Bolgatanga, Jan 22, GNA- A Youth group calling itself Amalgamated Youth of the New Patriotic Party in the Upper East Region, has reiterated the need for Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, 2008 Presidential Candidate of the party to contest the position for the party in the 2016 elections. The group, at a Press Conference in Bolgatanga on Monday, appealed to Nana Addo to return to Ghana and start the campaign. The statement read by a Spokesperson for the group, Mr Musa Alhassan, described Nana Addo as the best candidate who could give the party direction and the people of Ghana hope, and impressed on him to boldly declare his intention to contest the 2016 presidential race as the NPP flag bearer. “We want to assure him one thing: for 2016, we will use all legitimate means to ensure that this time his victory shall be much bigger and will not be stolen from him”, the group stated. According to the youth group, there were assurances from the grassroots and ordinary non-partisan Ghanaians, including market women, students, teachers, farmers, and the elderly in the region, to vote for Nana Addo, should he contest the 2016 elections. The spokesperson indicated that it was common to hear on the streets of Bolga, Navrongo, Bawku, Pusiga, Sandema, and closer environs, the electorate doubling their assurances to vote for Nana Addo in the 2016 election if he became the flag bearer for the NPP. Mr Alhassan said “the electorate have lost confidence in the John Mahama-led administration, and his ability to deliver. The only person, the people say, can make them believe in our democracy again is Akufo-Addo.” The Youth group reminded all Ghanaians not to forget about the moral victory Nana Addo and the NPP won after the Supreme Court verdict, and noted that his conceded speech confirmed that he was a true statesman who saved the country from the brink of war which every Ghanaian appreciated, including the international community. “Nana is a man of peace, a true patriot, who only wants good things for Ghana and the people. It has now become clear to every Ghanaian that no amount of dirty and false propaganda can change that now.” The youth appealed to people in the region to vote for Nana Addo and the NPP to salvage Ghanaians from the sufferings they are going through.GNA

Accra, Jan 22, GNA- The Accra Metropolitan Assembly would, on February 11, embark on City wide validation of the 3,584 street names within the Accra sub-metro. The exercise would depict the propose streets names in the various places of the sub-metro for public viewing, as well as afford the opportunity to the public to make comments and suggestions before its implementation. Dr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuye, Mayor of Accra, who disclosed this on Tuesday during a tour of the proposed street names in Accra, said five maps have been placed at strategic points within the sub-metro for community validation. Dr Vanderpuye said, out of the 3,584 street names, 337 streets are at Ablekuma Central, 329 at Ablekuma South, 421 at Ablekuma North, 86 at Ashiedu Keteke, 173 at Ayawaso Central, 94 at Ayawaso East, 638 at Ayawaso West, 410 at Okaikoi North and 302 at Okaikoi South. He said prior to the naming of the streets, the AMA organized consultation meetings, comprising chiefs, traders, property owners, and the business community, adding that pilot sign ages in five communities have been completed in James Town, Korle Dudor, Ministerial Area, Makola and South Industrial Area. Dr Vanderpuye said pole placement maps have been completed within AMA, while parcel identification have also been completed in Osu Klottey, with property numbering currently on-going. He said the City of Accra has experienced rapid growth and created many under-serviced neighborhoods and that the street naming system would provide platforms for directional activities, proper identification for physical structures and effective revenue mobilization. The nation-wide street naming system has been identified and named by the Town and Council Planning for the Accra Metropolis in 2013, after President Mahama gave a directive, instructing all the Assemblies to identify and name streets in their various areas of jurisdiction. The project is estimated to cost GHc 3.8 million, with funding from the World Bank through the Ghana Land Administration ProjectGNA

