The Volta River Authority, the chiefs, elders and the people of Shama Traditional Area have reached an agreement to pacify the displaced gods in the disputed power enclave at Aboadze in the Shama District of the Western Region. This followed a warning from the traditional council that until the VRA pacified the gods of the land, a new Thermal Three (T3) plant to add 132 megawatts to the national grid would not materialize. It will be recalled that the newly built plant T3, which was commissioned in March this year, developed a fault after three months and has since not worked. After over an hour of deliberations between the ministry, led by the Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Mr. Emmanuel Kofi Armah Buah, VRA officials, Takoradi International Company (TICO) of TAQA, the parties agreed that a resting place would be built near the plant with the floor filled with water for the displaced God. However, officials of the VRA have maintained that the problems resulting in the malfunction of the plant have been diagnosed as operational. Giving a summary of the problems before the meeting with the chiefs and elders, Ing. Richard Badger, the Plant Manager said the operational problem encountered resulted in the damage of two of the four gas turbines of the T3. He said the damage was such that the VRA could not continue running the plant and that it needed to launch an investigation to establish the cause of the problem. “Per the agreement, VRA and the contractors came together and hired an independent expert, South-West Research Institute (SWI) with terms of reference to investigate,” he said. He said SWI was to look into the fuel quality, operational issues before the problem, issues of designing and construction of the plant and the team came to the site and took the needed samples to begin investigations. He said the challenges which resulted in the breakdown in the view of the VRA was due to the design of the fuel nozzle system, saying they did not think that the technology that was provided was atomizing the fuel properly to give efficient combustion required for the units to fire properly. “We think there is deficiency in the design, and it needs some modification to get it run properly on light crude oil (LCO),” he said.  For his part, Mr Buah called for collaboration between the host community and operators of the facility to ensure socio-economic and industrial harmony. Nana Kobina Atton III, the spokesperson for the team from the traditional council expressed joy at the intervention of the minister, saying it was very timely and assured that the chiefs, VRA, and the ministry would meet later to ensure that every issue was resolved. The land acquisition, agreement and compensation It is understood that at the time of moving the thermal unit to Aboadze, government through compulsory acquisition took over 400 acres of land from the people of Aboadze. Food crops on the land was evaluated and paid for in cash by the state, and for the land itself, the negotiation led by Nana Ekuntan III, who is the Chief of Jomo, agreed as part of the compensation that VRA would build a cluster of schools for the community. Aside that it was also agreed that the road network from the main junction would be extended to Aboadze, Abuasi and Jomo, which VRA did.Another was a health facility, which VRA fulfilled by building a modern health facility known - VRA Hospital - at Aboadze. Future lands acquisitionsIn order to develop the place into a power enclave, the government was in talks with the community leaders to acquire land for further expansion of which work.

