By: Davis Nii Attuquaye Clottey | Voltaonlinegh.com |
Mawuli School’s tie against Sonrise Christian High School in the Volta Regional Handball League which was supposed to be played on Saturday, November 10, has been pushed to Saturday November 24, at the Ho Sports Stadium.
The week 2 clash between the schools had to be postponed due to the unavailability of Mawuli School team, as they were engaged in another assignment.
It was rather unfortunate for fans of handball from Ho and its environs who trooped to the Ho Sports Stadium only to see no action over the weekend, having been thrilled on week 1.
They would have to come back next week to witness 3 matches as Ho Technical University (HTU) battles Unique Stars (US) in week 3 of the league.
It will be revenge or repeat this season as HTU suffered a 23-21 defeat to US during the gala played on October 20 to introduce the league.
HTU, runners up in last year’s league with goal difference to champions Stars of Asha have everything to prove to newbies Unique Stars who are full of surprises.
Meanwhile, the Organizing Committee is working on getting the other schools who have not yet resumed, to honor matches, with some challenges being sorted out.
The wall at the miniature village, (Glime) Ve-Deme
By: Ewoenam Kpodo | Voltaonlinegh.com |
The Chiefs and people of Ve Traditional Area in the Afadzato South Dstrict of the Volta Region have celebrated their annual Dodoleglimeza to commemorate the historic escape of Ewes from the tyranny of King Agorkorli in Notsie in present day, Togo.
The grand durbar of 2018 Ve-Lukusi Dodoleglimeza chaired by Justice Senyo Dzamefe, an Appeal Court Judge was well attended and attracted government officials including Minister of Energy, John Peter Amewu, Deputy Minister of Information, Pius Enam Hadzide, Deputy Administrator of GETFUND, Joseph Denteh, tourists and visitors.
Addressing the durbar at Golokuati, the Minister of Energy, Mr John Peter Amewu urged the young ones to draw lessons from the history of their people in relation to the circumstances surrounding their escape from bondage and the hardships they endured in their sojourn to their present location.
A speech being read on behalf of Togbui Delume
He said these lessons should include the need for respect for human dignity, sense of unity, mutual respect for one another.”
“Also important are the lessons about the essence of being proud as somebody belonging to the Ve tradition, which by extension fits into feeling of pride of being a Ghanaian; to love one’s country and what belongs to one. These are the factors underpinning development of our nation,” he added.
On the theme for the festival, “Developing Local Industry: A Solution to the Rural-Urban Drift”, Mr Amewu described it as appropriate and “perfectly fits into our current situation where there has been an increase in migration of people especially the youth , from the rural areas to the cities and urban centres in search of non-existing jobs.”
He identified two major factors, lack of employment opportunities in the rural areas and concentration of development projects in the urban centres to be blamed for the rural urban drift.
The Minister disclosed that it was the reason the Nana Akufo-Addo-led administration had initiated policies including Free Senior High School (SHS), 1 District- 1 Factory, Nation Builders Corps in a quest to reverse the trend.
He explained these initiatives were meant to offer equal chances to children of both poor and rich parents access to SHS education, de-concentrate employment opportunities and provide for the huge number of unemployed youth in every part of the country.
Mr Amewu pledged to extend electricity to communities in the Ve area who are yet to be connected in addition to providing some streets lights to light up the principal streets in the area. He also promised to relay concerns of the people to the President for redress.
Chairman of Ve Lukusi Improvement Society (VELIS), Prof. I. J. Kwame Aboh in a speech said the problem of unemployment in the area which was gradually reducing the towns and villages in Ve to “ghost towns” informed the theme for the 2018 celebration.
According to him, “though the aim of the festival is to bring our people together annually to celebrate our freedom, it also presents us with a platform to get policy makers to explain government policy to us, and also see how our people can take advantage of such policies and liberate themselves from poverty with the hope of giving themselves a better life.”
