Story: Kofi Yeboah, Kitase
Residents of Kitase and its environs in the Akuapem South District of the Eastern Region have expressed concern over the indiscriminate installation of masts by mobile telecommunication, broadcasting and Internet operators in the area.
According to the residents, the closeness of masts to their houses was exposing them to direct radiation from the equipment, which they claimed could cause breast cancer, miscarriage, brain tumours and other diseases.
Furthermore, the residents expressed the fear that the masts posed the threat of physical harm to people nearby in the event of their collapse.
One of the masts at Ahwerease is located close to the local basic school.
The masts are scattered around residential areas at Kitase, Peduase, Ahwerease and other towns on the Akuapem Ridge. Some of them have developed visible signs of corrosion as a result of the high rate of humidity in the area but, according to the residents, the operators had not been undertaking maintenance works on them.
Among radio stations whose masts are located in the area are Peace FM, Channel R and Radio Gold.
The residents further alleged that the red warning lights on top of some of the towers had ceased functioning, posing a great worry to aircraft in view of the fact that the area was a major route for aircraft, particularly helicopters.
According to the residents, many of the masts had been installed without recourse to safety standards, such as guard wires to give them a firm balance and lightning arrestors to manage the impact of lightning whenever it struck.
Fearing the imminent danger that the closeness of the masts to their houses poses to their lives, some residents in the area are said to have abandoned their homes.
However, others, instead of abandoning their homes, have resolved to confront the menace, recognising that with the boom in the broadcast and telecommunication industry, they may soon be “ejected” from their homes.
“It’s important that we kill this bug as soon as possible before it becomes a monster,” the Chairman of the Kitase-Peduase Residents Association, Mr Kwadwo Ayisi-Okyere, told the Daily Graphic on Tuesday.
Mr Ayisi-Okyere was later joined by other residents, including Mr Hans Rudolf Roth, the Secretary of the association, Ambassador Kwame Adusei, a former Ambassador to Germany, and Dr John K. Boah, a metallurgical engineer, and they took turns to explain efforts made by the residents to draw the attention of the authorities to the problem, all to no avail.
They expressed disappointment over the inability of the Ministry of Communications, the National Communications Authority (NCA) and the Akuapem South District Assembly to address the problem.
According to the residents, it was not necessary for all the communication operators to install their individual masts, explaining that a number of them could install their transmitters on one mast, thereby reducing the danger posed by the plethora of masts in the area.
They indicated that the probable reason for the operators’ unwillingness to site their masts in non-residential areas was the fact that they wanted to avoid the cost of constructing access roads and extending electricity to such isolated locations. Instead, they took advantage of such facilities in established residential areas.
However, a Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Services Consultant, Dr E. Amamoo-Otchere, has dismissed the fears of the residents over the health effects of radiation from the masts.
According to him, there had not been any scientific proof to support the assertion that radiation from such installations could cause such health problems referred to and others like low sperm count.
Dr Amamoo-Otchere, who just retired as the Executive Director of the Centre for Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Services of the University of Ghana, said the level of radiation emissions from the masts was not beyond what could cause any health hazard, adding that there was a lot of equipment around, such as television sets, FM radio sets, dryers and microwave ovens which were sources of radiation emissions.
The Deputy Director (Aerodrome Safety and Standards) of the GCAA, Mr Paul Kontoh, said after receiving information that some of the red warning lights on the masts were not functioning, the authority requested the operators to rectify the problem, to which they obliged.
He confirmed that the GCAA gave approval to the operators to install the masts, after they had met the required standards for putting up high towers as mandated by law.
Recently, a military helicopter carrying the mortal remains of a former Air Force Commander, Air Marshal Otu, to Adukrom for burial crash-landed and went into flames after its propeller hit a mast nearby.
A few years ago, a mast belonging to a mobile telecommunications operator collapsed on a vehicle at Ashiaman, killing a little boy who was then in the vehicle.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
LARGE NUMBER OF CHILDREN DIE IN ROAD ACCIDENTS
Story: Kofi Yeboah
A survey commissioned by the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) in 2006 showed that a large number of children lose their lives in road accidents in the country.
It indicated that about 310 children died every year through road accidents, constituting 20 per cent of all road traffic fatalities in the country.
According to the survey, the Ashanti Region recorded the highest number of road accident fatalities involving children (23 per cent), followed by the Eastern Region (15 per cent) and the Central Region (14 per cent).
The survey noted that apart from the Greater Accra Region, a higher proportion (60-80 per cent) of children involved in road traffic accidents were associated with non-urban road environment.
For instance, about 54 per cent of children were killed on the highways passing through village settlements, while roads passing through built-up settlements accounted for 86 per cent of all traffic fatalities among children.
The NRSC, through Carl Bro a/s, contracted the Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to carry out the survey under the Transport Sector Programme Support II (TSPS II).
It was sponsored by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) with the aim of providing the needed information on road traffic fatalities involving children, trends, age, sex, regional distribution, among other data.
The NRSC found it necessary to undertake the survey in view of the limited and incoherent documentation on the magnitude and nature of road traffic accidents involving children in the country.
The commission believes that the availability of such documentation will pave the way for the development of strategies and measures to address the problem, considering the effects of road traffic accidents on the socio-economic development of countries.
Global statistics estimate that 1.2 million people die annually through road traffic accidents.
The data for the survey were taken from police accident reports for the period 2001-2005 with respect to road traffic accident fatalities involving children of 0-15 years.
The survey defines fatality as a child of that age group who died within 30 days from the time of his or her involvement in a road traffic accident.
