Ghana News Agency

Accra, Nov. 9, GNA - A survey conducted by National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has revealed that majority of Ghanaians perceives educational issues of grave concern in the General Election. The survey dubbed: “Election 2012: matters of concern to the Ghanaian voter,” said a total of 5,416 respondents mentioned education as the first three rankings besides health and employment. The respondents called for the abolishment of sports fees, Parent Teacher Association dues and examination levy. The survey discovered that most Ghanaians want government to set up more educational institutions in mostly rural areas to provide quality education. It said while new school buildings should be constructed to eradicate schools under trees, provision of educational materials such as tables and chairs, textbooks and computers must be adequate to meet the needs of students. The respondents called for better incentive and remuneration for teachers so that they would be in a better position to teach well do away with extra classes which come with its own exorbitant fees. The NCCE survey established that training for more teachers is more crucial to Ghanaians; who believe that professional teachers need to be trained to provide quality education. It said government should support social intervention initiatives by extending the school feeding programme and the free school uniform through the capitation grant to cover the whole country. The survey established that most Ghanaians would support government efforts to extend Ghana Education Trust Fund to private secondary schools. The citizenry want government to address the duration of the senior high school programme once and for all and stop politicising it. It said government must introduce more technical and vocational courses in the education system and uplift the technical institutions. GNA...

Accra, Nov. 9, GNA- Ghana Union of Traders’ Associations (GUTA), on Thursday embarked on a demonstration, asking government to with sense of urgency eject foreign retailers from the Ghanaian market after several failed attempt. Mr George Kweku Ofori, President, GUTA noted that the protest became necessary after the Association had exhausted all avenue to resolve the issue. According to him, GUTA’s position on ensuring the enforcement of Act 478 of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) that bars foreigners from petty trading, hawking or engaging in any other businesses had not been taken seriously. “We members of GUTA believe in fighting for our freedom from these foreign retailers who have taken over our businesses by taking our destiny into our own hands.” Mr Ofori said the Association was hopeful that the action would receive prompt response from the appropriate authorities. Mr Kweku Obeng, National Organiser of GUTA said as part of the move, members had been asked to close their shops for the entire day. The Ministry of Trade and Industry, in July 2012, set up a National Inter Agency Taskforce to get rid of non- Ghanaians operating in petty trading and other forms of business activities on the Ghanaian market. This move by government was to protect the sector reserved for local traders in accordance with GIPC laws. GNA...

Tamale Nov. 9, GNA - Ms Ruby Sandhu-Rojon, United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator has called for more attention to be focused on efforts at achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). She said even though Ghana had made tremendous progress at attaining the MDGs, indications are clear that the nation would not meet all the eight goals which are essential for ensuring effective human development. Ms Sandhu-Rojon made the call at a meeting in Tamale with staff of UN Agencies operating in the Northern Region to mark the 67th UN Day, which fell on October 24, the founding day of the world body The event, which was held in Tamale for the first time, served as a platform for the staff of eight UN Agencies operating in the region including United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme and International Organisation for Migration to discuss issues of concern and how to strategise to work as one family to advance human development. Currently, there are 24 UN Agencies operating in four thematic areas including sustainable environment, energy and human settlement, food security and nutrition, human development and improved social services, transparent and accountable governance in the country. Ms Sandhu-Rojon said: "There is the need to keep on with the advocacy in the light of the fact that Ghana may not meet all the MDGs by the 2015 deadline." She said current happenings across some parts of the world "should make us to reaffirm our commitment to the UN values to ensure peace in the world". She, therefore, commended the staff for the commitment and dedication to duty especially at the field level and stressed the need for them to work as one family to deliver hope for the vulnerable in the society. Dr Iyabode Olusanmi, UNICEF Country Representative identified open defecation and access to potable water as some of the challenges facing communities in the region and lauded government for efforts at addressing such challenges. The UN Agencies later donated items including mats, detergents, foodstuff, lanterns, diapers and school kits to Nyohini Children's Home in Tamale for the upkeep of the children. GNA...

