110 COMMUNITIES IN ASHANTI, BRONG AHAFO REGIONS TO GET ELECTRICITY

THE Ministry of Energy has signed a joint agreement with MBH Power and Shreem Electrical Limited for the provision of electricity to 110 communities in the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions.

The project, estimated to cost $18 million, is expected to increase electricity access rate in the two regions under the government’s Self Help Electrification Programme (SHEP), a complementary programme under the National Electrification Scheme (NES).

The project is expected to be completed within 18 months.

Under the project, a non-congested transmission system would be developed to sustain power generation capacity in the communities.

Similarly, rehabilitation works would be carried out on distribution infrastructure aimed at meeting the 10 per cent projected growth in power demand as part of the government’s medium-term goals.

The Minister of Energy, Dr Joe Oteng-Adjei, signed on behalf of the ministry, while the Managing Director of MBH Power, Mr Bagu Mukhi, initialled for his organisation.
The minister indicated that the project’s objectives were in furtherance to increasing the national average access to 80 per cent by 2015 and universal access by 2020.

“It was for this reason that the government obtained a loan facility to the tune of $30 million from the ECOWAS Bank of Investment and Development (EBID) for the NES, from which the project is being funded,” Dr Oteng-Adjei said.

Similarly, he said, the government would apply the EBID facility to cover cost associated with the project.

While commending the two entities for the professionalism exhibited so far, Dr Oteng-Adjei emphasised that the ministry would not compromise on its effort to incorporate local content into the project, and that informed the government’s decision to include the 30 percentage local content in the agreement.

“We don’t expect you to bring in a ship full of Indians to climb poles, when we have more qualified people here who could as well perform to the task,” he stated.

He warned that the government would not hesitate to recall the company and its people should they engage in acts of derogatory remarks and actions aimed at dehumanising indigenes in the beneficiary communities.

“My advice, therefore, to you as contractors is to ensure that Ghanaians, particularly indigenes in the beneficiary communities, become involved in the execution of the project,” the minister counselled.

The Managing Director of MBH Power, Mr Bagu Mukhi, commended the transparent process in which government officials awarded the project.

He indicated that Ghana had consistently remained the most potential country in Africa that had adequately ensured the integration of the power sector into the country’s economic growth.

While pledging the two companies’ commitment to assiduously work to meet the deadline of the project, Mr Bagu gave an assurance that the contractors would work within the framework of the country’s regulations.

SOURCE: Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic, Thur Dec 8, 2011

MECHANICS TAKE OVER AWUDOME CEMETERY

SQUATTERS and mechanics have virtually taken over the frontage of the Awudome Cemetery in Accra, turning it into a place for business activities.

The serenity associated with cemeteries is absent at Awudome as the activities of auto-mechanics, car sprayers, motor cycle repairers have become sources of noise, disturbing the souls of the mortals buried at the place.

Lack of space for business and high rents within Accra are partly responsible for the action of sellers of sachet water, roasted plantain and other basic commodities and food items and mechanics to turn the vast space at the cemetery into other uses.

A visit to the cemetery by the Daily Graphic in Accra today revealed vigorous business activity at the frontage of the cemetery while portions of the the inside looked unkept and overgrown with weeds.

What is more disturbing is that portions of the cemetery have been turned into refuse dumps and heaps of rubbish was mounting along some sections of the walls fencing the facility.

While mechanics and sellers have turned the place into a market, others use the graves as places for relaxation and some criminals use the place a safe haven.

A mechanic, who gave his name only as David said he had been operating at the site for more than a decade since he could not afford exorbitant rent charges at various locations.

According to him although he and others operating from the area had no permit from the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), officials often made frequent visits to the place to demand payments from them.

Similarly, people who claimed to be members of the Ga Traditional Council, he said also frequented the place to demand payments between GH¢30 to GH¢100 for occupying the frontage of the cemetry.

Producing a letter to substantiate his claims, David said the Ga Mantse Ankrah Family who had also laid claim to the portion of the cemetery, had tasked the leadership of the operators at the cemetry, to produce documents to validate their stay there or quit the property in seven days.

The Chief Executive of AMA, Mr Alfred Varderpuije, however, said the AMA had issued several quit notices to the squatters and was, therefore, surprise they still occupied the place.

He also denied that the site occupied by the squatters belong to the traditional council and said the assembly would as a matter of urgency moved in to eject them.


