppliers to sell more foodstuffs to them on credit to enable them start the second term, which began on January 7, 2008”, the heads pointed out.
According to them, with no money to run the schools and the foodstuffs suppliers vowing not to give any more credit facilities, they were confronted with the painful choice of asking Form One and Two students to vacate the schools by March 13, 2008 but the secretariat indicated that efforts were being made to get the grants released without delay.
However, they said, the grants were released to cover only the feeding of the students for term one, at the old rate of GH¢72 per student per term instead of the new rate of GH¢80.
They further noted that no grants were paid for the feeding of the students for the whole of term two, which ended on April 5, 2008.
The heads of the schools stressed that these schools were still heavily indebted to food suppliers who had declined to sell their foodstuffs on credit until all the outstanding bills were paid.
“It is in the light of the above development and constraints that schools in the three regions would find it difficult to reopen for the third term of the 2007/08 academic year”, they stated.

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP ENDS AT WA (PAGE 40)

Story: George Folley Quaye, Wa

THE Deputy Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment, Mr Maxwell Kofi Jumah, has charged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to adopt a multifaceted approach in their quest to improve on indigenous and modern practices that support land and water management.
He has, therefore, stressed the need for the EPA and the other major stakeholders to tap the expertise of local communities, groups and other relevant bodies to come up with effective policies and programmes to improve on the management of land and water bodies.
Mr Jumah gave the advice at a day’s workshop organised for policy makers and other institutions on the implementation of the Ghana Environmental Management Project (GEMP) in Wa in the Upper West Region.
It was to empower local communities and other relevant institutions to work towards reversing the issues of desertification and land degradation, particularly in the three northern regions.
According to Mr Jumah, the successful implementation of the project lay on the seriousness of the EPA.
“The EPA is, therefore, expected to improve on the legislation on land uses, as well as offering advice on desertification and sustainable land and water management practices to rural communities,” the deputy minister stressed.
Mr Jumah said the total collaboration between the EPA and its sister organisations would put them in a good stead to be able to deal with the issue of desertification.
In that regard, he said, the EPA must work together with the local government ministry to transform and strengthen the district management committees into statutory committees to make them more effective at the local levels.
Mr Jumah also urged people to join hands with the EPA and its partner organisations to come up with solutions to address the problems of desertification, and land and water management.
The Executive Director of the EPA, Mr Jonathan Allotey, in a speech read on his behalf, touched on the serious effects land degradation had on food production on the continent, saying that the gross annual income for Africa due to land degradation was estimated at $9 billion.
“In Ghana for instance, the cost of environmental degradation is about GH¢475 million per year. This is 5.5 per cent of the nation’s GDP,” he said.
Mr Allotey stated that the government was doing its best through effective partnership with international organisations, to find a lasting solution to the practice.
He said the measures were yet to yield the required results hence the need to involve the local people to sensitise their colleagues to appreciate the extent of damage they caused to the environment.
The Upper West Regional Minister, Mr George Hickah Benson, catalogued some of the effects desertification had had on both mankind and livestock in the region, such as lack of fodder and fertility of the soil.
He said desertification had brought a lot of hardships on the people in the region,
The regional minister, therefore, expressed the commitment of his office in ensuring the successful implementation of the project.

ZOOMLION STARTS FUMIGATION EXERCISE IN UPPER WEST (PAGE 20)

Story: George Folley Quaye, Wa

ZOOMLION Ghana Limited, a waste management company, has started a fumigation exercise in the Upper West Region. The exercise involves the spraying of public toilets, refuse container sites and some bungalows of government workers.
After one of the exercises at Jirapa, the Regional Supervisor of the company, Mr Daniel Martey, told the Daily Graphic that the exercise had become necessary as a result of the mango season, which has attracted large numbers of flies. He said so far, Jirapa, Nadowli, Wechiau, Lawra and the Wa Municipality had been covered.
Mr Martey stated that the exercise would be undertaken periodically to flush out flies and bees from residential areas.
He was hopeful that the exercise would go a long way to improve the health status of the people.
For his part, the Wa Municipal Environmental Officer, Mr Henry Bagah, said the exercise was timely as it would reduce the incidence of malaria and cholera, among other diseases.
He commended Zoomlion for the exercise and expressed the hope that other companies would come on board.

