Youth Asked to Shun Social Vices

The national Prayer Director of Women Aglow, Gifty Afenyi Dazie, has entreated the youth to desist from social vices such as internet fraud and prostitution.

She urged the youth to rather engage in productive ventures that will help better their lives and the country.

The national Prayer Director of Women Aglow, Gifty Afenyi Dadzie, was speaking at the women's division of the Methodist church, new Achimota circuit breakfast meeting in Accra.

The meeting was on the theme, ''come Holy Spirit and empower your church for mission, the role of the Christian woman''.

Women in the division were entreated to live exemplary lives and role models so as to impact positively on the younger generation.

Gifty Afenyi- Dadzie, lamented the youth in recent times are getting involved in many social vices and promiscuity, and advised the older women to continue to direct and correct them.

She said the surest way to ensure national development is through unity and tasked the gathering not to habour bitterness in them.

Author: TV3 News

Three basic schools receive 90 laptop computers

Three basic schools in the Eastern Region have received 90 laptop computers under the "one laptop per child project" instituted last year, to enhance the teaching and learning of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in basic schools. The schools are Akropong Salem in the Akuapem North District, Kodjonya Presbyterian School in the Lower-Manya District and Nana Kwaku Boateng School in New Juaben District.

The Regional Director of Education, Mrs Renee Boakye-Boaten, who presented the items to the schools, advised staff and management of the schools to guard against charging fees from the pupils for usage of the computers.

She said no beneficiary school had been authorized to charge a levy or fee whatsoever under the pretext of maintenance and trainer allowance, adding that any teacher found culpable would be penalized. According to Mrs Boaten the project was instituted by Government through the Ghana Education Service (GES), to be integrated into the curriculum of the schools, and so there was no need to levy pupils. She said very soon all teachers would be trained in ICT teaching and maintenance, to enable them teach the children without hiring the services of an instructor.

Mrs Boakye-Boaten said for the meantime, teachers with knowledge in ICT would be posted to the beneficiary schools, to facilitate the teaching of the subject, and urged the schools to take good care of the facility to serve its purpose.

The Akuapem North District Director of Education, Mr Alexander Osei, who chaired the ceremony, urged the beneficiary schools to put the facility to good use to serve as an example to other schools. He said the world was fast becoming a global village and so children must be encouraged to learn ICT to enable them compete with others. He called on the teachers to arouse the interest of the children in computer studies. 28 Sept 09

Source: GNA

NDC youths demand dismissal of GBC boss

The Youth Activist Network (YAN) of the National Democratic Congress has called for the dismissal of the Director General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, William Ampem-Darko.

In a statement signed by the spokesperson of the group, Otokunor Boamah Peter, YAN expressed its displeasure at the recent failure of GTV to show a live presentation of President John Evans Atta-Mills’ speech during the 64TH Annual UN General Assembly and similar events it was supposed to air.

“The continuous inability of the nation's broadcasting corporation to stick to its intentions of broadcasting live programs is disappointing”, the statement said.

According to YAN, the state broadcaster, though under government’s subvention, continuously exhibits gross “disregard and contempt” in discharging its duties.

This, they charged, was an attempt to sabotage the government “in its bid to improve public access to information”.

Therefore, “YAN calls on the National Media Commission or the Ministry of Information to as a matter of urgency dismiss the Director General of Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, Dr. William Ampem-Darko and Mr. Moses Gyapong, the Technical Director of GTV."

The group said it would advise itself if the two are not removed from office.


By: Dorcas Efe Mensah/myjoyonline.com/Ghana

NPP chairman and youth organizer assaulted by party supporters

Nana Yaw Boateng, the Nkawkaw constituency chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and Mr Baah Achamfour, the youth organizer, were last Sunday allegedly assaulted by party supporters at a constituency executive meeting at Nkawkaw.

Speaking to the GNA, the youth organizer said that the Eastern Regional Chairman, Mr Yaw Gyekye-Amoabeng, called the meeting to plan the formation of a constituency electoral college.

