As part of government’s efforts to reduce post-harvest losses in the country, over 50-metric tonne warehouses are being constructed in some parts of the country under the government’s flagship, One District-One Warehouse programme.
While this measure is being taken, there are facilities of this kind being left to waste away with authorities looking on.
Checks by this reporter indicated that silos constructed at Dormabin, a farming community in Krachi East Municipality of the Oti Region, have been abandoned for decades, thus, a waste of scarce resources.
The check also revealed that residents in the area had found a rather negative use for the facility which is now engulfed by weeds, and turned it into a toilet.
Speaking to Chief of the area, Nana Papaw Okuttusuo V complained that the silos could best be described as white elephant because they had been abandoned some decades ago after they were constructed by former President of the Republic, Flt. LT. John Rawlings with the aim to reduce post harvest losses.
Nana Okuttusuo therefore called on the current government to revive and place the facility under its flagship programme, One District-One Warehouse to create job opportunities for the youth in the area.
Assemblywoman for the area, Bernice Obour, admitted that the silos had been abandoned for over 25 years and appealed to government to restore the place to benefit people especially the youth.
Some farmers in the community made a similar call on government to consider the decision to absorb the facility into its programme to enable farmers save their produce to reduce poverty among them.
Mr. Kanyi (in African print) receiving the donation
By: Ewoenam Kpodo | Voltaonlinegh |
Accra Breweries Limited (ABL), producers of Club Premium Lager, Club Shandy, Castle Milk Stout, Eagle Lager and Beta Malt, has donated alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages worth GH¢800.00 to the Volta Region chapter of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA).
The presentation on Thursday was to support the Association in the Volta/Oti Regions in celebrating this year’s World Press Freedom Day.
Other entities including Doelyne Agriculture Shop, sports wears producers, Paul’s Fashion and Power Distribution Services (PDS) had also towards donated towards the regional celebrations.
Volta Regional Business Development Representative, Francis Livingston Agyei who presented the items on behalf of Corporate Affairs Director, ABL, Adwoa Arthur said there has been an existing relationship between ABL and the Association at the national and that the company was ready to extend that to the Volta Region chapter.
Mr. Agyei said the gesture was also to appreciate the media for the important role they played in sustaining democracy and peaceful environment for businesses including ABL to thrive.
He wished media practitioners in the two regions happy celebrations on Friday and promised that his outfit would be with them for the celebrations.
Volta Regional Chairman, GJA, A.B. Kafui Kanyi, thanked ABL for the donation saying, such supports were necessary to help the media to continue playing its important role for national development.
Mr. Kanyi called on other businesses to be supportive of the media to help address professional issues for the good of the society.
The Chairman earlier in the day, made similar call in a phone interview with Global FM and, in the studio of Volta Star Radio (both based in Ho) on twin topics of Volta Press Centre and the World Press Freedom Day celebrations.
Regarding events to mark the Day, Mr. Kanyi said there would be a route march from the regional office of the Ghana News Agency (GNA) through the principal streets of the Ho Township together with personnel of the security agencies, and civic society organisations among others to the forecourt of Volta Press Centre for a symposium.
According to him, the symposium on the theme, “Media-Security Relation and Election 2020” would empanel among others, security experts to confer on issues including collaboration between the media and security agencies for peaceful elections next year.
World Press Freedom Day, simply World Press Day is a universal observance day marked every May 3 to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of speech and to remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression.
Aspiring Oti Regional Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), David Tibrum Makanyi has promised to pay allowances to all party executives if voted as the regional chairman in the upcoming regional elections.
Speaking to the media, Mr. Makanyi said that the only way leadership of the NPP could inspire its members in the Oti Region was to consider the challenges many of them were facing and provide some allowances to cushion them.
He expressed his commitment to ensure resources were readily available to constituencies for running affairs of the party.
The regional chairman aspirant gave the promise after he was vetted and approved to contest for the position.
On her part, the regional women’s organiser aspirant, Olivia Yawa Aglago, pitched herself as the most suitable candidate for the position citing her experience in the party’s 2016 electoral victory as an instance when she was nurtured as constituency women’s organiser and deputy Volta women’s organiser.
She called on delegates to consider her experience and vote for her as the regional women’s organiser to contribute to women empowerment and help win more parliamentary seats come election 2020.
For the Regional organiser position, Addo Kofi Agamfi a.k.a Bulldozer asked delegates to consider his experience and vote for him with a promise to win at least, six parliamentary seats to add to the already existing one.
Some aspirants who spoke to Voltaonlinegh, pledged to work hard to make the party attractive when voted to the various positions.