  The ancient Chinese theory of the “Five Elements” holds that the world is formed of five materials:  water, earth, wood, metal and fire. For water to be listed as one of the five basic elements indicates its importance. Here, water primarily refers to rainwater, the use of which can be traced back to the primitive society. In Ghana, persistent water shortage situations are part of normal everyday life in many rural settlements and some urban centres, particularly the peri-urban areas. Many communities in several parts of the country still rely on surface water such as streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, dug-outs and reservoirs. These sources often serve as drinking places for animals as well.  The health hazards posed by this situation are far reaching. History of rainwater harvesting Tracing the history of rainwater harvesting, Ing Dr Frederick Amu-Mensah of the Water Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research said rainwater harvesting was the oldest technology developed by man to provide water for domestic use, adding that in Ghana the challenges posed by dry wells as well as excessive levels of contaminants, especially high concentrations of some undesirable minerals in the ground water resources of some geological formation, made harnessing of rainwater for household use very necessary.  He enumerated the methods of rainwater harvesting in the past as collection via roof gutters from rooftops of buildings with corrugated iron sheets and other materials such as thatch, bamboos, coconut/palm branches, cocoa leaves and the back of trees, among others. He said other techniques for harvesting included scooping rainwater from depressions and potholes on roads or road sides, harvesting the rainwater directly from the atmosphere and the collection of rainwater or dew from leaves or roof system. He stated that currently, in the urban communities, very little is done to harvest rainwater despite the poor water network  in place. He observed that even though urban dwellers had better roofs, they still did not harvest rainwater to supplement what they got from the Ghana Water Company Limited, indicating that rainwater harvesting was still very popular in rural communities despite their poor roofing system. Benefits of rainwater harvesting The benefits of rainwater harvesting include relief from other expensive water supply systems, ability to farm or build in areas with no other water supply, increased independence and own water security, lower water supply cost, reduced flood flows, especially in urban areas prone to flood, reduced topsoil loss due to erosion, improved plant growth, it is gentler on equipment and piping because no scaling occurs. It also prevents breeding of mosquitoes and sources of water-borne diseases. Treatment and use The raindrop, as it falls from the cloud, is soft, and among the cleanest of water sources. Irrigation with captured rainwater promotes healthy plant growth. It also extends the lifespan of appliances as it does not form scale or mineral deposits in them. Though the environment, the catchment surface, and the storage tanks affect the quality of harvested rainwater, with minimal treatment and adequate care of the system, rainwater can be used as potable water as well as for irrigation. Contaminants captured by the rain from the catchment surface and storage tanks are of great concern to users of rainwater for potable use because the catchment areas may have dust, dirt, faecal matter from birds and small animals and plant debris such as leaves and twigs. Therefore, rainwater intended for domestic potable use must be treated using the appropriate filtration and disinfection methods.  The various types of treatment employed in rainwater harvesting system include settling sedimentation and activated charcoal, disinfection such as boiling or distilling, using filtration, roof washers and straining or sand filtration. Other more efficient but expensive systems include catrigde filters, ultra-violet (UV) irradiation and reverse osmosis (RO) systems. Rainwater for better sanitation, health and agriculture Touching on the quality of harvested rainwater, Ing Dr Benjamin Sabi of the Department of Agriculture Engineering of the University of Ghana said rainwater which had been properly collected and stored was expected to be substantially free from minerals and most of the common pollutants that were present in surface and ground water sources. He said rainwater lacked minerals and other chemical substances of river water and ground water, adding that it was designated as soft water and lathered easily. “It also does not form scale in pipes and is therefore friendly to equipment. It has the highest capacity of all water to dissolve substances because of its purity”. He said. According to him, roofing materials made from metals that did not corrode easily were unlikely to impact on the quality of the harvested rain. He observed that local materials such as thatch may impact on colour, turbidity and taste of the water, adding that in the rural environment where industrial activities were low, production of gases such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulphide and hydrocarbons may not affect the quality of rainwater. Dr Sabi said rain was the source of water for rivers, lakes and ponds and all fresh water on lands, adding that it had been used exclusively to serve the needs of entire cultures as in the case of ancient civilisation of southern Israel or for supplementary purposes as in the case of the ancient civilisation of Egypt and Rome whose entire irrigated agricultural production had been practised from rainwater harvesting. Observations Currently, the increasing populations of urban areas, resulting in the spread of the boundaries of cities are presenting a new dimension to the need to harvest rainwater. Natural lands with vegetative cover ensures a balance of runoff flows during rainfall. When these lands are cleared for development, this balance is compromised and excessive erosion and run-off flow result.  Since water flows from higher points to lower points, the low lying areas of Sakaman etc. will increasingly be subject to flooding because rainwater from as far as Madina and Ashongman eventually end up at these low lying locations. It is, therefore, very crucial that rainwater harvesting should be looked at not only as a means of providing more water for domestic uses in every home but also as a means of reducing flooding. If not taken seriously, the comtinous expansion of urban areas will negatively affect its low lying areas. To this end, the enforcement of the building code in regard to the provision of rainwater harvesting in especially new buildings as a pre-requisite to obtaining a building permit must be religiously upheld. CSIR interventions With funding from the Nordic Climate Fund, CSIR Water Research Institute in collaboration with SINTEF of Norway the CSIR Science and Technology Policy Research Institute are piloting 20 domestic rainwater harvesting systems in Accra to promote the technology, standardise the systems for easy replication, train artisans in the installation process, encourage business in rainwater harvesting and provide an adaptation strategy for dealing with climate change impacts. Some important aspects of rainwater harvesting There are various aspects to rainwater harvesting aside from water provision, irrigation and flood control. Excess rainwater can be used to recharge aquifers. Industrial water needs can be satisfied by rainwater harvesting. Aquaculture and ecosystem protection can be enhanced and sustained with rainwater harvesting. Firefighting is another important reason for encouraging rainwater harvesting.

