RESIDENTS around the Obetsebi Lamptey circle have attributed floods in that area to construction work undertaken by Audi Centre, dealers in Audi vehicles in Ghana.
The residents said the floods started after the Audi Centre re-aligned a gutter near its premises, thereby restricting the smooth flow of the flood waters.
Aside relocating the gutter, they said, the car dealers raised the level of the gutter.
As a result of this the Ghana Commercial Bank on the Ring Road West had to close down temporarily, causing a lot of inconvenience to account holders who transact business at the branch.
Mr Kofi Yeboah told the Daily Graphic that their businesses came to a stand still anytime it rained.
He said all efforts to get the management of Audi Centre and the contractor working on the project to do the right thing proved futile.
“With the onset of the rains, we hire water pumping machines every day to pump water out of the area,” he said.
Traders along that area the Daily Graphic spoke to lamented that not only did they spend money to hire the water pumping machines, but they also lost their customers to their competitors because the area became muddy, making it unattractive for business.
Another group of workers in the same area, who are also affected, said since the rains started they came to work and went back empty handed because they did no serious business.
They have, therefore, appealed to the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and the Greater Accra Regional Minister to take appropriate action to compel the management of the Audi Centre and the contractor working on the project to stop work and correct any anomaly caused by work on the drain.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
Minister launches second Property Award
THE government has expressed its readiness to release tracts of land to private estate developers for the construction of affordable houses for low income earners.
The areas where government lands are available are Borteyman, Kpone and along the Akosombo road.
The Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Albert Abongo, announced this at the launch of the second Ghana Property Awards in Accra.
The awards scheme, which is scheduled for July 17, 2009, is on the theme, “Creating a sustainable income in today’s environmental and maintenance cultured industry”.
It also seeks to appreciate hard work and innovation and recognise deserving individuals and organisations in the property, building and construction industry.
The minister appealed to members of the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA) to commit some of their resources into affordable housing schemes to aid the government to provide affordable houses for Ghanaians.
“The Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, on behalf of the government, is ready to support you with land for the purpose of achieving this,” he said.
“It is also important that as stakeholders in the industry, we begin to play our respective roles in the delivery of housing in a way that will sustain our environment and ensure the sustainable utilisation of local building materials, as well as promoting the use of such materials,” Mr Abongo added.
For his part, the President of GREDA, Dr Alex Tweneboah, said the rationale behind the awards was to enhance standards and expose the industry to periodic public scrutiny.
He expressed worry over current standards in the building industry and said some of the professionals were delivering sub-standard jobs for their clients.
He underscored the need for players in the industry to be monitored so that those who were found wanting would be punished.
The Chief Executive Officer of Regimanuel Estate, Mr Emmanuel Botchway, bemoaned the lack of maintenance culture among Ghanaians and asked, “If we are not able to maintain properties belonging to the government, what about our own properties?”
Some of the award categories are Property Security Company of the Year, the Best Property Advertiser of the Year, the Property Personality of the Year, the Residential Developer of the Year and the Paint Company of the Year.
The areas where government lands are available are Borteyman, Kpone and along the Akosombo road.
The Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Albert Abongo, announced this at the launch of the second Ghana Property Awards in Accra.
The awards scheme, which is scheduled for July 17, 2009, is on the theme, “Creating a sustainable income in today’s environmental and maintenance cultured industry”.
It also seeks to appreciate hard work and innovation and recognise deserving individuals and organisations in the property, building and construction industry.
The minister appealed to members of the Ghana Real Estate Developers Association (GREDA) to commit some of their resources into affordable housing schemes to aid the government to provide affordable houses for Ghanaians.
“The Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, on behalf of the government, is ready to support you with land for the purpose of achieving this,” he said.
“It is also important that as stakeholders in the industry, we begin to play our respective roles in the delivery of housing in a way that will sustain our environment and ensure the sustainable utilisation of local building materials, as well as promoting the use of such materials,” Mr Abongo added.
For his part, the President of GREDA, Dr Alex Tweneboah, said the rationale behind the awards was to enhance standards and expose the industry to periodic public scrutiny.