In a welcome address read on behalf of the Paramount Chief of Ve, Togbuiga Delume VII, he commended the government for its initiatives aimed at alleviating the hardships of the citizenry.
He called on Ve-Lukusis to re-examine their lives in order to make the efforts of their forebears of defying all odds to liberate themselves worthwhile by being economically self-sufficient and liberated indeed.
He observed that to achieve that dream, there was the need for everyone especially the youth, to get involved and not sitting aloof expecting government to provide all the resources or drifting to the urban centres.
Of the various activities to herald the climax of this year’s festival was the symbolic wall-breaking ceremony (Gligbagba) which was re-enacted at a miniature village on Friday in Ve-Deme.
Feasting at the miniature village in readiness of the wall-breaking
The ceremony saw women cook sumptuous meals while drumming and dancing went on till a time when a soft portion of the wall protecting the people was broken and with people walking backwards, passed through.
The Secretary of PROTOA, Hohoe branch, Mr Godsway Amuyawo has suggested to government to employ build-operate-transfer (BOT) to complete the Eastern Corridor Road which had been abandoned for years to give users of the road some respite.
According to him, delays by sucessive governments to complete the road despite several promises meant governments were having difficulty securing funds to complete the road, thus, the need to resort to BOT.
By this suggestion, Mr Amuyawo wanted government to delegate a private construction company to take over the Eastern Corridor Road project and finance it to completion and then own, and operate the facility for a certain period to enable it recover its investment, operating and maintenance expenses in the project and then transfer the road to the public administration at the end of the concession agreement.
He said government needed to use this strategy as done in other countries to complete the project which began in 2011 and scheduled to be completed in 2013 to serve as the major link road between the south and north.
He proffered the advice on Friday during a protest by members of concerned road users including driver unions and market women in Hohoe in the Volta Region.
The angry residents, in registering their displeasure over the deplorable nature of their town roads linking other towns and districts in the region, put roadblocks on the main road and burned tyres causing a total gridlock.
Residents burn tyres to ground vehicular movement
A release by Concerned Eastern Corridor Road Users read by Daniel Kporfor, complained bitterly about the delay in fixing the road and stressed “we want to emphasise that we are tired of the numerous promises by previous and current governments.”
“We want government as a matter of urgency to attend to our roads” it said threatening that the group will continue with agitations until work resumes on the road.
The GPRTU Secretary, Hohoe branch, Mr Winfred Akpah in an interview with Voltaonlinegh.com said their initial plan was to hold a peaceful demonstration to draw government’s attention to their woes and to impress upon it to fast-track processes to get solution to their problem.
According to him, the Hohoe Police ran to court and succeeded in restraining them few hours to the planned demonstration and that provoked the youth to block the roads which prevented vehicles passage including Ghana National Fire Service Vehicle until ater in the day.
Road blocked to traffic
Speaking to Voltaonlinegh.com, most drivers complained that the poor state of roads in the municipality linking other towns especially on the Eastern Corridor stretch, kept damaging their cars, causing them to spend unreasonably long hours on journeys that should take minutes to cover thus, impacting negatively on their socio-economic life.
They noted that successive governments had failed to keep their promises of completing the road hence their call for the road to be fixed without any more delays.
By: Davis Nii Attuquaye Clottey | Voltaonlinegh.com |
After an entertaining and wonderful start, the Volta Regional Handball League enters week 2 with 2 matches on Saturday, November 17, 2018.
Mawuli School, who have enjoyed the fruits of the regional league will be put to test by new entrants Sonrise Christian High School.
The private school, Sonrise, having participated in the gala to usher in the league this season, will come into the game with a lot of energy as they lost all matches played in the gala.
However, Mawuli after finishing last in the maiden edition of the league would also aim at starting the season on a brighter note.
Yet, both sides have been meeting during the Central Zone School Sports Association Festivals as the private school has been an affiliate for long. Knowing each other might however not play the game on Saturday but victory will come for the better side due to the transition of students.
