Story: Moses Dotsey
Aklorbortu, Takoradi
07/03/08
MOST fire stations in the Western Region cannot be described as fire stations as they lack the needed equipment to fight fire during emergencies.
Fire stations in places such as Shama, in the Shama Ahanta East Metropolis, Prestea in the Wassa West District, Half Asinni, Elubo and other parts of the region can best be described as fire posts where the focus is mainly on fire prevention.
According to experts, an ideal fire station should have a shed for fire tenders and an ambulance, crew room and a watch station, but the story at most of those stations across the region are different, except the regional headquarters.
There are no fire tenders, equipment as well as ambulances, not even crew room and structures for the staff.
Some of the fire posts have only buckets full of sand, posters on the wall and obsolete extinguishers.
In such situations, if there is a fire outbreak on a highway, the officials who were trained and had developed passion for the job would look on helplessly while property running into millions of cedis will be consumed by the raging fire.
Elubo experienced many fire outbreaks last year but the nearest well-equipped fire station in the area is Axim, a distance of about 78 kilometres away.
It is, therefore, very difficult for the firemen to bring fire under control when the need arises.
When the Western Regional Fire Commander, Mr Ekow Abban, was contacted on the issue, he attributed the problem of lack of tools for the various fire posts in the region to lack of infrastructure.
He stated that the fire tenders were also very expensive, adding that the job of the fire officer is a 24-hour service, therefore the structures that should house a fire station must conform with modern standards.
“The crew work for 24-hours, therefore they need a crew-room, tools, fire tenders, a good shed for the fire tenders and an ambulance as well as good environment for the crew. Without these facilities, the place cannot function well and it would cease to be called a fire station but rather a post,” Mr Abban said.
Mr Abban said various points in the region were all fire posts, where their focus was on fire prevention.
He said such a situation was not the best, and expressed the hope that the various district assemblies would make provisions for the building of well structured fire stations.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
SAEMA to regain past glory
Story: Moses Dotsey
Aklorbortu, Takoradi
06/03/08
THE twin-city of Sekondi/Takoradi in the Shama Ahanta East Metropolitan Assembly of the Western Region will soon regain its past glory as a vibrant commercial and industrial centre.
This is as a result of the discovery of oil in the Ahanta West District which has attracted various financial institutions and hospitality operators to the metropolis.
On a regular basis investors, including those players in the hospitality and financial sector, visit the metropolis and the port of Takoradi to enquire about the various possible investment opportunities.
At the moment the financial institutions which already have offices in the region, especially in the metropolis, are introducing or repackaging their products to acceptable standards to attract customers.
Accra, Tema and Kumasi used to be the financial hub where institutions clamoured for customers. Now the financial market in the metropolis and the region are opening up daily.
Almost all the financial institutions which hitherto were strongly based in Accra, Kumasi and Tema are here in Takoradi. Among them are the giants such as the Standard Chartered Bank, Ghana Commercial Bank and Ecobank which have moved beyond the metropolis to other parts of the region.
In the hospitality sector, the residents are calling on the investors who have taken over hotels such as the Atlantic and the Harbour View hotels to expedite action and bring them back to life.
To them, when the hotels were functioning, many activities were held , which brought so much life to the metropolis. Even though economic activities have declined in the metropolis, the discovery of oil has brought back the hope that the vibrant economic boom which was characteristic of the metropolis in the past will come back.
In the past when we talked about the Harbour View it was a real place for people to relax but today it is the den of prostitutes. “Sekondi/Takoradi can feel the goodness of its glory in the immediate future,” they hoped.
The metropolis is strategically located and it can also be described as a central point where travellers to all parts of the region make a stop.
The metropolis deserves real attention and it will not be out of place for it to have a master plan to guide investors to ensure that the people enjoy the opportunities that will follow the oil discovery.
Accommodation is a major problem of residents of the twin-city. Many workers in the metropolis are living in transit quarters and guest houses due to the limited accommodation facilities.
Aklorbortu, Takoradi
06/03/08
THE twin-city of Sekondi/Takoradi in the Shama Ahanta East Metropolitan Assembly of the Western Region will soon regain its past glory as a vibrant commercial and industrial centre.
This is as a result of the discovery of oil in the Ahanta West District which has attracted various financial institutions and hospitality operators to the metropolis.
On a regular basis investors, including those players in the hospitality and financial sector, visit the metropolis and the port of Takoradi to enquire about the various possible investment opportunities.
