Millennium bug, Africa's aviation industry to face boycott unless ...

Assembly to sponsor teacher trainees

Educationist urges return to basics in the teaching of grammar in schools

Tamale celebrates Nurses’ week

Book on castles and forts launched

Scholars asked to help preserve values of Ghanaian culture

252 million cedis for agric in Volta region

Church calls for investigation of assault on pastor

Accra (Greater Accra), 14^th May ’99 -

Most airports in Africa may face a possible embargo on their operations if adequate data on their compliance to the millennium bug is not provided by the end of June 1999.

Mr Gabriel Wolde, International Air Transport Association (IATA) Co-ordinator of Africa's Y2K project, said in Accra on Thursday that little information has so far been gathered on the operations of most airports on the continent.

"Apart from Cairo airport which has been visited and rated among category one, the rest of Africa is categorised into two and three.

"For category two and three we don't have much information to determine their readiness for year 2000," Mr Wolde told participants at the on-going Africa Region Y2K Conference.

The Conference which opened on Wednesday has brought together high-level officials from 45 African countries and selected world bodies.

Under the theme "Getting Africa ready for the year 2000" the conference is aimed at raising public awareness of the Y2K problem in Africa and produce an action plan for the region.

The Y2K problem is an anticipated breakdown of computer systems throughout the world at the turn of year 2000.

"This is a very sensitive issue and we need the facts and more information on aviation operations to make decisions," Mr Wolde said.

He said as part of a co-ordinated programme of the 260-member IATA, questionnaires have been issued out to airports of member countries, but the response from Africa is "very slow."

"What it means is that most airlines cannot fly to such airports in year 2000," he said.

Mr Wolde said the interdependence of airlines, airports, air traffic services and suppliers of aviation inputs makes it imperative for the questionnaires to be returned by June ending.

"The more information we provide the more confidence we create for the airlines to make decisions."

Already, he said, some large commercial airlines have decided not to fly on January one, 2000, but some have rescinded that decision because of adequate information IATA has gathered on the major international airports in the world.

"We definitely need information on the African airports and we require everyone to understand the importance of the information we are gathering."

Mr Wolde said this requires more efforts in respect of collaboration with the airlines to reduce the millennium tension.

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Elmina (Central Region) 14^th May ‘99 –

One hundred and sixteen teachers are needed to fill vacancies in primary and junior secondary schools in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA) district of the Central Region.

Mr Thomas Austen Ankumah, District Chief Executive of the KEEA, who announced this at a meeting of the assembly at Elmina on Wednesday, said 68 teachers are needed for primary schools and the remaining 48 for junior secondary schools.

Mr Ankumah said the assembly is working out modalities to sponsor teacher trainees to be selected from the district level as from the 1999/2000 academic year.

The sponsored teachers will be bounded to serve the district for three years on completion of their courses.

The sponsorship, he said is in line with the directive that the district assemblies should institute sponsorship schemes to meet the shortage of qualified teachers in the rural and other disadvantaged areas. The government will bear the allowances to be paid to the trainees.

Mr Akumah said the district has disbursed an amount of 100 million cedis from its poverty alleviation fund, adding that 115 farmers had benefited from a tractor service to plough their maize farms.

Mr Ankumah said the youth in the four traditional areas namely Komenda, Edina, Eguafo, Abrem are making good use of the 'youth in agriculture pilot project' by forming groups and cultivating maize and cassava and going into fish processing.

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Kumasi (Ashanti), 14^th May ’99 –

Mr I.K. Gyasi, a retired educationist, has advocated for the teaching of "traditional English grammar in a more conscious manner" in schools rather than allowing pupils to merely pick such grammatical skills only in the course of reading.

In addition, teachers should learn to use the dictionary well and teach pupils to appreciate its use in checking grammar, tenses and spellings for their correctness, he said.

Mr Gyasi said this in Kumasi on Thursday at a forum on improving education in the Kumasi metropolis organised by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) and the metropolitan directorate of education for educationists, chiefs, assembly members and various stakeholders of education development in the Bantama and Manhyia sub-metros.

The forum, a follow-up to the recently held regional education conference in Kumasi, sought to bring all stakeholders in education together to discuss problems militating against the smooth performance of the educational sector and seek remedies to them.