With both categories facing each other on Saturday, the male game will begin at 1pm while the female game starts at 3pm at the Ho Sports Stadium.
Community clubs showcased class and physique last week but what will come out of the school’s challenge is yet to be known.
The Volta Regional Handball Association is still working hard to secure sponsorship for the league. All managers are however advised by the Organizing Committee to pay their affiliation fee of GH₵150.00 early enough to help them run a smooth league.
Residents in Keta Municipality in the Volta Region have been thrown into a state of fear and panic as five persons have been admitted at the Keta Municipal Hospital from strange dog bites.
The five victims who are all children between the ages of one to eight years were bitten between Monday 12 and Tuesday, 13thOctober 2018 by an unidentified dog which is suspected to be rabies infected.
DAILY GUIDE’s preliminary investigations revealed that the bites were first recorded in Kedzikope and Tegbi in the Keta Municipality.
According to the Keta Municipal Director of Health Services, Ms Perfect Titiati, the bites were inflicted, “at the upper part of the victims’ bodies towards the heart and brain.”
“Even though it has not been confirmed that the dog is infected with rabies, the nature of the bites is highly suggestive,” a statement signed by Ms Titiati said. To prevent further infection and any fatal outcomes, all the victims have been given anti-rabies treatment (post-exposure prophylaxis).
Kill All Stray Dogs
A circular from the Municipal Health Directorate has therefore warned all residents in the Municipality to be on the alert and stay away from all high risk areas.
They have also been directed to “kill all stray dogs” in the community since the said dog which is suspected to be rabies-infected cannot be identified and “is likely to infect other dogs.”
Relatives of the affected victims told DAILY GUIDE that since the victims were children, they have not been able to describe the dog. To this end, they have mounted a search for the dog, while local radio stations have been making announcements to help locate the dog.
Prompt Report of Dog Bites
All Health staff, local media, authorities, institutions and other stake-holders in the Municipality have been asked to report on all cases of dog bite and promote public awareness on dog bites and rabies.
Furthermore, persons with the following symptoms: headache, neck pain, nausea, fever, fear of water, anxiety, agitation, abnormal sensations or pain at wound site with close contact of infected saliva through bites & scratches, should be reported to the hospital immediately.
Madam Titiati advised owners of pets like dogs and cats to vaccinate them immediately to prevent outbreaks.
Rabies is transmitted to humans from domestic animals like dogs that is caused by virus and is spread to people with infected saliva through bites and scratches. In unvaccinated humans, rabies is almost always fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered before the onset of severe symptoms. The rabies virus infects the central nervous system causing disease in the brain and eventually death.
The legality of the referendum for the creation of six new regions will be determined by the Supreme Court on November 28, 2018 when it rules on a suit challenging the referendum.
Three persons – Mayor Agbleze, Destiny Awlimey and Jean Claude Koku Amenyaoglo — went to the apex court with a case that it was unconstitutional to limit the referendum to only the six beneficiary areas.
Joined to the suit as defendants are the Attorney-General (A-G) and the Electoral Commission (EC).
The seven-member panel of the court, presided over by Justice Sophia Adinyera, fixed the date for the ruling Wednesday after lawyers for the parties had filed their legal arguments.
Members of the panel were Justice Jones Dotse, Justice Anin Yeboah, Justice Samuel K. Marful-Sau, Justice Agnes M. Dodzie, Justice Nene A. Amegatcher and Prof. Justice Nii Ashie Kotey.
It is the contention of the plaintiffs that the 1992 Constitution intended for every registered voter in the existing region to decide whether or not the regions should be split and, therefore, it was unconstitutional to limit the referendum to registered voters in only the areas where the proposed new regions would be.
Among other reliefs, the plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that “on a true and proper interpretation of Article 5 (1) (a) & (b) of the 1992 Constitution, any referendum to determine whether a new region should be created or whether the boundaries of a region should be altered must take place in and involve the inhabitants of the whole region’’.