According to the survey, generally more boys (55 per cent) died in road traffic accidents than girls (45 per cent), with children in the age groups of 7-9 and 4-6 being the most victims.
With respect to pedestrians killed in accidents, the survey revealed that children were the most vulnerable. That was because one out of every three pedestrians killed in traffic was a child.
It observed that child pedestrians accounted for 80 per cent of all road traffic fatalities among children in the country.
Most of them were killed by cars (40 per cent), mini buses (33 per cent) or vehicles carrying goods (15 per cent) while crossing the road.
“Studies (Lee, 1994; Tight, 1998; Afukaar, 2001), have alluded to the diminutive size of children and their level of understanding of traffic systems as the key contributory factors pre-disposing the child pedestrian to risk of death in traffic,” the survey pointed out.
Assessing the periods within which the accidents occurred, the survey noted that the months of November and December recorded the highest number of road traffic accidents in the country.
Furthermore, it indicated that majority of the accidents occurred on weekends (Saturday and Sunday).
The survey also noted that about 80 per cent of the accidents occurred during daytime (6.00 a.m. - 6.00 p.m.) with the period 4.00 p.m. - 6.00 p.m. being the most dangerous.
It observed that one factor accounting for the high rate of road traffic fatalities involving children was that many parents tended to overestimate their children’s ability to safely cross the street by themselves.
In order to reduce the spate of these accidents, the survey recommended that education on road safety should be focused more on children, especially those below 10 years.
In that respect, it urged parents, teachers, drivers and community leaders to educate children on safer use of roads.
The survey strongly suggested the teaching of road safety as a subject in schools, particularly at the primary level.
It further recommended the need to encourage engineers and planners to provide safe pedestrian facilities in the designing of new roads or when improving existing roads in order to make them child pedestrian friendly.
A survey commissioned by the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) in 2006 showed that a large number of children lose their lives in road accidents in the country.
It indicated that about 310 children died every year through road accidents, constituting 20 per cent of all road traffic fatalities in the country.
According to the survey, the Ashanti Region recorded the highest number of road accident fatalities involving children (23 per cent), followed by the Eastern Region (15 per cent) and the Central Region (14 per cent).
The survey noted that apart from the Greater Accra Region, a higher proportion (60-80 per cent) of children involved in road traffic accidents were associated with non-urban road environment.
For instance, about 54 per cent of children were killed on the highways passing through village settlements, while roads passing through built-up settlements accounted for 86 per cent of all traffic fatalities among children.
The NRSC, through Carl Bro a/s, contracted the Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to carry out the survey under the Transport Sector Programme Support II (TSPS II).
It was sponsored by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) with the aim of providing the needed information on road traffic fatalities involving children, trends, age, sex, regional distribution, among other data.
The NRSC found it necessary to undertake the survey in view of the limited and incoherent documentation on the magnitude and nature of road traffic accidents involving children in the country.
The commission believes that the availability of such documentation will pave the way for the development of strategies and measures to address the problem, considering the effects of road traffic accidents on the socio-economic development of countries.
Global statistics estimate that 1.2 million people die annually through road traffic accidents.
The data for the survey were taken from police accident reports for the period 2001-2005 with respect to road traffic accident fatalities involving children of 0-15 years.
The survey defines fatality as a child of that age group who died within 30 days from the time of his or her involvement in a road traffic accident.
According to the survey, generally more boys (55 per cent) died in road traffic accidents than girls (45 per cent), with children in the age groups of 7-9 and 4-6 being the most victims.
With respect to pedestrians killed in accidents, the survey revealed that children were the most vulnerable. That was because one out of every three pedestrians killed in traffic was a child.
It observed that child pedestrians accounted for 80 per cent of all road traffic fatalities among children in the country.
Most of them were killed by cars (40 per cent), mini buses (33 per cent) or vehicles carrying goods (15 per cent) while crossing the road.
“Studies (Lee, 1994; Tight, 1998; Afukaar, 2001), have alluded to the diminutive size of children and their level of understanding of traffic systems as the key contributory factors pre-disposing the child pedestrian to risk of death in traffic,” the survey pointed out.
Assessing the periods within which the accidents occurred, the survey noted that the months of November and December recorded the highest number of road traffic accidents in the country.
Furthermore, it indicated that majority of the accidents occurred on weekends (Saturday and Sunday).
The survey also noted that about 80 per cent of the accidents occurred during daytime (6.00 a.m. - 6.00 p.m.) with the period 4.00 p.m. - 6.00 p.m. being the most dangerous.
It observed that one factor accounting for the high rate of road traffic fatalities involving children was that many parents tended to overestimate their children’s ability to safely cross the street by themselves.
In order to reduce the spate of these accidents, the survey recommended that education on road safety should be focused more on children, especially those below 10 years.
In that respect, it urged parents, teachers, drivers and community leaders to educate children on safer use of roads.
The survey strongly suggested the teaching of road safety as a subject in schools, particularly at the primary level.
It further recommended the need to encourage engineers and planners to provide safe pedestrian facilities in the designing of new roads or when improving existing roads in order to make them child pedestrian friendly.
HORROR AT SAKAMAN - Man butchers cousin in bizarre incident (P.1)
Story: Kofi Yeboah
AN embittered plumber, George Awuku Dompreh, has executed a five-year-old threat by allegedly butchering his cousin in a brutal incident at Sakaman in Accra last Thursday.
Five years ago, Awuku, 41, threatened to visit mayhem on his aunt, Juliana Osew Dukwaa, and proceeded last Thursday to inflict many machete wounds on Enoch Sakyi Bampoe Bekoe, the aunt’s son, and fled into hiding.