Accra, Jan. 22, GNA - USAID- Financing Ghanaian Agriculture Project (FINGAP), recently launched at the Alisa Hotel, is a project which seeks to identify and develop agribusiness opportunities and facilitate investments from financial institutions through the use of business advisory service providers.The business advisory service providers have been mobilized through performance-based contracts to provide consulting services to agribusinesses, in order to generate investments from financial institutions.A statement signed by Mr. Rick Dvorin, Chief of Party, USAID-FINGAP, and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Tuesday, explained that this project falls under the United States’ Partnership for Growth (PFG) and Joint Country Action Plan with the government.The PFG’s overall goal is to assist Ghana to sustain and broaden its economic growth by addressing one of the key constraints of private sector development in the country.“The project is part of USAID’s Feed the Future Program, which aims to establish commercially-driven agricultural development services critical to sustainably reducing food insecurity in Ghana”, it noted.The USAID-FINGAP project was initiated in July 2013, and has partnered with commercial banks, leasing companies, private equity and impact investors willing to provide necessary financing.Mr. Jim Bever, USAID Ghana, Mission Director, also added to the relevant of this project that, FINGAP represents a commitment by the American people, not just towards increasing food security but also in reducing poverty and encouraging inclusive agriculture-led economic growth and development in the country.GNA

Bolgatanga, Jan 21, GNA - Mr Ayamdor Alexis Adugdaa, District Chief Executive (DCE) for Bongo, has inaugurated a 13-member team to oversee the timely implementation of the Street Naming and Property Numbering exercise in the district.This was contained in a press statement issued by the District Public Relations Officer, Mr Peter Atogewe Wedam, and copied to the Ghana News Agency in BolgatangaAccording to the DCE, the exercise was very dear to the President, and as such the deadline he issued must be met at all cost, stressing that the Bongo District Street Naming team must give of its best in its new role, and devote much time and attention to the exercise.The DCE charged the team to work extra hard as management of the District Assembly was prepared to give them the needed support, and warned that no single member of the team should give excuses for not playing their required roles in ensuring the success of the exercise.He tasked leadership of the team to write reports on every activity they undertake in the course of the exercise, to enable him forward such reports to authorities about progress being made by the district regarding this national exercise.Mr Jasper Adenyo, Acting District Co-ordinating Director, urged the team members to put aside their individual differences, work together and collaborate at each stage of the exercise, to put every member’s contribution in line with the overall objective of successfully completing the exercise.A facilitator, Mr Benny Arkhurst, whose district had already carried out the street naming exercise in one of the districts in southern Ghana, stated in his presentation that the exercise would bring about precision, easy location and quick response to emergencies, like fire outbreaks, ambulance services and police interventions in times of need.According to the facilitator, it is the duty of the team to educate and persuade people through radio and durbars in order for the public to buy into the exercise and assist the team in its work on the field.He noted that for the purposes of reference, the team ought to write minutes for every meeting it holds and also report to the DCE and the District Co-ordinating Director, who would be responsible for financing the team’s work plan and logistical needs.The Paramount Chief of the Bongo Traditional Area, Naba Baba Salifu Alemyaarum, who witnessed the inauguration, observed that even though the Bongo District layout was well planned on paper, there had been haphazard development of buildings and other structures, and called on the assembly’s planning and engineers unit, to rectify the anomaly.According to the statement, the committee was inaugurated on January 17, 2014.GNA

Accra, Jan. 21, GNA - The local Black Stars managed a 1-0 win over Ethiopia to progress to the quarter finals of the Championship of Africa Nations (CHAN) on Tuesday.A 76th minute goal by Kwabena Adusei's from the spot after Seidu Bancey was fouled in the penalty box separated both sides.The win ensures Ghana qualifies out of Group C leading on seven points despite coming off second best as the Ethiopians stayed in the driving seat through out.Ethiopia controlled the game with captain Adane Girma leading the attack, which put pressure on the Ghana’s back line effortlessly .Ghana's goalie Stephen Adams was put to test with Girma coming close to finding the back of the net many times.Ghana's first opportunity at goal came when Adusie almost put the Stars ahead six minutes after the hour mark.Ghana awaits the runner up of Group D for the last eight meeting on Saturday.GNA

Accra, Jan. 21, GNA – The Lebanese Community in Ghana has opted to sponsor children of Ghanaian soldiers who paid the ultimate price (death) in the course of serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).A Ministry of Defence statement signed by Col C. B. Ankomah-Danso, Director of Public Affairs and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra said, the Minister of Defence, Mr Mark Owen Woyongo, has expressed gratitude to the Lebanese community for such a kind and thoughtful gesture.Mr Ali H. Halabi, the Lebanese Ambassador to Ghana explained that the gesture was in recognition and appreciation of the tremendous sacrifices Ghanaian troops have made to Lebanon since the inception of the Peace Support Operations Mission.Mr Halabi acknowledged that: “It was high time this gesture was extended to the children of soldiers who had paid the ultimate price for peace in Lebanon.”Mr Halabi said the Lebanese community currently sponsors some Ghanaian students at the university of Ghana and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).GNA