Background
On August 15, 2017, the Council of State advised President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to appoint a Commission of Enquiry to look into the need to create six regions and make recommendations on all the factors involved in the creation of the new regions.
The commission, known as the Justice Brobbey Commission, which was established pursuant to Article 5 of the 1992 Constitution and Constitutional Instrument (CI) 105, commenced work on November 21, 2017.
On June 27, 2018, the Commission presented its report to President Akufo-Addo and recommended the creation of six new administrative regions, namely, Oti, Ahafo, Brong East, Western North, North East and Savannah.
The Commission of Enquiry recommended to the President that the referendum be limited to the proposed new regions.
Consequently, the EC has set December 27, 2018 for the referendum.
Plaintiffs’ legal argument
Counsel for the plaintiffs, Mr Albert Quashigah, in his legal argument, averred that his clients had properly invoked the jurisdiction of the court to interpret and enforce the 1992 Constitution.
He argued that Article 5(4) of the Constitution gave the Commission of Enquiry the power to recommend to the President that a referendum should be held, “specifying the issues to be determined by the referendum and the places where the referendum should be held’’ but the Constitution did not empower the commission to “recommend the persons entitled to vote’’.
He argued that the A-G and the EC disagreed and, therefore, different interpretations had been put on Article 5 of the Constitution, which required the intervention of the Supreme Court.
Counsel further argued that holding the referendum in only the “affected areas makes mockery of the whole referendum exercise”.
“The referendum is a political scheme designed to guarantee an absolute Yes vote,’’ he said.
A-G’s legal argument
In his legal argument, a Deputy A-G, Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame, submitted that the plaintiffs had not raised any cause of action and also failed to invoke the jurisdiction of the court to interpret constitutional provisions.
According to him, the case of the plaintiff that it was unconstitutional for the Commission of Enquiry to recommend the referendum in only affected areas raised no cause of action.
“This is because Article 5(4) of the Constitution clearly vests the commission with the power to determine the places where the referendum should be held. In effect, what plaintiffs seek the court to declare as unconstitutional is what the Constitution has, in plain and clear words, vested an Article 5 commission with power to do,’’ he said.
Mr Dame further argued that the plaintiffs had failed to invoke the jurisdiction of the court and thus their submission that the Commission of Enquiry had no power to prescribe who would vote in the referendum was “absurd”.
He was of the view that the Commission had recommended for a referendum and the recommendation was being worked on by the EC, which was clothed with the power under Article 5 (5) to organise the referendum in a “manner prescribed by the electoral commission’’.
“The mandate to prescribe the manner in which a referendum should be held obviously includes the mandate to determine when the referendum will be held, when registration of potential voters will be held, where the registration of voters will be held, the class of qualified voters to vote (since the referendum is a special ballot limited to a part of the country), etc,’’ the Deputy A-G said.
By: Davis Nii Attuquaye Clottey | Voltaonlinegh.com |
Have you wondered why every baby in Ghana who begins to walk starts shouting goal, whenever they see a ball or any round-like object?
It is strange how even parents buy miniature footballs for their kids, be it male or female. It takes the child several years to try out any new sport, which mostly ends along the line, because there is no clear support in the area or career path for one to pursue.
This shows one thing, that Football otherwise known as Soccer dominates the myriad of sporting disciplines in Ghana. This dominance is seen in the level of funding in the area as against the abandoning of other sports by government and other funding partners.
The situation is so bad that apart from government financing the Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) at Olympic Games, other sports get woefully inadequate or no support at all in their international assignments.
Even in the case of Olympic Games, apart from Football, only a handful of them are supported with the usual excuse of “No money”.
The excuse of funding over the years has stagnated if not retrogressed the development of the other sport disciplines in favour of Football although it has by far not distinguished itself as the best of the other Sports.
On several occasions, Football has been funded to reach international competitions with hefty bonuses and allowances, yet other sports that qualify for international features do not get funding, hence not able to contest.