The country’s laws will once again be put to test today when the Accra Fast Track High Court hears two applications on the sale of Merchant Bank. The first application, by Mr Andrew Awuni, the Executive Director of the Centre for Freedom and Accuracy (CFA), is challenging the sale of Merchant Bank to the Fortiz Private Equity Fund. The second one, by Mr Tony Lithur, counsel for Fortiz, is praying for the action by Mr Awuni to be dismissed for lack of capacity. Both parties have filed their affidavits in opposition to the applications, setting the ground for the showdown to begin. In his application, Mr Awuni is seeking, among other things, an interlocutory injunction to restrain the Bank of Ghana (BoG) from issuing any licence to Fortis to operate Merchant Bank as a validly acquired concern. He is also seeking an order directing that the offer for sale of Merchant Bank, if justified, be advertised publicly. Parliamentary probe Mr Awuni is further seeking an order of the court requesting Parliament to institute an inquiry into the sale of Merchant Bank to Fortis. In his statement of claim, Mr Awuni said in spite of the palpable silence by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to explain why it needed to divest itself of its shares, it was publicly alleged that the bank was owed huge sums of money by its creditors, which debts were adversely affecting its operations and, therefore, the decision by the government to sell it off. It said several well-known international, as well as local, financial and banking institutions made bids to acquire the bank, among which was the First Rand Bank of South Africa, which is reputed to have put up a strong bid. The statement said the plaintiff was reliably aware that the First Rand Bank offered to pay GH¢199.3 million to acquire 75 per cent of the shares of Merchant Bank and also undertook to recover its toxic debts which allegedly had bedevilled its operation by entering into negotiations with UT Recoveries, a local debt recovery company, upon the recommendations of the BoG. It said while the plaintiff, like any other contributor, had hoped that by rejecting the bid by the First Rand Bank the offer was going to be made public for other potential investors who were going to offer even better than what the First Rand Bank offered, Fortis popped up as having acquired Merchant Bank, with the approval of the BoG, at GH¢90 million for 90 per cent of the shares of the bank and undertook to recover only 30 per cent of the toxic debts of the alleged ailing bank. Short-changing people The statement said the deal purportedly entered between Fortis and the government of Ghana, with the tacit approval of the BoG, was not good enough and amounted to short-changing the taxpayer and contributors whose money SSNIT invested. It said the deal, if allowed to go on, would also be a flagrant violation of the 1992 Constitution. Mr Lithur, on the other hand, is praying the court to dismiss Mr Awuni’s suit, which he describes as too weak and does not have enough grounds to halt further transactions on the deal. His application stated that Mr Awuni did not have the capacity to challenge the sale in court, though he was a contributor to SSNIT. It further stated that Mr Awuni was not a party to the deal and, therefore, did not have the right to challenge it.

  A report on the assessment of the construction of two major roads—one in Greater Accra Region, and the other in the Central Region—has been launched in Accra. The report, which is an initiative of the Ghana Contracts Monitoring Group (GCMG), seeks to promote transparency, accountability and value for money in the delivery of contract awards and project execution. Speaking at the launch, Mr Vitus Azeem, Executive Director of Ghana Integrity Initiative, said that the GCMG had monitored the widening of the La-Teshie road in the Greater Accra Region and the Bekwai-Assin-Praso road and bridge construction works in the Central Region. Assessment criteria Mr Azeem also noted that the monitoring of the two road projects was guided by a monitoring format which assessed the project details, financial analysis, stakeholder service and environmental health. Others parameters which were used in the monitoring are safety measures, quality of service and contract documentation. According to Mr Azeem, the George Walker Bush Highway, also known as the N1 Highway, was used as the basis for comparison. Report on the La-Teshie The Greater Accra regional branch of the GCMG reported that the La-Teshie road was 90 per cent complete as of December 2012. According to Mr Osei Asante of the GCMG, the project was slated to have commenced on September 13, 2007 and completed in May 13, 2008. The project, however, lasted for more than four years as a result of delayed payments to the contractor, Messrs Big Aidoo Construction Limited. Report on the Bekwai-Assin-Praso road The monitoring team in the Central Region reported that there was healthy dialogue between stakeholders and the contractors, Tokura Corporation, a Japanese construction company. The report said the construction of the road so far had no specific provision for the needs of the disabled, the aged and children. It, therefore, recommended that the road design should include pedestrian walkways for the disabled, children and the aged. It also called for a local content policy that would employ the youth in the surrounding communities. In his response, the Deputy Minister of Roads and Highway, Mr Isaac Adjei Mensah, acknowledged the role of civil societies in ensuring transparency and accountability in the construction of roads. He added that the report would provide an avenue for a strong partnership between government and civil societies. Mr Adjei Mensah, however, stated that the responses of some indicted state agencies had not been incorporated in the report.  

  Armed policemen responding to a distress call of armed robbery in the palace of the chief of Dompoase in the Adansi North District in the Ashanti Region in the morning of December 2, 2013, were shocked to see a supposed spiritualist holding an object he claimed to be juju, which he uprooted from the palace. The man, Mallam Issah Mohammed, 40, alleged that he buried the object in the palace as part of a spiritual assignment he performed for the chief, Okofo Sobin Kan II. However, the  failure of the chief to honour the promise of paying him the full amount charged for the work compelled him to storm the palace with about 10 heavily-built men to dig out the object.  Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Daniel Anane Amoah, the Fomena District Police Commander, told the Daily Graphic last Saturday that following the 'distress call' from the palace at Dompoase, police responded immediately by sending armed men from Fomena to Dompoase. But the police did not find anything on the men to suggest they were armed robbers. That notwithstanding, DSP Amoah said the case had been forwarded to the regional police command in Kumasi for further investigations. The Public Relations Officer of the Ashanti Regional Police Command, ASP Yusif Mohammed Tanko, confirmed that the case was with the regional command. He, however, said the chief had denied the juju was buried in the palace as the Mallam alleged. According to the Mallam, sometime last year, the chief approached him to help him overcome some spiritual challenges.  He said he charged the chief GH¢45,000 for the ‘job’ but after completing the task, he was paid GH¢5,000, leaving a balance of GH¢40,000. Mallam Issah said all attempts to get the chief to pay him the remaining amount proved futile so he decided to go to the palace to remove the juju he planted there. Fearing he may be attacked, the “mallam” said he hired some heavily-built men to accompany him to uproot the juju. The Daily Graphic gathered over the weekend that the “mallam” had been arraigned in Kumasi for unlawful entry.  