The Crime Officer of Accra South West (Dansoman) of the Ghana Police Service, Chief Supt Stephen D. Anyan, confirmed the story to the Daily Graphic and said the police had mounted an intensive search for the suspect.
Awuku’s deadly act snuffed the life out of the 28-year-old BSc (Agriculture) degree holder from the University of Cape Coast and employee of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Accra, whom close associates described as a young man with bright prospects.
Enoch, 28, was due to get marry early next month to the daughter of a Presbyterian Reverend Minister whom he had courted for about three years.
“He was such a loving and caring guy. I haven’t seen his kind before. He speaks with so much wisdom. He loves kids,” Ms Mary Awo Sintim paid tribute to her departed fiancé.
Close associates of the family told the Daily Graphic that Awuku’s action was closely linked to a deep-seated dislike he harboured for his aunt for kicking against his marriage about five years ago and for his supposed predicaments in life.
He was said to have developed hatred for his aunt, with whom he lived for eight years, and openly threatened to kill her and her nuclear family.
In a statement to the police, Mr Edmund Kotey Djane, who was the closest witness to the incident, said around 9.00 p.m. on Thursday, he was with Enoch at his (Enoch’s) uncle’s residence when Awuku knocked at the door and asked to see Enoch.
He said Enoch then went outside, apparently to discuss something with his cousin. But after about 25 minutes, Djane said he heard Enoch screaming for help.
Djane said he immediately rushed out, only to find Awuku slashing Enoch with a machete. As soon as Awuku saw him, he bolted.
He said he rushed to attend to Enoch, who was bleeding profusely, and with the help of some residents around, Enoch was rushed to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. But their rescue mission did not yield positive results as Enoch was pronounced dead on arrival.
When the Daily Graphic visited Enoch’s residence at Sakaman, there were a number of sympathisers who had gone there to console his grief-stricken mother and other family relations.
According to Madam Dukwaa, she had lived with Awuku for eight years after the death of his parents, adding that during that period, there was no ill-feeling between them.
She said Awuku neither smoked nor drank alcohol but was an intensely private person who was always quiet. She said he assisted her in various ways, including even cooking and carrying out other household chores.
Madam Dukwaa said about five years ago, Awuku started paying frequent visits to their village at Oworam, near Asamankese, and she later found out that his frequent visits to the village were in connection with a woman he had impregnated there and whom he intended to marry.
She said when she found out that the woman hailed from Baasare, she advised Awuku against the marriage, explaining that the woman’s home town was too far and since his parents were dead, it would be difficult for the family to travel that far in case something happened and they needed to do so.
Madam Dukwaa said she later realised that Awuku was not pleased with her advice and even went ahead to have another baby with the woman.
She said Awuku kept telling some of their family members that he would kill her (Dukwaa) and her relations and commit suicide afterwards.
According to Madam Dukwaa, realising the seriousness of the threat, the elders of the family summoned a meeting to resolve the issue but Awuku did not turn up at the appointed time.
She said in spite of those developments, she related very well with Awuku and he did not display any evil intentions against her until one day when he visited her and started casting insinuations to the effect of asking whoever was causing his woes to desist from doing so.
When asked why she did not report Awuku’s threats to the police, Madam Dukwaa said she did not consider that option because she had him at heart, adding that her husband had wanted to take that course of action but some family members prevailed upon them not to go ahead.
At the residence of Enoch’s fiancee at Abeka, everyone seemed dumb-founded about the fate that had befallen their would-be in-law.
According to Mary, Enoch was a very principled, focused and determined person who endeavoured to achieve anything he set his mind on.
Her father, Rev Col E. B. B. Sintim (retd), said Enoch was a good man and that it was just unfortunate that such a terrible fate should befall him.
AN embittered plumber, George Awuku Dompreh, has executed a five-year-old threat by allegedly butchering his cousin in a brutal incident at Sakaman in Accra last Thursday.
Five years ago, Awuku, 41, threatened to visit mayhem on his aunt, Juliana Osew Dukwaa, and proceeded last Thursday to inflict many machete wounds on Enoch Sakyi Bampoe Bekoe, the aunt’s son, and fled into hiding.
The Crime Officer of Accra South West (Dansoman) of the Ghana Police Service, Chief Supt Stephen D. Anyan, confirmed the story to the Daily Graphic and said the police had mounted an intensive search for the suspect.
Awuku’s deadly act snuffed the life out of the 28-year-old BSc (Agriculture) degree holder from the University of Cape Coast and employee of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Accra, whom close associates described as a young man with bright prospects.
Enoch, 28, was due to get marry early next month to the daughter of a Presbyterian Reverend Minister whom he had courted for about three years.
“He was such a loving and caring guy. I haven’t seen his kind before. He speaks with so much wisdom. He loves kids,” Ms Mary Awo Sintim paid tribute to her departed fiancé.
Close associates of the family told the Daily Graphic that Awuku’s action was closely linked to a deep-seated dislike he harboured for his aunt for kicking against his marriage about five years ago and for his supposed predicaments in life.
He was said to have developed hatred for his aunt, with whom he lived for eight years, and openly threatened to kill her and her nuclear family.
In a statement to the police, Mr Edmund Kotey Djane, who was the closest witness to the incident, said around 9.00 p.m. on Thursday, he was with Enoch at his (Enoch’s) uncle’s residence when Awuku knocked at the door and asked to see Enoch.
He said Enoch then went outside, apparently to discuss something with his cousin. But after about 25 minutes, Djane said he heard Enoch screaming for help.
Djane said he immediately rushed out, only to find Awuku slashing Enoch with a machete. As soon as Awuku saw him, he bolted.
