Communities of member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) would, by the end of this year, be given the opportunity to participate fully in the activities of the ECOWAS Parliament.
This, according to the leader of Ghana’s delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament, Mr John Tia Akologo, is to make the ECOWAS Parliament more transparent and a participatory one with an electoral process which would ensure proper grass roots representation.
To this end, he said, citizens of all member states shall be eligible to contest elections to be members of the ECOWAS Parliament through the adoption of a system code-named “Direct Universal Adult Suffrage”.
Presently, that privilege is bestowed only on elected national parliamentarians.
Mr Akologo who was addressing a sensitisation forum on the ECOWAS Parliament in Wa, noted that the involvement of the citizenry in the deliberations of the ECOWAS Parliament would make the organisation more prominent in the process of regional integration.
He added that a subcommittee on the election of members had opted to abide by electoral laws of the respective member countries as the mode of elections for members of the community who would contest to join the parliament.
“The electoral bodies of the respective member countries would be responsible for the delineation of national constituencies on the basis of national exigencies while having due regard to 30 per cent gender balance,” he emphasised.
Mr Akologo who is also the Minister of Information, was hopeful that the parliament would adopt the proposals made under the universal adult suffrage next month when the house would reconvene.
That, according to him, would give the ECOWAS Parliament a more concrete and actual legislative powers other than just an advisory body, to make it more purposeful and to enhance the quality of democratic practices in the sub-region.
Mr Akologo said ECOWAS was formed by 15 member states’ about 40 years ago, and
the ECOWAS Parliament created 10 years ago also had representations from members states national parliament.
He said the aim of the sub-regional body was to foster co-operation and development among member states with respect to economic activities and regional integration among other issues.
Responding to questions, the minister promised to capture the issue of Fulani herdsmen and the recent boundary issues with neighbouring Cote d’ Ivoire in its country report to be submitted to the house when it reconvenes in Abuja, Nigeria next month, for advice.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
12-MEMBER CNCUS COMMITTEE INAUGURATED (PAGE 14, APRIL 21, 2010)
A 12-member Census Implementation Committee for the Upper West Region has been inaugurated in Wa.
The committee, which has the Regional Co-ordinating Director, Mr David Yakubu, as Chairman, also has members selected from academia, media, statistical service and the regional house of chiefs, among other institutions.
The Government Statistician, Dr Grace Bediako, in a speech read on her behalf by Mr David Kombart, officer in charge of Field Operations at the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), urged members of the committee to start work immediately.
She said the census was an important national exercise which did not only measure the size of the population, but also made available, basic information about the geographical distribution and characteristics of people.
“Census is a national exercise with unparalleled dimensions and requirements. It is also an indispensable governance tool required to ensure that democracy works. We must, therefore, do a great job for the success of the exercise”, Dr Bediako advised, and stressed the need to widen the scope and tap the expertise of all people to assist in the exercise.
On the role of the media, Dr Bediako said people’s understanding and perception of census was critical for the successful execution of the exercise and, therefore, there was the need for the media to intensify its education and sensitisation in that regard.
She further urged the various district assemblies to assist the District Census Implementation Committees with the necessary logistics to enhance the efforts of the field officers.
The deputy Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Caesar Kale, who inaugurated the committee, traced the history of a number of population and housing censuses that the country had undertaken since independence, and said the government was determined that the fifth post-independence population census would be conducted successfully by the latter part of the this year.
He explained that the country had undergone a few changes with respect to population distribution, settlement patterns and the creation of additional districts and, therefore, in order to be able to effectively track these changes, there was the need for a census.
Mr Kale further indicated that the GSS had been conducting household sample surveys but that provided estimates which could only help make inputs into the outcome of the national census.
“The continuation of such programmes, therefore, would make available essential information for the formulation, monitoring and evaluation of the country’s population and socio-economic development programmes such as the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy and the Millennium Development Goals”, he emphasised.
He said the results of the census would be an essential reference for the equitable distribution of the country’s resources, revision of electoral areas, constituencies, among others.