Accra , Jan 21, GNA - Funny Face, the ace Ghanaian comedian, has said he is happy to be associated with Vodafone, since the television commercial, dubbed Vodafone ‘Red,’ has enhanced his brand.Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, the award winning comedian and actor said the concept, storyline and production of the Red commercial, were very well executed and it is creating awareness for his brand.“Look at the Red commercial, the concept, storyline and production were executed very well and it is enjoying massive airtime on various television stations and that is creating top of mind awareness for my brand,” he said.Funny Face said he is heavily pushing the Red on all his social media pages as it is economically prudent to stick to one sim instead of owning multiple sim cards.“Funny Face naturally doesn’t sign up to anything, I sign up to good things, and Red is a good thing so when I was called to join Red,. I didn’t think twice,” he said.He said the response of his fans on social media with regard to the Red advert has been overwhelming and people are using the quotes from the television commercial.“I follow almost 61,000 people on Twitter but close to 40,000 are crazy about Red – they are using choose Red as their profile picture,” he added.In the commercial, Funny Face urges his classmate who broke her nail as a result of swapping sims in her phone, to subscribe to Vodafone ‘Red,’ an all-inclusive package and enjoy unrivaled minutes to call people on Vodafone, other networks and overseas. He also mentions that Red includes data to browse the internet and send text messages.The Red product was unveiled by Vodafone Ghana in December last year, to enable their customers get an all-inclusive package that meets their individual lifestyles, and also reduce ‘multi-simming’.Red comes in four offers, Red Life Weekly, Red Rush, Red Hot and Red Classic.GNA

