HAVE WE MANAGED WASTE EFFECTIVELY? (MIRROR, PAGE 31)

Justina Siebi Gomez,
Resident, Takoradi

Ghanaians have developed some bad attitudes when it comes to the generation of waste and its disposal. Throughout our daily chores and socio-economic activities, waste is generated but unfortunately many people do not want to become responsible for the proper disposal of the garbage so created.
In February this year, the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly organised a clean-up exercise and I was surprised to see many young men and women actively involved in cleaning the environment. Everybody I saw was happily cleaning up. This came as a surprise and I wondered why we allow the environment to get dirty in the first place.
The exercise was patronised so well. I hope this affection for cleanliness would continue. It was therefore no surprise that the President commented on the exercise in Sekondi/Takoradi in his sessional address to parliament and commended the people for responding to a worthy cause.
I pray that the exercise does not become a nine-day wonder. It is important that corporate bodies and institutions are roped in to lend their support. A lot of education will also have to take place to educate the people on the negative impact that a dirty environment has on their health.
Most of the cases that are reported to hospitals could be avoided if we kept our surroundings clean.
One place that seriously needs to be tidied up is our markets. It is rather unsightly to see market women selling foodstuffs and other wares besides stinking and choked gutters.
The activities of hawkers who sell on our streets also pose another aspect of unhygienic conditions that prevail in the various communities as waste from their activities end up in gutters.
One cardinal message of the Ghana Health Service is that wealth can be created through good health. Flowing from this is the idea that productivity can increase if only people will practice good health. The country needs healthy people to contribute positively to socio-economic development and ensuring clean surrounding is one sure way to achieve that aim.
It is in this direction that I think that the President’s determination for a clean Ghana within his first 100 days in office is very laudable and must be supported.
The Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) must do all they can to sustain a clean environment by enforcing its bye-laws against indiscriminate littering.



Monica Minner,
Resident, Takoradi

The declaration of war on filth by the President of the Republic of Ghana within its first 100 days in office was a very welcome and laudable move. This means that the President is not happy with our attitude towards waste disposal.
Though the assembly’s bye-laws on littering is known to all and sundry, not much attention is paid to it because it is poorly enforced. What is worse is that though waste bins have been provided at vantage points, people still refuse to do the right thing and go ahead to litter the environment.
The president has declared war on filth, it is up to the district, metropolitan and municipal assemblies to enforce their laws and ensure that people are made responsible for their actions.
The twin-city of Sekondi/Takoradi as I understand is among the cleanest metropolis in the country, there is nonetheless more work to be done.
The solution to getting rid of waste would depend to a large extent on the change of attitude of the Ghanaian insofar as waste generation and proper disposal are concerned.
For the most part residents in our cities and towns prefer the use of communal waste containers provided for traders in the market places as their point of dislodging refuse as against the use of door-to-door collection which to me is a more effctive way of dealing with waste matter.
In the recent past, the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) had expressed displeasure about people not making use of the door- to-door collection and has agitated for the practice to stop.
Unfortunately the waste bins provided at the market places are always full and overflowing and so the addition of refuse from residents compounds the problem.
In my estimation if proper procedures are followed, and the right things are done, dirty and stinking environments should be a thing of the past.



Isaac Baiden,
Accounts Officer, Takoradi

Much as we talk about the need to keep our environment clean, it is also important to let the people know the positive effects to which waste can be put.
The Vice-President, John Dramani Mahama, made a brilliant submission at the launch of a plastic biodegradable project in Accra that gave me some hope that at least there is some form of attention being given to the issue of filth in our country.
This is because, while the chief executive officer of the land has declared war on filth, his vice was also telling Ghanaians that waste could be processed for other uses.
The president must instruct the yet to be appointed metropolitan, district and municipal chief executives to be stern when it comes to ensuring cleanliness of their communities.
They should strictly enforce bye-laws on littering and also encourage them to seek assistance to recycle some of the waste generated into products such as fertilizers and electricity that would go to benefit the society.
If we are able to generate electricity from waste and the people are aware that part of their electricity or gas was domestically produced from the waste generated, they would be encouraged towards better management of the their waste.
In many instances it is children who are sent to dispose of refuse and the children just dump them anyhow. It is important therefore for adults in households to set good example for the children to follow.
Children must be taught to make proper use of waste bins while attention is paid to paying a little amount to garbage collectors who dispose off refuse. When this is done children would learn from this and will always remember to put up the right attitudes.
It is my view also that waste management education would be taught right from the kindergaten so that children would grow up with good habits of disposing off refuse properly.


