Youth of Upper East honors heroes in the region

Retired Educationist Mr Robert Ajeni recieving a plaque

Section of dignitaries at the event

25-02-2012     

Some selected illustrious sons and daughters of the Upper East Region have been honoured for their selfless devotion, great sacrifices and strong contributions to the growth of the region. At an award ceremony organized by the Upper East Youth Association in Bolgatanga, the selected distinguished personalities were honoured in recognition of their devoted service to humanity and mankind. The ceremony, which attracted students as well as a cross section of the public, was the second in the series to be held in the region. The first award ceremony was held in honour of Dr. John Koku Awoonor-Williams, Regional Director of Health Services for his sterling leadership qualities. This year’s ceremony saw personalities of high repute receiving various forms of awards including citation and smock among others. They are Madam Kasisi Malaine of the Sirigu Art and Pottery, Dr. Francis Asaana, CEO of Quality Group of Companies, Rev. Eastwood Anaba of the Fountain Gate Chapel International, Bolgatanga, and Mr. Robert Ajeni, a renowned retired educationist.  The rest include Most Reverend Monsignor Roger Aboteyuure of the Kongo Catholic Church and Mr Roland Agambire of Rlg Communications.  In a speech delivered by the Chairman, Council of Elders of the Upper East Youth Association, Mr. Alagskoma Asakeya Noble, it was observed that the awardees were celebrated for their monumental achievements and positive impacts on the lives of the poor and the marginalized in society. They were noted as role models mentors, inspirers and development oriented individuals who through dink of hard work have helped in the transformation of the majority of the poor and the hopeless in the region. With sterling and visionary leadership qualities, they have also contributed in enhancing the pace of development in the region and had in the best way they could better the livelihood of the people. Mr Asakeya Noble acknowledged the fact that, though the awardees were serving in different capacities and fields, their outstanding and invaluable role and contribution to the region’s development cannot be glossed over, stating that a country that does not honour its heroes is not worth dying for and that honour must be given where it is due. He was optimistic that the award scheme will go a long way to influence the lives of the people, indicating that in the no distant future; most of the people in the region would aim at achieving such laurels through hard work and dedication at their various fields of endeavours. He appealed to the youth in particular to live exemplary lives worthy of emulation. He said his outfit would continue to honour great personalities in the region and also ensure that event is institutionalized to be an annual affair.   The Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mrs Lucy Awuni who was the guest speaker reminded residents of the region about the intended biometric registration and appealed to all to participate fully in the exercise. All the awardees at the end of the event showed appreciation to the youth for recognizing their efforts and pledged to continue to impact on the lives of the people.

GBC                                                        END                                                                          IA/

Channel Chunk of Oil proceeds to develop Northern Ghana- Students Appeals to gov’t

Section of participants at the exhibition show

24-02-2012                

Government has been urged to expedite efforts at ensuring that the chunk of the proceeds of the country’s oil find is used to develop the three regions of the north. Also government should take pragmatic steps in ensuring that deprived schools benefit fully from the said oil proceeds. These were put across by some students at the just ended Jubilee Oil Exhibition held at Bolgatanga, the Upper East Regional capital. The Jubilee oil exhibition spearheaded by Tullow Ghana Limited oil and supported by the Nabuke Foundation in conjunction with the Centre for National Culture is the second in the series to be held in the region and forms part of the nationwide Jubilee first oil exhibition tour. In attendance were a section of the public as well as students from some selected second cycle schools and tertiary institutions across the region. Participating students at the exhibition exercise were taken through photo exhibition on oil history and discovery, exploration processes, appraisal, and preparation of actual production among other oil disciplines. Two final year students both from Zorkor Senior High School, Beatrice Atanga and Ayamba Moses Awine expressed their deepest gratitude to Tullow Oil Ghana for such laudable initiative and further expressed the hope that the exploration of the oil find will come to salvage the poor and the less disadvantaged in society. They were of the firm believe that Tullow oil through prudent and efficient managerial practices will channel much of the proceeds of the oil find to eradicate poverty in Northern Ghana and parts of Brong Ahafo and Volta Region where majority of the people wallow in abject poverty.  They also seized the opportunity to appeal to the government through the Ministry of Education to come to the aid of their school since they lack the needed teaching aid and school infrastructure to  enhance effective teaching and learning at the school. Apiok Janet from the Bolgatanga Girls Senior High also stressed the urgent need for government to develop the road sector and the less endowed schools in the region to pave way for massive development.  The Regional Director, Centre for National Culture, Mr. Kombat Fuzzy explained to Radio Ghana that the high turn up of the exhibition exercise despite the short notices, was quite encouraging. This to him was an ample indication that the oil find will be a blessing to all Ghanaians. He said Ghana will have no justifications for failures as there are useful lessons to be drawn from the bitter lessons from Nigeria and other oil producing countries. Mr. Fuzzy was of the view that as Ghana continues to harvest its rich oil, there was the need to judiciously harness the rich resource to promote the country’s culture, agric and the general economic growth. He cautioned Ghanaians to be mindful of oil leakages, conflicts, sales, under-invoicing, displacements of people, uneven development and other negativities in ensuring that Ghana as a whole derive the needed socio-economic benefit from the country’ oil find.