SOURCE: Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic, Tue Dec 6, 2011

CRC WARNS AGAINST SPECULATION OF FINAL REPORT

THE Constitution Review Commission (CRC) has expressed appreciation to the Daily Graphic and all others for the high interest shown in its work.

It has similarly cautioned against unncessary speculation about the content of its final report which is yet to be presented to the President.

A press release signed by the Chairman of CRC, Professor (Emeritus), Albert Kodzo Fiadjoe said “while thanking the Daily Graphic, it must be pointed out that the full report of the commission’s findings would be presented to the President as stipulated in Article 280 of the 1992 Constitution as soon as arrangements are finalised.

“lt is the clear intention of the commission that the full contents of its report would be shared with the people of Ghana in its entirety.

The statement said “the commission hopes and expects that a full dispassionate national discourse may be conducted on its wide-ranging recommendations as a way of deepening national cohesion and concensus on the numerous issues placed before it.

“The commission believes that the nation would benefit from an honest and fair consideration of the report rather than dissipate its energy on speculations at this stage”, it said.


SOURCE: Daily Graphic, Thur Dec 1, 2011

CHIRANO GOLD MINE SACKS WORKERS FOR ILLEGAL DEMONSTRATION

A Number of workers of the African Mining Services (AMS) stationed at the Chiranoo Gold Mine at in the Western Region have been dismissed by the management of the company for demonstrating in solidarity with a dismissed colleague.

The workers embarked on the demonstration when management terminated the appointment of Mr John Etsebah, a siren operator, on November 6, 2011, for sounding a siren to mobilise workers against an earlier decision taken by the leadership of the company.

The company took a decision to offload four other employees to the Golden Star Resources at Bogoso, a relatively new project which was still under development, in an attempt to avoid the payment of their severance packages.

Thirty four of the workers who complied with a directive to sign an undertaking not to embark on similar actions in future have been reinstated. The rest remain dismissed but have been asked to reapply.

The dismissed workers have not been paid any money accruing to them.

Company officials have, however, discounted the claims of the number of people dismissed, saying, “they terminated the appointment of some 190 employees for embarking on an illegal strike in breach of the collective bargaining agreement contracted between the company and the Ghana Mine Workers’ Union (GMWU).

The workers’ trouble began when officials decided to offload about four workers to another mining company which is yet to start operation but failed to pay the workers severance awards as stipulated by the company’s collective bargaining agreement(CBA).

That decision was opposed by a cross section of the workers who expressed their displeasure, and the sounding of the siren by Etsebah was interpreted as a move to mobilise the workers to agitate.

His dismissal angered some of the workforce who expressed their disapproval by demonstrating in solidarity with him.

The management of the company, in a move to deny the four offloaded workers their packages, allegedly issued directives on Oct 31, 2011 transfering them to Golden Star Resources at Bogoso, a relatively new project which is still under development.

The four, according to some workers who spoke to the Daily Graphic on condition of anonymity, however, opted to be made redundant in accordance with the CBA between the Ghana Mine Workers Union (GMWU) of the Trades Union Congress ( TUC) and the AMS.

Clause four of article 12 of the collective bargaining agreement states that “an employee being considered for reassignment as a consequence of a reduction in the number of people performing a particular job function in the operation of the company, that employee may choose to either accept the reassignment or be made redundant”.

Management has since withheld the salaries of the four transferred employees and has also deleted their names from the employee list for failing to comply with the transfer notice.

The dismissed workers have also accused company officials of gross disrespect, abuse of human rights, and racism against the workforce.

According to them, inhumane treatment of workers had led to a douzer operator suffering from severe injuries as a result of his falling into a pit.

The injured employee, Mr Paul Gregory Coffie , it is alleged, has been crippled by the accident and has since remained bedridden since he could not afford GH¢6,000 being demanded for surgical operations on his spinal cord which was badly affected as a result of the accident with management saying they could only reimburse him after he had treated himself and provided receipts to justify his claims.

In like manner, they claimed a machine operator, Mr Samuel Owusu Antwi, also suffered a grease injection injury in December 2010, resulting from high accumulation of pressure on the grease pump and was also recuperating at home, since he could not afford payment for an operation to remove the grease from his veins.

