My First Day In School In The Upper East Region

Lack of furniture, teachers, text books and congestion were some major challenges confronting some schools in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region.

These were observed as the Acting Regional Coordinating Director Alhaji Mahamadu A Azonko on behalf of the Regional Minister, accompanied by the Regional Director of Education and the District Director of Education Tongo, a representative of Afrikids, an NGO and the Tong- ran paid a visit to some schools in the area as part of my first day in school initiative.

 My first day in school initiative is embarked upon by educational stakeholders to usher new comers to school from the Kindergarten to Junior High school level. The authorities visited the Sheaga and Gbane, kindergarten, KG, primary and Junior High Schools respectively.

In all the schools visited, most of the pupils could not expressed themselves in the English language including answering question about their names.

Speaking to Radio Ghana, the Head teacher of the Sheaga primary school, Mr. Konlan Johnson, attributed the situation to lack of text books.

He explained the text books ratio is one text book to three pupils and that problem has been there since 2013 till date.

Mr. Konlan said the school have five hundred and 60 pupils in the primary with only 5 teachers and two hundred and 32 JHS students, making a total of seven hundred and 90 students.

At the KG block, Ms. Ziyaaba Olivia gave enrollment figures as 85 pupils constituting 51 girls and 34 boys.

She added that the figure might increase as the term progresses. Meanwhile, it was shocking to see the pupils seated on the floor. Ms Olivia, however, lamented that parents bring their wards for admission without any accompanying document which makes their academic records keeping very difficult.

The story was not different at the Gbane primary A as the Head Master, Mr. Domon Awafo, disclosed that the few text books used were purchased from the school’s 2015/16 capitation grant which are no more in a very good shape.

According to her, School enrollment as five hundred and 13 and two hundred 32 in JHS, making a total of seven hundred and 45 with 6 teachers each. Responding to the various challenges, the Regional Director of Education, Mrs Jane Sabina Obeng, tasked the teachers to hold Parent Teacher Association meetings and educate parents to come along with the weighing cards of their wards especially the KG level.

Mrs Obeng however said she will collaborate with the District Director of Education, to address the critical problems within the shortest possible time. The pupils were given exercise books, pencils and crayons provided by Afrikids Ghana 

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An Orientation Workshop for Government Appointees Organized in UER

An orientation workshop has been organized for all the thirteen Municipal and District Executives, in the Upper East Region. 

It was organized by the Ministry of Local government and Rural Development in collaboration with the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council, RCC. 

The workshop was to explore innovative ways of generating more revenue within the various assemblies in the Upper East Region. 

This will help reduce pressure on the District Assembly Common Fund, DACF. Speaking to Radio Ghana, the Chief Director of the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council, Alhaji Abudulai Abubakar, indicated that if all the thirteen Municipal and District Assemblies in the Region played their respective roles effectively, they will not rely solely on the Central Government for Internal Generated Fund, IGF. 

He cited the huge revenue potentials in the region such as water melon, irrigation, rice production among others and noted that there was no way the assemblies in the region could only rely on the DACF. 

Mr. Abubakar who spoke on behalf of the Regional Minister, Mr. Rockson Bukari tasked all the appointees to bring their experience to bear by exploring pragmatic means aimed at generating more revenue instead. 

He stressed that, the assemblies have absolute power to contribute significantly to national development by enacting by laws to help curb high teenage pregnancy and harmful traditional practices. 

Mr. Abubakar pleaded with the Municipal and District Chief Executives to strengthen the decentralization systems by ensuring that the assembly substructures were well built to bring about rapid development in the region. 

He encouraged the appointees not to be interested only in serving the procurement   committee as it often done but to endeavor to serve other committees. 

Mr. Salia Abdul –Momen, a Resou Person  from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development took the participants through topics such as the overview of the Local Government Act 2016 Act 936, District Assembly and  the Committee system, model standing orders, local resource mobilization, Committee engagement in Local Governance, ethics and local governance.  

He also took them through Documentation and the Standing orders and entreated them to adhere strictly to those procedures to help make the assemblies more vibrant

An Accident at SSNIT traffic Light Bolgatanga

A young man of about 22 years old who defied traffic regulations was severely injured after been hit by an Inter-City bus in the Bolgatnaga municipality of the Upper East region. 

The bus with registration number GE 5187-16, was traveling from Navrongo to Accra, when the incident occurred at a popular road intersection named by residents as the SSNIT the traffic lights. 

According to an eye witness, the rider of the motor bike with registration number M-09-UE 3286 according to traffic regulations was expected to stop and watch before crossing the major and busy road. 

In an attempt to cross he was hit by the bus. Fortunately, he fell on the shoulder of the road but the bus which could not make instant stop dragged his motor bike whilst in motion for about 100 yards before stopping. Meanwhile the motor rider was not wearing a crush helmet. 

The rider was rushed to the hospital for treatment. The SSNIT traffic lights is major in the Bolgatanga municipality because of the numerous and frequent accidents recorded in the past. To this effect, the frequent breakdown of the traffic coupled with frequent power outages is resulting in high accidents cases. 

