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DOZENS KEPT VIGIL IN HONOUR OF LATE PRESIDENT MILLS

By
Kwadwo Duodu
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0

Dozens of Mourners Thursday night attended a vigil church service at the Ho Polytechnic auditorium, organized by the Volta Regional Coordinating Council as part of the final funeral rites for the late President John Evans Atta Mills.
The service was interspersed with solemn choral music from selected choirs from both charismatic and orthodox churches and the Ghana Police band.  The over 1200 capacity auditorium was also filled up with large numbers of mourners monitoring the service on screens outside the auditorium.
Earlier, the mourners clad in black & red attires, thronged the streets of Ho in a candle-light procession amidst singing of traditional dirges with brass band music in honour of the late President.  
Among the mourners were the clergy, traditional rulers, public and civil servants as well as government officials and leaders of the various political parties.
In a sermon, the Catholic Bishop of Ho, Most Reverend Francis K.A. Lodonu extolled the humility and peaceful nautre of the late President Mills and said he “stands tall in the politics of reconciliation, justice and peace.”
Bishop Lodonu noted that, President Mills’ death has opened a new chapter in the Ghanaian political landscape as his death has united the entire nation. He therefore asked Ghanaians to take delight in this newness and cultivate the “great virtues” of the late President Mills and not to go back to the ‘politics of vengeance and vindictiveness’.
cross-section of mourners
The Volta regional minister, Mr Henry Ford Kamel said the late President Mills will always be remembered for his good virtues and legacies of development projects across the country and declared  “President Mills never dies”.
Mr Kamel challenged politicians to endeavour to love one another irrespective of status and political affiliations.

In a tribute, the Volta Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Kenwood Nuworsu said the death of the late President Mills has exposed the beautiful sides of politics in the country.
 “The demise of our beloved President Mills has united all of us beautifully and showed that our politics can survive without insults and abuses,” he said.
The Volta regional secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Simon Viglo-Amegashie, said the death of President Mills came as a shock to party in the region and described him as a man who ‘left his mark in the sand of history in the politics of tolerance and peaceful co-existence’.  
There were tributes, from the Volta Regional House of Chiefs, and other organized groups and individuals.

TWO HO-BASED NGO’s DONATE TO E.P VARSITY

By
Kwadwo Duodu
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0

The Ho Development Association (HODA) and the Ho Club 50, both Non Governmental Organisations based in Ho, last Friday presented assorted library books to the Evangelical Presbyterian University College (EPUC) in Ho to enhance academic work in university.
Mr. Obed Agbevordey, an executive member of the HODA who presented the books on behalf of the association said the donation was the group’s contribution towards the growth of the university which is the first in the Volta region.
He said the Volta region is noted for its academic excellence, but it’s fasting loosing the accolade and called on all well-meaning Voltarians to join forces in making frantic efforts to bring back the region’s past glory. Mr. Agbevordey expressed appreciation to the founders of the University for their Sacrifices and said ‘the establishment of the university has brought smiles to the faces of the many citizens of the region’.
The books which are in the Business, Economics, Marketing and General Studies areas, were supplied by the Tema Rotary Club of which Mr. Agbevordey is a member and sponsored by Brothers-Brothers Foundation of U.S.A.
Mr. Agbevordey underscored the importance of a library and said ‘one of the strong pillars of any university is how well stock its library is’ and assured the university of regular supplies whenever the Tema rotary club receive consignments from their USA partners.

Mr. Samuel Walter K. Buame, the Registrar of EPUC who received the books, expressed the university’s gratitude to the Ho development association and the Ho club 50 for their thoughtful gesture and called on other philanthropists to support the university in its quest to train qualified human resource to meet the developmental needs of the nation.
Mr Buame said the university was commended by the National Accreditation Board (NAB) for its library stock and was optimistic that the donations would help keep that standard.
Present at the donation were Mr. David Bansah and Mr. Dickson Pi-Bansah, both president and secretary of Ho Club 50 respectively.