The operations manager of the AMS, Mr Eric Paddy, when contacted declined to comment on the issues raised and referred this reporter to the general manager of the company, Mr John Kavanagh, who similarly declined to comment on the issue.

However, he said in a press statement sent to the Daily Graphic that the termination of the appointment of the 190 workers was firmly grounded on the laws of Ghana.

The release said to the knowledge of the GMWU, AMS was offering to re-employ workers who wished to return to work and abide by the provisions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

It further indicated that some 120 employees who had chosen to return to work with the company would be re-employed in accordance with the company’s contract code.

Mr Kavanagh gave the assurance that the AMS would continue to collaborate with the GMWU as the recognised representative of the employees to ensure workplace harmony through the fair and reasonable application of the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement and the laws of Ghana.


SOURCE: Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic, Tue Dec 6, 2011

ENERGY MINISTRY, JICA SIGNS MOU ON SOLAR SYSTEMS

THE Ministry of Energy and the Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to effectively accelerate rural electrification with the use of photovoltaics (PV) solar systems as part of the ministry’s renewable energy programme.

Photovoltaics is a method of generating electrical power by converting solar radiation into direct electrical current using semiconductors that exhibit the photovoltaic effect.

It employs solar panels composed of a number of solar cells containing photovoltaic materials in power generation.

The Chief Representative of JICA, Mr Jiro Inamura, initialled the MoU for his agency, while the Director of Renewable Energy at the Ministry of Energy, Mr Wisdom Ahiataku-Togobo, signed for the ministry.

The signing of the MoU formed part of the implementation of a human resource development programme for disseminating solar PVs in the country.

At the ceremony, JICA also handed over training materials for the dissemination process to the ministry.

The implementation process, which began in February 2008, has seen the Energy Centre of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the Tamale Polytechnic being provided with basic teaching equipment for testing and certification of solar PV components.

Stakeholder institutions, such as the Energy Commission, the Ghana Standards Board (GSB), the Koforidua Polytechnic and some selected district assemblies, have all benefited from the project.

Speaking at a capacity workshop to herald the MoU, Mr Inamura indicated that the co-operation and relationship among stakeholder institutions had impacted fruitfully on the project since its inception.

He indicated that 24 districts in the country had so far benefited from the project, which began on a pilot basis, with selected people in beneficiary communities being introduced to business schemes as a way for ensuring an overall maintenance of the solar PV systems.

Mr Inamura called on beneficiary communities to better maintain the systems using business modules as a way of elongating their lifespan.

He also charged the ministry to intensify its monitoring over performance of the sites and expressed the hope that beneficiaries would effectively make strides in contributing to a successful PV industry in the country.

Mr Ahiataku-Togobo, for his part, indicated that some 36 solar PV agents had been trained nation-wide, in collaboration with the Association of Ghana Solar Industries(AGSI), to consolidate gains in the sector.

According to him, the training materials presented by JICA were, therefore, to complement the ministry’s efforts at building the capacity of students in their field of study.

He announced that communities that were not likely to be connected to the national electricity grid would be provided with the solar PV and other alternative energy sources until such a time when power would be supplied from the national grid .

“The materials will be useful for the PV solar industry, the Energy Commission and the GSB to ensure adherence to regulations and standards in order to minimise the influx of inferior products into the country,” he said.

He gave the assurance that the ministry was committed to ensuring access to modern energy services for every community nation-wide by 2020.

SOURCE: Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic, Sat Dec 3, 2011

LOTTO RECEIVERS DEMONSTRATE AGAINST NLA

HUNDREDS of lotto receivers, agents and marketers on Thursday took to the streets of Accra in protest against the National Lottery Authority (NLA) for reducing their commission from 25 to 20 per cent.

The protest, organised by the National Lotto Receivers Union (NLRU), followed the breakdown in negotiations between the union and the authority which has been protracted for several months.

The NLRU, in July this year, declared a nationwide strike to press home its demands on the percentage reduction.

They carried placards with inscriptions such as “Government must listen to lotto receivers”, “Government must act now in the interest of better Ghana”, and “Kojo Andah, after collapsing Ghana Airways and Ashanti Goldfields, is now supervising a virtual collapse of NLA”.

The demonstrators, who marched through some principal streets of Accra, also called for the removal of the Director-General of the NLA, Mr Kojo Andah, and the entire board of directors for what they described as attempts to run down the lotto industry.

