THE vice-presidential aspirant of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has described his nomination as an honour for Northern Ghana whose development he pledged to champion when the party is given the mandate.
“I see my nomination as an honour to northern Ghana. I am committed to promoting development in the north”, he stated.
The vice-presidential pick further acknowledged the development challenges of the region and gave assurance that a Nana Akufo-Addo government would help to turn the fortunes of the region around.
Dr Bawumia was speaking at Yendi during separate courtesy calls on the Regent of Dagbon, Kampakuya-Naa Yakubu Abdulai Andani, and the Bolin-Lana Mahamadu Abdulai.
The visit of the vice-presidential hopeful who was accorded warm reception by party activists, chiefs and elders of the area, formed part of his campaign tour of the Northern Region where he is being introduced to the electorate.
Residents of the area thronged the palaces of the Kampakuya-Naa and Bolin-Lana to cheer him up.
Dr Bawumia reiterated Nana Akufo-Addo’s proposed establishment of a one billion cedi Northern Development Fund to help bridge the development gap between the north and the south.
The Kampakuya-Naa in a remark stated that “we consider you as one of our own and we welcome you to this palace”.
The regent wished Dr Bawumia success in all his endeavours to become the next vice-president of the country after the December polls.
For his part, the Bolin-Lana noted that “it is heart-warming to have you in our midst today. We are proud of your choice and we extend to you a brotherly welcome”.
According to the Bolin-Lana, it was his conviction that Dr Bawumia and Nana Akufo-Addo would make “a quality pair” to accelerate the development of the country.
The former Finance Minister, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo who introduced Dr Bawumia to both the Kampakuya-Naa and the Bolin-Lana, urged the youth including Muslims to rally behind the vice-presidential hopeful in his bid to partner Nana Akufo-Addo to form the next government.
Mr Osafo-Maafo expressed the hope that chiefs, elders and the people of Yendi would co-operate with Dr Bawumia to turn the fortunes of the area around.
According to him, for Dr Bawumia to become the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana at the age of 45 was a clear manifestation that Nana Akufo-Addo’s running mate had the potential to deliver at whatever level he found himself.
Dr Bawumia was accompanied by his wife, Samira; the Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Boniface Abubakar Saddique; the Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris.
Others included Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, the campaign director, and Alhaji Nurudeen Jawula, a leading member of the NPP.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
LANDLORDS SENSITISED TO TAX EDUCATION (PAGE 29)
LANDLORDS and tenants in the Tamale metropolis have attended a day’s seminar on tax education.
The seminar was aimed at educating the participants on the need to pay tax on rent.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) organised the seminar.
The Northern Regional Director of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in charge of rent tax, Mr Elias Sokuu, said tax collection in the region had always been a difficult task for the service, resulting in the inability of the IRS to meet its annual targets.
He said the IRS was able to meet its annual target for the region in 2007. He said further that this year’s target for the Northern Region was GH¢3.7 million but so far only GH¢1.5 million had been collected, making a negative deviation of 12 per cent.
He expressed the opinion that “we as administrators must recognise and accept the challenge that our core mission should not be meeting revenue targets but rather strengthening voluntary compliance through a better delivery of client service.”
He admonished taxpayers to summit their tax returns correctly, adequately and promptly.
For his part, the Tamale Metropolitan Manager of the IRS, Mr Minsi Fordjour, asked individuals and institutions to deduct eight per cent of all rents as rent tax before paying them to their landlords.
He warned that “any institution/organisation which fails to withhold the tax is personally liable to pay to the commissioner the amount of tax, which has not been withheld.”
He said the landlord could be contacted later to reimburse the institution or organisation after personally paying the non-withheld rent tax.
The Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Mohammed Amin Adam, thanked the IRS for organising such a workshop, saying it would help to boost revenue generation in the metropolis.
“My happiness stems from the fact that as the Metropolitan Chief Executive of Tamale, any innovative measure, which aims at widening the tax net and bringing in more revenue has my blessing,” he added.
The MCE said Ghana’s development hinged on everyone agreeing to pay his or her share of the tax burden and added: “It is through the taxes that such benefits as improved electricity and water supplies and effective maintenance of law and order can be achieved to ensure that we continue to run our business in a more secure and enabling environment.”
Mr Adam described the forum on tax education as a bold attempt at extending the tax net to rope in everybody eligible to pay tax in Ghana.
He gave a promise that the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly would collaborate with the IRS to generate more revenue for the nation.
The seminar was aimed at educating the participants on the need to pay tax on rent.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) organised the seminar.
The Northern Regional Director of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in charge of rent tax, Mr Elias Sokuu, said tax collection in the region had always been a difficult task for the service, resulting in the inability of the IRS to meet its annual targets.
He said the IRS was able to meet its annual target for the region in 2007. He said further that this year’s target for the Northern Region was GH¢3.7 million but so far only GH¢1.5 million had been collected, making a negative deviation of 12 per cent.
He expressed the opinion that “we as administrators must recognise and accept the challenge that our core mission should not be meeting revenue targets but rather strengthening voluntary compliance through a better delivery of client service.”
He admonished taxpayers to summit their tax returns correctly, adequately and promptly.
For his part, the Tamale Metropolitan Manager of the IRS, Mr Minsi Fordjour, asked individuals and institutions to deduct eight per cent of all rents as rent tax before paying them to their landlords.
He warned that “any institution/organisation which fails to withhold the tax is personally liable to pay to the commissioner the amount of tax, which has not been withheld.”
He said the landlord could be contacted later to reimburse the institution or organisation after personally paying the non-withheld rent tax.
The Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Mohammed Amin Adam, thanked the IRS for organising such a workshop, saying it would help to boost revenue generation in the metropolis.
“My happiness stems from the fact that as the Metropolitan Chief Executive of Tamale, any innovative measure, which aims at widening the tax net and bringing in more revenue has my blessing,” he added.
The MCE said Ghana’s development hinged on everyone agreeing to pay his or her share of the tax burden and added: “It is through the taxes that such benefits as improved electricity and water supplies and effective maintenance of law and order can be achieved to ensure that we continue to run our business in a more secure and enabling environment.”
Mr Adam described the forum on tax education as a bold attempt at extending the tax net to rope in everybody eligible to pay tax in Ghana.
He gave a promise that the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly would collaborate with the IRS to generate more revenue for the nation.
SERVICE PROVIDERS URGED TO PROVIDE QUALITY SERVICES (PAGE 29)
THE Northern Regional Commander of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), Mr Ernest Frimpong-Nuamah, has expressed concern about the influx of smuggled wax prints on the market in the Tamale metropolis.
“If you carry out an inspection of the cloths that are being sold in the metropolis, you will find out that a lot of them have been smuggled into the area. We are formulating strategies to address the situation,” he stated.
Mr Frimpong-Nuamah told the Daily Graphic in Tamale that his outfit could not embark on any exercise immediately to check such practices, since some residents might read political meanings into it, particularly as the December polls were approaching.
He, however, said the CEPS would soon organise a forum to sensitise residents, including traders, to the need for them to honour their tax obligations and to avoid smuggling.
The commander commended the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service for supporting the CEPS to check the influx of uncustomed motorbikes in the metropolis.
Mr Frimpong-Nuamah said in spite of the effects of tax evasion by some traders and residents, the CEPS was determined to meet its revenue target for this year.
He expressed regret that the Yendi and Saboba sectors might not achieve their targets because of the floods.
He said the Saboba area, for instance, had been cut off by the floods and efforts were being made to address the situation.
The commander said lack of logistics, including vehicles, and inadequate staff were some of the challenges facing his outfit in its bid to increase its revenue generation efforts.
Some dealers in wax print at the Tamale Central Market, however, denied ever evading tax or dealing in smuggled goods.
A market woman who pleaded anonymity, said “most of us are running at a loss because it is difficult for the CEPS authorities to arrest those who really smuggle the goods to this area”.
“If you carry out an inspection of the cloths that are being sold in the metropolis, you will find out that a lot of them have been smuggled into the area. We are formulating strategies to address the situation,” he stated.
Mr Frimpong-Nuamah told the Daily Graphic in Tamale that his outfit could not embark on any exercise immediately to check such practices, since some residents might read political meanings into it, particularly as the December polls were approaching.
He, however, said the CEPS would soon organise a forum to sensitise residents, including traders, to the need for them to honour their tax obligations and to avoid smuggling.
The commander commended the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service for supporting the CEPS to check the influx of uncustomed motorbikes in the metropolis.
Mr Frimpong-Nuamah said in spite of the effects of tax evasion by some traders and residents, the CEPS was determined to meet its revenue target for this year.
He expressed regret that the Yendi and Saboba sectors might not achieve their targets because of the floods.
He said the Saboba area, for instance, had been cut off by the floods and efforts were being made to address the situation.
The commander said lack of logistics, including vehicles, and inadequate staff were some of the challenges facing his outfit in its bid to increase its revenue generation efforts.
Some dealers in wax print at the Tamale Central Market, however, denied ever evading tax or dealing in smuggled goods.
A market woman who pleaded anonymity, said “most of us are running at a loss because it is difficult for the CEPS authorities to arrest those who really smuggle the goods to this area”.
INFLUX OF SMUGGLED WAX PRINTS IN TAMALE (PAGE 29)
THE Northern Regional Commander of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), Mr Ernest Frimpong-Nuamah, has expressed concern about the influx of smuggled wax prints on the market in the Tamale metropolis.
“If you carry out an inspection of the cloths that are being sold in the metropolis, you will find out that a lot of them have been smuggled into the area. We are formulating strategies to address the situation,” he stated.
Mr Frimpong-Nuamah told the Daily Graphic in Tamale that his outfit could not embark on any exercise immediately to check such practices, since some residents might read political meanings into it, particularly as the December polls were approaching.
He, however, said the CEPS would soon organise a forum to sensitise residents, including traders, to the need for them to honour their tax obligations and to avoid smuggling.
The commander commended the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service for supporting the CEPS to check the influx of uncustomed motorbikes in the metropolis.
Mr Frimpong-Nuamah said in spite of the effects of tax evasion by some traders and residents, the CEPS was determined to meet its revenue target for this year.
He expressed regret that the Yendi and Saboba sectors might not achieve their targets because of the floods.
He said the Saboba area, for instance, had been cut off by the floods and efforts were being made to address the situation.
The commander said lack of logistics, including vehicles, and inadequate staff were some of the challenges facing his outfit in its bid to increase its revenue generation efforts.
Some dealers in wax print at the Tamale Central Market, however, denied ever evading tax or dealing in smuggled goods.
A market woman who pleaded anonymity, said “most of us are running at a loss because it is difficult for the CEPS authorities to arrest those who really smuggle the goods to this area”.
“If you carry out an inspection of the cloths that are being sold in the metropolis, you will find out that a lot of them have been smuggled into the area. We are formulating strategies to address the situation,” he stated.
