The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has increased the minimum monthly pension by 100%. In a statement signed by Evangeline Amegashie, Corporate Affairs Manager of SSNIT, and issued to GNA disclosed that, the increase is from GHC100.00 to GHC200.00. The statement said no SSNIT pensioner, both old and new will receive a monthly pension amount less than GHC200.00. “The new minimum pension is by far higher than national monthly minimum wage of GHC141.48”, it added. According to the statement, all pensions shall be increased by 10% in addition to a flat amount of GHC9.62 which shall be an overall indexation rate of 20%. The statement further explained that, the Trust continuously re-evaluates its investment strategy because the Social Security Pension Indexation thrives on prudent investment and uninterrupted receipt of workers’ contributions. The statement said, in their quest to ensure sustainability of the Fund, the Board of Trustees and Management of the Trust are embarking on aggressive investment reorganization, in order to enable the Trust exit from non-performing investments and also now, use portion of its investment to benefit contributors. “We shall continue to count on the support of all stakeholders of the Trust to manage the fund in the supreme interest of all contributors”, the statement added. The statement said the Trust promises to manage the Fund in order to uphold its adequacy, equity and sustainability to assure contributors of their future security, as well as adopting all legal methods to collect all contributions and arrears. The statement added that, benefit payment has been extended to 75 years as compared to the shorter benefit period, 20 to 15 years.  

  More than 52 persons were killed through motor accidents nationwide between December 23 to December 29, 2013 assistant Superintendent of Police, Augustine Akrofi has revealed. According to him the dead were made up of 16 females two of whom were below 18 years and 36 males, five of whom were below 18 years. The regional breakdown are; Accra - six, Tema - three, Eastern - nine, Central - six, Western - one, Ashanti - six, Volta - two, Northern - three, Upper West - one, Upper East - three, and Brong-Ahafo - 12. ASP Akrofi Staff Officer to the Commander of the Central Motor Traffic and Transport Unit, said within the same period in 2012, 37 persons lost their lives through motor traffic accidents, adding that 201 persons were injured in 2013 while 233 persons suffered motor traffic injuries in 2012. The regional distribution of the injured in 2013 were Accra - 67, Tema - 18, Eastern - 35, Central - 29, Western - nine, Ashanti - eight, Volta - five, Northern - nine, Upper West - nine, Upper East - one and Brong-Ahafo - 11. ASP Akrofi said during the period, 306 motor accident cases were reported nationwide and that the number of motor bikes, commercial and private vehicles involved was 58, 204 and 210 respectively. The regional statistics for accident cases were Accra 130, Tema 32, Eastern 34, Central 34, Western 11, Ashanti 25, Volta 10, Northern eight, Upper West three, Upper East four, and Brong Ahafo 15. He said of the 306 motor accident cases, there were 44 fatalities, 79 serious and 183 minor cases. He said 48 pedestrians were knocked down during the festive period of which Accra recorded 17, Eastern nine, Central nine, Western one, Ashanti two, Volta two, Northern three, Upper West nil, Upper East one and Brong-Ahafo four. This compares with 50 pedestrians knocked downs in 2012. ASP Akrofi lauded the MTTU officers for ensuring that traffic was decongested during the yuletide period in the major cities like Accra, Kumasi and Secondi-Takoradi. “This year we will not relent in our efforts to decongest traffic and we will continue to enforce our strategies to instill discipline on our roads,” he said. He appealed to vehicle owners and the public to join hands with the police to ensure that motor accidents were reduced.  