Accra, Jan. 21, GNA – World Vision Ghana, a child-centred Christian humanitarian aid organization, on Tuesday, urged government to increase funding for the health sector in accordance with the Abuja Declaration.Mr Hubert Charles, National Director of World Vision Ghana, said in spite of government's pledge to spend 15 per cent of its national budget on health, government expenditure on health was still around 12 per cent of its total expenditure.Mr Charles who was briefing the Media on world Vision's 'Child Health Now Campaign,' yet to be launched, said per capita expenditure on health was only 325 dollars, while out-of-pocket expenditure was 27 per cent of total health expenditure.He stressed the need for all partners to collaborate to work towards scaling up of health interventions to ensure quality maternal and child health in the country.He said this would ensure the scaling up of health interventions including funding, for the attainment of Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Four, Five and Six, by the year 2015.The National Director said, World Vision recognizes the gaps that exist within the health care delivery system, and intends to support in fixing some of the challenges through the Child Health Now Campaign, to particularly assist those that affect women and children in rural communities.He, therefore, called for enhanced efforts to reduce morbidity and mortality from preventable infections and under nutrition among mothers, new-borns, and children under five years.Mr Charles, said World Vision wants government to speed up interventions to improve the quality and accessibility of health services, with a particular focus on poor and marginalized communities.This, he said, calls for the placement of equitable access to health services on the agenda of District Management Teams, to address major challenges of inadequate human resources.He said World Vision believes that this would also address the human resource gaps in rural health facilities, including improving incentive packages to attract personnel, and therefore advised government to reform the National Health Insurance Scheme financing system to ensure that all, especially the poor, could afford insurance, and take action to ensure accountability, efficiency and sustainability of the system.He said this calls for the prioritisation of proven interventions to improve nutrition in the national health and development agendas, and make them available to all children and mother, particularly the most vulnerable.He also urged government to increase funding and ensure the rational use of funding for essential drugs, promote local production of essential drugs in line with the Abuja Declaration, and improve co-ordination of procurement to prevent stock outs.The National Director urged government to ensure the implementation of the child health policy on the effective prevention and treatment of pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria, including antibiotics that could be administered at the community level.Mr Charles said the organisation also believes that increasing the capacity of communities to take first line critical actions was crucial, to promote and protect the health of children, women and the most vulnerable, and urged government to intensify efforts towards the achievement of these objectives.He said World Vision intends to partner with other organisations to expand education for families and communities on good nutrition and health practices, to improve health-seeking behaviour, empower families and communities to demand quality and effective health service delivery.“We also seek to support effective community monitoring systems to identify signs of faltering growth in children under five and work with care givers to implement corrective actions,” he said.Mr Micah Olad, National Child Health Project Co-ordinator of World Vision Ghana explained that the Organisation’s global initiatives to promote child and maternal nutrition had been embodied in its Child Health Now campaign.The campaign, he said was part of efforts aimed at achieving a two-thirds reduction in child mortality figures by the year 2015, which was in line with the MDG Four.He indicated that although Ghana had made some improvement in child and maternal health over the last two decades, the progress had been relatively slow because mothers and children were still dying from preventable causes.He enumerated some of the causes of maternal mortality as haemorrhage and hypertension, most of which could be prevented through relatively inexpensive and proven measures.Mr Olad further indicated that children less than five years were also dying from neonatal causes such as pneumonia, malaria and diarrhoea, yet only half of these children with suspected cases of pneumonia were taken to the appropriate healthcare providers, and less than a quarter receive antibiotics.According to him statistics from the recent Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey show that under-five mortality rates decreased from 121 deaths per every 1,000 live births in 1990 to 78 deaths per 1,000 live births in 201, while infant and neonatal mortality rates also declined by a similar margin, yet there were still large Regional disparities.He said in 2008, the rate for the entire nation was 80 deaths per 1,000, however, the Central, Northern and Upper West Regions experienced much higher rates with 108, 137 and 142 deaths per every 1,000 live births, respectively.“Almost one-third of children under five years old are stunted and one in eight new-borns are born with a low birth weight. The presence of stunting has remained fairly consistent over the past decade,” he said.It is estimated that about 40 per cent of deaths among children less than five years old were either directly or indirectly due to under nutrition.The maternal mortality ratio on the other hand improved from 580 deaths per every 100,000 births in 1990 to 350 deaths in 2010 owing to the fact that 57 per cent of births were assisted by a skilled attendant, “however this number is distorted by the massive inequalities between urban and rural areas and the richest and poorest households, he said.Mr Olad noted that any form of intervention in the area of access calls for collective efforts by all partners and stakeholders, including the Media, to enhance public education to ensure attitudinal change.GNA

Sekondi (W/R), Jan. 21, GNA — More than 500 pigs have been infected with African Swine Fever (ASF) in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region.The Western Regional Director of Agriculture, Mr Victor Oko Nai, made the disclosure during heads of department meeting at Sekondi on Tuesday, to take stock of last year’s activities and strategise for the year.He said the viral disease was detected last week and that all livestock infected with the disease would be slaughtered and burnt to prevent it from spreading to other communities outside the district.He indicated that three communities in the district had been affected, adding that farmers’ whose livestock had been affected would be registered and compensated.He cautioned farmers’ who livestock had been affected not to smuggle pig products outside or bring in new livestock to the community since fresh livestock could be infected.At Anochie alone, 512 pigs have been infected by the viral disease, while one family alone had 98 of his livestock infected by the deadly viral disease.African swine fever is a highly contagious viral disease of pigs and very similar in its clinical presentation to classical swine fever. The viruses are distinct and classified in different families.Some of the symptoms of the disease include vomiting, diarrhoea (sometimes bloody), reddening or darkening of the skin, particularly the ears and snout and gummed-up eyes. Other signs were laboured breathing and coughing abortion, still births and weak litters, weakness and unwillingness to stand.The Western Regional Epidemiologist, Dr. Rubin Tetteh, told the GNA that the disease is not endemic in the region, therefore communities that had not been affected by the disease could eat pork.He said the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) has put in place remedial measures to avoid the spread of the disease, including disinfecting the pens of livestock affected by the disease, farmers observing 40 days sentinel period, cleaning of the pens of livestock, biological education of farmers and farmers avoid feeding livestock with waste food from restaurants.GNA