Rosina Mefful,
Businesswoman,
Takoradi

The inability of the STMA to enforce its bye-laws on littering inspite of the many litter bins that have been provided is one factor that has contributed to improper waste management.
The people, particularly passengers on commercial vehicles, must be educated not to throw litter from moving vehicles but rather keep them till they get to the lorry stations and then dispose of them properly. I believe that people have the mentality that the street belongs to the government and as such it is the assembly’s duty to keep the environment clean. Therefore they care very little for the environment as they see the work of ensuring cleanliness as someone else’s job.
In the more developed countries cleanliness of the environment is strictly enforced and wrongdoers are brought to book. When one is caught littering the one is given a ticket that instructs him to pay a fine for doing the wrong thing. Failure to pay the fine may result in a jail term.
It is important that inspite of the President’s call for environmental cleanlines within his first 100 days in offce, the people would also make conscious efforts to sustain the momentum and ensure cleanliness all year round.
Though I do not ask for people to be jailed for creating filth, all the same stricter fines must be imposed to serve as disincentive as well as a source of revenue for the assembly, which spends huge sums of money trying to get our surrounding clean.
It is paramount that the nation declares war against filth from our midst.


Georgina Owusu,
Resident, TakoradI

The president’s declaration for a clean Ghana should inspire us to stop our old ways of disposing of waste and take up the challenge.
Waste management is expensive and it is important that we ensure better practices so as to save money.
Assembly bye-laws on littering should be strictly enforced. The spectre of indiscriminate dumping of refuse has brought about the menace of black polythene strewn all over the place.
People have returned from abroad to speak of how beautiful the place look. I believe if the proper structures are put in place Ghana can also look as beautiful if not more.
However, many people have put on a lukewarm attitude when it comes to the issue of waste generation and disposal.
The law should not be twisted to suit certain people. Whoever is found guilty must be made to face the full rigours of the law ispite of his or her standing in society.
The municipal assemblies all over the country must be up and doing and ensure that the various communities are made clean such as to attract visitors and investment to propel the nation’s development.




Esther Hagan,
CEO, House II,
Takoradi

I am a service provider who gets people visiting my premises everyday. As a result a lot of waste is generated and so I make sure there is a proper disposal system by providing litter bins in order to protect the health of my customers and workers.
Whenever I drive through the streets and see all the rubbish that has been generated, including black polythene bags and ‘pure’ water bags, my heart aches. What is even more disturbing is to see people eating by the wayside next to gutters overflowing with garbage.
The wrong impression has been created that it is the duty of the government to collect rubbish and clean the environment. But that is not so.
It is everybody’s duty, whether adult or young, to ensure that waste is correctly disposed off at properly designated places. It then becomes the responsibility of the government to empty the refuse containers at landfill sites that have been earmarked for the purpose. It is when the government fails in this duty that it can be taken to task. Until then, we have to do our part by ensuring that our environment is always clean.
Elsewhere, disposing off chewing gum or spitting indiscriminately is not allowed and would attract a fine when caught. Fortunately, many people from this part of the world visit these places, conform to the rules and come back to tell nice tales but once back home the story is different.
Under the circumstances, it will be prudent that we put our act together and make sure that we cultivate the habit of cleanliness. We must take the charge as given by the President to keep our environment clean, not only for a period but all througout our lifetime.
With the oil boom, the metropolis is likely to receive more visitors. The assembly should therefore, make sure that the its bye-laws are enforced to create the needed atmosphere for business to flourish to transform the twin-city of Sekondi -Takoradi into a modern metropolis.

4 DIE IN SEGE ACCIDENT (PAGE 3)

Four persons died on the spot, while eight others sustained various degrees of injury, when a Hyundai Grace mini bus on which they were travelling from Aflao to Accra collided head-on with a cargo truck at Sege in the Dangme East District of the Greater Accra Region.
The dead included the driver of the mini bus, with registration number GW 680 Z, as well as two men and a woman who are yet to be identified.
The injured were rushed to the 37 Military Hospital in Accra.
When the Daily Graphic got to the scene, policemen from the Crime Scene Unit of the Ghana Police Service were there helping to control traffic and also convey the dead bodies to the morgue.
According to eyewitnesses, the accident occurred when the driver of the mini bus, on reaching the Ada Secondary Technical School Junction, attempted to overtake a taxi in front of him.