Mr Frimpong-Nuamah told the Daily Graphic in Tamale that his outfit could not embark on any exercise immediately to check such practices, since some residents might read political meanings into it, particularly as the December polls were approaching.
He, however, said the CEPS would soon organise a forum to sensitise residents, including traders, to the need for them to honour their tax obligations and to avoid smuggling.
The commander commended the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service for supporting the CEPS to check the influx of uncustomed motorbikes in the metropolis.
Mr Frimpong-Nuamah said in spite of the effects of tax evasion by some traders and residents, the CEPS was determined to meet its revenue target for this year.
He expressed regret that the Yendi and Saboba sectors might not achieve their targets because of the floods.
He said the Saboba area, for instance, had been cut off by the floods and efforts were being made to address the situation.
The commander said lack of logistics, including vehicles, and inadequate staff were some of the challenges facing his outfit in its bid to increase its revenue generation efforts.
Some dealers in wax print at the Tamale Central Market, however, denied ever evading tax or dealing in smuggled goods.
A market woman who pleaded anonymity, said “most of us are running at a loss because it is difficult for the CEPS authorities to arrest those who really smuggle the goods to this area”.
FOREIGNERS CAPTURE TAMALE MARKET (PAGE 29)
FOR the past two years, the Progressive Traders Association (PTA) in Tamale has been looking for ways to promote a healthy business environment through peaceful co-existence among indigenous traders and their foreign counterparts in the metropolis.
One critical issue of concern to the PTA is how best to resolve the seeming unhealthy business practices being carried out by some foreign traders, which usually result in the low patronage of goods sold by the indigenous traders.
Some of the challenges are the influx of some foreign inferior goods on the market, inadequate capital, disunity, lack of data on businesses and inadequate capital. Managerial and entrepreneurial skills are equally receiving major attention in order to promote a healthy business environment in the metropolis.
These issues have over the years been a major source of worry for the leadership of the PTA, who are determined to use the association to promote a united front for the traders and help champion their cause in creating a healthy business environment in the area.
The PTA was inaugurated in the year 2006 with an initial membership of 400 made up of both businessmen and businesswomen.
It has a 15-member executive with Alhaji Haruna Yasaba as its chairman.
The PTA was formed to primarily ensure a healthy business environment through peaceful co-existence in the face of the many challenges affecting businessmen and businesswomen alike in the metropolis.
It is therefore a non-political, non-ethnic and non-religious body.
Taxation issues, confiscation of goods due to high import duties and lack of co-ordination of activities in the business sector are among the critical concerns the PTA has been working hard to resolve.
These challenges are said to be confronting traders in the metropolis, hence their inability to grow to their peak in their respective business endeavours.
The Planning Committee Chairman of the PTA, Mr Abdul-Nasir Jamal, observed, for instance, that the presence of such foreign traders like the Ibos from Nigeria, the Zambarimas from Niger, the Lebanese and Indians had made the business environment in the metropolis “very competitive but unhealthy”.
“It is on record that over 30 stores have folded up and more than 20 others are on the verge of collapse in the metropolis. For example, many motorbikes, bicycles and auto spare parts dealers are victims of the unhealthy business practices perpetrated by some foreign traders,” he reported.
The chairman of the committee further reported that some of the foreign traders allegedly reduced prices of their goods and services as well as engaged in the sale of inferior goods to unsuspecting customers in the area.
“As I speak now, about 15 women and six men, who sell clothes and materials are completely out of the market. Some individuals have adopted a fundamental dogma of laissez-faire resulting in unhealthy competition among traders. Currently, foreigners occupy not less than 50 stores in the Tamale Central Market which is not the best,” Mr Jamal maintained.
The Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Mohammed Amin Adam, for his part, urged traders in the north to intensify their business activities.
He said the assembly had decided to solicit the support of the PTA in its revenue mobilisation efforts.
Some residents have, however, suggested that although the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Treaty on trade does not permit any member state to repatriate foreigners to their countries of origin, it is imperative that some form of legislature be put in place to help protect local traders and bring sanity into the business sector.
“As the hub of business, the Northern Region is endowed with all kinds of business set-ups, but the level of patronage for some of the goods and services is so low that it does not encourage economic growth,” the residents further stated.
While the local traders have called for “a positive discrimination” towards them in the area of trade, some of the foreign traders have also pledged to abide by the laws and regulations governing their business activities.
Some local traders further lauded the idea of the formation of such an association, stressing that it was a step in the right direction, while their foreign counterparts acknowledged it and expressed the desire to take a cue from the association.
Others have observed that the PTA would enable businessmen and businesswomen in the metropolis to stand for their rights and make them more assertive in their transactions.
They also noted, for instance, that the issue of lack of credit facilities would now be history, as the PTA could enter into an agreement with some financial institutions for its members to access credit facilities.
It is, therefore, hoped that the leadership of the PTA would implement to the letter what the organisation stands for in order to boost the confidence that traders repose in it and promote a healthy business environment in the sprawling metropolis.
One critical issue of concern to the PTA is how best to resolve the seeming unhealthy business practices being carried out by some foreign traders, which usually result in the low patronage of goods sold by the indigenous traders.
Some of the challenges are the influx of some foreign inferior goods on the market, inadequate capital, disunity, lack of data on businesses and inadequate capital. Managerial and entrepreneurial skills are equally receiving major attention in order to promote a healthy business environment in the metropolis.
These issues have over the years been a major source of worry for the leadership of the PTA, who are determined to use the association to promote a united front for the traders and help champion their cause in creating a healthy business environment in the area.
The PTA was inaugurated in the year 2006 with an initial membership of 400 made up of both businessmen and businesswomen.
It has a 15-member executive with Alhaji Haruna Yasaba as its chairman.
The PTA was formed to primarily ensure a healthy business environment through peaceful co-existence in the face of the many challenges affecting businessmen and businesswomen alike in the metropolis.
It is therefore a non-political, non-ethnic and non-religious body.
Taxation issues, confiscation of goods due to high import duties and lack of co-ordination of activities in the business sector are among the critical concerns the PTA has been working hard to resolve.
These challenges are said to be confronting traders in the metropolis, hence their inability to grow to their peak in their respective business endeavours.
The Planning Committee Chairman of the PTA, Mr Abdul-Nasir Jamal, observed, for instance, that the presence of such foreign traders like the Ibos from Nigeria, the Zambarimas from Niger, the Lebanese and Indians had made the business environment in the metropolis “very competitive but unhealthy”.
“It is on record that over 30 stores have folded up and more than 20 others are on the verge of collapse in the metropolis. For example, many motorbikes, bicycles and auto spare parts dealers are victims of the unhealthy business practices perpetrated by some foreign traders,” he reported.
The chairman of the committee further reported that some of the foreign traders allegedly reduced prices of their goods and services as well as engaged in the sale of inferior goods to unsuspecting customers in the area.
“As I speak now, about 15 women and six men, who sell clothes and materials are completely out of the market. Some individuals have adopted a fundamental dogma of laissez-faire resulting in unhealthy competition among traders. Currently, foreigners occupy not less than 50 stores in the Tamale Central Market which is not the best,” Mr Jamal maintained.
The Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Mohammed Amin Adam, for his part, urged traders in the north to intensify their business activities.
He said the assembly had decided to solicit the support of the PTA in its revenue mobilisation efforts.
Some residents have, however, suggested that although the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Treaty on trade does not permit any member state to repatriate foreigners to their countries of origin, it is imperative that some form of legislature be put in place to help protect local traders and bring sanity into the business sector.
“As the hub of business, the Northern Region is endowed with all kinds of business set-ups, but the level of patronage for some of the goods and services is so low that it does not encourage economic growth,” the residents further stated.
While the local traders have called for “a positive discrimination” towards them in the area of trade, some of the foreign traders have also pledged to abide by the laws and regulations governing their business activities.
Some local traders further lauded the idea of the formation of such an association, stressing that it was a step in the right direction, while their foreign counterparts acknowledged it and expressed the desire to take a cue from the association.
Others have observed that the PTA would enable businessmen and businesswomen in the metropolis to stand for their rights and make them more assertive in their transactions.
They also noted, for instance, that the issue of lack of credit facilities would now be history, as the PTA could enter into an agreement with some financial institutions for its members to access credit facilities.
It is, therefore, hoped that the leadership of the PTA would implement to the letter what the organisation stands for in order to boost the confidence that traders repose in it and promote a healthy business environment in the sprawling metropolis.
Monday, August 25, 2008
CONSTITUTE DISTRICT REGISTRATION REVIEW COMMITTEES (PAGE 14)
THE Electoral Commission (EC) in the Northern Region has directed district electoral officers to constitute District Registration Review Committees to look into challenges that confronted the recent limited registration exercise in the region.
According to the Regional Director of the EC, Mr Sylvester Kanyi, the committee would, among other things, examine challenges of minor and double registration, in line with Article 13 (1) of the Constitutional Instrument (CI 12) on public elections regulations of 1995.
The provision states that “there shall be established in each district a district review committee ... which shall examine challenges related to the registration of voters in the district”.
Furthermore, he said, “the CI enjoins the committee to decide whether or not the person is qualified to be registered as a voter and communicate its decision in writing to the EC”.
Mr Kanyi indicated that members of the committee would comprise district directors of education, representatives of traditional authorities, district police commanders, electoral officers as well as one representative each from active political parties in each district.
According to the director, the committee would pass judgement after investigations and aggrieved parties who were not satisfied with the judgement could proceed to the law courts.
“The committee will invite the challenger and the challenged to prove or disprove their claims,” he stated.
Mr Kanyi explained that the challenges recorded in the recent voters registration exercise included minor registration, misplaced or lost voter’s ID cards and voters on transfer or relocation.
Touching on provisional figures for the recent limited registration exercise in the region, the director said that a total of 152,130 people were registered during the exercise in the 18 districts of the region.
He further indicated that out of that number 34,173 registered voters could not take their photographs.
According to the director, the EC would soon evolve a strategy to address the problem of bloated register.
According to the Regional Director of the EC, Mr Sylvester Kanyi, the committee would, among other things, examine challenges of minor and double registration, in line with Article 13 (1) of the Constitutional Instrument (CI 12) on public elections regulations of 1995.
The provision states that “there shall be established in each district a district review committee ... which shall examine challenges related to the registration of voters in the district”.
Furthermore, he said, “the CI enjoins the committee to decide whether or not the person is qualified to be registered as a voter and communicate its decision in writing to the EC”.
Mr Kanyi indicated that members of the committee would comprise district directors of education, representatives of traditional authorities, district police commanders, electoral officers as well as one representative each from active political parties in each district.
According to the director, the committee would pass judgement after investigations and aggrieved parties who were not satisfied with the judgement could proceed to the law courts.
