Establish restoration and dev fund for lower Volta Basin

FISH farmers along the Lower Volta Basin have called on the government to consider the establishment of a Lower Volta Basin Restoration and Development Fund to protect the livelihood of residents along the lake.

The farmers say they have lost economic opportunities, and as such there is mass migration from the area.

The situation is attributable to environmental degradation and pollution brought about by the construction of the Kpong and Akosombo dams.

According to the chairman of the South Tongu Fish Farmers Association (SOTFFA), Mr Julius Ameku, the loss of economic opportunities and mass migration had resulted in widespread poverty within the communities along the basin.

The fund, Mr Ameku said, would address the development deficit of communities such as North and South Tongu and Keta in the Volta Region; Dangme East (Ada) in the Greater Accra  Region and Asuogyaman and Lower Manya in the Eastern Region; all along the Lower Volta  Basin.

Currently the basin has been taken over by wild invasive aquatic weeds, which have adversely affected the socio-economic well-being of the people.

The group has also proposed the enactment of a legislative instrument (LI) to protect the Lower Basin, given that the Volta River Authority (VRA) Act 46 of 1961, and its subsequent amendments that established the VRA as managers of the two dams did not provide any support for the communities in the lower reaches of the dams.

In view of this, the association has petitioned the Minister of Environment, Science and Technology and the Members of Parliament (MPs) of the affected areas to help address the problem.

Mr Ameku told the Daily Graphic that the communities, with a population of nearly 700,000, had suffered systematic migration to the upper reaches of the two dams in pursuit of fishing and farming vocations.

He said environmental degradation within the basin over the last four decades had affected the living standards of the people and their situation had been compounded by water-related disease resulting from invasive aquatic weeds.

Life, he said, had become excruciating for the fishing communities that mainly drew their livelihood from fishing, farming, water transport and tourism, depending extensively on the Volta River.

He said education, which is key to national development, continued to decline following the loss of livelihood.

“Health issues have also arisen following dwindling fortunes along the basin over the last four decades while economic development of women continue to experience a downturn,” Mr Ameku said. 

Successive governments, he also said, had failed to give any serious attention to addressing the environmental, social and economic problems occasioned by the construction of the two dams in the area.

Mr Ameku further said that whereas communities within the upper reaches of the two dams were settled and had remained beneficiaries of a trust fund to compensate them and restore their livelihoods over the years, little attention had been paid to the plight of the communities in the Lower Volta Basin.

“The general opinion is that if no urgent intervention takes place the watercourse will be completely blocked within the next few years by weeds,” he said, adding that considering the magnitude of the challenge, there was the urgent need to develop the equivalent of a Marshall Plan to lift the basin and its inhabitants from the deplorable state in which they find themselves”.

Mr Ameku expressed the opinion that the proposed regulation would  arrest the decline while aiding wealth creation, reduce migration and also revive farming, fishing and allied industries in the catchment communities.

SOURCE: Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic, Tue, Aug 21, 2012

GRIDCo signs $174m facility for Kumasi - Bolga transmision lines

Mr Darku (r) and Mr Leclerc exchanging the agreement

THE Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) yesterday signed a $174 million non-sovereign credit facility to support the financing of the installation of the 503-kilometre 330 voltage ampere (kV) Kumasi-Bolgatanga transmission lines.

The project, being co-financed by the World Bank, would also involve the construction of intermediary sub-stations in Kintampo and Tamale.

Under the project, a 40-kilometre kV transmission lines would be installed under the Ghana-Ouagadougou interconnection programme.

The projects are expected to increase the transmission capacity of the national grid by reinforcing it to ensure reliable transfer of power within the network aimed at improving service delivery.

It is also expected to reduce transmission losses and also increase Ghana’s capacity to be a net exporter of energy to the West African Power Pool (WAPP) countries in the Sahelian regions.

Additionally, GRIDCo signed a $4.8 million grant from the Africa-European Union (EU) Infrastructure Fund to finance preparatory studies.

The amount would also cater for the project management, engineering and construction supervision and consultancy services.

The facilities are the highest financing ever approved by the AFD in the country.

Speaking at the ceremony, a deputy minister of Energy in charge of power, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, indicated that the transmission sector had over the years witnessed little development.

“It is in this light that GRIDCo was established to enhance the transmission of power by ensuring sustainable power provision,” he said.

According to him, Ghana’s quest to become a net exporter of power by 2015 informed the government’s decision to expand facilities as part of strategies to expand reliable and affordable modern energy services for households and businesses.

Alhaji Fuseini expressed the hope that when completed the project would reinforce the Ghana Power network programme aimed at improving service delivery in the sector.