Overtime, most of these sports became known as ‘Lesser known Sports’, a name which has changed to ‘Least financed Sports.’
We all know that sports, (least financed ones inclusive), help improve health, improve mental stability, kills depression and stress, socialises people and facilitates economic development through job creation, foreign investment and tourism.
It is also interesting to note that just as some may be talented and interested in Football, a large number of Ghanaians may be talented and interested in other sports like Cricket, Handball, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Boxing, Basketball, and Tennis, just to mention a few.
It is therefore only prudent to spread the funding to cover a lot more disciplines as any disaster in the Football discipline might kill all forms of sports in the country.
A good example is the situation in the country after investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas dubbed Number 12; When Greed and Corruption become the norm.
Local Football competitions have come to a halt except for international tournaments, with the Black Queens hosting Africa this month, November 2018.
One may think, now that there is some halt on Football, government and all stakeholders will turn their focus on other sports, yet that is not happening.
The other sports are so under-resourced that they still cannot pick themselves up, beyond their usual routines even after the Anas’ exposé.
The situation is the same all over the country, including the Volta Region.
The situation of the other known sports is not as encouraging as should be. That notwithstanding, the least financed sports in the Volta Region keep doing their bit.
ATHLETICS
Despite being one of the most active sports many years ago, not much has been seen from them since June in the community level. Notwithstanding, they have nurtured and groomed talents at the basic, second cycle and tertiary levels to win laurels at their various sector competitions. It is however sad to note that, most of the brilliant athletes leave the region on the back of scholarships from other regions, especially Ashanti.
BASKETBALL
This discipline is struggling to have a recognised Association due to the fear of financial obligation and other resource challenges. Even with that fear, their Regional Coach, Charles Gomadonku and his assistants have led contingents to participate in tournaments, such as the Cape Coast Afahye Basketball Competition in August and September this year. They achieved a quarter final berth after beating Kumasi and losing to Accra. They had hosted about seven Basketball Clubs at the Ho Sports Stadium earlier and they only keep training, to keep themselves in shape.
BEACH SOCCER
Ghana Beach Soccer giants, Keta Sunset Sports in June participated in a Championship in Nigeria and came out as runners up. This feat was achieved few days after Team Volta had clinched the second edition of the Unity Cup (to mark AU Day), as they defeated defending champions Greater Accra, 4-3 on penalties.
Meanwhile, three time Champions of the Beach Soccer League, Sunset Sports Keta, and Avedzi Mighty Warriors failed to reach the finals of the just ended CAL Bank Super Cup after losing to eventual winners, Sea Lions and Nungua Club respectively at the Laboma Beach in Accra on Sunday, November 11.
BOXING
The Boxing Federation, since their inauguration in 2015 has tried to lift the sport in the region. After June 2018, they pushed for the acquisition of a boxing ring and equipment from the national body and successfully launched the ring with a Ghana versus Nigeria bout at Ziope on 1st September. A week later, they collaborated with Aborigines Promotions to stage a Title bout for Joseph King Kong Agbeko and Homecoming for Anama Dotse ‘Polopala’, with few Volta boxers apart from Agbeko winning their fights. The future for Boxing in the region looks promising.
CRICKET
Introduced in the region in 2015, the Association’s commitment capacity building and development has trained about 400 pupils from various schools. They have achieved introducing hard ball to their over enterprising U-15 squad. There is a planned League expected to start on November 24 at the Ho Sports Stadium. The regional body despite the challenges has made these strides due to sponsorship from the Ghana Cricket Association.
U-13 player practising hard ball, Cricket
CYCLING
They have also worked hard on few individual Championships, with some of their finest cyclists finishing well. In August, 6 Cyclists participated in the Ga-Homowo Cycling Race and were among first 25 out of a total of 62 cyclists. One cyclist finished 14th out of 52 cyclists at the Kwahu Mountain International Biking, in September, with participants from Togo, Benin, Burkina-Faso, and Nigeria.