Accra, Jan. 20, GNA – The Sanity in Sanitation Group, a software development team have been adjudged the winner in the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) -UNICEF Ghana Hackathon competition in Accra.The three-day product development event organized by MEST was on the theme: “Solving Big Problems Using Little Technology” was organised to find new technologies to serve the hard-to-reach in Ghana.The group which was made up of Lady Omega-Hammond, Cheryl Dzifa Tetteh, Gerald Pharin and Sherry Thompson took home an amount of GHC5,000.00 as their prize.The team developed a grading system to help environmental health assistants collect data using questionnaires and a data analysis platform that displays responses from the various communities and districts via mapping technologies.Participants in the competition tackled issues ranging from water supply tracking to access to information, and sanitation.Ms Ekua Odoom, Managing Director of MEST, said the software developer is dedicated to supporting young and bright Africans to start their own software companies to create wealth and jobs in Africa.She said their goal was that by setting this pace we could inspire generations that follow to achieve greatness on the continent.She said, her organisation was excited to partner with key development players such as UNICEF Ghana, to pursue the vision of touching the continent in a phenomenal way- by helping find innovative technologies to serve the hard-to-reach in Ghana.Ms Susan Namondo Ngongi, UNICEF Ghana Country Representative, said new ideas and technologies were needed to serve the hardest to reach communities in Ghana.She said partnering with the MEST gave UNICEF the opportunity to encourage innovations by Ghanaians for Ghanaians, explaining that the partnership would bring different sets of skills, viewpoints and influence to the table.Ms Ngongi said most of the problem statements presented by UNICEF were around how the teams were working with their partners to improve their ability to target resources to monitor and manage results.GNA

Accra, Jan. 20, GNA – The Gender, Children and Social Protection Ministry on Monday said it’s collaborating with key stakeholders to develop a national social protection policy that will help coordinate Ghana’s social intervention programmes.The national strategy will also be concluded with the results of the rationalization report, which is being finalized by the technical team.Presently, Ghana is implementing social intervention programmes, including the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP), the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty Programme (LEAP), and the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).Nana Oye Lithur, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, at a launch of a new Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) in Accra explained that the M&E tools had been developed for the LEAP programme.She said a social protection required a well-established institutional framework to coordinate and have oversight over the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of Ghana’s programmes.She said it was important to make M&E an integral part of social protection interventions to ensure that such programmes met their objectives while state resources were utilised judiciously.Nana Oye Lithur explained that a recent evaluation of LEAP revealed the positive impact of the programme on income, education, health, production and local economy.“This report is very crucial if we are to come up with policy and programme management recommendations that will enable us make a very strong case to government for funding to expand the LEAP,” she said.She said the LEAP evaluation would also help provide vital evidence of progress for assessment of social programme and provides the basis for their improvement.The Minister said the LEAP M&E system, would serve as guide to develop an M&E framework for the National Social Protection Strategy within the national M&E framework developed by the national Development planning Commission.Ms Susan Ngongi, UNICEF Country Representative, said the overall goal of social protection is to reduce poverty and vulnerability, through ensuring a minimum standard of living.“Of particular concern are those who are most deprived, living in abject poverty, in isolated communities or groups, excluded from basic social services, with little capacity to live even a basic, dignified life.The new LEAP M&E had been designed with the support of UNICEF (USAID) and the Oxford Policy Management Institute (OPM) to help assess the programme and to ensure the effectiveness of other intervention programmes being implemented in the country.The M&E was designed with support of UNICEF and USAID Funding.UNICEF Ghana and the Gender Ministry also jointly facilitated a discussion on how other social protection programmes could benefit from LEAP initiative.The Government of Ghana has shown considerable commitment to Monitoring and Evaluation with the launching of the new National M&E Manual by the NDPC last year.GNA

Accra, Jan. 20, GNA - Dr Benjamin Ayikwei, Resident Pastor of Trail Blazers Christian Ministry has called on the youth to go into agriculture which would enable them to be self reliant.He said agriculture was a lucrative venture and that it must be embraced by all people, especially the youth in the society.Dr Ayikwei made the call at the opening of the first seminar for the youth in Accra on Monday.The 16-day seminar which is being organized by the Church for about 40 participants is aimed at building the capacity of the participants, equipping them to face future challenges and also pray for peace and stability for the nation.Some of the topics expected to be treated included Bible and Development, Emotional Intelligence and Bible and Agriculture.Dr Ayikwei noted that Ghanaian youth had been gifted with the knowledge and ability to go into agriculture but were feeling reluctant and were always looking for white collar jobs.“If you take agriculture you have taken a good venture “, he said adding that you would be contributing to solving the social canker of unemployment which had bedeviled the nation.The Resident Pastor charged them to desist from the get-rich-quick attitude and put their trust in God to enable them to succeed in life.A retired Army Officer, Captain Joel Sowu also charged the participants to pursue wisdom and knowledge at all times.He expressed the hope that the seminar would be beneficial to all the participants.GNA