Sunyani, Nov. 9, GNA – Four out of the six parliamentary candidates contesting Sunyani East Constituency seat on Thursday pledged their commitment to promote and maintain peace despite their political differences to ensure peaceful Election 2012. They are Mr Kwasi Ameyaw Cheremeh 46, a lawyer and incumbent New Patriotic Party Member of Parliament, Mr Philip Awuah 59, National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Sampson Sampana Alanyina 38, People’s National Convention and Mrs Vivian Tetteh, Progressive Peoples Party. The candidates made the commitment at a day’s public debate in Sunyani to submit themselves to questions concerning the development of the constituency. The organisers of the programme said they could not Mr Anthony Nana Antwi-Boasiako, for the National Democratic Party and Mr Michael Kwame Mensah Asare, an Independent Candidate. The debate, jointly organised by the Sunyani Municipal Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and Brong-Ahafo Regional Inter-Party Dialogue Committee afforded the candidates an opportunity to address the electorate on how to tackle their socio-economic challenges in the area. It was under four thematic areas of education, housing, youth unemployment and commitment to peace. The participants included members from faith-based organisations, the media, academia, security agencies, trade unions, assembly members and the public. Mr Cheremeh said achievement of peace is a shared responsibility through a collaborative effort by stakeholders. He urged the Electoral Commission to play its role fairly as a neutral referee without fear or favour whilst politicians should exhibit honesty to the public. Mr Cheremeh appealed to the security agencies to perform their duties professionally beyond partisan interest. He implored the Ghana Police Service to allow the law to take its rightful course against electoral offenders irrespective of their political affiliations. Mr Awuah pledged to impress on activists and sympathisers of the NDC to comport themselves for a peaceful co-existence in the electioneering to ensure peace in the constituency and the country as a whole. He appealed to the Police to deal drastically with anyone who would flout the electoral laws and indulged in acts likely to mar Election 2012. Mr Awuah, an educationist is the Deputy Director in-charge of Finance and Administration at the Sunyani Municipal Directorate of Education. Mr Sampana a trained teacher and Public Relations Officer at Dormaa East District Directorate of Education and Mrs Tetteh, a teacher added their voices for peaceful elections. Right Reverend Dr Festus Yeboah Asuamah, Anglican Bishop of Sunyani asked Ghanaians to condemn anyone who would engage in acts that could mar Election 2012 and disturb the prevailing peace. He noted that political power achieved at the expense of peace is meaningless and asked the candidates as well as leadership of political parties, activists and sympathisers to “allow the power of love to replace the love for power”. Bishop Asuamah who is also the Regional Chairman of Christian Council of Ghana said the best way to sustain the prevailing peace in the constituency and the country as a whole is to ensure that “The more we sweat in peace, the less we breed in war”. Mr Issah Nasigri, Regional Director of NCCE said the debate was aimed at deepening democratic development in the constituency and the country at large, and draw attention to the fact that political mandate resides with the electorate. GNA...

Ho, Nov. 9, GNA-Mr Lee Ocran, Minister of Education, on Thursday handed over 6,720 laptops to Volta Regional Coordinating Council to be distributed among 280 basic schools in the region. The beneficiary schools would each receive 24 laptops. A total of 280 trolleys, where the laptops would be recharged, was part of the consignment. Mr Ocran reassured teachers that the promise by government to give them laptops is on course and that the first 50,000 are being assembled. He said access to computers in all basic schools was part of government’s programme to raise quality of education. Mr Ocran said computers for all schools programme would soon discard the use of chalkboards for projectors to facilitate classroom instruction. He opposed the free Senior High School proposal of some political parties, saying it is better for the nation to extend access to education and the provision of infrastructure. Mr Ocran said Ghana is not doing badly in the education sector as other countries kept sending delegation to understudy some of the nation’s educational programmes. Mr Henry Ametefe, Deputy Regional Minister who received the laptops on behalf of the schools promised that they would be distributed expeditiously. Mr Bright Dey, Acting Head, Planning and Statistics Unit of the Ghana Education Service and the Regional ICT Coordinator told the Ghana News Agency that the criteria for the receipt of the laptops include community’s readiness to provide security for the gadgets. He listed existence of active School Management Committees, Parent Teacher Association and the combination of primary and Junior High School on one campus among the factors that are considered. Mr Dey said teachers are being trained in batches as ICT lesson instructors. GNA...

