Tuesday, February 23, 2010

POLITICIANS ADVISED TO CRITICISE CONSTRUCTIVELY (PAGE 15, JAN 15, 2010)

THE Upper West Regional Propaganda Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Yakubu Yahaya, has stressed on the need for politicians to change the phase of politics from attacking personalities to an issue-based politics of constructive criticisms.
This, he said, was the only way to reduce the tension, rancour and all other negative traits which characterised politics in the country.
Mr Yahaya, who gave the advice during an interaction with the Daily Graphic in Wa, said the NDC organised all its elections in the region peacefully and so all the other political parties must emulate it and do same in order not to mar the peace which the region was enjoying.
“The regional minister, and all the other political heads need peace to continue with the good work they have started and therefore sustaining the peace in the region was very paramount in working to achieve the better Ghana that President Mills has promised Ghanaians” he added and thanked the traditional rulers and security agencies as well as the people of the region for their contribution towards the total development of the region.
Mr Yahaya further called on the media to be as professional as possible and said as the fourth estate of the realm, the government needed their support to achieve its targeted goals.
He called on all NDC faithful to remain steadfast and united even in the face of the initial difficulties which the government inherited and said President Mills’ Government was taking the right decisions to bring the economy back on track.
He said the NDC was a party for all Ghanaians and therefore it would do its best to meet the needs and aspirations of the entire citizenry.
Mr Yahaya further called on Ghanaians to rally behind President Mills’s Government and that the Government would prove to all Ghanaians that it is an able Government.

DON'T TEAR NDC APART — SPIO-GARBAH (PAGE 16, JAN 14, 2010)

AN aspiring national vice-chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr Ekwow Spio Garbrah, has described as dangerous and a big mistake the actions of certain members to tear the party apart.
He noted that without unity, the NDC could shoot itself in its own foot during the 2012 general election.
He, has, therefore called for unity among the rank and file in order to sustain and build on the structures of the party.
“It is dangerous and a mistake for us as members of the NDC when people say we must not give attention to Mr Rawlings. Mr Rawlings must be accorded all the respect as the founder of the party and as a former president of this country; he cannot be marginalised. In the same manner President Mills, as the president of Ghana, must be accorded all the respect,” he noted.
Dr Spio Garbrah made the call when he interacted with the media in Wa as part of his campaign towards the national delegates congress of the NDC, slated for Tamale in the Northern Region on Saturday.
He catalogued a number of programmes and projects he intended to embark on when he got the nod and said as a communications professional and someone who had been in charge of the sector, both in government and at the party level, he was ever ready to use his experiences to ensure that the government was able to deliver on its campaign promises.
He said apart from bringing the number of promises to the attention of the government, he would also compile such promises, particularly those outside the party manifesto, in order to keep track of such promises.
“I would also give ears to the party foot soldiers and serve as the voice of all the party activists. It is not proper when such categories of party members were left to their fate, especially when the party wins elections,” he stated and promised to work for the interest of these categories of party faithful.
Responding to a question as to whether he is from the Rawlings camp of the NDC, the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) chief executive quickly intervened and said there was nothing like the Rawlings or the Mills camp; rather “I am a pro-NDC man”.
He stressed the need for the party to build on its structures across the country and said that could only be realised when the party acquired its own permanent and well equipped offices, which is long over-due.
That, according to Dr Spio Garbrah, was the only way to be able to reach out to majority of the people and also be able to compile data of members of the party from the ward, constituency and the regional levels.
He appealed to delegates to the congress to endorse him since he could do the work.
“I urge all the delegates to vote for people who could do the work to keep the party in power via the 2012 elections and not candidates who are running because they think they have to contest,” he advised.
He also questioned the rationale behind people influencing delegates with items during such congresses or where candidates were made to step down to the advantage of other candidates and indicated that the Electoral Commission (EC), the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and all political parties must come out to determine what reasonable compensation ought to be given to delegates who attended such events after dissipating their energy.
“Instances where delegates were given mobile phones, cooking oil and fiscal cash are very wrong,” Dr Spio Garbrah concluded.

WOMAN ACCUSED OF WITCHCRAFT CALLS FOR JUSTICE (PAGE 11, JAN 14, 2010)

