Accra, Nov. 8, GNA – An 18-man Israeli Rescue Mission is expected to arrive in Ghana on Thursday to help locate and extract any remaining survivors in the collapsed Melcom shopping mall disaster that took place on Wednesday.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Thursday an Official of the Embassy of Israel Eyal Lampert said the team would move straight from the airport to the disaster zone immediately to assist the Ghanaian rescue team on the ground.
He said the Israeli team is expected to work in collaboration with the detachment from the Field Engineer Regiment of the Ghana Army currently at the site.
The hard work of the Field Engineer Regiment, NADMO (National Disaster Management Organisation) and other emergency institutions including the Ghana Police and the National Ambulance Service has led to the rescue of at least 51 persons from the rubble.
According to the Embassy official the team would undertake initial assessment at the site using special equipment and sniffer dogs that would help identify the locations of possible survivors or corpses.
He Israel has in addition to the rescue to team put on standby about 150 support team and logistics including field hospitals, concrete cutters among to move to Ghana should the initial assessment deem it necessary.
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Israeli rescue mission to arrive in Ghana on Thursday
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Mahama congratulates Obama for second term victory
Accra, Nov. 7, GNA – President John Dramani Mahama has congratulated US President Barack Obama for his re-election for a second term saying it shows the unshakable confidence of Americans in him and the Democratic Party.
In a letter to the US president released by the Office of the President on Thursday, President Mahama said he had received with great joy the news of President Obama's re-election and was wishing him success during his second term of office.
“Your resounding victory in the closely fought presidential election held on Tuesday 6th November 2012, is a strong testimony of the unshakeable confidence reposed by the American people in you and in the Democratic Party, to lead the United States of America in the years ahead, to continue to strengthen America’s economy, maintain its strong political institutions, protect its borders and give hope to the millions of people around the world who cherish the values of freedom, unfettered economic growth and the pursuit of their ideals of a better life,” the letter said.
President Mahama said he looked forward to continuing to work with the US president and the government to strengthen and deepen the excellent partnership between Ghana and the United States of America over the next four years, for the realistion of fruitful programmes that would inure to their mutual benefit.
President Obama defeated the Republican Party challenger, Mitt Romney, in the election held on Tuesday.
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EC outlines modalities for declaring Election 2012 results
Accra, Nov. 08, GNA -The Election Commission (EC) on Thursday outlined modalities for declaring a duly elected candidate either at the Presidential or Parliamentary elections and called on all to adhere to the procedure.
The EC in a document obtained by the Ghana News Agency in Accra stated that: “except where a candidate is declared elected unopposed, the winner of a parliamentary election would be decided on a simple plurality or first-past-the post basis.
“This means that the candidate who obtains the highest number of valid votes cast wins the election.”
The EC reiterated that the winner of a presidential election must obtain at least 50per cent plus one of the total valid votes cast.
The Commission explains that in event of a run-off; it shall be conducted between the candidates who obtained the two highest numbers of votes within 21 days after the declaration of the result.
On the issue of Vice President, the EC said a person is deemed elected Vice-President when the Presidential Candidate who designated him/her as the running mate is duly elected.
The EC explained that the results of a presidential election are officially declared through a Constitutional Instrument (CI) signed by the EC’s Chairman.
It said the result of parliamentary elections would be officially declared by Gazette notification.
The EC said a citizen of Ghana may challenge the validity of the election of the President in the Supreme Court within 21 days after the result has been declared.
“A citizen of Ghana may challenge the validity of the election of a Member of Parliament in the High Court, within 21 days after the result has been declared, with a right of appeal to the Appeal Court”.
According to the EC three things are particularly noteworthy from the description of what happens from the voting period through the counting of the ballots to the declaration of the results of the elections.
The EC said the process leading to the declaration of the final results of the elections are thoroughly decentralized and transparent.
In the case of a presidential election, the results are first declared at the more than 20,000 polling stations then at the 275 constituency centres and next at the 10 regional capitals before they are finally transmitted to the EC's Head Officer in Accra.
In effect the EC Commissioners in Accra are the last to see the results and cannot, therefore, alter them.