GBC                                                        END                                                                      IA/

SIM Card registration is to ensure security of mobile subscribers - NCA

23-02-2012      

The National Communications Authority (NCA) has stressed the urgent need for the general public to adhere to the ongoing SIM card registration to avoid permanent de-activation. The nationwide exercise in perspective will not only ensure the security of mobile phone subscribers, but also enhance the economic development of the country as reliable and efficient data of subscribers would be achieved to combat crime and other malicious activities. Speaking in an interview with Radio Ghana in Bolgatanga, the consumer and Corporate Affairs Manager of NCA, Abed Bandim reiterated the point that it is not the intention of the NCA to deactivate mobile subscribers who fail to register their SIM Cards but explained that the exercise was necessary in strengthening consumer‘s contractual relationship with their mobile network operators. Mr. Bandim further noted that due to the importance NCA attaches to the ongoing mobile registration exercise, parliament at its sitting on February 1, 2012 adopted the Subscriber Identity Module Registration Regulation, 2011, (L.I 2006) to give legal backing to the SIM Registration. The legislation, Mr. Bandim explained provides that as from March 3, 2012, no SIM card can be used if not duly registered. Under the said L.I, no mobile Service operator shall be able to activate a SIM card for a new customer without having been registered. Also existing subscribers who have either not registered their SIM cards or whose earlier registration are invalid are required to re-register, failing which their SIM cards will be deactivated. According to him, it is the expectation of the NCA that subscribers will heed to the notice and ensure that their SIM cards are validly registered. He said the exercise since July, 2010 has passed through series of deadlines because NCA saw the need to allow for valid registration to be corrected, emphasizing that the authority’s resolve is to see to it that  the exercise achieved a thoroughly sanitized and complete register, hence the urgency for subscribers to ensure that their SIM cards are validly registered.  Mr. Bandim announced that the NCA is going to embark on an intensive vigilance on mobile service registration agents engaged in the registration exercise since they are to be blamed for the millions of invalid SIM registration discovered during the ID verification process. He also disclosed that the NCA has instituted measures to ensuring that information given out in the course of registration is kept safe and confidential. Touching on the process of registration, Mr. Bandim stated that the law requires citizens to register their SIM cards with a valid Ghanaian passport, driver’s license, voter ID card, National Health Insurance Card or National Identification Card. Foreign citizens, he further said, are required to posses ECOWAS travelling document or a valid national passport to be able to partake in the exercise. Asked whether NCA has the power to sanction mobile service operators that persistently trade on poor quality of service, Mr. Bandim said the law empowers NCA to take punitive action against such service providers since is it of paramount importance to give customers the best of service. He however cautioned mobile operators to work towards ensuring good quality service to their loyal customers to avoid possible penalties. The media he said can play a leading role in keeping mobile service operators on their toes and further implored them to us their medium to assist in raising awareness on the need to adhere to the deadline of March 3, 2012.

