Incentive package to entice teachers to deprived areas
Halt activities of Fulani herdsmen - MPs appeal
Bill to expedite land cases before parliament
Ministry collecting data for extension of telephone services
MP calls for development of Tetteh Quarshie Roundabout
Incentive package to entice teachers to deprived areas
Accra (Greater Accra), 7th July 99 --
The Ministry of Education is considering an incentive package, including job security, job satisfaction and the welfare needs of teachers, especially those in deprived areas.
Mr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, the sector Minister, who announced this in Parliament on Tuesday, explained that the incentives under the three broad areas, would help avoid the tendency to focus on the type of incentive that might not address peculiar conditions in any given situation.
Besides, he said, the Ministry intends to adopt a holistic approach to the issue, using inputs from all stakeholders, including the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS), religious and non-governmental organisations.
The Minister was responding to a question on what incentive package the Ministry intends to institute to entice trained teachers to deprived areas, especially the Afram Plains District, in view of the poor staffing position of basic schools in the area.
The question stood in the name of Mr Kwakye Addo, NDC-Afram Plains South.
Mr Spio-Garbrah told the House that under the broad incentives, the Ministry intends to address the issues of delays in the payment of salaries, particularly for newly-trained teachers, sustaining the confidence of teachers, opportunity for self-improvement, provision of school infrastructure and timely distribution of supplies and logistics.
He said communities would be empowered to play a major role in the delivery of quality education, through existing structures like district education oversight committees, the parent-teacher associations, school management committees, school governing councils, among other bodies.
He said the Ministry had given approval for the sale of 300 motor cycles and 2,500 bicycles, imported under the basic education sector investment programme credit of the International Development Association (IDA), at reduced prices to teachers, especially those in deprived areas to enhance their mobility.
Payment for the means of transport is to be made by instalments through monthly deductions.
Mr Spio-Garbrah told the questioner that as part of efforts to encourage the retention of teachers posted to the Afram Plains, the Ministry will provide four-unit teacher accommodation blocks in 10 communities in the area.
About a proposal by teachers in the Afram Plains that a "special teachers award" be instituted on circuit basis, the minister said the Ministry would wish that this was discussed first in the district assemblies due to its administrative, organisational and financial implications.
On what plans the ministry has to enable students in private tertiary institutions to benefit from the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Loan Scheme, Mr Spio-Garbrah told the questioner that under PNDC Law 276 (1992) which established the scheme, only students in public tertiary institutions qualify for it.
"Whichever way one looks at the law, the Minister has no discretionary power in this matter", he said.
He said, however, that there might be the need to amend the law to reflect the current realities on the ground.
Such an amendment would also broaden the sources of students' loans beyond the SSNIT scheme and also provide various criteria for eligibility to focus principally on needy students.
The Minister said the scheme now covers 24 tertiary institutions with a total eligible enrolment of 45,700.
He noted that the scheme as it is being operated now, needs appropriate changes to make it sustainable. He said it was for this reason that President Jerry John Rawlings, in his last sessional address to Parliament, called for a national education fund to raise resources outside the budget to finance all aspects of education.
The minister was asked about what plans the Ministry has to provide St Fidelis Secondary School at Tease, in the Afram Plains, with additional staff accommodation and an administration block.
Mr Spio-Garbrah replied that the ministry had received the request and that it would be processed and included in its investment programme for consideration in next year's budget.
He said the budgetary allocation for the Ministry is inadequate to cater, at the same time, for all requests by the 110 districts for infrastructural development in the education sector.
He announced that for this year, 580 million cedis has been provided in the budget for the provision of infrastructural facilities in the district.
The allocation will go into the renovation of five bungalows, completion of a three-storey boys dormitory, construction of office block and a bungalow for the district director of education at Donkorkrom Agricultural Secondary School.
It will also cater for the provision of water, construction of access road and a playing field, carpentry and joinery and masonry workshop, completion of two bungalows, as well as procurement of teaching/learning equipment for Amankwakrom Fisheries and Agricultural/Technical School.
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Halt activities of Fulani herdsmen - MPs appeal
Accra (Greater Accra), 7th July 99-
Parliament on Tuesday expressed concern about the negative activities of Fulani herdsmen in some parts of the country, especially in the Northern and Brong-Ahafo regions.
Members said apart from the wanton destruction of crops, the activities of the herdsmen also lead to the degradation of the environment.
They were, therefore, of the consensus that if the current influx of alien Fulani herdsmen is not checked their activities will impact negatively on the economy.
Making a statement on the "Influx of Fulani Herdsmen in Sawla/Kalba" on the floor of the House, Mr Joseph Trumah Bayel, Member of Parliament (MP) for Sawla/Kalba, stated that the presence of the herdsmen in his constituency poses a threat to his constituents.
He said the crops of his constituents are being destroyed by the numerous cattle of the Fulanis, which they send to feed during the night when everybody is asleep.
"Before the farmer gets up in the morning and goes to his farm, he finds the farm completely destroyed by these animals. Since nobody can identify animals by their footprints, they normally get away leaving the poor farmer helpless and hapless."
Mr Bayel bemoaned the bad practices of these Fulani herdsmen and said, apart from destroying people's farms and degrading the environment, they also steal cattle belonging to the same farmers as they drive their animals along, have sex
in the bush, and threaten or beat up farmers who dare challenge that their crops have been destroyed.
He said these practices have impoverished most farmers in his constituency so much so that if immediate action is not taken to stem the tide, his constituency will soon be declared a disaster zone.
The MP pointed out that, as peace-loving people, Ghanaians cannot continue to accept all manner of persons who especially have destructive tendencies into their midst and, therefore, appealed to traditional rulers, opinion leaders, and
assemblymen to co-operate with all agencies concerned to flush out these alien herdsmen.