Mr Gyasi, who spoke on "Strategies for Improving English in Schools", urged the government and parents to do more in terms of supplying sufficient learning and teaching materials to enable teachers produce desired results.

"Teachers are not magicians; they can do as much … there is no teacher that can teach English well when the required books are not available", he said.

Mr A.A. Daramanu, Ashanti Regional Director of Education, advised the public to desist from encroaching upon school premises, saying schools need serene and quiet environments to ensure sound performance.

He appealed to chiefs to support efforts of school authorities at protecting such lands from not only encroachers but also recalcitrant persons who sometime use the compound to engage in anti-social activities.

Mrs. Margaret Benneh, Kumasi Metropolitan Director of Education, urged chiefs, religious leaders, parents and the community as a whole to get actively involved in school activities.

She said schools with community involvement now perform more creditably than those, which are denied the involvement and participation of the community.

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Tamale (Northern Region), 14^th May ’99 –

The Deputy Northern Regional Minister, Mr San Nasamu Asabigi has called on the ministry of Health to institute a mechanism to screen persons who want to join the nursing profession.

" Merely passing an examination should not be adequate to qualify people to enrol into nursing institutions. The profession should be reserved for those with an innate desire to serve mankind, and not those who see it only as a means of livelihood".

This was contained in a speech read on his behalf by an Assistant Director at the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC), Mr Patrick Akobea, at the launching of this year's nurses week celebration in Tamale which is on the theme, "Celebrating nursing’s past, claiming the future".

Mr Asabigi said though inadequate remuneration and motivation may be cited for the unprofessional attitude of some nurses, "those who venture into nursing must recognise that theirs is a humane profession, which demands tolerance, selflessness and a general sense of discipline".

He urged the nurses to reflect their past and envisage the challenges ahead by infusing a new sense of professionalism and re-emphasise the importance of discipline and commitment to duty.

Mr Asabigi asked the nurses to use the week to promote the culture of personal hygiene and sanitation among the people and draw attention to the menace of HIV/AIDS in the society.

Activities planned for the week include lectures and educational campaigns to raise awareness on the dangers of HIV/AIDS.

The nurses would also take stock of the past and evolve strategies to improve health delivery and their relationship with their clients.

The regional Director of Health Services, Dr. Sylvester Anemana announced the Ministry's intention to replace all obsolete equipment at the Tamale Genaral Hospital and district health institutions.

In addition, the Genaral Hospital would be upgraded into a teaching hospital.

He appealed to medical staff to take good care of all equipment by maintaining them regularly.

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Accra (Greater Accra), 14^th May ’99 -

A book titled "Castles and Forts of Ghana" was launched in Accra on Thursday with high expectations of the boost it would give to the country's tourism promotion drive.

The 105-page book, with 120 photographs and engravings and two maps, was published by Ghana Museums and Monuments Board (GMMB). It was outdoored at a news conference in Accra.

The book in two parts, a general introduction, and case studies of three castles and 12 selected forts, discusses their past and present uses.

With the text written by Professor Kwesi J. Anquandah of the Department of Archaeology, University of Ghana, and pictures by Mr Thierry Secretan, a French photo-journalist, the book touches on the types of architecture of the castles and forts which date between 1482 and 1868.

Mr Fritz Baffour, Chairman of GMMB, said proceeds from the sale of the book would be used to support activities of GMMB and preservation of the country's cultural heritage.

He said it is high time Ghanaians realise that culture is not only to be admired but also developed to make money for the country.

Prof. Anquandah said Ghana has 80 castles, forts and lodgings all of which have local and international flavour.

"The Europeans who built them, the Africans who were sent through them into slavery and Ghanaians on whose soil they are situated all have a stake in it".

Mr Secretan observed that the castles and forts are emotional places for both Europeans and African-Americans adding that "they have become symbolic 'Gates of Return' to Africans in the Diaspora who are coming back to their roots".

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Kumasi (Ashanti), 14^th May ’99 -

Nana Akuoko Sarpong, Presidential Staffer for Chieftaincy Affairs, has called on Ghanaian scholars to strive to preserve the values and norms of the Ghanaian culture through their writings and publications.