USE LANDS TO TO INTO PARTNERSHIPS (PAGE 34)

Chiefs in the Western Region have been advised to enter into partnerships with investors using their lands as tools instead of selling them off outright.
The President of the Western Regional House of Chiefs, Awulae Attibrukusu, who made the call, said by selling large tracts of land out to the people who claimed to be investors, they were mortgaging the future of generations unborn.
He said the regional house of chiefs would soon come up with measures to take back lands that some chiefs had sold out.
Some people parading as investors are taking advantage of the oil find at Cape Three Points in the Western Region to acquire large tracts of land for their businesses.
“Instead of land, ask them for partnerships with the land as your tool but do not sell it to them for immediate gain.”
He was speaking at his office when the Western Regional Minister called to introduce himself and to discuss the way forward for the region.
Awulae Attibrukusu, who is also the Omanhene of Lower Axim, said most of the people bought hundreds of acres and claimed they were going to build hotels and other hospitality businesses on them.
“But if I may ask, how many plots do the Golden Tulip, La Palm Royal Beach hotels and other huge facilities in Accra occupy for one person to acquire more than 500 acres of land; that is mind boggling and unheard off,” he said.
He said the land did not belong to chiefs and that as traditional rulers they held the resource in trust for the people and advised them to manage the resources for the benefit of generations unborn.
“As required by the laws of the country all mineral resources on land, under the earth, at sea and in the air are vested in the President of the Republic of Ghana in trust for the people and so it is in the case of lands within the jurisdiction of any chief to hold it in trust for their subjects,” he said.
Awulae Attibrukusu said it was very unfair for the future of generations unborn to be morgaged up to people who were not from the region.
“If that happens, we are not leaving any legacy for our children but papers that empowered investors to control our wealth,” he said.
He said the sad aspect of the issue was that the land was not demarcated and the chiefs who engaged in this unjustifiable sale did not have the technical knowledge to measure as the buyers themselves employed the services of private surveyors to demarcate the boundaries they wanted.
The regional house of chiefs president named Princes Town, Egyambra, Aketekyi and some other parts of the region as the worse culprits and reminded them that the future was more important than the present.
“What they fail to know is that the land is even enough to form partnerships with companies [and] individuals that would be expressing interest in investing in their areas. It is a sad development that some chiefs just give out their future to people who were not even from the region,” he stressed.
On his part the Western Regional Minister, Mr Paul Evans Aiddoo, said it was about time the people of the Western Region took interest in investing in the various sectors of the local economy.
He said the region had gold, cocoa, timber, bauxite, and recently oil, among others resources, but asked how many of the indigenous people were into the production of a crop like cocoa.
He said it was very important that the indigenous people also developed interest in investing in some of these areas.
“It is about time we refocus and see how best to chart the path of development as one people to position the region as one which provides most of the country’s natural resources,” he said.

JUDAS STILL MISSES SANTO (GRAPHIC SHOWBIX, BACK PAGE)

By Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu

It’s almost seven years now since comedian and actor Santo died but his best friend and fellow actor, Abusuapanyin Judas, is yet to get over his death.
Judas, whose real name is Korankye Ampabeng, misses the late actor so much that it has affected his zeal to act again. Though he has featured in some movies since Santo’s death, they are so few that he could count them on his fingers.
A lot of people fell in love with Santo and Judas who brought them laughter through radio plays, live stage appearances and movies in the late 1990s. They were close friends and partners in performances for over 14 years.
In a chat with Judas when Graphic Showbiz chanced upon him at the Essipon Staduim last weekend, he said “ I miss my friend and brother Santo very much. We had planned so many things together. I am sad he is gone forever. I have no one to share ideas with. I know it’s been almost seven years since he’s been gone but I must admit I am yet to get over his death.
“We had a dream to produce our own movies. I write good scripts and currently have hundreds of them ready to be produced but my biggest challenge is funding. Santo used to be in charge and with him gone, so much has changed. I have been cheated for too long and I believe what I need now is a manager who will strike good deals for me.”
Describing his late friend as irreplaceable, he said “ he was one of a kind. We shared a special bond which I don’t think I will ever find with anyone. It was natural. We gelled so well that he wouldn’t accept to be part of a production I wasn’t part of. I miss the calls I used to get from Santo to discuss a script before we went on location,” he said.
Reminiscing on their friendship, Judas said “ I met Santo (real name John Evans Bosompim) in 1988 and he got me to join the African Brothers Band. We, however, left the band in 1994 to form Omintimminim Concert Party. The group, led by Santo, performed at the Key Soap Concert Party series”, he said.
They began to get roles in several video productions after they had established their popularity in concert party theatre circles. Some of the productions they appeared in are Double Sense, 419 I and II, Banker to Banker, Marijata and Asem. They also featured on TV drama series Efiewura.
Judas, who recently returned from Italy after shooting a new movie, Judas in Italy said “I did go off acting but I haven’t given it up. I have so much in me that I just can’t let it go. I have a lot to communicate to society through acting”, he said.
He said Judas In Italy, which will be released soon in Ghana has a lot of lessons for movie lovers. “ A lot of social and moral issues have been well captured in the movie”, he said.

FOUR POLICEMEN INTERDICTED (PAGE 49)

Four police officers attached to various divisions in the Western Region have been interdicted for offences of assault, rape and threat.
Constable Wilson Azantilo attached to the Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) in Takoradi was alleged to have contracted a sex worker for her services but when the woman demanded her money before the service in the hotel room, he refused and assaulted her physically, forcibly had sex with her and inflicted wounds on her.
Lance Corporal Eric Kissiedu and Corporal Kojo Anin of Sefwi-Wiawso also allegedly assaulted a taxi driver at Tarkwa until he collapsed in June, last year, and Corporal N.O. Siaw allegedly threatened a colleague with a rifle.
The police administration has made it clear that it will not shield any officer who misconduct him/herself to dent the image of the Ghana Police Service.
According to a police source, Constable Azantilo contracted a commercial sex worker for her service, but decided to go for some alcoholic beverages before moving to the agreed hotel room that night.
The two allegedly became intoxicated and upon reaching the hotel room, the lady demanded that the constable paid her the agreed fee of GH¢5 before the act.
The constable was said to have told the victim that he had bought enough drink to satisfy the two of them and, therefore, he was not going to pay her for her services.
The constable was said to have persuaded the woman but she also insisted that until he paid her she would not allow him to have sex with her.
The insistence of the woman was said to have angered the policeman, who pounced on the woman, brutally assaulted and had sex with her and left her in the room.
The lady was said to have managed to gather some strength and reported the conduct of the constable to the police.
In Tarkwa, another police officer was also arrested for threatening a co-tenant with an AK47 rifle if she did not remove the DStv dish she had installed close to his window.
According to police sources, the officer became envious of the fact that his colleague had procured the DStv when he could not afford one.
Siaw was said to have asked the colleague to remove the dish because he believed there was a device in the dish that was monitoring his movements.
It said when after days and weeks the lady officer failed to remove the dish the suspect went to book for a rifle for duty and went straight to the lady’s door, cocked the rifle and ordered her to remove the dish or he would shoot her.
Angrily, Siaw was said to have escorted the trembling lady to his window, forced her to climb the wall to remove the dish in the full glare of the people in the barracks.
His conduct was later reported to the police leading to his interdiction.

STANCHART SUPPORTS EYE CINICS IN WR (BACK PAGE)