The three-hour demonstration, led by the National Chairman of the NLRU, Mr Daniel Mensah, and other executives, saw some regional executives from the Eastern, Volta and Central regions participating.

Among other things, the union sought government’s assistance to coerce the NLA management to stop the undue delay in the payment of winnings to the general public which had seen members of the public looking on receivers with contempt.

Similarly, the leadership said the new PADPM machines introduced by the NLA as a way of phasing out the manual system of lotto writing had worsened the plight of members, as the machines, apart from the unreasonable monthly deductions made on their GPRS account which were never refunded, also experienced daily network breakdowns, particularly at weekends when the lotto business reached its peak.

The situation, they said, had seen members posting huge losses.

They also accused the NLA of disclaiming the NLRU, while compelling newly applied receivers to sign an undertaking to accept lower commissions.

At the Finance Ministry, where the leadership of the NLRU presented a petition to the Finance Minister, which was received by the Chief Director of the ministry, Mr Enoch Cobbinah, the National Secretary of the union, Mr Kofi Frimpong, told officials that the NLA had imported some 10,000 substandard lottery terminals through sole sourcing, in contravention of the Public Procurement Law, at a cost of eight million euros and tasked officials to investigate the claims and bring to book the director-general and his operations manager.

The machines, which he described as irreparable, had ceased to function since October this year, a few months after they had been imported.

He further said the NLA management, in an attempt to break the front of the union, had disconnected electricity supply to the union offices and locked up lavatories, thereby forcing members of both sexes to resort to the use of a cabin plastic mobile lavatory.

The action, he said, came on the heels of the NLA’s recent claims that it had no symbolic labour relationship with the NLRU, despite the union having been certified and licensed as a lotto marketing company (LMC) and making it the biggest marketer of the NLA’s products.

The protestors later converged on the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park, where a Deputy Chief of Staff, Mr Alex Segbefia, received their petition on behalf of the government.

He told the demonstrators that since the protest had been carried out on a legitimate basis, the government would, as a matter of urgency, take appropriate actions to resolve the impasse between the NLA and the NLRU.

He urged the leadership of the union to exercise restraint while the government addressed its concerns.

SOURCE: Della Russel Ocloo, Daily Graphic, Fri Dec 2, 2011

OKYENHENE SPEAKS AT LAST

THE Okyenhene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin II, has publicly denied his involvement in illegal mining within the Akyem Abuakwa area.

According to him, recent allegations by a member of the Asona Royal Family were born out of parochial interest.

“I do not think anyone can refuse me if I want to go into mining, so why do I have to hide and steal my own property?” he queried.

The Okyenhene recently came under attack from Odehye Nana Kwame Adjei Boateng of the Asona Royal Family, who publicly accused the Okyenhene of clandestinely sponsoring the operations of illegal miners in his jurisdiction.

The accusation saw the Okyeman Council imposing a fine of 72 sheep and 36 crates of Schnapps on Odehye Boateng after he had failed to appear before the council to substantiate the allegations.

However, in a counter move, Odehye Boateng stormed the Ofori Panin Fie at Kyebi last Saturday to slaughter a sheep to signify the Okyenhene’s destoolment.

Speaking publicly for the first time on the issue at the first annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) conference in Accra Wednesday, the Okyenhene blamed the security agencies and the judiciary for the escalating illegal mining in his jurisdiction.

“When I personally led a team of security personnel to arrest some 60 people for illegally mining in the area which had vastly contributed to the destruction of farm lands, the environment and water bodies, lack of the interest in the case by investigators and prosecutors saw the people being released without any charges, thus paving way for continuous illegal operations.”

According to him, the Minerals Commission, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources or the Chamber of Mines could refuse him permit in the event that he decided to venture in that direction.

Citing the recent occurrence at the Elmina beach where scores of miners had thronged scavenging for gold, the Okyenhene said it clearly showed the citizenry’s disregard for rule of law and the protection of the environment.

He stated that reports of gold dealers invading the beach area with luxurious vehicles to purchase gold from the locals and information that people were clandestinely mining in the Benya Lagoon ought to be halted immediately.

He said his desire to ensure environmental sustainability and the protection of natural resources had seen him wage a relentless war against such illegalities that tended to totally deplete the country’s natural resources.


SOURCE: Della Russel Ocloo & Betty Agu, Daily Graphic, Dec 1, 2011