President John Dramani Mahama yesterday joined the chiefs and people of Assin Juaben in the Central Region to celebrate his 55th birthday. He distributed food, soft drinks, cloths, dresses, footwear and other items to children in the area. Supported by the First Lady, Lordina, their daughter, Farida, and the Chief of Staff, Mr Douglas Prosper Bani, the President cut a birthday cake, while children who attended the ceremony sang ‘Happy birthday’ for him. The First Family briefly joined the children to dance 'Azonto' during the celebration.  The chiefs present at the ceremony included the Kyidomhene of the Assin Atandanso Traditional Area, Nana Akogyei Yeboah I; the Adontenhene and acting President of the Assin Atandanso Traditional Council, Nana Kwantwi Barima II, and the Assin Juabenhene, Nana Asiedu Nyamaa II. The chiefs presented a citation which eulogised the astounding leadership qualities of the President to him. Reason for Assin Juaben celebration Citing the reason for choosing to celebrate his birthday at Assin Juaben, President Mahama recalled that during the electioneering last year, he had joined the chiefs and people of the town for the celebration of his 54th birthday and they had received him and his entourage very well. He said a couple of days after that, God granted him victory in the December 2012 election. Therefore, he said, he decided to come back so that the blessing and good luck that the people gave him during last year's celebration would continue to follow him to make the country more prosperous. The President described Assin Juaben as the most beautiful town in the country, as the environment was clean, while the houses had been painted well. He said he had adopted Assin Juaben as his second home and offered to build a small house on the land that Nana Yeboah had offered him. Projects President Mahama said he would support the construction of a kindergarten in the area and also facilitate the construction of a clinic. He indicated that he would discuss with the Ministry of Health the possibility of upgrading the Assin Nyankumasi Health Post into a polyclinic. Earlier, the President had inaugurated a public water closet toilet and a mechanised borehole sponsored by Nana Yeboah in the area. Chiefs In his remarks, Nana Barima said the fact that the President had joined the people of Assin Juaben for his birthday had brought honour to the town. He expressed the hope that now that President Mahama had adopted Assin Juaben as his second home, he would support the development of the town. Nana Barima prayed for God's continued protection and guidance for the President as he continued to lead the country.

President John Dramani Mahama has justified the decision of the Executive to cut their salaries by 10 per cent to support health care delivery, especially in rural areas, and challenged others to follow the example.   He said if all public sector employees followed the example and gave just two per cent of their salaries to build Community Health Programme and Service (CHPS) compounds, “we’ll be able to build 2,000 CHIPS compounds across the country”. Launching the Campaign for Accelerated Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA) and the Newborn Health Week celebration accountability report in Accra last Saturday, President Mahama urged others to follow the initiative by the government, instead of criticising it. The CARMMA accountability report, entitled, "Rising to Meet the Challenge of Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Ghana", captures the achievable commitments from 10 regions and 175 districts in the country to reduce maternal mortality. The theme for the launch is: "No woman should die giving life: The role of local authorities". Presenting the 2014 budget to Parliament on November 19, the Minister of Finance, Mr Seth Terkper had announced the 10 per cent pay cut in the salaries of all members of the Executive, including the President and his vice.  The initiative has, however, been described as a public relations gimmick by some political opponents.    CARMMA The  CARMMA is an African Union (AU) initiative to promote and advocate for the renewed and intensified implementation of the Maputo Plan of Action for Reduction of Maternal Mortality in Africa. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), with support from bilateral donors, has been the driving force behind CARMMA, pushing for its adoption and implementation at global, regional and national levels. The CARMMA was accepted in Ghana and launched at the national level by a former First Lady, Mrs Ernestina Naadu Mills, in Koforidua in 2009.  She championed its implementation in all the regions. More resources President Mahama pledged his commitment to allocate more resources to build more healthcare centres and train more midwives to ensure the delivery of timely and efficient health care to pregnant women. That, he said, was to guarantee a drastic reduction in the rate of maternal mortality in the country, since "any death is a death too many". For instance, he said, the amount that would accrue from the 10 per cent cut in his salary and those of the Vice-President, ministers of state and other government appointees, would be used to build 1,600  compounds by 2016. President Mahama challenged metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs) to take special interest in initiating and supporting efforts at reducing the rate of maternal mortality in their respective areas. He said the continued stay in office and renewal of the mandate of MMDCEs would depend on their ability to reduce the rate of maternal mortality in their respective areas.  He said the decision to index the performance of MMDCEs to the reduction of maternal mortality was consistent with the determination of the government to reduce the high incidence of child and maternal mortality to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).  The President said the current national figure of 320 maternal deaths for every 100,000 births was unacceptable. That was because the national figure was higher than the United Nations standard figure of 187 out of every 100,000 births. He explained that the policy to index the performance of MMDCEs to the reduction of maternal deaths was intended to commit them to own all health facilities and commit their finances to ensure quality health delivery services, particularly in the rural areas.   Preserve the lives of women President Mahama said Ghana had made remarkable progress in the other targets under the MDGs but indicated that it was trailing in achieving the target of significant reduction in the rate of maternal mortality. He mentioned the absence of healthcare facilities and the lack of trained midwives and nurses as the main causes of maternal mortality in the country. For instance, he said during one of his visits when he was the Member of Parliament for Bole-Bamboi, he came across a woman who had been in labour for two days. President Mahama said he used his car as an ambulance to transport the woman to a health care, from where they were referred to the Bole Hospital. He said the woman was finally transported to the Wa Hospital and indicated that she survived but the baby did not.   Congratulations The President lauded Mrs Naadu Mills for going round all the 10 regions to launch the CARMMA. He again thanked the Japanese government for buying into the vision of reducing maternal mortality by building some CHPS compounds in the Upper West Region. The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Akwasi Opong-Fosu, affirmed the commitment of MMDCEs to continue to support the efforts towards reducing the death of mothers during delivery. The UNFPA Resident Coordinator, Dr Bernard Coquelin, said maternal mortality was a developmental issue which required the participation of all stakeholders. He reassured Ghana of the UNFPA's readiness to continue to support efforts at reducing the rate of maternal mortality in the country. A professor at the Institute of African Studies of the University of Ghana, Prof Takyiwa Manu, who chaired the function, called for a collaborative effort among the government, healthcare providers and civil society organisations to eliminate or reduce the rate of maternal mortality in the country. "No woman should die from childbirth, but the statistics tell otherwise," she said.  Mrs Mills and Dr Coquelin were honoured for their support in the reduction of maternal mortality in the country.