GNA observations are that the arrangement is such that a well-organized political party or candidate should be able to know the outcome of the elections long before the Commissioners in Accra announce the final results.
Thus, a candidate or party can add up the scores and challenge the authenticity of the results declared by the Commission if they did not tally.
The results of an election can be verified at various stages all the way down to the individual polling stations.
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NMC throws light on mediaâs duties in election 2012
Accra, Nov, 8. GNA – Media practitioners in Ghana have been advised to avoid activities that may compromise their integrity as journalists or damage their credibility in order to be effective in the discharge of their duties especially as Ghana goes to the polls in December.
A National Media Commission (NMC) guideline on Election 2012 obtained by the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Thursday also tasked media practitioners that irrespective of their political party affiliations and beliefs must remain impartial in their dealings with political parties.
“Journalists need to be guided by the code of ethics of the profession as enshrined in the Ghana Journalists Association, NMC guidelines on Election Coverage as well as Ghana Independent Broadcaster’s Association,” the NMC stated.
GNA observed that the NMC also cautioned the state- owned media not endorse any political party or candidate whilst encouraging the private media that their endorsement of candidates or political parties must be balanced to preserve the credibility and integrity of the media.
The NMC reminded media houses not limit their political coverage to just campaigns, but rather extend it to encompass all phases up to and including the declaration of the results.
“As far as possible, the media shall endeavor to provide coverage at all levels of political campaigning from the constituency to the national level.
“Media practitioners in their reportage must distinguish between the government and the activities of the ruling political party…presentation of government activities during elections should be weighed carefully to ensure that incumbent government does not gain unfair access to the media where bona fide news needs to be covered without giving the impression of bias” the NMC stated.
NMC also expects media practitioners to avoid all actions that could compromise their own integrity, judgment or the reputation of their organizations by, for example refusing to accept bribe or other inducements.
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Eight people die from Melcom Shopping Mall disaster
Accra, Nov. 8, GNA – The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) said on Thursday that eight bodies have so far been recovered from the debris of the collapsed Melcom Shopping Mall at Achimota and 77 people rescued.
Mr Prince Billy Anaglate, the Deputy Public Relations Officer of the GNFS, told the Ghana News Agency at the site that casualty figures should be verified from the Service.
“We are in charge here with all the statistics and you must check from us before going on air to avoid giving conflicting figures,” Mr Anaglate said.
Brigadier-General Dan Nishio, the Director General of Ghana Armed Forces in Charge of Operations, said the rescue team was firmly in charge of the operation.
He said they had managed to keep at bay residents who initially interfered with rescue operations and added “Disaster zones are not safe grounds; people should therefore stay at a reasonable distance to observe and not interfere”.
Brig Gen. Nishio was briefing Dr Michael Abu Sakara Foster, the presidential candidate of the Convention Peoples’ Party (CPP) during a visit to the site.
Dr Sakara commended the rescue team for the sense of responsibility and appealed to them to work around the clock to save more lives.
The CPP presidential candidate, who cut short his campaign tour to visit the disaster zone, said he supported the government’s call for immediate investigation and those responsible for the disaster must answer for their negligence.
He expressed sympathy of the CPP to the bereaved families and wished the injured speedy recovery.
Mr Arvinder Singh, Chief Operations Officer of Melcom Group of Companies, said the company rented the building.
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CSOs satisfy with training programme
Accra, Nov. 8, GNA - Participants undergoing a-week’s training workshop on Monitoring and Evaluation, and Grant Management in Accra on Thursday expressed their satisfaction at the content of the first part of the training programme.
The training workshop is being organized by the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) with sponsorship from the French Embassy in Ghana under its fund for social development project.
The training is designed to strengthen their grant management competencies and also equip them with flexible skills to better monitor and evaluate the projects they would be implementing to achieve better results.
Mr Sarpong Gainsford, a representative from Hunger Alliance of Ghana, a beneficiary NGO, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that the first phase of the training programme was fruitful because all the key topics were all treated with expertise.
“We are exposed to new ways of doing things that hitherto we do not pay much attention to,” he said.
Mr Sarpong said he had gained more experience than before because they were encouraged to share experiences with other organizations and that had made them well equip with skills to do better on their projects.