He said he rushed to attend to Enoch, who was bleeding profusely, and with the help of some residents around, Enoch was rushed to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. But their rescue mission did not yield positive results as Enoch was pronounced dead on arrival.
When the Daily Graphic visited Enoch’s residence at Sakaman, there were a number of sympathisers who had gone there to console his grief-stricken mother and other family relations.
According to Madam Dukwaa, she had lived with Awuku for eight years after the death of his parents, adding that during that period, there was no ill-feeling between them.
She said Awuku neither smoked nor drank alcohol but was an intensely private person who was always quiet. She said he assisted her in various ways, including even cooking and carrying out other household chores.
Madam Dukwaa said about five years ago, Awuku started paying frequent visits to their village at Oworam, near Asamankese, and she later found out that his frequent visits to the village were in connection with a woman he had impregnated there and whom he intended to marry.
She said when she found out that the woman hailed from Baasare, she advised Awuku against the marriage, explaining that the woman’s home town was too far and since his parents were dead, it would be difficult for the family to travel that far in case something happened and they needed to do so.
Madam Dukwaa said she later realised that Awuku was not pleased with her advice and even went ahead to have another baby with the woman.
She said Awuku kept telling some of their family members that he would kill her (Dukwaa) and her relations and commit suicide afterwards.
According to Madam Dukwaa, realising the seriousness of the threat, the elders of the family summoned a meeting to resolve the issue but Awuku did not turn up at the appointed time.
She said in spite of those developments, she related very well with Awuku and he did not display any evil intentions against her until one day when he visited her and started casting insinuations to the effect of asking whoever was causing his woes to desist from doing so.
When asked why she did not report Awuku’s threats to the police, Madam Dukwaa said she did not consider that option because she had him at heart, adding that her husband had wanted to take that course of action but some family members prevailed upon them not to go ahead.
At the residence of Enoch’s fiancee at Abeka, everyone seemed dumb-founded about the fate that had befallen their would-be in-law.
According to Mary, Enoch was a very principled, focused and determined person who endeavoured to achieve anything he set his mind on.
Her father, Rev Col E. B. B. Sintim (retd), said Enoch was a good man and that it was just unfortunate that such a terrible fate should befall him.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
WEREKO-BROBBY PAYS INSURANCE PREMIUM FOR 1,000 (P.49)
Story: Kofi Yeboah
THE Chief Executive of the Ghana@50 Secretariat, Dr Charles Yves Wereko-Brobby, has made a personal donation of GH¢10,000 (¢100 million) to cover the health insurance premiums of 1,000 youth in the Efigya Sekyere District in the Ashanti Region.
Twenty youth from each of the 50 constituencies in the district are to benefit from the package which cheque was presented to the Presiding Member of the Efigya Sekyere District Assembly, Mr Kwasi Karikari Achamfuor, last Saturday.
The benevolence of Dr Wereko-Brobby, who is a native of Agona Asante in the Efigya Sekyere District, would enable the beneficiaries to sign up to the District Mutual Health Insurance Scheme (DMHIS) and consequently, enjoy free medical service for one year.
“There are many Ghanaians who have lots of resources and it is important for them to support those who don’t have to benefit from the health insurance scheme,” Dr Wereko-Brobby made a clarion call on the well-to-do in society through the Daily Graphic yesterday.
“The health insurance concept is a good initiative but there are many people who are not taking advantage of it because of financial difficulties. One way to help the scheme to grow and for all to accept the concept is for those who have to help the have-nots,” he added.
Dr Wereko-Brobby said it was a normal practice in the traditional setting for wealthy people to pay the medical bills of their relations.
He, however, noted that under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the bill paid for medical treatment was far cheaper than that paid under the old system.
Moreover, he said, with the NHIS, one could take care of the health bills of many family relations with the same amount of money that he or she would have spent on the bill of just one relative under the old policy of cash and carry.
Dr Wereko-Brobby said many people had not signed up to the scheme because they did not understand the concept, but pointed out that if those people were given the necessary support to experience its benefits they would be the best apostles of the concept.
He suggested a communal support approach in which benefactors would extend their financial support beyond their family relations to the entire community.
Dr Wereko-Brobby said the decision to support the youth was based on the fact that they were the productive force of the country and so it was important to offer them a basis to believe that they had a future in the country.
He observed that many of the youth who were unemployed were economically handicapped and as such that misfortune should not be allowed to be compounded by illness.
“It’s my belief that once they know what it means and its advantages, when it is time for renewal, they would find money to support themselves,” he said.
Dr Wereko-Brobby expressed the hope that the District Assembly would not discriminate in favour of relations of Assembly members in the selection of the beneficiaries for the package.
“We are trusting on the integrity of the assembly men and women to give it to those who really need it,” he remarked.
Dr Wereko-Brobby suggested the establishment of a resource and expert support unit in various communities to serve as the “grass roots beginning to economic independence”, by helping to manage development projects in the communities.
Such initiative, he said, would facilitate local training programmes, education and small enterprises, among other ventures, to build the economic foundation of the communities.
THE Chief Executive of the Ghana@50 Secretariat, Dr Charles Yves Wereko-Brobby, has made a personal donation of GH¢10,000 (¢100 million) to cover the health insurance premiums of 1,000 youth in the Efigya Sekyere District in the Ashanti Region.
Twenty youth from each of the 50 constituencies in the district are to benefit from the package which cheque was presented to the Presiding Member of the Efigya Sekyere District Assembly, Mr Kwasi Karikari Achamfuor, last Saturday.