                                                                     End

GBC URA RADIO marks 25 years of dedicated service

17-020-2010              

Narration: GBC URA Radio Bolgatanga, one of the premier fm stations in the West African sub-region is set to celebrate its 25 years in existence. As part of activities marking the day which falls on tomorrow Saturday, February 18, a float through the principal street of Bolgatanga will be held to herald the launch of the anniversary. A host of activities have also been lined up to climax the anniversary, some of which include out station broadcast, educative and development talks, open day, sports as well as entertainment among other interesting programmes. Dignitaries including the Upper East Regional Minister, Mark Woyongo and the Council of State Member for the region, Rev Bishop Jacob Kofi Ayeebo and a host of others are expected to participate in the launch.  The day will be celebrated on the theme: URA Radio @ 25: Tool for Promoting Peace and Development. Correspondent Isaac Asare has the details for Radio Ghana.

CUE IN AT

END CUE AT

ANCR V/O

Report

URA Radio originated from a World Bank sponsored project known as the Upper Region Agricultural Development Programme, URADEP. The programme was aimed at improving food security of the Upper Regions (now Upper East and Upper West Regions).  Realizing that the use of radio could be helpful in the promotion of agriculture in the then upper regions, URADEP initiated moves to provide information to the people of the region especially farmers. In view of this laudable initiative, URADEP established a training centre for the training of all types of agriculture staff. It was known as the Institute of Field Communication and Agricultural Training (IFCAT) at Navrongo where agricultural extension staff were trained; likewise visual communication and radio training sectors. URADEP therefore researched and selected major languages spoken in the then Upper Region and recruited personnel and trained them at IFCAT, now University of Development Studies, UDS. The languages chosen that time for the Radio Training were Gurune, Dagare, Kusal and Kasem. Somewhere along the line Sisala and Buli were added for the training at IFCAT. The training programme which began in 1982 saw some personnel receiving radio training in Holland, whilst the rest were trained at the centre. Some training officers also came from Holland to offer training at IFCAT. The Broadcasting Studios and transmitters at Bolga built by URADEP, were equipped and handed over to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) after long and fruitful negotiation. On December 3^rd 1986, GBC URA Radio was officially commissioned by the then Chairman of the (PNDC) Flt Lt. J.J Rawlings. This was after management of GBC, URADEP and the government of Ghana, had finalized their negotiation for the station to operate as the 1^st Regional FM station in the country. Three local languages after the commissioning, namely Gurune, Kusaal and Dagaare started broadcasting alongside the English language. Later in 1988, Kasem and Sissali joined and later Buli came in. When government completed the radio structure in Wa, Staff for the Dagaare and Sissala languages moved to Wa to form Radio Upper West, whilst Bissa joined URA Radio in 2002. URA Radio then became the official mouthpiece of the people.  With a wide range of programmes and news items, URA Radio over the years has chalked tremendous successes. Speaking to Radio Ghana, the Director of GBC URA Radio, Tahiru Abdul Razak Mohammed said the station is the only FM station in the country that transmits with six local languages alongside news from the national studios. He observed that GBC URA Radio has contributed in changing the lives of the people in the region, particularly farmers and further stated that the station is poised to contribute immensely to the social standard of the people through reliable and adequate information sharing. he said the station is going to fashion out new and innovative programmes to improve their listenership. Mr Tahiru Abdul Razak Mohammed however entreated all to participate in the station’s 25 years of success. 

                                                                  End

LAUNCHING OF GBC URA RADIO @ 25 ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

Draft Document for the Regional Minister/ Deputy

URA Radio originated from a World Bank sponsored project known as the Upper Region 