  A Manual to assist state institutions assess the programmes and projects they implement has been launched by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC). The  national monitoring and evaluation manual provides the status of projects, outputs, impacts, as well as information on any potential challenge posed by a project. Speaking at the launch of the manual, the Chairman of the NDPC, Dr Paul Victor Obeng, stated that the NDPC had been mandated by the Constitution to draft the short and long-term development plans of Ghana. He noted that the NDPC, in consultation with other stakeholders, was committed to the drafting of relevant programmes to guide the government in its quest to improve the lives of Ghanaians. According to Dr Obeng, the monitoring and evaluation manual would inform the government and all other levels of governance about the successes and challenges associated with certain implemented policies and projects. He also said the manual provided a structured avenue to assess government projects and programmes. Impact of projects A Senior Policy Advisor to the President, Dr Sulley Gariba, said the manual was an essential instrument in the country’s development agenda, since it could determine whether the government had achieved its goals and objectives in all areas of the economy or not. He also said the President was committed to ensuring that the various programmes of the government achieved their core objectives. The manual, according to him, would enhance efficiency and ensure the effective coordination and evaluation of all government projects. Strengthening institutions A Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Kweku Ricketts Hagan, said the government was committed to strengthening institutions of accountability to ensure the success of government policies. According to him, the government had invested a lot of resources to improve the lives of Ghanaians. He lauded the NDPC for its initiative and stated that the manual would ensure transparency in the allocation of resources. Challenges of the current system In her address, the Director-General of the NDPC, Dr Regina Adutwum, noted that the commission had, over the years, worked in collaboration with key stakeholders to establish a credible and comprehensive national monitoring and evaluation system for the country. She said an assessment of the current national monitoring and evaluation system showed that there were persistent weaknesses in the system. She, therefore, called for the provision of adequate financial resources and the requisite technical training to enhance the effective evaluation of government policies and projects. “This will build the capacities of policy and decision makers to deepen their understanding of monitoring and evaluation,” Dr Adutwum said.  

 The Amasaman District Police Command in Accra has intensified its search for the remaining members of a group of land guards, who shot and killed a 24-year old worker of Sally Properties. According to the Amasaman District Police Commander, Superintendent Kwadwo Asante, information the police had gathered revealed that most the land guards “are in hiding at Nima, planning to leave Accra”. He said the police were using some of the leads given by one of the suspects who was arrested on Friday, Daniel Adjei, to trace the hide-out of the remaining land guards. Meanwhile, Mr Asante said, Adjei would be taken to court to enable the police to secure a warrant for his custody, adding “this would allow the police to continue their investigation and search for the remaining suspects”. Asked what the police was doing to ensure peace in the area, he said, police personnel had been stationed to monitor activities at Ayikai Doblo and ensure maximum security in the area. Amasaman land disputes Mr Asante said most of the land guards used to cause confusion in the Ga West District of Greater Accra region, were mostly from Nima, James Town and Ashaiman in Tema. According to him, the police, over the past years, had put in place measures to deal with the situation until last Friday incident at Ayikai Doblo. He said the police intended to rid the Amasaman and its surrounding communities of the activities of land guards. Friday shooting incident Sulley Amartey, a worker of Sally Properties, was killed by land guards, while five others sustained various bullet wounds.

  Scores of armed soldiers were deployed to Kumawu in the Ashanti region to maintain  peace as the process for the installation of a new Omanhene of the area got quite murky. Two of the royal families – Ananagya and Odumase - vehemently opposed the nominee, Dr Sarfo Asante, a medical officer who is the brother of the queenmother.  The nominee is from the Ankaase Royal Family. To back their stance, the Abusuapanin of the Ananagya family, Opanin Kwabena Darkwa, went ahead to invoke Otumfuo’s Great Oath (Ntamkesie) to stop the consideration of the nominee. On August 23, 2013, the Asanteman Council, chaired by Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene, ruled in favour of Nana Serwah Amponsah in the seven-year-old Kumawu chieftaincy dispute, paving the way for the process of the installation of a new Omanhene to begin. The ruling brought a sigh of relief to  the people of the traditional area, who had to live in fear for a long time. A group from the Kumawu royal family had invoked the Asantehene’s Great Oath to the effect that the queen mother, who was enstooled 23 years ago, was of Fulani descent and was therefore unfit to occupy the stool. However, the Asanteman Council dismissed the allegation and declared the queenmother a true royal. Following the ruling, Nana Amponsah went ahead to nominate Dr Sarfo Asante for consideration by the kingmakers to succeed the late Barima Asumadu Sakyi, who passed away eight years ago. Eyewitnesses told the Daily Graphic today that even though there were no disturbances in the town, tension was very high as the opposing factions fought to stall the process. With the invocation of the Great Oath, it is likely the case will go back to the Asantehene to determine whether the nominee is qualified or not. When the Daily Graphic called the queenmother on phone, she said she was busy attending to some matters.  

