Caterers in charge of the School Feeding Programme in the Nkwanta North Constituency of the Volta Region have come to an agreement to use their allowances to finance activities of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the area to claim the parliamentary seat from the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
According to the Constituency Women’s Organiser, Faustina Donkor, who is also one of the caterers, the NPP in Nkwanta North lost the seat twice to NDC as a result of lack of financial support during campaigns.
She added that they must win the parliamentary seat for the party in the 2020 elections hence their decision.
“We the caterers are initiating this internal arrangement to help solve the financial problems and win back the seat for NPP come 2020.”
The District Chief Executive for the area, Jackson Kwame Jackayi lauded the decision by the caterers and emphasised that it would strengthen the party financially to run the affairs in the constituency towards recapturing the Nkwanta North parliamentary seat in 2020.
He added that the NPP lost the parliamentary seat twice to NDC after the former Member of Parliament and Deputy Volta Regional Minister during the Kuffour administration, Joseph Kwaku Nayan due to lack of finance and logistics.
Mr Jackson Kwame Jackayi believed that this would also help party executives in the constituency to go about their activities efficiently.
He therefore, called on others to emulate and adopt the move by the caterers to support the party’s affairs.
Madam Nkumfo who spoke on behalf of the caterers stressed the move was to secure their position as caterers since they would lose their jobs when the party is voted out of power.
She appealed to caterers in other orphaned constituencies to emulate their example so that the party will be financially resourced at the constituency level.
A legal practitioner and one of the contenders for the flagbearership position of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Elikplim Agbemava expressed hope that he will get the nod of the party in the upcoming national delegates conference to lead the party to victory in the 2020 elections.
Mr Agbemava touted reasons why he remains the best option for the NDC in the 2020 elections saying, he would lead with integrity which is one of the many qualities the electorates look out for in choosing who becomes the country’s president.
He said, as a youth himself, he will work to galvanise the support of the youth who constitute a majority in the country, thus, making the chances of the party winning the elections, high.
Elikplim Agbemava hinted that he will focus on the youth who all along had been reduced to just leading popular expressions and not properly equipped to give off their best for the development of the country and assured, he will rather turn these youth into leaders.
“They are not to be called upon to lead demonstrations. They are there to build nations, they are there to build our country and we must equip them with the necessary skills and financial support to be able to participate in the development of the nation.”
He expressed the view that the current administration is not running and all-inclusive government which is needed to get policies that will cater for all manner of persons, young or old, rich or poor for a better Ghana.
The 41-year old also observed that Ghana’s resources had been going waste for a while and felt it was the new generation took the mantle of leadership from the old to determine their destiny and that of the future generations.
The NDC Aspirant was among the delegation of Ewe chiefs and Anlo youth who called on Togbe Afede XIV, Agbogbomefia of Asogli at his palace on Saturday in Ho.
Speaking in an interview with Voltaonlinegh.com, Mr Agbemava who hails from Srogboe in the Keta Municipality said the agitations for other parts of the Volta Region to be included in the referendum to create the proposed Oti Region are constitutional.
He said he will support through legal means to ensure that the Constitution is complied with in the creation of the new region.
The Agbogbomefia of Asogli State and President of the National House of Chiefs, Togbe Afede XIV has disclosed that the insistence of people in the Volta Region to be included in the referendum for dividing the region into two is only to uphold the 1992 Constitution.
Togbe Afede said the people of Asogli, brothers and sisters from Southern Volta and other peace-loving Voltarians are raising red flags because of the unconstitutional approach that had characterised the process in the attempt to create the proposed Oti Region and called on the authorities to do the right thing.
“The framers of our Constitution have done a good job. They have given us a clear roadmap for the creation of new regions and the alteration of boundaries of regions. We must, as I have advised before, not bastardise it, but respect it in the interest of peace and unity.”
Togbe Afede was addressing ‘Ewefiawo fe Haborbor’ (Association of Ewe Chiefs) led by the President, Togbe Dzogbede V and representatives of Anlo Youth led by the leader, Mayor Agbleze on Saturday, October 20. Their mission was to pay a courtesy call on Togbe and to raise some concerns including the partitioning of the region.