Klefe (V/R), Nov. 9 GNA-The Volta Regional Office of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) in collaboration with Ho Municipal Assembly on Thursday presented 10 bundles of roofing sheets and planks worth GH¢6,100 to Klefe E.P Junior High School. The items are to be used to re-roof the school which was ripped-off at the weekend. Mr Isaac Kodobisah, Municipal Chief Executive who presented the items said the quick response became necessary to forestall loss of class hours. He asked the people to re-roof the building in time to safeguard it from further deterioration. Mr Simon Miles Bakar, Regional Coordinator of NADMO asked opinion leaders to ensure that only people with the requisite skills re-roof the building. Mr Ransford Delali Kasu, Assemblyman for the area commended NADMO and the Assembly for the quick response and said it was the demonstration of government’s “Better Ghana Agenda”. GNA...

Ho, Nov. 9, GNA- Volta Regional House of Chiefs on Thursday re-elected Togbe Afede XIV, Agbogbomefia of Asogli State as President of the House for a second four-year term. The House also re-elected Nana Soglo Alloh IV, Paramount Chief of Likpe as Vice-President. The two were re-elected unopposed. Five other members of the House were elected to represent the region at the National House of Chiefs. The elections were done at the House’s General Meeting which also witnessed the admission of 24 Paramount Chiefs as permanent members of the House. Togbe Kwaku Ayim IV, Paramount Chief of Ziavi described Togbe Afede and Nana Alloh as visionary leaders and commended them for their foresight and leadership styles. Togbe Afede expressed gratitude to the House and commended members for their support towards the pursuance of “a strong development agenda that has given birth to the Volta Development Plan, the Volta Region Development Agency and the Volta-Ningxia Sister Regions Agreement”. “We believe that, sooner than later, we shall begin to see the fruits of these initiatives, and we are grateful for your support,” he said. Togbe Afede commended members of the various committees for their meritorious services to the House. He reiterated the call on the chiefs to ensure that peace prevail at the December polls and be prepared to work with any elected government. Togbe Afede also urged politicians to respect the desire of Ghanaians for peace. GNA...

Kumasi, Nov. 9, GNA – Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene, has appealed to the leadership of the political parties to demonstrate genuine commitment to peace through tolerance, integrity and fair play. He said the parties should not hesitate to publicly condemn deviant acts by their supporters. Otumfuo Osei Tutu made the appeal when he received the presidential candidate of the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo-Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to his Manhyia Palace, in Kumasi on Thursday. Nana Akufo-Addo called on the Asantehene to formally introduce his running mate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia to him. The Asantehene said it is important for all to accept to play by the “rules of the game” to sustain the unity of the nation. Nana Akufo-Addo pledged the total commitment of his party to the peaceful conduct of the December 7 general poll. He said the NPP would strictly abide by the political parties code of conduct and would not do anything to mar the elections. He said the party believes in clean, transparent and fair elections, adding that the resort to violence, spilling of blood and cheating to win political power are despicable acts. Nana Akufo-Addo noted that there are a lot of lessons that the nation could learn from the just ended presidential elections in the United States such as the maturity, tolerance and discipline put on display, despite the political and ideological differences. He invited his colleague politicians to show more responsibility in their electioneering to protect the global admiration Ghana has earned as a stable democracy. He gave the assurance that if given the mandate to lead the nation, he would do everything possible to construct the Kejetia Interchange and upgrade the Kumasi Airport to international status. GNA...