“The committee will invite the challenger and the challenged to prove or disprove their claims,” he stated.
Mr Kanyi explained that the challenges recorded in the recent voters registration exercise included minor registration, misplaced or lost voter’s ID cards and voters on transfer or relocation.
Touching on provisional figures for the recent limited registration exercise in the region, the director said that a total of 152,130 people were registered during the exercise in the 18 districts of the region.
He further indicated that out of that number 34,173 registered voters could not take their photographs.
According to the director, the EC would soon evolve a strategy to address the problem of bloated register.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
BURSARIES FOR SPORTS BOYS AND GIRLS (JUNIOR GRAPHIC, BACK PAGE)
Participants who excelled in the Annual Northern Regional Basic Schools Inter-District Sports Festival will now enjoy bursaries of GH¢50 each.
This followed the inauguration of a five-year sponsorship package in Tamale by RICS Charities, a non-governmental organisation.
The package was aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the festival as well as identifying and harnessing the development of sports talents, particularly among the youth in the region.
The Chairman of the Board of Trustees for RICS, Mr Rex Danquah, who announced the package at a press briefing in Tamale, explained that his outfit had already provided four footballs, plaques, trophies and medals for winners of this year’s competition.
He stated that incentives would be provided to participants who would excel in the competition, adding that “a bursary of GH¢50 would be given to each participant for as long as you continue to strive for excellence”.
Mr Danquah further indicated that “this incentive will continue up to the university level for as long as the beneficiaries continue to engage in sporting activities and achieve excellence.”
He also stated that his outfit would collaborate with the Ghana Education Service (GES) to provide sponsorship package for children who were out of school, but had great talent in sports.
That measure, he said, was to enable such less-privileged children to get access to quality education, while making sure that they developed their respective sports talents to the highest level.
Another package, he said, was to “award GH¢20 to any pupil who could break 20-year old records and GH¢10 to those who could break any 10-year-old record, while GH¢5 would go to any pupil who could break records below 10 years.”
According to him, the RICS had a plan to open special accounts at some banks, where beneficiary students and pupils could go with their identity cards to enable them to collect their grants.
The Regional Director of Education, Mr John Hobenu, expressed gratitude to RICS for their gesture, and noted that it would encourage the participants to strive for excellence.
“Northern Ghana has always been a stalwart in producing the nation’s sports giants. I, therefore, entreat all stakeholders to support this move by RICS to alleviate poverty among school pupils and enhance the quality of competitive school sports,” Mr Hobenu noted.
This followed the inauguration of a five-year sponsorship package in Tamale by RICS Charities, a non-governmental organisation.
The package was aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the festival as well as identifying and harnessing the development of sports talents, particularly among the youth in the region.
The Chairman of the Board of Trustees for RICS, Mr Rex Danquah, who announced the package at a press briefing in Tamale, explained that his outfit had already provided four footballs, plaques, trophies and medals for winners of this year’s competition.
He stated that incentives would be provided to participants who would excel in the competition, adding that “a bursary of GH¢50 would be given to each participant for as long as you continue to strive for excellence”.
Mr Danquah further indicated that “this incentive will continue up to the university level for as long as the beneficiaries continue to engage in sporting activities and achieve excellence.”
He also stated that his outfit would collaborate with the Ghana Education Service (GES) to provide sponsorship package for children who were out of school, but had great talent in sports.
That measure, he said, was to enable such less-privileged children to get access to quality education, while making sure that they developed their respective sports talents to the highest level.
Another package, he said, was to “award GH¢20 to any pupil who could break 20-year old records and GH¢10 to those who could break any 10-year-old record, while GH¢5 would go to any pupil who could break records below 10 years.”
According to him, the RICS had a plan to open special accounts at some banks, where beneficiary students and pupils could go with their identity cards to enable them to collect their grants.
The Regional Director of Education, Mr John Hobenu, expressed gratitude to RICS for their gesture, and noted that it would encourage the participants to strive for excellence.
“Northern Ghana has always been a stalwart in producing the nation’s sports giants. I, therefore, entreat all stakeholders to support this move by RICS to alleviate poverty among school pupils and enhance the quality of competitive school sports,” Mr Hobenu noted.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
IN THE HEAT OF NEGATIVE REPORTAGE...Northern Region totters (PAGE 9)
WHEN the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) organised a workshop on promoting issue-based media reportage in Tamale recently for journalists in the three northern regions, little did the participants know that the workshop was going to be a platform to unearth unprofessional acts by some “self-styled” journalists.
For one thing, during an interaction after the workshop some media practitioners engaged in heated debates on the unprofessional media reportage on the recent registration exercise by some “self-styled journalists” in Tamale.
Consequently, the searchlight was thrown on a reporter who was heavily criticised for conniving with his colleague to carry an exaggerated story that was published on the front page of a private newspaper. The story alleged that some supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) manhandled the reporter to the extent that he was “bathed in blood”.
Indeed, a cursory look at that particular private newspaper showed a gory picture of the reporter who claimed in that story that he was “given wild beatings and “but for the timely intervention of a youth chief, I would have been dead by now”.
Apparently, one could hardly believe that this supposed victim of a reporter was manhandled to the point of death as the story sought to portray.
The alleged victim who was portrayed on the front page as having been beaten to the point of death attended the CDD workshop and indeed participated in group discussions and even went to the extent of presenting a report of the discussions on behalf of his group.
It was perhaps at that point that it occurred to the other journalists in the Northern Region that something had gone wrong.
In effect, the demeanour of the supposed reporter did not portray somebody who had been a victim of mob attack.
Some of the journalists at the workshop questioned why the reporter behaved in that manner to give a wrong signal to the outside world about the ongoing registration exercise in the metropolis.
The reporter, who claimed to have been assaulted, ignorantly contended that he was right in doing what he did and his colleague who helped him to put out that story also got very angry in the process.
It is worthy to note that nobody has the right to either assault or intimidate any citizen but the situation becomes worrying when some people tend to exaggerate issues or engage in unprofessional acts as if the residents of Tamale are always “violent people”.
Later on, a resident in Tamale, who claimed to know the alleged victim (the reporter), told this writer that he (the resident) was aware that the reporter allegedly smeared blood of a carcass on his body at Sakasaka, a suburb of Tamale, ostensibly to portray that he was assaulted.
Undoubtedly, the media practitioners in the Northern Region have been lauded over the years but it seems in recent times, some self-styled reporters and their unprofessional acts are gradually denting the image of the noble journalism profession.
The worrying aspect of this trend is that the coverage of this year’s elections in the Northern Region, especially in Tamale, might suffer from unprofessional media reportage and consequently heighten tension between the two leading parties, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the NDC, if the situation is not checked.
Talking about the registration exercise, although there were isolated cases of disturbances at some registration centres, the signals being sent out from the metropolis seem to suggest that the whole area is engulfed in conflicts and violence.
However, one good thing about the residents in the metropolis is that until a story is published in the Daily Graphic to confirm or deny any information they have heard or read in other media, they are usually in a dilemma.
That is the credibility the Daily Graphic has built in the region. The media has a crucial role to play in helping to unite the people of the Northern Region, no matter their political affiliation.
For this reason, exaggeration of stories and other unethical issues should be avoided. Tamale has over the years gained negative publicity and there must be damage repair to restore confidence in potential investors.
The purpose of this write-up is to correct the wrong impression of many people stemming from negative media reportage about the region for some six years now.
Media practitioners in the region would be doing more harm than good if they engage in unprofessional practices before, during and after the December 7 general polls.
Times without number, some veteran journalists and senior media practitioners in the metropolis have done a lot in their own small way to sensitise the new breed of media practitioners to how best to exhibit professionalism in their reportage.
However, like the popular saying, “you can take a horse to the riverside but you cannot force it to drink the water”.
As the senior journalists in the region have done their best, the young journalists must take a cue from them.
For one thing, during an interaction after the workshop some media practitioners engaged in heated debates on the unprofessional media reportage on the recent registration exercise by some “self-styled journalists” in Tamale.
Consequently, the searchlight was thrown on a reporter who was heavily criticised for conniving with his colleague to carry an exaggerated story that was published on the front page of a private newspaper. The story alleged that some supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) manhandled the reporter to the extent that he was “bathed in blood”.
Indeed, a cursory look at that particular private newspaper showed a gory picture of the reporter who claimed in that story that he was “given wild beatings and “but for the timely intervention of a youth chief, I would have been dead by now”.
Apparently, one could hardly believe that this supposed victim of a reporter was manhandled to the point of death as the story sought to portray.
The alleged victim who was portrayed on the front page as having been beaten to the point of death attended the CDD workshop and indeed participated in group discussions and even went to the extent of presenting a report of the discussions on behalf of his group.
It was perhaps at that point that it occurred to the other journalists in the Northern Region that something had gone wrong.
In effect, the demeanour of the supposed reporter did not portray somebody who had been a victim of mob attack.
Some of the journalists at the workshop questioned why the reporter behaved in that manner to give a wrong signal to the outside world about the ongoing registration exercise in the metropolis.
The reporter, who claimed to have been assaulted, ignorantly contended that he was right in doing what he did and his colleague who helped him to put out that story also got very angry in the process.
It is worthy to note that nobody has the right to either assault or intimidate any citizen but the situation becomes worrying when some people tend to exaggerate issues or engage in unprofessional acts as if the residents of Tamale are always “violent people”.
Later on, a resident in Tamale, who claimed to know the alleged victim (the reporter), told this writer that he (the resident) was aware that the reporter allegedly smeared blood of a carcass on his body at Sakasaka, a suburb of Tamale, ostensibly to portray that he was assaulted.
Undoubtedly, the media practitioners in the Northern Region have been lauded over the years but it seems in recent times, some self-styled reporters and their unprofessional acts are gradually denting the image of the noble journalism profession.
The worrying aspect of this trend is that the coverage of this year’s elections in the Northern Region, especially in Tamale, might suffer from unprofessional media reportage and consequently heighten tension between the two leading parties, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the NDC, if the situation is not checked.
Talking about the registration exercise, although there were isolated cases of disturbances at some registration centres, the signals being sent out from the metropolis seem to suggest that the whole area is engulfed in conflicts and violence.
However, one good thing about the residents in the metropolis is that until a story is published in the Daily Graphic to confirm or deny any information they have heard or read in other media, they are usually in a dilemma.
That is the credibility the Daily Graphic has built in the region. The media has a crucial role to play in helping to unite the people of the Northern Region, no matter their political affiliation.
For this reason, exaggeration of stories and other unethical issues should be avoided. Tamale has over the years gained negative publicity and there must be damage repair to restore confidence in potential investors.
The purpose of this write-up is to correct the wrong impression of many people stemming from negative media reportage about the region for some six years now.
Media practitioners in the region would be doing more harm than good if they engage in unprofessional practices before, during and after the December 7 general polls.