VOLTA FIRE LADIES ASSOCIATION INAUGURATED IN HO

By
Kwadwo Duodu
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0
Listen to Henry Ametepe

Henry Ametepe
The Fire Service Ladies Association (FISLA) has been urged to educate women on fire safety in general and domestic fire safety in particular.
Mr Henry Ametefe, Deputy Volta Regional Minister, gave the advice at the inauguration of the Region Branch of the Association in Ho.
It was on the theme: “Enhancing Fire Safety Activities -The Role of FISLA.”
Mr Ametefe urged the Association to visit the markets and link up with other associations of women to educate them on the rudiments of fire prevention and control at home, market, workplaces and public places.
Mr Ametefe called on FISLA to spearhead a programme to encourage institutions, including the business community, to install firefighting equipment and get their staff and workers to master the use of the gadgets.
He observed that the public is largely ignorant about how to operate fire extinguishers on public and private premises and, therefore, become helpless in tackling small fires which then assume dangerous dimensions.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Regional Fire Officer, Assistant Chief Fire Officer Kru Agyarko-Attobrah, commended the Firewomen for their resilience, dedication and perseverance.

MINISTER PROPOSES ESTABLISHMENT OF DATABASE FOR CITIZENS

By
Kwadwo Duodu
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0
Listen to Ford Kamel addressing Senior Citizens

Ford Kamel

The Volta Regional Minister, Mr Henry Ford Kamel has called for the establishment of reliable database on people who retire from public and civil service.    

According to him such information with details on expertise and location would help in the formulation of a national policy on the aged for their possible re-engagement.    
Mr Kamel made the call at a luncheon in Ho organized by the Volta Regional Coordinating Council in honour of senior citizens in the Region.     
He said senior citizens remained relevant to the socio-economic development of the country and hoped a national policy for the aged could make them active and more relevant to the country’s economy saying “for instance retired teachers could be re-engaged to help improve academic performance in schools.”    
Mr Kamel appealed to the senior citizens to preach peace in their communities saying “as opinion leaders, use your expertise to ensure that peace prevailed in your areas. Be quick to condemn actions that could cause conflict and commend peaceful gestures”.    

  
Mr Tenasu Kofi Gbedemah, a Senior Citizen and Civil Society Activist commended government for remembering the efforts of senior citizens and called on government to ensure the passage of the Right to Information Bill.   
Senior Citizens at the Luncheon

He said that was the only way to fight corruption and ensure transparency, accountability and good governance.   

Mr Ransford Ocloo, Former Volta Regional Director of the National Youth Council, said pensions of people under the SSNIT Pension Scheme was too low and appealed to government to review it.

ADAKLU CITIZENS JUBILATE OVER NEW DISTRICT

By
Kwadwo Duodu
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0
Listen to Ford Kamel’s Address

Adaklu Mountain
Jubilation engulfed the entire Adaklu traditional area last Thursday as the chiefs and people of area defied a heavy downpour to celebrate the inauguration of their new Adaklu district at Adaklu Waya, the district capital in the Volta region.
The chiefs who were dressed in their royal regalia with hundred of their enthusiastic subjects clad in white were drumming and dancing in the heavy rain which delayed the programme for hours.
Mr. Francis Segbefia, Assembly Member for Waya the creation of the district for the area was not an easy task as they have been lobbying since 2003. ‘It took us warfare of intense dialogue, press conferences, agitations and demonstrations for us to have this district’ he emphasized.
Mr. Segbefia however said, the creation of the district would change the development agenda of the Adaklu traditional area.
Delivering the inaugural address on behalf of President Mills, Mr. Henry Ford Kamel Volta regional minister said the creation of new Assemblies represented the fulfillment of one of the many promises in the 2008 National Democratic Congress (NDC)   manifesto.
He said the establishment of new districts would deepen democracy and decentralization towards a better Ghana.
He said government expected “nothing less than full and active” participation of the chiefs and people in the Assembly.
He said a District Resourcing Programme was being worked out within the framework of the recently launched Public Private Partnership Strategy, to provide each assembly with an office block, assembly hall and bungalows for its staff.
Mr. Kamel said basic needs strategy was also being worked out to ensure a minimum of two senior high schools, a district hospital, potable water and electricity for the district capital and access road to the district capital.

