THE people of Nkroful in the Western Region have vented their anger on the District Chief Executive (DCE) of Nzema East for allegedly diverting a jubilee school project earmarked for the town to Aiyinase.

Airing their disquiet about the turn of events at the chief’s palace on Thursday, they accused the DCE, Joshua Kwadjah Ellimah, of deceiving them.

According to them, they had undertaken communal labour to prepare a site for the school project only to hear that it had been relocated to Aiyinase.

The atmosphere at the palace was charged as the Regional Minister, A. E. Amoah, his deputy, Kwasi Blay and the DCE met with the elders over the issue.

the issue. Most of the youth including women carrying babies shouted angrily and tried to force their way upstairs but they were restrained by police.

One youth shouted: "Yen nsro obiara" meaning, "We are not afraid of anyone," while another blocked the entrance of the palace with a polytank, banged on it and shouted, "Take your jubilee." However, one woman who looked rather indifferent, commented: "Nkroful has no place of convenience and good drinking water."

Later when calm had been restored, the Regional Minister and his entourage met the chiefs and the people and he assured them that the jubilee school would definitely be built at Nkroful saying, "We can’t celebrate the jubilee without Nkroful. We are all sons and daughters of Western Region."

"By March ending, we will begin the project and complete it in August so that in September, the children can go to school."

The Regional Minister said that places of convenience being built at Nkroful will be completed by the end of February.

As part of the anniversary activities, he said, a durbar of chiefs will be held in the town to honour the memory of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the first President, who hailed from Nkroful. Touching on the vehicle belonging to Nkroful Health Centre which is said to have been taken to Axim, Mr. Blay said that the Regional Coordinating Council would investigate the matter and resolve it.

"Today you have made history. We know that Nkroful needs development and so you have genuine concerns," the deputy minister told the people.

The DCE said that the agitation at Nkroful arose because of communication gap, adding, "We have not neglected Nkroful."

Speaking to the Times, Mr. Amoah denied that government has neglected the legacies of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, and the people of Nkroful.

"We have not neglected the people. Every part of the region will make an impact during the Golden Jubilee celebration," Mr. Amoah said.

He said the Regional Coordinating Council had decided to honour the memory of Dr. Nkrumah by naming the Jubilee School to be built at Nkroful after him and all the 13 districts have been asked to build a jubilee school.

In addition, he said a library will be constructed in his honour and his father’s house at Asanta, near Essiam will be renovated.

Source:
Times

THIS PAGE :

1.Nkroful Rises Against DCE

2.Trade Policies Killing   Agricultural Industry- GAWU

3.Freedom flame arrives in Kumasi

4.Kufuor calls on Sudan to work with UN

5.Kufuor inaugurates

upgraded Edinaman SSS

6.Ghanaians urged to cultivate deeper spirit of nationalism, patriotism

 Trade Policies Killing Agricultural Industry- GAWU

Bolgatanga, Feb. 24, GNA-The General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU) of TUC on Thursday expressed concern about some of the nation's trade policies and practices that tend to destroy the local agricultural industry.

" The importation of cheap food items, especially rice is pushing the farmers out of work as they cannot market their produce," the Union observed at a workshop in Bolgatanga organized for Municipal and District Chief Executives, District Coordinating Officers, Presiding Members and Directors of Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA). It was aimed at discussing and analyzing trade policies that affect agricultural produce with focus on those that negatively affect the rice industry. It also aimed at identifying avenues that could be explored to arrest the decline in the rice industry.

Ms. Glowen Kyei-Mensah, coordinator of the "Citizens' Voice in Trade Policy and Food Security" Project which falls under GAWU, said the local rice industry was one of the hardest hit and that the Union had decided to put special emphasis on the rice issue, hence the project. She said the Ghanaian Rice industry could effectively compete with imported rice if only the mode of processing was improved.

Ms. Kyei-Mensah noted however, that the local brand of rice was more nutritious and tasted better, especially when cooked with beans (Wakye) or as rice balls. It sells at 20,000 cedis per the standard measuring bowl while imported rice sells between 30,000 and 40,000 cedis.

Alhaji Awudu Yirimeah Upper East Deputy Regional Minister said that the Local rice industry was very buoyant in the 1970s, and that a lot of people were engaged in its production. "However the declining rice market due to liberal trade policies as pre-conditions given by the international Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank brought about a big setback."