The road network in the Akim Swedru area  in the  Eastern Region is being rehabilitated to provide  access to the remotest parts of the  area for the transportation of food and cash crops to the marketing centres. The Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Mr Kennedy Osei-Nyarko who is rehabilitating the roads from his own resources, said for the past 15 years, the road network in the constituency had seen no rehabilitation and had become unmotorable. He told the Daily Graphic that he sought assistance from J.A Plant Pool, which provided him with a grader for the rehabilitation of the roads for a period of three weeks. Mr Osei-Nyarko said he was spending  over GH¢10,000 to provide fuel and meet other expenses for the rehabilitation of the roads. “We do not always have to wait for the government to provide all our needs,” he said, adding that the gesture was in filfilment of a campaign promise. He said as MP for the area, he was touched by the hallowing pains that farmers and commuters go through daily as a result of the  poor nature of the road network in the constituency. Mr Osei-Nyarko mentioned some of the places where roads had undergone rehabilitation as Akim Awisa, Akim Swedru, Akote Junction-Akote and Apoli Junction— Apoli and its township. He thanked the people for the confidence reposed in him and assured them that he would work assiduously to alleviate their plight. He also thanked J.A Plant Pool for proving him the grader for the rehabilitation work.                                               

  Former President Jerry John Rawlings has challenged African leaders to emulate the shining example of the late former South African President, Nelson Mandela, who worked for the betterment of his people in particular and Africa in general. He said the ideals of the late global peace icon as a selfless voice for the world’s oppressed must not be allowed to die with him.  Former President Rawlings extolled the virtues of the late South African leader in Accra yesterday when he signed the book of condolence opened for President Mandela at the High Commission of South Africa in Accra. He said Mandela was a symbol of resilience, fortitude, patience and tolerance and also exhibited exceptional leadership qualities which would shape and inspire present generations and those yet unborn. He stressed that Mandela had given Africa a unique leadership which African leaders should strive to live by. Tribute Former President Rawlings paid glowing tribute to Mandela as a man of great spiritual elegance, an enigma, yet an icon of true reconciliation and a man who embodied a unique political culture. “His capacity, power, empathy, his psychological understanding of the pain of humanity were such that he just could not abdicate his responsibility,” he added. “He was a man of great spiritual elegance, a man of towering moral height. His moral compass pointed out to millions around the world a moral mandate strong enough to prompt defiance of leaders bent on propping up the apartheid regime,” he said. Lone Voice Former President Rawlings recalled that at the collapse of the bi-polar world, and while the unipolar world was beginning to over-assert itself, Mandela was the one voice strong enough to call the rest of the world to order over the excesses in Iraq, saying that he was that moral conscience of the world whose voice the West dared not disobey. “Only Mandela could say ‘enough is enough’,” he said, maintaining that Mandela’s selflessness transcended continental boundaries, while his activism and endearing fortitude helped blaze the trail and made it possible for the Black man to be acceptable to the psyche of humanity and White supremacists. That strength to fight for the common good, he said, made it easier for US President Barack Obama to be seen as a potential leader and eventually voted into office as a leader. “What will now be lost to the world is the unifying effect of a man who held to his sense of purpose in the face of Western governments who branded him for years as a terrorist when he was a dignified freedom fighter.”  

The Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Ms Lauretta Lamptey, has proposed that the government set up a democracy fund to support independent governance institutions. She said the country needed strong and independent institutions which had predictable sources of funding, the right number of personnel, as well as demonstrated commitment and political will, to combat corruption. Presenting a statement on the state of corruption in Ghana on the theme, "Zero corruption — 100 per cent development", at a ceremony to commemorate the 10th International Anti-corruption Day in Accra yesterday, Ms Lamptey said the government needed to invest sufficiently in the proposed fund to win the fight against corruption. Progress Ms Lamptey reported that from 2012 to date, 85 complaints on abuse of office had been processed — 26 in relation to misappropriation and embezzlement, eight complaints had to do with conflict of interest, seven concerned with bribery, eight  on extortion and two on breaches of the code of conduct for public officers. She added that currently, CHRAJ was sensitising the public to avenues for safe reporting of corruption and impropriety and encouraged the public to use particularly the Whistleblowers Act to report corruption.  She gave an overview of Ghana's review under the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), noting that although the review was still in progress, it had emerged that though Ghana had a relatively good legal framework to combat corruption, it still needed to enact the Public Officers Conduct Bill, the Whistleblowers (Amendment) Bill, the Witness Protection Bill and the Right to Information Bill. Fighting corruption The Director of the Economic and Organised Crimes Office (EOCO), Mr Kweku Akpadi Mortey, answering questions on investigations conducted by CHRAJ and the outcomes, said investigations took time and resources to complete. He said putting out information on someone under investigation could make the public conclude that the person had really committed what he or she was being accused of. However, Mr Mortey said most of the time, the accusations had no merit and were based on mere hearsay. The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Henrietta Brew Appiah Oppong, who chaired the function, also reiterated the fact that institutions had to be strengthened to win the fight against corruption.  