For his part, the Chairman of the committee, Mr Yakubu, charged members to rise up to the task since the success or failure of the exercise hinged on their activities.
He also, called for teamwork among committee members.
The committee, which has the Regional Co-ordinating Director, Mr David Yakubu, as Chairman, also has members selected from academia, media, statistical service and the regional house of chiefs, among other institutions.
The Government Statistician, Dr Grace Bediako, in a speech read on her behalf by Mr David Kombart, officer in charge of Field Operations at the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), urged members of the committee to start work immediately.
She said the census was an important national exercise which did not only measure the size of the population, but also made available, basic information about the geographical distribution and characteristics of people.
“Census is a national exercise with unparalleled dimensions and requirements. It is also an indispensable governance tool required to ensure that democracy works. We must, therefore, do a great job for the success of the exercise”, Dr Bediako advised, and stressed the need to widen the scope and tap the expertise of all people to assist in the exercise.
On the role of the media, Dr Bediako said people’s understanding and perception of census was critical for the successful execution of the exercise and, therefore, there was the need for the media to intensify its education and sensitisation in that regard.
She further urged the various district assemblies to assist the District Census Implementation Committees with the necessary logistics to enhance the efforts of the field officers.
The deputy Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Caesar Kale, who inaugurated the committee, traced the history of a number of population and housing censuses that the country had undertaken since independence, and said the government was determined that the fifth post-independence population census would be conducted successfully by the latter part of the this year.
He explained that the country had undergone a few changes with respect to population distribution, settlement patterns and the creation of additional districts and, therefore, in order to be able to effectively track these changes, there was the need for a census.
Mr Kale further indicated that the GSS had been conducting household sample surveys but that provided estimates which could only help make inputs into the outcome of the national census.
“The continuation of such programmes, therefore, would make available essential information for the formulation, monitoring and evaluation of the country’s population and socio-economic development programmes such as the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy and the Millennium Development Goals”, he emphasised.
He said the results of the census would be an essential reference for the equitable distribution of the country’s resources, revision of electoral areas, constituencies, among others.
For his part, the Chairman of the committee, Mr Yakubu, charged members to rise up to the task since the success or failure of the exercise hinged on their activities.
He also, called for teamwork among committee members.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
800 COMMUNITIES TO BE DISINFECTED (BACK PAGE, APRIL 17, 2010)
MORE than 800 communities in the Upper West Region covering about 7,500 km of tsetse fly-infested areas between Ghana and Burkina Faso, are to be disinfested under the Pan-African Tsetse fly and Trypanosomiasis Eradication Campaign (PATTEC) spraying exercise.
The exercise, which is a deviation from the previous ground spraying, is being done aerially with five light aircraft.
Launching the disinfestation exercise at the Wa airstrip, a deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Alfred Tia Sugri, said as part of the programme, the communities would also be sensitised to the trypanosomiasis disease.
He indicated that lying in the Guinea Savannah Zone, the Upper West Region could be a leading producer of livestock in the country.
However, the trypanosomiasis disease, which mostly affects cattle, poses a very serious threat to both human and their animals, thereby reducing the production of milk, meat and the economic viability of the animals.
Such factors, he said, could deprive the people of income and other benefits from agriculture.
Dr Sugri said African heads of state, in an attempt to eradicate the insects and the disease, passed a resolution 10 years ago to make the spraying exercise a multi-national project to eradicate tsetse flies from the continent.
That, he said, had brought together countries such as Burkina Faso and Mali to also join in the exercise, adding that East African countries such as Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia were also taking part in the project.
The National Co-ordinator of the tsetse fly spraying exercise, Dr Charles Mahama, told the Daily Graphic that the exercise was being supported with $10 million from the African Development Bank and the Government of Ghana for the next six years.
“The objective is to weed out the tsetse flies across all corners of the continent,” he explained.
On the effects of the tsetse flies on animals in the region, Dr Mahama said so far, out of more than 2,000 ruminants screened, particularly cattle, it was realised that the trypanosomiasis disease was very serious among animals in the region.