VAT TAKES 2 UPPER WEST COMPANIES TO TASK (PAGE 20)

Story: George Folley Quaye, Wa

THE Valued Added Tax (VAT) Service has issued a distress warrant for two companies in Wa in the Upper West Region.
The companies, which owe the service a total of GH¢38,186.52, are Mana Linx, an Internet cafe’ and Brimston Limited, a cigarette distribution company.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic at Wa, the Regional Manager of the VAT Service, Mr Kwesi Arkaah, warned that should the two companies fail to settle their indebtedness, the service would have no other option than to auction their assets.
He said Brimston Limited owed GH¢33,242.70 while Manna Linx was yet to settle an amount of GH ¢4,943.82.
According to Mr Arkaah, in December last year, the service secured a distress warrant for eight companies out of which six settled their indebtedness.
Mr Arkaah stated that following a series of educational campaigns in the region, a lot of traders were now honouring their tax obligations.
He further warned that recalcitrant companies would be dealt with according to the laws of the land.
Mr Arkaah, therefore, appealed to VAT registered traders to endeavour to submit their monthly returns on time in order to avoid sanctions.
He said people in the region had now seen the staff of the service as partners in development and not as enemies.
"I attribute this to the monthly educational campaign, which has gone a long way to help us achieve our set targets," the regional manager added.

SISSILA WEST ASSEMBLY HOLDS MEETING (PAGE 20)

Story: George Folley Quaye, Gwolu

THE Sissala West District Assembly in the Upper West Region has held its first ordinary meeting this year at Gwollu.
In an address, the District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Salifu Baluwie, said the district was working hard to provide a number of facilities to accommodate the various institutions.
He said the Assembly would collaborate with the Electoral Commission (EC) and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) to embark on a vigorous campaign against election violence.
The move, he said, was to foster cordial relations and encourage dialogue among political parties, their leaders and followers to ensure violent-free and successful general election in the district in December, this year.
He stated that 11 communities in the district would soon be connected to the national grid.
Touching on education, the DCE said although there had been an impressive increase in enrolment in schools, the same could not be said of the level of transition from the junior high to the senior high schools.
"One other problem is staffing, which stands in the ratio of 76 pupils to one teacher. This means that as many as 99 more teachers were required to augment the 252 teachers currently at post," Mr Baluwie stressed.
He stated that the Assembly had budgeted an amount of GH¢25,000 to cater for the training of more teachers.
The DCE described the development of education as a major priority for his administration, adding that a greater percentage of the Assembly's budget would be invested in the sector.
Mr Baluwie said as part of measures adopted to boost food production in the district, agricultural officers would move round to provide farmers with certified seeds and other farming inputs to enhance their farming activities.

MICRO, MEDIUM PROJECTS LAUNCHED AT WA (PAGE 20)

