Story: Rose Hayford Darko, Tema
Tema Manhean is a fishing community in the Tema Metropolis, which has a large number of school dropouts.
Child welfare groups in the community have observed that some of the young boys and girls who drop out of school resort to promiscuous lifestyles leading to teenage pregnancy and other anti-social vices.
According to the Tema Mantse, Nii Adjei Krakue II, the increasing rate of unsafe abortion in the Manhean community is of great concern to the traditional authority because the lives of women and girls are endangered.
He said reports from health care facilities indicated that some girls and women in the area used concoctions and other unorthodox means to abort unwanted pregnancies, which sometimes resulted in the loss of lives.
Nii Krakue therefore urged parents to take keen interest in the lifestyle of their children and give them family life education to protect their future.
He also appealed to health officials, women leaders and churches to intensify education on the dangers associated with unsafe abortion to help deal with the issue.
He gave the advice at a forum organised at Tema Manhean by the Metropolitan Youth Rehabilitation Organisation (MYRO), a non-governmental organisation, to enlighten the youth on the risk and consequence of illegal abortion.
Nii Krakue urged the organisers to sustain the programme and appealed to women in Manhean to form formidable groups and collaborate with the MYRO to organise such programmes regularly.
The Chief Executive of MYRO, Madam Sena Akua Apawu-Bri, said although the country’s laws permitted abortion to be performed under certain conditions, some churches had taken an entrenched position against abortions and said there was the need to create awareness on safe abortion to save the lives of women and girls.
She pointed out that it was unfortunate that some parents felt uncomfortable to enlighten their children on adolescent sexuality and added that there was the need for such parents to change their attitude for the betterment of their children.
Madam Apawu-Bri said within the framework of the World Heath Organisation’s (WHO) definition, health was the complete physical, mental and social well-being of the human being and meeting the reproductive health needs of women implied that women should be able to have responsible, satisfying and safe sex life.
She commended women leaders in Tema Manhean for taking up the challenge to embark on sensitisation programmes to enlighten the youth on issues related to their reproductive health.
The Country Director of Ipas, Dr Jehu Appiah, advocated the legalisation of abortion to save the lives of women and girls.
He said since 1985, the country's law on abortion had allowed pregnancy to be terminated if that pregnancy was the result of rape, incest, threat of foetus and mental disability.
Dr Appiah said the law had not been publicised enough, raising deaths of women from unsafe abortion from 22 to 30 per cent.
Records from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) indicate that unsafe abortion causes 70,000 deaths in Ghana every year, while Ghana has a maternal mortality rate of 540 deaths per every 100,000 births.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
ASHONG NARH WINS TEMA EAST NPP (PAGE 15)
Story: Rose Hayford Darko, Tema
THE scramble for the Tema East New Patriotic Party (NPP) Constituency parliamentary seat has ended with the election of Mr Evans Ashong Narh, a former Chief Executive of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly, who ousted the incumbent, Mr Ishmael Ashietey, to represent the party in the December 2008 general election.
He polled 71 votes against 49 to win the party’s constituency primary held in Tema yesterday under the supervision of officials of the Tema office of the Electoral Commission. One delegate was absent and therefore did not vote.
This brings to an end the drama of who qualifies to represent the party and all the hullabaloo about disqualification of some candidates for violation of constitutional obligations.
Mr Ashong Narh was carried shoulder high by the delegates after the Tema Municipal Officer of the EC, Mr Michael Boadu, had announced the results.
The atmosphere was charged but the delegates showed maturity and ensured that the voting process was peaceful.
Mr Ashong Narh, who is currently the Managing Director of Anok Engineering Service, in his appreciation speech, thanked the delegates for the confidence reposed in him, explaining that he became a member of the party in October 1992.
Mr Ashietey, in an earlier speech, promised to use his experience gained in Parliament over the period 1996 to date to work in support of the Presidential candidate to win for the party.
However, after losing the election, he conceded defeat and promised to give all his support to Mr Ashong Narh.