"This phenomenon does not only frustrate our hitherto hard working farmers but also threatens the food security of the country. The elimination of subsidies makes cost of production very high thus making the local rice industry uncompetitive", he said.

He said the Government had introduced a pragmatic Policy to reduce rice importation by 30 per cent annually and that the benefits were to be ploughed back into local rice production.

GAWU formed the Citizens' Voice in Trade Policy and Food Security with the aim of promoting sustainable citizens' engagement on trade policies and related food security issues with a focus on the rice industry.

It is therefore working to strengthen the capacity of rice farmers and Agricultural employees to dialogue with Government on the issue. 24 Feb. 07

Source:
GNA

 Freedom flame arrives in Kumasi

Source:
GNA

Kufuor calls on Sudan to work with UN


Accra, Feb. 24, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor, the African Union Chairman, has called on Sudan to work closely with the United Nations (UN) to end the crisis in the Darfur region.

Sudan has been resisting attempts by the world body to send in peacekeepers to the troubled Darfur region.

President Kufuor, who made the call at an end of year reception organised for the Diplomatic Community at the Castle Gardens underscored the need to ensure peaceful approach to conflict management and resolution in the Africa.

He said as the Continent was moving away from liberation struggle to economic empowerment, he was determined to use his Chairmanship of the AU to work to tackle weak governance and conflicts. Additionally, Ghana would work with the ECOWAS Commission to promote greater integration.

President Kufuor expressed the Nation's gratitude to the country's development partners for the support that enabled the Government to remain focussed on its development agenda. He said, through the seven-billion dollars debt cancellation, a lot was being done in the areas of social services and infrastructure to improve the lives of the people.

He stated that, with the sustained pace of the country's current development there was no way it would not be able to achieve its vision of becoming a middle income status and the Millennium Development Goals. Mr Mohammed Mahmoud Ben Labat, the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, congratulated President Kufuor on his election as Chairman of the AU. He expressed admiration for his constant effort at promoting good neighbourliness and sub-regional integration.

Source:
GNA

Kufuor inaugurates upgraded Edinaman SSS

Elmina Feb. 24, GNA-A number of modern structures built to upgrade the Edinaman Secondary School at a cost of 22.3 billion cedis were on Saturday inaugurated by President John Agyekum Kufuor at Elmina. These included science and computer laboratories, staff bungalows, dormitories, classroom, library block, an assembly hall and external road networks.

Edinaman Secondary School is among the first batch of 31 secondary schools selected nationwide to benefit from the government's model school programmes, which was instituted two years ago. The next batch of 25 schools in line for upgrading would be developed this year.

President Kufuor noted that the provision of physical facilities alone did not make for a school and said for this reason the government was launching a New Educational Reform to produce adequate quality teachers for the educational system.

He said the model schools were meant to reduce the wide disparity in quality of education in the second cycle schools and thereby reduce pressure on the few well-endowed schools in schools.

President Kufuor said by the upgrading of the schools the government was fulfilling its promise to the people of Ghana and that in return, it expects committed assumption of responsibility by the citizens, especially the youth so that the human resource of the nation would be developed to the highest standard.

He pointed out that the upgrading had had a significant impact on the school's enrolment and that enrolment stood at 580 in 2003/2004 academic year and with the upgrading it increased to 613 in 2005/2006 and again rose to 775 in 2006/2007, adding that, it was envisaged to go beyond 1,000 when the upgrading was fully completed.

He called on district assemblies, chiefs and Parent =96Teacher-Associations (PTA) to look after the institutions well and that they should be maintained for them to last and continue to attract qualified staff for many years.

Mr. Papa Owusu Ankomah Minister of Education, Science and Sports, said the model schools were the greatest legacy President Kufuor would leave for the nation and stressed that excellence could be achieved anywhere in the country provided the needed facilities were provided. He said the facilities provided at the Edinaman secondary school were far better than some of the well endowed schools, adding that it was a reflection of a deep passion and commitment to the human resource development and asked the students to let the provision of the facility manifest in the results they would produce next year.

Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, Minister of State in-charge of Public Sector Reform and MP for Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA) thanked the government and chiefs of the Edina traditional area for their efforts which, enhanced the early completion of the upgrading of the school. He enumerated a number of projects, including the dredging of the Benya Lagoon as some of the projects being executed by the government in the district and called on the people to continue to support the government.

