Tuesday, June 16, 2009
CANADIAN GOVT SPENDS GH¢3,485,000 IN UWR (PAGE 20)
THE Canadian Government has spent GH¢3,485,000 in financing various development projects in the Upper West Region since 2004.
The projects include construction of school blocks, teachers and nurses’ quarters, drilling of boreholes and CHPS compounds.
Code-named the District Wide Assistance Project (DWAP) and District Capacity Building Projects (DISCAP), the projects are being supervised by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) on behalf of the Canadian government.
This came to light when the Canadian High Commissioner in Accra Mr Darren Schemmer, paid a courtesy call on the Regional Minister, Mr Mahmud Khalid, at his office in Wa.
Mr Schemmer was in the region to congratulate the regional minister and the new municipal and district chief executives on their new appointments.
The High Commissioner also inspected some of the projects being undertaken by the Canadian government in the region.
Mr Schemmer visited some schools in the Wa West and Jirapa districts and the Nadowli Government Hospital in the Nadowli District.
Briefing the High Commissioner, Mr Khalid said the region was confronted with a number of development challenges such as high infant and maternal mortality rates, inadequate health facilities and school infrastructure.
He also mentioned lack of accessibility to treated water, low agricultural productivity and the extension of electricity to many parts of the region as some of the major problems facing the region.
Mr Khalid said that notwithstanding those problems, the region had vast arable land for agricultural purposes, sufficient labour force and very attractive tourist sites.
He, therefore, appealed to the High Commissioner to use his good offices to continue to offer the needed support for the accelerated development of the region.
“We have 76 per cent water coverage in the rural areas, but considering the rate of expansion, particularly in the Wa municipality in recent times, we would appreciate it if you continue to assist us to improve upon our water supply systems in the region”, the minister said.
For his part, Mr Schemmer stressed the need for the institution of measures to sustain the projects embarked upon.
He gave the assurance that the Canadian Government would continue to support the region.

MISS GHANA O9 TAKES OFF IN WA (SHOWBIZ, BACK PAGE)

Story and Picture by
Chris Nunoo

The journey to the Miss Ghana and National Dance Championship ‘09 titles, took off at the Adonis cinema hall in Wa, the Upper West regional capital last Saturday with nine pretty ladies, mostly students from the Wa campus of UDS competing for the opportunity to represent the region at the national event.
Unlike in past Miss Ghana pageants, where the first two winners represented their respective regions at the national level, the trend has now changed. This time, the top three will be presented to the general public to vote by text to determine which two finally represent the Upper West Region during the grand finale in Accra.
At the end of last Saturday’s proceedings 20-year-old, Juliet Amoafoah Sarpong, rose above the other eight participants to clinch the ultimate. She was followed by Sherifa Simdi Amadu 21, at second place and Khalida Luqman, 20, at third. Each of them received 200 Ghana cedis.
In the dance category, girl dancer Suhida Issah, stood tall among nineteen young men to win the regional dance championship. Suhida Issah “hypnotised” the judges with her gruelling waist wriggling to call the bluff of the men to collect the 200 Ghana cedis as her prize. Alhassan Wizy who was the favourite of majority of the audience, placed second. He also took home 150 Ghana cedis while Moomin A Adams came third and took away 50 Ghana cedis.
Prior to the crowning of the beauty queens many members of the audience expected more from the contestants apart from the walk and question time segments. This time round the highlife dance segment was scraped.
If there was anytime that King Ayisoba did not quite click with his audience, it was at the Wa show where he featured as a side attraction. However, Kawastone, Sherifatu Gunu and dancers lived up to expectation and thrilled the crowd with some dancing skills and songs.
Despite the few organisational hitches, the event was accepted by many in Wa as very welcome because the municipality rarely witnessed such events and therefore it was not surprising to see most people including the Deputy Regional Minister, Cesar Kale and some District Chief Executives defying all odds to be part of the function.
For the after-party, all the beauty queens and a section of the audience moved to Wizzy Vills night club, which is gradually establishing itself as the number one entertainment centre in the Wa municipality, to climax the Upper West edition of the Miss Ghana and National Dance Championship with a party which was held into the wee hours of Sunday morning.
The Miss Ghana train which continues to the Upper East and Northern regions on June 26 and 27, 2009, is being sponsored by PHC Motors, DDP, Bonaqua, Labadi Beach Hotel, A B L, Dannys Decoration, GTV, Somovision, Soundcheck and Trendsetters .

