NKRANKROM RESIDENTS TO CHASE OUT POLITICIANS WITH STONES

From: Michael  Sarpong Mfum ,Nkrankrom B/A

Residents of Nkrankrom, a farming community in the Sunyani Municipality of the Brong Ahafo Region have renewed their call to stop any Politician from campaigning for votes in their community.

Nkrankrom has a population of about 1,000 who are predominately farmers. The youth in the community say they will chase out any politician who comes to the community to canvass for vote with stones. According to them, efforts by opinion leaders in the community to get electricity to the area have fell on deaf ears.

What greets any visitor who visits the community is a signpost who reads 'No light no vote.' The aggrieved residents say they have been without electricity and other social amenities for so many years but successive governments have done little to better their living conditions.

                                     Hayford Kwabena Kumah, Assemblyman Nkrankrom

Hayford Kwabena Kumah the Assemblyman for Nkrankrom Electoral area in an interview with XYZ News said all appeals made to the appropriate authority the Sunyani Municipal Assembly has fallen on death ears.

“We have made several appeals to the Municipal Assembly to extend the national electricity grid has not yielded any positive results. The Municipal Chief Executive, Akwasi Oppong Ababio promised us in 2010 and 2011 that we would get electricity here, but as I talk to you today, there is no light as you can see. We also informed our MP Akwasi Ameyaw Cheremeh about the situation, he told us he would check from the Minister of Energy, Dr. Oti Adjei on when Nkrankrom would be connected to the national grid, upon his return, the MP told us the Energy Minister said we would be connect in 2020, this is unbelievable so we want to know from the minster if it is true,” he disclosed.

According to Mr. Kumah, the community lost an opportunity of getting an ICT Centre for the basic school in the community.

“An NGO wanted to bring an ICT Centre into the community but because of the absence of electricity, the ICT Centre was sent to the people of Atuahenekrom. The clinic built about seven years ago is not functioning because of the absence of electricity. This is to the politicians, we would allow any politician whether NDC, NPP, CPP or PPP, they have lied to us over the years so we don’t need them here,” Mr. Kumah added.

YEJI BOAT OPERATORS CRY FOR LIFE JACKETS

By Michael Sarpong Mfum, Yeji

Boat operators and fishermen at Yeji and its environs in the Pru District of the Brong Ahafo Region are calling on government to provide them with life Jackets to save lives and properties on the Volta Lake.

Chairman of the Yeji Boat Operators and Fishermen Society, Noah Kwame Sarfo revealed that thirty members of the association did not receive life jackets from government through Zoil a subsidiary of Zoomlion, though communities such; Kpando,Tepa Abotoase, and Kete Krachi received life jackets after last year’s disaster on the Volta lake where close to 20 people traveling on the lake got drowned.

                                 Passengers travelling without life Jackets at Yeji

Mr. Sarfo said people who travel to and fro from Yeji to communities scattered along the lake including; Agokope, Wodomea’bra, Ghanakope and Sikakura risk their lives travelling long hours on the Lake without life jackets. Mr. Sarfo has therefore called on government as a matter of urgency supply life jackets to boat operators and fisher folks at Yeji and her environs.

He commended the Ghana Navy who are present in Yeji to check overloading of boats. He however said the Navy’s need logistics such as boats to patrol the lake and also go to the rescue of passengers who face any difficulty on the lake.

Mr. Sarfo also noted that the irregular supply of premix fuel is also affecting the work of boat operators and fisher folks in the area and calls for regular supply of premix fuel to enhance their work.

The Chairman also said tree stumps in the lake are possible cause of accidents on the lake; he therefore called the Canadian company Clarke Sustainable Resource Development in charge of removing tree stumps from the lake to speed up its work to avoid accidents on the lake.

SUNYANI ABATTOIR A HEALTH THREAT TO RESIDENTS

By Michael Sarpong Mfum, Sunyani

The Sunyani Abattoir, which is currently operating under unhygienic and sub-standard conditions due to the lack of many amenities needed for good sanitary service is posing health threat to residents who buy meat from the facility.

The abattoir has not seen any major rehabilitation leaving the nets at the facility torn giving a free day to houseflies and vultures. The stench that emanates from the facility is unbearable to the residents especially those who stay close to abattoir.