  The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA ) has taken delivery of two new mobile harbour cranes valued at 9.2 million euros  to facilitate the clearing and discharge of cargo at the Tema Port. Two more cranes are expected to be delivered in the first quarter of 2014. Already, the authority has four cranes working but the volume of cargo at the port has made the four inadequate. In an interview, the Marketing and Public Relations Officer of the GPHA, Mr Paul Asare Ansah, said the delivery of additional cranes would help shorten waiting time for vessels and enhance the efficiency of the operations at the port. With such an improvement, GPHA expects to increase its cargo tonnage from 830,000 to one million tonnes. The authority has projected to receive and discharge about two million containers in 2015. Expansion works Currently, the authority is gearing up for a major expansion of the port. The expansion involves dredging, reclamation of land from the sea, construction of terminals for cargo and also sea passengers. Other works are the extension the of  the breakwater, oil rig, roads and flyover on the Sakumono lagoon. Mr Asare Ansah said very soon, bids would be opened for those interested in contracts under the expansion programme to compete the various aspects of the project.   He said with the delivery of the cranes, there was every indication that there would be a number of changes in the operations of the Tema Port to serve the public better. Mr Asare Ansah said the law  regulating the operations of the port authority would be reviewed to take account of the emerging trends in port administration. He was optimistic that a well-co-ordinated enforcement of laws and regulations at the port would help curtail delays at the port.  

  The Court of Appeal has begun hearing a case involving a trademark controversy in which Oheneba Kasempa Enterprise has appealed against a ruling of the High Court given in favour of Macbells Company Limited. The Commercial Division of the High Court on October 23, 2013 ordered Oheneba Kasempa Enterprise to pay GH¢30,000 as special damages to Macbells Company Limited for wrongfully accusing and harassing the latter of imitating its ‘abensuo’ alcoholic beverage. The court, presided over by Mrs Justice Gertrude Torkornoo, also awarded Macbells Company general damages of GH¢10,000 and ordered Oheneba Kasempa Enterprise to pay costs of GH¢8,000. Furthermore, the court slapped a perpetual injunction on Oheneba Kasempa Enterprise restraining it from seizing or in any way interfering with Macbells Company’s right to production and sale of ‘Xtra Time Abe Nsuo Ginger Liquor,’ either by itself, assigns or agents and or particularly the police. At the end of the trial, the court held that Oheneba Kasempa Enterprise did not have an exclusive right to the use of the palm tree as a trademark. According to the court, had Oheneba Kasempa Enterprise not taken the strange legal position that it had rights over the depiction of a palm tree on any type of ‘abensuo’ liquor, it would have spared Macbells Company the unnecessary pain and hardship of police arrests, raids and the court action. It said the court necessarily evaluated what Oheneba Kasempa Enterprise should have expected to be the consequences of its acts in accusing Macbells Company as imitating its products when it had not taken steps to identify and establish exactly where the production of the said commodity was coming from. The court said the Supreme Court had made it clear that when a party acted in an unreasonable manner, knowing it would cause costs to another person, then it was appropriate that damages awarded were not token, but reflective of the unwarranted pain caused. “The plaintiff has claimed both special and general damages. I have no doubt at all in my mind that the plaintiff is entitled to damages for the unwarranted harassment that the defendant has put it through,” the court further held. Dissatisfied with the ruling, Oheneba Kasempa Enterprise, represented by Mr Yaw Tenkorang, filed an appeal, praying the higher court to reverse the entire judgement in its favour, including the damages and costs. According to the grounds of the appeal, the judgement was against the weight of evidence on record, while the trial judge misdirected herself that the police who effected the arrest on suspicion of imitation of the appellant’s product failed to produce evidence. In addition, the appellant claims that the trial judge erroneously held that it failed to prove that Macbells Company was secretly imitating its product. It further said the trial judge erroneously held that Macbells Company Limited was entitled to damages and cost for unwarranted harassment by the police at the instance of Oheneba Kasempa Enterprise, pointing out that such damages and costs were punitive, excessive and burdensome and must be set aside.  