However, he said, no case of the disease was identified after screening more than 22,000 people countrywide, which included 14,000 people from the Upper West Region.
He traced the history of tsetse flies and the trypanosomiasis disease in the three northern regions and said even though northern Ghana was well-endowed, the effects of diseases such as the trypanosomaisis and the invasion of tsetse flies were hampering efforts to reap the desired benefits from such resources.
He lauded the introduction of the aerial spraying system, pointing out that previously, the ground spraying led to the removal of vegetation, as well as the killing of wildlife.
For his part, the deputy Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Caesar Kale, who chaired the function, was happy that the exercise had begun in the region.
He, therefore, called on the chiefs and people of the region to support the exercise to make it a success.
The exercise, which is a deviation from the previous ground spraying, is being done aerially with five light aircraft.
Launching the disinfestation exercise at the Wa airstrip, a deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Alfred Tia Sugri, said as part of the programme, the communities would also be sensitised to the trypanosomiasis disease.
He indicated that lying in the Guinea Savannah Zone, the Upper West Region could be a leading producer of livestock in the country.
However, the trypanosomiasis disease, which mostly affects cattle, poses a very serious threat to both human and their animals, thereby reducing the production of milk, meat and the economic viability of the animals.
Such factors, he said, could deprive the people of income and other benefits from agriculture.
Dr Sugri said African heads of state, in an attempt to eradicate the insects and the disease, passed a resolution 10 years ago to make the spraying exercise a multi-national project to eradicate tsetse flies from the continent.
That, he said, had brought together countries such as Burkina Faso and Mali to also join in the exercise, adding that East African countries such as Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia were also taking part in the project.
The National Co-ordinator of the tsetse fly spraying exercise, Dr Charles Mahama, told the Daily Graphic that the exercise was being supported with $10 million from the African Development Bank and the Government of Ghana for the next six years.
“The objective is to weed out the tsetse flies across all corners of the continent,” he explained.
On the effects of the tsetse flies on animals in the region, Dr Mahama said so far, out of more than 2,000 ruminants screened, particularly cattle, it was realised that the trypanosomiasis disease was very serious among animals in the region.
However, he said, no case of the disease was identified after screening more than 22,000 people countrywide, which included 14,000 people from the Upper West Region.
He traced the history of tsetse flies and the trypanosomiasis disease in the three northern regions and said even though northern Ghana was well-endowed, the effects of diseases such as the trypanosomaisis and the invasion of tsetse flies were hampering efforts to reap the desired benefits from such resources.
He lauded the introduction of the aerial spraying system, pointing out that previously, the ground spraying led to the removal of vegetation, as well as the killing of wildlife.
For his part, the deputy Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Caesar Kale, who chaired the function, was happy that the exercise had begun in the region.
He, therefore, called on the chiefs and people of the region to support the exercise to make it a success.
Friday, April 16, 2010
20 COMMNITIES TO ENJOY POWER...In Sissala East (PAGE 23, APRIL 16, 2010)
TWENTY communities in the Sissala East District in the Upper West Region are to be connected to the national electricity grid under the self-help electrification project by the end of the year.
The beneficiary communities include Ping, Wullu, Chalo, Mwaduonu, Kassana, Nabulu and Pinna.
The Sissala East District Chief Executive (DCE), Madam Alijata Sulemana, said mapping to provide technical aspects of the low tension poles had already been completed.
Madam Sulemana was addressing the first ordinary meeting of the assembly at Tumu.
She said the assembly had also awarded a contract for the rehabilitation of 16 boreholes in a number of communities in the district.
Madam Sulemana said with funding from the Japanese government, two kilometres of the Tumu-Tokrobelle road would be tarred under the district capital roads improvements project while the assembly was bracing itself to construct two police stations at Bugubelle and revive the one at Welembelle.
She said the projects would be carried out based on the final approval from the national headquarters of the Ghana Police Service, after which the Tumu Police Station would be elevated to the status of a divisional headquarters.
Madam Sulemana stressed the determination of the assembly to improve the standard of education.
