Blood suckers attack woman and son
District assemblies asked to behave as government agents
NDC Congratulates Okyenhene on successful installation
Canoe fishermen to benefit from Agric Bank package
Co-ordinating Council briefed on road programme for Volta Region
Donors meet government agencies
Workshop on Sustainable Development underway
Foreign Minister to meet diplomats over northern disaster
Blood suckers attack woman and son
Ho (Volta Region) 21 Oct. '99
An 11-year-old boy and his mother were on Wednesday attacked by three unidentified men who allegedly siphoned their blood in a bush between Lume-Ge and Matse in the Ho district.
Madam Ellen Anipa, 41, lost consciousness as a result of the incident and was brought to the Ho District Hospital by a taxi driver in critical condition. She is said to be recovering.
Charles Seayor was, however, treated and discharged.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in her hospital bed, Madam Anipah said they were travelling on foot from Lume-Ge to Matse, a distance of about three kilometres. Midway through the journey, the three men emerged from the bush and one of them attacked her from behind while another held her neck and pressed hard at her throat.
While being carried to the bush, Madam Anipah said she felt something being pressed against her nose and her arms being pricked with a needle.
Seayor told her mother later at the hospital that one of the men attacked him and covered his nose with a piece of cloth while he shouted for help.
It was at this juncture that the taxi driver emerged, rescued and took them to the hospital while the attackers fled into the bush.
Police confirmed the incident and said they would start investigations as soon as the victim was discharged from hospital.
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District assemblies asked to behave as government agents
Ho (Volta Region) 21 Oct. '99
Alhaji Seidu Iddi, Volta Regional Minister, has cautioned District assemblies against distancing themselves from central government decisions.
Complaints by some district assemblies that they have been limited by government directives in the use of the district assemblies' common fund tends to create the impression that they are not part of government, he said.
Addressing the second meeting of the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) on Wednesday, Alhaji Iddi said the utilisation of the common fund has always been guided by some principles which are not new.
"I wish to reiterate here that any district assembly that fails to comply with these directives will not have its supplementary budget estimates approved by my outfit," he warned.
Alhaji Iddi charged District Chief Executives and District Assemblies to step up control and supervision over the administrative, technical and political machinery in their areas of control to ensure strict and quick response to government directives, regulations and developmental requirements.
The assemblies were charged to make their statutory planning committees functional and to have the political will to implement planning schemes produced by technocrats to check haphazard planning.
Alhaji Iddi mandated district assembly statutory planning committees in the region to reject all building plans that do not conform to safety measures.
The assemblies were also asked to formulate strategic plans to increase the pace and volume of the local revenue generation and not over-rely on the increase of fees, rates and licences.
The regional minister also appealed to all stakeholders in the region's tourism industry to work hard to give the sector a big boost.
"Everybody who is well informed about tourism will tell you that the Volta Region has about the greatest number of tourism resources than any other region in Ghana," Alhaji Iddi stated.
District chief executives, presiding members and heads of departments attended the meeting.
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NDC Congratulates Okyenhene on successful installation
Accra (Greater Accra) 21 Oct. '99
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Thursday congratulated Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin II, Okyenhene, on his successful installation as the 35th Omanhene of Akim Abuakwa Traditional Area.
In a release signed by it's press secretary, Mr Vincent Asiseh, the party said "it is the conviction of the NDC that Osagyefo Amoatia II will follow the path of his predecessors to unite his people and galvanise their steadfast support into productive development of the Abuakwa state".
It said the NDC was in no doubt that Osagyefo Amoatia would be equal to the task ahead of him, given the vast experiences in his life.
"We are prepared to lend him our maximum support for his vision of growth and development for the state of Abuakwa and to bring development to all areas, irrespective of their political affiliation."
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Canoe fishermen to benefit from Agric Bank package
Winneba (Central Region) 21 Oct. '99
The Agricultural Development Bank has purchased six million cedis worth of fishing gear for supply to the Winneba branch of the Canoe Fishermen Co-operative Society in a form of a loan, Nenyi Kweku Mbir, Chief Fisherman of Winneba told the GNA at Winneba.
Nenyi Mbir, who is also an executive member of the Central Regional Secretariat of the Ghana National Association of Farmers and Fishermen (GNAFF), said members would work hard to re pay the facility to qualify them for more financial support.
Nenyi Mbir who is also the region's Monitoring Officer for premix petrol, praised the government for providing adequate fuel to facilitate the work of fishermen in the Region.
He advised his colleagues to abide by the fishing laws to promote the industry and warned that any fisherman caught Infringing the laws would be punished.
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Co-ordnating Council briefed on road programme for Volta Region
Ho (Volta Region) 21 Oct. '99
A total of 64.7 kilometres of trunk roads in the Volta Region are to be upgraded to bitumen surfacing next year.
This is in addition to a number of major road projects, including town roads, on which decisions have already been taken.
Mr Kwadwo Aboagye, Volta Regional Director of the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA), announced this when he briefed a Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) meeting on Wednesday.
Mr Aboagye said the World Bank would finance 3.7 kilometres of roads in Ho town in addition to five kilometres to be financed from the Road Fund.
On the Sogakope-Fume road project, he said problems holding back progress were being tackled to facilitate its construction.
The Jasikan-Nkwanta-Damanko road will be divided and awarded to a number of contractors for pre-financing.