  It was all joy and jubilation as the people of Nyafutu, a small fishing and foodstuff-producing community along the shores of the Volta Lake, replaced their lanterns with a solar-powered lighting system. The village, with a population of about 200, lies in the Upper Manya District and can only be reached by a canoe. It had been without electricity ever since the people settled there, nearly 60 years ago. The anticipated short ceremony to hand over the solar lamps to the heterogeneous population, comprising various tribes, nearly turned into a mini-durbar as men, women and children sang and danced to express their joy. The provision of the 40 lamps by the Upper Manya Krobo District Assembly was the first step of the assembly’s initiative to provide the community  a dependable source of energy before they could be connected to the national grid in the near future. Mr Joseph Tetteh Angmor, the District Chief Executive, who handed over the lamps to the people, said the assembly was moved by their plight and had to come out first with a “Macedonian help,” adding that the actual electrification of the village would follow in due course. Other villages which have so far benefitted from the scheme are Subriso, Brukum Kponya, Brukum Tsrebuana and Nyonyem. The project cost GH¢20,000, out of which the central government provided 70 per cent with the assembly providing the remaining 30 per cent.  With regard to the provision of other infrastructure, Mr Angmor outlined a number of projects such as the rehabilitation of a school in the area to make it possible for pupils to attend classes. The Head of the community, Dadematse Agbo Siako, received the items on behalf of the community and thanked the assembly, especially Mr Angmor, for coming to their aid. He gave the assurance that the lamps would be evenly distributed so that no section of the village would be in darkness. “We have been in darkness ever since our forefathers settled here nearly 60 years, and we thank you for bailing us out from darkness, ” Dadematse Siako stated. He appealed to the government to supply them with outboard motors to power canoes for fishing. The Assembly member for the area, Mr George Agbadam, who facilitated the supply of the lamps, advised the people to take good care of the lamps.  

  Various Christian denominations held watch-night church services to ussher in 2014, during which they prayed for peace, unity and the prosperity of the country. Churches within the Accra Metropolis were filled to capacity as early as 7 p.m. with members trooping in early in order to be assured of their seats. The various churches, especially the charistmatic ones, dubbed their watch-night services with catchy slogans, such as “Crossover”, “Passover”, “Switchover”, “Walkover”, and “Jumpover” in order to attract floating Christians who only attend church service on December 31. At a joint service by the St Thomas More Catholic Church, Achimota, and the St John Fisher Catholic Church, New Achimota, the officiating minister, Rev. Father Blaise Bobi-Attachie, charged Christians to lead the crusade for a change in attitude in the society, reports Ransford Tetteh. He said Ghanaians had described 2013 as a very difficult year and wished the New Year would offer hope for a better future. Preaching to many worshippers at the auditorium of the St John Fisher Catholic Church, Father Bobie-Attachie said unless the people turned over a new leaf, the challenges of nation building would not go away. He charged Christians to lead the way to a life of perfection, good health and prosperity. At the Kaneshie Congregation of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, members of the Armed Forces Central Band ignited the atmosphere with their soothing popular Ghanaian highlife tunes and crowned their performance by playing the Halleluyah Chorus to the admiration of all, reports Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah. Members of the church danced their hearts out after the Second Minister, Reverend Roy Asiamah, announced the entry into the New Year at exactly 12.00 midnight amid the sounding of the last post by the Armed Forced Band. Preaching the sermon earlier on the theme “If God Be for Us, Who will Be Against Us”, Rev Asiamah urged Ghanaians to let the year 2014 be a turning point in their crooked spiritual lives. He asked Ghanaian leaders to entrust their lives and governance into the hands of God since regardless of their expertise, they were not certain about exactly what would happen in 2014. “We should depend on God who knows what is before us. Woe unto us if we place our trust in the hands of human beings”, he stated. Mary Mensah reports from the headquarters of the Royalhouse Chapel International in Accra, that preaching the sermon, the Apostle General of the church, Reverend Sam Korankye Ankrah called on Christians to be steadfast and pray for the country, adding that 2014 was a year of divine advantage and liberation. Rev Korankye Ankrah asked the security agencies to be vigilant and strengthen the country’s borders as some evil doers would try to destabilise the country probably around the month of June using the borders. At the Santa Maria Central branch of the Church of Pentecost, the district pastor, Mr David Addo, in a sermon titled “You would not go empty handed,” that God would provide all their needs, said even though some challenges might have been encountered in 