The Tema East Constituency branch of the NPP has, for some time now, been in the news due to internal bickering and misunderstanding between the executives, aspirants and the delegates.
In a recent drama, an aspirant, Mr Ramseyer Agyeman Prempeh, who was disqualified for breaching the constitution of the party by going independent, was accused by an executive member, Mr Charles Boateng, for allegedly threatening to kill him.
The case is pending and being investigated by the Tema Regional Police.
Another aspirant, Mr Titus Glover, was also disqualified for not having voting rights and therefore could not be allowed to go to the primary.
This made it a straight fight between Mr Ishmael Ashietey, the incumbent, and Mr Ashong Narh.
The NPP Regional Officer, Mr Eric Kwaitia, who represented the Region? congratulated the delegates on the peaceful elections and urged them to support the candidate to carry the party to win the December general elections.
There were observers from the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and Assembly members of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly.
THE scramble for the Tema East New Patriotic Party (NPP) Constituency parliamentary seat has ended with the election of Mr Evans Ashong Narh, a former Chief Executive of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly, who ousted the incumbent, Mr Ishmael Ashietey, to represent the party in the December 2008 general election.
He polled 71 votes against 49 to win the party’s constituency primary held in Tema yesterday under the supervision of officials of the Tema office of the Electoral Commission. One delegate was absent and therefore did not vote.
This brings to an end the drama of who qualifies to represent the party and all the hullabaloo about disqualification of some candidates for violation of constitutional obligations.
Mr Ashong Narh was carried shoulder high by the delegates after the Tema Municipal Officer of the EC, Mr Michael Boadu, had announced the results.
The atmosphere was charged but the delegates showed maturity and ensured that the voting process was peaceful.
Mr Ashong Narh, who is currently the Managing Director of Anok Engineering Service, in his appreciation speech, thanked the delegates for the confidence reposed in him, explaining that he became a member of the party in October 1992.
Mr Ashietey, in an earlier speech, promised to use his experience gained in Parliament over the period 1996 to date to work in support of the Presidential candidate to win for the party.
However, after losing the election, he conceded defeat and promised to give all his support to Mr Ashong Narh.
The Tema East Constituency branch of the NPP has, for some time now, been in the news due to internal bickering and misunderstanding between the executives, aspirants and the delegates.
In a recent drama, an aspirant, Mr Ramseyer Agyeman Prempeh, who was disqualified for breaching the constitution of the party by going independent, was accused by an executive member, Mr Charles Boateng, for allegedly threatening to kill him.
The case is pending and being investigated by the Tema Regional Police.
Another aspirant, Mr Titus Glover, was also disqualified for not having voting rights and therefore could not be allowed to go to the primary.
This made it a straight fight between Mr Ishmael Ashietey, the incumbent, and Mr Ashong Narh.
The NPP Regional Officer, Mr Eric Kwaitia, who represented the Region? congratulated the delegates on the peaceful elections and urged them to support the candidate to carry the party to win the December general elections.
There were observers from the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and Assembly members of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly.
Monday, May 26, 2008
COLD STORE MANAGER NABBED FOR REBAGGING UNWHOLESOME MEAT (SPREAD)
Story: Rose Hayford Darko & Anasthasia Dzovor, TEMA
Police and Fire Service personnel in Tema have arrested a cold store manager at the Tema Fishing Harbour for repacking over 600 cartons of unwholesome frozen chicken and pig feet for sale to the public.
The suspect, Sylvester Spain, manages the Servistar Cold Store at the fishing harbour.
Briefing the press, an official of the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) in charge of the Tema Fishing Harbour, Mr Kwame Nsiah Poku, said upon a tip-off, police and fire service personnel who were on a special duty at the fishing harbour approached Mr Spain to open his cold store for inspection but he refused.
He said the team positioned a police officer at the cold store and continued with its duties elsewhere.