Chairman of the vetting committee, Michael Omarewadie entreated aspirants to embark on a clean campaign to ensure that whoever would get elected leads the party into election 2020.
Meanwhile, over 32 aspirants had been vetted and approved to contest for the various vacant positions in the upcoming regional elections of the party.
Volta Regional Chief Manager, Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Ing. Joseph A. Nkrumah has received an award for his sterling qualities at this year’s regional May Day celebrations held at Jubilee Park, Ho.
The award which was in recognition of his good leadership skills and innovation that had led to positive transformation in the company’s execution of its mandate of production and distribution of potable water to customers in urban areas in the region was presented to him by the Volta Regional Minister, Dr. Archibald Yao Letsa.
Ing. Nkrumah as part of his innovation in water management aimed at sustaining freshwater and ensuring enough raw water all year round, initiated measures including leading a tree planting exercise at the company’s head works at Hohoe where workers planted about 300 acacia seedlings along the banks of River Dayi on which the Hohoe water supply plant is based following an earlier dredging of the river.
The Day saw other workers rewarded for their dedication to work including two District Officers of Information Services Department, Dominic Boachie, South Dayi and Mathew Dormenyo, Nkwanta South who received special awards with the overall winner, Trade Union Congress (TUC) Personality Award presented to Bertha Akosua Neglo.
The 2019 celebrations witnessed a route march from the STC yard through the principal streets of Ho and to the event ground by workers in branded T-Shirts of the various unions and organisations from both public and private sectors.
Regional Minister shaking hands with some workers at the event
The workers carried placards with inscriptions which included “Our Money oooo, Our money” seeking to draw government’s attention to their plights.
The Volta Regional Minister Dr. Archibald Letsa in a speech thanked all workers for their service to the region and the high level of tolerance reulting in the stable peace in the labour system.
Dr. Letsa touched on the theme for the 2019 celebrations, “Sustainable Pensions for All: The Role of Social Partners” by advising workers to develop interest in their pension package before reaching retirement in order to plan well and enjoy their labour at old age.
Acting Volta Regional Secretary for Trade Union Congress (TUC), Edith Amenuvor Afewu in a speech at the event, gave a brief background into the celebration of the Day and called on government to address the unfair labour practices in the country, saying, Ghanaian workers faced numerous challenges including some earning below the national minimum wage of GH¢270.00 per month.
Madam Afewu decried the high incidence of poverty and destitution among pensioners in Ghana attributable to the low salary levels and demanded that steps be taken to tackle these issues to adequately remunerate workers to have decent salaries to live on after they go pension.
The Day also known Workers’ Day celebrated every May 1, has been an international holiday in many countries since 1891 and originally born from the protracted struggle for workers’ rights and social justice of the late 1800s.
Dozens of relatives of bodies deposited at the Ho Teaching Hospital Mortuary on Wednesday morning were left in a state of confusion by the mortuary workers who asked them to carry away the corpses against Friday, May 3.
The relatives besieged the hospital from around 9am after management of the mortuary called them on phone inviting them to pick up their corpses in anticipation of their intended strike action on Thursday.
Mortuary Workers Association of Ghana (MOWAG) had in a press release dated April 24, hinted of embarking on an indefinite strike action from may 2 to protest the “many years of living and working under horrific conditions in the various state and private mortuaries” across the country.
The release accused the relevant state authorities including Fair Wages and Salaries Commission of foot-dragging in resolving their grievances and so, the decision for the industrial action.
Earlier, the Association went on an indefinite strike action in March this year to press home their demand for better working conditions but suspended it at the plea of the National Labour Commission.
A mortuary worker at HTH showing condition of his boot and glove to the camera
Presiding Member for Agotime-Ziope District, Dodzi Nutor who spoke on behalf of the relatives expressed shock at the development saying that corpses were not food or something like that which could be carried and sent home for preservation.
Mr. Nutor complained that they had a contract with the hospital morgue to keep the bodies till Friday and so to be called on Wednesday for them because of an intended strike action was unacceptable.
The mortuary manager at the hospital and National Vice Chairman of MOWAG, Anthony Amadotor in a response, admitted calling the relatives to come for their bodies.
According to Mr. Amadotor, it had become necessary to alert them so that in the likelihood of an industrial action on Thursday, there would not be any hurdles taking bodies from the morgue on Friday for funeral processes by which time they (mortuary workers) might not be at post.
A mortuary worker who gave his name as Caleb only appealed to government to listen to their concerns and address lack the of maintenance of mortuary facilities, low salaries, lack of protective clothing, among others to prevent similar actions in the future.
Meanwhile, sources Voltaonlinegh spoke to later disclosed that the relatives of the deceased left the mortuary without the bodies and were assured of regular service when they return on Friday for them.
