The Catholic Archbishop of Freetown, Most Rev. Dr Edward Tamba Charles, has urged members of the Knights and Ladies of Marshall, a Catholic friendly society, to be shining examples and soldiers of Christ. “I congratulate you and assure you of my maximum support and prayer. Be true role models of the Catholic faith and work as shining examples, as true soldiers of Christ in the evangelising process,” he said  He described as laudable the fundamental principles of the Noble Order,—unity, charity, fraternity and service— which are prerequisites for the development of one’s spirituality. Most Rev. Charles said this in a homily at a thanksgiving Mass to climax the consecration of the new Council and Court of the Knights and Ladies of Marshall at the St Anthony Catholic Church, Freetown, Sierra Leone.  Present at the Mass were the Supreme Knight of the Knights of Marshall, Sir Kt Bro. Joseph Ekow Paintsil, his Deputy W/B, Ernest Amoako Arhen, the Grand Lady of the Ladies of Marshall, Most Respected Lady Sis. Margaret Yirenkyi, her deputy, Respected Lady Alice Ayebi and about 200 Marshallans from Ghana, Liberia, Togo and Sierra Leone.  Also present included Past Supreme Knight, Sir Kt Bro. James Adomako, Most Respected Ladies, Sisters Dame Theresa Pobee and Victoria Yellu, all from Ghana. Advice Most Rev. Charles stressed on the need for Christians to prepare themselves adequately for the arrival of the Lord Jesus Christ so that they could give a good account of their stewardship.  “The time has come for Christians to change the course of their lives by doing what is pleasing to Him,” he advised. Most Rev. Charles appealed to the Marshallans to assist in promoting vocation, as well as organising a viable laity council in the Catholic Archdiocese of Freetown.  In his remarks, Sir Kt Bro. Paintsil thanked Archbishop Charles and the Catholic Archdiocese of Freetown for their encouragement and support which had culminated in the establishment of the first Council and Court in Sierra Leone.  He told the congregation that the fundamental principles of the Noble Order had found expression in all activities – through united activities, networking, intensification of fraternal relations and the rendering of charity to the poor and needy by all operating councils and courts in Ghana, Togo, Benin, Liberia, the United Kingdom, and now Sierra Leone, with an estimated membership of about 10,000. He invited the congregation, especially the youth to,  among other things, consider joining the Noble Order to experience the benefits associated with the Noble Order’s inspired fundamental principles of unity, charity, fraternity and service. At the Mass, the new Grand Knight, Bro. Thomas W. Tingan and Noble Lady Sis Rachael Abie Parker presented a church organ with combo and US$1,000 cash to the church. The hierarchy of the Noble Order also presented an undisclosed amount to support ongoing projects.    

Mrs Rani Melwani, a Director of Melcom Group of Companies presenting the keys to an ambulance  worth $36,000 to  Air Vice Marshal Mathew Quarshie, Chief of Defence Staff. Looking on are Mrs Sonyia Sadhwani, Director of Brand Management of Melcom (right), Mr Ramesh Sadhwani, Joint Group Managing Director of Melcom (extreme right), and Mr Godwin Agnorbor, Director of Communications of Melcom Group . The ambulance presented to the 37 Military hospital is the company’s  contribution towards healthcare delivery. The presentation is also in appreciation of what the role the hospital played during the collapse of a building housing the Melcom store at Achimota a year ago.

  The Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Collins Dauda, has attributed the collapse of buildings in the country to the use of poor building materials by contractors. He observed that in most cases the kind of building materials used by contractors were not up to standard and were cheap.  Mr Dauda made those remarks when he addressed participants in the annual general meeting of the Architectural and Engineering Services Limited (AESL) in Accra. The minister further challenged contractors to use locally manufactured materials in their works to reduce the cost of building. Mr Dauda said a study had revealed that the use of local materials in the construction of public buildings brought the cost of the project down by 30 per cent. To this end, the sector minister tasked the executive of the AESL to put in place a contract document that compelled contractors to use local materials in their works. Mr Dauda was optimistic that patronising local materials would also create jobs for many Ghanaians, to reduce  unemployment. Ministry’s support to improve local building materials He stated that minority was prepared to support and partner the AESL to improve the quality of local building materials and designs for global competitiveness. He assured the AESL of the government’s commitment to address the delay in the payment of consultancy fees by the government, ministries, department and agencies. AESL accepts challenge of the minister The Managing Director of AESL, Mr Louis Satchmo A. Atongo, stated that his outfit had accepted the challenge of the minister and had already put in measures to address the issues.  Mr Atongo indicated that the company had invested substantially in technological infrastructure and hoped to improve architecture in the country in the years to come.  He added his voice to the call on engineers and contractors to use standard materials in their building projects.  