She stated that with the support of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), the assembly was constructing six-unit classroom blocks with stores and other ancillaries each for some communities, including Ping, Kassana and Nabulu.
Commenting on the recent outbreak of Cerebro Spinal Meningitis (CSM), the DCE commended the District Health Management Team for its role in containing the disease, adding that 1,799 students and other members of the public were vaccinated throughout the period.
She also expressed appreciation to Plan Ghana and Action Aid, both non-governmental organisations, for carrying out an intensive public health education on the CSM during the outbreak.
Madam Sulemana was, however, not happy about the frequent smuggling of fuel through the district to neighbouring Burkina Faso, but praised the district security committee for dealing with the situation.
The Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Caesar Kale, disclosed that 11 out of 19 senior high schools (SHS) in the region would benefit from the government’s policy to construct new classrooms and dormitories to accommodate continuing students.
He urged members of the district assembly to always build consensus in their deliberations since that would be the hallmark of the assembly’s maturity as far as democracy was concerned.
Mr Kale advised the assembly against the over-reliance on the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), saying it must strive to strengthen its monitoring mechanisms to halt the leakage associated with revenue mobilisation.
He expressed concern about the indiscriminate siting of projects and called for proper planning of districts as well as the strengthening of statutory town planning committees to ensure effective supervision and monitoring.
Mr Kale further called for total support for the DCE and the assembly in order to achieve the targets of the government.
The beneficiary communities include Ping, Wullu, Chalo, Mwaduonu, Kassana, Nabulu and Pinna.
The Sissala East District Chief Executive (DCE), Madam Alijata Sulemana, said mapping to provide technical aspects of the low tension poles had already been completed.
Madam Sulemana was addressing the first ordinary meeting of the assembly at Tumu.
She said the assembly had also awarded a contract for the rehabilitation of 16 boreholes in a number of communities in the district.
Madam Sulemana said with funding from the Japanese government, two kilometres of the Tumu-Tokrobelle road would be tarred under the district capital roads improvements project while the assembly was bracing itself to construct two police stations at Bugubelle and revive the one at Welembelle.
She said the projects would be carried out based on the final approval from the national headquarters of the Ghana Police Service, after which the Tumu Police Station would be elevated to the status of a divisional headquarters.
Madam Sulemana stressed the determination of the assembly to improve the standard of education.
She stated that with the support of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), the assembly was constructing six-unit classroom blocks with stores and other ancillaries each for some communities, including Ping, Kassana and Nabulu.
Commenting on the recent outbreak of Cerebro Spinal Meningitis (CSM), the DCE commended the District Health Management Team for its role in containing the disease, adding that 1,799 students and other members of the public were vaccinated throughout the period.
She also expressed appreciation to Plan Ghana and Action Aid, both non-governmental organisations, for carrying out an intensive public health education on the CSM during the outbreak.
Madam Sulemana was, however, not happy about the frequent smuggling of fuel through the district to neighbouring Burkina Faso, but praised the district security committee for dealing with the situation.
The Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Caesar Kale, disclosed that 11 out of 19 senior high schools (SHS) in the region would benefit from the government’s policy to construct new classrooms and dormitories to accommodate continuing students.
He urged members of the district assembly to always build consensus in their deliberations since that would be the hallmark of the assembly’s maturity as far as democracy was concerned.
Mr Kale advised the assembly against the over-reliance on the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), saying it must strive to strengthen its monitoring mechanisms to halt the leakage associated with revenue mobilisation.
He expressed concern about the indiscriminate siting of projects and called for proper planning of districts as well as the strengthening of statutory town planning committees to ensure effective supervision and monitoring.
Mr Kale further called for total support for the DCE and the assembly in order to achieve the targets of the government.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
ASSEMBLY MEMBERS SHOULD BE REWARDED ADEQUATELY — BRAIMAH (PAGE 13, APRIL 15, 2010)
A MEMBER of the Council of State, Naa Seidu Braimah, has called for proper remuneration for members of district assemblies.