Togbe Dzogede V with mic
He said the Commission of Enquiry set up to investigate the substantial demand for new regions in the country did a shoddy work citing disregard for petitions to extend its public hearings to other parts of the regions affected, suppression of petitions opposing the creation of new regions or inclusion in new regions, and withholding the final report from the public.
Togbe Afede said the creation of Oti Region and other new regions involves the alteration of existing boundaries and so, asked that the Authorities ensure the referendum covers other parts of the affected regions.
He described as “disingenuous” and “dangerous” examples cited by President Nana Akufo-Addo of Scotland, Eritrea, South Sudan and Trans-Volta Togoland to support the referendum to be held only in areas calling for the new regions.
“The use of these examples is creating a dangerous precedent, with implications for the survival of our country. Will Ghana allow any part of the country to vote alone to decide their independence as was done in Scotland, Eritrea, South Sudan, Trans-Volta Togoland, etc?”
The meeting at the palace
President Akufo-Addo few days ago while addressing the chiefs and leaders of the Ketu South Traditional Council at the Jubilee House, described as unfounded and needless, the agitations generated over who should vote and should not vote in the Volta Region in the referendum to be held later in December to create the proposed Oti Region.
He said it had always been those with the demands, giving among other instances, the referendum of the Trans-Volta Togoland.
“Here in our own country, Trans-Volta Togoland people in Keta did not vote because they were part of the Gold Coast Colony. It was the people in Western Togo, northern part of Ghana who voted in that referendum. The people in Kyebi where I come from did not vote in that referendum because it was not about them.”
Togbe Afede XIV emphasised that the people are not against the creation of new regions but want due process. He called on all Ghanaians to study the Chapter 2 of the 1992 Constitution which spells out the processes in creating new regions.
He expressed hope that the courts will do their best to uphold the truth in the matter to protect the sanctity of the law as the issue is not about Volta but the future of Ghana.
Togbe Afede in a pose with the delegation at Asogli palace, Ho
It will be recalled that the intended division of Volta Region sparked protests from various groups in the region latest being, One Volta Group, a development and advocacy organisation with membership in the USA, Canada, UK and Ghana.
The Group debated that the reasons for the demand for Oti Region “are porous, weak and unsustainable by any logic or reason.”
The group in a release felt the decision was political insisting that such decision on a region of more than 2.5 million inhabitants could not be decided by petitioners “who constitute less than 3 per cent.”
The Municipal Director of Education for Nkwanta South in the Volta Region, Stephen Kwame Tsuatorfe has entreated parents to support government policies for development.
According to him, development will only come when citizens support government initiatives and policies through communal labour.
He was speaking during the commissioning of a classroom block for the Deeper of Jonah Basic School at Bonakye in the Municipality.
He also appealed to parents to provide the basic needs for their wards in school to augment quality education delivery in the country.
The Nkwanta South Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), John Thasun called on parents to take proper care of government properties and also support their children in their academic journey.
He also urged them to support the implementation of government’s free senior high school program.
Nana Besenyene II, Chief of Bonakye (right)
Nana Akonsi Kwame Besenyene II, Chief of Bonakye thanked the Nkwanta South Municipal Assembly for their efforts in improving access to education in the area and pleaded with government to ensure the area gets enough infrastructural development.
The head teacher of Deeper Jonah Basic Mr Nayo Jonathan also thanked the assembly and government for the support and appealed to government to provide the school with furniture, textbooks, toilet facility and other teaching and learning materials to enhance quality education in the school.
Meanwhile, some students who spoke with Voltaonlinegh.com expressed gratitude for the new classroom but pleaded for teaching and learning materials.
The ongoing Measles and Rubella (MR) mass vaccination across the country from October 17 to 22 has received massive patronage at Hohoe Nima at the first day of the exercise.
A visit by Voltaonlinegh.com to a vaccination centre opposite Volta Cinema Hall at Hohoe Nima as at 10:55am on Thursday revealed parents were bringing out their wards to be vaccinated. The visit also met the team of vaccinators led by Mary Dzimadzor, diligently discharging their duties, thus, making parents to spend less time at the centre.
Speaking in an interview, Mary Dzimadzor disclosed the team’s readiness to move to the interior parts of the community in subsequent days if the level of turnout did not meet their expectation of four hundred children between the ages of 9 months to 5 years.
She mentioned that there were two processes, Measles and Rubella vaccine and vitamin A supplement for clear vision, immunity and also protection of children from other viruses.