The Resident Manager of the AFD, Mr Bruno Leclerc, for his part, said that reforms carried out by the Ghanaian government in the energy sector since 2006 to date informed the AFD’s decision to finance the project.
In that regard, the agency, he said, in 2011 alone approved three financing projects for the Volta River Authority (VRA) retrofit project of the Kpong Dam.

He indicated that the Kumasi-Bolgatanga transmission would allow Ghana to be a key player in the energy market and also strengthen regional integration between the country and Burkina Faso.

“We are very positive that the project will also impact the development of the three northern regions by increasing capacity and improving the quality of electricity to better stimulate growth in the agro-business and industries in those regions,” Mr Leclerc said.

He said the AFD considered the project as key in its strategy and activities in Ghana and expressed confidence in GRIDCo and the government to ensure universal access to electricity supply by its teeming population.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GRIDCo, Mr Charles Darku, indicated that the project, under the first phase of the Inter-Zonal transmission hub programme of the WAPP, was another milestone in the company’s aggressive re-engineering programme to modernise and expand the Ghanaian transmission network.

“We also want to increase power the transfer capacity of the network, especially from the south where most of the generation plants are located in the north,” he said.

Mr Darku also announced that the Mallam Substation upgrade project being carried out to double the transformer capacity was nearing completion. 

Representatives from the EU, the French Government and other development partners witnessed the signing ceremony.

SOURCE: Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic, Fri, Aug 18, 2012

Use our services - Private medical practitioners

The Society of Private Medical and Dental Practitioners (SPMDP) Ghana has expressed its displeasure at what it describes as an under utilisation of its services by the state.

The group complained that considering the competence and the significant contribution they could make to the nation, they had been sidelined in major stakeholder engagements by the state and other relevant bodies.

The society has, therefore, advocated that the Private Sector Desk at the Ministry of Health be strengthened and resourced to actively engage all private sector key players in formulating policies in all aspects of healthcare delivery.

That, the group said, would help in building the capacity of the unit to improve in the gathering of information on health issues and adequate health statistics that would improve efficiency in the country’s health delivery system.

The National President of the Society, Dr Kwasi Odoi-Agyarko, stated the association's position at their 34th annual general meeting (AGM) held in Tema recently.

The programme held on the theme: “Public private partnership for rapid health development” was attended by members from all over the country.

“We were surprised that as stakeholders, we were sidelined when conferences on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), nutrition, HIV, tuberculosis, non-communicable diseases, as well as issues relating to National Health Insurance, were held recently to chart new courses for the country’s health sector, ” Dr Odoi-Agyarko said.

Dr Odoi-Agyarko said in spite of the private practitioners resolve to avail themselves for assistance whenever they were called upon, the society had persistently been overlooked by the government.

He also expressed concern about the manner in which capacity building and resourcing of the private health sector had been carried out by the state.

That, he said, had not facilitated effective delivery of quality healthcare to the country’s teeming population that required healthcare due to the unavailability of state facilities at certain parts of the country.

The President also called for a review of the Private Health Sector Policy document formulated in 2003 and revised in 2011.

“We believe 90 per cent of the recommendations on the policy document are not actively disseminated or implemented,” he reiterated.

Dr Odoi-Agyarko pledged the society’s resolve to actively play a meaningful and competent role in providing quality care to assist the government to attain national objectives and targets in health deliverables.

“It is in this light that we believe a better collaboration between governmental agencies and our involvement in policy decisions are vital to resuscitating the ailing sector,” he stressed.

SOURCE: Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic, Wed August 16, 2012

Cloths for Mills in high demand

One of the adopted cloths for Prez Mills's funeral THE sale of textile prints designed for funeral purposes has seen a significant leap at various sales points, following the demise of President John Atta Mills.                In the run-up to the one-week commemoration of President Mills’s death, traders cashed in on the 'Se Asa' (literary meaning, It's ended) fabric, designed by local manufacturer, Akosombo Textiles. Other traders selling other designs such as “Agya Atta, Asomdwehene; Damirifa due; Onipa Nni aye; Kokonsani bebre, among other textiles, are also recording significant sales. Although the Se Asa design has been on the market over the past decade, it became the most popular after the death of President Mills on July 24, this year. To many supporters and sympathisers of the late President Mills, it was the constant verbal attacks and vilification of the President which were partly responsible for his early death. The Se Asa fabric, is, therefore, seen as a fitting design to mourn the late President Mills. Sympathisers of the late President, including some government officials, have been adorning it to taunt political opponents believed to have used the late leader’s health as an issue on political platforms in the past. The full piece of the cloth, which was previously sold at GH¢15, has witnessed a price surge and is currently being sold for GH¢60. Another fabric that has also caught considerable attention on the market is the Aboa bi beka wo a, na efri wo ntoma mu, to wit, the enemy is within. The fabric is said to be receiving high patronage from members and sympathisers of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP). From Rawlings Park, through to the Kingsway Building, traders were seen parading the streets in their bid to attract the attention of buyers to patronise the various cloths. A trader at the Makola Market, Madam Vida Darko, who had stock the Se Asa, cloth in red, black, red and black, and black and white colour; told the Daily Graphic during a visit to the market, that since President Mills passed on, there had been a high demand for the cloth. According to Madam Darko, wholesale dealers of the cloth were making further arrangements to increase supply prior to the burial slated for August 8-10, this year. “This cloth, until President Mills’s demise, was just an ordinary one on the market,” she said. Other designs that have the portrait of the late leader and the umbrella logo of the NDC are also witnessing massive sales, particularly among supporters and sympathisers of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). A trader, Madam Christine Agyemang, who described herself as a sympathiser of the NPP, said the committee planning the late president’s funeral should have come up with a uniform mourning cloth, since the late president was not president for only NDC supporters. ‘I will support any action by the NPP to adorn the “Enemy is within” cloth to the final funeral rites, if government officials and the NDC sympathisers continued to parade in the designs that had the late President and the NDC logo,’ Madam Agyemang told the Daily Graphic during a visit to her shop. According to her, although the traders had been informed of a design, the cloth with the portrait of the President was yet to hit the market. SOURCE: Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic, Mon, Aug 6, 2012