The situation is so deplorable that many residents have expressed the fear that the municipality might soon be engulfed in an epidemic.

The abattoir also lacks separate standard confinement required for roosting cows, goats and sheep before finally prepared for sale to the public. The roosting is therefore carried out in the open and on pieces of wood. The situation is so appalling, with flies and scavengers hovering around for pieces of meat.

Moro Salia a butcher who works at the Abattoir concedes the facility is in a bad shape and the sanitation situation is bad. Mr. Salia however says complaints have been lodged with the Municipal Assembly for intervention but help is yet to come. Moro said if the Assembly provides resources to renovate the Abattoir the situation will improve drastically.

The Municipal Environmental Officer, Simon Opoku revealed that the assembly is aware of the situation but assures that there will be massive improvement in the coming weeks.

Mr. Opoku says calls for relocation to a new structure being put up to serve as a new Abattoir is appropriate but says expansion works are expected to take place on the facility before butchers are moved there.

RADIO STATION MANAGERS CAUTIONED

By Michael Sarpong Mfum,Sunyani

President of the Brong Ahafo Regional Branch of the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), Asamoah Mensah has admonished radio station managers not to allow greedy and selfish politicians to use their airwaves to score political points as the December Polls approaches; he was addressing a durbar in Sunyani as part of the association’s week-long celebration.

The week-long celebration was under the theme: Ensuring Peace and Unity before, during and after Ghana’s Election 2012; The Role of the Electronic Media. It brought together mangers of 29 radio stations in the Brong Ahafo Region.

Mr. Asamoah Mensah urged radio stations not to inflame passions as the December elections draw nearer.

He said radio stations in the region have critical role to place in ensuring free and fair elections in December.

Mr. Mensah however cautioned that host of political programmes must be careful in their utterance in other not to inflame passions to thrown the country into a state of chaos which could derail the success the country had chalked over the years.

He said GIBA is ready to support any radio station that is intimidated in the discharge of their duties.

“I am not saying because GIBA is ready to support you when you are intimidated does not mean you can talk anyhow on your network,” Mr. Mensah advised.

Teenage pregnancy, illegal abortions rise in Brong Ahafo

By Michael Sarpong Mfum/radioXYZonline.com


Statistics available at the Sunyani Regional Hospital show that in the first half of 2012, 50 teenage pregnancies, 65 illegal abortions out of which one died were recorded at the hospital.
 
A senior Nursing Officer, at the Sunyani Regional Hospital, Madam Rita Ansong in an interview withXYZ News said the situation is alarming but her outfit has mapped out strategies to reduce the trend.
 
“We have embarked on a massive education by visiting schools and also using the various radio stations in Sunyani to educate parents and teenage girls on the negative effect of teenage pregnancy and illegal abortions,” Madam Ansong revealed.
 

She is also advocating for the introduction of sexually active teenage girls to use family planning methods in other to reduce teenage pregnancies in the Municipality and the country as a whole.
 
“Some people do not like family planning but I believe it’s the best because it will prevent sexually active teenage girls from becoming pregnant and then trying to get rid of the pregnancy using cruel means which could affect their uterus and wombs in the future and at times resulting in death,” Madam Ansong advised.
 
Miss. Theresa Ayitey the Public Health Co-coordinator of Global Media Foundation, an NGO based in the Brong Ahafo Region has also identified parent’s inability to educate their children on sex as one of the causes of high teenage pregnancy and illegal abortions in the Brong Ahafo Region.
 
Miss Ayitey called on parents to be bold enough to educative teenage girls and children on sex and the negative effect of illegal abortions.
 

YAMFO DRIVERS WORRIED OVER DAMAGE BRIDGE

Story: Michael Sarpong Mfum, Yamfo

Drivers at Yamfo in the Tano North District of the Brong Ahafo Region are worried they will be out of job in this rainy this is because of the inability of the Tano North District Assembly to reconstruct the damage bridge that links the Community and other towns in the Brong Ahafo Region.

According to the drivers, several appeals made to the Tano North District Assembly to reconstruct the broken bridge have not yielded any results. The drivers say it has become extremely difficult to cart foodstuff to market centres in the district.