 

The Paramount chief of Adaklu Traditional area, Togbe Gbogbi Atsa V, who was full of praise for the government, pledged the readiness of traditional authorities to make the Adaklu District a point of reference for excellence in good governance.

 “We want to assure the President that if local governance would become a tourist attraction in Ghana, it will surely start from the Adaklu District Assembly”, he said.
He said the chiefs and people of the traditional area were grateful to the President for fulfilling his campaign promise, and they would reciprocate the gesture by using the district as an instrument for development of the area.
Togbe Atsa commended the people for their resilience and support during the ‘fight’ for the district and urged them to support the new Assembly to grow.
The Adaklu traditional area consists of over forty small towns and villages which has enormous agricultural and tourism potentials.  

MINISTER PROPOSES ESTABLISHMENT OF SENIOR CITIZENS’ DATABASE

By
Kwadwo Duodu
-
0

The Volta Regional Minister, Mr Henry Ford Kamel has called for the establishment of reliable database on people who retire from public and civil service.    
According to him such information with details on expertise and location would help in the formulation of a national policy on the aged for their possible re-engagement.    
Mr Kamel made the call at a luncheon in Ho organized by the Volta Regional Coordinating Council in honour of senior citizens in the Region.     
He said senior citizens remained relevant to the socio-economic development of the country and hoped a national policy for the aged could make them active and more relevant to the country’s economy saying “for instance retired teachers could be re-engaged to help improve academic performance in schools.”    
Mr Kamel appealed to the senior citizens to preach peace in their communities saying “as opinion leaders, use your expertise to ensure that peace prevailed in your areas. Be quick to condemn actions that could cause conflict and commend peaceful gestures”.      
Mr Tenasu Kofi Gbedemah, a Senior Citizen and Civil Society Activist commended government for remembering the efforts of senior citizens and called on government to ensure the passage of the Right to Information Bill.   
He said that was the only way to fight corruption and ensure transparency, accountability and good governance.   
Mr Ransford Ocloo, Former Volta Regional Director of the National Youth Council, said pensions of people under the SSNIT Pension Scheme was too low and appealed to government to review it.

POLITICAL PARTIES TO VISIT E.C ‘STRONG ROOM’

By
Kwadwo Duodu
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0
Listen to Dr. Afari Djan addressing Party Executives

Executives of the various political parties in the country would soon be taken on a tour of the Electoral commission of Ghana head offices to familiarize themselves with the operations of the E.C especially in the operations room (better known as the strong room) and the information technology department of the commission.

Dr. Kwodwo Afari-Djan, chairman of the commission disclosed this at a capacity building workshop organized by the Commission in collaboration with the Department for International Development (DFID) and KAB Governance Consult (KGC) for political parties in the Volta Region at Ho.
According to the E.C boss, the tour is intended to correct wrong impressions about activities that goes on in the ‘strong room’ and deepen the understanding and strength of the country’s electoral system.
“There are several rumours and we need to make people understand that we do not do surgical operations in our operations room and that no one can manipulate figures in the IT room,” Dr. Afari-Djan said. 

The National Democratic Congress (NDC), New Patriotic Party (NPP) and Progressive People’s Party (PPP) were the only parties present at the workshop which was on the theme “The Inbuilt integrity of Ghana’s Electoral Process.”
Participants treated topics like the rights and obligations of Political Parties and EC-Political Party Relations, the In-built Integrity of Ghana’s Electoral System and Importance of Polling Agents as part of the EC’s outreach programme on voter education.
Dr. Afari Gyan said everyone needed some form of voter education and advised political parties to educate the electorate on voting procedures and the dos and don’ts of elections.
He therefore expressed the hope that, the Commissions engagement with party executives would help deepen their understanding of the electoral system create mutual appreciation of the basis of the relationship between the EC and the political parties.