Mr Nab A. Afulang, Board Chairman of Foundation and Integration for Strategic Development (FISTRADE), said the training had given them the opportunity to learn new ideas to arouse stakeholders’ interest to continue with their projects.
“We were taught to always consider our targets before putting in our indicators to ensure that targets set for all projects are met. These are little things that although we are aware of them, we do not take them seriously, but now we will incorporate them into our activities to enhance our project,” he said.
Ms Faida Sulley, a representative from Children We Care Foundation, said the training had taught her how to hold meetings; how to file records, both digital and hard copies, and how to identify and manage shareholders well to achieve set targets.
She said her foundation offer sponsorship to needy but brilliant children from Basic level to Secondary level and the training would assist them improve on their monitoring and evaluation skills.
Four months after the training, WACSI would provide beneficiary organization organizations with technical advice to support their project management operations for projects specifically supported by the French Embassy.
Every year, the French government supports small and medium-scale develop projects in Ghana by providing financial support to community- based civil society organizations with its special programme “Fund for Social Development”.
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Nduom tells Upper West people to vote PPP for first class roads
Wa, Nov. 8, GNA – Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, the presidential candidate of the Progressive Peoples’ Party (PPP), has made a promise to construct first class roads to link the Upper West Regionif he wins the presidential elections in December.
He said the major problem retarding development in the region was the poor road network and promised to give it the necessary attention if given the nod in the coming elections.
Dr. Nduom gave the assurance when he introduced Mr. James Sohimwinye, the PPP parliamentary candidate for Wa Central Constituency, to party supporters at the Wa Lorry Park on Wednesday.
“Has the President Mahama created jobs for you? Has the Nana Addo created jobs for you?” Nduom asked the supporters whose response was a loud “No”.
Dr. Nduom said he had so far created jobs for the youth in the region and promised to expand it to benefit more youth.
He said the PPP would make education, health and provision of portable water a topmost priority under its government if given the mandate.
Mr. Sohimwinye said the Member of Parliament for the constituency, Alhaji Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo, was tired and must be retired to give way to fresh ideas to propel the development of the constituency and the nation at large.
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Dreams of Atiwa NPP parliamentary candidate
Atiwa, Nov. 8, GNA - Mrs Abena Osei Asare is the first New Patriotic Party (NPP) female parliamentary candidate vying for the Atiwa East constituency, which was recently carved out of the Atiwa constituency in the Eastern Region, in Election 2012.
She competed with two male candidates in the party’s primary to be selected for the contest, following the passing into law the Legislative Instrument (LI 78) for the creation of 45 new constituencies throughout the country.
Mrs Asare, a product of the Achimota and Wesley Girls’ Senior High Schools, a graduate of University of Ghana, Chartered Accountant and a Banker is not politically naive.
She has been a member of the finance committee of NPP Atiwa constituency and women’s organizer of Kotuku polling station in the constituency during Election 2008.
Mrs Asare told the Ghana News Agency in Koforidua that she has set up Water Brook Foundation in 2003, to support the less privileged in Anyinam where she hails from, and has paid school fees for poor but brilliant students, to enable them to complete their education.
The parliamentary aspirant said she was involved in charity work to improve the living conditions of the less privileged and was seeking to go to Parliament to have a broader platform to help the people.
The parliamentary aspirant said she had gained insight into obstacles impeding the progress of women and would take steps to address those issues.
Mrs Asare pledged to work towards the eradication of stereotypes and obsolete traditional practices militating against women’s quest for socio-economic and political development.
She said stereotypes in particular had resulted in gender disparity and poverty among women, and lamented that a few women take part in decision making and are allowed to take leadership position, though the country can boost of a number of highly educate women.
Mrs Asare said she would initiate measures to empower women economically, to enable them to take good care of themselves and their children, particularly those of school going age, and appealed to the electorate to vote massively for her on December 7.
Mrs Asare called on Ghanaians to elect Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, NPP presidential candidate for Election 2012 as President of Ghana on December 7.
She said this would enable Nana Akufo-Addo to implement his campaign promises, particularly the free Senior High School, to enable more youth to be disciplined and acquire skills and knowledge required for national development..
