THE Kwadaso Agricultural College has elected new prefects to administer the affairs of the school for the next academic year.
Mr Bernard Addai was elected President of the Students Representative Council (SRC) after polling 94 per cent of the total votes cast. Other officers elected included Mr Nicholas Atanga Atoa, General Attaché; Mr Kofi Asigbe, Auditor; Mr Peter Nketia, men’s Prefect; Mr Yusif Abu Samed, Entertainment Prefect, and Mr Paul Anderson, Animal attaché. For the first time in the college’s history, it conducted the elections through the electronic voting system.
A science graduate from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology developed the system. In an interview after the election, the chairman of the school’s election committee, Mr Thomas Quaye, said the decision to introduce the electronic voting was to eliminate suspicion in the election.
He said in the past, students complained about irregularities in the elections and expressed happiness that there were no complaints with the new system.
The outgoing SRC President, Mr Eben Tetteh Agbo, said the SRC had decided to make the electronic voting a permanent system of elections in the college. He commended the student body for ensuring that the election went on peacefully.
The Principal of the College, Mr K.F. Kontoh also commended the SRC for going a step further to bring sanity into its election. He promised that the college’s administration would support SRC to ensure sanity in their activities both on and off campus.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
AHAFO ANO NORTH ASSEMBLY HOLDS MEETING (PAGE 42, JUNE 3, 2010)
THE Forestry Services Division (FSD) of the Forestry Commission has registered 300 youth in the Ahafo Ano North District for engagement on the National Forest Plantation Development Programme (NFPDP).
The youth would be engaged in plantation projects on some degraded forests in the district from which they would earn some income.
The District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr David Addai Amankwah, made this known at the first ordinary meeting of the district assembly at Tepa.
President John Evans Atta Mills in January, this year, launched the NDPDP at Abofour in the Offinso Municipality with an invitation to all Ghanaians to join in the efforts at halting the degradation of the country’s forests.
The NFPDP, which is being executed by the Forestry Commission in collaboration with selected district assemblies, was conceived by Alhaji Collins Dauda (MP), the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, and subsequently adopted by Cabinet.
Targeted at regenerating over 400,000 hectares of degraded reserves and off-reserve areas, NFPDP will focus essentially at developing a sustainable forest resource base to accelerate the national greening campaign and rejuvenate rural economies through the provision of more than 51,000 jobs in 170 districts across the country by 2011 from an initial 30,000 jobs in 100 districts this year.
Mr Amankwaah told the meeting that the assembly would fully support the programme to enable it to achieve its objectives. On revenue generation, the DCE said it had been a challenge to the assembly and called for concerted measures to address the situation.
He said without improved local revenue generation, the assembly could not do much in respect of initiating development projects. Mr Amankwaah stated that the assembly intended to spend GH¢105,833.14, representing 19.68 per cent of its share of the district assemblies’ common fund on education this year.
The DCE stressed the importance the assembly attached to education and urged parents to enrol their children in school. On the farmers’ registration exercise, he said the exercise received low patronage in 2009.
Mr Amankwaah said as a result, the exercise had been extended to this year and that by the close of March, 6,071 farmers comprising 4,371 males and 1,700 females had been registered.
He urged the assembly members to advise their electorate who are farmers to register since there were a lot of benefits to be derived from it.
Mr Amankwaah said in spite of some challenges facing the National Health Insurance Scheme, the district had been able to register 63,336 people with the scheme. He added that the scheme was to intensify its educational programme to hook more people onto it.
The DCE charged officials of the Information Services Department in the district to intensify their campaign to educate the people on the government’s policies and programmes to enable them to appreciate the strides the government was making to advance the development of the nation.
The youth would be engaged in plantation projects on some degraded forests in the district from which they would earn some income.
The District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr David Addai Amankwah, made this known at the first ordinary meeting of the district assembly at Tepa.
President John Evans Atta Mills in January, this year, launched the NDPDP at Abofour in the Offinso Municipality with an invitation to all Ghanaians to join in the efforts at halting the degradation of the country’s forests.
The NFPDP, which is being executed by the Forestry Commission in collaboration with selected district assemblies, was conceived by Alhaji Collins Dauda (MP), the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, and subsequently adopted by Cabinet.
Targeted at regenerating over 400,000 hectares of degraded reserves and off-reserve areas, NFPDP will focus essentially at developing a sustainable forest resource base to accelerate the national greening campaign and rejuvenate rural economies through the provision of more than 51,000 jobs in 170 districts across the country by 2011 from an initial 30,000 jobs in 100 districts this year.
Mr Amankwaah told the meeting that the assembly would fully support the programme to enable it to achieve its objectives. On revenue generation, the DCE said it had been a challenge to the assembly and called for concerted measures to address the situation.