From: Albert Oppong -Ansah, GNA Special Correspondent, Atlanta, US (Courtesy, US Embassy, USAPEEC) Atlanta, Nov. 9, GNA- The United States of America Poultry and Egg Export Council (USAPEEC) on Thursday announced its readiness to collaborate with the Ghanaian Poultry Industry to support the sector to improve poultry production and consumption. The support package would include education and training as well as linking players in the industry to companies to establish poultry product processing plants to prevent losses. Dr Mark Lobstein Director of Technical Service at the USAPEEC made this known in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Atlanta. The interview was held on the side lines of an educational tour to the USA organised by the USAPEEC and the US Embassy in Ghana for a 12-member Ghanaian delegation comprising poultry and veterinary officials from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, members of the Poultry Farmers Association and journalists. As part of the tour the group will visit farms, poultry sales outlets, hatcheries and cold stores to familiarise themselves with the best practice in the poultry industry and deliberate on how effective collaboration can help the business to grow. Dr Lobstein said as the first step of the Councils commitment, a fact finding exercise had been completed and a delegation was in Ghana in February last year to meet stakeholders, during which a number of issues were discussed. He said the move would make the industry vibrant to be able to reduce unemployment and also make the product dependable, reliable and affordable. “After this stage, we will raise funds from our stakeholders by presenting the various issues to them and appeal to them to support the Ghanaian industry since it will be on a mutual benefit to both countries. This will be done through seminars to expose them to some of the challenges,” he said. The last step he explained would be implementation of the various issues as well as sustainability. He praised Ghana for upholding high standard of poultry practices. Dr Frances Hammond, Chairman of the Greater Accra Poultry Farmers Association called for the subsidisation of poultry feed which is one of the major challenges facing the industry. Some of the concerns the Ghanaian delegation trumpeted was the high fat content of US poultry products exported to Ghana....

Accra, Nov. 9, GNA – The Kufuor Administration has been criticised for performing poorly in terms of provision of houses for middle and low income earners. Mr Enoch Teye Mensah, Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing also disapproved of the alleged concentration of the former New Patriotic Party (NPP) regime on the selling of State houses including ministerial bungalows and Ghana Airways property to party members and cronies. The Minister was addressing a press conference in Accra on Thursday in reaction to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo’s alleged misleading statement he made during the Institute of Economic Affair’s Presidential Debate held in Tamale on October 30 in regard to housing. Mr Mensah said Nana Addo’s claim that the National Democratic Congress had abandoned the affordable housing units the NPP started was false. He blamed Nana Addo’s advisors for ill-informing him on the issue, stressing that “By making him quote 6,000 housing units instead of 4,720, they made him appear not to even know the total housing stock started by his own government,” he said. Mr Mensah said currently, six different projects are being implemented by the Government to deliver a total of 20,368 housing units. He said 168 housing units are being built in Tema for the Bureau of National Investigations, 5,000 Housing units at Kpone and 10,000 housing units at Amasaman. The rest are 200 housing units, 5,000 housing units and the completion of 4,720 affordable housing units. Mr Mensah said four projects are before parliament waiting for consent. He said the projects would deliver 2,008 housing units for the security agencies and 9,120 housing units for public servants and other members of the public. Mr Mensah called on the media to visit the projects sites to ascertain works being done. He expressed dissatisfaction that none of the 4,720 housing units started by the NPP for the eight years they were in government was completed. Mr Mensah said the projects were made up of 1,896 one-bedroom and 2,824 two-bedroom units. “The stages of completion of these flats when we took office were as follows: Bortey-man, Nungua; 62 per cent completed, Kpone; 55 per cent completed, Asokore-Mampong; 61 per cent completed, Koforidua; 25 per cent completed, Tamale; 29 per cent completed and Wa; 7 per cent completed.” Mr Mensah said currently, Ghana Armed Forces had been allocated 48 units at Borteyman to be completed while the State Housing Company is pre-financing the completion of 48 units at the Borteyman site. “Tema Development Corporation has proposed to purchase and complete 110 of the one bedroom units and 248 of two-bedroom at the Kpone Affordable site. “Messrs DSC Infrastructure after further discussions has agreed to revise their proposal on the basis of Public, Private Partnerships. They are pursuing the option of using a local financial institution as an off-taker for the units they intend to complete,” he said. Mr Mensah added that the Ministry advertised the sale of the units and the response had been overwhelming. “It is therefore untrue that the project had been abandoned,” he added. Mr Mensah used the occasion to commiserate with the families who lost their loved ones in the collapsed Achimota Melcom Shopping Mall which occurred on Wednesday November 7. “Our prayers and thoughts are with the bereaved, injured and their families at this trying moment,” he said. So far 78 have been rescued while nine others have been confirmed dead. The Minister said the tragedy had reinforced Government’s desire to bring into effect the Ghana Building Code which had been finalised to be presented to cabinet. GNA...