A52-year-old woman from Sokpeyiri, a village in the Wa West District in the Upper West Region, who was allegedly subjected to inhuman treatment by a soothsayer and two other persons, is calling for justice.
The woman, Madam Sunkari Ghanyi, said she felt humiliated, depressed and demoralised when she was wrongly accused of being a witch and having a hand in the death of her husband’s relative for which she was forced to drink a concoction, which has since had some psychological effects on her.
She explained that the concoction was made of the blood of a slaughtered fowl mixed with water and sand, as well as the chopped legs of a live toad.
Madam Ghanyi, who was in the company of some members of her family, called at the Wa office of the Daily Graphic to narrate her story, is, therefore, appealing to the Chief Justice and human rights organisations to intervene in the matter so that justice would be done.
Amid sobbing, she said, “I feel I have been handed a raw deal by the Wa District Magistrate’s Court, which acquitted and discharged the three suspects involved in the matter”.
She said sometime in the year 2008, the wife of her husband’s nephew had some complications during pregnancy and died while in labour together with her unborn baby at the Wa Hospital.
She said a few months after the death of the woman, her brother-in-law, one Bagabu Naa, who had travelled to the southern part of the country at the time of the death of the woman, returned to Sokpeyiri and did not take kindly to the news of the death of his daughter-in-law.
She said Bagabu Naa, in the company of one Kojo Zineta, who was the guardian of the deceased, went in for a soothsayer known as Naasoyili Anderanaa to find out the cause of the death of the woman.
She said she (Ghanyi) and others were assembled by the soothsayer, who performed some rituals.
She said the soothsayer first pointed at one woman as the one who caused the death of the pregnant woman but her children, who were around, protested vehemently as a result of which the soothsayer rescinded the decision.
She said after a few incantations, he pointed to another person, whose children also resisted all attempts to blame their mother for the death of the pregnant woman.
She said the soothsayer then pointed to her as the main culprit who caused the death of the pregnant woman and her unborn baby.
She said because she did not have anyone to talk for her, she was not given a hearing after she and her son challenged the soothsayer, who, she said, by then had the total support of those present.
In the ensuing hot exchanges, Madam Ghanyi said the soothsayer then claimed he was going to prepare some concoction for her to drink and that if she did not confess within three days she would die.
“He already had some liquid in a calabash and so he slaughtered a fowl, poured the blood into the calabash, mixed it with sand and added the chopped legs of a live toad after which he (the soothsayer) asked me to drink,” she said, amid tears, adding that for fear of her life, she had no choice but to gulp down the concoction.
Madam Ghanyi said when after three days nothing happened to her, Bagabu Naa, her brother-in-law threatened to kill her and so she ran to Wa to inform a relative, who suggested that they reported the matter to the police.
She said the three, Bagabu Naa, Kojo Zineta and the soothsayer, Naasoyili Anderanaa, were charged after police investigations and processed before court but after almost two years of court sittings, the accused persons were acquitted and discharged.
She said the whole incident had affected her psychologically and that she sometimes did not feel like a human being who deserved to live, adding that as a result of the threats on her life, among other accusations, she had been compelled to run away from Sokpeyiri for her safety.

DON'T TAKE PEACE IN UW FOR GRANTED — MINISTER (PAGE 16, JAN 13, 2010)

THE Upper West Regional Minister, Mr Mahmud Khalid, has advised security personnel in the region not to take the peace the region was enjoying for granted.
He has, therefore, called on the security personnel particularly the police service to forge a harmonious relationship with the citizenry in order not to breed any tension amongst them and the people.
Mr Khalid gave the advice when he addressed a get- together of senior officers of the Upper West Regional Police in Wa.
“There seemed to be some kind of mistrust between you and the people but it is how you handle yourselves which would bring members of the service and the people together” he noted.
Commenting on the role of the security in containing chieftaincy disputes especially the Wa chieftaincy dispute over the years, Mr Khalid commended the security services for their professionalism.
He pledged the support of the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) and said, “We would continue to collaborate with you.”
The Regional Police Commander, ACP Alex Bedie, called on the people to be lawabiding and continue to cooperate with the police to sustain the peace.
He described the police as a friends who were ever ready to protect lives and properties of the populace.
ACP Bedie stressed the resolve of the personnel to deal with crime and other vices in the region and urged all personnel to brace themselves up for the challenge.

DERY SUPPORTS LAWRA-NANDOM CONSTITUENTS (PAGE 21, JAN 12)