Story: George Folley Quaye, Wa

THE micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) project has been launched in Wa in the Upper West Region.
The project, which is a collaboration between the government on one side and the International Development Agency (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and other development partners, on the other is to support the development of the MSME.
In a speech read on her behalf by the Regional Minister, Mr George Hickah Benson, the Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and President’s Special Initiatives (PSI), Miss Gifty Ohene-Konadu, said a total of $118,900 was being provided for the project.
She observed that despite the importance of the sector to the country's economic development, the MSME had had to grapple with many challenges.
She said they included inadequate access to finance, lack of markets and poor market information, inadequate infrastructure, absolute technology and weak managerial capacity.
Miss Ohene-Konadu, was however, of the view that if those results were to be sustained, then there was the need to devote significant resources to develop the private sector and the small and medium-sized enterprises.
According to the deputy minister, in pursuit of this agenda of financially empowering the MSMEs, her ministry, in its new industrial reform and accelerated growth strategy, placed the MSME sector in a pivotal position in the scheme of implementation of the strategy.
"The policy thrust of the ministry, therefore, is the promotion, development and growth of a vibrant, productive and competitive SME sector that generates sustainable employment, creates wealth and addresses spatial imbalance in development," she added.
Miss Ohene-Konadu challenged MSME operators in the region to aggressively pursue and avail themselves of the opportunities being offered under the project by the government.
She expressed appreciation to all development partners for their support towards the project.
The Finance Manager of the project, Mr Welbeck Abra-Appiah, was hopeful that the support offered the MSMEs would go a long way to enhance their capacities.
He urged the people in the region to take maximum advantage of the project.
For his part, the Regional Trade Officer, Mr Haron Morrie, appealed to operators in the selected priority areas to avail themselves of the package.
s

BENSON ELECTED SISSALA WEST NPP CANDIDATE (PAGE 16)

Story: George Folley Quaye, Gwolu

THE Upper West Regional Minister, Mr George Hickah Benson, was at the weekend elected as the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate for Sissala West, in this year’s elections.
He polled 37 votes to beat Mr Patrick Adamah, a United Kingdom-based mining engineer, who had 29 votes in the election held at Gwollu.
Mr Benson, who is contesting for the second time as the parliamentary candidate for the NPP, in a post-election speech, thanked the delegates for the honour done him.
He promised to work hard to win the seat, which is currently being held by the People’s National Convention (PNC), for the NPP.
“We must all put our shoulders to the wheel to enable us to capture the seat for our great party”, he added.
Conceding defeat, Mr Patrick Adamah gave the assurance that he would support Mr Benson in his bid to win the election.
He called for unity among the party members and urged them to avoid any act that would result in division within their ranks.
The Regional Chairman of the NPP, Alhaji Abubakar Short, called on supporters of both contestants to accept the primaries and forge ahead in unity.
“We must co-exist to defeat the PNC and the NDC in this constituency”, he said.
In another development, the Sissala East NPP has elected Mr Ahmed Issa, an engineer with the Volta River Authority (VRA), as its parliamentary candidate at a delegates conference held at Tumu.
He got 38 votes to beat the constituency secretary, Mr Amidu Chinnua Issahaku, who had 29 votes.
Mr Fuseini Limann placed third with five votes, while Mr Henry Bepua obtained two votes.
The elections were supervised by officials of the Electoral Commission (EC), led by the Regional Director, Mr Yahaya Mahama.

HEARTS LOSE TO ALL STARS (BACK PAGE)

Story: George Folley, Wa

The Upper West Regional capital yesterday went gay when local side Wa All Stars beat visiting Accra Hearts of Oak by a lone goal in their Onetouch Premier League match played at the Wa Sports Stadium.
The only goal of the match was scored in the 72nd minute by Daniel Bonfah.
Playing before a massive crowd that travelled from all over the region, All Stars kicked off under the instructions of referee T.K. Aggrey from Tarkwa and briefly pinned Hearts to their own half but wasted all the chances that came their way.
In the 23rd minute, Kobina Dodzie playing for All Stars had a golden opportunity to put his side ahead but wasted it, much to the chagrin of the supporters.
Hearts accepted the challenge and Bernard Dong Bortey almost scored with a powerful shot which was saved by goalkeeper Robert Adabuo of All Stars.
Back from recess, Coach Emmanuel Quarshie pulled out Bright Kukubor for Mohammed Hamidan, while Hearts brought Kweku Essien on for Stephen Affum.
The change appeared to have benefited the homesters as Hamidan brought more bite upfront for the homesters. In the 72nd minute hard-running All Stars winger, Issa Salihu, picked a loose ball, outpaced his marker and sent in a cross that Bonfah made no mistake in slotting home.
Hearts protested, claiming that the ball was handled by an All Stars player before the goal was scored.