Standard Chartered Bank has provided new ophthalmology equipment, motorbikes and other medical items worth $150,000 for eye clinic projects in the Western Region.
The projects include the construction, rehabilitation and provision of equipment to satellite eye clinics in the region.
The focus of the project is to make eye care services accessible to people in the remotest parts of the region and also to ensure the training of health personnel in the region, which has only two ophthalmologists and 14 nurses.
It is being executed under the bank’s, “Seeing is Believing” programme, in partnership with Operation Eyesight Universal and the Ministry of Health (MoH), to provide referral eye care service centres to more than 300,000 people in the region.
The bank’s Head of Corporate Affairs in charge of West Africa, Nii Okai Nunoo, said it was important to focus on the avoidable causes of blindness by giving support to people who really needed such care.
The bank’s Chief Executive Officer for Ghana and Area General Manager for West and Central Africa, Mr Hemen Shah, said the bank was committed to its social responsibilities.
He said Stanchart was also committed to environmental protection, economic development and good governance, which formed the foundation for ensuring sustainability of its business.
Mr Shah said “using the bank’s core skills, service and talents, we want to make a positive contribution to society by building sustainable business strategy in response to the world’s changing needs”.
He said in the past, they had invested $500,000 in a similar project in the Eastern Region and it was now the turn of the Western Region to benefit.
The Regional Director of the Health Service, Dr Linda Van Otoo, who received the items, commended the bank for the support and said it was the focus of the health service to create wealth through health.
She said apart from the bank’s investment in eye care, the health authorities had also appealed to the bank to collaborate with them to improve on other areas of healthcare services.

OUR MOTIVATION WAS CHAN CUP NOT MONEY (PAGE 16)

Black Stars youthful defender Samuel Inkoom is still rueing his team’s failure to win the maiden African Nations Championship(CHAN) which ended recently in Cote D’Ivoire.
The local Stars, an overwhelming favourites before the final, against expectations of most Ghanaians lost 0-2 to DR Congo in the final after beating the same side 3-0 in the last match of Group B.
Speaking to the Graphic Sports at the weekend, Inkoom revealed that at that stage nothing more than the history of ascribing their names as the first winners of the CHAN was their greater motivation.
This was contrary to rumours that a decision to reduce their winning bonuses from $5,000 to $4,000 by the handlers contributed to the Stars uninspiring peformance against the Congolese in the final.
“To tell you the truth, our focus and expectations were the same as that of the whole nation and we were also so conscious of the joy that the win would bring to the 22 million Ghanaians with expectation in their hearts and the people who love the team Ghana.”
“This was unfortunate and not expected of a team which was the favourite to win the ultimate and we must always feel sorry for the disappointment and just hope for another opportunity to make amends.”
“For us the competition provided us the platform to show our potential to the outside world and also positioned the country stronger on both the African and the world  ranking,” he added.
Inkoom who was instrumental in the recent conquest of the Satellites in the Africa Youth Championship said the exposure of the players, the expectation of the people of Ghana and the people scouting for players are more important than the bonuses that they stood to earn saying , “we went there to win and not to lose and our focus was not money, nobody talked or thought of that.”
Inkoom said” for some of us the selection to play in the maiden edition of the tournament was even enough to motivate us, saying, “it was the wish of the team to come home with the cup, and the failure to bring the cup home was a huge disappointment.”
Inkoom said Ghanaian fans were right to expect nothing more than the ultimate because losing to a side that the Stars had so comprehensively beaten earlier was inexcusable.
“But the point is, if you have ever been beaten by somebody before, the next time you are paired with the same person, you are already motivated, knowing very well that your opponent has an urge over you,” he said.
Inkoom lauded CAF for instituting the CHAN, saying that there were great talents scattered all over the continent of Africa but were never given the opportunity to play in their national teams, and that the CHAN platform would also serve as a motivation to all local players.
“The players in the local teams who featured at the CHAN would not only be limited to the national league, but get exposure on the continent’s soccer platform.
“Its now behoves African countries to make sure there is enough support for the local league to be able to support clubs to produce enough for their national squad for future CHAN, he said.
This is crucial because the Africa leagues are always at the mercy of other lucrative leagues which poach the best players noting that former Asante Kotoko striker, Eric Bekoe and others, who started the qualifying series for the CHAN were no longer available when the Stars finally qualified because they had been signed by foreign clubs.
“As I speak, there are offers from foreign clubs to sign some of us, and there must always be ready materials to replace those who leave, he noted.
On his future, the youngster said his manager was handling the offers that they had received on his behalf and at the right time he would make the desired move but said at the moment he was with Kumasi Asante Kotoko, and would do everything to ensure that they move to the top of the league table.