Times without number, some veteran journalists and senior media practitioners in the metropolis have done a lot in their own small way to sensitise the new breed of media practitioners to how best to exhibit professionalism in their reportage.
However, like the popular saying, “you can take a horse to the riverside but you cannot force it to drink the water”.
As the senior journalists in the region have done their best, the young journalists must take a cue from them.
Friday, August 15, 2008
SPONSORSHIP PACKAGE FOR SPORTS FESTIVAL LAUNCHED (PAGE 18)
A FIVE-YEAR sponsorship package for the Annual Northern Region Inter-District Basic Schools Sports Festival has been inaugurated in Tamale.
A non-governmental organisation, RICS Charities, provided the facility, which is aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the festival, as well as identifying and harnessing the development of sports talents, particularly among the youth in the region.
The Chairman of the Board of Trustees for RICS, Mr Rex Danquah, who announced the package at a press briefing in Tamale, explained that his outfit had already provided four footballs, plaques, trophies and medals for winners of this year's competition.
He, however, declined to mention the total cost of the package and stressed that it would be reviewed from time to time over the five-year period.
Mr Danquah said incentives would be provided for participants who would excel in the competition, while a bursary of GH¢50 would be given to each participant for as long as they continued to strive for excellence.
He indicated that "this incentive will continue up to the university level, as long as the beneficiaries continue to engage in sporting activities and achieve excellence in them".
Mr Danquah noted that his outfit would collaborate with the Ghana Education Service (GES), to rope in the sponsorship package for children who were out of school but had great talents in sports.
That measure, he said, was to enable such less privileged children to get access to quality education, while making sure that they developed their respective sports talents to the highest point.
"Another package is that we are prepared to give Gh¢20 to any pupil who could break 20-year-old records and GH¢10 to those who could break 10-year-old records while GH¢5 would go to any pupil who could break records below 10 years," the chairman added.
According to him, RICS had a plan to open special accounts at some banks, where beneficiary students and pupils could go with their identity cards to facilitate payment of their grants.
A non-governmental organisation, RICS Charities, provided the facility, which is aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of the festival, as well as identifying and harnessing the development of sports talents, particularly among the youth in the region.
The Chairman of the Board of Trustees for RICS, Mr Rex Danquah, who announced the package at a press briefing in Tamale, explained that his outfit had already provided four footballs, plaques, trophies and medals for winners of this year's competition.
He, however, declined to mention the total cost of the package and stressed that it would be reviewed from time to time over the five-year period.
Mr Danquah said incentives would be provided for participants who would excel in the competition, while a bursary of GH¢50 would be given to each participant for as long as they continued to strive for excellence.
He indicated that "this incentive will continue up to the university level, as long as the beneficiaries continue to engage in sporting activities and achieve excellence in them".
Mr Danquah noted that his outfit would collaborate with the Ghana Education Service (GES), to rope in the sponsorship package for children who were out of school but had great talents in sports.
That measure, he said, was to enable such less privileged children to get access to quality education, while making sure that they developed their respective sports talents to the highest point.
"Another package is that we are prepared to give Gh¢20 to any pupil who could break 20-year-old records and GH¢10 to those who could break 10-year-old records while GH¢5 would go to any pupil who could break records below 10 years," the chairman added.
According to him, RICS had a plan to open special accounts at some banks, where beneficiary students and pupils could go with their identity cards to facilitate payment of their grants.
Monday, August 11, 2008
GOVT TO IMPROVE MOLE PARK (PAGE 65)
PLANS are underway to revamp the helipad and access roads to the Mole National Park as part of measures to transform the park into a centrepiece in the promotion of pro-poor tourism in the country.
It is envisaged that renovation of those facilities would reduce the inconvenience some tourists go through to visit the park and subsequently improve on the number of tourist arrivals to the park, which stood at 13,700 in 2007.
The Minister of Tourism and Diasporan Relations, Mrs Oboshie Sai Cofie, made this known in an interview with newsmen at Damongo in the West Gonja District in the Northern Region.
This was during the inauguration of a number of facilities at the park valued at 5.8 million euros.
The Dutch government under the Wildlife Division Support Project (WDSP) of the Natural Resources Management Programme (NRMP) funded it.
The facilities included range camps comprising 60-unit 2-bedroom self-contained apartments for field staff, satellite camps and tourist facilities, and the provision of a new entrance gate and information centre.
Mrs Cofie further explained that although some work had been done to improve on some of the facilities at the park, the rehabilitation of the helipad and access roads was, stressing that work on them would begin in the “next few weeks or months”.
According to her, effective marketing of the park to the outside world was a major challenge and stated that the government was committed to the whole process.
The minister observed that her outfit “in collaboration with neighbouring countries like Burkina Faso” was critically taking a look at developing “multi-destination tourism in the Northern Region”.
Mrs Cofie equally stated that the major challenge for the country was to ensure a stronger collaboration between her ministry and the Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines to effectively harness tourism resources for national development.
She emphasised that the “the immense potential of tourism and its ability to create jobs, reduce poverty and thereby improve on the lifestyles of the people in the rural communities cannot be over-emphasized”.
“Government takes its policy on pro-poor tourism seriously and I should indicate here its willingness to partner with private investors to develop the sector into a major revenue generating industry in Ghana,” she pointed out.
The Deputy Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines, Mr Andrew Adjei-Yeboah, noted that “Mole National Park is a very important national asset with the potential to drive the cultural and socio-economic development of local communities, districts and regions round it”.
He mentioned law enforcement and ground coverage, infrastructural development and maintenance, community-based conservation, administration, planning, procurement and tourism development as key components of the Mole National Park Development Programme.
The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, in a speech read on his behalf by the Upper West Regional Minister, Mr George Benson, urged the Forestry Commission and management of the Park to help maintain the facilities.
The Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana, Madam Lidi Remmelzwaal, stated that the Dutch government was committed to supporting Ghana in her efforts to reduce the cost of environmental degradation, which was currently almost 10 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
It is envisaged that renovation of those facilities would reduce the inconvenience some tourists go through to visit the park and subsequently improve on the number of tourist arrivals to the park, which stood at 13,700 in 2007.
The Minister of Tourism and Diasporan Relations, Mrs Oboshie Sai Cofie, made this known in an interview with newsmen at Damongo in the West Gonja District in the Northern Region.
This was during the inauguration of a number of facilities at the park valued at 5.8 million euros.
The Dutch government under the Wildlife Division Support Project (WDSP) of the Natural Resources Management Programme (NRMP) funded it.
The facilities included range camps comprising 60-unit 2-bedroom self-contained apartments for field staff, satellite camps and tourist facilities, and the provision of a new entrance gate and information centre.
Mrs Cofie further explained that although some work had been done to improve on some of the facilities at the park, the rehabilitation of the helipad and access roads was, stressing that work on them would begin in the “next few weeks or months”.
According to her, effective marketing of the park to the outside world was a major challenge and stated that the government was committed to the whole process.
The minister observed that her outfit “in collaboration with neighbouring countries like Burkina Faso” was critically taking a look at developing “multi-destination tourism in the Northern Region”.
Mrs Cofie equally stated that the major challenge for the country was to ensure a stronger collaboration between her ministry and the Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines to effectively harness tourism resources for national development.
She emphasised that the “the immense potential of tourism and its ability to create jobs, reduce poverty and thereby improve on the lifestyles of the people in the rural communities cannot be over-emphasized”.
“Government takes its policy on pro-poor tourism seriously and I should indicate here its willingness to partner with private investors to develop the sector into a major revenue generating industry in Ghana,” she pointed out.
The Deputy Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines, Mr Andrew Adjei-Yeboah, noted that “Mole National Park is a very important national asset with the potential to drive the cultural and socio-economic development of local communities, districts and regions round it”.
He mentioned law enforcement and ground coverage, infrastructural development and maintenance, community-based conservation, administration, planning, procurement and tourism development as key components of the Mole National Park Development Programme.
The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, in a speech read on his behalf by the Upper West Regional Minister, Mr George Benson, urged the Forestry Commission and management of the Park to help maintain the facilities.
The Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana, Madam Lidi Remmelzwaal, stated that the Dutch government was committed to supporting Ghana in her efforts to reduce the cost of environmental degradation, which was currently almost 10 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Sunday, August 10, 2008
TAMALE HOLDS PUBLIC FORUM ON TEACHERS' FUND (PAGE 40)
THE Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has held a public lecture in Tamale to mark the 10th anniversary of the Teachers’ Fund.
Other activities outlined for the anniversary included radio discussions and clean-up campaigns.
The fund was established in 1999 by the GNAT to, among other objectives, serve as a retirement supplement scheme for teachers who are members of the association.
Addressing the lecture, the administrator of the fund, Mrs Rosalyn Darkwa, assured teachers that they would soon own affordable houses.
She stated that the management of the fund was exploring ways of collaborating with some mortgage financing institutions and the government’s affordable housing initiatives to enable teachers to own their houses.
That measure, she said, was part of the fund’s five-year strategic plan.
Mrs Darkwa announced that since the establishment of the fund, a total of GH¢31.18 million had been disbursed as loans to contributors.
She further stated that so far over 107,000 contributors had benefited from the loan facilities granted under the fund.
Mrs Darkwa said the fund had set up a finance house as a subsidiary of the teachers fund to offer loans to salaried workers and businesses in the private and public sector, adding “This is the initial step towards the establishment of a bank.”
According to her, under the fund’s five-year strategic plan, a formidable financial institution committed to making life more meaningful for teachers was being looked at.
“The fund has come a long way from days of struggling to create awareness among its membership through to situations of insufficient resources to fully meet the needs of over 150,000 regular contributors,” the administrator noted.
The Northern Regional Vice- Chairperson of GNAT, Mrs Christiana Asigri, observed that the fund had changed the lifestyles of many teachers and for that matter “teachers’ image in the eyes of the public.”
She urged custodians of the fund to be “good shepherds without which we would be assured of a gloomy and uncertain future.”
The National Vice-President of GNAT, Madam Portia Molly Anafo, announced that the northern zonal secretariat of the fund had been established to take charge of operations in the three northern regions, including processing of membership registration, loans, exit and retirement benefits, death and disability insurance claims.
“The zonal secretariat will not take over the functions of the District GNAT secretaries but rather enhance their operations with respect to the Teachers’ Fund and Credit Mall Limited,” Madam Anafo stated.
Other activities outlined for the anniversary included radio discussions and clean-up campaigns.
The fund was established in 1999 by the GNAT to, among other objectives, serve as a retirement supplement scheme for teachers who are members of the association.
Addressing the lecture, the administrator of the fund, Mrs Rosalyn Darkwa, assured teachers that they would soon own affordable houses.
She stated that the management of the fund was exploring ways of collaborating with some mortgage financing institutions and the government’s affordable housing initiatives to enable teachers to own their houses.
