Asantehene calls on traders to co-operate with decongestion exercise
"Berlin Wall" in Ghana?
Ghanaians mark Good Friday
Low Easter patronage this season -- Public
Wa town leads in road accidents in Upper West
Wa town leads in road accidents in Upper West
WA, April 6, GNA -
Numerous campaigns by the National Road Safety Committee and other agencies are failing to reduce the spate of road accidents in the country, as communities like the Wa Municipality continue to record high fatalities through motor accidents.
VISIT : Road safety campaign in Ghana
Last year, the Wa town alone recorded 73 per cent of the 82 road accidents that occurred in the Upper West Region, which led to a total of 79 deaths. Mr Ambrose Dery, the Regional Minster disclosed this in an address read on his behalf at the opening of a two-day educational campaign on road safety for parents, teachers and school children in the Wa Municipality at Wa on Thursday. He said multi-sector, multi-stakeholder and multi-disciplinary dimension was needed to address the problem of accidents on the country's roads instead of relying solely on law enforcement agencies. Mr Dery was happy to note that a series of training of Trainers workshops had been organized nation-wide for over 5,000 teachers as one of the major strategies formulated to reduce accidents. He enjoined parents, guardians and teachers to consider themselves as active partners in the crusade to enforce road traffic regulations. Deputy Superintendent of Police, Mr Peter Ndekugri, who heads the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit of the Police Service in the region, said 25 per cent of all pedestrian accidents involved people under 16 years of age.
He appealed to the general public to cooperate with the law enforcement agencies to make sanity prevail on the roads.
Source:
GNA
Low Easter patronage this season -- Public
Accra, April 5, GNA -
A survey conducted in some part of the commercial city in Accra by the Ghana News Agency on Thursday revealed that the impending Easter celebrations have had little impact on commercial businesses.
Some traders in Makola told the Agency that patronage of their wares had been almost negligible, as compared to previous Easter holidays.
Most of traders, speaking on anonymity, said although there were many people on the streets and traffic jams, their impact was not reflected on sales from textiles, cosmetics to foodstuffs. A trader who sells ladies wears and shoes complained bitterly about the low patronage, saying the situation was due to the economic hardship in the country and pleaded with government to make money available in the system.
A visit to the various lorry stations also revealed that although there were many passengers travelling to all parts of the country, there was available transport to convey them to their destinations as compared to the previous Easter holidays where passengers had to hustle for transport to their destinations
Mr Kwame Borquaye, Assistant Station Master of Circle Nkawkaw Neoplan Station told the Ghana News Agency that passenger turnout was low as compared to past Easter periods.
Source:
GNA
Ghanaians mark Good Friday
Accra, April 06, GNA - Christians in Ghana are on Friday joining millions of other believers throughout the world to commemorate Good Friday, a holiday and an important pillar in their faith. Good Friday, which commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ at Calvary, is observed with prayers and church services. Some churches hold sessions that show the various stages Christ went through before his crucifixion and death.
Christians would be dressed in black and/or red to show their mourning for the death of their Saviour.
Many churches share the Lord's Super as Christ did before his crucifixion.
Many churches are holding conventions as they commemorate the death, which Christians believe is the ultimate sacrifice Christ made to conquer death with his resurrection on the third day.
Source:
GNA
"Berlin Wall" in Ghana?
MP warns estate developers
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin North, Hon. Kennedy Ohene Adjapong, on Wednesday sent a clear and unambiguous warning to estate developer Ernesto Tiraconi to keep off his property or dance to an unpleasant music.
“I am giving Trasacco three weeks to put an end to this nonsense and stop trying to fence my land. If he fails then I will be going there, and no court or law is going to stop me from claiming what is rightfully mine," Hon. Adjapong said.
The strong-willed, hard talking and no nonsense MP was reacting to reports that he was one of the developers affected by the construction of an infamous 'Berlin Wall' at Nmai Dzorn, a suburb of Accra’s East Legon area.
According to the paper, Mr. Ernesto Tiraconi is currently constructing a wall spanning hundreds of feet, and cutting through various developments and public roads in a blatant attempt to claim lands that do not belong to him to add to his real estate empire.