OPEELE ASSURES KOTOKO FANS (GRAPHIC SPORTS, BACK PAGE)

Outspoken Asante Kotoko coach, Isaac Opeele Boateng, has assured followers of the club that the Porcupine Warriors will surely bounce back in the coming weeks.
He told the Graphic Sports in a post-match interview that Kotoko would certainly recover whatever they had lost in the past weeks.
“This win marked a turning point for the club in the remaining season as well as our quest to make a great impact in the Champions League.
Opeele had led a Kotoko side which had been uninspiring in the past weeks to subdue a stubborn Ittihad side in their maiden appearance in this year’s Champions League.
He said even though his team played well and won 3-1 against Ittihad, he was not impressed because his players were still wasteful in front of goal and that the scoreline at the end of the game was a flattery.
Coach Opeele said his immediate task was to work on the accuracy of his strikers to make good use of the chances they create in the second leg in two weeks time.
“Looking at the performance of the team and the kind of chances we created, I must say that Ittihad were spared in this encounter,” he noted.
He said even though they had won, the job would have been much easier in the upcoming second leg encounter in Morocco if the strikers have displayed accuracy at goal .
. He was upbeat that Kotoko will survive the crucial second leg in Morrocco.
“The journey to become African Champions and move to the top of the local league table starts from now, there is a lot of work to be done and I would present a well -composed team than what we presented in the first leg,” he said.
Asked how he viewed his relationship with the management of Kotoko since he took over the coaching job, he said “I must be honest, I have been given a free hand to operate, I made I lot of changes without interference or being instructed on what to do.”
Prior to the match against the visiting Ittihad Khemisset, Coach Opele said, he repositioned the players to meet the standard of the visiting team and it paid off , but for the poor execution of the countless chances.
He said they had identified many weaknesses on both sides and would work on it to the advantage of Kotoko before the next match in Morocco .
Despite the 3-1 defeat, Ittihad’s Coach, Bubadi Mohammed was optimistic that they were going to sail through to the next stage of the championship.

TWO FRAUDSTERS ARRESTED IN TAKORADI (PAGE 43)

TWO young men who attempted to defraud a contractor in the Sekondi/Takoradi metropolis of GH¢2 million have been arrested by the Police Criminal Investigations Department (CID).
The suspects, Gerald Asante Adofo, 31, and Owusu Agyemang Godes and three others at large, allegedly planned to defraud the contractor but were later arrested after the contractor discovered it was a “419” scam and reported them to the police.
According to a police source, the two tried to sell a well-packaged dry tree bark which was cut into pieces and shaped to look like Jingo seeds, a special product which could only be found in Kenya, to the contractor.
The suspects, according to the source, later arranged with a “white man” who claimed he had just arrived in the country from the United Kingdom (UK) purposely to collect the seed on behalf of someone back in the UK.
Upon the arrest, the suspects said the move was a ploy to defraud the contractor but claimed they were not part of the original plan.
The two said they were only leading the three to the contractor in Secondi/Takoradi.
The victim was said to have told the police that he had a call from somebody who claimed to be a friend to his long lost friend in the UK and asked him to assist a representative of a team of medical doctors to purchase the seed which is in high demand in UK.
But to enable him to benefit, the victim said the caller asked that he (the victim) should first buy the seed and then resell them to a white man for profit.
According to the police, the victim said he was informed by the caller that the said white man would arrive at the Kotoka International Airport at an agreed date and time so he should arrange to meet him on arrival.
He, however, said the following day, he had a call from a man who told him that he had already arrived in Ghana and checked into a hotel.
When contacted, the Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Chief Inspector Olivia Adiku, confirmed the story, adding that the victim met the said white man outside the hotel in which he said he was lodging.
According to the police, the victim later met the suspects who showed him packaged seeds and told him it was in high demand in Europe and the Americas and added that they were looking for buyers.
She said the victim then arranged to meet the suspects later at Apam Junction in the Central Region and bought some of the seeds with GH¢500 and also issued a cheque for GH¢200.
The victim, according to the police, then called the said white man and showed him the seed and he (white man) expressed delight and subsequently advised the victim not to show the seeds to anybody but try to buy all the quantities from those who sold them to him.
Chief Inspector Adiku said the victim, who at that time had become suspicious, feigned interest and later informed the police who arrested the two while their other three partners bolted.
Chief Inspector Adiku said the two were helping the police in their investigations.