That measure, she said, was part of the fund’s five-year strategic plan.
Mrs Darkwa announced that since the establishment of the fund, a total of GH¢31.18 million had been disbursed as loans to contributors.
She further stated that so far over 107,000 contributors had benefited from the loan facilities granted under the fund.
Mrs Darkwa said the fund had set up a finance house as a subsidiary of the teachers fund to offer loans to salaried workers and businesses in the private and public sector, adding “This is the initial step towards the establishment of a bank.”
According to her, under the fund’s five-year strategic plan, a formidable financial institution committed to making life more meaningful for teachers was being looked at.
“The fund has come a long way from days of struggling to create awareness among its membership through to situations of insufficient resources to fully meet the needs of over 150,000 regular contributors,” the administrator noted.
The Northern Regional Vice- Chairperson of GNAT, Mrs Christiana Asigri, observed that the fund had changed the lifestyles of many teachers and for that matter “teachers’ image in the eyes of the public.”
She urged custodians of the fund to be “good shepherds without which we would be assured of a gloomy and uncertain future.”
The National Vice-President of GNAT, Madam Portia Molly Anafo, announced that the northern zonal secretariat of the fund had been established to take charge of operations in the three northern regions, including processing of membership registration, loans, exit and retirement benefits, death and disability insurance claims.
“The zonal secretariat will not take over the functions of the District GNAT secretaries but rather enhance their operations with respect to the Teachers’ Fund and Credit Mall Limited,” Madam Anafo stated.
HEALTH EXPERTS MEET ON GUINEA WORM ERADICATION (PAGE 40)
HEALTH experts and representatives of donor support agencies in the health sector have completed a two-day national mid-year review meeting on the Guinea Worm Eradication Programme (GWEP) in Tamale.
The participants discussed issues such as intensification of interventions, funding, the push for final eradication with an integrated approach, surveillance, case containment and eradication efforts in the Northern, Volta and Brong Ahafo regions.
The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, pledged his preparedness to “put pressure on district and metropolitan chief executives to make the eradication of the disease a top priority to give it a final push out of the region”.
He stressed the need for the involvement of traditional rulers and the media in guinea worm eradication efforts, especially during monthly reviews.
The Minister of Health, Major Courage Quashigah (retd) , announced that his outfit had set aside GH¢1.4 million to support efforts at “kicking-out” the guinea worm disease in the country by the middle of 2009.
Currently, statistics indicate that a total of 415 cases were recorded for the first half of this year with the Northern Region alone recording 395 cases, being the highest in the country.
Major Quashigah charged all stakeholders to avoid complacency and ensure a total “interruption of transmission of the disease by the middle of 2009.”
He entreated health officials involved in guinea worm eradication to intensify surveillance of the disease, stressing “it is our duty to look for cases and finish them because our mission is to record no cases whatsoever.”
Major Quashigah reminded the participants that development partners were only assisting the country to eradicate the disease.
“Let us take the lead in solving this problem so that our next meeting would be a celebration of victory over the disease,” he stressed.
The Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Elias Sory, noted that the provision of potable water and effective surveillance of the disease were critical to its eradication.
The participants discussed issues such as intensification of interventions, funding, the push for final eradication with an integrated approach, surveillance, case containment and eradication efforts in the Northern, Volta and Brong Ahafo regions.
The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, pledged his preparedness to “put pressure on district and metropolitan chief executives to make the eradication of the disease a top priority to give it a final push out of the region”.
He stressed the need for the involvement of traditional rulers and the media in guinea worm eradication efforts, especially during monthly reviews.
The Minister of Health, Major Courage Quashigah (retd) , announced that his outfit had set aside GH¢1.4 million to support efforts at “kicking-out” the guinea worm disease in the country by the middle of 2009.
Currently, statistics indicate that a total of 415 cases were recorded for the first half of this year with the Northern Region alone recording 395 cases, being the highest in the country.
Major Quashigah charged all stakeholders to avoid complacency and ensure a total “interruption of transmission of the disease by the middle of 2009.”
He entreated health officials involved in guinea worm eradication to intensify surveillance of the disease, stressing “it is our duty to look for cases and finish them because our mission is to record no cases whatsoever.”
Major Quashigah reminded the participants that development partners were only assisting the country to eradicate the disease.
“Let us take the lead in solving this problem so that our next meeting would be a celebration of victory over the disease,” he stressed.
The Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Elias Sory, noted that the provision of potable water and effective surveillance of the disease were critical to its eradication.
CDD WORKSHOP EXPOSES 'JOURNALIST' (PAGE 23)
WHEN the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) organised a workshop on promoting issue-based media reportage in Tamale last Tuesday for journalists in the three northern regions, little did the participants know that the workshop was going to be a platform to unearth unprofessional acts by some “self-styled” journalists, particularly in the ongoing voters registration exercise in the Northern Region.
For one thing, during an interaction after the workshop, some media practitioners engaged in heated debates on the unprofessional media reportage on the ongoing registration exercise by some “self-styled journalists” in Tamale.
Consequently, the searchlight was thrown on a reporter who was heavily criticised for conniving with his colleague to carry an exaggerated story that was published on the front page of a private newspaper. The story alleged that some supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) manhandled the reporter to the extent that he was “bathed in blood”.
Indeed, a cursory look at that particular private newspaper showed a gory picture of the reporter who claimed in that story that he was “given wild beatings and “but for the timely intervention of a youth chief, I would have been dead by now”.
Apparently, one could hardly believe that this supposed victim of a reporter was manhandled to the point of death as the story sought to portray.
The alleged victim who was portrayed on the front page as having been beaten to the point of death attended the CDD workshop and indeed participated in group discussions and even went to the extent of presenting a report of the discussions on behalf of his group.
It was perhaps at that point that it occurred to the other journalists in the Northern Region that something had gone wrong.
In effect, the demeanour of the supposed reporter did not portray somebody who had been a victim of mob attack.
Some of the journalists at the workshop questioned why the reporter behaved in that manner to give a wrong signal to the outside world about the ongoing registration exercise in the metropolis.
The reporter, who claimed to have been assaulted, ignorantly contended that he was right in doing what he did and his colleague who helped him to put out that story also got very angry in the process.
It is worthy to note that nobody has the right to either assault or intimidate any citizen but the situation becomes worrying when some people tend to exaggerate issues or engage in unprofessional acts as if the residents of Tamale are always “violent people”.
Later on, a resident in Tamale, who claimed to know the alleged victim (the reporter), told this writer that he (the resident) was aware that the reporter allegedly smeared blood of a carcass on his body at Sakasaka, a suburb of Tamale, ostensibly to portray that he was assaulted.
Undoubtedly, the media practitioners in the Northern Region have been lauded over the years but it seems in recent times, some self-styled reporters and their unprofessional acts were gradually denting the image of the noble journalism profession.
The worrying aspect of this trend is that the coverage of this year’s elections in the Northern Region, especially in Tamale, might suffer from unprofessional media reportage and consequently heighten tension between the two giant parties, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress NDC, if the situation is not checked.
Talking about the registration exercise, although there were isolated cases of disturbances at some registration centres, the signals being sent out from the metropolis seem to suggest that the whole area is engulfed in conflicts and violence.
However, one good thing about the residents in the metropolis is that until a story is published in the Daily Graphic to confirm or deny any information they have heard or read in other media, they are usually in a dilemma.
That is the credibility the Daily Graphic has built in the region. The media has a crucial role to play in helping to unite the people of the Northern Region, no matter their political affiliation.
For this reason, exaggeration of stories and other unethical issues should be avoided. Tamale has over the years gained negative publicity and there must be damage repair to restore confidence in potential investors.
The purpose of this write-up is to correct the wrong impression of many people stemming from negative media reportage about the region for some six years now.
Media practitioners in the region would be doing more harm than good if they engage in unprofessional practices before, during and after the December 7 general polls.
Times without number, some veteran journalists and senior media practitioners in the metropolis have done a lot in their own small way to sensitise the new breed of media practitioners to how best to exhibit professionalism in their reportage.
However, like the popular saying, “you can take a horse to the riverside but you cannot force it to drink the water”.
As the senior journalists in the region have done their best, the young journalists must take a cue from them.
For one thing, during an interaction after the workshop, some media practitioners engaged in heated debates on the unprofessional media reportage on the ongoing registration exercise by some “self-styled journalists” in Tamale.
Consequently, the searchlight was thrown on a reporter who was heavily criticised for conniving with his colleague to carry an exaggerated story that was published on the front page of a private newspaper. The story alleged that some supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) manhandled the reporter to the extent that he was “bathed in blood”.
Indeed, a cursory look at that particular private newspaper showed a gory picture of the reporter who claimed in that story that he was “given wild beatings and “but for the timely intervention of a youth chief, I would have been dead by now”.
Apparently, one could hardly believe that this supposed victim of a reporter was manhandled to the point of death as the story sought to portray.
The alleged victim who was portrayed on the front page as having been beaten to the point of death attended the CDD workshop and indeed participated in group discussions and even went to the extent of presenting a report of the discussions on behalf of his group.
It was perhaps at that point that it occurred to the other journalists in the Northern Region that something had gone wrong.
In effect, the demeanour of the supposed reporter did not portray somebody who had been a victim of mob attack.
Some of the journalists at the workshop questioned why the reporter behaved in that manner to give a wrong signal to the outside world about the ongoing registration exercise in the metropolis.
The reporter, who claimed to have been assaulted, ignorantly contended that he was right in doing what he did and his colleague who helped him to put out that story also got very angry in the process.
It is worthy to note that nobody has the right to either assault or intimidate any citizen but the situation becomes worrying when some people tend to exaggerate issues or engage in unprofessional acts as if the residents of Tamale are always “violent people”.
Later on, a resident in Tamale, who claimed to know the alleged victim (the reporter), told this writer that he (the resident) was aware that the reporter allegedly smeared blood of a carcass on his body at Sakasaka, a suburb of Tamale, ostensibly to portray that he was assaulted.
Undoubtedly, the media practitioners in the Northern Region have been lauded over the years but it seems in recent times, some self-styled reporters and their unprofessional acts were gradually denting the image of the noble journalism profession.
The worrying aspect of this trend is that the coverage of this year’s elections in the Northern Region, especially in Tamale, might suffer from unprofessional media reportage and consequently heighten tension between the two giant parties, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress NDC, if the situation is not checked.
Talking about the registration exercise, although there were isolated cases of disturbances at some registration centres, the signals being sent out from the metropolis seem to suggest that the whole area is engulfed in conflicts and violence.
However, one good thing about the residents in the metropolis is that until a story is published in the Daily Graphic to confirm or deny any information they have heard or read in other media, they are usually in a dilemma.