  A 35-year-old Ghanaian based in Saudi Arabia, Theophilus Akai Baddo, and his friend met their untimely death when their car was swept into a drain in Teshie during a heavy downpour last Saturday. Baddo and Eric Asiedu, 28, unemployed, were said to have defied all caution from rescuers at the scene not to drive through flood waters that had collected after  torrential rains that swept through the Ledzokuku Krowor municipality and its environs between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. on that fateful day. Baddo, who resided at Hong Kong, near Lapaz in Accra, had returned home from Saudi Arabia to attend his father’s funeral. He decided to visit his friend, Asiedu, at the Teshie Nungua Estate, where the two enjoyed themselves at a popular spot in the area known as Busy Mouth Foods and Drinks. After the rains had subsided around 8 p.m., the two decided to drive away in an unregistered vehicle, with a plate number DP 2467. The vehicle was being driven by Baddo, but unfortunately for them, the car was swept by the strong currents of the drain next to the eatery joint. The drain had then overflowed its banks and the two had ignored calls from people who were rescuing trapped cars from the water not to go through it. The car was later found about a mile away from the eatery joint, while the two bodies were located in a far away mangrove at Sangonaa in Nungua, close to the sea. According to the District Officer in charge of the Nungua Police Station, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Ms Patience Akwetey, the police had a report from the Assembly Member for the Klowe Koonaa Electoral Area, Mr Robert Oko Odike, who lives close to where the bodies were found, about the two bodies in the area. She said a policeman was, therefore, dispatched to the scene and the bodies were picked and deposited at the Police Hospital morgue. Sources indicate that Baddo is the son of a late New Town Mantse, who was buried a few weeks ago.  

  The Ejisu-Juaben Municipal Directorate of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has begun an initiative to help reduce the incidence of maternal mortality which has become a major health issue in the country. In line with this, 30 midwives from the GHS, private health facilities and others from the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG), operating within the municipality, have been trained on long-term family planning methods and how to effectively administer them. The five-day training, funded by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), saw the participants learning more about Implanon, Jadelle and Intra Uterine Device. They were also taught how to insert and remove family planning kits, how to identify eligible clients, counselling among others. At the opening of the workshop, the acting Ejisu-Juaben Municipal Director of Health Services, Mrs Mary Amponsah-Koduah, urged the participants to take the training serious to acquire the needed skills. She said when family planning was taken seriously, it would in the short-term reduce unwanted pregnancy, prevent the transmission of sexually-transmitted diseases among other benefits. She added that it would also in the long run help reduce maternal mortality since women would plan their pregnancies so that they would not face challenges. The Ejisu-Juaben Municipal Co-ordinating Director, Mr Owusu Frimpong Boadu, pledged the assembly’s support for the health directorate to help improve quality healthcare delivery in the municipality. He said to help achieve the various Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the country; there was the need for all stakeholders in the country to contribute their quota to ensure total attainment of the goals. The Ejisu-Juaben Municipal Planning Officer, Mr Joseph Mills, on his part, said the UNFPA was currently supporting eight districts in the Ashanti and six others in the Brong Ahafo regions to build the capacity of health personnel to enhance their operations to reduce cases of maternal mortality. He said the programme, dubbed, “6th Country programme,” commenced in 2013 and ends in 2016. He added that for a start, the assembly had received GH¢46,283 for the first year for capacity building and procurement of equipment for maternal health, advocacy on behavioural change among other issues. Mr Mills said everything would be done to ensure the project achieved its objectives of enhancing quality healthcare delivery and improve maternal health issues in the municipality and the nation as a whole.  

  President John Dramani Mahama will join more than 90 world leaders to attend the memorial service for the late former President of South Africa at the Soweto FNB Stadium in Pretoria today. The event will divert the world’s attention to South Africa, as the gathering of world leaders is likely to be the largest in recent times. President Mahama had his inaugural Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum lecture at the Bard College in New York, United States of America (USA), resheduled to yesterday to enable him to leave for South Africa thereafter to participate in the memorial service. US President Barack Obama, the British Premier, David Cameron, and the French President, Francois Hollande, are among the world leaders to participate in the memorial service at the 95,000-capacity Soweto FNB Stadium. The UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, and three former US Presidents — Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton — have all confirmed their attendance to bid farewell to one of Africa’s legendary leaders. Mandela died last Thursday at the age of 95. South Africa’s Parliament yesterday held a special session to pay tribute to Mandela, who spent 27 years in jail before becoming the country's first Black President in 1994.  He served a single term before stepping down in 1999. A statement issued by the South African Foreign Ministry said the official memorial service would begin formally at 11 a.m.  It said President Jacob Zuma would address the official memorial service, while tributes would be paid by heads of state from the various regions of the globe, as well as representatives of international and regional organisations.  Other eminent persons are expected to also address the gathering. “As we invite people to participate in this event, we must make the additional point that the body of President Mandela will not be in position at the Official Memorial Service. President Mandela will lie in state at the Union Buildings only from Wednesday, December 11 to 13 December, 2013,” it said. The statement said provincial and local authorities had been requested to arrange transport for mourners from various parts of the country to the Soweto FNB Stadium and the overflow venues at the Ellis Park Stadium, the Orlando Stadium and the Dobsonville Stadium. Big screens would be installed at the overflow venues to allow mourners to follow proceedings at the FNB Stadium, in the company of compatriots and fellow sympathisers. It called on the people to cooperate and demonstrate patience and dignity if they were to be turned away. There would be road closures around the FNB Stadium and no cars would be allowed at the stadium.  It said mourners to the FNB Stadium could travel by Metrorail from all major stations in Gauteng.  