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Bill to expedite land cases before parliament
Accra (Greater Accra), 7th July 99 -
A bill to expedite the hearing and reduce cost in disputes over stool lands was laid before Parliament on Tuesday.
Known as the Stool Lands Boundaries Settlement (Repeal) Bill, it replaces the Stool Lands Boundaries Settlement Decree 1973 (NRCD 172).
When enacted it will transfer to the mainstream judiciary the functions currently performed by the Stool Lands Boundaries Settlement Commissioner.
A memorandum accompanying the bill said under the 1973 decree, disputes in respect of or relating to stool lands boundaries are heard by a Stool Lands Commissioner who has the qualification of a high court judge.
Appeals from the decisions of the commissioner are heard by an appeals tribunal set up under the decree, the chairman of which is a justice of a court of appeal.
There is only one commissioner who handles all stool lands boundaries disputes throughout the country.
"This apart from over-burdening the commissioner with too many cases, imposes a hardship on litigants and witnesses whose cases obviously take considerable time to dispose of, leading to the pile-up of disputes waiting to be dealt with".
The memo said the government is of the view that hearing of disputes of this nature outside the high court by the commissioner with its own appeals tribunal has not accelerated the disposal of such disputes.
If these cases are brought to the high courts, there will be the advantage of cases being distributed among high court justices that the chief justice may determine.
This will expedite action on the hearing and save litigants and witnesses time and money.
"Furthermore, an appeal from the high court would go to the court of appeal as any other appeal from the high court," the memo added.
This bill as amended makes provision for the transfer of the commissioner, his deputies and staff at the commissioner's office to such equivalent offices in the judiciary as the Chief Justice on the advice of the Judicial Council and in consultation with the Public Services Commission shall determine.
"Pending cases are transferred to the high court and, similarly pending appeals, are transferred to the Court of Appeal".
The commissioner is given six months to finish part heard cases pending before him immediately before the coming into effect of this act.
All assets, rights and liabilities of the Stool Lands Boundaries Commissioner are transferred to the judiciary, the memo said.
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Ministry collecting data for extension of telephone services
Accra (Greater Accra), 7th July 99 -
The Ministry of Communications is collecting data from potential communities, which can benefit from the extension of telephone facilities.
The sector Minister, Mr John Mahama who announced this in Parliament on Tuesday during "Question Time", said the extension would depend on demand for telephone lines.
Mr Mahama was reacting to a questioner, who wanted to know the Ministry's plans to provide Tease, in the Afram Plains South constituency, with telephone facilities to enhance socio-economic activities in the area.
He told the questioner, Mr Kwakye Addo, MP for the area, that the Ghana Telecom's current development programme for 1999 to 2003, does not cover Tease, but if the demand in the area is adequate, the extension would be undertaken.
The Minister said currently, 60 per cent of district capitals have been provided with telecommunication services, adding that it is the commitment of the government to connect the remaining districts to the national telecommunication system.
He announced that a feasibility study is currently being undertaken in the northern part of the country for a possible introduction of a rural telecommunication service.
If the study proves positive, a rural telephone company would be licensed to provide telecommunication services in the communities.
Asked how the Volta Region, especially Kpando, would fit into the scheme, Mr Mahama said part of the region is covered by Capital Telecom, a rural telecommunication service provider, and that Kpando would be connected to the national system by 2001.
On the introduction of a pre-paid card system to enable people to make calls in the comfort of their homes, the Minister said under the expansion programme of Ghana Telecom, this novelty is being considered to allow people to make calls to any part of the country.
Asked what measures the Ministry is taking to remedy the frequent breakdown of telephones at Donkorkrom, the Afram Plains District capital, Mr Mahama said the Ghana Telecom resolved the problem since April, this year.
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MP calls for development of Tetteh Quarshie Roundabout
Accra (Greater Accra), 7th July 99 -
A Member of Parliament on Tuesday called on the Ministry of Tourism and the Department of Parks and Gardens to develop the Tetteh Quarshie roundabout into an international tourist centre befitting the memory of Tetteh Quarshie.
Such a recreational centre should have shopping malls, transit hotels for tourists, restaurants and fountains, among other things. An independent authority should be entrusted with its management.
Mr Sampson Ottu Darko, NPP-Ga North who made the call in a statement to the house, said Tetteh Quarshie, who brought cocoa to Ghana, "deserves a fitting monument in his honour."
He said the roundabout, "possibly the biggest in West Africa, as it stands now covered with a semi-deciduous forest ... with no identification structure displaying its name is a sad reflection of the Ghanaian sense of appreciation."
Mr Darko said in the night, it poses a threat to vehicle owners and passengers who may be stranded there because there are no lights.
"In its present state the roundabout at best serves as a hide-out for criminals and social deviants and is, therefore, a dishonour to the memory of Tetteh Quarshie."
The member noted that monuments add aesthetic beauty to the landscape, serve as tourist attractions and therefore have economic relevance as well as academic values.
The strategic location of the roundabout, being on the Trans-African Highway, should be exploited to the full, the member added.
Ms Theresa Tagoe, NPP-Ablekuma South, commenting on the statement, said the Department of Parks and Gardens should do well to beautify roundabouts in the city.
''If nothing at all can be done at the Tetteh Quarshie Circle, at least we can plant some cocoa trees there,'' she said.
Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, deputy Eastern Regional Minister, said the government recognises the contribution that he made to Ghana hence the recent 10 billion cedis upgrading of the Tetteh Quarshie Hospital to a referral centre.
Mr Kojo Mama Adams, Deputy Brong Ahafo regional minister, said the government's programme of construction of roads and bridges is on course and just as Danquah and Kwame Nkrumah circle have been beautified, the Tetteh Quarshie Hospital will soon undergo a similar beautification work.
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