He expressed worry over current standards in the building industry and said some of the professionals were delivering sub-standard jobs for their clients.
He underscored the need for players in the industry to be monitored so that those who were found wanting would be punished.
The Chief Executive Officer of Regimanuel Estate, Mr Emmanuel Botchway, bemoaned the lack of maintenance culture among Ghanaians and asked, “If we are not able to maintain properties belonging to the government, what about our own properties?”
Some of the award categories are Property Security Company of the Year, the Best Property Advertiser of the Year, the Property Personality of the Year, the Residential Developer of the Year and the Paint Company of the Year.
New executives for Accra Premier Lions Club
A SEVENTEEN-member executive of the Accra Premier Lions Club was sworn into office last Thursday for 2009/2010.
The new President, Lion Dr Peter Asubonteng, who took over from Lion Seth Klaye, said his team was motivated by the selfless service of their predecessors who worked very hard to maintain the reputation of the club.
Dr Asubonteng, who joined the club in 2006 after reading a Daily Graphic publication about a donation the club had made to the Akropong School for the Blind in that year, said the club was committed to the service of mankind, which is the core of its operations in the country.
He said since the inception of the club in the country, members had been men and women of immense success in their work which not only met their needs but, by extension, that of the larger community.
The President said the club members had been people who had a passion for the needy in society, adding, "I have studied with admiration and joy the number of needy people whose lives have been touched by a single act of service embedded in our slogan."
Some of those acts of humanitarian service, he said, ranged from eye screening outreach programmes, de-worming exercises to intellectual impactation of the club members on the youth.
"Our vision for this Lionistic year is to construct a simple but modern toilet facility for the Kitson-Mills Primary School at Korle Gonno," Dr Asubonteng said.
The President said pupils of that school had to cross the street to use a nearby public toilet in the community, explaining that that had affected school attendance, as some failed to return to school after visiting the facility.
He admonished his colleagues to be servant leaders by serving as much as leading the group. “Challenges and tension times may come but I urge you to remain calm and patient to take the right steps,” he said.
A Past District Governor of the club, Lion Nelson Agbesi, charged the new leadership to put in place measures that would maintain the reputation of the club and also work to the service of the needy in society.
The new President, Lion Dr Peter Asubonteng, who took over from Lion Seth Klaye, said his team was motivated by the selfless service of their predecessors who worked very hard to maintain the reputation of the club.
Dr Asubonteng, who joined the club in 2006 after reading a Daily Graphic publication about a donation the club had made to the Akropong School for the Blind in that year, said the club was committed to the service of mankind, which is the core of its operations in the country.
He said since the inception of the club in the country, members had been men and women of immense success in their work which not only met their needs but, by extension, that of the larger community.
The President said the club members had been people who had a passion for the needy in society, adding, "I have studied with admiration and joy the number of needy people whose lives have been touched by a single act of service embedded in our slogan."
Some of those acts of humanitarian service, he said, ranged from eye screening outreach programmes, de-worming exercises to intellectual impactation of the club members on the youth.
"Our vision for this Lionistic year is to construct a simple but modern toilet facility for the Kitson-Mills Primary School at Korle Gonno," Dr Asubonteng said.
The President said pupils of that school had to cross the street to use a nearby public toilet in the community, explaining that that had affected school attendance, as some failed to return to school after visiting the facility.
He admonished his colleagues to be servant leaders by serving as much as leading the group. “Challenges and tension times may come but I urge you to remain calm and patient to take the right steps,” he said.
A Past District Governor of the club, Lion Nelson Agbesi, charged the new leadership to put in place measures that would maintain the reputation of the club and also work to the service of the needy in society.
26 attend food safety workshop in Accra
A THREE-DAY capacity training programme to ensure food safety in the hospitality industry began in Accra on Friday as part of preparations towards the upcoming World Tourism Day to be hosted by Ghana.
The programme, which is being organised by the African Management Services Company (AMSCO) in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ghana Tourist Board (GTB), and International Finance Corporation, is expected to address issues of food safety in the hotel and food processing industry.
