Month: May 2012

The Member of Parliament for Ahafo Ano South, Balado Manu has parted the Electoral Commission (EC) on the back for ensuring successful biometric voters registration exercise which is the first of its kind in Ghanaian electoral history.

According to him though the biometric registration is a novelty with all its technicalities and challenges the EC has done a yeo man’s job deserving score of  about 87%.

The forty (40) day national exercise which commenced on the 24^th March to 5^th May 2012 was adjudged to be successful despite some pockets of violence that were recorded in some parts of the country notably Odododiodioo in Accra and Tafo Pankrono in the Ashante region.

Contributing to a discussion on Peace FM’s Kokrokoo show on Tuesday, Hon, Balado Manu in acknowledging the initial hitches that characterized the first week of the registration was quick to commend the Electoral Commission for not allowing itself to be overcome by the challenges but remained resilient to ensure a successful end of the exercise.

He however urged the EC to make sure that an effective education on future exercises and the upcoming general elections starts early to ensure that the electoral processes is enhanced and a successful general elections achieved.

Meanwhile the EC has stated that about 12 million people registered during the exercise and are ready to vote in the impending December election with about 8,000 double registration being detectors with the highest number emerging from the Ashanti Region of Ghana.

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The Member of Parliament for Assin South, Prof. Dominc Fobih has constructed a market shed worth GHs18, 000 for traders who sell along the road at Assin Dombeabra in the Assin South district of the Central region.

The market shed which was constructed within a year would be able to accommodate more than 200 women in the sparsely populated community,

Commissioning the market over the weekend, Prof. Fobih said he was compelled to construct the market when he realized the dangers posed to the women as they sat by the road side selling their goods to people on board moving vehicles.

He stated the market would have been completed within a few months had it not been for the unnecessary delay by the district assembly in releasing part of his common fund to him to embark on the project.

He noted he had to personally solicit funding to be able to embark on the market project.

Prof.Fobih said the market belonged to the community and advised the people to desist from playing politics within it.

He advised the women to start their own small scale businesses under the market shed to be able to cater for their children’s educational needs.

The Mike Hammah Education Trust Fund has within three years of its establishment assisted 300 students to continue their education at the senior high school and tertiary level.

Prof Kokawole Raheem, Chairman of the Board Directors of the Fund,  made this known at a day’s scholarship forum in Winneba under the theme “Educating the Brilliant but Needy Students, a Collective responsibility”.

Prof. Raheem said the Board had put in place measures including visits to beneficiarie schools to acquaint themselves with their general performance and behaviour.

The beneficiaries are from the Effutu Municipality, Gomoa and Ekumfi areas.

He said any student found not performing would have his or her scholarship withdrawn.

The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Mike Allen Hammah, appealed to stakeholders in education to contribute towards the government’s efforts at ensuring quality education in the country.

He appealed to beneficiary students to concentrate on their education and not to indulge in things that could lead to their destruction and also hinder their education.

Mrs Sally Nelly Coleman, a member of the Board, appealed to parents applying for scholarship for their children not to give wrong information about their children.

Nii Ephraim Effutu, the Municipal Chief Executive who is also a board member, appealed to parents to support their children to complete their education.

The Member of Parliament for Ablekuma North, Justice Joe Appiah has defended the registration of nearly 30 people bearing his residential address in the just ended biometric voter registration exercise.

According to him, the people live in his house and as such they had the right to use his residential address during the registration process.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Party in the Ablekuma North constituency led by its Parliamentary Candidate Ras Mubarak raised red flags after finding out from the print out of the electoral roll that this huge number of voters used the same residential address as that of the MP, a situation that they reckon is smacks of illegality and must be thoroughly investigated.

Ras Mubarak contends that there is no way that the plush 5 bedroom residence of the MP could accommodate 30 people and thus intends to petition the Electoral Commission to look into the matter, vowing that the Ablekuma North NDC constituency will follow the case to its logical conclusion.

However speaking on OKAY FM on Monday, Hon. Justice Joe Appiah insisted that all the people concerned live in his 10 bedroom house, with some of them who his workers are living there with their families.

“I find it difficult to understand the noise about this issue, I as a family man and a likable person have so many people living in my house, my watchman and other people have their people living in my house and so if they are to register which address do you want them to use’’ he retorted.

He urged the NDC party in the area to desist from spewing out lies that have the potential of affecting the peace in that area and rather concentrate on how to close the over 17,000 margin of votes which he led the NDC in the last election, adding that the margin is going to increase further in the December election.

Hon. Appiah added that the NDC will pay dearly for the lies churned out as the very discerning people of Ablekuma North do not reward lies and dishonesty.

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The Member of Parliament for Effutu Constituency, who is also the Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Mike Allen Hammah has called on students in his constituency to be serious with their books and stay away from social vices that have the tendency of destroying their future.

The MP gave this advice at a scholarship Forum for beneficiary students and their parents under the Mike Hammah Educational Trust Fund (MIHAFund), held on the theme ‘educating the brilliant but needy, a collective responsibility.’