  CDH Financial Holdings (CDH) has presented a cheque for GH¢150,000 to sponsor the building of an infrastructure for  Internet connectivity at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College. Making the presentation, Group Chief Executive of CDH, Mr Emmanuel Adu-Sarkodee, explained that no modern activity could be undertaken without the incorporation of Information and Communication Technology.  He said CDH, therefore, did not hesitate to support the college when the request came through.  He explained that the amount was to cover the cost of building an infrastructure which would enable a wireless Internet access to cover the entire campus premises. The Commandant of the College, Air Vice Marshal Issifu Sakib Kadri, expressed his gratitude on behalf of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College to the management of the CDH for the support.  He also pledged that the infrastructure, when completed, would be maintained for generations to come, and assured the CDH management that their support was great relief to the college.  The Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College is a key training institute for  officers of the Ghana Armed Forces, as well as officers from other countries.  

International Needs Ghana (ING), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has observed that wife-inheritance, a traditional practice under which widows are forced to marry their brothers-in-law, is outmoded. The practice, the NGO says, is as outmoded as the ‘trokosi’ system, which is also a traditional religious practice where virgin girls serve in shrines to atone for the crimes committed by a family member.  It has, therefore, called for wife-inheritance to be scrapped. Mrs Patience Vormawor, ING’s Programmes Manager, Research and Documentation, was addressing a day’s workshop on the rights of women, children and other vulnerable groups for about 50 traditional, religious and opinion leaders and women’s rights advocates at Adidome. International Needs Ghana is a child and women’s rights advocacy NGO. Under the wife-inheritance system, the widow’s new husband, brother or relative of the late husband, takes over all property of the deceased. Mrs Vormawor said a widow must have the absolute freewill to choose her next lover and have the right of property of her late husband according to prevailing inheritance laws. The workshop was organised by ING with support from the Australian Agency for International Development (AUSAID) and International Needs, Australia. Participants were from the Ketu-South and Keta municipalities, Ketu-North, Akatsi-South, Central-Tongu, North-Tongu and South-Tongu districts of the Volta Region. It was to empower participants on women and children’s rights issues towards the elimination of debasing, dehumanising and destructive practices affecting women and children.      Mrs Vomawor said such inheritance marriages placed many women in difficult situations and in some cases, they contracted Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs).      She urged community leaders to show concern for women and children as their predicaments reflected the well-being of families and the community at large. Mrs Vomawor expressed worry that the Trokosi system was still in practice. She took participants through some of the dehumanising practices women and children suffered and the national and internationals rules banning them. Mrs Vomawor said children and women must be given the right environment to develop their potentials. Mr Raphael Suglo, Director, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), South- Tongu District, cautioned traditional authorities and their courts to stay off cases regarding defilement, rape, incest and other human rights related litigations reserved for the national agencies and courts. He said assembly members and religious leaders were also forbidden from such cases. Mr Suglo taught participants lessons on Inheritance Law, Child Labour and Human Trafficking and asked them to report all child abuse and similar cases to the police, CHRAJ or the department of social welfare.     Mr Sylvanus Adukpo, ING Programme Manager in charge of Gender and Empowerment, said the phenomenon of teachers impregnating pupils was an issue that needed to be addressed as it hindered the progress of girls. An eight-member Women’s Rights Advocacy Committee, including chiefs, is to be formed in all the 17 communities which sent delegates to the workshop. — GNA