Accra, Nov. 9, GNA – Rescue mission on the collapsed Melcom building at Achimota may take about three to four days to complete, Mr Robert Joseph Mettle-Nunoo, Deputy Minister of Health, said on Thursday. A combined team of rescuers from the Ghana Armed Forces, National Disaster Management Organisation, National Fire Service, the Ghana Police Service and an eight-member delegation from Israel are carrying out the rescue. Mr Mettle-Nunoo said the team was working hard to rescue more people. He said the team had to dig the layers in bits in order not to aggravate injuries and that had slowed the process. According to Mr Prince Billy Anaglate, Deputy Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Fire Service (GNFS), 76 people had been rescued and that nine more bodies had been detected under the rubble and efforts were being made to retrieve them. GNA...

Accra, Nov. 9, GNA - A Prophetess who caused a stir at an Accra Circuit Court when she suddenly got possessed and started speaking tongues to put the ‘’fear of God’’ into the presiding judge, was on Thursday remanded into prison custody. Florence Kekeli Akpene, a prophetess of the Akofananami Society Church whose action infuriated the judge, has been charged for defrauding Daniel Kuagbenu, a pensioner of GH¢ 60,089. The accused has pleaded not guilty to the charge and has been remanded to reappear on November 22, 2012. The prophetess, who seemed not to be aware of what had happened to her, was later told by her father of the things that had taken place in the courtroom and she started crying when she was being escorted to the court cells. Mr George Asumani, Counsel for the accused at the time of the incident was praying the court to admit the accused to bail since the offence was a bailable one. However, Mr Ebenezer Osei Darko, the presiding judge got incensed because the accused‘s action appear to be a ploy to scare him to grant her bail. Mr Osei Darko retorted by saying “You cannot scare me with your tongues, I am a Christian and I believe in God. I am remanding the accused into prison custody, so that when she goes there she can go and threatened them too". The prosecutor, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Alex Odonkor said the complainant Daniel Kuagbenu is a pensioner and resides at Sowutuom, where the accused also resides. He said between August 2011 and May 2012 the accused collected an amount of GH¢ 60,089 from the complainant for 18 revelations she claimed she had seen involving the complainant and his family for which if certain rituals were not performed would lead to the death of the complainant and the family. He said for these the complainant paid an amount of money ranging from GH¢ 150 to GH¢ 8,000 depending on the type of revelation, for the prophetess to prepare a concoction to purify the complainant and his family from the spirit of death. DSP Odonkor said the accused claimed the wife of the complainant was pregnant with twins and needed protection otherwise would lose the pregnancy. He said the accused prepared a concoction and gave it to the wife of the complainant and collected GH¢ 6,000. The complainant’s wife after taking the concoction fell unconscious for three days. He said a pregnancy test taken by the complainant’s wife after seeing her doctors also disproved that she was pregnant. DSP Odonkor also said a week later the accused had collected GHâµ 6,000 stating that she had seen in spirit that someone had inserted stone particles into the male organ of Amos Kuagbenu, son of the complainant. He said the accused prepared another concoction for the son of the complainant and he also became unconscious after taking the concoction and regained consciousness three days later. He said later the complainant became suspicious of the accused's revelations about him and his family and reported the matter to the Police. GNA...

Accra, Nov. 9, GNA – The Government announced on Friday that hotlines have been established as part of the ongoing rescue effort aimed at ensuring that nobody is left behind in the rubbles of the Melcom building whether alive or dead. The government, in a statement issued by the Deputy Minister of Information, Mr Samuel Okudzeto-Ablakwa, appealed especially to those who live within the Achimota community and its immediate environs and who have relations or loved ones who have gone missing over the last 48 hours to call the provided numbers in order to assist the rescue mission. The numbers to call are 023 4725999 and 026 4918886 Meanwhile, it said, the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) late on Thursday detained and continued to hold Mr. Carl Henry Clerk, the Ga West Municipal Works Director. The statement said investigations had so far pointed to the fact that Mr. Clerk was the Works Director at the Accra Metropolitan Assembly at the time the building in question was constructed without permit but failed to take action though his attention was drawn to it. The BNI upon the directive of President John Dramani Mahama commenced formal investigations on Thursday into the circumstances leading to the fatal collapse of the Achimota Melcom building. Earlier on Mr. Ramesh Sadhwani, a co-MD of Melcom and Mr. Victor Mensah, AMA Works Director, were questioned and granted bail. The statement said the owner of the building, the engineer and the architect were being pursued by the BNI. GNA...