Accra, Jan. 20, GNA – The Ghana Armed Forces on Monday said the military authority is studying reported allegations of local Ghanaian companies in supplying Cost Insurance and Freight (CIF) items for troops returning from external peacekeeping operations.An Investigative Board set up by the Armed Forces to investigate the allegations has concluded its work.A statement signed by the Director of Public Relations of the Ghana Armed Forces Colonel M. Atintande and copied to the Ghana News Agency said the report has been submitted to Higher Headquarters for further consideration.According to the report, the decision of the Military Higher Headquarters on the recommendations of the board would be duly communicated.The statement said the Command has meanwhile taken measures to streamline the process of selection of these CIF companies as a way of preventing the companies from taking advantage of the troops and abusing the trust of soldiers in such companies”, the statement added.GNA

Ntiribuoho (Ash), Jan. 20, GNA – Public basic school pupils at Ntiribuoho in the Afigya-Kwabre have made an plea to government to endeavour to complete for them, an Information Communication Technology (ICT) centre, of which construction had stalled for the past three years.They said they were being left behind in the globalization agenda because of the delay in the completion of the project.Initiated by the community through self-help, the centre was meant to serve students not only at Ntiribuoho but those in the nearby communities of Hemang, Achiase, Sasa, Sayemo, Bomso, Afrancho, Amoaman and Nkukua-Buoho.It was being implemented through communal labour and voluntary contributions but the work got stuck when it got to the lintel level.Some residents told the GNA that they felt let down, because ICT was an examinable subject.Master Evans Poku Adusei, a final year junior high school student said “Sir, I am afraid those of us here would struggle to make the pass grade in the subject at the basic education certificate examination (BECE) given our peculiar situation”,expressed the worry when he spoke to the GNA.The lack of ICT infrastructure was making its teaching and learning difficult, added Anita Bonsu, another student.This had become a disincentive, forcing some parents to withdraw their kids to schools outside the area.Mr Akwasi Boateng, a parent, appealed for the government’s intervention to complete the project.A former assembly member, Mr Sampson Adu-Poku, who mooted the idea, said it was disheartening looking at the present state of things and urged the community, the District Assembly and the Ministry of Education, to pull together to finish the project.He also appealed for support from organizations including the Ghana Cement Company (Ghacem) Foundation.GNA

Accra, Jan. 20, GNA – President John Dramani Mahama on Monday appointed Mr. Ben Dotse Malor, as the new Senior Communication Adviser and Head of Communications at the Presidency.Mr. Malor joined the presidency with a wealth of experience, expertise and accomplishment from British Broadcast Corporation (BBC) and United Nations (UN), where he has been serving as the Chief Executive Producer of UN radio.A statement signed by Mr Mahama Ayariga, Minister of Information and Media Relations and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra said Mr. Malor served with the UN Mission in Liberia as Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon for two years from September, 2006.The statement said Mr Malor distinguished himself as a vibrant and popular voice across many programmes at the BBC World Service before joining the UN in January, 2003, where he rose to the position of Deputy Editor of Focus on Africa.GNA

Kumasi, Jan. 20, GNA – Three hundred and eighty (380) people were killed in 1,390 road crashes in the Ashanti Region last year.Chief Superintendent Peter Gyimah, Regional Commander of the Police Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), who announced this, said 1,495 others were injured, some seriously.He said a total of 1,988 vehicles, including commercial, private and motor bikes were involved in the crashes.He told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that they would do everything to enforce road traffic regulations to restore some level of discipline and assured motorists and pedestrians of their safety.Careless driving and neglect of maintenance would have to end, the MTTU Commander said and called for public cooperation and understanding as they step up efforts to promote road safety.GNA