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Vodafone Ghana launches vehicle fleet management service
Accra, Nov. 8, GNA – Vodafone Ghana Limited on Thursday launched a tracking service designed to track and manage fleets of vehicles and general mobile assets for companies.
The device is meant to address challenges business entities including driver idling, over speeding, hijacking, fuel and car theft, high operational cost and safety of staff and property.
Other features includes fuel sensors for monitoring fuel consumption, digital cameras for taking pictures around the vehicle, audio voice recognition for communication with the driver, magnetic locks for extra security and coded log-in features for knowing the identity of the driver.
It also seeks to assist business customers with five or more vehicles within the corporate and government institutions to increase productivity.
Mr Derek Appiah, Director of Business Solutions at Vodafone, said it would increase efficiency whilst reducing operational costs and ensuring the safety of their staff and property.
The tracking service has a ‘GPS’ tracking device with a data ‘SIM’ installed in the vehicle and tracking software installed on a computer and accessed by the customer through the internet or on a mobile phone.
“We are confident that a significant amount of our customers’ lives and businesses will be improved with this product,” he said.
Mr William Agyei, Head of Product and Proposition at Vodafone, said the introduction of the service would eliminate challenges companies face in respect of management of their fleet of vehicles and mobile assets.
“Ultimately this product will improve productivity, reduce accidents, improve safety of passengers and reduce cost significantly,” he said.
Mr Agyei said customers could monitor a number of vehicles located in any part of the country and beyond simultaneously while the device sends event reports to the customer via SMS, email and pop up signals.
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Chiana- Pio heads Council of Institute of Local Government Studies
Accra, Nov 8, GNA – President John Dramani Mahama, in consultation with the Council of State, has appointed the Paramount Chief of the Chiana Traditional Area, Chiana Pio, Pe Ditundini Adiali, as Chairperson of the Council of the Institute of Local Government Studies.
His appointment is in accordance with section 7(5) of the institute of Local Government Studies Act, Act 647, 2003 and in consultation with the Council of State, a statement signed by Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo Minister of Local Government to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Thursday stated.
The Chiana-Pio replaces Professor S. M. Quartey, who was appointed Ambassador to Czech Republic earlier this year.
Pe Ditundini Adiali isthe Vice President of the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs and has extensive experience in local governance and decentralization. He has worked in various capacities in the Ghanaian public service and the County Council of Cambridge and Northampton in the United Kingdom.
He is a product of the University of De-Montfort in the United Kingdom, Accra Academy and Notre Dame Seminary, Navrongo.
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Pastorâs wife urges women to be agents of peace for Election 2012
Sunyani, Nov. 8, GNA - Mrs Grace Owusu Akyeaw, Executive Member of Pastors’ Wives Association in Sunyani has called on women to be agents of peace with few weeks to the December 7 polls.
She said many people, pastors, stakeholders and politicians were preaching about peace, so it was time women joined in the crusade to add their voices to ensure lasting peace in the country before, during and after Election 2012.
Making the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Sunyani, Mrs Akyeaw observed that women and children were mostly affected during violence and therefore, had the greatest duty to ensure Election 2012 was held peacefully.
She urged women to be up and doing to campaign against violence and conflicts during the general election.
Mrs Akyeaw noted that the youth who were mostly used by politicians to create confusion in the society, lived in the same houses and communities with women. "Therefore, we should take the pain to advice and influence them positively to stay away from acts that would bring conflicts.
“Women as well as all and sundry, need to be tolerant, vigilant and adhere to the rules and laws governing the conduct of elections", she added.
Mrs Akyeaw pointed out that in post election conflicts women suffered most because those wielding firearms targeted the vulnerable in the society, and in several post election violence situations in neighbouring countries women and children who tried to flee the violence were abused physically, psychologically and mentally.
She said the main danger was when women and children running away to safety were raped and defiled by security forces and armed gangs who often adopted such means to draw the attention of the international community to meet their demands.
Mrs Akyeaw said in such situations children’s education was affected while women could no longer go about their duties and undertake income generating activities to support their families.