Mr Aboagye said 20 kilometres of the Krachi-Borae Number Two road would be tackled in addition to 10 kilometres of the Krachi-Borae road.
The Bridges Department of the GHA has designed a bridge to replace the Kpando-Gbefi bridge, which has been damaged for some time now.
Mr Henry Danso, Regional Feeder Roads Engineer, said his department would re-gravel 261.5 kilometres of feeder roads in the region next year.
A total of 228.6 kilometres will be rehabilitated while 28 kilometres will be tarred, maintenance work done on 1500 kilometres of roads while 55 kilometres of culverts and four bridges would be provided, Mr Danso said.
He added that a 5.5 kilometres of school roads would also be tackled.
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Donors meet government agencies
Accra (Greater Accra) 21 Oct '99
A one-day Consultative Meeting between government ministries, departments and donor agencies opened in Accra on Thursday with a call on them to adopt a strict and comprehensive method of implementing projects.
The meeting, which is in three phases, will look at the process of project implementation in Ghana, implementation of a comprehensive development framework and issues such as supervision, management agreements and procurement procedures.
Mr Victor Selormey, Deputy Minister of Finance, said: " we need to address the increasing malfeasance in the system and quickly too, if we are to be able to implement plans and programmes drawn with institutional partners".
He said beneficiaries of such programmes must be fully involved at the conception stage in order to avoid the impediments some communities place in the path of implementing agencies.
The discussions are taking place against the background of the World Bank Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF) Initiative, which seeks to bring together development partners in support of sector programmes conceived within the country's long term development vision.
Ghana is one of the few pilot countries for the CDF initiative.
Mr Selormey said the government and donor agencies have identified a number of
constraints that should be addressed to ensure effective utilisation of both internal and external resources.
"These are, co-ordination and collaboration among donors; the development of adequate monitoring and evaluation systems and ensuring that outcomes provide feed-backs into policy making."
He said notwithstanding the various co-ordination initiatives, it is necessary for the government to internalise these initiatives and continue to be in the driving seat for project and programme formulation at the country-level.
" To that effect, there is the need to strengthen the technical capacity of sector ministries, decentralised departments, district assemblies and implementing agencies in the areas of policy formulation and analysis, project planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation."
Mr Selormey said the government will keep exploring modalities for addressing the existing gaps, while continuing the dialogue alongside the on-going private sector reforms by the Civil Service.
Mr Peter Harrold, Country Director of the World Bank, said Ghana has been given the task of implementing the country programme because it has proved competent and has the structures in place for programme implementation.
Mrs Agnes Guimba Ouedraogo, acting UNDP Resident Representative, said the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) under the auspices of the UNDP has been co-operating in a number of activities.
She cited the strengthening of National Development Planning capacities, establishment of the National Development Planning Commissions and budgeting units at district levels.
Others are in the development and capacity strengthening of national consultancy and the Ghana Stock Exchange.
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Workshop on Sustainable Development underway
Accra (Greater Accra) 21 Oct. '99
A one-day workshop aimed at strengthening the capacities of planners and decision-makers in the Accra metropolis and to integrate environmental concerns in development programmes opened in Accra on Thursday.
The workshop, organised under the auspices of the Capacity 21 Programme and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, will also encourage the use of science and technology for sound environmental and natural resources management.
Giving an overview of the Programme, Mr Suleman Osman Saaka, National Co-ordinator of the UNDP-Ghana Capacity 21 Programme, noted that the main development challenge of the nation is "to chart a course for development that is sustainable and environmentally sound over the long-term.
"This implies accelerating economic growth for the purpose of moving the bulk of the population out of poverty and meeting the rising expectations of a rapidly growing population".
In view of this task, Ghana initiated the Capacity 21 Programme in collaboration with the UNDP to harmonise economic and social development goals with environmental consideration following the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
The Programme is based on three policy documents comprising the National Environmental Action Plan, the draft National Science and Technology Policy and the Vision 2020 Policy Framework.
Under the programme, initiated in 1997, the capacities of national institutions involved in environmental management and development were to be strengthened to support district, regional and national planning in a sustainable manner stressing the role of science and technology.
Mr Saaka said the capacity building programme includes workshops, study tours, exchange programmes, research and networking for stakeholders at various levels of society.
Eight districts including Accra were selected for a pilot scheme after which it would be extended to Ga Dangme West, Juaboso-Bia, Afram Plains, Tolon Kunbumgu, Asebu-Abora Kwamankese, Sekyere West and Bongo.
Nii Teiko Tagoe, Co-ordinator, Environmental Programmes, AMA. urged the participants to consider all the environmental problems facing the city in their deliberations.
"The problems in Accra go beyond the disposal of liquid and solid waste. We have problems with erosion caused by the sea, deforestation, air pollution by vehicles and over-population in certain parts."
Resource persons for the workshop are from the National Planing Development Commission, Regional Co-ordinating Council, the Ministry of Science and Technology and Capacity 21 Programme Secretariat.
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Foreign Minister to meet diplomats over northern disaster
Accra (Greater Accra) 21 Oct. '99
Mr. Victor Gbeho, Minister of foreign Affairs, will be briefing all heads of Diplomatic Missions and international organisations accredited to Ghana, on the disaster situation in the three Northern regions as a result of the recent floods.
A foreign ministry statement in Accra on Thursday said the meeting will take place at the Accra International Conference Centre on Monday, October 25, at 1500 hours.
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