Accra, Jan. 20, GNA - The Minister of Finance, Mr Seth Tekper on Monday inaugurated a 10-member board for the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) with a charge to members to deal with the over $ 200 million debt owed by local cocoa processing companies.COCOBOD has over the years been supplying cocoa beans to local processing companies at a discounted price of 20 per cent.Mr Terkper said while it was government policy to encourage and facilitate enhanced local processing of cocoa to add value to it, generate income and create jobs, some of the local processing companies had not lived up to expectation.“I am charging the governing Board and Management of COCOBOD to ensure that these monies are retrieved as early as possible. The same applies to Licensed Buying Companies owing COCOBOD huge sums of monies,” Mr Terkper said.The Minister also tasked the new Board to deal with the threat of illegal surface mining, which is undermining the sustainability of cocoa production in several cocoa districts, in the Western, Central, Ashanti and Eastern regions, as large tracts of cocoa lands and plantations had been destroyed due to the illegal mining activities.Mr Terkper urged the Board to liaise closely with the national security system to address the menace.Referring to government continuous support for the sector, the Minister said despite the fall in the world market price of cocoa, government had kept faith with farmers to ensure that they received at least 70 per cent of the free on board cocoa price.For the 2013/14 season, farmers are being paid GHC212 per bag or GHC3,392 per tonne, representing 79.7 of the Free on Board price.Mr Terkper asked the Board to work closely with management to sustain the Hitech and the pest and diseases control programmes to help raise the national production.The Board and Management must also work to resolve all underlying issues of cocoa carriers to avoid congestion at the Tema and Takoradi ports and to help address the cocoa warehousing deficit, as the hiring of private warehouses was putting a strain on the finances of COCOBOD.The Minister thanked members of the former board for their valuable contributions and urged the current Board to work in partnership with Management to ensure that the sector remained vibrant, resilient and competitive to support the livelihood of millions of people.Mr Daniel Ohene Agyekum, Chairman of the Board, on behalf of members pledged to work diligently to ensure the sustenance of the cocoa sector and its critical contribution to the livelihood of people.Other members of the Board include Dr Agyeman-Attuahene Kontor, Mrs Afriyie Haffar, Alhaji Alhassan Bukari and Nana Adjei Damoah.The rest are Dr Henry Kofi Wampah, Mr Cassiel Ato Forson, Mr Edwin Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, Mr Charles Dodoo and Dr Stephen Kwabena Opuni.GNA

Accra, Jan. 20, GNA – An Accra Circuit Court on Monday sentenced two persons who attacked a National Weekly Lotto writer at Abeka Lapaz and took away with Gh¢ 2,900.00 to a total of 40 years jail term.The accused persons are Abdul Razak Mustapha, a driver and Francis Ampofoh, a cobbler were part of a five-member gang who attacked the victim with cutlass, broken bottles, knives and other offensive weapons.The accused who were charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit crime and robbery pleaded not guilty to the offence.Mr Francis Obiri, the Presiding judge in passing the sentence found the accused persons guilty on all two counts of conspiracy and robbery.He also asked the prosecution and the defence whether they have any comment to make before committing the accused persons to jail.Mr George Asumening, Counsel for the accused persons prayed the court to have mercy on the accused persons because they are first time offenders.He said the accused persons won lotto from complainant but the anger with which they wanted to collect their monies went too much.Mr Francis Obiri in delivering the judgment said even though the accused did not show mercy to their victim but because they are first time offenders the court will show mercy on them.The Prosecutor, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Patrick A. Morkeh said the complainant Agbesi Kwadwo, is a National Weekly Lotto seller at Abeka Lapaz near the lorry station, while the accused persons, Abdul Razak Mustapha is a driver and Francis Ampofoh, a cobbler all resident at Israel Alhaji.He said on June 18, 2011 at around 1900 hours the complainant was preparing to close when his boss came to his lotto kiosk to collect the daily sales.He said few minutes later, the accused persons including the three others at large armed with cutlass, knives and broken bottles as well as other offensive weapons suddenly emerged from nowhere attacked and ordered him to quickly handover the daily sales of GH¢ 2,900.00 to them.DSP Morkeh said when Agbesi declined to handover the proceeds to them, they threatened to butcher and kill him, and for fear of his life, he handed over the money to them and they bolted with it.He said the accused persons went into hiding until August 8, 11 when the complainant had information that they were hiding at Israel and with the assistance of the Police, they were arrested.He said during the interrogations, both Abdul Razak and Francis Ampofoh denied their involvement in the offence.DSP Morkeh said Razak told the Police that a week before the incident he had won lotto to the tune of GH¢ 3000 from a lotto writer who renders daily accounts to the complainant.He said Razak stated he demanded for his winning ticket from the lotto writer but he said he had already handed over the winning ticket to the complainant and that was the reason why he went to the complainant to claim his winning ticket.DSP Morkeh said Razak however failed to identify the said lotto writer to the Police to assist in investigations.He said later the accused persons were charged with the offence and arraigned before the court.GNA