The Katiejeli District Pastor of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana (E.P Church, Ghana), Reverend Mathew Emmanuel Moh, has called on pastors and church leaders to sensitise their members, especially women, to the activities of charlatans in the church. He said the sensitisation would enable many women to know their rights in the church and avoid falling victims to religious charlatans who were perpetuating all kinds of abuses against women in the name of religious rites and worship. Reverend Moh, who is also the Women’s Facilitator of the church, made the call in Tamale during the annual women’s conference of the E.P Church, Ghana. It was held on the theme “God of life, lead us to justice, peace and development of women” and drew participants from the church throughout the country. During such conferences, the women deliberate on problems that affect them and seek solutions from the leadership of the church to address them. Reverend Moh said some women fell victims to the activities and machinations of those charlatans as a result of desperation to find solutions to their problems and urged them to stop being desperate and approach God in faith and they would get solutions to their problems. He also used the occasion to call on pastors to preach against gender-based violence, as there were all kinds of discrimination against the girl-child, even in Christian homes. The Presbytery Synod Moderator of the E.P Church, Ghana, Rev. Humphrey Alidu, urged the women to let peace and love dwell among them. He said they could only live in love and harmony by being desirous of Christ at all times. “People claim to be walking in Christ whilst their works are those of darkness and evil and I urge you to shun all kinds of darkness and let the love of Christ dwell richly in you,” he admonished. The Women’s Desk Officer of the church, Reverend Mabel Morny, entreated women to be bold and champion issues that affect their lives. She particularly urged them to take active roles in the fight against climate change, as its consequences would be felt more by women than their male counterparts.

The Volta Regional Minister and Member of Parliament (MP) for Kpone- Katamanso, Mr Joseph Nii Laryea Afotey-Agbo, will grace the 25th District Session of the Teshie Presbyterian Church at Teshie in Accra next week as the Special Guest of Honour. The four-day conference is expected to be chaired by the District Minister of the Teshie Presbyterian Church, Rev. Victor Abbey, who also doubles as the Chairman of the District Session. It is scheduled to take place from December 5, 2013 to December 8, 2013, at the Peniel Presbyterian Church auditorium at Teshie on the theme, “The Fruit of the Holy Spirit and the Believer”. The conference will form part of activities marking the Silver Jubilee of the District Session and will offer a platform to deliberate on activities of the year under review. A thanksgiving church service will be held on Sunday, December 8, 2013, to climax the conference with Rev. Victor Abbey delivering the sermon.