The government has ordered the immediate suspension of the Anti-Piracy Textile Task Force established by the Ministry of Trade and Industry to clamp down the rising sale of pirated textiles on the Ghanaian market. The new twist described by the Textile Workers Union as unfortunate, followed a clash between members of the 17-member task force and some traders at Makola, in the Central Business District (CBD) in Accra this week. The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Nii Lantey Vanderpuije, announced the new directive when he met with the textile retailers at the Makola Market. Earlier, during an interaction with President John Mahama and the Minister of Gender and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, the Greater Accra Regional Market Queen, Madam Mercy Needjan, appealed to the President to intervene in the seizure of their textiles, since the traders were losing their livelihood. Consequently, the President announced the immediate suspension of the work of the task force and gave the traders a three-month moratorium to learn to decipher between the pirated textiles and the genuine ones. Riding on the back of the President’s directive, Nii Vanderpuije announced the suspension of the work of the task force.

President John Mahama has arrived in Paris, France to news of the death of former South African President Nelson Mandela. Mr. Mahama who is  attending a two-day summit on peace and security in Africa spent the early part of his arrival in Paris to finalise a short piece in celebration of Mandela and published by the New York Times.  FULL ARTICLE BELOW For years, it seemed as though only one photograph of Nelson Mandela existed. It showed him with bushy hair, plump cheeks, and a look of serious determination. But it was a black-and-white shot, so grainy it looked ancient — a visual documentation of an era and an individual whose time had long passed.  In the early 1960s, fed up with the systematic oppression and inhumane treatment of indigenous Africans, Mandela successfully proposed a plan of violent tactics and guerrilla warfare, essentially forming the military wing of the African National Congress. Within a few years, this martial division, aptly named Umkhonto we Sizwe or Spear of the Nation, was discovered and its leadership detained. In 1964 Mandela was found guilty of sabotage, and ordered to serve a life sentence. During his trial, in lieu of testimony, he delivered a speech from the dock. “I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities,” he said. “It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” I was 5 years old when Nelson Mandela became prisoner number 46664, and was banished to spend the remainder of his years on Robben Island, five square miles of land floating just north of Cape Town. Robben Island had been the site of a colony for lepers, a lunatic asylum and a series of prisons. It was a place of exile, punishment and isolation, a place where people were sent and then forgotten. But the haunting image in that photograph did not let us forget. In the 1970s, I was a member of the African Youth Command, an activist group that protested against social and political injustices. We idolized Mandela. We hung posters of that photograph in our dormitory rooms; we printed it on pamphlets. We refused to let Mandela fade into irrelevance; we marched, held demonstrations, staged concerts and boycotts, signed petitions and issued press statements. We did everything we could to decry the evils of apartheid and keep his name on people’s tongues. We even burned effigies of John Vorster, Jimmy Kruger and other proponents of that government-sanctioned white supremacy.  Freedom on the African continent was a reality for which we were willing to fight. Nevertheless, I think we’d resigned ourselves to the likelihood that Mandela would remain a prisoner until his death, and South Africans would not experience equality until well after our lifetimes. Then on Feb. 11, 1990, the miraculous happened; Mandela was released. The world was spellbound. We wondered what we would do if we were in his shoes. We all waited for an indescribable rage, a call for retribution that any reasonable mind would have understood. Twenty-seven years of his life, gone. Day after day of hard labor in a limestone quarry, chipping away at white rock under a bright and merciless sun — without benefit of protective eyewear — had virtually destroyed his tear ducts and, for years, robbed Mandela even of his ability to cry. Yet, the man insisted on forgiveness. “To go to prison because of your convictions,” he said, “and be prepared to suffer for what you believe in, is something worthwhile. It is an achievement for a man to do his duty on earth irrespective of the consequences.” By the time I finally came face to face with Nelson Mandela, he had already been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and elected president of a land in which he and all other black people had previously been refused suffrage. He had become an icon, not only of hope, but also of the possibility for healing. I was relatively new to politics then, a member of Parliament and minister of communications. It was my first time in Cape Town. I had stayed out late with friends and was waiting to take the lift up to my hotel room. When the doors opened, there was Mandela. I took a step back, and froze. As he exited, Mandela glanced in my direction and nodded. I could not return the gesture. I couldn’t move, not even to blink. I just stood there in awe, thinking: here was the man for whom we had marched, sung and wept; the man from the black-and-white photograph. Here was the man who had created a new moral compass for South Africa and, as a matter of course, the entire continent. It is no coincidence that in the years since Mandela’s release so much of Africa has turned toward democracy and the rule of law. His utilization of peace as a vehicle of liberation showed Africa that if we were to move beyond the divisiveness caused by colonization, and the pain of our self-inflicted wounds, compassion and forgiveness must play a role in governance. Countries, like people, must acknowledge the trauma they have experienced, and they must find a way to reconcile, to make what was broken whole again. That night, as I watched Mandela walk past me, I understood that his story, the long walk to freedom, was also Africa’s story. The indignation that once permeated our continent has been replaced by inspiration. The undercurrent of pessimism resulting from the onslaught of maladies — wars, coups, disease, poverty and oppression — has given way to a steadily increasing sense of possibility. It wasn’t just Nelson Mandela who was transformed during those years of his imprisonment. We all were. And Africa is all the better because of that. 

The Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) has presented five motor tricycles with accessories valued at GH¢16,500 to farmers in the Northern,Upper East,Upper West, Brong Ahafo and Volta regions. The gesture is also to support the efforts of the farmers towards addressing the challenges of food insecurity in the five beneficiary regions. At a ceremony in Tamale to present the facilities to the farmers through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), the Director of Corporate Affairs of the SADA, Mr Sam Danse, stated that this year, through its Agricultural Input Support Programme, the SADA had supplied 25,415 varieties of improved maize, rice, soya seeds and fertilizers to farmers in the beneficiary regions. He said tractor and agronomic advisory services were also provided to smallholder farmers as a way of increasing their farm yields and income levels. According to him, even though the rainy season delayed, the SADA was able to achieve more than half of its  target of providing support to more than 20,000 farmers in the Northern Savannah Ecological Zone (NSEZ). "The SADA strongly believes in transforming agricultural policies in the NSEZ from addressing food security to using agriculture as a platform to increase farmers’ income levels and generate small-scale enterprises," he stressed. He further explained that his outfit would continue to pursue its agenda of supporting farmers with improved technology to add value to their farm produce, thereby "unlocking the economic potential of the agricultural sector." The Northern Regional Director of Food and Agriculture, Mr William Boakye Acheampong, pledged on behalf of the other beneficiary regions to improve on agricultural productivity. He promised that farmers would be encouraged to do more to enhance food security in the NSEZ.

Alisa Hotel has been honoured by the Young Professionals and Youth Coalition (YPYC) at its fifth Young Professionals Transformational Leadership Conference. The conference, which was held last week in Accra at the International Conference Centre, was on the theme “Beyond vision, transformation.” The honour is in recognition of Alisa’s leadership qualities, professionalism and serving as a role model for the youth through its support for youth development programmes in the country.  The guest of honour was Madam Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, Minister of Tourism, Culture & Creative Arts. Also present was Fiifi Kwetey, Minister of State in Charge of Financial and Allied Institution, and Dr Joyce Aryee, Executive Director, Salt and Light Ministries, who chaired the event. YPYC is an association of young professionals in different fields of endeavours who are ready to impact the present generation of young professionals through its programmes. The conference aimed at recognising the hard work, professional leadership and excellence of personalities who have excelled in their areas of endeavours and have become role models for other young professionals. The citation recognising the efforts of the Alisa Hotel emphasised the facility’s quality service delivery and its investment in youth career development programmes which manifest in its entire departments, ranging from youth recruitment to the countless opportunities rolled out for the youth. “You are an avenue where unpolished skills are enhanced; youth congregate and without inhibition, demonstrate their natural talent for accelerated socioeconomic development which goes a long way to reduce unemployment and gives hands-on training to hundreds of graduates.” The citation also commended the hotel for its partnership with relevant institutions which provided support for the youth to realise their God-given potential. Present to receive the award on the hotel’s behalf was the General Manager, Mr Marco Cecchi, who in an interview applauded YPYC for championing the course of youth development. “We are proud to be associated with you because as a hotel, we believe in the youth who are obviously the immediate future leaders, hence the need for us to support them.                                                                                                                                                                      Mr Cecchi urged other corporate entities to take keen interest in activities which would assist the youth to achieve their chosen careers, noting that such a move would ensure that competent and reliable individuals took up leadership positions in future for accelerated development. Honourable Fiifi Kwetey, in his address, charged the youth to come up with creative and innovative ideas for employment creation, instead of relying solely on the government as a producer of employment opportunities.  