2013, “there will be no sorrow in 2014,” Emelia Ennin Abbey writes. Accra Metro Park The Accra Metropolitan Assembly park, where the Global Revival Ministries held its watch-night service, was filled to capacity, writes Salomey Appiah. The General Overseer of the church, Reverend Dr Robert Ampiah-Kwofi, urged the congregation to ask for grace and peace from God in the New Year for success in their endeavours. Severious Kale-Dery reports that the Parish Priest of the St John the Evangelist Catholic Church, Adentan, Very Rev Fr Anthony Richard Opong, who led the congregation in the intercessory prayers to enter the New Year, declared 2014 as a year of many blessings, “if we believe in the saving powers of God”. Very Rev Fr Opong urged Ghanaians to leave behind them all the challenges they faced last year and to enter the New Year determined to work hard to realise their resolutions. Action Chapel International The General Overseer of Action Chapel International (ACI), Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams, noted with concern that the “God factor” had always not been incorporated into governance and urged Ghanaian leaders to let 2014 serve as a fine opportunity to allow God to “rule in our lives”, reports Sebastian Syme. Preaching the sermon at the church’s Impartation Night on December 31 to usher in the New Year, Archbishop Duncan-Williams said failure to recognise the “God factor” accounted for the bad state of affairs currently confronting most nations of the world. Accra Sports Stadium Charles Benoni Okine reports that  thousands of worshippers from all walks of life welcomed the New Year in style at a mammoth watchnight service at the Accra Sports Stadium. Dubbed the Crossover, the service organised by the International Central Gospel Church, was led by Pastor Mensa Otabil who preached and declared the new year “A year of Order”. Pastor Otabil asked Ghanaians to order their lives and project into the future, using a target of 20 years, adding that “once we order our lives in all we do, irrespective of our age, we shall get there by God’s grace”. Albert Sam reports that the churches in the country were admonished not to limit their teachings and other humanitarian activities to landmark festivities such as  the Yuletide and Easter. The Very Reverend Rosebud M. Adjaottor of the Calvary Methodist Church, Community 5, Tema, who gave the advice, said the preponderance of churches making Easter and Christmas the only periods of Christian activities must give way to a comprehensive all-year-round Christian teachings in the country.  Perez Chapel  Bishop Charles Agyin Asare, the Head Pastor of Perez Chapel International , said 2014 would be a year of empowerment and glory, reports  Daniel Agbenyega. Hundreds of people received their healing at the watchnight service, held on the theme: “The Night of Prophetic Miracles: Signs and Wonders” while others surrendered their lives to Christ as the counsellors of the Church laid hands on them.  At the Qodesh Samuel Doe Ablordeppey reports that the Presiding Bishop of the Lighthouse Chapel International, Bishop Dag Heward-Mills, declared 2014 “A year of prayer” and urged Christians to pray throughout the year. Preaching the sermon at The Qodesh, the international headquarters of the church, he said prayer was important in entrusting one’s destiny, life and solutions into God’s hands because the world was governed by wicked men who made decisions, not necessarily based on merit, but primarily for monetary considerations. Preaching the sermon at the Anointed One Congregation of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana at Sakumono, near Tema, on the theme “Keep on Moving”, the Minister in charge, Rev Emmanuel Adu Tetteh, urged members of the congregation to stay focused, writes Salome Donkor. Basing his text on Exodus 14:15, he recalled the story of the Israelites who panicked when they had to cross the Red Sea to get to the promised land and said with God’s protection and direction, the people of God would always surmount their problems and climb higher on the social ladder.  At the Christ Chapel branch of the Full Gospel Church International (FGCI), Anyaa in Accra, the watchnight service was held on the theme, “Building relationships to impact our world”, writes Edmund Smith-Asante. Members prayed for a fruitful new year and danced their hearts out in praise of God for taking care of them through another year. Basing his sermon on Matthew 6: 14, 15 and Colossians 3:10,  Pastor Dr Fred Arhin said; “Forgiveness is what God expects everyone to exhibit towards one another. Because we are one body we ought to forgive each other when we are wronged.” Independence Square At the Independence Square in Accra, thousands of members of the Christ Embassy gathered to receive the New Year message, reports Charles Andoh. The service was transmitted live on various media platforms to viewers and listeners all over the world from Lagos, Nigeria, where the church is headquartered. When finally the President of the Believers Loveworld Incorporated (also known as Christ Embassy), Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, appeared on the stage at the Loveworld Convocation Arena in Nigeria, the whole congregation rose to their feet and praised God. Basing his message on Isaiah 60:1 and Joshuah 3 1 - 7, Rev. Oyakhilome declared 2014 as a year of greatness for members and the entire Christendom.  