She observed that violence brought about poverty, hunger and extreme deprivation in the society while other women and children were afflicted with diseases such Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), including HIV and AIDS and died in the process.
“Women should therefore, be more concerned in the campaign against electoral violence in the country.”
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Bomaa Senior High School needs help
Bomaa (B/A), Nov. 8, GNA - Mr Ohemeng Frimpong, Headmaster of Bomaa Senior High School, in the Tano North District of Brong Ahafo Region, on Thursday appealed to individuals, organisations and government to come to the aid of the educational institution.
He lamented that the school lacks adequate number of tutors, accommodation for students and staff, educational infrastructure, and logistics required for smooth academic work.
Mr Ohemeng Frimpong, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said the situation of the school was so acute to the extent that the library was turned into a students’ hostel.
He appealed to government to complete on-going projects on the school’s compound, to facilitate teaching and learning.
Master Eric Asare, a form two Agricultural Science student of the school, expressed worry that intermittent power outages and inadequate infrastructure affected academic work.
Miss Elizabeth Pokua, also a form two Agricultural Science student lamented that indiscipline among students was affecting teaching and learning.
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More women living with HIV and AIDS in Ghana
Accra, Nov 08, GNA -Dr Angela El-Adas, the Director General of the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), has said 125,141 persons out of the estimated 225,000 Ghanaians living with HIV and AIDS are women.
She said according to the scientific evidence emerging over the three decades of global HIVand AIDS pandemic reports, the percentage of HIV infected women was to be rising worldwide.
According to World Health Organization WHO, 60% of persons living with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa are women, Dr El-Adis said at the first female condom conference held on Wednesday in Accra.
She said the GAC was committed to addressing HIV and its effects on women through a number of interventions such as advocating the correct and consistent use of female condoms.
She said the conference was a platform to revisit the issues on women reproductive health and the role of female condoms in ensuring a healthy family life.
Dr El-Adis said the correct use of the female condom would prevent the contraction of sexually transmitted diseases resulting in infertility, blockage of fallopian tube and pelvic inflammatory diseases in women.
Following the re-launch of the female condom by the Ghana Health Service which had been out of stock for 22 years, approximately 1.3 million had been made available in the country presently to ensure accessibility to the product.
“Despite the evidence on the benefits derived from the consistent use of the condoms, patronage and usage of female condoms had been very low.” She said
SWAA Ghana is a pan African women’s organization aimed at empowering women to achieve quality sexual and reproductive health and rights through advocacy.
Ms. Nancy Ansah, President of SWAA, said that the conference was aimed at ensuring sustained female condom procurement and advocacy leading to effective promotion and distribution in the country resulting in improvement in reproductive health and rights for all.
She said that the female condom was very important because it is the only female control tool against HIV and AIDS and STIs as well as an effective tool for planning reproduction.
The Ghana Network of Persons Living with HIV and AIDS said in Ghana 15,000 of the estimated 225,000 Ghanaians living with HIV and AIDS die annually with women forming the majority hence there was the need for all women, civil societies to join in the campaign for fighting the endemic with use of female condoms to the end .
“We would want to see the realization and integration of female condoms in HIV and AIDS reproductive health programmes at all levels for effective and efficient update without any fear of intimidation,” it said.
Dr. Bernard Coquelin, United Nations Population Fund UNFPA Representative in Ghana, said that UNFPA would continue to lay emphasis on and support the reproductive health commodity security and was committed to strengthening capacities of government and civil societies like SWAA to reposition family planning in Ghana.
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High cost of feed, marketing and husbandry, a bane to poultry in Ghana
From: Albert Oppong -Ansah, GNA Special Correspondent, Atlanta, US (Courtesy, US Embassy, USAPEEC)
Atlanta, Nov. 8, GNA - Dr Mark Hanson, Director of Veterinary Service at the Ministry of Food and Agricultural, has said high cost of poultry feed production and marketing were some of the major challenges crippling the growth of the poultry industry in Ghana.
Dr Hanson raised the concern when a 12-member delegation met officials of the United States of America Poultry and Egg Export Council (USAPEEC) to deliberate and strategize on how to improve poultry production to ensure affordable protein for the people of Ghana
The meeting formed part of an education tour to the USA at the invitation of USAPEEC and the US state Embassy in Ghana.