As ta the time of filing of this report, the traffic lights in the municipality are not functioning and this have been the situation for months. 

The MTTU of the Ghana Police service and the National road safety management authority have not provided personnel to physically direct traffic. 

Although authorities from the municipal assembly and regional coordinating council have been plying the various roads leading to this main traffic light, nothing is being done to fix the problem. 

It is observed that the traffic light is usually been work on upon hearing of top government officials visit into the region or fatal accidents. 

The populace especially children and pedestrians are exposed to high risk of being knocked down by vehicular traffic when crossing or using these roads.

                                                                       

Stakeholders meeting on Mother Baby Friendly Health Initiative MBHFI Organized in Bongo-Soe

 

A stakeholder engagement meeting have been organized on Mother Baby Friendly Health Initiative, MBHFI, in Bongo-Soe, a suburb of the Bongo district in the Upper East Region.

The meeting was organized by the Integrated Youth Needs and Welfare INTYON a local NGO and the Ghana Health Service in Partnership with United Nations International Children Education Fun UNICEF.

The MBHFI concept is looking at globally how every mother and child will receive all the necessary quality healthcare from conception, during pregnancy and after delivery from the health facility to the human resource level with more emphasis to exclusive breastfeeding.

The programme is implemented in three countries, Tanzania, Bangladesh and Ghana.  In an interview with radio Ghana, the Bongo-Soe sub-district head of the Ghana Health Service Isaac Adabre indicated that the Upper East is the implementing region of the MBHFI Programme.

He added that the Bongo-Soe health facility is one of the four districts to benefit from the Programme.

Mr Adabre said, UNICEF is currently furnishing the facility with the requisite equipment to enable them provide the quality care that babies and mothers need.

 

According to the Executive Director of INTYON, Chief Issah Ibrahim, the meeting was to sensitize the chiefs, opinion leaders, traditional herbal practitioners, community members, volunteers, staff of the health facility, assemblymen and women with the view of bringing MBHFI to their doorsteps and the role each  member of the community is expected to play regarding exclusive breastfeeding.

                                                                               

Three women between the ages of 50 -56 years took turns to share the benefits of exclusive breast feeding with the 32 participants at the meeting.

It was discovered that traditional beliefs systems and customs still hinders the practices of exclusive breastfeeding and other child related diseases from visiting health facilities in the area.

The midwife in charge of delivery at the Bongo-Soe health facility, Cecilia Azitatige Ayeyuure, indicated that the facility has since the beginning of the year 2017 recorded 208 deliveries whilst August 2017 recorded 39.

Ms. Ayeyuure therefore appeal to the telecommunication companies to help improve the network in the area to enable them discharge quality healthcare to the people.

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A Child Day Care Center Innaugurated in Nangodi Nabdam District-UER

A one unit child day care center with a sitting capacity of about 30, has been constructed with ancillary facility at a total cost of 38 thousand Ghana cedis at Nangodi in the Nabdam district. 

This forms part of Action Aid Ghana’s five-year project on Promoting Opportunity for Women Empowerment and Rights, POWER. The project was funded by the Netherlands. 

The main objective of the project is to contribute to the economic empowerment of about 6000 rural women in Ghana by supporting them to increase their incomes and self-reliance, reduce the drudgery of unpaid work and promote credible and sustainable livelihood. 

Action Aid an NGO and a social justice organization which has been working in the district in collaboration with BONATADO for the past 10 years, aims at empowering people living in poverty and exclusion by actively organizing them into groups, network and social movements to drive the necessary change they desire. 

According to the NGO, this will ensure gender equality, poverty eradication and redistribution of power and resources. 

Speaking to radio Ghana during the inauguration, the Programme Manager of Action Aid Ghana Mr. Sulley Alhassan, indicated that Action Aid has organized 43 women groups in the Upper East Region with membership drive of 32 women each and empowered them to shift power and redistributed gender roles in their households. 

This Mr. Alhassan noted has helped 1,376 women to engage in productive resources such as petty trading, dry season farming and weaving. 

He added that Action Aid Ghana has constructed five childcare centers and renovated one structure in the Talensi and Nabdam districts. 

Mr. Alhassan emphasized that the vision of Action Aid Ghana is to attain an equitable and sustainable society in which people enjoy the right to a life of dignity and freedom from poverty and all forms of oppression. 

In a speech read on her behalf, at the inaugural ceremony the Nabdam District Chief Executive, Agnes Anamoo, expressed appreciation for the interventions of Action Aid Ghana and other development partners in the Nabdam district. 

Mrs. Anamoo was optimistic that the power project will strengthen the tiers between Ghana and the Netherlands and hope that the shared cultural heritage of the two countries remain an integral part of the prevailing bi-lateral relations that exist between Ghana and the good people of the Netherlands. 

Mrs. Anamoo therefore assured Action Aid Ghana and their partners that the structure will be used for its intended purpose. She used the occasion to appeal for the scaling up of the said project to the rest of the communities.