Vice Chancellor of University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS), Prof. John Gyapong has appealed to government to resource the new Ho Teaching Hospital (HTH) in terms of massive infrastructure to achieve its ultimate goal of training health professionals for the country.
On Monday, April 29, the Volta Regional Hospital (Trafalgar) was designated as Ho Teaching Hospital to train doctors, pharmacists, nurses and allied health scientists of UHAS, a solely health professional training university established in 2011.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the hospital at the University’s Auditorium, Trafalgar Campus, Prof. Gyapong said though the conversion was a good step, it behooved government to on a certificate of urgency, embark on infrastructure improvement at the hospital befitting of the new status and to make it fit for the purpose for which it was converted.
“There is currently a lot of pressure on us to increase the intake into all our programmes and introduce new ones. Any such move will be contingent on massive infrastructure improvements at the hospital to make it fit for purpose to achieve the ultimate goals of training health professional for the country.”
“There will be the need for the establishment of simulation centres and skills laboratories to enhance training. In the meantime, we intend to work closely with some satellite hospitals to facilitate our training,” he added.
Dignitaries in a photograph after the ceremony
Special Guest of Honour, Agbogbomefia of Asogli, Togbe Afede XIV who was represented by the Warlord of Asogli, Togbe Adzie Lakle Howusu XII commended government for the elevation and called on President of the Republic, Nana Akufo-Addo to release funding to support the upgrading of current facilities at the hospital.
Togbe Howusu said the conversion had brought about the need for a new Volta Regional Hospital to care for the health needs of people in the region and appealed to government to consider facilitating the process.
Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu assured that government would announce a new regional hospital to make quality health care services accessible to the people of the region and neighbouring regions such as Oti and Eastern regions.
Hon. Agyemang-Manu revealed that government was committed to giving the fifth teaching hospital in the country the needed support to become “the premium in innovative tertiary health care delivery, medical education and research” to serve seekers of tertiary health services.
“The Ministry is working towards acquiring funds to expand infrastructure for service delivery including wards, offices, etc. Also, the Ministry is working at getting funding to retool the hospital and acquire new equipment to enhance service delivery such as the CT Scan, Laboratory equipment, Anaesthesia machines, etc and getting the MRI back to operate.”
Volta Regional Minister, Dr. Archibald Yao Letsa expressed hope about the transformation of the hospital which he said would inure to the benefit of the region as it would attract consultants and experts into the region, thus, economic growth.
Dr. Archibald promised management and staff of HTH the readiness of the Regional Coordinating Council to support the hospital into a model teaching hospital in Africa and asked that they played their part in making this dream possible by giving excellent customer care service to their clients.
The ceremony chaired by a medical consultant, Dr. Delanyo Dorvlo had in attendance the acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of HTH, Dr. John Tampuri, Council Chairman, UHAS, Justice Jones Dotse, former deputy regional ministers, Members of Parliaments, teaching hospital CEOS, district chief executives, academicians, health professionals and traditional leaders including the Awoamefia of Anlo, Torgbui Sri III.
Marine fisherfolks in the Volta region have entered into a social contract with the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development to enforce the impending closed fishing season, slated for May 15 to June 15, 2019 across the country.
The closed fishing season was necessitated by the continuous depletion of fish stocks in the country’s waters over the years, a situation experts fear could lead to the total collapse of the fishing sector if urgent steps are not taken to reverse the trend.
Speaking at the signing ceremony at the Anloga market on Monday, the sector minister, Madam Elizabeth Afoley Quaye, said the fishing industry which is a major source of livelihood for many and a contributor to the country’s economy was fast losing its economic value and must be protected.
She thus urged the fisherfolks to respect the month long ban which would allow the fishes to spawn and restock in order to safeguard the survival of the sector, adding that, they should see the closed season as an intervention which is aimed at making their business more profitable and sustainable.
On their part, the leadership of the various landing beaches who signed the pact on behalf of their members assured the minister of their commitment to respect the fishing ban and also enforce it at their various beaches.
Madam Afoley-Quaye who also toured some of the fishing communities in the Ketu South and Keta municipalities, later commissioned a landing site facility at Anloga in the Anloga district.
The commissioning the Anloga Landing site facility
The facility comprises a cold store, an area for fish smoking and a trading area for mongers, among other ancillary facilities.
She entreated the beneficiaries to put the facility to good use and have a good maintenance culture for the place in order facilitates their business.
Present with the fisheries minister during her engagements was the District Chief Executive for Anloga, Mr. Seth Yormewu and Municipal Chief Executives for Ketu South and Keta, Mr. Elliot Agbenorwu and Mr. Godwin Effah respectively.