He emphasized that no government can singlehandedly shoulder the cost of education hence, it was necessary that all stakeholders contributed to it.

Mr Hammah expressed regret that some parents, instead of investing in their children’s education to secure a better future for them, preferred spending their monies on funeral clothes and other materials, a practice he said needed to be stopped.

A Board Member of the MIHAFund, who is also the founder of the Triumph Bible Church, Winneba, Rev. Ivor Wilson expressed disappointment at some parent who fail to visit their wards at school after putting them there, adding that it was a very bad practice which gave opportunity for children to indulge in a lot of social vices.

According to him, regular visits of parents to schools will send a signal to their wards that their parents cared about them, which would discourage them from any bad practices, adding that it would also help parents to know the progress of their children as well as enable parents to live up to their responsibilities.

A Professor at the University of Education, who is the Vice Chairman to the Board, Prof. Kolawale Raheem reminded parents that education involved not only formal classroom training but home training as well.

For this reason, he called on Ghanaians especially parents to go back and instill the Ghanaian value of respect, hospitality and good brotherliness in the generation coming.

A Deputy Director in charge of Finance and Administration at the Effutu Municipal Education Directorate, Mrs Sally Nelly Coleman, who is also a board member of the MIHA Education Trust Fund hinted that students who failed to live up to their expectation will be taken off the scholarship fund, adding that the fund is interested in educating brilliant but needy students.

Mrs Coleman called on parents to be interested in their children’s education by investing in their future adding that as the scholarship funds takes greater part of the costs, parents should be responsible enough to provide pocket monies and pay for other miscellaneous expenses.

The MIHA Education Trust Fund since its establishment in 2009 has sponsored over 300 students in the JHS, SHS, Universities and Vocational and artisan training.

ISD (Raymond Kwofie, Effutu)

An Accra High Court on Friday adjourned to 23rd May 2012 a case in which the embattled New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin North, Kennedy Agyapong is being tried for treason.

This is to allow the Attorney General to receive the docket on Mr. Agyapong to equip the AG’s office to effectively prosecute the case.

The state prosecution asked the court to grant them more time because they had not received Mr. Agyapong’s docket for “study and advise” from the Police.

Hon. Kennedy Agyapong who is being represented in court by his team of lawyers including Nii Ayikoi Otu, Atta Akyea, Mike Oquaye Jnr and Kuuku Welsing Jones is being tried for making treasonable comments on an Accra-based radio station, Oman FM which have been described by many as inflammatory.

He has been charged for treason felony, attempt to commit genocide and engaging in acts of terrorism.

His legal team has served notice that counsel they would file for the case to be thrown out if the state led by the prosecutors continue to have the case discontinued and the discharge of their client.

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The Minister for Employment and Social Welfare, Moses Asaga has said his comment on the high unemployment rate in relation to the private universities has been misconstrued.

In response to the speech by Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) Kofi Asamoah about government’s failure to create jobs in spite of economic growth, Hon. Moses Asaga stated that the high unemployment rate in the country could be attributed to the mushrooming of private universities.

His statement generated a lot of backlash from some groups including the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) who disagreed entirely with the minister and jumped to the defense of the private universities.

However speaking on Radio XYZ, Hon. Asaga who is also the Member of Parliament for Nabdam stated that he had been taken out of contest and that he never sought to denigrate the private universities but was stating the fact.

According to him, most of these universities do not qualify to be institutions of higher learning as they lack the requisite infrastructure to function effectively.

Hon. Asaga these institutions take mediocre students who graduate with sub-standard qualifications, and have flooded the market with sub-standard graduates who when employed may not be productive.

He cited an instance where at one university there were more than 1,000 undergraduates who were not even qualified to enter the institution to buttress his point.

Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh

Work is progressing steadily on the restructuring of the Brigade Camp road in Aboso in the Western region.

The project is being funded jointly by the Member of Parliament for Prestea Huni/Valley and the assembly has already spent GHs20,000.

Mr Francis Adu-Blay Koffie, Member of Parliament for Prestea Huni/Valley District, who said this was accompanied by the District Chief Executive, Mr Robert Wisdom Cudjoe, as they paid a working visit to inspect the progress of work.

He called on the contractor to speed up work to facilitate the on-going development projects been undertaken by government to improve the economic development in the Prestea Huni/Valley Constituency.

He said this initiative is a fulfilling promise made by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) party during the 2008 elections to the community.

Mr Koffie said the people of Brigade Camp would no longer walk for five miles to transact business at Aboso and neighboring villages as the road which has been abandoned for more than ten years can now be used by vehicles.

The MP said to maintain and prevent the road from flooding, proper drainage system will be created on both sides to ensure the free flow of water.

He said Yawkrom, Kwametintin, Nkran Dadeaso, Bondia and Gambia Bepoasi communities will also have their roads restructured soon.

Nana Tawiah, chief of Brigade Camp thanked both parties for taking such laudable steps.

He said the sick and pregnant women will not be carried on shoulders when in labour as they can now be transported to hospital safely.

In addition, the chief said farm wares produced from the community will also be send frequently to Aboso during market days to enable them generate more funds to cater for their families.

GNA