THE Member of Parliament (MP), for Lawra-Nandom Constituency, Mr Ambrose Dery, has undertaken a number of projects including the rehabilitation of broken down bore holes, supply of sports equipment to communities and support for needy students and women’s groups.
He told the Daily Graphic at Kokoligu, his hometown, where he feted hundreds of constituents, that through his influence the St Maria Goretti Junior High School at Nandom received 633 text books worth $4,000 from the Rotary club of Tema.
He said as a result of closer collaboration and deliberation with stakeholders in education in the area, some of the problems hindering effective teaching and learning which resulted in the poor Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) results in the constituency were identified and were being solved.
Mr Dery said allowances of circuit supervisors amounting to GH¢1, 030 were paid to boost their morale while the salaries of teachers at the Boo community which were in arrears for six months were being paid.
Mr Dery, who is also the deputy minority leader in parliament, explained that an amount of GH¢8,890 had been given out to 47 tertiary students.
In consultation with the Nandom Catholic Parish, 17 very poor students had been identified from the JHS level and were also given GH¢50 each to cater for some of their expenses at school.
The MP further assisted the students representative council (SRC) of the Lawra Senior High School with an amount of GH¢200 to acquire a new set of musical instruments to enrich entertainment programmes at the school.
Mr Dery opened an account with the credit union in the constituency with an initial amount of GH¢12, 500 to support members of the Sungtang Nyong women’s group and other women’s groups in the constituency.
According to him, when the amount matures, the women could access it as soft loans.
The MP presented 10 sets of jerseys and a number of footballs to some communities and also assisted in the rehabilitation of a number of boreholes including that of the Eremon Secondary Technical School, Kunguo community, St Ceceilia Primary School and the Tampale community.
He said that was just the beginning and that there were plans to ensure that many communities benefited from the facility.
To improve information flow and also to maintain regular contact with his constituents, Mr Ambrose Dery raised an amount of GH¢12, 500 from his HIPC account to acquire a new mast for the community based radio station, Radio Freed for it to reach out to majority of the people.
Mr Dery has also seen to it that lessons were prepared and played on the Radio Freed for JHS students under a distance education programme.
He said recorded messages on best farming practices and HIV/AIDS were also played occasionally on radio to sensitise the people to the subjects.
Mr Dery expressed profound appreciation to the people for their unflinching support throughout the year and encouraged them not to relent since he was their spokesperson and representative in Parliament.
The end-of-year parties were held in eight demarcated zones in the constituency including Babile, Lawra, Eremon, Zabo.

OLY LOSE 1-2 (PAGE 55, JAN 11, 2010)

TWO goal keeping errors by Isaac Amoah in post for visiting Accra Great Olympics cost the visitors as they succumbed 1-2 to Wa All Stars in the last of their first round matches of the Glo Premier League match played at the Wa stadium.
All Stars took the lead as early as the 4th minute when goal keeper Amoah failed to grab first time, a harmless shot from the foot of Issah Salihu.
Even though the visitors sent signals they were in for serious business, keeping their composure and mounting a series of attacks into the area of All Stars, goal keeper Amoah for the second time let the visitors down and heartbroken when he failed to deal with a very ineffective cross from Adinaan Saeed on the 15th minute for for the second goal.
Oly returned from recess playing very impressively and pinning All Stars to their own half for most part of the game. This yielded the needed result when they managed to reduce the deficit on the 76th minute, courtesy Ibrahim Fuseini.
From then on Olympics were a delight to watch, especially Akowiah Malik, who took charge of the entire midfield and kept pushing his attackers forward.But try as they did, they could not find the deserved goal to at least split the points with All Stars.

Monday, February 22, 2010

NPP DOES NOT DESERVE TO BE IN OPPOSITION — BIN SALIH (PAGE 16, JAN 07, 2010)

ONE of the candidates vying for the position of second vice chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Upper West Region, Mr Hafiz Bin Salih, has said the NPP does not deserve to be out of power, considering the support and loyalty it enjoyed from Ghanaians during its eight years reign.
He has therefore stressedon the need for Dankwa-Busia faithful to do everything possible to reclaim political power from the ruling National Democratic Congress, as well as redeem the party from its present position.
Mr Bin Salih said if the few months that the NDC had been in power was anything to go by, then the chances of the NPP in 2012 were brighter.
Mr Bin Salih who was interacting with the Daily Graphic in Wa, therefore called on all delegates to endorse candidates who have the growth and sustenance of the NPP at heart in order to reclaim power from the NDC, come 2012.
Describing himself as one of such candidates, Mr Bin Salih catalogued some of his achievements when he was the youth organiser of the NPP in the Upper West Region as a facilitator in the establishment of the Tertiary Education Student Confederacy (TESCON) of the NPP in the College of Education and the Nursing Training College in Wa, whipping up the interest of the youth in the activities of the NPP in the region, the establishment of youth clubs for the party in the region as well as the establishment of a public relations unit for the party in the region.
He said it was on the basis of such credentials that he must be given the chance to support the other winning candidates to carry the party on their shoulders for a sounding victory, come the year 2012.
Mr Bin Salih also used the platform to express appreciation to all those who supported him and the NPP in diverse ways during his role as a regional youth organiser.
Mr Bin Salih, holds a Master of Arts (MA) from the University of Cape Coast (UCC), a postgraduate diploma from the Paris Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor of Education from the University College of Education, Winneba.
During his schooldays, he served as President of the Northern Students Union, Vice-President of the Ghana Muslim Students Union and President of TESCON.
On his role in the NPP since he started full time politics, the soft-spoken candidate said he served as a member of the election committee for the NPP in the Nadowli West and Jirapa constituencies in 2008 and was also a member of the fund raising committee during the 2004 general election.
Mr Bin Salih was an assembly member at the Wa Municipal Assembly.