  Tobinco Pharmaceuticals Limited has appealed to the Minister of Health, Ms Sherry Ayittey, to ensure that its warehouses that were locked up in the heat of their impasse with the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), are opened. According to the Tobinco Pharmaceuticals Limited, such a step by the minister would avert the expiry of duly registered products which have also been locked up. In a press statement dated December 30, 2013, signed by the Managing Director, Mr J. Essuman, and made available to the Daily Graphic, the company stated; “The locking up of our warehouses has affected our business negatively. Currently we have products with valid registration locked up. We appeal to the Minister of Health to ensure the opening of the warehouses to avoid the products running into expiry.” Tobinco also appealed to Ms Ayittey to aid them by ensuring the release of containers of medicines and other medical devices at the port, for which clearance had been denied. He said the affected goods were registered products with valid registration certificates, registered products undergoing renewal of registration, products pending registration and medical devices. Tobinco said its efforts to renew some of its products dated as far back as 2011, and that being conscious of its responsibilities, it had taken steps in the past to register its products with the FDA. While declaring its acceptance of the report released by the Ministry of Health (MoH) on December 23, 2013, Tobinco said it was prepared to comply with  the recommendations and was putting in measures to implement the recommendations. Tobinco also reaffirmed its commitment to getting the impasse between it and the FDA resolved in the shortest possible time. It appealed to all its stakeholders and well-wishers to stay calm since the company had faith in the Minister of Health and the regulatory authority’s ability to settle the matter amicably. Controversy Meanwhile as reported by the Daily Graphic in its December 28, 2013 issue, some aspects of the committee’s report stirred controversy between the Ministry of Health and FDA. While officials of the FDA described some aspects of the report of the committee as untrue, the ministry maintained that the report was a true reflection of the committee’s findings, and that anybody who had misgivings should find out the truth from the ministry, rather than resorting to the media. According to the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the FDA, Mr James Lartey, part of the report which indicated that the FDA’s registration committee had met only once in the last four years was untrue. He said the FDA registration committee met on a regular basis, and for 2013 alone, it had met five times; the last being on December 23, 2013, apart from meeting regularly to evaluate all documents to ensure that the dossiers presented by pharmaceutical companies did not contain forged documents.  

Officials of the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) have described as alarming and worrying, the number of prank calls they receive on daily basis. According to them, the number of prank calls far exceeded that of credible requests made by callers, adding that this prevented legitimate callers from accessing help. Prank calls, also known as crank calls, are practical telephone jokes made by people with the intention of deceiving the receiver. According to statistics, an estimated 2,340,000 prank calls were made to the Ghana Police Service and the GNFS in 2013. This represents an estimated 5,000 prank calls received daily by the police and an estimated 1,500 received daily by the GNFS. Ghana Police Service In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the officer in charge of signals, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mrs Agnes Adjoku, said most of the calls were made by children during the day, adding that “sometimes the kids call during school hours and this indiscipline increases day in day out”. Mrs Adjoku said the prank callers mostly used unprintable words when communicating to the police officers in the call control room. “Out of about 100 calls we receive, just one will be legitimate and worth pursuing,” she stated. She noted that in some cases suspected armed robbers called in to make illegitimate claims in order to divert the attention of the police from their intended target areas.   Effects Touching on the effects of prank calls on policing, Mrs Adjoku said apart from preventing legitimate callers from accessing help, they wasted resources such as time and fuel. “We spend a lot of time to assess the propriety and authenticity of claims made by callers as a result of the upsurge in the number of prank calls,” she added. Mrs Adjoku stated that due to privacy concerns raised by the various mobile phone service providers, it was difficult for the police to unravel the actual identities of these callers.  The Fire Service The Deputy Public Relations Officer of the GNFS, Mr Prince Billy Anaglate, also told the Daily Graphic that most of these callers were children, and that “the number increases when these children vacate from their schools.” He said that the GNFS had on some occasions responded to some supposed distress calls and dispatched emergency teams, only to realise that the calls were a hoax. Mr Anaglate said the GNFS had, therefore, started educating schoolchildren on the negative effects of prank calls.  He advocated the enactment of laws that would criminalise the deceit of public officials.