Parents who brought their wards for vaccination were comfortable with the process, despite the initial pain the kids had to go through.
The vaccination exercise which is ongoing at designated areas in Hohoe Municipality and in various communities across the country had its regional launch last week in Ho on the theme: “Measles and Rubella Kill, Vaccinate Your Child Now for Good Health” targeting about 400, 000 children between 9 and 59 months for the MR vaccine and Vitamin A supplement.
The auctioning of motorbikes at the Hohoe District Police Station has recorded a high turn-out as people trooped in as early as 6:00am in pursuit of a motorcycles to buy.
The auction sales later started some minutes after 11:00am after the necessary documentation and procedure had been finalised by a licensed auctioneer. Aside the expected high turnout, the level of bidding was extraordinarily high which was quite unexpected.
In all, nine motor bicycles were purchased at a minimum of GH₵450.00 to GH₵800.00. Though there were still countable number of motor bicycle still sitting at the station, information gathered by Voltaonlinegh.com showed they were serving as evidence to pending court cases hence could not be auctioned.
Criminal procedure and other offences Act (30) of 1960 section 150, in accordance with section 35 of the Police Service Act 1970 Act (350) with the Police Service Regulations 2012 (C.I. 76) mandate the police to undertake auction sales after two months of property possession.
Under these laws, properties in police possession will be auctioned if owners cannot be found, owners fail to take proper steps under the law to claim such properties and when a court under the law makes orders to dispose of such properties.
With regard to the proceeds of sales, the Police Service Regulation 2012 Act (149) states that after deducting any expense incurred by the police station in connection with the custody of the property and the sale of the property, the balance of the proceeds shall be paid into an account determined by the Minister of Finance.
The chiefs and people of Agotime in the the Volta Region have converged at Afegame, (where they first arrived) to reenact the migration of their forebears from their ancestral home in Ile Ife, Republic of Nigeria to their present location in Agotime-Ziope District.
The ceremony known as crossing of River Tordzi formed part of activities to herald the grand durbar of the 2018 Agbamevorza, also known as Kente (Kete in Ewe) Festival themed, “Attitudinal Change: the Panacea for our Future Development”.
The reenactment saw a family who sailed on the river using a canoe with paddles and arrived at the banks of the river at dawn in silence. After coming out from the canoe with their belongings tied in cloths, the head of the family poured libation to offer special prayers for their safe arrival.
Chairman of Thursday’s ceremony, Nene Akoto Sah VII underscored the need for documenting their history for the younger and unborn generations. He also called for unity among the chiefs and people of Agotime for development.
Nene Akoto Sah III, Warlord, Agortime
The day later saw another colorful event of women drawing water from the river at Kpetoe into the traditional pot at the forecourt of the paramonut chief to welcome visitors.
This observance dubbed “Asialetorme” had women going to the riverside to fetch water and returning in a single file with rounded palm leaves between their heads and the small pots, clad in different kente fabrics amid singing.
Women returning from the riverside
One major activity, kente weaving competition will hold on Friday at Kpetoe to see the weaver who will come out first with quality work. The weaving competition will be preceded by musketry ritual at Wodome in the morning and followed by other interesting and entertaining ones in the day.
The Agbamevorza had been instituted over two decades to help project and market Agotime as the cradle of kete. The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa AKuffo-Addo is expected to grace the grand durbar on Saturday, October 20.
A porous spot on the abandoned Eastern Corridor road, where vehicles got stuck often
By: KALD|Voltaonlinegh.com|
Motorists plying the Hohoe-Jasikan stretch of the now ‘infamous’ Eastern Corridor Road have cried out to the Ghana Highways Authority and the sector ministry to carry out emergency repair works on sections of the stalled road project to make it a bit motorable, while they await its full construction.
According to the worried motorists, extremely porous spots of the road between Sankrokofi and Akpafu needed to be fixed urgently with crushed rocks in order to make it passable for vehicles.
Recent downpours have worsen the state of the abandoned road as portions of it just before Akpafu-Odomi have become muddy, which virtually swallow up vehicles travelling to and fro the northern part of the Volta region.
Stranded vehicles on the porous sections of the road
The situation has rendered movement on the all-important trunk road a nightmare for many motorists and commuters, some of whom are left stranded as their vehicles, including trucks carting food stuff got stuck in the mud for hours and in some cases days.