Steel firms want law to enforce ban on scrap exports

STAKEHOLDERS in the steel manufacturing industry are calling for the speedy passage of a draft policy into law to enforce the ban on the exportation of ferrous scrap metals from the country.

Work on the draft regulation, which has been finalised by the Attorney-General’s (A-G’s) Department for onward submission by the sector ministry to Parliament for consideration, was meant to strengthen the administrative ban that has been in place since 2004.

According to the Union Chairman of Tema Steel, Mr Michael Tetteh Mortu, who spoke on behalf of the five steel companies operating in the Tema metropolis, the illegal exportation of ferrous scraps continued to have a toll on the ailing industry, owing to the fact that there was no clear protection regime to halt the practice.

He said Ghana, in 2010 alone, posted a loss of GH¢60,512,100 through the illegal exportation of about 110,022 metric tonnes of ferrous scraps.

That, he said, had prompted local steel companies to resort to the use of light materials, resulting in a shortfall in production.

Mr Mortu also said some operators in the industry had resorted to the importation of aluminium coils which they declared as raw materials meant for the manufacture of nails to attract lesser tax.

He also blamed the infiltration of the local steel market by persons who, though had manufacturing plants, undertook the importation of finished products which they declared at the Tema Port as raw materials, with a lower rate of duty paid.

He said  although in March this year the top hierarchy of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA)  issued a directive to all commanders at all ports and shipment stations to supervise the loading of containers with scrap metals being  exported, those instructions were being defied.

“The Tema Steel Company, Ferro Fabrik, Western Steel, Special Steel and Sentuo Limited currently employ a scanty workforce of about 3,000 following the decline in operation, as against the over 10,000 workforce in the past,” Mr Mortu lamented, adding that the union was of the view that putting legislation in place by criminalising scrap export would ensure a protection regime for local industries.

The Director of Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises at the Ministry of Trade, Mr Johnson Adasi, said the Trade Ministry had, since Wednesday, August 1, 2012, presented the draft policy to the A-G’s outfit after the necessary corrections and challenges had been addressed.

That, he said, was in line with the ministry’s quest to ensure that the policy was laid in Parliament before the house went on recess.

SOURCE: Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic, Sat Aug 4, 2012

Gender activists discuss women's representation in governance

Prof Manuh (r) with NDC's Mr Adanu and Sussan Adu of CPP

A FORMER Director of the Institute of African Studies, Professor Takyiwaa Manuh, has lamented the low representation  of women in governance.

According to her, women’s representation in governance must be discussed using a bi-partisan approach that would ensure a socialisation process that is a reflection of the democratic society that the country hopes to achieve.

Professor Manuh made the call at the third in a series of Gender Dialogues organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), in partnership with the United  Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women).

The programme, held on the theme, “Strategising for enhancing women’s political participation, the role of political parties”, brought together gender activists, groups, parliamentarians and policy analysts of the four main political parties, as well as officials of the Electoral Commission (EC).

The forum discussed the role of political parties in providing leadership opportunities for women in Ghana, how to address the challenges confronting women who intend to enter politics, and also facilitate advocacy and networking to support female aspirants in Ghana.

She said it was necessary to level the perceived turbulent political landscape to encourage more women to venture into politics.

She also expressed concern about what she described as the vilification, and sometimes, physical abuse of female politicians,  and challenged political parties to take the necessary steps to ensure a level playing field for all candidates irrespective of their gender or tribe.

“The blanket categorisation of women as vulnerable, thus making men better politicians, ought to be addressed to reflect the country’s democratic credentials,” Prof. Manuh said.