He said at the meeting some non-executive members including the former NPP Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Mr Okerchiri Adusa, were present and he was directed by the chairman to ask the non-executive members to leave the meeting.

Mr Achamfour said in the process of asking them to leave for the meeting to start, some stoutly built members of the party including Yaw Robert, Kwasi Mireku and Yaw Wiafe pounced on him and assaulted him severely whiles the constituency chairman received some slaps.

He said that development brought the meeting to an abrupt end and he reported the matter to the police who issued him with a medical form to attend hospital.

The Nkawkaw police confirmed the incident but no arrests have been made.


Source: GNA/Ghana

Chereponi: All must ensure violence free election - CPP

By: Dorcas Efe Mensah/myjoyonline.com/Ghana

The Convention People’s Party (CPP) has called on all stakeholders to ensure a peaceful bye-election at Chereponi.

A statement signed by William Dowokpor, Communications Director of the CPP, said it has noted with concern, signals of impending violence in the run up to the September 29, 2009 bye-elections in Chereponi, following accusations and counter accusations from the NDC and NPP camps, of stockpiling of arms and ammunitions for the purpose.

The party therefore calls on authorities in charge of security, elections and civic education to take immediate steps to prevent any confrontation and violence at Chereponi.

The statement charged security agencies to deploy personnel in the area to enforce peace professionally, and without fear or favour.

“We also call on the Electoral Commission (EC) to prepare adequately in terms of personnel and logistics to conduct a free and fair bye-election to meet the expectations of any objective observer”, the statement said.

“We wish to remind the NDC and NPP that election is the vehicle that drives democracy. There is, therefore, no place for violence in democratic elections and good governance”, it added.

According to the statement, the CPP condemns all moves by the two main political parties to engage in violent acts without reservation.

“We call on all candidates, political parties and officials to respect the political parties and electoral codes of conduct that we have all signed at one time or the other”, it said.

It also calls on the National Commission For Civic Education (NCCE) to lend their support to the EC by undertaking a constituency-wide public awareness campaign, which it suggests should include criminalization of election violence and a ban on guns in the constituency during the run up to the bye-election.

”Finally we call on the Electoral Commission to get the contesting parties and candidates to immediately sign an agreement to conduct the elections peacefully”, it said.

The Chereponi seat became vacant following the death of its Member of Paliament, Honourable Doris Siedu.

Examination malpractices are disturbing - Mills

Source: Daily Graphic

President J. E. A. Mills has described the recent spate of examination malpractices in the country as "a disturbing development on our national landscape", and appealed to civil society, the church and parents to help inculcate desirable, noble and pure attitudes in students.

The concern expressed by President Mills comes in the wake of the cancellation of some examination papers in the ongoing West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for private candidates, following suspicion that there had been leak.

He also advised the youth to recognise that there was dignity in hard work, pointing out that "passing examination is not a game of life and death."

President Mills made the comment in a speech read on his behalf by the Minister of Education, Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, at the inauguration of a GH¢4 million basic school complex for the Trinity Lutheran Church School at Tema last Sunday.

On behalf of the President, Mr Tettey-Enyo unveiled a plaque, while the President of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ghana (ELCG), Rt Rev Dr Paul Kofi Fynn, cut the sod to mark the inauguration of the school.

He advised the youth to let the prospects of academic success which had been achieved through a strong fight or hard work animate their thoughts and actions so that in the pursuit of academic excellence, the genuine sense of achievement would be pre-eminent.

President Mills urged the youth to embrace Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for their personal development and that of the nation and cautioned them against its abuse for cyber crime and immoral purposes.

The President commended the ELCG for making discipline and moral education an integral part of its educational curriculum and urged other educational institutions to emulate the example of the church.

He lauded private sector participation in the education sector, saying, "nothing short of private participation in the provision of education at all levels will succeed in complementing the government’s resolve in educating the whole nation as a means of combating the menace of illiteracy and poverty".