Mr Nsiah said information later reached the operations team that the cold store owner had opened it, based on which it went back, only to find some of the rotten chicken and pig feet ready for repackaging. Also found were Sellotape and weighing scales used in the repackaging.
Meanwhile, the cold store has been put under special lock by the police and the FDB, pending investigations.
Mr Nsiah said following the unhealthy situation unearthed at the Servistar Cold Store, the FDB would embark on an operation to ensure that meat, fish, chicken and all related products in cold stores in the Tema metropolis were wholesome and safe for consumption.
When Mr Spain was interrogated, he claimed that he imported the items but he was not willing to disclose other details. He, however, admitted that some of the products were rotten and said he was arranging to dispose of them. He explained that the malfunctioning of the systems at the cold store led to the bad state of the products and also affirmed that there were mice and other rodents in the building but disagreed that it was his duty to clear them, since he rented the premises.
Mr Spain mentioned the Greenwich Company as owner of the cold store and said it was responsible for cleanliness at the entire place.
Police and Fire Service personnel in Tema have arrested a cold store manager at the Tema Fishing Harbour for repacking over 600 cartons of unwholesome frozen chicken and pig feet for sale to the public.
The suspect, Sylvester Spain, manages the Servistar Cold Store at the fishing harbour.
Briefing the press, an official of the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) in charge of the Tema Fishing Harbour, Mr Kwame Nsiah Poku, said upon a tip-off, police and fire service personnel who were on a special duty at the fishing harbour approached Mr Spain to open his cold store for inspection but he refused.
He said the team positioned a police officer at the cold store and continued with its duties elsewhere.
Mr Nsiah said information later reached the operations team that the cold store owner had opened it, based on which it went back, only to find some of the rotten chicken and pig feet ready for repackaging. Also found were Sellotape and weighing scales used in the repackaging.
Meanwhile, the cold store has been put under special lock by the police and the FDB, pending investigations.
Mr Nsiah said following the unhealthy situation unearthed at the Servistar Cold Store, the FDB would embark on an operation to ensure that meat, fish, chicken and all related products in cold stores in the Tema metropolis were wholesome and safe for consumption.
When Mr Spain was interrogated, he claimed that he imported the items but he was not willing to disclose other details. He, however, admitted that some of the products were rotten and said he was arranging to dispose of them. He explained that the malfunctioning of the systems at the cold store led to the bad state of the products and also affirmed that there were mice and other rodents in the building but disagreed that it was his duty to clear them, since he rented the premises.
Mr Spain mentioned the Greenwich Company as owner of the cold store and said it was responsible for cleanliness at the entire place.
3,000 CASES SOLVED THROUGH ADR IN ASHAIMAN (PAGE 18)
Story: Rose Hayford Darko, Tema
Mediation through alternative dispute resolution has solved over 3,000 cases in the Ashiaman Municipality between 2001 and 2007, and promoted peace in homes and workplaces.
Most of the cases were rent issues, debts, denial of paternity, child maintenance, neglect and land disputes.
The mediators, who were trained in conflict management in 1999 by the Ghana Association of Chartered Mediators and Arbitrators in conjunction with the Legal Aid Board to help decongest the courts, have since offered their services to residents in Ashiaman and its immediate communities like Zenu, Adjei-Kojo, Santeo, Kubekro and Bethlehem.
Speaking after its sitting, the Chairman of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Centre at Ashiaman, Mr Gabriel Atsu, disclosed that the centre had successfully handled many issues in the municipality.
He said criminal cases which were reported at the centre had to be referred to the police for prosecution in courts in Tema and elsewhere because of the absence of a court at Ashiaman.
Mr Atsu stated that Ashiaman, which was recently given the municipality status, was populous and had slums as well.
He said the centre had counselled married couples on how to avoid misinformation, suspicion and frustration in their marriages and this had yielded positive results in many homes in the Ashaiman Municipality.
Mr Atsu observed that lack of child maintenance, which had led to child labour, was also rampant in Ashaiman.