    Christians in all the regions of the country welcomed the new year with watch night services. Joyous worshippers thronged churches, sang praises, danced and prayed to God for taking them through the just-ended year. With prayers and shouts of joy they welcomed the new year just at the stroke of midnight, embracing one another and shaking hands to wish each other God's blessings, protection and prosperity in the new year. At some of the churches, the church bells tolled at the stroke of midnight. Koforidua From Koforidua in the Eastern Region, A. Kofoya-Tetteh reports that at the Apostles’ Continuation Church International at Adweso, a Koforidua suburb, the senior clergyman in charge of the congregation, Rev Peter Asante, noted that so many things went wrong the previous year and that Ghanaians should examine their lifestyles  and change for the better this year. The Eastern Regional Superintendent of the Assemblies of God Church, Rev Ofori Amankwa, who also led his congregation into the new year, entreated Ghanaians to examine what they did during the year, with the view of correcting the wrongs in the coming year. Bad traits such as fraud (especially at workplaces), killings, armed robbery, undermining and drunkenness should be  things of the past, he said. Rev Amankwa said it was the responsibility of everyone, including government officials, to put in their maximum and support the government to fulfil its ‘Better Ghana Agenda.’ “I, therefore, fully support the call by former President J. J. Rawlings for non-performing ministers of state to be replaced, otherwise the country will slacken in development and the people will continue to live in poverty,” Rev Ofori Amankwa intoned. Cape Coast Shirley Asiedu-Addo reports from Cape Coast that the Bishop of the Lighthouse Chapel International in charge of the Central Region, Bishop Jake Godwyll, advised Christians to stop paying prophets to pray for them. He said it was time Christians learnt to pray for their needs,  adding that the life of a Christian who did not pray was left to chance. He noted that prayer was an expression of one’s personal faith in God and an indication that one had a personal relationship with God, which is the basis of everyone's Christian faith. From Enyan Denkyira, Kweku Gyasi Essel reports that the pastor in charge of the Berean Assemblies of God Church, Reverend Tony Takyi Elegba, preached on the theme: “ What God Wants His People To Do.” Basing his sermon on John 17:20-24, he said God always spoke to his people and that in spite of whatever God would say, He expected his people to do three important things. He said God wanted His people to be one “because one connotes unity.” He also wants them to be perfect in unity and to draw closer to Him.” Rev. Elegba explained that “it is when we draw closer to God that we hear from Him and apply His word to whatever we do, including our efforts at  improving ourselves and at developing our country.” Kumasi Christians in Kumasi welcomed the New Year with various activities, including crusades,  and  watch nights reports  Felix A. Baidoo from Kumasi. Most of the messages centred on hope for a better nation in 2014, and Christians were urged to look up to God for solutions to the nation’s problems. At the Kumasi Jubilee Park, the Head Pastor of the Family Chapel International Church, Rev. Dr Victor Osei, challenged the government to come clean on the various corruption cases in the country. He explained that there was the need for people to be sanctioned or reprimanded for wrongdoings to serve as a deterrent to others. Rev. Dr Osei urged Christians to involve themselves in politics to help bring some form of sanity and honesty into the country’s political circles. The First Elder of the Amakom Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Seth Osei-Afriyie, attributed the economic challenges that confronted the nation to the global trend and said what the country needed was to put in place the right measures to mitigate the situation to save the nation from the economic