That, he said, was because the work of assembly members was a difficult one and characterised by problems which constantly keep them involved in events in their respective electoral areas.
Naa Braimah, who was addressing the first ordinary session of the Sissala East District at Tumu in the Upper West Region, noted that in some electoral areas, motorcycles of assembly members served as ambulances since they were used to convey sick people to hospitals and clinics.
Others, he stated, were also asked to support weddings and naming ceremonies, while in some areas, funeral donations by assembly members had been institutionalised.
He further appealed to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to put in place measures which would soon pave the way for assembly members to take their allowances from the consolidated fund.
He commended assembly members for their efforts so far, in spite of the enormous challenges they faced, and urged them to unite and do more for the people.
Commenting on the decentralisation process, Naa Braimah explained that the system came with a lot of challenges, which when properly handled could impact positively on future development.
He advised assembly members to initiate and implement programmes to provide adequate essential services in basic education, health and environmental hygiene.
“They must also mobilise resources and determine sound priorities of lower level development while placing more emphasis on human resource development if they would be able to achieve these”. Naa Braimah stressed and added that district assemblies must create the requisite school environment for schoolchildren and students and also motivate and encourage teachers to surmount the challenges which came with their work.
Naa Braimah, who is also the Guli Naa, further called for fruitful cooperation among district assemblies members and advised them to work to promote the material and human resources in their respective areas.
He said assemblies could only achieve their objectives when members continued to be non-partisan.
Naa Braimah said district assemblies must recognise chiefs and other traditional leaders as agents of development and advised chiefs to complement efforts of the assemblies in to mobilise revenue and enforce bye laws. He also asked them to serve as role models to the people and appealed for the payment of realistic allowances for chiefs.
Touching on the Bawku conflict, the council of state member appealed to the feuding factions to lay down their arms and go back to the negotiating table.
He described as unacceptable, the recent shooting and maiming of innocent people in Bawku and said “Guns only destroy lives and property but cannot resolve any impasse or misunderstanding”.
That, he said, was because the work of assembly members was a difficult one and characterised by problems which constantly keep them involved in events in their respective electoral areas.
Naa Braimah, who was addressing the first ordinary session of the Sissala East District at Tumu in the Upper West Region, noted that in some electoral areas, motorcycles of assembly members served as ambulances since they were used to convey sick people to hospitals and clinics.
Others, he stated, were also asked to support weddings and naming ceremonies, while in some areas, funeral donations by assembly members had been institutionalised.
He further appealed to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to put in place measures which would soon pave the way for assembly members to take their allowances from the consolidated fund.
He commended assembly members for their efforts so far, in spite of the enormous challenges they faced, and urged them to unite and do more for the people.
Commenting on the decentralisation process, Naa Braimah explained that the system came with a lot of challenges, which when properly handled could impact positively on future development.
He advised assembly members to initiate and implement programmes to provide adequate essential services in basic education, health and environmental hygiene.
“They must also mobilise resources and determine sound priorities of lower level development while placing more emphasis on human resource development if they would be able to achieve these”. Naa Braimah stressed and added that district assemblies must create the requisite school environment for schoolchildren and students and also motivate and encourage teachers to surmount the challenges which came with their work.
Naa Braimah, who is also the Guli Naa, further called for fruitful cooperation among district assemblies members and advised them to work to promote the material and human resources in their respective areas.
He said assemblies could only achieve their objectives when members continued to be non-partisan.
Naa Braimah said district assemblies must recognise chiefs and other traditional leaders as agents of development and advised chiefs to complement efforts of the assemblies in to mobilise revenue and enforce bye laws. He also asked them to serve as role models to the people and appealed for the payment of realistic allowances for chiefs.
Touching on the Bawku conflict, the council of state member appealed to the feuding factions to lay down their arms and go back to the negotiating table.
He described as unacceptable, the recent shooting and maiming of innocent people in Bawku and said “Guns only destroy lives and property but cannot resolve any impasse or misunderstanding”.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
2 JIRAPA COMMUNITIES GET BOREHOLES (PAGE 20, APRIL 13, 2010)
TWO communities in the Jirapa Constituency are to receive a borehole each at a total cost of GH¢40,000. They are Han and Chapuri.