Nana Ato Arthur Central Regional Minister, for his part, also commended the government for the development projects being executed in the district and hinted that the road from the Edinaman school junction to the main school has been awarded on contract at a cost of 2.5 billion cedis.

He also gave the assurance that the school would be provided with water to stop students from using school hours in search of water. 24 Feb.07

Source:
GNA

Ghanaians urged to cultivate deeper spirit of nationalism, patriotism

Winneba (C/R), Feb. 24, GNA - Ghanaians have been urged to cultivate a deeper spirit of nationalism, patriotism and commitment with which Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Dr J B Danquah and others used to salvage the nation from the shackles of colonialism.

"Without these sterling qualities we cannot build the nation holistically as the founding fathers of the nation had planned". Dr Kumi Ansah-Koi, a Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Science, University of Ghana, Legon, was speaking at a public lecture organised by the Awutu-Effutu-Senya District Assembly as part of the activities lined up for Ghana's 50th independence anniversary celebration at Winneba on Friday.

His topic was "The Political History of Ghana". Dr Ansah-Koi described Dr Nkrumah and Dr Danquah as great and true sons of Ghana, who when it came to the point of applying their knowledge and skills to salvage the nation from the bondage of colonialism did not mince words in doing so.

He said in order to achieve this objective, Nkrumah and Danquah developed a deeper and greater sense of nationalism, patriotism, dedication and above all, an immeasurable amount of commitment, which successfully propelled the then Gold Coast to achieve its independence in 1957.

Dr Ansah-Koi said the fact that Dr Nkrumah wanted immediate transformation of the Gold Coast Colony and Danquah on the other hand suggested that self-government be given at a later time did not mean that these great sons were enemies, adding that a critical examination of the ideas and thinking of the two clearly demonstrated that they were aimed at one important thing - independence for the people of Ghana. He advised Ghanaians who still perceived that Nkrumah and Danquah were enemies as far as the struggle for and the subsequent attainment of the ultimate goal, to discard such notion.

Dr Ansah-Koi, who is also a visiting lecturer to the University of Education, Winneba, further explained that even though the two men held slightly deferent views as to the actual time the former Gold Coast Colony should be given self-government by the colonial masters, their individual perceptions towards this goal were almost the same. That was why they used their accumulated academic knowledge and skills they could have utilised to amass personal wealth in European countries in those days to lead their people to fight to win independence for the nation.

Dr Ansah-Koi charged Ghanaians to reflect soberly on what the nation had achieved so far after years of self-governance and make amends individually and collectively in all segments of our national life to enable the country to correct the imbalances that had for many years impeded the socio-economic, political and cultural advancement of the nation.

In his view, he celebration of Ghana's 50th independence anniversary must not just be based on the playing of brass band music, marching and dancing through principal streets of district and regional capitals by school children and members of the various voluntary organisations.

Dr Ansah-Koi said this was the time Ghanaians must seriously reflect on their past contributions to national goals and change their attitudes and perception to pave the way for a better future for the nation.

"We can chart a new and progressive course for the country's future, if only the citizenry are prepared to cultivate the spirit of nationalism, patriotism and commitment, which constitute the master key for effective and efficient nation building", Dr. Ansah-Koi further stated.

He told his teeming audience that the size of Ghana is just like that of the United Kingdom which colonised the Gold Coast, and even possessed more natural resources which could be harnessed for speedy socio-economic development within the past 50 years of self-governance but the country was still wallowing in abject poverty, diseases and squalor.

Dr Ansah-Koi said that the fact that the nation was not engulfed in civil war did not imply that everything was rosy for the people, stressing that good governance simply meant to do the right thing for one's nation, organisation or association to move forward successfully in all aspects of its administration. He said that one of the major setbacks of our ancestors was the lack of knowledge.

Dr. Ansah-Koi expressed regret that when the colonial masters requested our ancestors to acquire knowledge through education to support their future development as a nation, they woefully rejected the idea, saying that this idea of backwardness still persisted in the Ghanaian society.

He disclosed that presently, "we have people in the country who wants to secure high university degrees without working for such enviable academic status".

Such people normally give flimsy and unpardonable excuses for their inability to study hard to qualify for such important papers and called for a change saying, without requisite academic, scientific and technical knowledge efforts to transform the country socially, economically and politically would be a mirage. 24 Feb.07

Source:
GNA