At the moment the financial institutions which already have offices in the region, especially in the metropolis, are introducing or repackaging their products to acceptable standards to attract customers.
Accra, Tema and Kumasi used to be the financial hub where institutions clamoured for customers. Now the financial market in the metropolis and the region are opening up daily.
Almost all the financial institutions which hitherto were strongly based in Accra, Kumasi and Tema are here in Takoradi. Among them are the giants such as the Standard Chartered Bank, Ghana Commercial Bank and Ecobank which have moved beyond the metropolis to other parts of the region.
In the hospitality sector, the residents are calling on the investors who have taken over hotels such as the Atlantic and the Harbour View hotels to expedite action and bring them back to life.
To them, when the hotels were functioning, many activities were held , which brought so much life to the metropolis. Even though economic activities have declined in the metropolis, the discovery of oil has brought back the hope that the vibrant economic boom which was characteristic of the metropolis in the past will come back.
In the past when we talked about the Harbour View it was a real place for people to relax but today it is the den of prostitutes. “Sekondi/Takoradi can feel the goodness of its glory in the immediate future,” they hoped.
The metropolis is strategically located and it can also be described as a central point where travellers to all parts of the region make a stop.
The metropolis deserves real attention and it will not be out of place for it to have a master plan to guide investors to ensure that the people enjoy the opportunities that will follow the oil discovery.
Accommodation is a major problem of residents of the twin-city. Many workers in the metropolis are living in transit quarters and guest houses due to the limited accommodation facilities.
Two arrested for stealing vehicle
Story: Moses Dotsey
Aklorbortu, Takoradi
06/03/08
Takoradi District CID Unit of the Ghana Police Service has arrested two young men in connection with a vehicle theft.
They allegedly stole the vehicle from Takoradi and used it as “trotro” in Accra for sometime and re-routed it between Accra and Aflao with one of the suspects as the driver.
The vehicle and the suspects were later arrested at Aflao and the driver later led the police to arrest his accomplice at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra.
The suspects, Isaac Aboagye, 27, a “bookman”, and Yakubu Awudu, 20, driver’s mate in the stolen vehicle, were said to have stolen the Hyundai Grace mini bus with registration number GN 7798 Y belonging to one Mr Joseph Prince Kelson in Takoradi.
The District Crime Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Dela Dzansi, who confirmed the arrest to the Daily Graphic, said the suspects were currently on remand and helping the police in their investigations.
Awudu told the Daily Graphic that he was a conductor in the stolen vehicle before Aboagye approached him with the plan to steal the vehicle.
He said they tried on many occasions to make a duplicate key to the vehicle but did not succeed.
“Aboagye gave me many keys to start the vehicle to no avail, until the latest one he brought worked,” Awudu said.
Awudu said when he told Aboagye that the last key he brought had worked, he quickly moved to Takoradi and drove the vehicle to Accra and “told me not to go with him to Accra immediately otherwise my master would suspect me of stealing the vehicle. Based on the instructions he gave me l waited for a few days before joining Aboagye in Accra where he was operating trotro services,” said Awudu.
Awudu stated Aboagye later went on long distance journeys between Accra and Aflao and taught him how to evade the police on the way.
Aboagye said “if they ask me of my driver’s licence, I should give them that of the original driver, which he had left in the vehicle before it was stolen.
“I was later arrested by the police on my trip from Aflao with passengers,” he said.
Aboagye, however, denied Yakubu’s claims and said he reported at the lorry station with the vehicle and he only loaded it for him. He denied knowing Awudu anywhere.
.
Aklorbortu, Takoradi
06/03/08
Takoradi District CID Unit of the Ghana Police Service has arrested two young men in connection with a vehicle theft.
They allegedly stole the vehicle from Takoradi and used it as “trotro” in Accra for sometime and re-routed it between Accra and Aflao with one of the suspects as the driver.
The vehicle and the suspects were later arrested at Aflao and the driver later led the police to arrest his accomplice at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra.
The suspects, Isaac Aboagye, 27, a “bookman”, and Yakubu Awudu, 20, driver’s mate in the stolen vehicle, were said to have stolen the Hyundai Grace mini bus with registration number GN 7798 Y belonging to one Mr Joseph Prince Kelson in Takoradi.
The District Crime Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Dela Dzansi, who confirmed the arrest to the Daily Graphic, said the suspects were currently on remand and helping the police in their investigations.