Yaw Osei, a driver who plies Yamfo –Sunyani says it has become difficult to cross the broken bridge the links Yamfo and Susuaso during the rainy season.

“We the drivers in Yamfo here are suffering because the broken bridge is affecting our job. We have made several appeals to the district Assembly but they have not done anything about it. We are part of Ghana so the country must come to our aid or they should not come here to do any campaign as the elections approach,” he disclosed.

An Independent Parliamentary in the Tano North Constituency, Albert Nda Hayford Biney says the broken bridge is affecting farmers from carting foodstuff to market centres in the district.

“Most of the residents in the district are farmers and has become very difficult for them to cart their foodstuff to the market centres in the district because of the bad road network. Most of the farmers have to leave their foodstuff because of the exorbitant lorry fares from drivers who ply the roads. When approaching Yamfo from Susuaso the only bridge linking these two communities is broken and it’s difficult to travel on it because the rains have washed all the sand leaving the cement culvert,” Mr. Biney observed.

SPECIALISTS REFUSE POSTING TO BA REGIONAL HOSPITAL

Story: Michael Sarpong Mfum, Sunyani

                                                         Sunyani Regional Hospital

Specialists posted to the Brong Ahafo Regional Hospital, Sunyani are refusing postings to the facility because of accommodation problems.

The Brong Ahafo Regional Hospital is in dire need of accommodation because of the failure of the contractors who built the hospital, International Hospital Group to construct a 200 residential accommodation as part of the contract for the staff of the hospital.

Mr. Asare Bediako, Administrator of the hospital in an interview in Sunyani said the hospital is also losing many specialists to other hospitals in the country because of inadequate accommodation.

“When these specialists are posted to the hospital and they realize that the accommodation meant for them is a rent apartment somewhere in town, they would tell you they are going for their things but will never return by the time you realize they are at Kumasi or Accra, this is really affecting the hospital” he noted.

Mr. Bediako revealed that the running of the hospital has become difficult because of the absence of adequate accommodation for staff.

“No accommodation unit was built in addition to this ultra modern hospital that you see. Though the International Hospital Group, a United Kingdom building construction firm who constructed the 300-bed ultra modern capacity hospital were supposed to have build a 200-unit accommodation but not a single unit was built, information we have shows that an amount was paid to the contractors to build the accommodation unit for the staff. We have to rent hotels in the Sunyani Municipality, to be used as accommodation for staff. The owners of these hotels, are businesspersons and have converted their hotels into accommodation for our staffs, this is expensive, averagely we pay GH 500 averagely on a room monthly,” Mr. Bediako disclosed.

The situation is currently having a toll on the Internally Generated Fund (IGF) of the hospital. Funds meant for the replacement of old equipment, purchase of drugs and maintenance of facilities are being diverted to rent accommodation for staff, thus draining the finances of the hospital.He said several appeals made to the appropriate authorities to bring the International Hospital Group to book, but all their efforts have yielded any good results.

GHANAIAN JOURNALIST HONOURED

                                                  Mr. Raphael Godlove Ahenu Jr.

By Michael Sarpong Mfum, Sunyani 

A human Rights Journalist and 2009 British Award Winner, Raphael Godlove Ahenu Jr. has been honoured with another prestigious award christen “Ambassador of Peace Award.  The Award was conferred on him by the Universal Peace Federation, an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations and the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification at a colourful ceremony in Accra.  

UPF is a global network of individuals and organizations dedicated to building a world of peace, a world where everyone can live together in freedom, harmony and cooperation with special focus on interfaith dialogue, peace education and service. Mr. Ahenu Jr., who is a human right activitist and the Founder and the CEO of Global Media Foundation, a human rights and anti-corruption media advocacy organization was one time a Regional Correspondent for Radio Ghana in the Brong Ahafo region.

He was awarded the prestigious award because of his efforts of promoting freedom, harmony and peace among humanity.  He was honoured alongside with three other Pastors.  They were Apostle Solomon Siaw-Kweitsu of Christ Winners Ministry, Pastor Roland Gyansah, Executive Director of Streams of Hope, a charity organization and Apostle Felix Dorwu of Abundant Grace Apostolic Church. Conferring the awards, the Secretary General of the UPF in Ghana, Dr. Mrs. Helen Osei, said launched in 2001, Ambassadors for Peace are the World’s largest and most diverse network of peace leaders.