The benevolence of Dr Wereko-Brobby, who is a native of Agona Asante in the Efigya Sekyere District, would enable the beneficiaries to sign up to the District Mutual Health Insurance Scheme (DMHIS) and consequently, enjoy free medical service for one year.
“There are many Ghanaians who have lots of resources and it is important for them to support those who don’t have to benefit from the health insurance scheme,” Dr Wereko-Brobby made a clarion call on the well-to-do in society through the Daily Graphic yesterday.
“The health insurance concept is a good initiative but there are many people who are not taking advantage of it because of financial difficulties. One way to help the scheme to grow and for all to accept the concept is for those who have to help the have-nots,” he added.
Dr Wereko-Brobby said it was a normal practice in the traditional setting for wealthy people to pay the medical bills of their relations.
He, however, noted that under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the bill paid for medical treatment was far cheaper than that paid under the old system.
Moreover, he said, with the NHIS, one could take care of the health bills of many family relations with the same amount of money that he or she would have spent on the bill of just one relative under the old policy of cash and carry.
Dr Wereko-Brobby said many people had not signed up to the scheme because they did not understand the concept, but pointed out that if those people were given the necessary support to experience its benefits they would be the best apostles of the concept.
He suggested a communal support approach in which benefactors would extend their financial support beyond their family relations to the entire community.
Dr Wereko-Brobby said the decision to support the youth was based on the fact that they were the productive force of the country and so it was important to offer them a basis to believe that they had a future in the country.
He observed that many of the youth who were unemployed were economically handicapped and as such that misfortune should not be allowed to be compounded by illness.
“It’s my belief that once they know what it means and its advantages, when it is time for renewal, they would find money to support themselves,” he said.
Dr Wereko-Brobby expressed the hope that the District Assembly would not discriminate in favour of relations of Assembly members in the selection of the beneficiaries for the package.
“We are trusting on the integrity of the assembly men and women to give it to those who really need it,” he remarked.
Dr Wereko-Brobby suggested the establishment of a resource and expert support unit in various communities to serve as the “grass roots beginning to economic independence”, by helping to manage development projects in the communities.
Such initiative, he said, would facilitate local training programmes, education and small enterprises, among other ventures, to build the economic foundation of the communities.
VICE CHANCELLORS NEED MANAGERIAL SKILLS
(P. 24/25) NOVEMBER 14, 2007
Story: Kofi Yeboah
THE Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, Rev Prof. Emmanuel Adow-Obeng, has stated that the appointment of Vice Chancellors with no knowledge in management has been a drawback on the effective management of the universities.
He, therefore, stressed the need for persons appointed Vice Chancellors to acquire management skills to enable them to address the challenges in their universities.
Rev Prof Adow-Obeng made the comment when he delivered a lecture at the Great Hall of the University of Ghana, Legon, to mark African Universities Day.
The Day was instituted on November 12, 1994, by the African Union (AU), formerly known as the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), in pursuant to a resolution passed by the OAU Council of Ministers in June 1994.
This year, the Day, which coincided with the 40th anniversary of the Association of African Universities (AAU), was celebrated on the theme, “Forty years of championing African university leadership: Prospects and challenges for the near future”.
Delivering his lecture on the theme, Rev Prof Adow-Obeng assessed the development of higher institutions of learning in Africa, their challenges and prospects for the future.
On the need for Vice Chancellors to acquire management skills, he said the AAU had been organising workshops and seminars to update the managerial skills of Vice Chancellors.
Rev Prof Adow-Obeng urged young graduates to take up faculty appointments at the universities, assuring them that better prospects awaited them.
According to him, conditions of service at public universities in Ghana, for instance, had improved considerably over the past two years, adding that there were many opportunities at the universities that young graduates could benefit from.
He said over the past two decades, higher education had provided the needed human resource for many African countries.
He, however, observed that the growing demand for higher education had presented enormous challenges for many African universities, adding that poor economic development of African countries had deepened those challenges.
Rev Prof. Adow-Obeng noted that the AAU was making efforts to help African universities overcome some of the challenges they faced, and further lauded the innovation being embraced by some of the universities, which had led to their improvement.
He said the era of globalisation and information communication technology (ICT) was changing the environment within which African universities operated and that unfortunately, they were yet to take full advantage of the change.
On funding, he indicated that African governments had reduced the requirements of the universities by about 50 per cent over the years, and that was making it difficult for them to attract and retain academic staff.
The Head of Communications at the AAU Secretariat, Dr Hoba Pascal, said although there had been some improvement in higher education in Africa, it still faced many challenges.
He attributed the situation to the bad economic disposition of African countries, saying, “At a time when the rest of the world has experienced rapid economic growth, most of the people of Africa have been left behind with nearly half of its people living on less than $1 a day”.
Dr Pascal said in spite of the challenges, African universities, after diagnosing their problems, were in the process of finding solutions to them.
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof Clifford Nii Boi Tagoe, who chaired the event, expressed concern about the ageing faculty members and added his voice to the call on young graduates to take appointments at the universities.
Story: Kofi Yeboah
THE Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, Rev Prof. Emmanuel Adow-Obeng, has stated that the appointment of Vice Chancellors with no knowledge in management has been a drawback on the effective management of the universities.
He, therefore, stressed the need for persons appointed Vice Chancellors to acquire management skills to enable them to address the challenges in their universities.
Rev Prof Adow-Obeng made the comment when he delivered a lecture at the Great Hall of the University of Ghana, Legon, to mark African Universities Day.
The Day was instituted on November 12, 1994, by the African Union (AU), formerly known as the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), in pursuant to a resolution passed by the OAU Council of Ministers in June 1994.