HANDBALL
The Handball Association begun a league last year and have had series of meetings before beginning this year’s league in November. The success story of the initiative is still being written as many players keep excelling and improving, due to the active nature of the league. Mawuko and Mawuli were crowned champions in the Handball game of the Central Zone Sports Festival after effectively participating in the league last season. TERESCO and EPUC all saw successes in their respective National Games. The league which begun in November 10 with increased number of participating Clubs is also yet to realise a sponsor. This league will continue to project the players as it is keeping them active.
HOCKEY
The Volta Hockey Club which has players from Ho and Kpetoe has produced players who now play in Accra. They hosted Citizens International Hockey Club from Accra and Koforidua Hockey Club at the Ho Sports Stadium in May. After receiving equipment from Citizens, they donated some to the Agotime Kpetoe Senior High School, who prepared for the Citizens International Invitational Championship in Accra and won the Fair Play accolade but couldn’t get to the finals in June.
At the National Basic Games in August, Volta won Silver in the boys division and had John Ahiatrogah (CEPS JHS) adjudged the Best Player. In August and October, they held a Hockey Clinic in Kpetoe and at Mawuli School but lacked support to acquire equipment and a standard playing field. Brothers, Damalie Luke and Damalie Mathew are national team players who once played for the Volta Hockey Club. Current U-17 Hockey captain, Esther Nuatro who was recently adjudged the best goal keeper at the Inter Regional School Sports Festival in Cape Coast was also a product of the Volta Hockey Club.
Volta Hockey Club receiving equipment from citizens after friendly at Ho Sports Stadium
NETBALL
Having got an Interim Executives Inauguration in May this year, the Netball Association has been able organize an Umpiring course for a start, which is one step in the organization of a league. Although many did not participate in the course held at Adidome in October due to financial constraints, the Association believes, it will gradually achieve their target, with or without the numbers.
TABLE TENNIS
After a consistent 5-month training programme, they achieved a 4th and 11th spot at the just ended Stanbic Bank National Table Tennis League this month in the female and male categories respectively.
They also finished in the quarter finals for both categories in the Knockout competition which preceded the League play at the Accra Sports Stadium. Vilcabamba Table Tennis Club, based in Denu will wrap up their year with the Annual Championship in December. They have achieved this without any major sponsorship.
Vilcabamba’s Milicent Ankude battling in the National Table Tennis League
TAEKWONDO
The Association which had their new executives elected into office last year has successfully formed clubs in the region.
Their consistency over the years and immense contribution towards Taekwondo promotion in Ghana, led them to being among the three selected regional Associations visited by a team of four from the World Taekwondo Peace Corps Headquarters, Republic of Korea in August.
The team taught Taekwondo practitioners in the regions, new skills and practiced old skills for 10 days. Taekwondo is a dynamic combat sports hence the need for practitioners to update themselves.
TENNIS
The Tennis fraternity which is based in Ho elected new executives in September. They have been consistent over the years in producing some of the good players in the country. A Clinic at Akosombo and other places proved how effective they are. After hosting 5 clubs for this year’s Asogli Te Za Tennis championship, 2 of their players finished as semifinalists in the Babolat Doubles Tennis Open tournament later in September in Tema. The team gets some support from Stanbic Bank.
VOLLEYBALL
This Association was to host the Southern Sector Volleyball Championship in Ho in July but lack of sponsorship coupled with other logistical challenges hindered the Championship. To this end, they might not be able to go for the 4th National Volleyball Club Championship in Brong Ahafo, slated for 28th and 29th November due to similar challenges. Meanwhile, gala and friendly matches had been held in Aflao from July to September with new players scouted.
WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL
The Regional body was inaugurated in February this year and is currently working on getting more players from Sogakope and Adidome. Their captain, Hickson Pius Godslove once participated in Athletics (Javelin) at the Maputo All African Games. They are also struggling to acquire a special wheelchair for playing Basketball after they were provided with some during the 1st Ghana National Wheelchair Basketball Republic Day Championship held in Ho in July which saw Brong Ahafo becoming Champions.