She said they committed themselves to engage in peace initiatives and programmes that promote reconciliation and cooperation beyond traditional boundaries and religion, race, ethnicity and nationality. 

 Dr. Mrs. Helen Osei noted that practicing the ethnics of living for the sake of others can reconcile the divided human family and bring global peace. According to her, UPF seeks to support and strengthen the UN and advance the Millennium Development Goals. She commended the awardees for their effort of promoting peace across the world and urged the Ambassadors of Peace to step up efforts in ensuring peace in the world.

B/A teachers angry

• Over delayed promotion

STORY: FROM MICHAEL SARPONG MFUM, SUNYANI B/A
A number of teachers in the Brong Ahafo Region have raised eye-brows over what they consider the continual delay of the Ministry of Education in promoting them to higher ranks in the teaching profession.

According to the teachers, the protracted delay in putting them on the right higher ranks is seriously affecting their output.

“The lack of motivation from above is seriously affecting our performances in the classrooms as well feel we are not being appreciated by the powers-that-be,” a teacher said.

When Today checked at the Sunyani Municipal Education Office and other education offices in the Brong Ahafo Region, officials confirmed that the promotion of the teachers is pending and that they have submitted documents on it to the Education office.

According to a source at the office, the documents have been forwarded to the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department for their perusal, but that was over a year ago.

That notwithstanding, Today understands, there has been a refusal on the part of the teachers’ authorities to promote the teachers as stated in the service conditions of the teaching profession.

According to the teachers, not even Certificate ‘A’ teachers, who have obtained top-up diploma or completed the university, have been promoted to the right rank.

A case in point is Mr. Charles Osei, a teacher in one of the public schools in the region.
He seized the opportunity to appeal to the Minister of Education, Mrs. Betty Mould-Iddrisu, and the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) to use their high offices to draw the attention of the Controller and Accountants General Department to their promotion documents.

He said: “I completed the University of Cape Coast (UCC) in 2009 and have filled the necessary documents for promotion to the rank of Principal Superintendent, but I have not been promoted yet.
“I am therefore appealing to the GES to do something about my situation,” he said.

DANGER LOOMS ON OTI RIVER 

*As boats overload; and lack life jackets

STORY: FROM MICHAEL SARPONG MFUM, DAMBAI V/R

Thousands of passengers who travel on the Oti River stand the risk of losing their lives if steps are not taken to ensure that boats plying the course observe the required safety measures in water transport.

A recent visit to Dambai by Today revealed that boats on the river have thrown caution to the wind as they continue to overload and do not provide passengers with life jackets necessary to ensure their safety on the river.

Accounting for about 40% of the volume of water in the Volta Lake, the Oti River, which flows from plains in Burkina Faso, and forms part of the international boundaries between Benin and Burkina Faso and between Togo and Ghana, is the major means of transportation for the people in the Northern, Volta and Eastern Regions.

Though navy personnel have been deplored to the Krachi East and West Districts to check the boat operators from overloading, none of the personnel was seen on sight when this reporter visited as boat operators continuously overload.

Taking advantage of the absence of the security personnel in the region, boat operators were seen overloading their boats.

The situation, Today was reliably informed, gets worst especially on Tuesdays when people from the length and breadth of the country go to trade at Dambai.

“My brother, it is very serious on Tuesdays, you just can’t believe your eyes when you see boats over loading,…the only thing you can do is to pray for them as there is no one to check on them,” a disturbed resident told our reporter.

However, the situation was different at Kete Krachi, where boat operators there turn to provide enough life jackets for passengers who cross to Kejeji in the Brong Ahafo Region.

Attempts to speak to boat operators and owners however proved futile as they refused to talk openly on the issue.

When contacted on the matter, the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Krachi East, Hon. Raphael Kofi Ogyemoko, said plans were far advanced to help boat operators in Dambai and its environs get life jackets to ensure safety during their work.

“We currently have in our possession some life jackets which we are going to give to the boat operators. We have therefore asked the boat operators to register with the Assembly because we do not want to give the life jackets to anybody; I believe this will go a long way to save lives and property,” he noted.