Awudu told the Daily Graphic that he was a conductor in the stolen vehicle before Aboagye approached him with the plan to steal the vehicle.
He said they tried on many occasions to make a duplicate key to the vehicle but did not succeed.
“Aboagye gave me many keys to start the vehicle to no avail, until the latest one he brought worked,” Awudu said.
Awudu said when he told Aboagye that the last key he brought had worked, he quickly moved to Takoradi and drove the vehicle to Accra and “told me not to go with him to Accra immediately otherwise my master would suspect me of stealing the vehicle. Based on the instructions he gave me l waited for a few days before joining Aboagye in Accra where he was operating trotro services,” said Awudu.
Awudu stated Aboagye later went on long distance journeys between Accra and Aflao and taught him how to evade the police on the way.
Aboagye said “if they ask me of my driver’s licence, I should give them that of the original driver, which he had left in the vehicle before it was stolen.
“I was later arrested by the police on my trip from Aflao with passengers,” he said.
Aboagye, however, denied Yakubu’s claims and said he reported at the lorry station with the vehicle and he only loaded it for him. He denied knowing Awudu anywhere.
.
Man, 48 arrested for fraud
Story: Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu, Sekondi
06/03/08
THE Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Western Regional Police Command is investigating a 48-year-old man who was cautioned and discharged by a court after defrauding a school and some individuals in Takoradi.
The suspect, Andy Quam, after his discharge from the court allegedly moved to a different location in the region, repeated his activities and allegedly succeeded in duping unsuspecting members of the community of thousands of cedis.
He is alleged to have also raped a female victim in a hotel room after collecting her capital and fled.
Quam was later arrested at the market circle in Takoradi.
The Western Regional Police Command which confirmed his arrest said Andy Quam allegedly met a lady at Tikobo Number 2 and solicited money from her to clear some goods he had at the Takoradi Port because he had just returned from United States of America. He is also said to have pledged to refund the money to her after disposing of part of the goods.
Based on another promise to marry the woman who was said to be unmarried, the lady who deals in coconut oil, decided to help Quam.
Quam allegedly collected more than GHC1,400 and a mobile phone from another person in the village. He then allegedly chartered a taxi from the village to the Takoradi Port and gave a promise to employ the taxi driver to drive one of the fleet of the vehicles he was going to clear from the port on his return to the village.
In Takoradi, he allegedly contracted another taxi driver to be driving them around town with a promise to pay GHC50 a day.
He allegedly used the taxi for three-days, took him to the harbour branch of the Barclays Bank to pick a form which he claimed he was going to process for the collection of $90,000 his wife had sent to him from the United States of America.
The lady and taxi driver who did not know the motives of Quam, went with Quam for a good lunch at the expense of the taxi driver. Quam later allegedly asked the taxi driver to send him to the Western Regional Police Commander at Sekondi for some discussions.
At the Regional Police Command, Quam got down with the lady and sneaked through a footpath behind the regional Police headquarters to a hotel at Sekondi where he booked a room, locked the door and forcibly had sex with her.
When the lady went into the bathroom to clean herself after the act Quam bolted with her watch and bracelets and left a message with the receptionist for her to wait for him at the reception.
The taxi driver who had also waited at the Police headquarters for hours later called Quam to find out his whereabouts, he took offence and rained insults on him.
Unfortunately for Quam, that same day, the taxi driver spotted him around the market circle and raised an alarm and he was arrested.
Quam who was arrested by the Effiekuma Police in November last year for defrauding a school and some individuals and after posing as the producer of a children’s programme on Ghana Television (GTV) as well as an official of the Food and Drugs Board was cautioned and discharged by the court.
He told the court that “everything the taxi driver and the lady are telling you is true and an honest truth and I am very sorry.”
.
06/03/08
THE Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Western Regional Police Command is investigating a 48-year-old man who was cautioned and discharged by a court after defrauding a school and some individuals in Takoradi.
The suspect, Andy Quam, after his discharge from the court allegedly moved to a different location in the region, repeated his activities and allegedly succeeded in duping unsuspecting members of the community of thousands of cedis.
He is alleged to have also raped a female victim in a hotel room after collecting her capital and fled.
Quam was later arrested at the market circle in Takoradi.
The Western Regional Police Command which confirmed his arrest said Andy Quam allegedly met a lady at Tikobo Number 2 and solicited money from her to clear some goods he had at the Takoradi Port because he had just returned from United States of America. He is also said to have pledged to refund the money to her after disposing of part of the goods.