Accra, Jan. 20, GNA – The Christ Apostolic Church International Family Worship Centre (CACI-FWC) at Sakumono has donated assorted items worth GH¢ 800.00 to the Teshie Orphanage in Accra.The items include bags of rice, cooking oil, assorted soft drinks, water, powdered soap, toilet rolls, biscuits and bread.Reverend Osei Yaw Danquah, the Minister in Charge, made the presentation on behalf of the church and said the donation formed part of the Church’s social responsibility as it celebrated the first anniversary in the Sakumono community.Rev Danquah regretted that families and the less privileged had been neglected by society and that the CACI-FWC believed in the holistic development of its members in every facet of their lives, covering the spiritual, physical, economic and social.“The divine mission statement of CACI-FWC in totality is anchored on the objective of contribution to the social and economic development of its members and other needy groups or communities.“It is against this backdrop that the CACI-FWC is presenting a token as its social and moral contribution to the Teshie Orphanage”, Rev Danquah said, and gave the assurance that the church would be committed to its social responsibility to help the needy.Other activities earmarked for the celebration include, talks on health and entrepreneurship, musical concert, food bazaar and the dedication of the church as the climax.Miss Maraim Momo Afotey, Caretaker of the Orphanage received the items and thanked the donors for the gesture called on parents, philanthropists and the government to consider the needy in their day to day activities.Ms Afotey said most of the children at the orphanage were doing well in school with funding from donors and individuals, adding that, two of the inmates have entered the university, with the rest in primary and Junior High Schools and appealed for more assistance to cater for the children.GNA

Accra, Jan. 20, GNA – The International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) Global Employment Trends 2014 says the labour market outlook for young people has worsened in nearly every region of the world.The report said: “In total, 74.5 million young people aged 15–24 were unemployed in 2013, an increase of more than 700,000 over the previous year.There were 37.1 million fewer young people in employment in 2013 than in 2007, while the global youth population declined by only 8.1 million over the same period.“The global youth labour force participation rate, at 47.4 per cent in 2013, remains more than two percentage points below the pre-crisis level, as more young people, frustrated with their employment prospects, continue to drop out of the labour market.”The ILO report which was made available to the Ghana News Agency on Monday revealed that the global youth unemployment rate is expected to edge up to 13.2 per cent in 2014, with increases projected in East Asia, South-East Asia.It said the global youth unemployment rate rose to 13.1 per cent in 2013, from 12.9 per cent in 2012 and 11.6 per cent in 2007.It observed that the largest increase occurred in the Middle East region, declaring that this region had one of the highest youth unemployment rates in the world, with 27.2 per cent of young people in the labour force without work in 2013, versus 26.6 per cent in 2012.It said Central and South-Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (the former Soviet Republics), East Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific and North Africa all saw a substantial increase in youth unemployment rates.It said in the Developed Economies and European Union, the region that registered the largest increase in youth unemployment rates over the period 2007–12, unemployment among young people rose further to 18.3 per cent of the youth labour force.It explained that the share of young people (aged 15–29) that are neither in employment, nor in education or training (NEET) had risen in 30 out of the 40 countries for which data are available for 2007 and 2011–12.The report said high and/or rising NEET rates were a major concern for policymakers, as this group is neither engaged in employment, nor investing in skills development.It said young people that are among the NEETs might be less engaged and more dissatisfied with their societies than their peers who were employed or in the educational system.GNA