That is the credibility the Daily Graphic has built in the region. The media has a crucial role to play in helping to unite the people of the Northern Region, no matter their political affiliation.
For this reason, exaggeration of stories and other unethical issues should be avoided. Tamale has over the years gained negative publicity and there must be damage repair to restore confidence in potential investors.
The purpose of this write-up is to correct the wrong impression of many people stemming from negative media reportage about the region for some six years now.
Media practitioners in the region would be doing more harm than good if they engage in unprofessional practices before, during and after the December 7 general polls.
Times without number, some veteran journalists and senior media practitioners in the metropolis have done a lot in their own small way to sensitise the new breed of media practitioners to how best to exhibit professionalism in their reportage.
However, like the popular saying, “you can take a horse to the riverside but you cannot force it to drink the water”.
As the senior journalists in the region have done their best, the young journalists must take a cue from them.
AVOID CHAOS DURING POLLS (PAGE 3)
THE Tamale Metropolitan Office of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has cautioned key players in the country’s electoral process to work harder in order to avoid a “chaotic situation” during or after the 2008 general election.
According to the NCCE, the recent isolated cases of skirmishes recorded at some registration centres in the country were a wake-up call on security agencies, the Electoral Commission (EC), political parties, religious bodies, traditional authorities and opinion leaders to intensify their respective roles to ensure successful elections in December.
The Metropolitan Director of the NCCE, Alhaji Mohammed Baba, told the Daily Graphic this in Tamale as a result of the recent disturbances that occurred at a few registration centres in the metropolis.
“These skirmishes, though isolated, are early warning signals to all relevant institutions and peace-loving people that this year’s elections are crucial and we must all join in the campaign to ensure free and fair elections,” he pointed out.
Alhaji Baba expressed disappointment about the way some people resorted to violence as a means of challenging the alleged registration of minors.
The director equally observed that the effects of those skirmishes were not far-fetched because if that trend continued during the elections, it would result in the non-declaration of results at some polling stations and consequently aggrieved parties might resort to violence.
He called on the various radio stations in the metropolis to design special programmes in the run-up to the elections to appeal to the conscience of residents not to allow their emotions to override their reasoning so as to avoid violence.
Alhaji Baba equally stressed the need for media practitioners to avoid reportage that would inflame passions and portray the metropolis as a violent area.
Touching on his outfit’s contribution to ensuring free and fair elections, the director intimated that his office had drawn up some educational programmes targeted at the youth, political parties, parliamentary candidates and women’s groups.
According to him, peace messages featuring chiefs and religious leaders would also be designed and aired on the various FM stations as a way of ensuring peaceful elections.
According to the NCCE, the recent isolated cases of skirmishes recorded at some registration centres in the country were a wake-up call on security agencies, the Electoral Commission (EC), political parties, religious bodies, traditional authorities and opinion leaders to intensify their respective roles to ensure successful elections in December.
The Metropolitan Director of the NCCE, Alhaji Mohammed Baba, told the Daily Graphic this in Tamale as a result of the recent disturbances that occurred at a few registration centres in the metropolis.
“These skirmishes, though isolated, are early warning signals to all relevant institutions and peace-loving people that this year’s elections are crucial and we must all join in the campaign to ensure free and fair elections,” he pointed out.
Alhaji Baba expressed disappointment about the way some people resorted to violence as a means of challenging the alleged registration of minors.
The director equally observed that the effects of those skirmishes were not far-fetched because if that trend continued during the elections, it would result in the non-declaration of results at some polling stations and consequently aggrieved parties might resort to violence.
He called on the various radio stations in the metropolis to design special programmes in the run-up to the elections to appeal to the conscience of residents not to allow their emotions to override their reasoning so as to avoid violence.
Alhaji Baba equally stressed the need for media practitioners to avoid reportage that would inflame passions and portray the metropolis as a violent area.
Touching on his outfit’s contribution to ensuring free and fair elections, the director intimated that his office had drawn up some educational programmes targeted at the youth, political parties, parliamentary candidates and women’s groups.
According to him, peace messages featuring chiefs and religious leaders would also be designed and aired on the various FM stations as a way of ensuring peaceful elections.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
TAMA CAN'T MEET REVENUE TARGETS (PAGE 29)
THE Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Mohammed Amin Adam, has expressed concern about the assembly’s inability to achieve targets in its internally generated revenue mobilisation efforts.
He said the assembly’s revenue between 2006 and this year, for instance, had been dwindling.
“In 2006, we raised GH¢364,054, while in 2007 we collected GH¢249,349. The revenue for the first half of this year stood at GH¢55,092,” he said.
Mr Adam stated this at the second ordinary meeting of the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TAMA).
The two-day meeting was attended by assembly members who brainstormed on a wide range of issues affecting the development of the metropolis.
Among such pertinent issues discussed were sanitation, revenue mobilisation, investment climate, and acquisition of land and its impact on investment flow.
He expressed regret that although measures were put in place to improve on the revenue situation in 2007, “we could not achieve our target, and should this trend continue, we might not achieve our target for 2008”.
The MCE further indicated that the management had organised a “retreat to analyse the revenue situation and the revelation was so disturbing that we have to strategise”.
According to him, the TAMA had decided to assess revenue areas and prioritise high-yielding revenue items, identify problems and challenges that militated against effective revenue collection, as well as map out strategies to maximise collection.
Mr Adam also expressed the determination of TAMA to involve “credible institutions such as banks to collect revenue for the assembly”.
He said the effective performance of any assembly depended to some extent on the performance of its sub structures.
“The establishment of such structures depends on how resourceful the assembly is in terms of personnel, office accommodation and facilities, including financial resources,” he pointed out.
The MCE expressed regret that although the TAMA had made several attempts to operationalise the sub structures, “we have not succeeded much in that direction”.
According to him, only two zonal councils were operating with the support of the Community Based Rural Development Project (CBRDP) and they were the Kalpohini and Kakpagyili councils.
He said the assembly’s revenue between 2006 and this year, for instance, had been dwindling.
“In 2006, we raised GH¢364,054, while in 2007 we collected GH¢249,349. The revenue for the first half of this year stood at GH¢55,092,” he said.
Mr Adam stated this at the second ordinary meeting of the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TAMA).
The two-day meeting was attended by assembly members who brainstormed on a wide range of issues affecting the development of the metropolis.
Among such pertinent issues discussed were sanitation, revenue mobilisation, investment climate, and acquisition of land and its impact on investment flow.
He expressed regret that although measures were put in place to improve on the revenue situation in 2007, “we could not achieve our target, and should this trend continue, we might not achieve our target for 2008”.
The MCE further indicated that the management had organised a “retreat to analyse the revenue situation and the revelation was so disturbing that we have to strategise”.
According to him, the TAMA had decided to assess revenue areas and prioritise high-yielding revenue items, identify problems and challenges that militated against effective revenue collection, as well as map out strategies to maximise collection.
Mr Adam also expressed the determination of TAMA to involve “credible institutions such as banks to collect revenue for the assembly”.
He said the effective performance of any assembly depended to some extent on the performance of its sub structures.
“The establishment of such structures depends on how resourceful the assembly is in terms of personnel, office accommodation and facilities, including financial resources,” he pointed out.
The MCE expressed regret that although the TAMA had made several attempts to operationalise the sub structures, “we have not succeeded much in that direction”.
According to him, only two zonal councils were operating with the support of the Community Based Rural Development Project (CBRDP) and they were the Kalpohini and Kakpagyili councils.
TAMALE'S SANITATION WOES DEEPEN (PAGE 29)
IF the popular saying that “uneasy lies the head that wears the crown” is anything to go by, then the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TAMA) has a Herculean task to ensure that the metropolis maintains its enviable position as the neatest city in the country.
Unfortunately, however, it seems the going is becoming tough for the TAMA to tackle sanitation issues head-on as some suburbs, including schools in the area, have been engulfed in filth for months.
Some residents also seem to be throwing refuse about indiscriminately, thereby worsening the sanitation issues in the metropolis.
The Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Mohammed Amin Adam, acknowledged during the recent second ordinary meeting of the TAMA that “for the past one year or so, it has been difficult to manage waste, because the government has withdrawn the sanitation fund”.
The authorities of the Tishegu Anglican School Complex and residents of Nyanshegu have, for instance, expressed grave concern about the inability of the TAMA to clear heaps of refuse in their respective areas.
A visit by this reporter to the Tishegu School revealed that the situation was critical as heaps of refuse had engulfed the refuse containers sited within the school compound.
The area is certainly becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes and the schoolchildren are likely to be attacked by such diseases as malaria and cholera.
At Nyanshegu, along the Sangani Road, this reporter spotted another refuse dump and yet another one located in between houses in the same community. The stench at the area was enough to tell the filth and the health hazards the refuse posed to residents in that suburb.
According to Mr Awal Abukari, a Class Five teacher of the Tishegu Anglican School, the authorities of the school had complained consistently to the TAMA and appealed to it to do something about the situation before it got out of hands, but all in vain.
“This rubbish has been here for the past four months and nobody seems to care. I have reported this issue to the assembly, but the situation still remains the same,” Mr Abukari further explained.
The Headmistress of the Primary Division of the school, Madam Habiba Montia, also expressed regret at the way food vendors in the area dumped refuse indiscriminately in the area.
“Apart from that, some of the people have been using my school as a thoroughfare, which eventually affects teaching and learning. We need a security officer to check these things, particularly during the day,” she stated.
The TAMA spends, on average, GH¢800,000 a year on sanitation alone.
According to the MCE, the amount was “more than our total annual budget for all projects and programmes”.
Time without number, the MCE has complained that obsolete and over-aged waste collection trucks have hindered the TAMA’s efforts to effectively deal with waste management in the metropolis.
“For the past two months, we have experienced a significant breakdown of our waste collection trucks because of old age; some of them are as old as 21 years. This has resulted in large heaps of refuse in our communities,” Mr Adam lamented at a function organised by TAMA last year.
In 2006, the TAMA took delivery of sanitation equipment comprising two refuse trucks, 10 refuse containers, 60 tricycles and 100 litter bins which were manufactured by the Intermediate Technology Transfer Unit (ITTU) in Tamale.
The TAMA also entered into an agreement with Zoomlion Ghana Limited to, among other things, help maintain the refuse trucks and collect waste for a fee in some suburbs, including the Central Business District of the metropolis.
One is, therefore, tempted to ask what has happened to the entire plan to deal effectively with sanitation problems in the metropolis.
Unfortunately, however, it seems the going is becoming tough for the TAMA to tackle sanitation issues head-on as some suburbs, including schools in the area, have been engulfed in filth for months.
Some residents also seem to be throwing refuse about indiscriminately, thereby worsening the sanitation issues in the metropolis.
The Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Mohammed Amin Adam, acknowledged during the recent second ordinary meeting of the TAMA that “for the past one year or so, it has been difficult to manage waste, because the government has withdrawn the sanitation fund”.