In his personal remarks, Mr Tettey-Eriyo, said the inauguration of the school complex had convinced him that Ghana's education system could be put on a sound footing if the basic level was well developed.

"It's possible for Ghana to achieve quality basic education", Mr Tettey-Enyo stressed.
The Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive, Kempis Ofosu-Ware, said the government's agenda of human resource development could only be achieved through good quality education.

He told the ELCG not to see the school as a profit-making venture, but as an investment to help develop the country.

The Chairman of the National Education Board of the ELCG, Dr Delali Hodasi, said it was the aim of the church to establish a first-class basic school in every regional capital with the view to complementing the government's efforts at training children to become good future leaders of the nation.

The school, which is a project of the ELCG, comprises 45 classrooms from the pre-school level to the junior high school level.

It also has vocational, computer and science laboratories, as well as a bookshop, shopping mart and modem toilet facilities.

The air-conditioned computer laboratory has a seating capacity of 80 and it is envisaged to serve a pupil population of 1,500. Currently, the pupil population of the school is 200.

The inauguration of the school brings to three, the number of such magnificent school complexes built by the church in Accra, Tema and Kumasi. Overall, the church has built about 19 schools across the country.

Preaching the ,sermon at a service earlier, Rt Revd Dr Fynn said Ghana was a great nation and, therefore, urged Ghanaians to have the belief that they could do a lot to develop the country.

He, however, observed that there were many Ghanaians and foreigners abroad who did not want to come back home or invest in the country because of bureaucratic processes one had to go through before establishing a business.

Rt Revd Dr Fynn, therefore, urged the government to address such bottlenecks in order to facilitate foreign direct investments in the country.

Youth should draw inspiration from Osagyefo Dr Nkrumah

GNA -

A reverend minister of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana has praised the late Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah for the leadership and extraordinary commitment he showed to the national cause. The Reverend Dr Kofi Effah-Ababio, the West-Brong Presbytery Chairman, said as the nation celebrated the centenary of his birthday it was important the youth drew inspiration from the first President and to dedicate themselves to the service of the nation. "The youth should be disciplined, well-focused, committed to duty and to exhibit high sense of patriotism at all times," he told the Ghana News Agency in Kumasi.

The Rev Dr Effah-Ababio said Osagyefo Dr Nkrumah defied the odds and challenges of the time to lead the struggle for Ghana's political independence. He said what is left is for the present generation of youth to carry on from where the founding fathers had left off for the achievement of the goal of economic self-sufficiency. The Rev Dr Effah-Ababio appealed to the government to continue with development projects and programmes initiated by Dr Nkrumah. This, he said, was crucial to bringing down the high levels of poverty, unemployment and illiteracy.

President won’t be at Tamale Town Hall Meeting

Story by Isaac Essel
Myjoyonline.com/Ghana


It has been confirmed that President Mills will not personally address the maiden Town Hall Meeting slated for Wednesday in Tamale.

“Unfortunately, I think there is some wrong impression that the president is going to be at the Town Hall Meeting personally,” the Presidential Spokesperson, Mahama Ayariga, told Joy FM’s Super Morning Show hosted by Evans Mensah on Tuesday.

The Town Hall Meeting is meant for people within a particular locality to meet collectively to discuss matters concerning their towns and districts, and work with government representatives at that level to plan budgets and allocate resources.

He however noted that some officials from the Office of the President, including himself (Ayariga), would be attending the programme.

The Presidential Spokesperson assured that at the appropriate time, if the president gets the opportunity, he would attend some of the Town Hall Meetings, but “it is not the case that the president will attend every Town Hall Meeting”.

He urged all and sundry, especially members of the opposition New Patriotic Party, who are asking for police protection before attending the meeting, to participate and ensure that their concerns and suggestions are aired to better the situation in the assembly.

Mr Ayariga promised to meet the leadership and members of the NPP youth in Tamale to assure them of adequate protection and allay their fears.

The Town Hall Meeting is a clone of the People’s Assembly under the erstwhile Kufuor administration to deepen local participation in governance.