  The Paramount Chief of Tema, Osongaa Nii Adjei Kraku II, has cut the sod for the commencement of work on a $500,000 two-storey house made up of nine classrooms for the St Nicholas Preparatory School in Tema. The project involves the construction of classrooms for primary, junior and senior high school pupils and students. The school takes care of underprivileged children in the sprawling Tema Manhean fishing community.  The sod-cutting ceremony marked St Nicholas’ Day, which is observed globally on December 6 each year. St Nicholas was a bishop in the 4th century in Greece who developed a reputation for giving out gifts.  The project was initiated in February 2012, through the Maria Tsakos Foundation in Ghana with the motto: “Every child has a right to education.” Nii Kraku, who offered land for the project, commended the Tsakos Group for starting the development of the community by first planting a church.  There are also long-term plans for a vocational college to be constructed to teach information technology, and tourism. The school also hosts the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral of Accra. Nii Kraku lauded the decision by the group to attach a field and a basketball pitch to the project. Tsakos Group presented GH¢2,000 to Nii Kraku to support his education foundation. President of the Ghana Olympic Committee and the Ghana Athletics Association, Professor Francis Dodoo, commended the Tsakos Group for supporting Ghana to host major competitions for junior athletics for the past seven years. The school has Mrs Susan Lyddon and Mrs Vivienne King, a founding sponsor who has come from the UK to stay for one month, volunteering their services.  Madam Deborah Eleazar of the Tsakos Group expressed the hope that the community would make the project sustainable. The school is being supported by the Education and Book Appeal Ghana (Teabag), donations from the crew of  Mount “Nippon Princess”, currently at anchor off Tema and the MT “Salamina”, two vessels belonging to the Tsakos Group, and friends from the UK, fund raising initiatives including sponsored dinners and shooting parties. Captain Alkiviades Kappas, one of the founders of the school who donated a bus to the school, also takes care of the running costs.  Mr Andreas Bisbas, a UK-based sponsor, also donated a generator, while Atlas Copco provided food items covering a period of six-months to the school.  

  The Abeka Circuit of the Methodist Church, Ghana has climaxed its 10th anniversary celebration with a thanksgiving service at the Redemption Methodist Church at Abeka in Accra. The occasion, which also coincided with the 50th anniversary celebration of the Redemption Methodist Church and dedication of the chapel and the manse, had the theme: “Celebrating God’s Glory: Abeka Circuit at 10, Redemption Society at 50’’. The celebration brought together members of the church and dignitaries from the Methodist fraternity.  All dressed in their beautiful anniversary clothes, they danced their hearts out, to the glory of God. Among the dignitaries who graced the occasion were the Rt. Rev. Titus Awotwe Pratt, the Bishop of Accra, who dedicated the chapel and Manse to God; the Rt. Rev. Abraham Tagoe, the immediate past Bishop of Accra, Bro. Solomon Quaye Lartey, the Diocesan Lay Chairman and Mrs Christiana Aku Odoi, the immediate past Lay Chairman. Preaching the sermon, the Rt. Rev. Abraham Tagoe said the Almighty God, who had shown His abundant mercies on the church for all these years, would continue to shower His blessing on the church and the nation as a whole. He said God’s goodness was unmeasurable and it was up to the children of God to lead a godly life so that they could experience God’s favour anytime. The Superin-tendent Minister of the Abeka Circuit, the Very Rev. Eugene Amartei Armaah, said the celebration of 10 and 50 years as a circuit and a church would urge them on as the body of Christ to build a spiritually vibrant and economically viable circuit which was also socially inclusive. He said the holistic evangelism of Methodism which involved proclamation , social action and catechism were necessary to ensure the total growth of the church. The Abeka Circuit of the Methodist Church, Ghana, was inaugurated on March 22, 2003 with three societies namely: the Redemption Society, St Paul Society and the King of Glory Society, with the Very Rev. George Mensah as the first Superintendent  Minister. The Redemption Methodist Church, which also marked its 50th anniversary, was founded in February 1963 by Sister Lydia Adams, who started it as a prayer fellowship with the Clottey and Boye families. The church currently runs a school which caters for children from the pre-school level to Kindergarten. It also has a 33-seater TATA bus, which serves all the societies in the Abeka Circuit.  