He said without improved local revenue generation, the assembly could not do much in respect of initiating development projects. Mr Amankwaah stated that the assembly intended to spend GH¢105,833.14, representing 19.68 per cent of its share of the district assemblies’ common fund on education this year.
The DCE stressed the importance the assembly attached to education and urged parents to enrol their children in school. On the farmers’ registration exercise, he said the exercise received low patronage in 2009.
Mr Amankwaah said as a result, the exercise had been extended to this year and that by the close of March, 6,071 farmers comprising 4,371 males and 1,700 females had been registered.
He urged the assembly members to advise their electorate who are farmers to register since there were a lot of benefits to be derived from it.
Mr Amankwaah said in spite of some challenges facing the National Health Insurance Scheme, the district had been able to register 63,336 people with the scheme. He added that the scheme was to intensify its educational programme to hook more people onto it.
The DCE charged officials of the Information Services Department in the district to intensify their campaign to educate the people on the government’s policies and programmes to enable them to appreciate the strides the government was making to advance the development of the nation.
SUPPORT GROWTH OF LOCAL COMPANIES — DR BOATENG (PAGE 42, JUNE 3, 2010)
A GHANAIAN Engineering Business expert, Dr Douglas Boateng, has called on the government to support the growth of local companies into giant establishments to enable them to rub shoulders with their international counterparts.
Dr Boateng said it was regrettable for instance that today some major construction works were awarded to foreign companies because of the inability of the local companies to meet various requirements, including equipment holding.
Dr Boateng, who is the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Panavest International, a niche business and investment company in South Africa, said Ghana must take lessons from other developing countries that had been able to build local companies, some of which had participated and won international bids.
Inaugurating the West Africa Institute for Supply Chain Leadership at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Dr Boateng stressed the need for the country to revisit the “good old days” when the government built strong establishments like the GIHOC conglomerate.
He said there were immense benefits in building huge conglomerates.
Dr Boateng urged Ghanaians not to see the discovery of oil as the panacea to the economic challenges facing the nation.
He said the real solution to the economic difficulties lay in the ability to manage the numerous resources of the nation, including cocoa, and for the people to work hard to improve productivity.
According to him, Ghana had over the years not managed to use resources from cocoa, gold, manganese and other resources to its advantage.
“This is what we have to address instead of seeing the discovery of oil as the end to Ghana’s woes,” Dr Boateng stated.
He said a company like MTN International’s market capital was bigger than that of Ghana’s total GDP, which was unacceptable for a nation with many resources.
Dr Boateng further suggested to the private sector to consider going into partnership to strengthen their capital base for expansion.
He emphasised the need for the government to think about using supply chain as a way of strengthening state institutions.
He said, “Unless the supply chain management concept is adopted, future generations will still be talking about the same unproductive development issues while the government goes round the world with a bowl in hand looking for support.”
Dr Boateng said it was regrettable for instance that today some major construction works were awarded to foreign companies because of the inability of the local companies to meet various requirements, including equipment holding.
Dr Boateng, who is the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Panavest International, a niche business and investment company in South Africa, said Ghana must take lessons from other developing countries that had been able to build local companies, some of which had participated and won international bids.
Inaugurating the West Africa Institute for Supply Chain Leadership at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Dr Boateng stressed the need for the country to revisit the “good old days” when the government built strong establishments like the GIHOC conglomerate.
He said there were immense benefits in building huge conglomerates.
Dr Boateng urged Ghanaians not to see the discovery of oil as the panacea to the economic challenges facing the nation.
He said the real solution to the economic difficulties lay in the ability to manage the numerous resources of the nation, including cocoa, and for the people to work hard to improve productivity.
According to him, Ghana had over the years not managed to use resources from cocoa, gold, manganese and other resources to its advantage.
“This is what we have to address instead of seeing the discovery of oil as the end to Ghana’s woes,” Dr Boateng stated.
He said a company like MTN International’s market capital was bigger than that of Ghana’s total GDP, which was unacceptable for a nation with many resources.
Dr Boateng further suggested to the private sector to consider going into partnership to strengthen their capital base for expansion.
He emphasised the need for the government to think about using supply chain as a way of strengthening state institutions.
He said, “Unless the supply chain management concept is adopted, future generations will still be talking about the same unproductive development issues while the government goes round the world with a bowl in hand looking for support.”
UEW INTRODUCES MBA DEGREE COURSES AT KUMASI CAMPUS (PAGE 29, JUNE 3, 2010)
THE University of Education, Winneba, (UEW) has introduced a Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree to its list of postgraduate programmes.
The MBA, to be tenable at the College of Technology Education (Kumasi Campus) of the University, starts this year with specialisation in two areas – Marketing and Organisational Development and Human Resource Management.
Prof. Emmanuel James Flolu, the Principal of the Kumasi Campus of the University, said , the MBA programme would be expanded next year to include Accounting and Finance.