A modern police post to promote security for students of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has been inaugurated at Ayeduase near the university in Kumasi. The GH¢19,000 police post was financed by the university as parts of its social responsibility to partner with the security agencies, especially the Ghana Police Service, to promote security at the university and its surrounding communities. Speaking at the inauguration, Prof. W. O. Ellis, Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), said the university was concerned about security issues among the students of the university to enhance effective teaching and learning . He said to ensure effective security and policing, the university was also financing two more police posts at Kotei and Bomso to beef up security in the communities.  Prof Ellis hinted that to ensure effective patrol and policing, the university would also provide two motorcycles for the police to facilitate their service to the community. The Ashanti Regional Commander of  the Ghana Police Service, DCOP Mr Augustine Gyening, said there was the need for support and cooperation from the people in the community to flash out  criminals.      He called on hostel operators in the community not to ignore security measures to ensure  the safety of the students, and asked  them to provide CCT cameras at the various porters lodges to ensure effective security at the hostels. The Manhyia Divisional Commander of the Ghana Police Service, Chief Superintendent Debora Adison Campbell, lauded the efforts of the university to promote security and free movement of the students in the community.     She appealed to the chiefs at Ayeduase to provide piece of land for a permanent structure for effective policing with in the community.      Nana Opoku Agyeman Bawuah, II chief of Ayeduase, who chaired the inauguration ceremony, expressed their commitment and support to promote security in the area.

The chiefs and people of Peki in the Volta Region have declared a state of mourning in respect of their Paramount Chief, Togbe Kwadzo Dei XI, who died four years ago. Togbe Kwadzo Dei was known in private life as Mr Seth Yao Tutu Brempong. He ascended the throne in 1961 and served the people for 40 years. Making the official announcement of his death at a durbar, the Dzasehene of Peki-Blengo, Togbe Abe Vuha III, said the Peki Traditional Council, in conjunction with the royal families of Adiyievi of Bengo-Peki, have constituted a burial and co-ordinating committees, as well as various sub-committees to plan and organise the burial in accordance with traditions and customs of the people of Peki. He said a 10-day burial programme was to be observed at the forecourt of the Deiga’s palace to be followed by a fitting entombment next year. The Deiga attended the Mission Infant and Junior School at Blengo in 1943 and continued to the Evangelical Presbyterian Middle School at Kpedze and then to Mawuli Senior High School in 1952. The Peki Traditional Council conferred two titles: “Katamanto” and “Gbedegbleme” on him in recognition of development achievements and the continuous championing of the transformation of the Peki Kingdom. Togbe Dei was instrumental in the establishment of the Ghana-German Agricultural Settlement Farm at Agbate-Peki, the construction of the Peki Government Hospital, provision of water and electricity and the establishment of the Gbi Reunification Festival known as “Gbidukorza” between the chiefs and people of Gbi Nyigbe(Peki) and Gbi Dzigbe(Hohoe). Togbe Kwadzo Dei and three other paramount chiefs, Togbe Adeladza of Anlo, Nana Aburam Akpandja of Buem and Togbe Afede Asor of Asogli, were the founding fathers of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs (in the establishment) and had permanent seats in the house. In an address, the Adontenhene of Peki, Togbe Ayim Mordey, appealed for understanding and unity in the area during and after the period of mourning and funeral.