The delegation includes six poultry and veterinary officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, a member of the Poultry Farmers Association and selected journalists.
As part of the tour the group visited farms, poultry sales outlets, hatcheries and cold store to familiarize themselves with the best practice of poultry products and deliberate on collaboration to help the industry grow.
In responce to the concern, Mr James H. Sumner, President of USAPEEC, said the Council would hold discussions with some of the stakeholders to find out how Ghana could be supported mutually.
Giving the overview of the US industry, he said the sector produced about 22 million tones of chicken products a year with an additional three million tones in the same period.
He said the US remained the top broiler producer country in the world with about 22% followed by followed by China, 16.4% Brazil 16%, European Union 11.7 % whiles Indian and Mexico produced 3.6% each.
He invited the Executive of the poultry sector to join the International Poultry Council which was formed in October 2005 to bring together poultry industry leaders from around the world to address issues of trade, science, and improved relations among nations.
He said the group had received recognition the Food and Agricultural Organisation and seeks to strengthen communication between countries, develop and implement policies for international organizations affecting the world’s poultry industry and to promote a common understanding of and confidence in poultry products throughout the world.
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Asantehene appeals to chiefs to lead in efforts at bringing development
Jachie (Ash), Nov 8, GNA – The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has urged chiefs to do more to bring development to their communities through wise and careful use of revenue from stool lands.
They should make sure that the people benefited from the resources they are holding in trust for them and that those resources must not serve just their personal comfort and taste or that of their families.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu said this when he joined the chiefs and people of Jachie in the Bosomtwe District at a durbar to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the installation of the Jachiehene, Baffour Kwaku Amoateng III.
The Asantehene gave Baffour Amoateng high marks for his passion and commitment to the progress of the town and inaugurated a GH¢300,000 palace built by the chief.
It has facilities for an Information Communication Centre (ICT), conference rooms, library and courtyards.
Baffour Kwaku Amoateng said the community had seen significant transformation under his reign, citing among others extension of electricity and the introduction of scholarship awards for brilliant but needy students.
He has also made available 76 acres of land to support the expansion of the Jachie-Pramso Senior High School (SHS).
Baffour Kwaku Amoateng praised his people for their co-operation and understanding over the last 30 years.
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NDC youth clean-up Ejisu Government Hospital
Ejisu (Ash), Nov 8, GNA - Hundreds of youth of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Ejisu Constituency on Wednesday spent about four hours cleaning up the Ejisu Government Hospital.
They scrubbed the floor, cleared weeds and removed silt from gutters in and around the facility.
Mr. Augustus Andrews Nana Akwasi, the party’s parliamentary candidate for the December elections, led them to undertake the exercise.
He said it was their contribution towards helping to ease the workload on the few labourers in keeping the surroundings of the hospital clean.
Health promotion, he said, would be one of his main priorities, if elected by the people.
Dr Osei Owusu, the Medical Officer in-Charge, commended the youth for the exercise.
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NADMO staff urged to collaborate with MMDAs to prevent disasters
Fijai (W/R), Nov. 8, GNA—Mr. Paul Evans Aidoo, Western Regional Minister and Chairman of the Regional Disaster Management Committee, on Thursday tasked staff of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) at the various districts to collaborate with the various assemblies to prevent disasters.
He entreated the various district coordinators of NADMO to join district assemblies’ disaster management committees in order to offer suggestions that would help avoid preventable disasters.
Mr. Aidoo gave the advice at a day’s durbar and training programme for staff of NADMO at Fijai in the Western Region.
The event, afforded the workers the opportunity to evaluate their performance over the past years and equip them to manage and mitigate disasters and other emergencies.
It also provided a platform for dialogue, conflict resolution and interaction between the staff and management of the organization.
There were presentations on topics such as Disaster Management, Human Resource Management, Fire Prevention and formation of Regional NADMO Credit Union.
The Regional Minister asked the district coordinators of NADMO to liaise with the Physical Planning Department of the various assemblies to monitor and curb unauthorized buildings on waterways, illegal erection of billboards and any other activity that has the tendency of causing havoc to the society.