The authorities of the Tishegu Anglican School Complex and residents of Nyanshegu have, for instance, expressed grave concern about the inability of the TAMA to clear heaps of refuse in their respective areas.
A visit by this reporter to the Tishegu School revealed that the situation was critical as heaps of refuse had engulfed the refuse containers sited within the school compound.
The area is certainly becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes and the schoolchildren are likely to be attacked by such diseases as malaria and cholera.
At Nyanshegu, along the Sangani Road, this reporter spotted another refuse dump and yet another one located in between houses in the same community. The stench at the area was enough to tell the filth and the health hazards the refuse posed to residents in that suburb.
According to Mr Awal Abukari, a Class Five teacher of the Tishegu Anglican School, the authorities of the school had complained consistently to the TAMA and appealed to it to do something about the situation before it got out of hands, but all in vain.
“This rubbish has been here for the past four months and nobody seems to care. I have reported this issue to the assembly, but the situation still remains the same,” Mr Abukari further explained.
The Headmistress of the Primary Division of the school, Madam Habiba Montia, also expressed regret at the way food vendors in the area dumped refuse indiscriminately in the area.
“Apart from that, some of the people have been using my school as a thoroughfare, which eventually affects teaching and learning. We need a security officer to check these things, particularly during the day,” she stated.
The TAMA spends, on average, GH¢800,000 a year on sanitation alone.
According to the MCE, the amount was “more than our total annual budget for all projects and programmes”.
Time without number, the MCE has complained that obsolete and over-aged waste collection trucks have hindered the TAMA’s efforts to effectively deal with waste management in the metropolis.
“For the past two months, we have experienced a significant breakdown of our waste collection trucks because of old age; some of them are as old as 21 years. This has resulted in large heaps of refuse in our communities,” Mr Adam lamented at a function organised by TAMA last year.
In 2006, the TAMA took delivery of sanitation equipment comprising two refuse trucks, 10 refuse containers, 60 tricycles and 100 litter bins which were manufactured by the Intermediate Technology Transfer Unit (ITTU) in Tamale.
The TAMA also entered into an agreement with Zoomlion Ghana Limited to, among other things, help maintain the refuse trucks and collect waste for a fee in some suburbs, including the Central Business District of the metropolis.
One is, therefore, tempted to ask what has happened to the entire plan to deal effectively with sanitation problems in the metropolis.
Monday, August 4, 2008
ACCOUNTANT-GENERAL'S DEPARTMENT TO BUY NEW SALARY SOFTWARE (PAGE 53)
CABINET has given approval for the procurement and installation of a new software at the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) to facilitate the payment of salaries to workers on government payroll.
The measure is to help make the processing and payment of workers’ salaries more effective to avoid the frustrations the department and public servants go through in dealing with payrolls.
The Controller and Accountant-General, Mr Christian Tetteh Sottie, made this known in Tamale and explained that the Integrated Personnel Payroll Database II (IPPD II) system currently being used by his outfit to effect the payment of the salaries of workers and pensioners was fraught with many problems.
Mr Sottie was speaking at a workers’ forum as part of his two-day tour of the Northern Region. The forum was organised by the department to provide an avenue for it to explain to workers issues regarding its operations.
It is envisaged that such forums will ultimately help to bridge the communication gap between the department and workers, as well as reduce speculations regarding the processing and payment of salaries.
“The IPPD II runs on an Oracle application software which is a modern and world-wide acclaimed software for payroll delivery but the system encountered problems such as wrongful deductions and outstanding promotional arrears,” Mr Sottie stated.
He, however, indicated that the CAGD might go in for a Ghanaian software that had been tried and tested, with the ultimate goal of effecting workers’ payment without problems.
Mr Sottie noted that overpayment of loan recovery, tax in arrears and, Ghana Medical Association dues, third party deductions and delay in salaries were the other challenges facing the department in its quest to offer good service delivery to workers.
He stated that “the payment of salaries is effected based on inputs made onto the payroll system by the various ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs). Therefore, it is the MDAs that decide who should be paid or not”.
According to him, “the stoppage of the October 2006 salary for some teachers, for instance, was effected based on a directive from the Ghana Education Service (GES) Council”.
Mr Sottie, therefore, entreated workers and pensioners to see the department as a partner and co-operate with it through regular feedback, adding that “a payroll desk with contact line 021-678801 has been established to promptly assist employees with problems”.
Some of the workers at the forum raised a number of issues, including impersonation, wrongful deductions and the perceived lukewarm attitude towards the prompt payment of workers’ salaries by the CAGD.
The measure is to help make the processing and payment of workers’ salaries more effective to avoid the frustrations the department and public servants go through in dealing with payrolls.
The Controller and Accountant-General, Mr Christian Tetteh Sottie, made this known in Tamale and explained that the Integrated Personnel Payroll Database II (IPPD II) system currently being used by his outfit to effect the payment of the salaries of workers and pensioners was fraught with many problems.
Mr Sottie was speaking at a workers’ forum as part of his two-day tour of the Northern Region. The forum was organised by the department to provide an avenue for it to explain to workers issues regarding its operations.
It is envisaged that such forums will ultimately help to bridge the communication gap between the department and workers, as well as reduce speculations regarding the processing and payment of salaries.
“The IPPD II runs on an Oracle application software which is a modern and world-wide acclaimed software for payroll delivery but the system encountered problems such as wrongful deductions and outstanding promotional arrears,” Mr Sottie stated.
He, however, indicated that the CAGD might go in for a Ghanaian software that had been tried and tested, with the ultimate goal of effecting workers’ payment without problems.
Mr Sottie noted that overpayment of loan recovery, tax in arrears and, Ghana Medical Association dues, third party deductions and delay in salaries were the other challenges facing the department in its quest to offer good service delivery to workers.
He stated that “the payment of salaries is effected based on inputs made onto the payroll system by the various ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs). Therefore, it is the MDAs that decide who should be paid or not”.
According to him, “the stoppage of the October 2006 salary for some teachers, for instance, was effected based on a directive from the Ghana Education Service (GES) Council”.
Mr Sottie, therefore, entreated workers and pensioners to see the department as a partner and co-operate with it through regular feedback, adding that “a payroll desk with contact line 021-678801 has been established to promptly assist employees with problems”.
Some of the workers at the forum raised a number of issues, including impersonation, wrongful deductions and the perceived lukewarm attitude towards the prompt payment of workers’ salaries by the CAGD.
Friday, August 1, 2008
TURNOUT WAS HIGH ,,,Skirmishes at few centres (LEAD STORY)
AN impressive turnout, torrential rains and pockets of disturbances heralded the reopening of the national voters register for the 2008 general election yesterday. The 11-day exercise will end on August 10, 2008.
In Tamale, a party agent was attacked by a band of youth for allegedly protesting against the registration of persons alleged to be minors.
The incident occurred at the Kalpohini Low Cost Seventh-Day Adventist Junior High School registration centre, leading to the abrupt end of the exercise as registration officials fled for their lives.
Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Northern Regional Director of the Electoral Commission (EC), Mr Sylvester Kanyi, said around 10:00 a.m. a group of young females went to register but a party agent protested and asked the girls to produce their birth certificates.
“Moments later, a group of young men attacked the party agent and he fell unconscious. But we have reported the matter to the police,” the director indicated.
However, the exercise began smoothly at the other registration centres visited in the Tamale metropolis.
As of 1:30 p.m. 200 people had registered at the Queen Elizabeth, Changli-Dohinayili, Kanvili Roman Catholic Primary School, Jisonayili Primary, Bishop’s and Bagabaga Demonstration Junior High school centres.
Some residents, however, complained of their inability to locate the registration centres.
Edward Turkson reports from Adabraka in Accra that confusion broke out at the Additrom Junior High School registration centre when a man who claimed to be a New Patriotic Party (NPP) official challenged the nationality of some of the people who were trying to register.
The NPP official, whose name was only given as Osagyefo, was said to have angrily confronted some people in the queue, disrupting the registration process for almost an hour before police reinforcement was called in to restore peace at the centre.
The Electoral Officer of the Osu Klottey Electoral Area, Mr Clement Kwame Adonae, told the Daily Graphic that Osagyefo overpowered the police officer in charge at the centre, attracting an angry mob to the centre.
He said during the uproar, other NPP officials came to query him as to why he was not taking control of the situation at hand and that escalated the disruption at the centre.
According to him, under no circumstance should party officials who had not been assigned to centres interfere with proceedings at those centres, noting that the incident undermined the work of party agents assigned to the centres.
“Osagyefo was just moving up and down the queue, pointing and shouting at people he claimed were not qualified to register,” Mr Adonae stated, noting that the presence of officials who were not assigned to centres created a lot of tension among those registering.
He called for the presence of two or more police officers, instead of one, at the centre.
Donald Ato Dapatem also reports that the exercise began with impressive turnouts at most of the centres in the Accra metropolis, in spite of the late start.
At some of the centres the Daily Graphic visited, although the exercise started after 8.45 a.m., instead of the statutory 7.00 a.m., eligible voters in queues yearning to get their names in the register numbered between 50 and 150.
The exercise is meant to register Ghanaians of sound mind who have attained 18 and others who, for various reasons, have not had the opportunity to register.
A problem that potential voters faced was the difficulty in locating the centres as a result of the low publicity given of the locations or insufficient directions to guide people to the centres.
Unlike general registration exercises where people register at all polling stations, the current registration has been limited to only electoral areas, some of which comprise 10 polling stations.
At the Nima Dunia Cinema registration centre, there was a near clash among agents of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and some of the over 150 youth who had formed a long queue waiting for their turn.
This was due to the fact that the agents of both parties felt that some of those registering were either below 18 or were not from the area.
In most cases, they failed to use the proper procedure to protest and resorted to heckling.
That made Mr William Klatsi, the Registration Officer, to suspend the registration for some time. That notwithstanding, 20 people had registered as of 2:35 p.m.
At IBE in New Mamprobi, 30 people had registered around 11.55 a.m., while about 50 enthusiastic youth were waiting for their turn.
According to the Registration Officer, Mr Theophilus Tetteh, most of the people who registered were those who had just attained 18, "but for those who are older we subject them to thorough interrogation and also make them aware that if they were caught registering more than once, they would be prosecuted".
At the Chorkor Presbyterian Primary School registration centre, 126 people had gathered in a queue, with 37 of them having received their voters identity cards as of 12:15 p.m.
The Presiding Officer, Mr Evans Allotey, said as a result of the heavy downpour, the team had to start work at 8:15 a.m.
He said there had been no incident and attributed the high turnout to the effective publicity mounted by the EC.
By 12:50 p.m. the Korle Bu centre had registered 20 people, mostly the youth, while at the Ablekuma District EC Office, 46 people had received their voters identity cards, with others waiting for their turn.