He said that this had resulted in the denial of access to education, medical and parental care, compelling the children to undertake all sorts of menial jobs to support themselves.
Mr Atsu said the centre had been able to solve some of these problems and by the end of last year, it had salvaged 15 children aged between 10 and 15 years from indulging in activities that could be described as child labour. He said during mediation it came up that some factors militating against child maintenance by parents were divorce and separation of spouses, spouses having many children beyond the number they could cater for, teenage parenting, polygamous marital practices and the death of spouses.
He suggested that though arbitration had legal backing, Parliament must pass a legislation to back the arbitrators to strengthen them further to enable them to contribute to the amicable settlement of disputes .
Mr Atsu said patronage of the centre continued to increase and attract many residents and, therefore, appealed for rules and regulations to guide the practitioners at their centres.
Other mediators of the centre are Mr H. K. Mensah, Ms Justina Ativor and Mr Kingsley Kutiame.
Mediation through alternative dispute resolution has solved over 3,000 cases in the Ashiaman Municipality between 2001 and 2007, and promoted peace in homes and workplaces.
Most of the cases were rent issues, debts, denial of paternity, child maintenance, neglect and land disputes.
The mediators, who were trained in conflict management in 1999 by the Ghana Association of Chartered Mediators and Arbitrators in conjunction with the Legal Aid Board to help decongest the courts, have since offered their services to residents in Ashiaman and its immediate communities like Zenu, Adjei-Kojo, Santeo, Kubekro and Bethlehem.
Speaking after its sitting, the Chairman of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Centre at Ashiaman, Mr Gabriel Atsu, disclosed that the centre had successfully handled many issues in the municipality.
He said criminal cases which were reported at the centre had to be referred to the police for prosecution in courts in Tema and elsewhere because of the absence of a court at Ashiaman.
Mr Atsu stated that Ashiaman, which was recently given the municipality status, was populous and had slums as well.
He said the centre had counselled married couples on how to avoid misinformation, suspicion and frustration in their marriages and this had yielded positive results in many homes in the Ashaiman Municipality.
Mr Atsu observed that lack of child maintenance, which had led to child labour, was also rampant in Ashaiman.
He said that this had resulted in the denial of access to education, medical and parental care, compelling the children to undertake all sorts of menial jobs to support themselves.
Mr Atsu said the centre had been able to solve some of these problems and by the end of last year, it had salvaged 15 children aged between 10 and 15 years from indulging in activities that could be described as child labour. He said during mediation it came up that some factors militating against child maintenance by parents were divorce and separation of spouses, spouses having many children beyond the number they could cater for, teenage parenting, polygamous marital practices and the death of spouses.
He suggested that though arbitration had legal backing, Parliament must pass a legislation to back the arbitrators to strengthen them further to enable them to contribute to the amicable settlement of disputes .
Mr Atsu said patronage of the centre continued to increase and attract many residents and, therefore, appealed for rules and regulations to guide the practitioners at their centres.
Other mediators of the centre are Mr H. K. Mensah, Ms Justina Ativor and Mr Kingsley Kutiame.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
ELECTORATE MUST BE DISCIPLINED — NCCE (PAGE 17)
Story: Rose Hayford Darko, Tema
The Tema Metropolitan Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education has called on the electorate in the Kpone-Katamanso Constituency to desist from acts that will create indiscipline in the country during the general election this year.
Addressing a forum of chiefs, traditionalists, aspirants, representatives of political parties, youth and the public from the Kpone-Katamanso Constituency at Kpone, the Metropolitan Director of the NCCE, Mr E. A. Tetteh-Wayo, observed that voting for leaders of the country come once in four years and therefore urged the electorate to take advantage of the period to exercise their franchise to vote for their choices.
Mr Tetteh-Wayo was speaking on the theme: “The Sovereign will of the People — Ensuring Free and Fair Election 2008, the way forward”.
He said voting on Sunday was one of the challenges and therefore urged the electorate to view their involvement in the decision as very crucial.