He observed that proverbs in particular, which form a vital and concrete aspect of language, could be put down in book form for the benefit of generations yet unborn.

Nana Akuoko Sarpong, who is also the chairman of the National Commission on Culture, made the call when he launched a book entitled "Akan Mmebusem Bi", written by Agyewodin Adu Gyamfi Ampem, Acherensuahene in Kumasi on Wednesday.

The book is a collection of Akan proverbs and the translation of such proverbs into English so as to bring their meanings more clearly to those who will want to adorn their speeches with Akan proverbs.

Nana Akuoko Sarpong stated that proverbs are crucial in effective communication in every language and have the tendency to straighten the distortions that have prevented the nation's ancient values from contributing to global wisdom.

He commended the author of the book which, he said, "will now serve as an aid to avoiding the pitfalls in our daily discourse especially as dialects are nowadays suffering too many intrusions that are contributing to the degeneration of the purity of languages".

Agyewodim Adu Gyamfi Ampem, who is also the chairman of the University of Science and Technology (UST) Council, said his motive for writing the book is to contribute to the preservation of proverbs which he described as an important attribute of our culture.

Nana Kwadwo Nyarko III, President of the Brong-Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs and a member of the Council of State, who presided, said proverbs are not the monopoly of chiefs.

They form a unique part of culture and are, therefore, at the disposal of all and sundry. "The ability to use them effectively is the hallmark of traditional purity."

Resigha Limited, a cocoa buying company, bought the first copy of the book for one million cedis.

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Ho (Volta Region), 13^th May ’99 –

The Volta region has received 252 million cedis towards the implementation of the Government's youth in agriculture programme, Alhaji Seidu Iddi, regional minister, announced at a meeting of the region’s house of Chiefs at Ho on Tuesday.

Chiefs should therefore encourage the youth in their communities to form identifiable groups to take advantage of the programme.

Alhaji Iddi said the youth in agriculture programme is crucial to the Government because of its potential for job creation, increased agriculture production and curtailment of the rural-urban drift among the youth.

He said other credit facilities instituted by Government to create jobs for the youth include a small-scale business assistance fund, district assembly common fund, poverty alleviation fund and the village infrastructural projects.

Alhaji Iddi told the chiefs that there are plans to rehabilitate roads in the region as well as construct new ones with attention on the Northern parts of the region and Ho township, while the Keta sea defence wall project will also be executed.

He assured Chiefs in the region of Government's commitment to social justice and equity in the distribution of development projects.

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Accra (Greater Accra), 13^th May ’99 –

Victory Bible Church on Thursday appealed to the government and law enforcement agencies to investigate an incident in which the Reverend Tackie Yarboi, General Overseer of the church, was brutalised by thugs believed to have been ordered by Sakumowulomo.

A statement issued in Accra said on Sunday, May nine, seven VW LT buses full of people who claimed to have been sent by the Sakumowulomo entered the church's premises at Awoshie wielding broken bottles, stones, canes, sticks and knives.

The group, who claimed they had been sent by Sakumowulomo, seized three of the loud speakers of the Church and drove away with them.

According to the statement, Rev Tackie Yarboi and four elders of the church followed the group to the residence of the Sakumowulomo at Bukom to verify their claim.

"When they got to Bukom, close to the house of the Sakumowulomo, many young men surrounded and started heckling them, especially Rev. Tackie Yarboi."

It said Sakumowulomo himself ordered the young men to brutalise Rev Tackie Yarboi. "Everyone pounced on them and they were beaten to the extent of using sticks, stones and other objects."

The statement said the pastor sustained a cut on his head, had a swollen jaw and bruises on his body.

"What happened on Sunday proved that the Ga Traditional Council is bent on going to any extent, including looting, brutalising and destroying property, in a bid to enforce the ban on drumming without recourse to the appropriate law enforcement agencies."

The statement said the church has therefore appealed to the Ghana Pentecostal Council, the Christian Council of Ghana, and the Police Striking Force to act quickly to avert the aggravation of the situation in the interest of peace and religious co-existence.

Victory Church was one of the Churches that was attacked last Friday and Sunday by groups of people in a bid to enforce the ban on drumming imposed by the Ga Traditional Council as a prelude to the Ga Homowo Festival.

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