RTU SUBDUE ALL STARS (BACK PAGE)

Real Tamale United yesterday gave real meaning to their accolade as the giants of northern Ghana football when they reaffirmed their superiority over Wa All Stars by beating them 2-1 in their Glo Premier League match at the Wa Stadium.
Two vital goals from the heads of Akwasi Soale and Kabiru Imoro in the 29th and 53rd minutes put the brakes on All Stars who commenced the game with some aggression.
Things began to change from bad to worse for All Stars after the second goal as they found it difficult to string their passes together.
Such was the trend of play until Ben Acheampong rose above RTU goalkeeper John Adjetey to pull a goal back for All Stars in the 86th minute.

FIRE GUTS PART OF WA PRESIDENTIAL RESIDENCE (PAGE 20)

FIRE last Saturday morning gutted the ground floor of the new presidential residence at Wa, the Upper West regional capital, and destroyed items worth several millions of cedis.
Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Mr Joseph Ahinsah, who briefed the Daily Graphic, said but for the swift response of the Ghana National Fire Service personnel (GNFS), the fire could have engulfed the entire building.
He mentioned some of the items destroyed as woollen carpets, furniture and curtains.
Mr Ahinsah said preliminary investigations revealed that a fan regulator on the walls in the hall could be the cause of the fire.
He said the regulator, which melted either as a result of the fan functioning for a long time, could have led to the fire, adding that the Fire Service personnel who fought the fire would carry out follow-up investigations to ascertain the real cause of the fire.
“It was a serious situation but the intervention of the Fire Service personnel was able to save the situation”, he said.
Mr Ahinsah called for safety measures, especially with regard to the use of electric gadgets, to forestall such occurrences.
He also appealed to the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) to educate the staff of the presidential residence on some fire prevention measures.
That, Mr Ahinsah said, would empower them to be able to handle similar situations before the arrival of the GNFS.

ALL STARS PIP YOUTH (BACK PAGE)

Wa All Stars yesterday struggled to overcome the tactical supremacy of Tema Youth with a 1-0 victory despite stiff resistance from their opponents in their Glo Premier League match at the Wa Stadium.
It took a 54th minute goal from Daniel Bomfah to break the deadlock after an intense midfield battle dominated by the visitors.
All Stars’ Isaac Ofori beautifully took on two Tema Youth defenders from the flank and unleashed a tricky shot which was slotted home by Bomfah.

U/W REGION HAS HIGHEST HIV INFECTION PREVALENCE (PAGE 11)

The Upper West Region is currently said to have had the highest HIV infection prevalence rate of 1.6 per cent in 2007.
That, notwithstanding, the prevalence rate in the Wa municipality in particular, which stood at two per cent, is still said to be higher than the national average of 1.7 per cent.
This prevailing situation has awakened many stakeholders in the fight against the HIV and AIDS pandemic in the region, since extra effort is required to reverse the trend. However, in the face of all the attempts by these individuals, institutions and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to reduce the rate of infection and ensure a positive behavioural change among people, there seems to be some obstacles.
These obstacles have been identified as the refusal of most husbands whose wives have tested positive to the disease, to undergo a voluntary test and know their status.
Another challenge is the practice where as part of widowhood rites, women are handed over to the brothers of their deceased husbands to continue the marriage. This practice has been code-named "Bye election". In many instances too, the women are handicapped and cannot negotiate for safe sex. All these are said to be hindering continuous efforts to minimise the rate of HIV and AIDS infection in the region.
It is worth noting that even though most women are prepared to go for the voluntary testing, the men are reluctant to do so. It is against this backdrop that two years ago, Action Aid, an NGO, decided to mobilise Women Living With HIV and AIDS (WLWHA) in some districts in the region to sensitise and empower them to complement efforts at fighting the spread of the pandemic. The group is also to serve as a mouthpiece and advocacy group for women who find themselves in such circumstances and continue to suffer injustices and the exclusion of various forms.
She said such people often had less say to matters affecting them and stressed that the PLWHA in the Upper West Region must be accorded all the attention and care to enable them to live normal lives.
Mrs Boateng pledged the support of Action Aid for the voiceless, the marginalised and the excluded and underscored the need for WLWHA to continue championing their cause and fighting against human rights abuses that confronted them.
"My sisters and mothers, we need your support in the fight against HIV and AIDS. You must, therefore, avail yourselves as ambassadors in the fight against the disease and not ambassadors for the spread of the disease," she emphasised.
The Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Mahmud Khalid, in his interaction with the WLWHA expressed grave concern about the effects of HIV and AIDS infection on childbirth as well as safe motherhood, and commended Action Aid for focusing on WLWHA.
Mr Khalid said "reducing mother-to-child transmission of HIV and AIDS is very much achievable and, therefore, if we could sustain the efforts in that direction, we would be contributing immensely towards the ultimate reduction of the HIV and AIDS menace".
He called on the stakeholders not to be complacent but to intensify their efforts and come up with more pragmatic ways of dealing with the menace, as well as caring for the PLWHA.
Mr Khalid further pointed out the need to empower more women to be able to negotiate for safe sex, stressing that testing of husbands for their HIV status must be made compulsory as part of efforts to reduce infections.