Twenty-six participants from Ghana and Nigeria are attending the programme.
Addressing the opening session, the Deputy Executive Director of the GTB, Mr Edwin Owusu-Mensah, said the growth rate of the tourism sector called for adequate measures to ensure that the industry met international standards.
He said a food safety audit conducted by the GTB and the Food and Drugs Board in some selected hotels and food processing joints showed that the standards of food safety in the hospitality industry had fallen. He, therefore, commended AMSCO and other partners for the training programme and called for its extension to other areas of the country.
The President of the World Food Safety Organisation, Mr Guy Kurkjian, who is in the country to lend his support to the training programme, said: “The training has become necessary as a result of the many issues of food safety challenges players in the industry were facing.”
He charged the participants to take the training seriously in order to be able to design appropriate food safety programmes for their respective jobs and to improve standards in the industry.
The interim Regional Manager of AMSCO, Mr A.S. Mani, said in order to achieve the needed impact of the training, AMSCO had established the baseline of a number of participating hotels and intended tracking the impact of the intervention later.
Mr Mani stressed that food safety management system HACCP/ISO 22000 was the cornerstone of safety to ensure food safety along the food chain.
He urged the participants to use the opportunity to share experience with one another in order to improve service delivery in their respective countries and hotels.
The programme, which is being organised by the African Management Services Company (AMSCO) in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ghana Tourist Board (GTB), and International Finance Corporation, is expected to address issues of food safety in the hotel and food processing industry.
Twenty-six participants from Ghana and Nigeria are attending the programme.
Addressing the opening session, the Deputy Executive Director of the GTB, Mr Edwin Owusu-Mensah, said the growth rate of the tourism sector called for adequate measures to ensure that the industry met international standards.
He said a food safety audit conducted by the GTB and the Food and Drugs Board in some selected hotels and food processing joints showed that the standards of food safety in the hospitality industry had fallen. He, therefore, commended AMSCO and other partners for the training programme and called for its extension to other areas of the country.
The President of the World Food Safety Organisation, Mr Guy Kurkjian, who is in the country to lend his support to the training programme, said: “The training has become necessary as a result of the many issues of food safety challenges players in the industry were facing.”
He charged the participants to take the training seriously in order to be able to design appropriate food safety programmes for their respective jobs and to improve standards in the industry.
The interim Regional Manager of AMSCO, Mr A.S. Mani, said in order to achieve the needed impact of the training, AMSCO had established the baseline of a number of participating hotels and intended tracking the impact of the intervention later.
Mr Mani stressed that food safety management system HACCP/ISO 22000 was the cornerstone of safety to ensure food safety along the food chain.
He urged the participants to use the opportunity to share experience with one another in order to improve service delivery in their respective countries and hotels.
International Peace Support Operations course in Accra
A two-week International Peace Support Operations course intended to equip the military and civil society organisations to ensure peace and stability in Africa has opened at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra.
Ninety participants drawn from 13 African countries including Togo, Nigeria, Zambia, Cote d’Ivoire and some civil society organisations from Ghana are attending the course.
The course is being sponsored by the KAIPTC.
In an address at the ceremony of the programme, the Minister of Defence, Lt. Gen. J. H. Smith (retd), said peace support operations had become necessary on the continent as a result of the numerous conflicts and crisis in recent times.
He said Ghana’s contribution to peacekeeping over the last four decades had been commended by the international community and added that the training would further enhance the capacity of personnel in their operations.
“Ghana has been in the forefront of contributing states in peacekeeping operations; today, the country is ranked seventh in troop contribution in the world with over 2,500 troops deployed on peacekeeping missions,” he said.
He said the nature of intra-state conflicts had necessitated a change from traditional peacekeeping to a new generation of multi-disciplinary and multi-dimensional peace support operations.
Lt. Gen. Smith commended the centre for initiating the programme and called on the participants to put in their best to make the course a fruitful one.
The Commandant of KAIPTC, AVM C.E.K. Dovlo, said the course was designed to address issues raised as conflicts became more complex and the peace overtures by the international community grew in complexity.