This year, the Day, which coincided with the 40th anniversary of the Association of African Universities (AAU), was celebrated on the theme, “Forty years of championing African university leadership: Prospects and challenges for the near future”.
Delivering his lecture on the theme, Rev Prof Adow-Obeng assessed the development of higher institutions of learning in Africa, their challenges and prospects for the future.
On the need for Vice Chancellors to acquire management skills, he said the AAU had been organising workshops and seminars to update the managerial skills of Vice Chancellors.
Rev Prof Adow-Obeng urged young graduates to take up faculty appointments at the universities, assuring them that better prospects awaited them.
According to him, conditions of service at public universities in Ghana, for instance, had improved considerably over the past two years, adding that there were many opportunities at the universities that young graduates could benefit from.
He said over the past two decades, higher education had provided the needed human resource for many African countries.
He, however, observed that the growing demand for higher education had presented enormous challenges for many African universities, adding that poor economic development of African countries had deepened those challenges.
Rev Prof. Adow-Obeng noted that the AAU was making efforts to help African universities overcome some of the challenges they faced, and further lauded the innovation being embraced by some of the universities, which had led to their improvement.
He said the era of globalisation and information communication technology (ICT) was changing the environment within which African universities operated and that unfortunately, they were yet to take full advantage of the change.
On funding, he indicated that African governments had reduced the requirements of the universities by about 50 per cent over the years, and that was making it difficult for them to attract and retain academic staff.
The Head of Communications at the AAU Secretariat, Dr Hoba Pascal, said although there had been some improvement in higher education in Africa, it still faced many challenges.
He attributed the situation to the bad economic disposition of African countries, saying, “At a time when the rest of the world has experienced rapid economic growth, most of the people of Africa have been left behind with nearly half of its people living on less than $1 a day”.
Dr Pascal said in spite of the challenges, African universities, after diagnosing their problems, were in the process of finding solutions to them.
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof Clifford Nii Boi Tagoe, who chaired the event, expressed concern about the ageing faculty members and added his voice to the call on young graduates to take appointments at the universities.
SMUGGLERS INTENSIFY ACTIVITIES AT ENTRY POINTS
(P. 22) NOVEMBER 10, 2007
Story: Kofi Yeboah, Dabala
ACTIVITIES of smugglers at various entry points in the country have intensified as Christmas approaches, thus depriving the nation of billions of cedis in revenue.
In response to that, officials of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) have vowed to crash the activities of the smugglers.
At Dabala in the South Tongu District in the Volta Region, the smugglers have adopted various modus operandi that CEPS officials are currently finding it extremely difficult to combat, as a result of the inadequate logistics and weak staff strength.
The Dabala CEPS Collection Point is a major entry and exit route for traders on the country’s eastern border, but it has only one Nissan pick-up vehicle and 24 officers, which the officer in-charge, Chief Collector of CEPS Ben Suuri, described as woefully inadequate to combat the increasing spate of smuggling.
What is more disturbing is the fact that the communities around the collection points have joined forces with the smugglers and in some cases, as Mr Suuri alleged, they attacked CEPS officials during operations to arrest the criminals.
Among the goods smuggled through that corridor are wax prints, cigarettes, mobile phones and liquor.
Briefing journalists on a familiarisation tour at Dabala on Thursday, Mr Suuri said in one instance, the smugglers used canoes at night to transport goods across the Volta Lake, outwitting CEPS officials in the process.
He said the smugglers had developed a very effective network and through the use of mobile phones, they quickly informed their accomplices to escape any time CEPS officials moved in to arrest them.
In another instance, Mr Suuri said, the smugglers used high-speed vehicles to escape arrest from CEPS officials whose only Nissan pick-up vehicle had proved highly incapable of chasing them.
Mr Suuri said CEPS officials had, however, managed to uncover a modus operandi of female smugglers, who packed wax prints in their dresses to make them look like pregnant women.
According to him, CEPS officials had been undertaking day and night patrols to check the activities of the smugglers, adding that they had made some arrests in the past, including couriers of narcotic drugs.
Mr Suuri, however, stressed the need for more officers and logistics for the CEPS officials to enable them to discharge their duties effectively.
He also appealed to the community to be allies of CEPS in the fight against smugglers, while advising traders to endeavour to pay duties on their goods in order to raise revenue for national development.
In another development, CEPS officials at Tema have arrested three clearing agents for using fake value assessment documents for the clearance of vehicles, resulting in the loss of about GH¢30,000 (¢300 million) to the state.
Through the use of the fake documents, the suspects were said to have either evaded the payment of duties or, in some instances, paid GH¢6,000 (¢60 million) instead of GH¢15,000 (¢150 million) as duty.
The Assistant Commissioner of CEPS in charge of Tema CEPS Collection Point, Alhaji M. M. Nasirudeen, told the Daily Graphic in Tema that the suspects were being processed for court.
On revenue, he said the collection point had, as of October 2007, collected ¢8 trillion out of its target of ¢11.5 trillion for the year.
At the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) Collection Point, CEPS has collected GH¢76.98 million as of October, this year, out of the annual target of GH¢90.33 million, an increase of 4.07 per cent over the third quarter target of GH¢73.96 million.
The Assistant Commissioner of CEPS in charge of the collection point, Mr John Kenneth Oklu, mentioned total commitment and dedication of staff to duty, high-level motivation and discipline among the staff, effective supervision, the adoption of effective revenue mobilisation strategies to prevent leakage, and proper classification of goods to ensure application of correct duty rates, as some of the factors contributing to the high revenue performance.