He said the introduction of the programme was part of the university’s efforts to produce top-level manpower for industry.
Speaking at a meeting with a cross-section of the alumni of the Kumasi Campus of the University in Kumasi to formally introduce himself to them, Prof. Flolu, who assumed office about six months ago, said the UEW was charging affordable fees for the programme.
He said it was the intention of the university to help many workers as possible to access higher education while still working and that was why the MBA programme had been fixed for the evenings to enable workers to attend lectures after work.
The principal said there was the need for the alumni of the university to play a leading role in building their alma mater.
“You’ve been the source of inspiration for our progress”, he told the alumni and appealed to them to initiate programmes and projects that would benefit the university.
The MBA, to be tenable at the College of Technology Education (Kumasi Campus) of the University, starts this year with specialisation in two areas – Marketing and Organisational Development and Human Resource Management.
Prof. Emmanuel James Flolu, the Principal of the Kumasi Campus of the University, said , the MBA programme would be expanded next year to include Accounting and Finance.
He said the introduction of the programme was part of the university’s efforts to produce top-level manpower for industry.
Speaking at a meeting with a cross-section of the alumni of the Kumasi Campus of the University in Kumasi to formally introduce himself to them, Prof. Flolu, who assumed office about six months ago, said the UEW was charging affordable fees for the programme.
He said it was the intention of the university to help many workers as possible to access higher education while still working and that was why the MBA programme had been fixed for the evenings to enable workers to attend lectures after work.
The principal said there was the need for the alumni of the university to play a leading role in building their alma mater.
“You’ve been the source of inspiration for our progress”, he told the alumni and appealed to them to initiate programmes and projects that would benefit the university.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
FIRE DESTROYS CITY STYLE HOTEL IN KUMASI (PAGE 29, JUNE 2, 2010)
A DEVASTATING fire said to have started during repeated power outages in Kumasi last Saturday has razed down the City Style Hotel at Asokwa.
The hotel, opened about a year ago and located close to Ashh FM on the Afful Nkwanta-Stadium road is one of the modern hotels in the metropolis.
Apart from a fridge and other few documents, everything in the 14-room facility was destroyed in the blaze.
Guests and workers were evacuated before the fire swept through the rooms in the two-storey building.
A combined team of fire fighters from Manhyia and Amakom that was called in to battle the blaze fought fruitlessly as the inferno devastated the building.
A visibly shocked owner of the hotel, Mr I.N. Amissah, told the Daily Graphic that the fire started in the evening when the area was experiencing series of power outages.
He said a staff of the hotel, detected smoke from a corner of the building and the fire service was immediately informed.
When fire personnel arrived, the fire had already engulfed the building causing massive destruction to property.
Fire personnel said they were yet to determine the cause of the fire, as investigations had not been concluded.
Mr Amissah however indicated that the hotel was insured and that he would be informing the insurance company in due course.
The hotel, opened about a year ago and located close to Ashh FM on the Afful Nkwanta-Stadium road is one of the modern hotels in the metropolis.
Apart from a fridge and other few documents, everything in the 14-room facility was destroyed in the blaze.
Guests and workers were evacuated before the fire swept through the rooms in the two-storey building.
A combined team of fire fighters from Manhyia and Amakom that was called in to battle the blaze fought fruitlessly as the inferno devastated the building.
A visibly shocked owner of the hotel, Mr I.N. Amissah, told the Daily Graphic that the fire started in the evening when the area was experiencing series of power outages.
He said a staff of the hotel, detected smoke from a corner of the building and the fire service was immediately informed.
When fire personnel arrived, the fire had already engulfed the building causing massive destruction to property.
Fire personnel said they were yet to determine the cause of the fire, as investigations had not been concluded.
Mr Amissah however indicated that the hotel was insured and that he would be informing the insurance company in due course.
HOUSE NUMBERING PROJECT COMMENCES END OF YEAR (BACK PAGE, JUNE 1, 2010)
A project to facilitate the numbering of houses in the country by street names is to be rolled out before December this year.
Speaking at a validation workshop in Kumasi last Friday, the Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, said the uniform street naming and building numbering system for the country would first be implemented in the regional capitals this year, to be followed by the district capitals next year.
To achieve that target, he indicated that the policy to guide its implementation would be ready this month.
He said the ministry was on course to end the system whereby places in the cities and other big towns were identified by objects such as kiosks and trees.
The workshop was attended by officers from the implementation agencies, including decentralised departments within the district assemblies and the police.
The numbering system of the past is fraught with a considerable range of challenges, including difficulty in locating persons and buildings.
This has led to low revenue mobilisation, inadequate service provision for houses and people and mounting difficulties associated with the provision of emergency services in times of fire, robbery, health emergencies, among others.