MEDIA PRACTITIONERS ASKED TO PRACTICE ‘PEACE JOURNALISM’

By
Kwadwo Duodu
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0

 Listen to Justin Bayor

The West African Network For Peace-building (WANEP), Ghana, has asked media practitioners to practice peace journalism so as to guarantee the country’s peace during this electioneering period.
Mr. Justin Bayor, the National Network Coordinator of WANEP-Ghana, said the country is currently experiencing security challenges hence the need for media practitioners to be circumspect in their reportage in order not to jeopardize the country’s fledgling democracy.
“Anyone who thinks Ghana is peaceful and can never go to war, is day dreaming’ Mr. Bayor said and noted that the nation’s security is no longer the duty of the security agencies but rather a shared responsibility of every citizen.
Mr Bayor, who made the call at a media consultative workshop in Ho on Friday, expressed concern about the use of vindictive and provocative language in the Ghanaian media.
He said the derogatory remarks creeping into the media landscape had the potential of plunging the nation into chaos, if not checked immediately.
Mr. Bayor said WANEP is engaging youth from 14 ‘hot spots’ across the country to be ambassadors of peace to ensure that the 2012 general election is conducted without rancor.
Some participants at the workshop blame the increasing use of foul language in the media  on the commercialization of the media, which now superseded the public interest and called for the regular training of media practitioners as well as media owners on the modern trends in reporting and also on the need to always serve the public interest.

TOGBEGA GABUSU SPEAKS ‘AM NOW A REFUGEE’

By
Kwadwo Duodu
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0

Togbega Gabusu (middle) flank by Togbe Adzimah (L)
 Listen to Togbe Afede appeal to Factions
The Paramount chief of Gbi Traditional area, Togbega Gabusu VI has on Thursday said he has been living in a hideout as his sisters were also staying with other people after his  palace was vandalised and vehicles burnt by some irate Zongo youth in Hohoe last Monday. “Am now a refugee in my own home” Togbe Gabusu said in his first public comment when he met with a delegation from the Volta Regional House of Chiefs and the Volta Regional Security Council (REGSEC) led by Togbe Afede XIV President of the house of chiefs and the Volta regional minister, Henry Ford Kamel in the residence of the Hohoe Municipal Chief Executive, to sympathize with the people of Hohoe and to also help broker peace.
Clashes broke between the youth of Hohoe and their Zongo counterparts last Monday, after the later went on rampage and vandalised properties in the palace of Togbe Gabusu including his vehicles, accusing him (Gabusu) of ordering the exhumation of the corpse of the Chief Imam of the area. This led to reprisal attack from the indigenes, who also went and set ablaze shops belonging to some Zongo people in the town. 
The town is now under a dusk to dawn curfew with heavy security deplored to maintain law and order.
According to Togbega Gabusu he hasn’t been to his palace since the incident as he was forced to be indoors and, therefore, he could not assess the extent of damage caused to his house and property.
He thanked the delegation of the chiefs especially Togbe Afede for the deep concern they had shown to him and the rest of the people and expressed the hope that a better situation would arise from the crisis.

 Mr. Henry Ametepe, Deputy Volta regional minister, used the occasion to assure Togbega that government would do its best to put the palace back to shape.
Togbe Afede & his Entourage

 Earlier, Togbe Adzima V, Chief of Gbi-Abansi, briefed Togbe Afede and his entourage and stressed that the Gbis were not against the Moslems but the unruly behaviours of some of their youths.

He expressed disgust at the audacity of the youths from the Zongo Community to ransack and torch the Palace of Togbega Gabusu. He said the Zongo youths had consistently acted with hostility and impunity towards the traditional authorities over the years.
Togbe Afede appealed to them to defer the deadline set for the replacement of traditional regalia which got missing from the chief’s palace and said the situation was so volatile and that nothing should be done for it to escalate.
Togbe Afede also assured them that the Regional House of Chiefs would collaborate with the Volta Regional Coordinating Council towards the restoration of stool regalia and treasures which got missing in the conflict.
He urged the parties to soften their stance and give peace a chance, adding that without peace and unity, the huge potential of Hohoe as an investment destination could not be exploited.
Meanwhile, the Assembly Member for the zongo community, Alhaji Gibril Buhari, has appealed to Togbe Afede XIV to prevail on the Gbi Traditional Council to soften their stance on the ultimatum given for them to return the missing regalia, so that an extensive search would be conducted to retrieve whatever that was taken from Togbe Gaabusu’s palace.
COMMITTEE OF EMINENT PERSONS TO INVESTIGATE CLASHES
Some of the displaced persons

A committee of eminent persons from the Volta region is to be set up to unravel the cause of the clashes which claim three live and displaced over thousand people. This was disclosed by the Volta regional minister Henry Ford Kamel, when he led the delegation of chiefs to pay a courtesy call on the Catholic bishop of Jasikan, Most Rev. Gabriel Akwasi Ababio Mante.