Also to benefit from the project are the Jirapa and Ullo Senior High schools.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Jirapa, Dr Francis Bawaana Dakura, who initiated the projects, said it was in fulfilment of his campaign promises during the Jirapa bye-election.
He said the two schools and the communities brought the problem of lack of water and inaccessibility to water to his attention and he therefore made efforts to ensure that the water situation in those institutions and communities were improved.
Dr Dakura said GH¢15,000 of the entire amount for the projects were raised from his own resources while GH¢25,000 came from his share of the common fund.
He said he had made a proposal to the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to consider releasing GH¢30,000 for the commencement of a senior high school (SHS) at Han, since students had to walk for over 25 kilometres from Han to Ullo to attend such an institution.
The MP further said he was making efforts to get computers for Jirapa SHS and also get the school connected to the national grid, while the Ullo SHS would soon receive a school bus.
Speaking at a durbar at Han, Dr Dakura explained some of the policies of the government such as the Youth in Agriculture Programme and the introduction of the block farming to the people, and urged them to take advantage of the government’s programmes.
He urged the people to be patient with the government as it was putting in place the right measures to make the country a better one for all.
Dr Dakura said the government of the NDC was on track and very soon all Ghanaians would reap the desired positive results.
Later, Dr Dakura called on the octogenarian mother of the late MP for Jirapa, Edward Salia, at Chapuri and promised to complete a borehole project in the community.
According to Dr Dakura, that was in fulfilment of a promise made by former President Rawlings during the campaign for the bye-election.
Madam Abiba Salia expressed appreciation to Dr Dakura and former President Rawlings for their support and asked for God’s blessings for them.
Also to benefit from the project are the Jirapa and Ullo Senior High schools.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Jirapa, Dr Francis Bawaana Dakura, who initiated the projects, said it was in fulfilment of his campaign promises during the Jirapa bye-election.
He said the two schools and the communities brought the problem of lack of water and inaccessibility to water to his attention and he therefore made efforts to ensure that the water situation in those institutions and communities were improved.
Dr Dakura said GH¢15,000 of the entire amount for the projects were raised from his own resources while GH¢25,000 came from his share of the common fund.
He said he had made a proposal to the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) to consider releasing GH¢30,000 for the commencement of a senior high school (SHS) at Han, since students had to walk for over 25 kilometres from Han to Ullo to attend such an institution.
The MP further said he was making efforts to get computers for Jirapa SHS and also get the school connected to the national grid, while the Ullo SHS would soon receive a school bus.
Speaking at a durbar at Han, Dr Dakura explained some of the policies of the government such as the Youth in Agriculture Programme and the introduction of the block farming to the people, and urged them to take advantage of the government’s programmes.
He urged the people to be patient with the government as it was putting in place the right measures to make the country a better one for all.
Dr Dakura said the government of the NDC was on track and very soon all Ghanaians would reap the desired positive results.
Later, Dr Dakura called on the octogenarian mother of the late MP for Jirapa, Edward Salia, at Chapuri and promised to complete a borehole project in the community.
According to Dr Dakura, that was in fulfilment of a promise made by former President Rawlings during the campaign for the bye-election.
Madam Abiba Salia expressed appreciation to Dr Dakura and former President Rawlings for their support and asked for God’s blessings for them.
Monday, April 5, 2010
YOUTH ALIVE TRAINS YOUTH IN PRODUCTIVE VENTURES (PAGE 11, APRIL 1, 2010)
A number of unemployed youth in the Upper West Region have benefited from a training programme organised by Youth Alive, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), to enable them to engage in productive ventures and discourage them from begging and hawking in the street.
Apart from the training programmes, the organisation also sensitised the beneficiaries to appreciate the need to build their capabilities, in order to empower them economically.
Significantly, since undertaking this programme, Youth Alive has been able to put smiles on the faces of a number of residents in the region, who are operating small-scale businesses.