South Africa's first black president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela has died at the age of 95. Mr Mandela led South Africa's transition from white-minority rule in the 1990s, after 27 years in prison for his political activities. He had been receiving intensive medical care at home for a lung infection after spending three months in hospital. Announcing the news on South African national TV, President Jacob Zuma said Mr Mandela was at peace. "Our nation has lost its greatest son," Mr Zuma said. "Although we knew that this day would come, nothing can diminish our sense of a profound and enduring loss." South Africans have gathered outside the home of Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, singing and chanting slogans to celebrate his life Mr Zuma said Mr Mandela - who is known affectionately by his clan name, Madiba - had died shortly before 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT). He said he would receive a full state funeral, and flags would be flown at half-mast. Crowds have gathered outside the house where Mr Mandela died, some flying South African flags and wearing the shirts of the governing African National Congress, which Mr Mandela once led. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate was one of the world's most revered statesmen after preaching reconciliation despite being imprisoned for 27 years. He had rarely been seen in public since officially retiring in 2004. He made his last public appearance in 2010, at the football World Cup in South Africa. His fellow campaigner against apartheid, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, said he was "not only an amazing gift to humankind, he made South Africans and Africans feel good about being who we are. He made us walk tall. God be praised." BBC correspondents say Mr Mandela's body will be moved to a mortuary in the capital, Pretoria, and the funeral is likely to take place next Saturday. 'Bid him farewell' Mr Zuma said in his statement that "what made Nelson Mandela great was precisely what made him human. We saw in him what we seek in ourselves. "Fellow South Africans, Nelson Mandela brought us together and it is together that we will bid him farewell." Tributes have come in from around the world. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was "a giant for justice and a down-to-earth human inspiration". "Many around the world were greatly influenced by his selfless struggle for human dignity, equality and freedom. He touched our lives in deeply personal ways." US President Barack Obama said Mr Mandela achieved more than could be expected of any man. "He no longer belongs to us - he belongs to the ages," he said, adding that Mr Mandela "took history in his hands and bent the arc of the moral universe towards justice". Mr Obama, the first black president of the United States, said he was one of the millions who drew inspiration from Mr Mandela's life. He has ordered that the White House flag be flown at half-mast. FW de Klerk, who as South Africa's last white president ordered Mr Mandela's release, called him a "unifier" and said he had "a remarkable lack of bitterness". He told the BBC Mr Mandela's greatest legacy "is that we are basically at peace with each other notwithstanding our great diversity, that we will be taking hands once again now around his death and around our common sadness and mourning". The Elders - a group of global leaders set up by Mr Mandela to pursue peace and human rights - said they "join millions of people around the world who were inspired by his courage and touched by his compassion". The group's chair, Kofi Annan, said the world had lost "a clear moral compass". "While I mourn the loss of one of Africa's most distinguished leaders, Madiba's legacy beckons us to follow his example to strive for human rights, reconciliation and justice for all." UK Prime Minister David Cameron said "a great light has gone out in the world". Earlier this year, Mr Mandela spent nearly three months in hospital with a recurring lung infection. He was moved to his home in the Houghton suburb of Johannesburg in September, where he continued to receive intensive care. Robben Island Born in 1918, Nelson Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1943, as a law student. He and other ANC leaders campaigned against apartheid. Initially he campaigned peacefully but in the 1960s the ANC began to advocate violence, and Mr Mandela was made the commander of its armed wing. He was arrested for sabotage and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964, serving most of his sentence on Robben Island. FW de Klerk: Mandela "was a great unifier" It was forbidden to quote him or publish his photo, but he and other ANC leaders were able to smuggle out messages of guidance to the anti-apartheid movement. He was released in 1990 as South Africa began to move away from strict racial segregation - a process completed by the first multi-racial elections in 1994. Mr Mandela, who had been awarded the Nobel Prize in 1993 jointly with Mr de Klerk, was elected South Africa's first black president. He served a single term, stepping down in 1999. After leaving office, he became South Africa's highest-profile ambassador, campaigning against HIV/Aids and helping to secure his country's right to host the 2010 football World Cup. He was also involved in peace negotiations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and other countries in Africa and elsewhere.