He said the commission had taken steps to allow the leadership of various groups to express their views as to what could lead to peaceful elections.
The commission, he said, had instituted measures to ensure that traditional, religious and youth leaders and political parties played meaningful roles during the period.
Mr Tetteh-Wayo also stated that the commission lacked funds to go out extensively and therefore appealed to the section of the electorate present to brainstorm to ensure that they conveyed a positive message to their kinsmen.
The forum was attended by aspirants of the NDC, the NPP, and the CPP, representatives of the Muslim community, churches, traditionalists, association of garages, assembly members and various youth associations in the Kpone-Katamanso Constituency.
Mr Tetteh-Wayo noted that the Constitution placed Ghana in the hands of the people for whose welfare the power of government was exercised within the limits laid down in it.
He stated that it was important national leaders and representatives were chosen in a free, fair, transparent and peaceful process with the aim of attaining political stability and constitutional development for the country.
Mr Tetteh-Wayo said the NCCE was of the conviction that all major players in the country’s democratic process including the electoral commission, security agencies, political parties, traditional authorities, religious leaders, the media, the judiciary, governance institutions and all ordinary people had roles to play to strengthen the democratic process.
This, he noted, brought freedom, transparency and probity to ensure stability and national unity.
The Tema Metropolitan Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education has called on the electorate in the Kpone-Katamanso Constituency to desist from acts that will create indiscipline in the country during the general election this year.
Addressing a forum of chiefs, traditionalists, aspirants, representatives of political parties, youth and the public from the Kpone-Katamanso Constituency at Kpone, the Metropolitan Director of the NCCE, Mr E. A. Tetteh-Wayo, observed that voting for leaders of the country come once in four years and therefore urged the electorate to take advantage of the period to exercise their franchise to vote for their choices.
Mr Tetteh-Wayo was speaking on the theme: “The Sovereign will of the People — Ensuring Free and Fair Election 2008, the way forward”.
He said voting on Sunday was one of the challenges and therefore urged the electorate to view their involvement in the decision as very crucial.
He said the commission had taken steps to allow the leadership of various groups to express their views as to what could lead to peaceful elections.
The commission, he said, had instituted measures to ensure that traditional, religious and youth leaders and political parties played meaningful roles during the period.
Mr Tetteh-Wayo also stated that the commission lacked funds to go out extensively and therefore appealed to the section of the electorate present to brainstorm to ensure that they conveyed a positive message to their kinsmen.
The forum was attended by aspirants of the NDC, the NPP, and the CPP, representatives of the Muslim community, churches, traditionalists, association of garages, assembly members and various youth associations in the Kpone-Katamanso Constituency.
Mr Tetteh-Wayo noted that the Constitution placed Ghana in the hands of the people for whose welfare the power of government was exercised within the limits laid down in it.
He stated that it was important national leaders and representatives were chosen in a free, fair, transparent and peaceful process with the aim of attaining political stability and constitutional development for the country.
Mr Tetteh-Wayo said the NCCE was of the conviction that all major players in the country’s democratic process including the electoral commission, security agencies, political parties, traditional authorities, religious leaders, the media, the judiciary, governance institutions and all ordinary people had roles to play to strengthen the democratic process.
This, he noted, brought freedom, transparency and probity to ensure stability and national unity.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
MINISTER URGES CHIEFS TO ENSURE PEACE (PAGE 31)
Story: Rose Hayford Darko, Tema
The Minister of Chieftaincy Affairs and Culture, Mr S. K. Boafo, has urged chiefs in the country to use their positions as custodians of culture to rectify situations that have caused instability in the chieftaincy institution.
He said chiefs must take initiatives that were development-oriented to ensure peace and stability in the institution.
Mr Boafo, in making these assertions, therefore called on them to prevent situations in which people who were not royals infiltrated their ranks to seek to occupy the stool and skin.
He was speaking at the commissioning of officers for a chieftaincy consultancy of the Roses Investment (GH) Limited company at Tema, which was attended by a cross-section of chiefs from the southern part of Ghana.