  The Accra West Regional Knights and Ladies of Marshall have donated assorted items to the Children’s Ward of the Ridge Regional Hospital in Accra. The items included detergents, gauze, cot sheets, fruit juice, biscuits, Christmas hats and GH¢500. The Accra West Regional Grand Knight, Worthy Brother Yaw Osei-Poku, who led a delegation of Marshallans to present the items, explained that the society wanted to put smiles on the faces of the children and parents on admission at the hospital. He said it was in line with the charity works of the society. The Head of Child Health Department of the Hospital, Dr Nana Kwakyewa Sereboe, who received the items, expressed appreciation to the society for the gesture. She said the items had come in at the right time and appealed to other societies to emulate the example of the Marshallans.  

  The Ga South Municipal Assembly (GSMA) has invested about GH¢20 million into various development projects within the municipality from May 2012 to September this year. Out of the various projects, GH¢10 million was spent on removing schools under trees, construction of teachers quarters and providing resources to schools within the municipality. The remaining amount was spent on other community development projects including the construction of footbridges, landfill sites and supporting infrastructural projects within the municipality. Funds used for the implementation of the projects were derived from the District Development Fund (DDF), the Urban Development Fund (UDF) and the Internally Generated Fund (IGF). Speaking at a policy fair at Weija in Accra, the Chief Executive Officer of GSMA, Mr Jerry Akwei Thompson, said the assembly intended to generate more funds to support the development of all the communities within the municipality. About the policy fair The policy fair provided the platform for the assembly to showcase various development projects undertaken within the last one year. The event was also used to honour outstanding farmers whose contribution and work had enhanced the well-being of the people within the GSMA. Various items were also presented to beneficiaries of Local Enterprises and Skills Development Programme (LESDEP). According to Mr Thompson, the rationale behind the policy fair was to enable residents to have firsthand information of developmental projects the assembly had undertaken over the past year. “It would also afford them the opportunity to know what their monies were being used for. We expect all stakeholders to scrutinise these projects and give suggestions on  the way forward in our communities,” Mr Thompson said. He said since GSMA had a lot of potential in the areas of tourism, farming, estate development and sound environment for business, it would be prudent for stakeholders to team up with the assembly in public private Partnership (PPP) arrangement to provide social services to the people. Government’s interventions to support farmers Mr Thompson said the government had introduced the passbook system of fertiliser purchase to replace the coupon system, adding: “this allows farmers to purchase fertiliser at the same price anywhere in the country.” “There is a subsidy of 50 per cent on every bag of fertiliser purchased. The subsidy covers three types of fertiliser and other types will be subsidised in the near future,” he said.  

  Mfantseman Municipal Police Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police David Ashun, has urged drivers to help make Christmas and Easter festivities happy occasions and not mournful ones. Addressing the drivers’ union in the Mfantseman municipality at Mankessim, DSP Ashun said it was unfortunate that these joyous occasions (of which the saviour of mankind was born and when he sacrificed his life to save the world) had become tragedies in some homes because of careless behaviour of some drivers. He said the police would be resolute on recalcitrant drivers during the coming festivities, and appealed to them to ensure that they complied with driving regulations. DSP Ashun called on them to desist from speeding, overtaking at wrong spaces and overloading. He appealed to commercial transport owners not to put pressure on their drivers to make the daily sales fixed for them at all cost and cautioned against driving while drunk. He said from January to November, 121 accidents occurred involving 174 vehicles in which 34 people died and 113 people were injured.     Chairman of the GPRTU, Mr Oscar Kweku Appiah, expressed gratitude to the police commander for organising the meeting to remind drivers of the things they were not expected to do to ensure accident-free Christmas. He assured that the drivers would cooperate with the police to ensure that no accident was recorded during the festivities. -GNA  

  Some staff members of the Koforidua branch of Barclays Bank  have engaged in an activity hitherto unknown in banking. It was an evangelisation tour of the Koforidua Prison during which they mingled with the inmates and sing, danced and shared the gospel with the prisoners after which they made personal contributions to purchase some detergents and consumables for them. The event dubbed: “Make a Difference Day (MAD)” was aimed at making life bearable for the prisoners and also to help in reforming them for a decent life after they leave the prison. Joy and sorrow It was indeed a mixture of joy and sorrow as many of the inmates and some staff members of the bank could not hold back their tears as the bank officials, led by Messrs Kwasi Mante and Augustus Sey,  branch and operations managers respectively, and Mr Kwabena Osei Kufuor, a Banking Hall Executive took turns to advise the inmates. That was after two psychiatric nurses from the Koforidua Regional Hospital, Messrs Charles Ntim and Emanuel Kwadwo Dei, had also taken the inmates through life after prison.  The inmates, totalling 656, made up of the young and elderly, some in their early 70s who were given the Word of God, were also counselled on how to make ends meet and deal with stigmatisation after they come out of the of the prison. Suicide Some of them committed suicide because most of the inmates after serving their sentences were considered outcasts by families, friends and the society in general. Charles Ntim reminded the inmates that every human being was faced with challenges and that their present situation should not make them feel as outcasts which will make them go to the extreme of committing suicide, which to him was condemned by God.