Damang (W/R), Nov 9, GNA - Goldfields Ghana Limited (GGL), Damang mine, has awarded four taxi drivers from Huni/Valley and Damang branches of the Ghana Private Road Transport Unit (GPRTU) for demonstrating good road safety practices. Mr. Kofi Ibrahim and Mr. Richard Botwe were adjudged the best drivers in both communities and were given a three-burner gas cooker each as their prize. Mr. George Bonsu and Mr. Samuel Arthur, the second best drivers, each received a radio cassette player. Addressing the chief, elders and drivers of Huni/Valley, the Health and Safety Manager, Mr. Johannes Ghartey, said a one week sensitization programme for the taxi drivers was held in accordance with the recommendation of the technical committee of the Minerals Commission and the Ghana Chamber of Mines to create awareness on safety issues in their operational communities. The General Manager of GGL, Damang mine, Mr. Christo Viljoen, said the road safety campaign organized by the company for the drivers was part of the national road safety week celebration. Mr. Viljoen said as safety is their number one priority, the management of Damang mine believe that whatever good practices that is observed in the mine must also be rolled out in their respective catchment communities. He said road safety is not only about the attitude of drivers but also the biggest threat is the condition of the road. Mr Viljoen said as the Damang to Tarkwa road is in a deplorable state and the company had decided to rehabilitate it. He said the company had bought a grader and a compactor at a total cost of 665,000.00 Ghana cedis to rehabilitate the untarred section of the road. The company has awarded a contract for spot improvement on the tarred section from Huni/Valley to Ata-ne-Ata junction at a cost of 47,000.00 Ghana cedis and it would be completed by the end of this month. Mr. Viljoen said one major factor that contributes to accidents it its dusty nature and to solve this problem the company would buy three water tankers next January for dust suppression GNA...

Tamale, Nov. 9, GNA – The West Africa Network for Peace-building (WANEP) on Thursday advised politicians to desist from politicisation of chieftaincy and ethnicity in the country, especially in the north, which has the potential to ignite the flames of conflict. “The politicisation of ethnicity and chieftaincy especially in the northern part of the country is seen as potential source of destabilisation”, said Mr Chukwuemeka B. Eze, Programmes Director of WANEP-West Africa at the opening of a two-day workshop for security agencies in Tamale on the need to promote early responses from security agencies to community conflicts before they escalate. It was part of efforts to ensure that the country conducted a violence-free election in December so that Ghana would continue to be a model of democracy in Africa. Mr Eze said other problems such as illegal smuggling of arms across porous borders, maritime crimes and piracy continued to be a threat to the citizens and communities, which had been attributed to the increased dimension and gruesome nature of ethno-religious, communal and political conflicts. According to him the rapidity and simultaneous occurrence of these conflicts overwhelmed the limited resources of security operatives of States and other agencies and that the current scenario raised concerns including fear of insecurity among communities in West Africa who are continually foisted with the responsibility of self-protection for their lives. He stressed the need for a collaborative approach to early warning and early response mechanisms so that community drivers would proactively compliment efforts towards conflict prevention. Mr Justin Bayor, National Coordinator of WANEP-Ghana advised the security agencies to remove their security caps and foster collaboration to look at conflict and violence from the civilian perspective for positive resolution. He said promoting peace in 2012 was a shared responsibility and that WANEP-Ghana with the support of various donors implemented a number of projects and activities that geared towards reducing violence in the country. He said WANEP was working with the media, the youth of various political parties, various women’s groups and communities to promote the culture of non-violence in their communities. Mr Bayor said one key area that WANEP was actively and deeply involved was the promotion of violence prevention in some noted hotspots before, during and after the elections. He indicated that WANEP-Ghana had strengthened its early warning capacity by rolling out a new and more robust data gathering systems, expanded its data gathering capacity through the involvement of the public while their community based monitors were trained to report on signals of violence. Mr Moses Mabengba, Northern Regional Minister in a speech read on his behalf commended WANEP for its numerous peace-building initiatives, which had helped reduced the tension in the Northern Region and pledged that the RCC would continue to partner and collaborate with WANEP for conflict resolution. GNA...