From Kumasi, Nana Yaw Barimah and Enoch Darfah Frimpong report that the exercise was favourably patronised at all the centres the Daily Graphic visited.
There were people waiting patiently in queues at all the centres visited between 12 noon and 2:30 p.m.
With the exception of the Kwadaso Sub-metro centre, where the aspiring NDC MP, Mr Joseph Yammin, expressed concern over some minors attempting to register, the entire exercise was smooth.
Mr Yammin challenged the eligibility of some people whom he perceived to be minors and said he would take it up for them to prove their eligibility if they went ahead to register.
Apart from the NPP and the NDC which had their agents at the centres to monitor the process, the other parties had no representatives at any of the centres visited.
The South Suntreso centre in the Nhyiaso Constituency had registered 32 people, including 20 males and 12 females, as of 12 noon. while the Police Depot centre had registered 60 people by 12:30 p.m.
The State Housing Company centre at North Suntreso had registered 85 people by 1:30 p.m., while the Adum Presby centre had registered 52 people by 2:16 p.m.
In various interviews, some people said they woke up early to participate in the exercise, which they described as very important.
They said they wanted to register to enable them to exercise their franchise and furthermore use their ID cards for other identification activities such as banking transactions.
The cameras were working perfectly, while the registration officers were working assiduously to ensure the successful execution of the exercise.
At Asante-Mampong, the NPP parliamentary aspirant, Mr Francis Addai-Nimoh, told the Daily Graphic that the exercise had been going on smoothly in all the 13 registration centres.
However, he said at the Daaho and Yonso registration centres the cameras had not been functioning and added that he had drawn the attention of the returning officers to that.
The returning officers gave the assurance that the issue had been reported to the municipal electoral officer, who had promised to correct the anomaly.
From Takoradi, Kwame Asiedu Marfo reports that potential voters experienced initial frustrations as they found it difficult to locate the registration centres in the Sekondi/Takoradi metropolis.
When the Daily Graphic went round the Effia Kuma Newsite, Takoradi Central Police Station, Bethel Methodist School and the Takoradi Central Market areas to find out how people were responding to the exercise, not a single registration centre could be located, although there were posters with the inscription, “Revision of the voters register. Registration centre there”.
The Deputy Western Regional Director of the EC, Mr George Gyabaah, told the Daily Graphic that besides the publication of the registration centres in the national dailies, district electoral officers would use their public education vans to inform the people as to where and the number of days the registration would go on in an electoral area, since two electoral areas would have one registration centre.
He said there were 226 registration centres in the Western Region and that between 80,000 and 100,000 new voters were expected to be registered in the region.
Akwasi Ampratwum-Mensah reports from Sunyani that the turnout at some of the designated centres for the exercise in the Sunyani municipality was not encouraging as of 9.00 a.m. when the Daily Graphic set out on its rounds.
At the Ahenboboano Electoral Area, only 12 people had registered, according to the registration officer, Mr Soale Mohammed, who indicated, however, that the process had been very smooth.
He said the same officials at the centre were responsible for the Wawasua area, where they would move after serving at Ahenboboano for four days.
Mr Soale said some of the people who turned up at the centre rather went there to report of their lost voters identification cards.
At the Atoase Electoral Area, the officer in charge, Madam Doris Jawula, said five persons had shown up to register.
Only the NPP and the NDC had representatives monitoring the exercise at the centres visited.
In Tamale, a party agent was attacked by a band of youth for allegedly protesting against the registration of persons alleged to be minors.
The incident occurred at the Kalpohini Low Cost Seventh-Day Adventist Junior High School registration centre, leading to the abrupt end of the exercise as registration officials fled for their lives.
Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Northern Regional Director of the Electoral Commission (EC), Mr Sylvester Kanyi, said around 10:00 a.m. a group of young females went to register but a party agent protested and asked the girls to produce their birth certificates.
“Moments later, a group of young men attacked the party agent and he fell unconscious. But we have reported the matter to the police,” the director indicated.
However, the exercise began smoothly at the other registration centres visited in the Tamale metropolis.
As of 1:30 p.m. 200 people had registered at the Queen Elizabeth, Changli-Dohinayili, Kanvili Roman Catholic Primary School, Jisonayili Primary, Bishop’s and Bagabaga Demonstration Junior High school centres.
Some residents, however, complained of their inability to locate the registration centres.
Edward Turkson reports from Adabraka in Accra that confusion broke out at the Additrom Junior High School registration centre when a man who claimed to be a New Patriotic Party (NPP) official challenged the nationality of some of the people who were trying to register.
The NPP official, whose name was only given as Osagyefo, was said to have angrily confronted some people in the queue, disrupting the registration process for almost an hour before police reinforcement was called in to restore peace at the centre.
The Electoral Officer of the Osu Klottey Electoral Area, Mr Clement Kwame Adonae, told the Daily Graphic that Osagyefo overpowered the police officer in charge at the centre, attracting an angry mob to the centre.
He said during the uproar, other NPP officials came to query him as to why he was not taking control of the situation at hand and that escalated the disruption at the centre.
According to him, under no circumstance should party officials who had not been assigned to centres interfere with proceedings at those centres, noting that the incident undermined the work of party agents assigned to the centres.
“Osagyefo was just moving up and down the queue, pointing and shouting at people he claimed were not qualified to register,” Mr Adonae stated, noting that the presence of officials who were not assigned to centres created a lot of tension among those registering.
He called for the presence of two or more police officers, instead of one, at the centre.
Donald Ato Dapatem also reports that the exercise began with impressive turnouts at most of the centres in the Accra metropolis, in spite of the late start.
At some of the centres the Daily Graphic visited, although the exercise started after 8.45 a.m., instead of the statutory 7.00 a.m., eligible voters in queues yearning to get their names in the register numbered between 50 and 150.
The exercise is meant to register Ghanaians of sound mind who have attained 18 and others who, for various reasons, have not had the opportunity to register.
A problem that potential voters faced was the difficulty in locating the centres as a result of the low publicity given of the locations or insufficient directions to guide people to the centres.
Unlike general registration exercises where people register at all polling stations, the current registration has been limited to only electoral areas, some of which comprise 10 polling stations.
At the Nima Dunia Cinema registration centre, there was a near clash among agents of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and some of the over 150 youth who had formed a long queue waiting for their turn.
This was due to the fact that the agents of both parties felt that some of those registering were either below 18 or were not from the area.
In most cases, they failed to use the proper procedure to protest and resorted to heckling.
That made Mr William Klatsi, the Registration Officer, to suspend the registration for some time. That notwithstanding, 20 people had registered as of 2:35 p.m.
At IBE in New Mamprobi, 30 people had registered around 11.55 a.m., while about 50 enthusiastic youth were waiting for their turn.
According to the Registration Officer, Mr Theophilus Tetteh, most of the people who registered were those who had just attained 18, "but for those who are older we subject them to thorough interrogation and also make them aware that if they were caught registering more than once, they would be prosecuted".
At the Chorkor Presbyterian Primary School registration centre, 126 people had gathered in a queue, with 37 of them having received their voters identity cards as of 12:15 p.m.
The Presiding Officer, Mr Evans Allotey, said as a result of the heavy downpour, the team had to start work at 8:15 a.m.
He said there had been no incident and attributed the high turnout to the effective publicity mounted by the EC.
By 12:50 p.m. the Korle Bu centre had registered 20 people, mostly the youth, while at the Ablekuma District EC Office, 46 people had received their voters identity cards, with others waiting for their turn.
From Kumasi, Nana Yaw Barimah and Enoch Darfah Frimpong report that the exercise was favourably patronised at all the centres the Daily Graphic visited.
There were people waiting patiently in queues at all the centres visited between 12 noon and 2:30 p.m.
With the exception of the Kwadaso Sub-metro centre, where the aspiring NDC MP, Mr Joseph Yammin, expressed concern over some minors attempting to register, the entire exercise was smooth.
Mr Yammin challenged the eligibility of some people whom he perceived to be minors and said he would take it up for them to prove their eligibility if they went ahead to register.
Apart from the NPP and the NDC which had their agents at the centres to monitor the process, the other parties had no representatives at any of the centres visited.
The South Suntreso centre in the Nhyiaso Constituency had registered 32 people, including 20 males and 12 females, as of 12 noon. while the Police Depot centre had registered 60 people by 12:30 p.m.
The State Housing Company centre at North Suntreso had registered 85 people by 1:30 p.m., while the Adum Presby centre had registered 52 people by 2:16 p.m.
In various interviews, some people said they woke up early to participate in the exercise, which they described as very important.
They said they wanted to register to enable them to exercise their franchise and furthermore use their ID cards for other identification activities such as banking transactions.
The cameras were working perfectly, while the registration officers were working assiduously to ensure the successful execution of the exercise.
At Asante-Mampong, the NPP parliamentary aspirant, Mr Francis Addai-Nimoh, told the Daily Graphic that the exercise had been going on smoothly in all the 13 registration centres.
However, he said at the Daaho and Yonso registration centres the cameras had not been functioning and added that he had drawn the attention of the returning officers to that.
The returning officers gave the assurance that the issue had been reported to the municipal electoral officer, who had promised to correct the anomaly.
From Takoradi, Kwame Asiedu Marfo reports that potential voters experienced initial frustrations as they found it difficult to locate the registration centres in the Sekondi/Takoradi metropolis.
When the Daily Graphic went round the Effia Kuma Newsite, Takoradi Central Police Station, Bethel Methodist School and the Takoradi Central Market areas to find out how people were responding to the exercise, not a single registration centre could be located, although there were posters with the inscription, “Revision of the voters register. Registration centre there”.
The Deputy Western Regional Director of the EC, Mr George Gyabaah, told the Daily Graphic that besides the publication of the registration centres in the national dailies, district electoral officers would use their public education vans to inform the people as to where and the number of days the registration would go on in an electoral area, since two electoral areas would have one registration centre.
He said there were 226 registration centres in the Western Region and that between 80,000 and 100,000 new voters were expected to be registered in the region.
Akwasi Ampratwum-Mensah reports from Sunyani that the turnout at some of the designated centres for the exercise in the Sunyani municipality was not encouraging as of 9.00 a.m. when the Daily Graphic set out on its rounds.
At the Ahenboboano Electoral Area, only 12 people had registered, according to the registration officer, Mr Soale Mohammed, who indicated, however, that the process had been very smooth.
He said the same officials at the centre were responsible for the Wawasua area, where they would move after serving at Ahenboboano for four days.
Mr Soale said some of the people who turned up at the centre rather went there to report of their lost voters identification cards.
At the Atoase Electoral Area, the officer in charge, Madam Doris Jawula, said five persons had shown up to register.
Only the NPP and the NDC had representatives monitoring the exercise at the centres visited.
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