“Today’s peace support operations has seen increasing roles of different actors and participants as opposed to the dominance of the military in the old traditional peacekeeping or peace enforcement environment,” he said.
AVM Dovlo said the course would cover key elements and principal organs of the UN operations and participants would have the opportunity to learn the most up-to-date information about the UN system and the challenges faced during peacekeeping operations.
He urged the participants to share experience from their respective countries in order to increase their knowledge on peacekeeping operations in other countries.
Ninety participants drawn from 13 African countries including Togo, Nigeria, Zambia, Cote d’Ivoire and some civil society organisations from Ghana are attending the course.
The course is being sponsored by the KAIPTC.
In an address at the ceremony of the programme, the Minister of Defence, Lt. Gen. J. H. Smith (retd), said peace support operations had become necessary on the continent as a result of the numerous conflicts and crisis in recent times.
He said Ghana’s contribution to peacekeeping over the last four decades had been commended by the international community and added that the training would further enhance the capacity of personnel in their operations.
“Ghana has been in the forefront of contributing states in peacekeeping operations; today, the country is ranked seventh in troop contribution in the world with over 2,500 troops deployed on peacekeeping missions,” he said.
He said the nature of intra-state conflicts had necessitated a change from traditional peacekeeping to a new generation of multi-disciplinary and multi-dimensional peace support operations.
Lt. Gen. Smith commended the centre for initiating the programme and called on the participants to put in their best to make the course a fruitful one.
The Commandant of KAIPTC, AVM C.E.K. Dovlo, said the course was designed to address issues raised as conflicts became more complex and the peace overtures by the international community grew in complexity.
“Today’s peace support operations has seen increasing roles of different actors and participants as opposed to the dominance of the military in the old traditional peacekeeping or peace enforcement environment,” he said.
AVM Dovlo said the course would cover key elements and principal organs of the UN operations and participants would have the opportunity to learn the most up-to-date information about the UN system and the challenges faced during peacekeeping operations.
He urged the participants to share experience from their respective countries in order to increase their knowledge on peacekeeping operations in other countries.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
The Hunger Project holds review workshop
THE Women Empowerment Project (WEP), an initiative of The Hunger Project Ghana (THP-Ghana), has held its annual review workshop at Bunso in the Eastern Region.
Sixty-two trained women selected from the Eastern, Volta, Ashanti, Central and Greater Accra Regions, who have been trained in various aspects of leadership, legal, education, and economic empowerment issues of women, attended the ceremony.
Known as animators, the women, who serve as volunteers, carry out community level education and sensitisation programmes in their respective areas of operation.
The Bunso review workshop was to assess the activities of the animators of WEP, progress made and challenges faced in the year under review.
As part of the review, the women also considered how to achieve certain aspects of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through the WEP initiatives in their operational areas.
Although scientific data is yet to be compiled by the THP on the activities of WEP, initial indications are that enormous success has been made by the women in the eradication of hunger and poverty, the first target of the MDGs, in their communities.
At the Akotekrom Epicentre made up of rural communities in Ningo-Prampram in the Eastern Region, through the WEP and support from THP, women in the area have established a community farm to support women in that community to gain economic empowerment.
The community farm is expected to feed the food bank of the epicentre in that community and the initiative has helped to complement the income of women in the community.
In many communities, particularly those in the Easter Region, access to land for farming activities, has increased for women as a result of THP’s initiative.
The leader of the Adunsua Bebease Epicentre at Nkawkaw, Madam Comfort Twumwah, said she facilitated the reunion of seven boys from Abor in the Volta Region with their family.
She said the epicentre, in collaboration with other epicentres nearby, hosted various programmes on Obuoba FM and Live FM to educate women and the public on issues affecting women.
In their report, Madam Rose Sekyi and Madam Augustina Ampere from the Banka Epicentre in the Ashanti Region, said until a year ago, the pass rate of female pupils in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) was zero, but the interventions of WEP, the number of girls who enrolled in senior high schools (SHS) had increased from zero to eight in the year under review.