Based on another promise to marry the woman who was said to be unmarried, the lady who deals in coconut oil, decided to help Quam.
Quam allegedly collected more than GHC1,400 and a mobile phone from another person in the village. He then allegedly chartered a taxi from the village to the Takoradi Port and gave a promise to employ the taxi driver to drive one of the fleet of the vehicles he was going to clear from the port on his return to the village.
In Takoradi, he allegedly contracted another taxi driver to be driving them around town with a promise to pay GHC50 a day.
He allegedly used the taxi for three-days, took him to the harbour branch of the Barclays Bank to pick a form which he claimed he was going to process for the collection of $90,000 his wife had sent to him from the United States of America.
The lady and taxi driver who did not know the motives of Quam, went with Quam for a good lunch at the expense of the taxi driver. Quam later allegedly asked the taxi driver to send him to the Western Regional Police Commander at Sekondi for some discussions.
At the Regional Police Command, Quam got down with the lady and sneaked through a footpath behind the regional Police headquarters to a hotel at Sekondi where he booked a room, locked the door and forcibly had sex with her.
When the lady went into the bathroom to clean herself after the act Quam bolted with her watch and bracelets and left a message with the receptionist for her to wait for him at the reception.
The taxi driver who had also waited at the Police headquarters for hours later called Quam to find out his whereabouts, he took offence and rained insults on him.
Unfortunately for Quam, that same day, the taxi driver spotted him around the market circle and raised an alarm and he was arrested.
Quam who was arrested by the Effiekuma Police in November last year for defrauding a school and some individuals and after posing as the producer of a children’s programme on Ghana Television (GTV) as well as an official of the Food and Drugs Board was cautioned and discharged by the court.
He told the court that “everything the taxi driver and the lady are telling you is true and an honest truth and I am very sorry.”
.
EU delegation visits SAEMA
Story: Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu, Takoradi
06/03/08
THE French Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Pierre Jacquemot, has said that from all indications Ghana stands tall as the most preferred investment destination in West Africa.
He said what the country needed to work on enthusiastically at present was to control the rate of inflation, improve and sustain energy supply to commerce and industry as the country was going to see more investments.
“It used to be France and a few others, but now many countries are coming in strongly and that is a good sign that warrant the control of inflation and constant energy supply”.
The ambassador told the Daily Graphic during a tour by EU envoys to some European Union and French investments as well as some EU funded projects aimed at helping to reduce poverty in the Western Region.
The tour was also to enable the envoys to interact with the chiefs, district and metropolitan chief executives on their contributions to the socio-economic development of the country under the decentralised system.
He said energy supplies and the country’s rate of inflation were issues which were very important to investors and that with the current favourable investment climate there was the need to tackle issues that would ensure reliable and sustainable energy supplies and keep the rate of inflation in check.
“With what I have seen in the Western Region and the country today, the zeal, rich human resource, growing democracy, good governance, stability and the quest of the people to succeed, the future is bright for the country,” he said.
Mr Jacquemot said with the progress made on the French investments and the success of some EU funded projects which were expected to help transform the rural economy, Ghana was positioned to take her place as an investment destination in the West African sub- region.
The ambassador said France was following Ghana’s discovery of oil with keen interest and that it was waiting for a report indicating that the amount of oil that had been discovered was in significant commercial quantities.
He said by May this year, the report might be made known and France would move in to stake her position as she was currently watching events unfold from the sidelines.
He expressed optimism that the problems which bedevilled other countries which had discovered such mineral deposits would not happen to Ghana as the country had many examples to learn from in the sub-region.
Besides, Mr Jacquemot said, the country still had its rich culture and the chieftaincy institutions in place to provide useful platforms and information about the people in various operational communities.
“The chiefs are close to the people and through them a lot of information about the communities could be derived and through them information about investors could be disseminated, ” he said.
He stressed the need for companies in the country to see how best to involve the indigenous people in their operations and assist them socially to promote harmonious relationship between them and the host communities.
He commended the Ghana Rubber Estate Limited (GREL), one of the French investments in the country, for establishing good rapport between the company and the communities they were operating in and from which it employed the chunk of its workforce and for providing the communities with some social amenities.
The delegation visited the GREL plantation at Abura and some rubber outgrower plantation projects where more than 400 individual outgrowers were being assisted to plant more than 1,200 hectares over a five year period.