KOTOKO HAMMER ITTIHAD

Ghana’s sole representatives in the CAF Champions League Kumasi Asante Kotoko yesterday kept hopes alive when they beat their Moroccan counterparts Ittihad Khemisset 3-1 at the Essipon Stadium in Sekondi.
Jordan Opoku, Stephen Oduro and Alex Asamoah emerged the heroes of the day with their strikes which will inspire the Porcupine Warriors in the crucial second leg in Morocco.
Kotoko who dominated the exchanges failed to convert many of the numerous chances created by Samuel Inkoom after he had beaten a Moroccan on the right and centred for somebody to connect home.
The Kumasi lads took over the game as soon as referee Coulibaly Komma of Mali urged the two teams into action and right on the 10th minute mark, Jordan Opoku opened the scores for the Ghanaians. But the stadium was brought to a dead silence when the Moroccans came to level terms with a brilliant strike by Hicham El Fatthi.
With trouble starring at them, Kotoko redoubled their efforts but continued to waste glorious opportunities as the Moroccans showed greater resistance to end the first half at 1-1. The Ghanaian champions continued their dominace and on the 46th minute Oduro restored their lead with a clinical finish.
The visitors nearly pulled the goal back but their dangerman Hicham El Fathi’s goalbound shot was cleared on the line.
Khemisset nearly converted a free kick from the center but was well pushed to corner by the able hands of goalkeeper Sulemana Abdulai on the 58th minute.
Kotoko with their dominance created many chances but Fredrick Quayson, Opoku and Inkoom missed narrowly compelling Coach Opeele Boateng to pull Quayson out for Alex Asamoah who announced his presence with a superb goal on the 89th minute amidst wild jubilation in the stands.

CHANGE IS NOT LIMITED TO POLITICAL ADMINISTRATION ONLY (PAGE 14)

Ghanaians have been reminded that change is not limited to only political administration but that it must also reflect in the attitudes of the people.
According to Bishop Ofori Twumasi, the Leader of the Holy Fire International Church, political parties might formulate the best policies that would move the country forward but if the people did not change their attitudes, it would be difficult to implement those policies.
He was speaking at a service organised by the Western Regional branch of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Takoradi to thank God for His mercies.
“Change should be seen in our lives; we have to change from our old ways of doing things, our attitude towards the environment, our work ethics and honour our tax and civic responsibilities to support the national cause,” he said.
He praised past and present governments for upholding Nkrumah’s legacy, saying, “It is important to appreciate the work of those before us.”
The Western Regional Minister, Mr Paul Evans Aidoo, thanked the people of the region for voting massively for the NDC in the 2008 elections.
He said the government of Professor John Evans Atta Mills had the interest of the region at heart and pledged that it would do everything possible to ensure that the region had its fair share of development.
For her part, the Deputy Regional Minister designate, Ms Betty Bosomtwi-Sam, called for unity and brotherliness.
“We may belong to different political parties but after the elections we are one people passionate about the development of our country,” he said.
She assured women that apart from her duties to support the growth of the region, she would also work to champion the cause of women and children.
Prior to the thanksgiving service, there had been a float through the Market Circle and other parts of the city.

2 FULANI HERDSMEN JAILED 80 YRS (PAGE 3)

TWO Fulani herdsmen from Burkina Faso have been jailed 80 years in hard labour for attacking passengers travelling between Sefwi-Asikuma and Adabokrom in the Western Region.
The convicts, Abudulai Musah, 20, and Ibrahim Jello, 25, were jailed 40 years each by a Tarkwa Circuit Court on charges of robbery.
According to the Western Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Chief Inspector Olivia Adiku, the two herdsmen admitted robbing the victims of their mobile phones, money and other personal belongings.
She said on March 7, 2009, the police received a report from the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) that some passengers on board a vehicle belonging to the union had been attacked by four men who robbed them of their belongings.
She said upon information received from the victims, the convicts were placed under police surveillance and later arrested for questioning.
Chief Inspector Adiku said the two admitted the offence after they had been searched and four of the mobile phones and GH¢154 found on them.
She said the convicts gave the names of two of their accomplices who are currently at large as Adamu and Bukari.