Agricultural Development Programme, URADEP. The programme was aimed at improving food security of the Upper Regions (now Upper East and Upper West Regions).  Realizing that the use of radio could be helpful in the promotion of agriculture in the then upper regions, URADEP initiated moves to provide information to the people of the region especially farmers. In view of this laudable initiative, URADEP established a training centre for the training of all types of agriculture staff. It was known as the Institute of Field Communication and Agricultural Training (IFCAT) at Navrongo where agricultural extension staff were trained; likewise visual communication and radio training sectors. URADEP therefore researched and selected major languages spoken in the then Upper Region and recruited personnel and trained them at IFCAT, now University of Development Studies, UDS. The languages chosen that time for the Radio Training were Gurune, Dagare, Kusal and Kasem. Somewhere along the line Sisala and Buli were added for the training at IFCAT. The training programme which began in 1982 saw some personnel receiving radio training in Holland, whilst the rest were trained at the centre. Some training officers also came from Holland to offer training at IFCAT. The Broadcasting Studios and transmitters at Bolga built by URADEP, were equipped and handed over to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) after long and fruitful negotiation. On December 3^rd 1986, GBC URA Radio was officially commissioned by the then Chairman of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) Flt Lt. J.J Rawlings. This was after management of GBC, URADEP and the government of Ghana, had finalized their negotiation for the station to operate as the 1^st Regional FM station in the country. Three local languages after the commissioning, namely Gurune, Kusaal and Dagaare started broadcasting alongside the English language. Later in 1988, Kasem and Sissali joined and later Buli came in. when government completed the radio structure in Wa. Staff for the Dagaare and Sissala languages moved to Wa to form Radio Upper West, whilst Bissa joined URA Radio in 2002. URA Radio became the official mouthpiece of the people and because it was the premier station established to serve almost the three regions of the north due to its wide coverage. Interestingly, the relay radio transmission was dropped and wireless sets were bought by URADEP and sold to farmers and people of the Upper Region.

With a wide range of programmes and news items, URA Radio over the years has chalked tremendous successes. Currently GBC URA Radio is the only FM station in the country that transmits with six local languages alongside news from the national studios. One can confidently say that because of our success story, numerous FM stations have come to existence. The station since 2008 has trained some interested youth and graduates in the region on basic radio broadcast and is considering introducing such training programmes when the need arises. The aim is to ensure sanity and good presentation on our airwaves. It is our hope and expectation that the station will continue its good works as pioneers in FM radio business to bring about peace and development of our region and the nation as a whole.  

Undoubtedly, the station cannot boast of its achievement without putting to the fore our challenges. We will therefore take the opportunity to catalogue some challenges faced by the station. These are as follows;

• No standby generator to supply power to the station when there is power outage.
• Inadequate staff (especially, programme section)
• Inadequate staff accommodation
• Fence wall
• Inadequate operational equipment (esp. computers, air conditioners, and office furniture)

NB: URA Radio will be celebrating its silver jubilee on February, 18, 2012 on the theme: URA RADIO @ 25: Tool for Promoting Peace and Development.  A host of activities have been lined up to climax the anniversary, some of which include out station broadcast, educative and development talks, open day, sports as well as entertainment among other interesting programmes.

………………………………

Isaac Asare

(Secretary Anniversary Planning Committee)

Political Party Representatives advocates for women empowerment

Narration: Political party representatives at a just ended validation workshop in Bolgatanga have recommended that women be given enough resources and orientation to boost their confidence in district local elections. According to them the increasing poor performance of women during assembly elections are partly due to the absence of financial and other resources to fund campaigns and appealed to all  to give women the necessary support and training to enable them compete strongly with their male folks. Women, they further proposed should be given the needed educational support for them to deliver up to expectation. The workshop organized by the Regional Intersectoral Gender Network with funding from Action Aid Ghana,

brought together stakeholders including past and present assembly women, chiefs, political party representatives  as well as  heads of decentralized departments among others. Isaac Asare was there for Radio Ghana.