"I am telling him that this nonsense must stop, and he has three weeks to make it stop," Hon. Adjapong said, and added ominously "Otherwise, he would have to deal with me!"
Explaining himself, he said that he returned a few days ago from a trip to the United States to learn that four plots of land he had bought from one Mr. Amponsah Adusei, of AMCO Estates Developers, was being encroached upon by Trasacco Estate Developers Limited, owned by Italian Ernesto Tiraconi.
"About four years ago I expressed interest in these plots and paid part of the money to Adusei. At the time I saw Trasacco developing some properties some distance away. But now he is encroaching on my land, putting up a wall that blocks me from accessing my land. This I would not allow," he said.
Hon. Adjapong accused Tiraconi of cheating people out of their lands for a long time, but he was not going to be a victim of the Italian.
"I am challenging him. I will match him dollar for dollar and macho man to macho man on this matter. I am giving him three weeks. I am travelling to the United States. When I come back I will go there and break down that wall, court or no court. I will not let any court stop me from protecting my rights," he said.
He advised people to keep from reading political meanings into the matter.
"As for this one they should not bring my being a Member of Parliament into it. They should not bring my party into it. I am fighting for my rights. I'll deal with this man one on one. No court will stop me," he said.
Hon. Adjapong accused Tiraconi of employing land guards, macho men and thugs to terrorize people from their lands.
"But that is not me. I know that he is using an individual called Mohammed to put fear into the hearts of the people, but if it becomes necessary, I’ll meet him at that level. I give him three weeks to tear down that wall, or I'll do it for him," he said.
“I'm respecting the courts for now. When I come back, it would be a different story. He says that he is an Italian. If he wants rough play, then we are going to play it his way. I'll go there fully prepared, and if he dares we shall see," Ken Adjapong warned.
The Assin North MP said that Tiraconi has been encroaching on another piece of land he owns.
"I put up my walls and he goes to break them down. It has been happening for some time now. Now I am calling his bluff. If he wants problems, then I will give him problems. He thinks he has money. I'll show him the people he goes about taking loans from. He should go and ask if I owe a dollar. I don't need to borrow, but he does. I'll match him all the way. I'm a nice guy but if a white man comes into this country to cheat me then … I challenge this Trasacco to count the number of houses he has there in his development and I will pay him $400, 000 for each one of them. I'll pay him for him to see that he cannot take Ghanaians for a ride.
"When I come back, hopefully in less than three weeks, there will be a show on this matter. I will break down that wall”, he said.
Source:
Daily Searchlight
Asantehene calls on traders to co-operate with decongestion exercise
Kumasi, April 6, GNA-
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene, on Thursday called on traders and residents in the Kumasi Metropolis to appreciate the decongestion exercise being carried out by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly and co-operate with the authorities to ensure its success. He said if the city became clean and tidy it would be to the benefit of people and no one should therefore read politics into the on-going exercise.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu was briefing newsmen after inspecting some on-going development projects in the Metropolis.
Mr Emmanuel Asamoah Owusu-Ansah, Ashanti Regional Minister, Madam Patricia Appiagyei, the Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive, chiefs and site engineers of the various projects, accompanied the Asantehene. Otumfuo Osei Tutu started the inspection with a stop over at Kejetia and the Central business district of the Metropolis where Madam Appiagyei briefed him on the effects of the decongestion exercise. From there the Asantehene went to the City Hotel, the Baba Yara Sports Stadium and the Jackson Park to inspect progress of work. He ended the inspection at the Affordable Housing Project at Asokore-Mampong where Mr Gideon Amankwa Adiyia, the Consultant of the project told Otumfuo Osei Tutu that the project would provide accommodation for over 5,000 workers.
While passing in a long convoy, people trooped to the streets amidst cheers and jubilation and sang praises on Otumfuo Osei Tutu who had been rumoured in recent times as having 'kicked the bucket'. The Asantehene expressed satisfaction about the progress of work on projects he visited and urged the various contractors to continue to work assiduously to complete them on schedule.
He called on the media to be circumspect and report on issues that would enhance the rapid development of the country. Otumfuo Osei Tutu urged Ghanaian workers at the various project sites to learn from the expatriates so that they could apply the technology locally in future. 06 April 07
Source:
GNA