It is clear that but for lack of sponsorship, the other sports in the region will have done greater than their modest strides. It is only strange that despite the consistency and hard work of the other sports they still do not get the necessary support from government, corporate bodies and other stakeholders.
SUGGESTIONS
The various municipal and district assemblies (MDA) and the members of parliament (MPs) should take keen interest in promoting these sports in the region and find ways of monetising them. It will help create jobs, reduce social vices and generate some form of revenue for the MDAs. It will also become more attractive and attract external sponsorship and investments.
The Director of Sports at the National Sports Authority-Volta, Mr Kwame Amponfi Jnr has brought some vibrancy to the sporting federations in the region which must be commended. It is hoped that this will continue to identify talents, increase training and facilitate promotion and development of the various disciplines.
The media should give the least financed sports enough space as they give to football to create the needed interest and awareness and attract support from all and sundry.
One man that needs commendation is Fo Joe Ayivor, also known as ‘Afe Lotto’ (From Home Lucky Raffle) who has been instrumental in supporting and promoting other disciplines apart from football. His gesture is worth emulating.
It would have been great to see the other sports on top, yet in the absence of Football for the past 5 months, not much have happened for them due to lack of funding.
The disciplines looked at are not exhaustive as not all of them are active in the Volta region.
Education’s aim is to eradicate poverty and ignorance among citizens. Education is a human right for every Ghanaian child. It equips pupils and students with knowledge, self confidence as well as raising the awareness that education is their right.
As a nation, it is our core mandate to ensure that we provide quality education to pupils and students by providing life-long learning opportunities for all in order to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Infrastructure challenges in some rural communities keep making it tedious for academic success of those who happen to attend these schools which result in the non-performance of pupils and students at both the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
Governments over the years have been working around the clock to impact and reform the educational sector, but there are still some schools especially in the rural areas where pupils and students learn under trees or dilapidated classrooms and other unfavourable conditions. Such is a situation of a school at Dabala in the South Tongu District of the Volta Region.
Students of Dabala Senior High Technical School (DASTECH) have been learning under structures roofed with thatch, a situation that worsened since the implementation of government’s flagship programme, Free Senior High School (SHS) Policy from the 2017/2018 academic year.
Last year, the school was asked to admit 880 fresh students out of which 650 were admitted due to the infrastructure constraints. Adding that number to those of second and third year students gave the school, a total student population of 1, 070.
The result of the huge number was that dormitories, classrooms and other teaching and learning materials that would enable students have a sound mind for their studies became overly stretched.
This informed a decision by the academic board to hold a meeting and it was decided that fewer students would be admitted this year.
Currently, teachers in DASTECH have resorted to the use of mega phones in packed classrooms to enable students hear their voices to understand what whatever they say in class as each classroom now accommodates about 180 students especially in the General Arts Department.
The situation gets worse because the packed classrooms are not well ventilated.
The school, unable to look on unconcerned, undertook a self-help project by putting up a temporary structure for the use of first year students. However, that is still woefully inadequate to contain the large student population.
In an interview with Mr. Simon Addae-Conutsey Aklomasa, the outgoing Headmaster of DASTECH, he decried the infrastructure challenge in the school saying it stifles teaching and learning.
He therefore called on government to come to their aid in finding a lasting solution to the problem.
Reacting to the issues, Hon Kwabla Mensah Woyome, Member of Parliament (MP) for South Tongu said it had been on his agenda at the time he resumed office as the MP to help transform the school to become one of the best schools in terms of infrastructure and performance.
According to him, he started a storey building project in the school in collaboration with his brother, Alfred Agbesi Woyome which had been completed and currently in use by school.
He intimated that he impressed upon the former District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Amelorku to start another school building project before he left. However, surprisingly, subsequent DCEs abandoned the project leaving the school with the only storey building project that he and the brother completed.