Some farmers who spoke to voltaonlinegh.com at Akpafu-Odomi said situation has adversely affected their livelihood as they could not transport their produce to the market centre at Hohoe.
Drivers on the road also narrated that, they were with no other option than to drop off passengers at the deteriorated spot for them to find their way through the heavy mud to their communities.
According one of them “we don’t ply the road after 2pm, because when your car got stuck on the way, you won’t get any help to move it. So those traders from Odomi and beyond who come to the market at Hohoe are compelled to leave by 2 O’clock.”
They were therefore hopeful an urgent remedial works on those porous portions of the road would alleviate the transportation plights of residents in the interim, while government source funding to continue construction works on the entire road, which has stalled for over a year now.
The Assistant Country Director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ghana, Mr. Louis Kuukpen has observed that increased partnership from all stakeholders will drive maximum support for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
He made the remark on Wednesday during the Ghana Finance Summit 2018 held on the theme, “Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals through Innovative Financing”.
Mr. Kuukpen underscored the need for greater commitment across all sectors and industries to strengthen and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development as emphasised by the SDG 17.
He said, “the level of funding needed for the implementation of the SDGs surpasses government capacity given the volumes of resources required. There is thus, the need for increased partnership and for all sectors to get involved.”
Citing statistics from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, he stated that an annual investment of between $5-7 trillion is required globally for the achievement of the SDGs by 2030, hence the need to mobilise funds through innovative ways.
“As the SDGs emphasise localised implementation, there is the obvious need to engineer partnerships with the private sector and philanthropy locally. We need at this moment to explore all innovative instruments being domestic or foreign such as blended finance, development impact bonds, green bonds, trust bonds, challenge funds, guarantees, impact investment and many more.”
The UNDP Assistant Country Director also advised on judicious use of Ghana’s natural resources, ensuring that the cedi counts trough accountability, transparency and equitable allocation of resources so that no one is left behind in the achievement of the SDGs.
The Head of the SDG Advisory Unit of the Office of the President, Dr. Eugene Owusu also called on all stakeholders to join hands with the government to push the SDGs. He urged the youth who “represent both today and the future” to come up with creative and innovative ideas to facilitate the implementation of the global goals.
The Ghana Finance Summit brought together financial and business leaders to share ideas, discuss the latest market developments and financial trends in Ghana. It was organised by Precise Communications in collaboration with Financial Inclusion Forum Africa, ARK Events Ghana, GEN Ghana and with support from other partners including UNDP.
Some 300 women in rice farming at Akpafu Odomi in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta Region have received support from some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to enhance their rice production.
This was disclosed during a durbar at the E.P Park in Akpafu Domi to celebrate 2018 World Rural Women Day. The day which falls on October 15 every year recognises the immense contributions and multiple roles of rural women to the development of communities across the world.
This year’s celebration, the first of its kind at Akpafu Odomi organised by the Development Action Association (DAA) with support from the German Association of Rural Women, targeted rural women in rice farming with the theme, “Challenges and Opportunities in Rural Agriculture for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Rural Women in Key Decision Making”.
A durbar to mark the Day at Akpafu Odomi
The ceremony started with a float on the principal streets of Hohoe with placards having inscriptions such as: “Women rice farmers are suffering, Rural farmers are nation builders, Rural women’s voice matter” among others.
Speaking at the event, Mrs. Grace Quaye, the National President of DAA outlined some challenges rural women farmers face in rice farming and underscored the need to encourage them to do more.
She said her outfit had been liaising with NGOs and various communities or associations in the country to support such women.
A beneficiary of this support, Mrs. Janet Adade who is the President of Madomise Women Farmers Association, Akpafu-based farming group of 300 members appreciated the advocacy programme and the introduction of a new milling process which had reduced the level of stone contents in local rice.
She urged Ghanaians to continue to patronise local rice and explained the dependence on human labour due to lack of machines accounts for the high price of the product.
The Hohoe Municipal Agric Officer, Mr. George Asare speaking on issues of a change in fertilizer subsidy, blamed it on non-payment by beneficiaries which had caused enough debt for the assembly and the government.
Present at the event were Mr. Leonard Heh, the representative of the Municipal Chief Executive, Teddy Ofori, traditional leaders from surrounding areas, assembly members among others.