At a passing-out ceremony in Wa for 21 beneficiaries including a man, the Regional Programme Manager of Youth Alive, Miss Shirley Kunkyebe, indicated that all the graduates would receive various tools and gadgets such as hair dryers, furniture for their shops, cosmetics, towels, sewing machines and packets of roofing sheets.
This, she explained, was to boost the businesses of the beneficiaries to cater for themselves and their families.
She said her outfit took the graduates through a four-year training programme by engaging them as apprentices with seamstresses, auto mechanics and hair dressers, among others.
During this period, Miss Kunkyebe said, Youth Alive rented rooms and gave the trainees a monthly allowance of GH¢6 and toiletries.
“Youth Alive also registered them under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and paid for their premium,” she said, adding that the next batch of street children to be scouted by Youth Alive would also be sent to these beneficiaries to also learn on the job
The Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Mahmud Khalid, in a speech read on his behalf, advised municipal and district assemblies to support Youth Alive in order to deal with the issue of streetism in the region.
He advised the beneficiaries to be ambassadors of the programme in order to get more people off the streets.
The regional minister touched on the responsibilities of parents and said parents must take full responsibilities for the upbringing of their children, stressing, “We must bring forth the number of children we will be able to cater for.”
He commended Youth Alive for the support and said it was the best way to integrate street children into families and the society.
The Upper West Director of the Department of Children, Mrs Annacleta Naab, advised the graduates against migrating from the north to the south in search of non-existent jobs.
She said when they focused and remained in the region, they could equally access more opportunities than what they would go through when they migrated to the southern part of the country.
She lauded the organisation for its intervention to curb the ritual of seasonal migration of the youth from the north to the south to engage in menial jobs.
One of the beneficiaries, Miss Abubakar Fahima, on behalf of her mates expressed appreciation to Youth Alive and all other stakeholders for the support and training.
Apart from the training programmes, the organisation also sensitised the beneficiaries to appreciate the need to build their capabilities, in order to empower them economically.
Significantly, since undertaking this programme, Youth Alive has been able to put smiles on the faces of a number of residents in the region, who are operating small-scale businesses.
At a passing-out ceremony in Wa for 21 beneficiaries including a man, the Regional Programme Manager of Youth Alive, Miss Shirley Kunkyebe, indicated that all the graduates would receive various tools and gadgets such as hair dryers, furniture for their shops, cosmetics, towels, sewing machines and packets of roofing sheets.
This, she explained, was to boost the businesses of the beneficiaries to cater for themselves and their families.
She said her outfit took the graduates through a four-year training programme by engaging them as apprentices with seamstresses, auto mechanics and hair dressers, among others.
During this period, Miss Kunkyebe said, Youth Alive rented rooms and gave the trainees a monthly allowance of GH¢6 and toiletries.
“Youth Alive also registered them under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and paid for their premium,” she said, adding that the next batch of street children to be scouted by Youth Alive would also be sent to these beneficiaries to also learn on the job
The Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Mahmud Khalid, in a speech read on his behalf, advised municipal and district assemblies to support Youth Alive in order to deal with the issue of streetism in the region.
He advised the beneficiaries to be ambassadors of the programme in order to get more people off the streets.
The regional minister touched on the responsibilities of parents and said parents must take full responsibilities for the upbringing of their children, stressing, “We must bring forth the number of children we will be able to cater for.”
He commended Youth Alive for the support and said it was the best way to integrate street children into families and the society.
The Upper West Director of the Department of Children, Mrs Annacleta Naab, advised the graduates against migrating from the north to the south in search of non-existent jobs.
She said when they focused and remained in the region, they could equally access more opportunities than what they would go through when they migrated to the southern part of the country.
She lauded the organisation for its intervention to curb the ritual of seasonal migration of the youth from the north to the south to engage in menial jobs.
One of the beneficiaries, Miss Abubakar Fahima, on behalf of her mates expressed appreciation to Youth Alive and all other stakeholders for the support and training.
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