Mr Woyome pledged that he will find a lasting solution to the problem because they are fighting for quality education and not quantity education.
The issue of DASTECH is not in isolation but a reflection of what pertains in schools that are situated in peri-urban and rural communities across the country.
The question then is; must we as a people fold our arms and see pupils and students dropping out of school before we do something about the situation? Does it mean that if government cannot solve the problem we cannot get benevolent persons to solve it?
In Ghana today, it appears our educational sector is now based on, “because I’m not in his or her political party, I won’t assist him/her in the ongoing projects.”
These have caused a lot of government projects to stall making life unbearable for the ordinary Ghanaian.
If we do not change our mindset, how then do we achieve the “Ghana Beyond Aid” agenda which was the theme for Ghana’s 60 years independence celebration, which must be embraced by every Ghanaian considering how we wish to be known as the “Black Star of Africa”?
As a country, let us all keep it in mind that education is the tool on which we can change the world. Let us not jeopardise the future of our present and the coming generation and by extension, our beloved country. This we can only do by first strengthening our educational sector.
A new record label has been launched over the weekend with the sole aim of promoting lesser known artists in Ghana’s music industry.
Granted Soul Entertainment is an initiative by a team of four with expertise in Brand Marketing, Sound Engineering and Event Organising.
The team after years of playing individual roles in contributing to Ghana’s entertainment industry, are collaborating to support emerging musicians.
Photo at the launch
The team leader and Chief Executive Officer, Grant Dzudzor during the launch at Passions Night Club in Tema, expressed excitement about the project and reiterated their commitments to it.
Along with the label announcement, Grant Dzudzor has revealed his first signing of two Artistes; Tokz and Towzy 3:16 who are currently being assisted to produce their music albums.
In attendance at the launch were popular producers including Master Garzy and King One-Beats.
The Management of Granted Soul Record Label said they are available to admit burgeoning artistes who exhibit potentials in dance and hip-hop genres.
The Chairman of the Joint Consultative Committee for the Oti Movement, Krachiwura, Nana Mprah Besemuna III has asked self-styled constitutional lawyers challenging the procedures for the creation of the proposed Oti region to educate the public on what the right constitutional procedures are.
He believed the constitution is on their side, thus, they are much focused, prepared and are pursuing the agenda till the region is created.
According to him, all the processes that were spelt out in the constitution for the creation of new regions have been meticulously gone through, leaving the final requirement of the conduct of referendum in the affected areas by the electoral commission.
The Krachiwura made the assertions during an official launch of a 9-member Oti Referendum Campaign Committee at Kadjebi in the Kadjebi District of the Volta Region.
The Committee’s work will be reinforced by municipal and district chief executives and members of parliament in the Oti enclave with the objective of spearheading the agenda to ensure an overwhelming 100 per cent YES votes on 27 December, 2018
Nana Besemuna noted that the creation of a new region will deepen decentralization with all the related benefits in terms of governance, including the injection of more resources into the area for accelerated development, creation of jobs, and the coordination of development programmes.
He debunked claims of tribal or ethnic agenda to their demand for the new region saying, such claims were either borne out of plain ignorance or deliberate mischief, both of which cannot serve as excuse for the beating of war drums by their detractors.
“We wish to state emphatically that the sole objective and purpose for the creation of Oti region is to bring about development to the people of the area,” he stressed.
He cautioned against inciteful comments saying, war is a serious business and not an expedition to go and cover snails and so advised their detractors to stop threatening them in their quest for freedom of governance.
He assured that the people of the Oti area will not be perturbed or get involved in the beating of war drums by their opposers.
“We think the government is capable of taking care of our security and our safety so we are not preparing for any war, but if some people think they will declare war on us, we look to the government for our defense,” he explained
The Chairman of the Oti Referendum Campaign Committee, Martin Akottey on behalf of the committee, thanked the chiefs and the people for the faith and confidence imposed in them and pledged to do all within their power to deliver on their mandate.