Mr Boafo observed that as the first establishment in the country with the vision to offer general chieftaincy consultancy services, it would be prudent to operate within the tenets of the profession.
He said there was the need to educate chiefs to enable them to protect the legacy that had all the values of culture, discipline and peace.
Mr Boafo disclosed that there was a bill in parliament to amend the Chieftaincy Act 370 of 1971, which would provide capacity building training for chiefs in Ghana.
He said the power of arbitration would be restored to them and therefore the training would enhance their capacity and urged them to do better to salvage the nation from copying foreign culture.
Mr Boafo observed that the chieftaincy institution was sacred and continued to grow stronger and therefore denied that it will be scrapped as was being speculated.
He emphasised that those who used their monies to entice the leadership of the institution were the ones who brought about chaos.
Mr Boafo stated that chiefs in the country were learned and could help build the economy by initiating projects. He commended those who had set the pace to bring projects into the country.
Mr Boafo referred to some negative ways of speaking and dressing and eating habits, which some Ghanaians had adopted to the detriment of the country’s culture.
He hoped the consultancy would help educate not only chiefs but everybody who had something to do with chieftaincy to curb chieftaincy disputes.
Mr Boafo cautioned the management of the Roses Investment (GH) Limited to use their services to bring peace between two parties.
The President of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs, Togbega Gabusu II, who chaired the function, explained that some problems that people considered as chieftaincy were rather ethnic and therefore called on the company to educate the public on those differences to ensure that the chieftaincy institution became a noble one.
He congratulated the President on the recognition he had given the chieftaincy institution and called on chiefs in the country to reciprocate the gesture and unite to help build the a peaceful nation.
Togbega Gabusu, who is also the Fiaga of Gbi Traditional Area in the Volta Region, urged chiefs in the country to utilise the services of the consultancy and tap their experiences for advice.
He observed that the coming of the consultancy, especially when the country was opting for Alternative Dispute Resolution system, was timely and important to help solve some chieftaincy problems currently in some areas.
The Executive Director of Roses Investment (GH) Limited, Mr Harry Anthony Attipoe, in his address, noted that the objective to set up the consultancy was to contribute to the solution of chieftaincy problems.
He said his outfit would render services including general chieftaincy consultancy services, services on customary practices and usage, mediation using ADR systems and seminars and workshops for chiefs, queens and kinsmen, among others.
Mr Attipoe gave the assurance that the company was ready to face challenges of the time.
The Minister of Chieftaincy Affairs and Culture, Mr S. K. Boafo, has urged chiefs in the country to use their positions as custodians of culture to rectify situations that have caused instability in the chieftaincy institution.
He said chiefs must take initiatives that were development-oriented to ensure peace and stability in the institution.
Mr Boafo, in making these assertions, therefore called on them to prevent situations in which people who were not royals infiltrated their ranks to seek to occupy the stool and skin.
He was speaking at the commissioning of officers for a chieftaincy consultancy of the Roses Investment (GH) Limited company at Tema, which was attended by a cross-section of chiefs from the southern part of Ghana.
Mr Boafo observed that as the first establishment in the country with the vision to offer general chieftaincy consultancy services, it would be prudent to operate within the tenets of the profession.
He said there was the need to educate chiefs to enable them to protect the legacy that had all the values of culture, discipline and peace.
Mr Boafo disclosed that there was a bill in parliament to amend the Chieftaincy Act 370 of 1971, which would provide capacity building training for chiefs in Ghana.
He said the power of arbitration would be restored to them and therefore the training would enhance their capacity and urged them to do better to salvage the nation from copying foreign culture.
Mr Boafo observed that the chieftaincy institution was sacred and continued to grow stronger and therefore denied that it will be scrapped as was being speculated.
He emphasised that those who used their monies to entice the leadership of the institution were the ones who brought about chaos.