Members of the committee who would be drawn from various spheres of the society including the religion, according to the minister would investigate circumstances leading to the clashes and come out with a roadmap which would bring total peace to Hohoe and to forestall future occurrences.
Bishop Mante expressed shock at the incident but was grateful to the security apparatus for the swift nature the situation was brought under control.
He assured the delegation of his readiness to help restored peace to Hohoe but complained about non-implementation of recommendations of investigative committees and said this had left problems unresolved. This attitude, he said could spell disaster if aggrieved parties felt that justice have not been done.
Meanwhile, the  delegation of Chiefs and the Volta Regional Security Council (REGSEC) led by Togbe Afede XIV President of the house of chiefs and the Volta regional minister, Henry Ford Kamel, have visited the displaced persons at Jasikan.
Togbe Afede appealed to them to return home to begin the process of reconciliation and rebuilding.
He also urged them to be law abiding and respect traditions of the Gbi people.
The displaced people who are mostly zongo women and children were part of the over six thousand persons who flee the conflict and are living with friends and relatives at Jasikan, Kadjebi, Biakoye and Kpando.

burnt shops
Gabusu’s burnt vehicle

CHAOS IN HO AS POLICE SHOT AND KILLED A ‘SUSPECTED CRIMINAL’

By
Kwadwo Duodu
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0
Listen to  My report from the incident scene

Police pushing a suspect into the vehicle

There was chaos in Ho, the Volta regional capital Sunday morning, when angry youth of Anlokordzi; a suburb of Ho clashed with police officers following the killing of one of their colleagues by the police in the area. 

 The incident occurred during a dawn swoop by the police in the area noted for harboring suspected criminals and wee smokers.
Police sources disclosed that, the young man suspected to be a criminal  was shot and killed when he allegedly attempted to stab a Police officer with a knife.

But  eyewitnesses at the scene said the deceased, Atsu Mensah was rather shot and killed at a short range in the neck by one of the police officers when he attempted to escape, after eight of them were arrested in ‘Kpako’ house, located behind the Metro mass Transit terminal, close to the Ho central market. This angered the youth of the area, who mass up with machetes, stones and sticks and attacked police officers who were at the scene to convey the corpse to the morgue.

Empty pellets at the clash scene
Sensing danger,  the police officers retreated to the Ho central police station , firing several warming shots to disperse the angry mob who followed and threw stones and sticks at them. The mob also burnt car tyres and created blockades on the road in front of the police station with logs and cement blocks before a reinforcement of armed police and military personnel arrived at the scene to put the situation under control.

The incident has left several people sustaining various degrees of injuries, with 13 suspects so far arrested.

As of Sunday afternoon, relative calm have returned to the area as a team of police and military personnel are on patrol in the area.

Meanwhile, the Volta regional Security Council (RESEC) in a press statement signed by the regional minister, who is also the chairman of RESEC, Henry Ford Kamel have expressed its condolences to the bereaved family and called on the citizens of Anlokordzi to exercise restraint and remain calm. The statement concluded by assuring the good citizens of Ho that, ‘a transparent and independent committee of enquiry would be set up to investigate the unfortunate incident.
In a related development, the Volta Regional Chairman of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and a correspondent for the Daily Graphic Mr Victor Kwawukume, have been allegedly assaulted by the police for taking photographs of the chaotic situation.
Mr Kwawukume who narrated his ordeal, said he was at the scene taking notes and pictures as the police arrested people and beat suspects with batons and gun buts, when the police rushed on him and assaulted him severally on the face and head.
He said though he identified himself as a media personnel, the police pounced on him until a police friend of his came to his rescue.
The GJA chairman said the police seized his camera, and asked him to come for it at the Ho central Police Station, which He later collected at the Station with some journalists and he was ordered to delete all the pictures he took.

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