CLERGYMEN URGED TO RE-EXAMINE THEIR LIFESTYLES (PAGE 40)

THE Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Mahmud Khalid, has charged members of the clergy to periodically re-examine themselves to know where they fall short.
He said in the face of the many challenges confronting modern-day Christians, such as immorality, dishonesty, corruption and violence in all spheres of life, there was no doubt that the congregation needed priests now more than ever before.
Mr Khalid said Christianity being a way of life, there was the need for priests and ministers, as leaders of churches, to place more emphasis on salvation in their teachings, instead of prosperity and miracle-related topics.
The regional minister was addressing the opening ceremony of the annual general meeting of the Wa Diocesan Priests Association (WADPA) at Jirapa.
The event was on the theme, “Strengthening the Weary Limbs for a More Effective Ministry”.
Mr Khalid suggested that a governing body of Christians should be constituted to establish clear-cut standards within which churches would operate.
That, he said, would streamline the activities of some modern-day churches and also nip in the bud religious bodies that had sprung up with the sole aim of satisfying the ulterior motives of its founders.
Commenting on the contributions of the Catholic Church in the country, the regional minister lauded the role of the church in the region in particular and the country in general.
He highlighted some of the developmental challenges facing the region, such as high infant mortality rate, poor health delivery system and the falling standards of education, and gave the assurance that the government would strive to improve the situation.
The Vicar General of the Wa Catholic Diocese, Rev Fr Cornelius Naah Bayirnoba, called on worshippers to work hand-in-hand with priests in their efforts to strengthen the spiritual well-being of the church.
He also urged worshippers not to exaggerate their expectations of priests.
Rev Fr Bayirnoba advised priests to remain steadfast and ensure that there was constant communication with God to enhance their efforts at seeking the face of the Lord in their daily deliberations.
For his part, the President of WADPA, Rev Fr Matthew Tuurosong, paid tribute to the early missionaries for their role in the establishment of the church at Jirapa, in spite of the harsh living conditions at the time.

UPPER WEST CHIEFS HOLD DURBAR FOR PRESIDENT MILLS (SPREAD)

A Durbar of chiefs and people of the Upper West Region has been held in honour of President John E. Atta Mills.
The short durbar held at the Naa Sidiki Bomi Park in Wa and marking the climax of President Mills’s two-day visit to the region as part of his four-day tour of the Upper East and West regions, was graced by people from all walks of life, including security personnel, the clergy and various cultural troupes.
President Mills, who arrived in Wa, the Upper West regional capital, to a tumultuous welcome by enthusiastic supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) at about 5:00 p.m. on Friday, was ushered into the municipality by the supporters, who had travelled by mummy trucks and motorcycles all the way from Wa to Loho, a nearby town, to meet him.
This brought vehicular movement in the Wa municipality to a snail pace and temporarily halted other activities.
In an address at the durbar, President Atta Mills reiterated his call for unity among all and sundry and said he would continue to be president for all.
He said it was part of the vision of his government to create jobs and invest in people, adding that with the proper harnessing of resources and the institution of the Savannah Agricultural Development Authority (SADA), there would be much progress of all forms in the three northern regions.
“The direction of the country has changed and we will move in the new direction,” President Mills stated.
Explaining why it took him time before visiting the Upper West Region after the 2008 general election, President Mills said as head of state and also leader of the NDC, it was important that he got all his Ministers, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCE’s) in place before embarking on the visit.
He was happy that the Upper West continued to remain peaceful in spite of some flash points and charged institutions responsible for the adjudication of chieftaincy cases to expedite action on such cases.
President Mills further reiterated his pledge to ensure fair and equitable distribution of all state resources.
The Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Muhmud Khalid, noted that the 100-per cent confirmation of all the president’s nominees for the position of MMDCEs in the region was enough testimony that the people of the region were ever ready to support his “Better Ghana” agenda.
Mr Khalid also called for unity among the people in the region, particularly the traditional leaders.
The President of the Upper West Regional House of Chiefs and Chief of Dorimon, Naa S. D. Gore, who chaired the function, catalogued a number of development challenges confronting the region and mentioned the development of agriculture and the construction of roads, especially the Wa-Bolga, Sawla-Fufulso and the Nadowli-Lawra-Hamile roads, as the roads which must be given urgent attention.
Naa Gore also expressed appreciation to successive governments for their roles in the construction of the Bole-Bamboi road.