“District coordinators of NADMO must participate in assembly meetings and join disaster management committees so that you can proactively put mechanisms in place to forestall disasters,” he stressed.
In his welcome address, the Regional Coordinator of NADMO, Mr. Japheth Baidoo, called for the strengthening of the Act that established NADMO so that it could institute sanctions against defaulters.
He suggested that before a building permit would be issued for construction, NADMO must be consulted for technical advice on risk matters so that disaster could be prevented.
Mr. Baidoo entreated the building Inspectorate Division of the various assemblies to be up-and-doing to avoid illegal structures and issuance of building permits to unqualified persons so as to prevent disasters.
“I suggest that political heads that preside over the occurrence of disasters in their respective jurisdictions should be prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others”, he added.
NADMO awarded three students from the Ahantaman Girls’ Senior High School for participating in an essay competition during the International Day of Disaster Prevention instituted by the United Nations.
The award recipients were Miss Belinda Ruth Quaicoe, Rhoda Eshun and Dorothy Owusu Mensah.
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NDC outlines energy plans in 2012 manifesto
Accra, Nov. 8, GNA – The National Democratic Congress (NDC) seeks to increase installed power generation capacity from 2,443 megawatts in 2012 to 5,000 megawatts by 2016.
The party has pledged to complete all processes and accelerate the commencement of the second Millennium Compact (MCC) for Ghana, with focus on energy generation, distribution and the aggressive support for private energy generation.
These are contained in the NDC manifesto for Election 2012 captured: “Advancing Better Ghana Agenda,” copied to the Ghana News Agency, in Accra on Thursday.
It indicated that a next NDC government would position Ghana’s energy development as a major producer and net exporter of power to its neighbouring countries while satisfying local industrial and domestic demands.
The party seeks to enhance the speedy and efficient completion of the Gas Infrastructure Project, including the provision of a Liquefied Natural Gas degasification plant, to augment gas supply to provide reliable and cheaper fuel for energy generation.
The next NDC Government would pursue the transmission and distribution networks through continuous expansion and modernisation of existing facilities to ensure effective national and sub-regional inter-connectivity.
The NDC seeks to use oil and gas development as a catalyst to diversify the economy in addition to the provision of security for oil and gas installations and operations.
The party said if retained in power in December, it would strengthen the agencies in charge of the regulation of all activities related to all segments of the petroleum industry.
The manifesto said an NDC government would collaborate with partners to remove all obstacles that have hindered the smooth implementation of the West African Gas Pipeline Project , make the Tema Oil Refinery technically and financially efficient and expand its capacity.
It also plans to increase the national strategic petroleum reserves, and expand the pipeline infrastructure for the transportation of petroleum products.
According to the NDC manifesto, the party would enact the required Legislative Instruments for the smooth implementation of the Renewable Energy law.
It further targets the development of the country’s potential mini hydro power projects with capacities below 100 megawatts, establishment of dedicated woodlots for fuel wood production and promotion of the use of improved technologies for more efficient biomass utilization.
The NDC said it would adopt all embracing “Waste to Energy,” strategy to convert organic, industrial and agricultural waste into power.
The manifesto said an NDC-led government would continue to encourage local participation in the exploration, development and production of oil and gas, and spin-off economic activities, and increase linkages and funding for technical training and scientific research and development of the oil and gas industry.
GNA also noticed that the NDC in its Election 2012 manifesto highlights its major achievements in oil and electricity for the past three years.
According to the NDC over the past three years, it has established the Ghana National Gas Company to ensure the sustainable development of the Gas industry and infrastructure.
The Tema Oil Refinery debt which incapacitated the company and threatened the operation of Ghana Commercial Bank has been substantially paid off and is being sustainably managed, according to the manifesto.
The NDC has supported Volta River Authority, Northern Electricity Distribution Company , Ghana Grid Company and Electricity Company of Ghana to undertake restructuring required to restore their finances.
In reminiscence to 2011, the NDC said Ghana has earned 444,124,724 US dollars from the sale of four liftings, totaling 3,930,189 barrels of crude oil.