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Let’s explore viable economic ventures to support Political Institutions”-NPP Aspirant

The former Upper East Regional First Vice Chairman of the New Patriotic Party NPP, Mr. Isaac Adawele Atasige, has called on all the regional and constituency executives to explore viable economic ventures to support the growth of the party.

Mr. Atasige said the situation where individuals were made to fund the party did not only make it difficult to get funding but also discouraged collective decisions.

He said, it is high time we moved away from allowing individuals to fund the activities of the party so as to avoid the situation where one person would impose his or her decision on us as party executives and members.

He said NPP needs collective decisions to effectively run the activities of the party to make a meaningful impact.

The former Regional First Vice Chairman urged regional and constituency executives to mobilize people at the grassroots to take advantage of various Government interventions including the Planting for food and jobs and the One District One factory initiatives.

He added that the Upper East Region was noted for irrigation  and the people at the grassroots could be mobilized to undertake dry season farming as that would not only help address the unemployment and poverty levels in the area but would also help contribute some amount of resources for the party’s activities.

He said the situation where the regional and constituency executives had to task themselves for resources to attend to issues such as funerals and emergencies could be resolved if the party had its own business running at the regional and constituency levels.

  

The former Regional First Vice Chairman, who is nurturing the ambition to contest for the same position when the party re-opens election this year, expressed regret about the poor performance of the party in the region, during the last Parliamentary election where the party got only three parliamentary seats.

Mr. Atasige indicated that, when he wins the election as the Regional first Vice Chairman he would adopt a strategy to increase the number of parliamentary seats from three to nine and also increase the margin for the presidential as well.

What is needed for the party to win more seats and to win more convincingly for the presidential slot in the region is to conduct post-election audit and to develop a regional strategic plan which will bring everybody on board to chart the way forward. 

Twenty 20 Member Board Land Commissioners Inuagurated In Bolgatanga UER

Land continues to be a very important natural resources in the world. Due to its key role in the development process, land encroachment and litigation are some of the various challenges confronting the country. 

The situation is therefore not different in the Upper East region. As part of effort to tackle some of these challenges, the Upper East Regional Lands Commission has been inaugurated in Bolgatanga. 

The 20-member Commissioners as part of its mandate is to manage public lands. 

The Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr. John Peter Amewu, indicated  that the many  challenges in the land sector when  addressed, can  help  Ghana realize her dream of becoming the gateway for business in Africa.  

Mr.   Amewu said,  meeting  the challenges in the land sector  would also pave the way for the  implementation of  many of the government flagship programmes including the One  Village, One Dam, One District , One Factory , the Planting for food and Jobs , the Coastal , Middle Belt and Northern Development Authorities and others such as road , railway and telecommunication infrastructure. 

The Sector Minister disclosed this during the inauguration of the Upper East Regional Lands Commission at the Regional Coordinating Council in Bolgatanga. 

He tasked the 20-member Commissioners to work hard to help address challenges in the sector to realize set targets. 

He mentioned the countless land litigations including different parties before courts, customary authorities engaged in multiply sale of lands, falsification of land documents in different public agencies, high cost of survey charges which discourage owners from doing proper documentation, delays in processing land documents and registration of lands as some of problems. 

He regretted that the poor inventory of lands that were acquired by the Government in the past, had made many clans and communities to lay claims to such land thereby encroaching on them. 

The Sector Minister told the commissioners that, they are expected to manage public lands and advice government, local authorities and traditional authorities on the policy framework for the development of particular areas of the country. 

This will ensure that development of individual pieces of land is coordinated with relevant development plan for the area concerned. 

He stressed that, they are also expected to formulate and submit to government recommendations on national policy with respect to land suitability and capability, advice on, and assist in execution of comprehensive programme for the registration of title to land throughout the country as well as perform other functions assigned by the sector minister. 

The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Rockson Bukari also expressed some concerns about the uncoordinated planning of the land sector agencies in the region making it difficult for most of the Assemblies to properly develop land boundaries and do proper documentation. 

Mr. Bukari therefore charge the land sector agencies to work together as a team to address the challenges confronting the Assemblies. 

The Regional Minister therefore appealed to the Commissioners to sensitize communities for the implementation of the government flagship programmes, stressing that it is becoming very difficult to acquire lands for the implementation of the programmes and for development partners who have expressed interest to invest in the region. Mr. Bukari however expressed worry about some negative activities of the land sector agencies.

The National Coordinator of the Commission, Mr. Stephen Ntim, assured the Commissioners   that government would commit resources and logistics to ensure that they work to achieve the desire set targets. He stated that he had no doubt in the calibre of personalities who had been selected to represent the Commission in the Region and entreated them not to betray the trust and confidence imposed on them.

The Chairman of the Upper East Regional Lands Commission, Mr. Jonathan Agme, on behalf of his colleagues thanked the Government for the confidence reposed in them and pledged that they would work hard to help the government accelerate development.