The animators from the Awate community said they mobilised women in the community to mould cement blocks which they sold to the VRA for the construction of KVIP for the community.
The animators also used proceeds from the sale of the cement blocks to finance electrification project in that community.
Despite these remarkable achievements by the animators, they are faced with a number of challenges, including lack of access to agricultural information and agricultural extension services by many women in some selected communities, particularly the Eastern Region.
According to the animators, in some instances, the effort by the women to educate people on the importance of family planning was hampered by certain religious beliefs in some communities.
In her presentation after the two-day workshop, the Country Director of THP-Ghana, Dr Naana Agyeman-Mensah, said women who aspired into leadership positions, particularly politics, must of necessity let their voices be heard in their communities.
"The political parties will choose persons who have worked hard at the grassroot level. You must therefore begin to participate at the local level in community activities for you to create that identity for yourself", she advised.
Dr Agyeman-Mensah said THP-Ghana was making positive impact in its operational areas but admitted, "The task facing the THP in trying to eradicate poverty and ensuring food security is very huge and it will take a lot of effort and collaboration to tackle it”.
Sixty-two trained women selected from the Eastern, Volta, Ashanti, Central and Greater Accra Regions, who have been trained in various aspects of leadership, legal, education, and economic empowerment issues of women, attended the ceremony.
Known as animators, the women, who serve as volunteers, carry out community level education and sensitisation programmes in their respective areas of operation.
The Bunso review workshop was to assess the activities of the animators of WEP, progress made and challenges faced in the year under review.
As part of the review, the women also considered how to achieve certain aspects of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) through the WEP initiatives in their operational areas.
Although scientific data is yet to be compiled by the THP on the activities of WEP, initial indications are that enormous success has been made by the women in the eradication of hunger and poverty, the first target of the MDGs, in their communities.
At the Akotekrom Epicentre made up of rural communities in Ningo-Prampram in the Eastern Region, through the WEP and support from THP, women in the area have established a community farm to support women in that community to gain economic empowerment.
The community farm is expected to feed the food bank of the epicentre in that community and the initiative has helped to complement the income of women in the community.
In many communities, particularly those in the Easter Region, access to land for farming activities, has increased for women as a result of THP’s initiative.
The leader of the Adunsua Bebease Epicentre at Nkawkaw, Madam Comfort Twumwah, said she facilitated the reunion of seven boys from Abor in the Volta Region with their family.
She said the epicentre, in collaboration with other epicentres nearby, hosted various programmes on Obuoba FM and Live FM to educate women and the public on issues affecting women.
In their report, Madam Rose Sekyi and Madam Augustina Ampere from the Banka Epicentre in the Ashanti Region, said until a year ago, the pass rate of female pupils in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) was zero, but the interventions of WEP, the number of girls who enrolled in senior high schools (SHS) had increased from zero to eight in the year under review.
The animators from the Awate community said they mobilised women in the community to mould cement blocks which they sold to the VRA for the construction of KVIP for the community.
The animators also used proceeds from the sale of the cement blocks to finance electrification project in that community.
Despite these remarkable achievements by the animators, they are faced with a number of challenges, including lack of access to agricultural information and agricultural extension services by many women in some selected communities, particularly the Eastern Region.
According to the animators, in some instances, the effort by the women to educate people on the importance of family planning was hampered by certain religious beliefs in some communities.
In her presentation after the two-day workshop, the Country Director of THP-Ghana, Dr Naana Agyeman-Mensah, said women who aspired into leadership positions, particularly politics, must of necessity let their voices be heard in their communities.
"The political parties will choose persons who have worked hard at the grassroot level. You must therefore begin to participate at the local level in community activities for you to create that identity for yourself", she advised.
Dr Agyeman-Mensah said THP-Ghana was making positive impact in its operational areas but admitted, "The task facing the THP in trying to eradicate poverty and ensuring food security is very huge and it will take a lot of effort and collaboration to tackle it”.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Church of Christ Ministers fellowship inaugurated
THE Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Nii Amasah Namoale, has said that some members of the clergy in the country have lost credibility as a result of their political affiliation.