Management and staff of telecoms giants, MTN in the Volta Region have given their customers a special treat in terms of service delivery in an exciting programme.
The programme dubbed MTN Customer Outreach Programme brought the company’s products and services to the doorsteps of the customers.
The event, the second of its kind in the region had MTN set up a whole office at the Ho Central Market on Tuesday and provided services which customers usually visited the offices to access including new registration for MTN Mobile money (Momo), sim card registration, migration onto MTN 4G, purchase of MTN sim-phones and general enquiries.
While a team pitched camp at the market to receive customers and attend to their needs amidst music loud enough to attract customers, another made up of two groups were dispatched to go round the market and shops to “evangelise” to traders and market women and potential customers on the principal streets of Ho about the goodies the biggest telecoms network had to offer.
MTN team interacting with customers
The MTN “evangelists” were detailed to speak to existing/potential customers about Momo fraud, MTN-Ayo Insurance, and the two new products from MTN, MTN smart feature phone and, Turbo net (a router which can take up to 32 devices) among others.
Speaking in an interview with Voltaonlinegh, Regional Team Lead, MTN, Mawuli Katahena disclosed that the company intended to continue with the programme to show its commitment to rendering exciting services to customers to get them (customers) hooked up to the network for life.
According to Mr. Katahena, MTN Customer Outreach Programme “is a customer evangelism programme” aimed at satisfying customers and hoped to use the “door to door” approach to solicit feedback which would help the company find innovative ways to further delight them.
“We realise that always, the customers come to us for products and services that they need. But this time around, we want to take the products and services to the people because we believe that the customer is key and because of that we have to treat the customer as such.”
He mentioned that the first programme held last year was “impactful” and hinted of intentions to hold two for the 2019 year which had been declared at MTN to be the “year of the customer” with products and services tailored to suit them.
Mr. Katahena revealed that there were plans to rope in communities without the MTN network to expand their network coverage in the region and therefore, called on customers to get excited and remain on the network for all the exciting offers.
Engage now Africa (ENA), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) which aims to heal, rescue and uplift individuals from poverty in some African countries is advocating for the rights of persons with albinism in border communities including Nabu in the Nkwanta North District of the Oti Region.
Nabu is a small farming community which lies on the Ghana-Togo border with part of the community falling within Togo where it is believed that the existence of a person with albinism prevents rainfall, thus, endangering lives of children born with the condition.
According to the findings of ENA, Nabu which has approximately 3,800 inhabitants with about 85 per cent of the population being Muslims and noted for yam cultivation, refer to persons with albinism as “mbamban” (witches/wizards) who must be avoided to prevent misfortunes.
The NGO got this revelation in an interactive community durbar it organised. According to the sources, persons with albinism at Nabu and surrounding areas faced lots of humiliation, discrimination and stigmatisation.
This informed ENA to organise a durbar to sensitise and educate the community on albinism and had the chief of the community, Nana Biley and his entire household as first participants and later, about 1,000 participants including school children, youth, elderly men and women, teachers, traditional leaders, imams, assembly members as well as opinion leaders at the sensitisation programme.
Participants were exposed to the facts about albinism with some admitting that they feared persons with albinism because of the black spots on their body.
The NGO also took time to boost the confidence level of persons with albinism by teaching them to understand the conditions and care they deserved and encouraged them to stand up for their rights and make an impact by partaking in communal labour and other community related activities.
They were also provided with hats and sunscreen lotions to lessen their condition.
Engage now Africa therefore urged benevolent organisations and individuals to come on board and fight human rights related issues especially the undermining of persons with albinism in the country.
Member of Parliament (MP) for Nkwanta South Constituency in the Oti Region, Geoffrey Kini has entreated Ghanaians to revive communal spirit to help government in developing the country.
Hon. Kini said although government was putting in much effort towards Ghana’s development, there was the need for citizens to also contribute their quota towards achieving the needed development.
He made this known when he donated roofing sheets and bags of cement to residents of Portribor community towards the construction of a 4-bedroom bungalow for teachers being financed by the youth.
The youth of Portribor community through self-help initiative are constructing the four-bedroom accommodation for teachers posted to the community to improve academic performance in the area.
Youth of Potribor working on the project
On behalf of the assemblyman for the electoral area, David Yatimah expressed gratitude for the support from the MP and assured that the material would be put to good use.
Mr. Yatimah encouraged the youth to speed up work for early completion of the project to enable teachers have a place to stay in the community.
Youth leader in charge of the project, Kofi Konja also thanked the MP and outlined numerous challenges facing the school in the community and appealed to him to come to the aid of the school.