Winneba, Nov. 9, GNA – Mr Samuel Richard Ziggah, Chief Patron of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) branch of the Tertiary Institutional Network (TEIN) has said that the concept of free Senior High School (SHS) being espoused by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is mere propaganda intended to baffle Ghanaians, especially the rural folks. He wondered whether Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo, New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate who said he had budgeted for the programme, had also budgeted for the reduction of the number of years of training for qualified teachers. Mr Ziggah who is also a Senior Lecturer at the UEW, said these while addressing members of TEIN on the topic “Free Senior High School, a Miracle” at a meeting in Winneba. He said it was about time Ghanaians watched out for hungry and angry politicians and ignored them. According to Mr Ziggah, the current population of the country was 24.7 million based on the 2010 Housing and Population Census and also the 2008 Ghana Living Standard Survey put the percentage of Ghanaians aged 15-19 at 11.2 per cent for both male and female. He said currently the number of public SHS in the country was 474 and 126 private institutions, totalling 600 institutions. “Assuming the private schools cater for eight per cent of the rest of the population it means a total of 1.4 million students are enrolled.” Mr Ziggah said based on available statistics, the more pressing problem was the expansion of tertiary education and not spending on SHS products who had no place to learn real life skills to prepare them to contribute positively in the society. “Let us ask ourselves the following questions: For the NPP's eight years in office, how many universities did they establish? Which aspect of the SHS is going to be free - is it the boarding and lodging, text book user fee? Are PTA dues also going to be paid by the government? Do we have the classrooms and the dormitories whiles 60 per cent of our schools are still under trees? Have we sat down to realise the effect of large class size on effective teaching and learning?” he argued. Mr Ziggah said NDC believed in quality education and wanted dormitories, science laboratories, ICT centres to be built cross board. "Above all, trained professional teacher for the job are essential before the nation can embark on the journey for free SHS", he said, adding that the NDC was not against free education in the country. GNA...

Odumase, Nov. 09, GNA - Among the 12 female candidates contesting the 33 parliamentary seats in the Eastern Region for the December 07 elections is Mrs Dufie Dedo Agyarko-Kusi, contesting the Lower Manya Krobo constituency, on the ticket of the New Patriotic party (NPP). The constituency is a stronghold of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), having won the seat since 1996. A product of Mofra Trom, Wesley Girls Senior High School and the University of Ghana where she was one of the youngest students at the age of 18 in 1968, she holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honors) in French, a Masters in law from the University of Paris. She worked as a translator in French and Spanish at several international organizations including UNESCO for many years and later became a freelance translator. She currently works as a legal consultant to international organizations and a member of the Ghana Education Service Council (GES). In 2004 she contested the primary of the NPP with two males who later stepped down for her but lost to the NDC’s Mr Michael Teye-Nyaunu. In 2008 she did not contest the seat due to bereavement, so her younger brother, Mr Kwasi Agyarko-Kyerematen, contested but lost again to the NDC. Mrs Agyarko- Kusi decided to stage a comeback and contested the primary with a male counterpart and won to contest the seat on behalf of the NPP. Mrs Agyarko-Kusi told the GNA that she was optimistic that this year she would win the seat to represent her people. She said her constituency was plagued with many social issues such as high maternal deaths and poverty due to lack of education among many women and that her passion was education, especially among children and when given the nod she would work to overcome those challenges. Mrs Agyarko-Kusi said she believed that a literate community was the key to reducing poverty and its resultant consequences in the area and appealed to the people of the constituency to vote for her to champion the cause of women and children to transform the communities. In her view, the people were tired of unfulfilled promises over the years and it was high time they changed their voting pattern, adding that 20 years of the NDC representation was enough and needed to change. GNA...