He said a total of 23 kilogrammes of marijuana were intercepted among packages being scanned at the British Airways Scanner prior to exportation, adding that the items had been handed over to the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB).
Mr Oklu further stated that 3,236 pieces of mobile phones with a total revenue of ¢736.9 million, as well as counterfeit notes of foreign currencies, cheques and money orders, had been intercepted and handed over to the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of CEPS, Mr Emmanuel N. Doku, has called on CEPS officials to remain vigilant and committed to their duties in the wake of increased activities of smugglers around this time.
“We have cautioned all our officers to live up to our core values of integrity, efficiency, customer-focus, commitment and innovation during this challenging period,” he said in a statement read on his behalf by the Deputy Commissioner of CEPS (Human Resource and Administration), Mr Paul Adubofuor, at a press briefing in Accra.
Mr Doku said considering the cordial working environment within the service and the high morale of officers across the country, the set target of ¢16.2 trillion was attainable.
As of October 2007, a total of ¢13.04 trillion has been collected.
“We are not going to relent in our collective determination to exceed this target,” Mr Doku assured the nation.
The Deputy Commissioner of CEPS (Preventive), Mr Africanus Owusu-Ansah, advised CEPS officials to eschew corruption, adding that members of the public should also desist from offering bribes to CEPS officials.
He cautioned that the management would not hesitate to prosecute any CEPS official or member of the public arrested for indulging in acts of corruption.
Story: Kofi Yeboah, Dabala
ACTIVITIES of smugglers at various entry points in the country have intensified as Christmas approaches, thus depriving the nation of billions of cedis in revenue.
In response to that, officials of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) have vowed to crash the activities of the smugglers.
At Dabala in the South Tongu District in the Volta Region, the smugglers have adopted various modus operandi that CEPS officials are currently finding it extremely difficult to combat, as a result of the inadequate logistics and weak staff strength.
The Dabala CEPS Collection Point is a major entry and exit route for traders on the country’s eastern border, but it has only one Nissan pick-up vehicle and 24 officers, which the officer in-charge, Chief Collector of CEPS Ben Suuri, described as woefully inadequate to combat the increasing spate of smuggling.
What is more disturbing is the fact that the communities around the collection points have joined forces with the smugglers and in some cases, as Mr Suuri alleged, they attacked CEPS officials during operations to arrest the criminals.
Among the goods smuggled through that corridor are wax prints, cigarettes, mobile phones and liquor.
Briefing journalists on a familiarisation tour at Dabala on Thursday, Mr Suuri said in one instance, the smugglers used canoes at night to transport goods across the Volta Lake, outwitting CEPS officials in the process.
He said the smugglers had developed a very effective network and through the use of mobile phones, they quickly informed their accomplices to escape any time CEPS officials moved in to arrest them.
In another instance, Mr Suuri said, the smugglers used high-speed vehicles to escape arrest from CEPS officials whose only Nissan pick-up vehicle had proved highly incapable of chasing them.
Mr Suuri said CEPS officials had, however, managed to uncover a modus operandi of female smugglers, who packed wax prints in their dresses to make them look like pregnant women.
According to him, CEPS officials had been undertaking day and night patrols to check the activities of the smugglers, adding that they had made some arrests in the past, including couriers of narcotic drugs.
Mr Suuri, however, stressed the need for more officers and logistics for the CEPS officials to enable them to discharge their duties effectively.
He also appealed to the community to be allies of CEPS in the fight against smugglers, while advising traders to endeavour to pay duties on their goods in order to raise revenue for national development.
In another development, CEPS officials at Tema have arrested three clearing agents for using fake value assessment documents for the clearance of vehicles, resulting in the loss of about GH¢30,000 (¢300 million) to the state.
Through the use of the fake documents, the suspects were said to have either evaded the payment of duties or, in some instances, paid GH¢6,000 (¢60 million) instead of GH¢15,000 (¢150 million) as duty.
The Assistant Commissioner of CEPS in charge of Tema CEPS Collection Point, Alhaji M. M. Nasirudeen, told the Daily Graphic in Tema that the suspects were being processed for court.
On revenue, he said the collection point had, as of October 2007, collected ¢8 trillion out of its target of ¢11.5 trillion for the year.
At the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) Collection Point, CEPS has collected GH¢76.98 million as of October, this year, out of the annual target of GH¢90.33 million, an increase of 4.07 per cent over the third quarter target of GH¢73.96 million.
The Assistant Commissioner of CEPS in charge of the collection point, Mr John Kenneth Oklu, mentioned total commitment and dedication of staff to duty, high-level motivation and discipline among the staff, effective supervision, the adoption of effective revenue mobilisation strategies to prevent leakage, and proper classification of goods to ensure application of correct duty rates, as some of the factors contributing to the high revenue performance.
He said a total of 23 kilogrammes of marijuana were intercepted among packages being scanned at the British Airways Scanner prior to exportation, adding that the items had been handed over to the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB).
Mr Oklu further stated that 3,236 pieces of mobile phones with a total revenue of ¢736.9 million, as well as counterfeit notes of foreign currencies, cheques and money orders, had been intercepted and handed over to the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of CEPS, Mr Emmanuel N. Doku, has called on CEPS officials to remain vigilant and committed to their duties in the wake of increased activities of smugglers around this time.
“We have cautioned all our officers to live up to our core values of integrity, efficiency, customer-focus, commitment and innovation during this challenging period,” he said in a statement read on his behalf by the Deputy Commissioner of CEPS (Human Resource and Administration), Mr Paul Adubofuor, at a press briefing in Accra.