doldrums. “All should adopt the policy of ‘Ghana First’ in all endeavours, to put the love for the nation and its development on a very high pedestal.” Joseph Kyei-Boateng also reports from Kumasi that ironically, the messages of hope and prayers of prosperity did not prevent some church members from becoming victims of  robbery attacks. At Old Tafo, 26-year-old Felicity Annor had her two mobiles phones, her purse containing GH¢300.00 and identity cards snatched by robbers at knife-point while returning from church at dawn. The three young men who attacked her also inflicted knife wounds on her wrist and shoulders,  which made her bleed profusely. She was, however, treated and discharged at the Tafo Government Hospital. Also at Moshie Zongo, Dichemso, Abrepo Junction, Krofuom, Sofoline and Anloga Junction, a number of church members who were returning from church at dawn were said to have been subjected to severe beatings and threatened on knife-point to surrender their personal belongings. Ho From Ho, Tim Dzamboe reports that churches visited were the Evangelical Presbyterian Church at Ho-Kpodzi and SSNIT Flats, Catholic Church at Ho-Bankoe, Victory Bible Church International at the Rural Training Centre (RTC) and the Winners Chapel. The officiating ministers called for a renewal among all citizens in order to chart a new course for a prosperous life in the New Year. In a message delivered at the E.P Church at Ho-Kpodzi, the Deputy Volta Regional Minister, Mr Francis Ganyaglo, called on Ghanaians to persevere in the face of adversity to enable them to  endure in the course of nation building. Tamale Tamale in the Tamale Metropolis, the Kings Christian Ministry held an open-air watch night service at the Jubilee Park, where its General Overseer, Bishop Dr Albert Luguterah, entreated residents of the metropolis to use the occasion to thank God for both the successes and failures of the year 2013, Vincent Amenuveve reports. "As children of God, you have to know that challenges are bound to occur and it behoves  you to pray unceasingly for God to speak to your life,"  Dr  Luguterah stressed. The general overseer mentioned in particular the need for the youth to remember their God so that their future   would be bright. Sunyani Samuel Duodu reports from Sunyani on a sermon  at the ICGC Salem Temple,  where pastor Abinadab Effah-Asiedu, the head Pastor,  urged political, religious and all other leaders  in the country to put things in order to ensure the orderly development and prosperity of the nation in 2014. He noted that “God is a God of orderliness” and, therefore, Ghanaians, and for that matter Christians, must eschew the haphazard way of doing things and apply the spirit of orderliness to all their endeavours.    

  Scores of inhabitants at Ekorvikope on the Dwarfs Island in the Afram Plains have been rendered homeless following a bushfire that razed five houses in the village. About GH¢80 cash being savings (susu) of farmers in the surrounding villages, 56 bags of pepper, 70 bags of rice, 54 bags of groundnuts and four packets of iron sheet were said to have been destroyed by the fire. Other items destroyed were five Yamaha outboard motors, eight bicycles, two television sets and fishing nets. Almost one month after the incident occurred on December 1, 2013, help is yet to reach the victims. The Assembly Member for the Edavokope Electoral Area on  Dwarfs Island, Mr Raymond Amelewu, told the Daily Graphic at Ekorvikope that the incident occurred while the inhabitants had gone to church. He said he had reported it to the Afram Plains North District Assembly and the National Disaster Management Organisation office in the district but there had not been any response yet. Mr Amelewu said at the moment, many of the victims were compelled to sleep in one room, while others had sent their children to stay with relatives elsewhere. He appealed for clothes, bicycles, fishing nets, roofing sheets and building materials for the affected persons to help them rebuild their lives. Writer’s Email: [email protected]