Mr Boafo stated that chiefs in the country were learned and could help build the economy by initiating projects. He commended those who had set the pace to bring projects into the country.
Mr Boafo referred to some negative ways of speaking and dressing and eating habits, which some Ghanaians had adopted to the detriment of the country’s culture.
He hoped the consultancy would help educate not only chiefs but everybody who had something to do with chieftaincy to curb chieftaincy disputes.
Mr Boafo cautioned the management of the Roses Investment (GH) Limited to use their services to bring peace between two parties.
The President of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs, Togbega Gabusu II, who chaired the function, explained that some problems that people considered as chieftaincy were rather ethnic and therefore called on the company to educate the public on those differences to ensure that the chieftaincy institution became a noble one.
He congratulated the President on the recognition he had given the chieftaincy institution and called on chiefs in the country to reciprocate the gesture and unite to help build the a peaceful nation.
Togbega Gabusu, who is also the Fiaga of Gbi Traditional Area in the Volta Region, urged chiefs in the country to utilise the services of the consultancy and tap their experiences for advice.
He observed that the coming of the consultancy, especially when the country was opting for Alternative Dispute Resolution system, was timely and important to help solve some chieftaincy problems currently in some areas.
The Executive Director of Roses Investment (GH) Limited, Mr Harry Anthony Attipoe, in his address, noted that the objective to set up the consultancy was to contribute to the solution of chieftaincy problems.
He said his outfit would render services including general chieftaincy consultancy services, services on customary practices and usage, mediation using ADR systems and seminars and workshops for chiefs, queens and kinsmen, among others.
Mr Attipoe gave the assurance that the company was ready to face challenges of the time.
Monday, May 19, 2008
SHORELINE PROJECT IMPROVES BEACHES (PAGE 28)
Story: Rose Hayford Darko, Tema
THE Ghana Shoreline Beautification Project has entered its third year since it was initiated in May 2006 to cleanse the beaches, erect structures and facilities, educate and build the capacity of fishermen to boost tourism.
The canoe beach at Tema, which is the starting point of the project, is gradually being transformed into a tourist site with clean sand structures yet to be roofed and signposts indicating the purpose of the project.
Some youth from the Tema community have volunteered to ensure that the fishermen are involved in the project through capacity building to appreciate the negative effects of polluting of the beaches has on marine and human life.
The Tema Mantse, Nii Adjei Krakue II, who initiated the project, has in line with its objectives earmarked GH¢6,000 for this year, noting that the project has included the youth at the community level to provide day-to-day service to remedy the sanitation problems at the beaches.
He also presented wheelbarrows, rakes and rubbish bins to the volunteers of the Friends of the Sea Beaches and Inland Waters Ghana (FRISBIW), to enable them to face the challenges of cleaning up the beaches.
Nii Krakue, who is the Board Chairman of the FRISBIW, said at Tema that the project, which would cover the coastal stretch from Alfa to Axim, started from Tema in May 2006 with the launch.
He said the main objective of the project was to stop all defecation and dumping of refuse along the beaches within a five-year period from 2006 to 2011.
Nii Krakue observed that because of financing, the project has dragged on for sometime but hoped that it would pick up as the fishermen in Tema were showing interest and had become very supportive.
He called for effective collaboration between the government and traditional authorities for the successful realisation of the vision of the initiator.
Nii Krakue appealed for commitment among the people and the volunteers to enable them to achieve the set goals for promotion of tourism on the shorelines.
He said he had adopted new strategies by penetrating the ranks of the youth with the formation of environmental fan clubs in schools to transfer the knowledge of environmental cleanliness to them at that level.
Nii Krakue noted that it was very important to keep beaches clean, since apart from tourism, they could offer a healthy atmosphere for human beings. He was hopeful that the 2009 national regatta would be held in Tema and be an occasion to showcase the beauty of the beach.
The Caretaker of the Tema beach, Mr Adjei Adjetey, who is a member of FRISBIW, said the major source of disposal of refuse into the sea was the Chemu Lagoon outlet where industrial waste passed especially when it rained.