Mr Doku said considering the cordial working environment within the service and the high morale of officers across the country, the set target of ¢16.2 trillion was attainable.
As of October 2007, a total of ¢13.04 trillion has been collected.
“We are not going to relent in our collective determination to exceed this target,” Mr Doku assured the nation.
The Deputy Commissioner of CEPS (Preventive), Mr Africanus Owusu-Ansah, advised CEPS officials to eschew corruption, adding that members of the public should also desist from offering bribes to CEPS officials.
He cautioned that the management would not hesitate to prosecute any CEPS official or member of the public arrested for indulging in acts of corruption.
CPP WILL NOT DISINTEGRATE - DELLE
(P. 13) NOVEMBER 10, 2007
Story: Kofi Yeboah
THE Chairman of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Dr Edmund N. Delle, has dismissed assertions in some political circles that the party could break up if certain candidates are not elected in the November 24, 2007, national delegates congress.
He said on the contrary, the CPP was more united than ever and expressed the confidence that the party would come out stronger after the congress.
According to Dr Delle, the CPP was the fastest growing party in the country, adding that “We are definitely now a force to reckon with because many people feel that this is the time for the CPP”.
“So I think it will be suicidal for any member of the CPP to feel that because he did not win the election, he must let this euphoria die”, he told the Daily Graphic in an interview in response to some questions being raised on the unity of the party.
Dr Delle said all the candidates were prepared to lend their maximum support to whoever emerged as the winner in the election to ensure that the reactivation of the party continued and that Ghanaians who had been asking for a change in the country’s political leadership, would really have it this time around.
“We have been in the wilderness for far too long and I do not think that we will allow this timely opportunity pass again. This is the opportunity to strengthen ourselves, unite and to move as one body to ensure victory”, he said.
“I believe that no convinced member of the CPP would want us to go back again to our divided ways. We believe that when CPP is well mobilised, we’ll attract many sympathisers to the party”, he added.
Dr Delle said his confidence in the CPP emerging stronger after the congress was bolstered by the resilience of the foot soldiers and entire membership, who had kept faith with the party through all these difficult times.
He said a CPP government would endeavour to bridge the yawning gap between the south and the north with respect to the country’s development, adding that the welfare of Ghanaians would be the party’s supreme interest.
“I’m sure that we are going to rekindle that hope in those areas where development has eluded them for years. Our philosophy is that we go to those who need more - the disabled and the suffering masses”, he indicated.
Responding to suggestions that he might use his incumbency to advantage, Dr Delle said he had taken a low profile in his campaign, citing the fact that he was the last candidate to file his nomination for the chairmanship position.
He said to the contrary, incumbency had its own disadvantage because while his competitors devoted all their time to campaign, he had an additional responsibility as the chairman, to prepare the party for congress.
Nevertheless, Dr Delle did not waver in confidence that his re-election was a done deal, proclaiming that “history will be made on November 24 because for the first time, CPP will have a chairman running for two terms in office”.
He said there was a level playing field for all the aspirants and the rules of the game, such as non maligning of each other, had been spelt out to all of them.
According to the CPP chairman, so far, there was clear evidence that all the aspirants were doing their campaign with decorum.
Story: Kofi Yeboah
THE Chairman of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Dr Edmund N. Delle, has dismissed assertions in some political circles that the party could break up if certain candidates are not elected in the November 24, 2007, national delegates congress.
He said on the contrary, the CPP was more united than ever and expressed the confidence that the party would come out stronger after the congress.
According to Dr Delle, the CPP was the fastest growing party in the country, adding that “We are definitely now a force to reckon with because many people feel that this is the time for the CPP”.
“So I think it will be suicidal for any member of the CPP to feel that because he did not win the election, he must let this euphoria die”, he told the Daily Graphic in an interview in response to some questions being raised on the unity of the party.
Dr Delle said all the candidates were prepared to lend their maximum support to whoever emerged as the winner in the election to ensure that the reactivation of the party continued and that Ghanaians who had been asking for a change in the country’s political leadership, would really have it this time around.
“We have been in the wilderness for far too long and I do not think that we will allow this timely opportunity pass again. This is the opportunity to strengthen ourselves, unite and to move as one body to ensure victory”, he said.
“I believe that no convinced member of the CPP would want us to go back again to our divided ways. We believe that when CPP is well mobilised, we’ll attract many sympathisers to the party”, he added.
Dr Delle said his confidence in the CPP emerging stronger after the congress was bolstered by the resilience of the foot soldiers and entire membership, who had kept faith with the party through all these difficult times.
He said a CPP government would endeavour to bridge the yawning gap between the south and the north with respect to the country’s development, adding that the welfare of Ghanaians would be the party’s supreme interest.
“I’m sure that we are going to rekindle that hope in those areas where development has eluded them for years. Our philosophy is that we go to those who need more - the disabled and the suffering masses”, he indicated.
Responding to suggestions that he might use his incumbency to advantage, Dr Delle said he had taken a low profile in his campaign, citing the fact that he was the last candidate to file his nomination for the chairmanship position.
He said to the contrary, incumbency had its own disadvantage because while his competitors devoted all their time to campaign, he had an additional responsibility as the chairman, to prepare the party for congress.
Nevertheless, Dr Delle did not waver in confidence that his re-election was a done deal, proclaiming that “history will be made on November 24 because for the first time, CPP will have a chairman running for two terms in office”.
He said there was a level playing field for all the aspirants and the rules of the game, such as non maligning of each other, had been spelt out to all of them.
According to the CPP chairman, so far, there was clear evidence that all the aspirants were doing their campaign with decorum.
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