He explained that it was not wrong for a minister of the gospel to belong to a political party, but, "you must watch your utterances when you mount the pulpit as leaders of the church." he added.
Nii Namoale said this in his presentation at the inauguration of the Church of Christ Ministers Fellowship (COCMINFIL) in Accra.
He said that the work of the pastor must be to the service of the members of the congregation and not to exploit them for the selfish interest of the pastor.
He said the government was in the process of developing the agricultural sector to make it attractive for the youth, and noted that “when we are able to produce enough to feed ourselves, we can then export the rest to generate foreign capital to support the economy while creating job for the jobless.”
He, therefore, appealed to the youth to make themselves available for such projects for the country to grow more to feed her people.
On his presentation on the theme, “Synergy, A Tool for Organisation Development” An Evangelist of the church, Mr John Tamakloe, said the need for professionalism by the leadership of the church necessitated the theme and the lecture.
Mr Tamakloe explained that for a greater productivity of any organisation, including the church, there was the need for an inter dependent role by all the stakeholders in the industry.
He told the pastors that they would only succeed in their calling when they as pastors identified their own gifts and that of other members in the church and harness it for the good of all.
For his part, a UK based Management Consultant, Mr Noble Kumawu called on the leadership of the church to concentrate their efforts on developing the human resource base of the church, “things don’t get done in the church, because pastors focus on the task rather than the people.”
Mr Kumawu also said that it was important that the leaders of the church today paid attention to the standards they, as pastors, had set for the members to follow and maintain.
A seven member team led by Mr Isaac Arthur as its chairman was also put in place to lead the fellowship for the next four years, including Mr Charles Nii Odotei Odoi, Mr Joseph Appiah and Paul Ntim Maanoh. The rest are, Mr Solomon Antwi Mireku, Mr Isaac Desmond Donkoh and Mr Hubert Willie Gley.
PIX 1
An elder of the Church, Mr Douglas Boateng, congratulating the executive shortly after their inauguration.
He explained that it was not wrong for a minister of the gospel to belong to a political party, but, "you must watch your utterances when you mount the pulpit as leaders of the church." he added.
Nii Namoale said this in his presentation at the inauguration of the Church of Christ Ministers Fellowship (COCMINFIL) in Accra.
He said that the work of the pastor must be to the service of the members of the congregation and not to exploit them for the selfish interest of the pastor.
He said the government was in the process of developing the agricultural sector to make it attractive for the youth, and noted that “when we are able to produce enough to feed ourselves, we can then export the rest to generate foreign capital to support the economy while creating job for the jobless.”
He, therefore, appealed to the youth to make themselves available for such projects for the country to grow more to feed her people.
On his presentation on the theme, “Synergy, A Tool for Organisation Development” An Evangelist of the church, Mr John Tamakloe, said the need for professionalism by the leadership of the church necessitated the theme and the lecture.
Mr Tamakloe explained that for a greater productivity of any organisation, including the church, there was the need for an inter dependent role by all the stakeholders in the industry.
He told the pastors that they would only succeed in their calling when they as pastors identified their own gifts and that of other members in the church and harness it for the good of all.
For his part, a UK based Management Consultant, Mr Noble Kumawu called on the leadership of the church to concentrate their efforts on developing the human resource base of the church, “things don’t get done in the church, because pastors focus on the task rather than the people.”
Mr Kumawu also said that it was important that the leaders of the church today paid attention to the standards they, as pastors, had set for the members to follow and maintain.
A seven member team led by Mr Isaac Arthur as its chairman was also put in place to lead the fellowship for the next four years, including Mr Charles Nii Odotei Odoi, Mr Joseph Appiah and Paul Ntim Maanoh. The rest are, Mr Solomon Antwi Mireku, Mr Isaac Desmond Donkoh and Mr Hubert Willie Gley.
PIX 1
An elder of the Church, Mr Douglas Boateng, congratulating the executive shortly after their inauguration.
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