Accra, Nov. 9, GNA – Investigations conducted by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Friday uncovered that fake copies of manifestos of the two major political parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are on sale at GH¢ 5 a piece. The fake documents are being sold along some principal streets in Accra and contain just a few of the two parties’ policies and programmes as captured in their original manifesto documents, even though it is not the abridged version. Compared to the original manifestos the fake ones also skipped important information which the parties were putting across to the Ghanaian electorate in order to win their votes. Whereas the original NDC manifesto begins with President John Dramani Mahama’s forward, an Executive summary and a table of content, the fake one starts with a brief summary of events during the launch of the manifesto on October 4, 2012, and comes without any table of content. The original NPP manifesto also starts with a statement from Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, Presidential Candidate of the party, and an executive summary, but GNA discovered that in the fake one all this vital information is missing. The themes of the manifestos are also missing in the fake manifesto. For instance, in the area of corruption, it failed to highlight the NPP’s programmes and policies to curb corruption in the event that it wins political power on December 7. The fake NDC manifesto faintly captured topics such as: “our 2008 manifesto achievement in education, health for all, pension for a decent retirement, harmonized social protection, the aged, women’s empowerment, child labour and street children, youth development sports development, comprehensive poverty reduction, savannah accelerated development, and citizen monitoring of performance of social impact, among others. The original NDC version covered topics such as how the party intended to build “a strong and resilient economy, maintaining robust macro-economic fundamentals monetary policy, fiscal policy, agricultural modernization, fisheries, staple crops, cash crops, other cash crops, irrigation, agricultural mechanization, poultry and livestock. “Seed production, agriculture finance, research, extension services and agriculture education, the private sector is key land: the economic basis, our forests are endangered, mining for national development, manufacturing: adding value to our raw materials. Industrialization: building on our oil wealth oil and gas and natural resources, working for happiness training and capacity building, job creation, tourism and the creative industry, tourism, the creative industry, putting people first, education: The original version of the NPP manifesto promises to introduce reforms in institutions that deal with corruption and strengthened the asset declaration regime as well as other institutional initiatives such as legislative reforms to fight corruption in the country but they were all missing in the fake manifesto. The GNA further discovered that in the original version of the NPP manifesto, every chapter ends with an important quotation from former President John Agyekum Kufuor or Nana Addo Dankwa-Akufo Addo, the party’s Presidential Candidate for the December general election, but which were not captured in the fake one. When contacted by the GNA, both the NDC and NPP said they were not aware of the piracy and said they would conduct their own investigations into the issue. GNA...

Ekumfi Narkwa, (C/R) Nov. 9, GNA - Mr Otu Abremoah, an opinion leader of the newly created Ekumfi District in the Central Region, has advised the people against compelling President John Dramani Mahama to nominate a District Chief Executive (DCE) for the area. He said President Mahama should be given ample time to nominate efficient people to help in the development of the District, and explained that the time to select a DCE for the area was too short, considering the fact that Ghana would go to the polls on December 7. Mr Abremoah in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Ekumfi Narkwa, appealed to the electorate to vote massively for President Mahama, National Democratic Congress presidential candidate for Election 2012, and Mr Abeiku Crentsil, parliamentary candidate for Mfantseman East, in December. The opinion leader stressed that Ghanaians should retain the NDC in power as way of honouring the late President John Evans Atta Mills. Mr Abremoah said the people of the district had benefited from the national cake through the provision of energy, potable water, health and roads. He reminded the people that the creation of Ekumfi District was started by the late President Mills. GNA ...

Accra, Nov. 9, GNA – The Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Mr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuye, said on Friday that the collapsed Melcom Shopping Mall at Achimota was not constructed under his watch. He told a press conference in Accra that the building was started in 1997 and completed in 2008. “I took office in May 2009 so evidently this construction did not occur under my watch. There is no way I, as Mayor of the city, will be part of any negligence so as to compromise on the safety of the public,” he said. Mr Vanderpuye said public safety had always been his watchword and the hallmark of his responsibility as chief executive of Accra. “Whether I am working on market issues, decongestion of the city, floods, educational development, health and overall construction development within the city, public safety is always at the back of my mind,” he said. There have been calls by some people for the Mayor to quit in the face of the shoddy work that caused the building to collapse last Wednesday morning. At least nine people have died while 78 have been rescued from the rubble of the five-storey building housing the Melcom shopping centre at Achimota in Accra. A task force made up of the Ghana Armed Forces, Ghana Police Service, Ghana National Fire Service, National Disaster Management Organisation and the National Ambulance Service have been joined by an 18-member Israeli team as they race against time to rescue more people from the ruins of the building. GNA ...

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