She stressed the need for political parties to reserve safe parliamentary seats for female contestants as part of efforts to increase their participation at all levels of the governance process.

A policy analyst with the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Kwaku Kwarteng, indicated that society tended to appreciate the role of men better in politics due to various factors.

He said political parties were unwilling to reserve safe parliamentary seats for female aspirants, owing to the fact that they were in the political business to win seats, adding that “reserving safe parliamentary seats for women can also create acrimony among political parties in situations where people might go independent”.

The First Vice-Chairperson of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Mrs Susan Adu-Amankwah, however, said the major challenges to women’s participation in politics was due to their perceived social status in society and said that it was not by accident that a number of women’s movements had been concentrating on the need to change this perception.

She urged political parties to increase their interaction with the women’s movement and engage them through educational programmes, not only targeted at their members, but the general public.

There were presentations by the People’s National Convention (PNC) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Earlier in his welcome address, a Senior Fellow at the IEA, Brigadier General Francis Agyemfra (retd) , said the ability of nations to make progress in the development of their human resources depended largely on the links between good governance and sustainable human development.

“It is now generally accepted that unless women constitute at least  one-third of the ‘critical mass’ of people in decision-making, their contribution to the governance process would not be felt,” he said. 

SOURCE: Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic, Fri August 3, 2012

Contract for coastal fishing ports signed

Mr Anamoo (left) and Mr Tao signing the agreement

THE Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) has signed an agreement with the China Harbour Engineering Company for the construction of mini fishing ports and landing sites in 11 fishing communities in the country.

The project, an initiative of the late President Mills, to be financed at a cost of $196 million under the China Development Bank (CDB) loan facility, is aimed at improving economic activities among fisher folk in the selected rural and urban areas.

They are to be sited at Axim, Dixcove and Mumford in the Western Region; Moree, Elmina, Winneba, Senya Beraku and Gomoa Fete in the Central Region; James Town and Teshie in the Greater Accra Region and Keta in the Volta Region.

The Director-General of the GPHA, Mr Richard Anamoo, signed the agreement on behalf of Ghana, while the Country Representative of the China Harbour Engineering Company, Mr Yang Tao, signed on behalf of the Chinese government.

The projects are to be completed over a period of 30 months and will be supervised by Royal Haskoning DHV Group, a global engineering consultancy firm with expertise in the area of transportation, aviation, water and environment.

The Marketing and Public Relations Manager of the GPHA, Ms Joana Frances Adda, said besides the basic marine infrastructure of breakwater and berthing bays for boats and canoes, each of the 11 sites would get appropriately sized facilities such as ice-making plants, day-care centres, fish market sheds, net-mending areas and administration buildings.  

The facilities, she said, would also have in place access roads, electricity and water supply services.

She was optimistic that the projects, when completed, would serve as one of the numerous legacies the late President would have left behind.

Mr Tao, for his part, was optimistic that the project would greatly improve the livelihood of the beneficiary communities, in line with the government’s quest to create opportunities for society at large.

SOURCE: Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic, Fri August 3, 2012

Maritime industry consoles Mrs Mills

Mr Anamoo (seated) signs on behalf of the group

MEMBERS of the maritime industry yesterday paid a courtesy call on the former First Lady, Mrs Ernestina Naadu Mills to commiserate with her on the loss of her husband, President John Evans Atta Mills.

The delegation made up of executives of the Ghana Shippers Council, the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF), as well as officials of the Ghana Ports and Habours Authourity (GPHA) and led by the Director General of the GPHA, Mr Richard Anamoo, had prior to the visit signed the book of condolence opened in memory of the late President at the Banquet Hall of the State House.

The delegation interacted with the widow, Mrs Mills and other members of her family.

Wearing an all black attire with a gloomy face, a visibly shaken Mrs Mills had a brief interaction with the delegation and thanked them for the support.

Mr Anamoo, who described late President Mills as a strong performer  said the maritime industry would remember his strong performance values.

According to him, the construction of a landing site at the fishing harbour and the replacement of the wooden wharf at the harbour were projects that were dear to his heart and subsequently pushed officials to work harder in that regard in fulfilment of the pledge.

“The GPHA have began work on the facility and we were in the process of inviting him to cut sod for the project when the unfortunate incident occurred on Tuesday, July 24”, Mr Anamoo said.

He further said  GPHA would ensure the project becomes a reality to serve as a legacy in his memory.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Shippers Authourity (GSA), Dr Kofi Mbiah, also in his tribute challenged Ghanaians to maintain the national unity that the late President’s death has brought across board.

Also at the residence to pay their respect were members of the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC), led by its chairman, Professor Emeritus, Albert Fiadjoe and the Executive Secretary, Dr Raymond Atuguba.

SOURCE: Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic, Thur July 2, 2012