INTERIOR MINISTER COMMENDS CHIEFS, PEOPLE OF UPPER WEST (PAGE 35)

The Minister of the Interior, Mr Cletus Avoka, has commended the chiefs and people of the Upper West Region for their role in ensuring continued peace in the region.
He said despite some differences among the ethnic groups, as well as some existing chieftaincy disputes and other disagreements, the people continued to exhibit a high sense of unity in diversity.
He, therefore, called on the people of the two other northern regions, particularly Bawku in the Upper East Region, to emulate the example of the Upper West Region by conducting themselves in a way that would ensure that constant peace prevailed in their respective regions.
Mr Avoka gave the advice when he addressed a durbar of chiefs and people at the Naa Sidiki Bomi II park at Wa in the Upper West Region.
"The Upper West would definitely have some problems like ethnic and chieftaincy disputes, but they still co-exist peacefully," he noted, saying, "I am grateful to the people of Upper West for the constant peace."
Commenting on the state of the Ghana Prisons and the police service in the region, Mr Avoka expressed grave concern about the overcrowding in the Wa prisons, which he said was to cater for 80 inmates but was currently occupied by 200 inmates.
He said accommodation for the police in the region was also bad and gave the assurance that the government had taken note of it and would do what it could to improve the situation.

HAVE FAITH IN GOVT — PREZ (1B)

THE President, Prof. John Evans Atta Mills, has called on Ghanaians to have confidence in the government as it works assiduously to build a better country for all.
He noted that no government could use just five months to right all that had been done wrong over the years, but said with the total support of all Ghanaians, the government would be able to deliver.
President Atta Mills, therefore, urged Ghanaians to rally behind the government in its quest to improve the living conditions of the citizenry and the entire country.
The President stated this when he interacted with supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Wa.
He thanked the supporters for their unflinching support for him and the party before, during and after the 2008 general election and assured them that his government would not turn its back on them.
The President was accompanied on the trip by the Minister of Defence, Lt Gen. J. H. Smith; the Minister of the Interior, Mr Cletus Avoka; the Presidential Spokesperson, Mr Mahama Ayariga; the Head of Communications at the Castle, Mr Koku Anyidoho, and some other ministers of state.
Before his arrival in Wa, President Atta Mills and his entourage, who travelled by road on Friday from Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region, were met at about 12.13 p.m. at the banks of the Sissili River, which divides the two upper regions.
He was met on arrival by the Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Mahmud Khalid, the Regional Chairman of the NDC, Mr Malik Issahaque, the Member of Council of State from the region, Naa Seidu Braimah, Members of Parliament and District Chief Executives from the region.
“I decided to travel by road from Bolga to Wa just to see what needs to be done on the road. Nobody has to tell us that there is the need to do something very quickly,” President Atta Mills stated after coming to terms with the very bad nature of the Wa-Bolga road.
On his way to Wa, President Atta Mills and his entourage called briefly at the Sissala East offices of Plan Ghana, a child-centred international non-governmental organisation (NGO), where he was briefed on activities by the area manager, Mr Richard Boadu.
President Atta Mills, in return, commended the NGO for its efforts at helping the needy in society and urged it to continue to assist more needy people.
The President also made a whistle stop at the Tumu Kuoro’s palace in Tumu to sympathise with the family of the late Tumu Kuoro, Kuoro Gilbert Kanton, who died early this year.