The deputy minister said it was to address these and other challenges that the ministry was charged to issue a framework to guide the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to put in place a coherent addressing system that would also ultimately contribute to national development efforts, since it would facilitate better service delivery to the people.
Under the new system, all proposed street names will be approved by an MMDA statutory planning committee before implementation and approved street names cannot be changed through any local action.
Besides, all roads will be named, irrespective of whether they have dwelling units or business-related buildings or not.
Mr Afriyie-Ankrah said the proper implementation of the programme could generate about 50,000 jobs across the country.
The Co-ordinator of the programme, Mr Kwadwo Yeboah, said the naming of roads for new developments would be done during the period of developing sector layouts for the designed areas.
For private developments, he said, the developer was expected to submit the names of roads as part of the layout and the plan should be forwarded to the district assembly to avoid duplication.
Speaking at a validation workshop in Kumasi last Friday, the Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, said the uniform street naming and building numbering system for the country would first be implemented in the regional capitals this year, to be followed by the district capitals next year.
To achieve that target, he indicated that the policy to guide its implementation would be ready this month.
He said the ministry was on course to end the system whereby places in the cities and other big towns were identified by objects such as kiosks and trees.
The workshop was attended by officers from the implementation agencies, including decentralised departments within the district assemblies and the police.
The numbering system of the past is fraught with a considerable range of challenges, including difficulty in locating persons and buildings.
This has led to low revenue mobilisation, inadequate service provision for houses and people and mounting difficulties associated with the provision of emergency services in times of fire, robbery, health emergencies, among others.
The deputy minister said it was to address these and other challenges that the ministry was charged to issue a framework to guide the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to put in place a coherent addressing system that would also ultimately contribute to national development efforts, since it would facilitate better service delivery to the people.
Under the new system, all proposed street names will be approved by an MMDA statutory planning committee before implementation and approved street names cannot be changed through any local action.
Besides, all roads will be named, irrespective of whether they have dwelling units or business-related buildings or not.
Mr Afriyie-Ankrah said the proper implementation of the programme could generate about 50,000 jobs across the country.
The Co-ordinator of the programme, Mr Kwadwo Yeboah, said the naming of roads for new developments would be done during the period of developing sector layouts for the designed areas.
For private developments, he said, the developer was expected to submit the names of roads as part of the layout and the plan should be forwarded to the district assembly to avoid duplication.
POWER CUTS MAY OCCUR...During World Cup (PAGE 31, JUNE 1, 2010)
THE Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) cannot guarantee uninterrupted power supply during the World Cup, Mr Erasmus Baidoo, Public Relations Manager in charge of the Ashanti Region, has said.
“It is not our intention to put off power during the tournament but we must all know that anything can happen.
“We, however, pray that all goes on well,” he told the Graphic Daily in Kumasi yesterday.
Mr Baidoo said much as the company would wish there were no power interruptions during the tournament so that fans could watch all the matches, the threat of power failure at any point in time could not be completely ruled out.
A number of football fans have, through the media, cautioned the ECG against power outages during the World Cup, especially when Ghana are playing.
Some have even vowed to march to the premises of the company to demonstrate against any such power cuts.
According to them, recent erratic power supply poses a threat to the fans getting the opportunity to watch all the matches.
Mr Baidoo admitted the importance Ghanaians attached to football, especially when Ghana plays in a big tournament like the World Cup.
He said supply and installation went together to provide power, and when there was a problem with any one of them, there was bound to be interruptions.
Currently, the ECG is having challenges with its installations, as some of the equipment has become obsolete.
Mr Baidoo said some criminals had also resorted to the stealing of cables and, therefore, called on the public to help the ECG apprehend such unscrupulous people to ensure constant power supply.
“It is not our intention to put off power during the tournament but we must all know that anything can happen.
“We, however, pray that all goes on well,” he told the Graphic Daily in Kumasi yesterday.
Mr Baidoo said much as the company would wish there were no power interruptions during the tournament so that fans could watch all the matches, the threat of power failure at any point in time could not be completely ruled out.
A number of football fans have, through the media, cautioned the ECG against power outages during the World Cup, especially when Ghana are playing.
Some have even vowed to march to the premises of the company to demonstrate against any such power cuts.
According to them, recent erratic power supply poses a threat to the fans getting the opportunity to watch all the matches.
Mr Baidoo admitted the importance Ghanaians attached to football, especially when Ghana plays in a big tournament like the World Cup.
He said supply and installation went together to provide power, and when there was a problem with any one of them, there was bound to be interruptions.
Currently, the ECG is having challenges with its installations, as some of the equipment has become obsolete.
Mr Baidoo said some criminals had also resorted to the stealing of cables and, therefore, called on the public to help the ECG apprehend such unscrupulous people to ensure constant power supply.
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