He observed that the fishermen had been very helpful in recent times and therefore appealed to them to enhance the beautification process by reducing refuse generated at the beaches and on sea.
Nii Adjetey commented on dumping the remains of wrecked ships on the shores and indicated the difficulties encountered by visitors and those who expressed interest in swiming at the Tema Beach.
He, however, noted that volunteers had guarded those who went there to prevent disasters.
Mr Adjetey said towards December when the sea usually drew back, the volunteers had organised themselves to cut the steel remains under the sea and hoped that before the end of the five-year period, they would have removed all the wrecks.
He was optimistic that through the hard work of the volunteers, the objectives would be achieved.
Mr Adjetey said the organisation envisages a vision where the communities along the beaches in Ghana would be proactive in solving sanitation problems and local fishermen would engage in fishing in safe working conditions.
THE Ghana Shoreline Beautification Project has entered its third year since it was initiated in May 2006 to cleanse the beaches, erect structures and facilities, educate and build the capacity of fishermen to boost tourism.
The canoe beach at Tema, which is the starting point of the project, is gradually being transformed into a tourist site with clean sand structures yet to be roofed and signposts indicating the purpose of the project.
Some youth from the Tema community have volunteered to ensure that the fishermen are involved in the project through capacity building to appreciate the negative effects of polluting of the beaches has on marine and human life.
The Tema Mantse, Nii Adjei Krakue II, who initiated the project, has in line with its objectives earmarked GH¢6,000 for this year, noting that the project has included the youth at the community level to provide day-to-day service to remedy the sanitation problems at the beaches.
He also presented wheelbarrows, rakes and rubbish bins to the volunteers of the Friends of the Sea Beaches and Inland Waters Ghana (FRISBIW), to enable them to face the challenges of cleaning up the beaches.
Nii Krakue, who is the Board Chairman of the FRISBIW, said at Tema that the project, which would cover the coastal stretch from Alfa to Axim, started from Tema in May 2006 with the launch.
He said the main objective of the project was to stop all defecation and dumping of refuse along the beaches within a five-year period from 2006 to 2011.
Nii Krakue observed that because of financing, the project has dragged on for sometime but hoped that it would pick up as the fishermen in Tema were showing interest and had become very supportive.
He called for effective collaboration between the government and traditional authorities for the successful realisation of the vision of the initiator.
Nii Krakue appealed for commitment among the people and the volunteers to enable them to achieve the set goals for promotion of tourism on the shorelines.
He said he had adopted new strategies by penetrating the ranks of the youth with the formation of environmental fan clubs in schools to transfer the knowledge of environmental cleanliness to them at that level.
Nii Krakue noted that it was very important to keep beaches clean, since apart from tourism, they could offer a healthy atmosphere for human beings. He was hopeful that the 2009 national regatta would be held in Tema and be an occasion to showcase the beauty of the beach.
The Caretaker of the Tema beach, Mr Adjei Adjetey, who is a member of FRISBIW, said the major source of disposal of refuse into the sea was the Chemu Lagoon outlet where industrial waste passed especially when it rained.
He observed that the fishermen had been very helpful in recent times and therefore appealed to them to enhance the beautification process by reducing refuse generated at the beaches and on sea.
Nii Adjetey commented on dumping the remains of wrecked ships on the shores and indicated the difficulties encountered by visitors and those who expressed interest in swiming at the Tema Beach.
He, however, noted that volunteers had guarded those who went there to prevent disasters.
Mr Adjetey said towards December when the sea usually drew back, the volunteers had organised themselves to cut the steel remains under the sea and hoped that before the end of the five-year period, they would have removed all the wrecks.
He was optimistic that through the hard work of the volunteers, the objectives would be achieved.
Mr Adjetey said the organisation envisages a vision where the communities along the beaches in Ghana would be proactive in solving sanitation problems and local fishermen would engage in fishing in safe working conditions.
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