To date about 3,500 hectares of the old rubber plantation of individuals and co-operatives groups had been rehabilitated with funding from the project coming from Agence Francaise de Developement (AFD), IDA/World Bank and the government of Ghana as against 1,300 hectares which produced about 2,000 tons of rubber per annum for export.
The tour also took the delegation to the port of Takoradi where they were joined by the minister and officials of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and President’s Special Initiative, officers of the metropolitan assembly and the chief of Essikado.
06/03/08
THE French Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Pierre Jacquemot, has said that from all indications Ghana stands tall as the most preferred investment destination in West Africa.
He said what the country needed to work on enthusiastically at present was to control the rate of inflation, improve and sustain energy supply to commerce and industry as the country was going to see more investments.
“It used to be France and a few others, but now many countries are coming in strongly and that is a good sign that warrant the control of inflation and constant energy supply”.
The ambassador told the Daily Graphic during a tour by EU envoys to some European Union and French investments as well as some EU funded projects aimed at helping to reduce poverty in the Western Region.
The tour was also to enable the envoys to interact with the chiefs, district and metropolitan chief executives on their contributions to the socio-economic development of the country under the decentralised system.
He said energy supplies and the country’s rate of inflation were issues which were very important to investors and that with the current favourable investment climate there was the need to tackle issues that would ensure reliable and sustainable energy supplies and keep the rate of inflation in check.
“With what I have seen in the Western Region and the country today, the zeal, rich human resource, growing democracy, good governance, stability and the quest of the people to succeed, the future is bright for the country,” he said.
Mr Jacquemot said with the progress made on the French investments and the success of some EU funded projects which were expected to help transform the rural economy, Ghana was positioned to take her place as an investment destination in the West African sub- region.
The ambassador said France was following Ghana’s discovery of oil with keen interest and that it was waiting for a report indicating that the amount of oil that had been discovered was in significant commercial quantities.
He said by May this year, the report might be made known and France would move in to stake her position as she was currently watching events unfold from the sidelines.
He expressed optimism that the problems which bedevilled other countries which had discovered such mineral deposits would not happen to Ghana as the country had many examples to learn from in the sub-region.
Besides, Mr Jacquemot said, the country still had its rich culture and the chieftaincy institutions in place to provide useful platforms and information about the people in various operational communities.
“The chiefs are close to the people and through them a lot of information about the communities could be derived and through them information about investors could be disseminated, ” he said.
He stressed the need for companies in the country to see how best to involve the indigenous people in their operations and assist them socially to promote harmonious relationship between them and the host communities.
He commended the Ghana Rubber Estate Limited (GREL), one of the French investments in the country, for establishing good rapport between the company and the communities they were operating in and from which it employed the chunk of its workforce and for providing the communities with some social amenities.
The delegation visited the GREL plantation at Abura and some rubber outgrower plantation projects where more than 400 individual outgrowers were being assisted to plant more than 1,200 hectares over a five year period.
To date about 3,500 hectares of the old rubber plantation of individuals and co-operatives groups had been rehabilitated with funding from the project coming from Agence Francaise de Developement (AFD), IDA/World Bank and the government of Ghana as against 1,300 hectares which produced about 2,000 tons of rubber per annum for export.
The tour also took the delegation to the port of Takoradi where they were joined by the minister and officials of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and President’s Special Initiative, officers of the metropolitan assembly and the chief of Essikado.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Bank assists Amenfi East insurance scheme
THE Amenfiman Rural Bank in the Western Region has donated a flat screen computer with its accessories and a laminating machine worth GH¢1,000 to the Amenfi East Mutual Health Insurance Scheme at a ceremony at Wassa Akropong.
Making the presentation, the Manager of the bank, Mr Morgan Setordjie, said it was the vision of the bank to contribute to the health needs of the people in its catchment area as part of its corporate social responsibility to the community.
He stressed that the business community could triumph only when there was peace in the area.
The Chairman of the insurance scheme, Mr Kwabena Antobam, who received the gift, said the support of the bank had come at an opportune time.
Making the presentation, the Manager of the bank, Mr Morgan Setordjie, said it was the vision of the bank to contribute to the health needs of the people in its catchment area as part of its corporate social responsibility to the community.
He stressed that the business community could triumph only when there was peace in the area.
The Chairman of the insurance scheme, Mr Kwabena Antobam, who received the gift, said the support of the bank had come at an opportune time.
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