Two more people have died in the two road accidents that occurred in the Ashanti region last Friday, bringing the death toll to 15. The new deaths, one each from the Dominase and Mfensi accidents, occurred last Friday night at hospitals where the victims were rushed to for medical attention.Other injured persons remained on admission at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, the Bekwai Government Hospital and the Dominase SDA hospital.Police sources said investigations into both accidents were on-going.Last Friday two fatal accidents claimed the lives of 13 people, while many others were critically injured.In the biggest of the accidents, an articulator truck collided with a Mercedes Sprinter passenger bus at Dominase killing nine people on the spot.The Kumasi-Assin Fosu passenger bus burst a tyre and swayed from its lane to collide with the oncoming articulator truck.In the second accident, four people were killed when a KIA Prado Mini passenger bus from Kenyasi in the Brong Ahafo region to Kumasi crashed into a tree at Mfensi.

Ghana's former President, Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings on Saturday joined thousands of mourners including Vice-President Paa Kwesi Amissah Arthur to mourn former National Democratic Congress Council of Elders member, Kwabena Kyere at Berekum in the Brong Ahafo region. Accompanied by NDC Vice Chairman Alhaji Huudu Yahaya, NDC Deputy General Secretary Kofi Adams and past Brong Ahafo Chairman of NDC, Alhaji Abdallah Ahmed Abdallah aka Alhaji PMC, President Rawlings paid his final respects to the late Kyere who died on October 6, 2013 at the age of 77.President Rawlings and his delegation also visited the home of Mr. Kwabena Kyere to console the widow, Veronica Adwoa Agyeiwaa Kyere. He also signed a book of condolence.The former President told Mrs. Kyere that her husband was a good man and will be sorely missed.The late Kwabena Kyere played several roles during President Rawlings' tenure as President and Head of State, first being appointed as District Secretary for Berekum, before rising to the position of Deputy Minister of Education and later Deputy General Secretary of the NDC. Until his passing he was a member of the NDC Council of Elders and Chairman of the Precious Minerals Marketing Company (PMMC). View photos in our galleries.

President John Dramani Mahama has appointed a former Minister for Interior, William K. Aboah, as his National Security Adviser. Mr. Aboah is a retired Commissioner of Police who was once the Head of the Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID). He has also served as the Director General of the Ghana Immigration Service.The former police chief is taking over from Brigadier General Joseph Nunoo-Mensah who is now Head of the Human Security Department of the National Security Council Secretariat. Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;} Born on June 4 1939, Mr. Aboah is a barrister and hails from Adukrom, Akuapem in the Eastern Region. He attended the Larteh Presby Boarding School from 1951 to 1954; the Workers College, Accra from 1965 to 1970; University of Ghana, Legon from 1978 to 1981 (LLB); the Ghana Law School, Accra 1981 to 1983 (BL); and the University College, London, UK from 1984 to 1986 (LLM). He was once a lecturer at the Police College where he taught Criminal Law and Criminal Investigations, and also served as Staff Officer/Secretary to the Inspector General Of Police (IGP) in 1982. Mr Aboah was in 1983 posted to the Ghana High Commission in London as Counsellor in charge of Passports and Immigration Section.

  The management of the School for the Deaf at Savelugu in the Northern Region has  appealed  to public-spirited organisations to support the school in the area of infrastructure and feeding of the students. The school, which was established in 1978,currently has a total of 283 students. The headmistress of the school,Madam Gertrude Dasah, made the appeal when  Zoomlion Ghana Limited donated food items and an unspecified amount to the school as part of their annual thanksgiving service. According to the headmistress, it was regrettable that criminals have been hovering around the school compound because there was no fence to prevent encroachment on the school premises. She further pointed out that it had become almost impossible for the authorities to control the students due to the lack of a fence. Madam Dasah observed that sometimes the students ran away from school and are usually found along the road, which poses  danger to their safety, as speeding vehicles on the Tamale-Bolgatanga highway could knock them down. She explained that in a particular instance, one of the inmates ran away and after days of search, he was found in the Karaga District. She pledged on behalf of the management of the school to make the students derive maximum benefits from the items donated to the school. The Regional Manager of Zoomlion, Mr Emmanuel Volsuuri, said the gesture was to express the company's love for the children. He stated that his outfit was aware that management of the school had been going through a lot of challenges to ensure that the students were catered for. "We care about the school and the children and that is why we have brought here six maxi-bags of rice,a gallon of Frytol cooking oil,and some money," he added. Touching on sanitation,the manager announced plans to establish a recycling plant in Tamale under the Universal Plastic Product Recycling Company. "This year we are saying thank you to our Creator because we have been able to admit the first batch of students to the African Institute of Sanitation and Waste Management,"he stated. Mr Volsuuri noted that there were several challenges facing  Zoomlion, which included bad media reports, human attitudes such as indiscriminate dumping of refuse,negative attitude towards workers of Zoomlion, lack of enforcement of metropolitan,municipal and district assembly bye-laws and open defaecation.