On electricity, a 376 megawatt generation capacity was added to the base capacity in 2011, and an additional 258 megawatt is to be added by the end of 2012 to bring the total national capacity to 2,443.5 megawatts, an increase of 35 per cent since 2008.
The NDC also claimed that access to electricity has been increased from 54 per cent in 2008 to 72 per cent in 2011, about 1,700 communities have been connected to the national electricity grid since 2008, with a larger proportion of this increase representing poorer households that would otherwise not have access to energy.
The NDC seek to use its achievement and its projections for 2013 to attract voters.
Meanwhile a National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) survey on “Election 2012: matters of concern to the Ghanaian voter”, reveals that 489 responses received, the highest proportion of 289 (59.1 per cent) responses said power outages should stop.
A copy of the survey report available to the GNA, indicates that Ghanaians abhor the frequent power outrages, which they said was destroying electrical gadgets and also rendering some newly established industries dormant.
They also wanted the government to extend electricity to the rural area, whilst another 143 (29.3 per cent) responses wanted government to have more subsidies on energy, other responses 27 (5.5 per cent) said that there should be uninterrupted gas supply for Ghanaians.
According to the NCCE survey, 17 (3.5 per cent) respondents agreed that oil and gas proceeds should be used to finance the economy, but, 11(2.2 per cent) wanted government to create in the oil and gas sector for the youth.
Respondents mentioned that the rate at which expatriates were infiltrating the oil industry to compete with Ghanaians for jobs was quite alarming.
The survey said an insignificant number of respondents, 2 (0.4 per cent), said the youth should be trained to take up jobs in the oil and gas sector.
GNA
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Nine-man Israeli rescue team joins Ghanaian counterparts at disaster site
Accra, Nov. 8, GNA – A nine-man Israeli Rescue Mission on Thursday joined the Ghanaian rescue mission at the Melcom Shopping Mall disaster site to assist locate and extract any remaining survivors.
The team was briefed by some Ghanaian officials at the site.
Earlier in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, an Israeli Embassy official, Eyal Lampert said the Israeli team was expected to work in collaboration with the detachment from the Field Engineer Regiment of the Ghana Army currently at the site.
According to the Embassy official the team would undertake initial assessment at the site using special equipment and sniffer dogs that would help identify the locations of possible survivors or corpses.
He said Israel had in addition to the rescue to team put on standby about 150 support team and logistics including field hospitals and concrete cutters to move to Ghana should the initial assessment deem it necessary.
The tireless efforts of the Field Engineer Regiment, NADMO (National Disaster Management Organisation) and other emergency services including the Ghana Police and the National Ambulance Service has led to the rescue of at least 51 persons from the rubble so far.
GNA
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Melcom disaster: Death toll hit nine as at mid-day Thursday
Accra, Nov. 8, GNA – The death toll of the Melcom Shopping Mall disaster hit nine mid-day on Thursday whilst another person was rescued, bringing the number of survivors to 78, a Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) source has said.
Mr Prince Billy Anaglate, Deputy Public Relations Officer of the GNFS, told the Ghana News Agency at the site that casualty figures should be verified from the Service.
“We are in charge here with all the statistics and you must check from us before going on air to avoid giving conflicting figures,” Mr Anaglate said.
Meanwhile a nine-man Israeli Rescue Mission on Thursday joined the Ghanaian rescue team at the disaster site to assist locate and extricate any remaining survivors.
The team was briefed by some officials of the Ghanaian team at the site.
In an earlier interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra an Official of the Embassy of Israel Eyal Lampert said the Israeli team is expected to work in collaboration with the detachment from the Field Engineer Regiment of the Ghana Army currently at the site.
According to the Embassy official the team would undertake initial assessment at the site using special equipment and sniffer dogs that would help identify the locations of possible survivors or corpses.
He said Israel had in addition to the rescue to team put on standby about 150 support team and logistics including field hospitals and concrete cutters to move to Ghana should the initial assessment deem it necessary.
The hard work of the Field Engineers Regiment, National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and other emergency institutions including the Ghana Police and the National Ambulance Service has led to the rescue of at least 51 persons from the rubble so far.
GNA
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