CUE IN

END CUE

ANCR V/O

 Report

Other participants at the workshop also stressed on the urgent need for women to demonstrate their commitment by nurturing and encouraging other women to aspire for leadership positions. To them, women’s participation in political life is pivotal to social development considering the significant and invaluable role they play to the development processes. They were of the belief that women are the core actors of the society and needed the required push and recognition only if we are to get anywhere with our development agenda as a country. They however challenged other assembly women to see to it that positions held are occupied by their colleagues any time they leave office. They also commended some supporting NGOs, particularly Action Aid Ghana for the numerous advocacy training workshops for women and charged them to do more by assisting women financially during district local elections. The Upper East Regional Director of the NCCE, Mr. Peter Mensah share the belief of the participants but was much concerned about the partisan manner at which district local elections are conducted. According to him, district local level elections are supposed to be non-partisan as stipulated in the 1992 constitution. He said the district assembly concept is a noble concept and should be exercised devoid of partisanship; any breach of the constitution could be described as an act of indiscipline. Mr Mensah reminded Ghanaians that until the law is amended the status quo remains valid and should be adhered to. Reflecting on the overall performance of women contestants in the last District Assemble Elections, the Programs Manager of Action Aid, Gregory Dery disclosed that out of the total of 484 persons that were elected and appointed, only 64 were women with Bongo district exceeding the 40 percent quota proposed by government. The situation, Mr Dery observed leaves a cause to worry and mentioned financial constraints, interference, and negative socio-cultural practices as some of the reasons accounting for the poor performance of the women in assembly elections. On other factor identified was the fact that women are not recognized as leaders in the communities. Moreover challenges including lack of means of transport, lack of time for political campaign and late start of campaign still remain a hindrance to women’s participation in assembly elections. The problem Mr Dery indicated cuts across the regions particularly in areas where women are relegated to the background in all spheres of political and social life. The workshop, he explained, was therefore organized to share experiences of past local elections, identify the root causes of poor performance of women in local elections and recommend possible solutions and strategies to enhance women’s participation and performance at the next local level elections. Mr. Dery however encouraged participants to provide constructive ideas and actions that could contribute in ensuring more women representatives at the district assemblies. Mr Dery in reaction to some of the concerns raised renewed Action Aid’s preparedness to break the many obstacles that women face in order to help them take full and active participation in decision making at all levels including local governance. 

Residents of Googo sensitized on Disaster Prevention

Cross section of  participants    

A day’s sensitization programme aimed at building the capacity and resilience of communities against disasters has taken place at Googo, a farming community in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region. The sensitization programme organized by the Bawku West District NADMO office and World Vision International was attended by over 150 participants. It was the second in the series to be organized in the district and has the capacity of educating communities to respond effectively to disasters. Participants as part of the programme were taken through series of topics including community profile, hazard mapping, human resource mapping of areas, as well as seasonal and food calendar of the community, among other important areas. With these topics, community members would be able to know the flashpoint of disaster, identify disaster prone areas and also build their resilience to cope and prevent disasters when they occur. The Bawku West District NADMO Coordinator, Moses Aduk-pam told Radio Ghana that the aim of the sensitization programme was in response to the legislative instrument that establishes NADMO by Act 517 of 1996.  This is also in line with NADMO’s mandate of ensuring disaster prevention, as well as risk and vulnerability reduction, as a means of reducing the impact of disasters on society. The programme, Mr. Aduk-pam further said backs NADMO’s disaster emergency plan which gives a broad spectrum of activities that are being followed as a timeline to best manage and prevent disasters. He said NADMO as an organization plans to refocus their attention to disaster prevention instead of disaster management. This way, most people especially those in disaster prone areas of the country would be able to identify where and when disaster may occur. He said as when and how they occur affects the daily lives of affected victims and requires prevent measures to withstand and respond to them effectively. He mentioned some common disasters as draught, flood and epidemics such as Cerebral Spinal Meningitis (CSM) among other seasonal illnesses.  According to him, NADMO will continue to embark on such sensitization programme to educate the people on the urgent need to take precautionary measures in order to best prepare effectively before disaster occur. Asked whether NADMO was in the position to replicate the programme in other communities in the district, Mr. Aduk-Pam was confident that with the support from NGO’s and corporate organizations, NADMO in its capacity would extent such programmes to benefit more communities, especially those along the White Volta. A disaster control officer, Martin Akaane for his part called on the support of government and NGO’s in making the community disaster preparedness plan workable. This he said was a draft policy document designed by NADMO to assist communities to effectively prepare for disasters. Mr. Simon Agazire, a community disaster volunteer for NADMO, expressed optimism that the programme was going to influence people’s attitude towards disaster, particularly the need to adapt to preventive measures before disaster strikes. He said as a first step in responding to disasters, affected victims should report to disaster volunteers for the necessary action to be taken. 

GBC                                                    END                                                           IA/