RELOAD ELECTRICITY UNITS BEFORE THEY RUN OUT (PAGE 34)

The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has advised its customers in the Sekondi/Takoradi metropolis and Tarkwa who are currently on the prepaid metering system not to wait till the units on their prepaid cards run out before going to reload them.
The Regional Manager, Mr Ben Nyatepe, said sometimes queues formed at the regional and district offices as well as other designated vending stations in the metropolis was due to the fact that customers waited till their lights went off before rushing to the vendor stations to reload their cards.
Explaining to the Daily Graphic why some points of sales experienced long queues, Mr Nyatepe said when the ECG changed from the post billing regime to the prepaid system, it educated the customers on how the system worked.
He expressed regret that some customers disregarded the education and waited until their units had ran out before rushing to the vending stations to reload them, thereby creating a problem at the point of sale.
“Some of the things we told the customers were that before coming to our premises to reload their cards, they must first insert the prepaid card into the metre for the card to pick some informations required by the vending machine and to also reload their units early but some customers would simply not comply with this directive,” he said.
Mr Nyatepe said when the customer refused to insert the card into the metre before going to the sales points, officials might ask such a customer to return home and do the right thing and wait for a response before coming back to reload.
He expressed regret that public response to invitations to attend public fora to enlighten them on what to do was always low.
He said in all, the ECG would change about 82,000 post-paid meters to the prepaid regime in the twin-city of Sekondi/Takoradi and Tarkwa.
A total of 45,000 old meters would be changed in Takoradi, 22,000 in Sekondi and 15,000 in Tarkwa.
Mr Nyatepe stressed the need to increase the points of sale to ensure that at every point in time the customer had easy access to units.
He said the company had vetted and awarded contracts to private companies and financial institutions to vend power in and outside the metropolis.
The contracted companies, he said, would provide the structures while the ECG provide them with the vending machines to vend power for a commission.
The ECG is currently training employees of the contracted companies for the programme which will soon commence.
Asked how the bills in arrears would be retrieved and illegal connections by some customers, checked, the regional manager said the new metre was uniquely to perform such tasks.
“With the old bills, the machine will block access to a customer’s card unless the old debts were cleared, and where necessary, we will then sit down with the customer and negotiate the mode of payment convenient for both the customer and ECG,” he said.
The regional manager said every card had unique features and one could not engage in any illegal connections. In the event of a customer attempting to engage in illegal connection, the metre will go off by itself and prevent people from cheating the system.
He also said the ECG made sure that the contracted companies had an insurance policy and were in good standing financially to ensure that when the unexpected happened, ECG would be cushioned.
In addition, Mr Nyatepe said the ECG would be able to prevent the contracted vendors from embezzling the revenue that would accrue from the sales.
Mr Nyatepe said switching to the new metering system had been to the advantage of both the customers and the ECG.
He explained that there was no difference between the credit on mobile phones and ECG prepaid power to the premises of the customer, saying, “when we buy units on credit, we control how we spend them and how long we can talk.
He said similarly, when the customer loads units on his prepaid meter, the customer became energy efficient by managing the consumption.
The ECG and customers, he said, would benefit from the new billing regime since the company would not do any monthly reading and billing of the meters at the customer’s premises, and the manpower and other resources would be channelled into other areas for efficient and effective service delivery.

SEKONDI-TAKORADI NEEDS SERIOUS REDEVELOPMENT (PAGE 34)

THE outgoing Chief Executive of the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA), Mr Philip Kwesi Nkrumah, has stated that with the increasing interest the investor community is showing in the metropolis in recent times, the twin-city needs to be vigorously redeveloped.
Speaking to members of the assembly before his exit from office, Mr Nkrumah said his successor should take the redevelopment of a modern market complex for Sekondi and Takoradi, roads and truck and bus terminals for vehicles and waste management seriously.
“The need to look at the size and type of our roads, provide ultra-modern car parks in the central business district and vigorously pursue the development agenda of the city by creating more space has become more crucial now than ever,” he said.
Mr Nkrumah said one of the biggest problems facing the twin-city was the creation of space and the redevelopment of the two markets and expressed the hope that his successor would continue to implement the redevelopment agenda to provide the twin-city with modern structures.
On infrastructural development, he said during his eight years in office, a lot of development projects were undertaken from the assembly’s own internally generated funds, the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) and the GETFund.
These projects, he said, were in the areas of education, sanitation, health, as well as local governance.
“A total of 121 projects were executed at an estimated cost of GH¢7.3 million, with GH¢267,470 being generated internally.”
He said there were 51 projects in the educational sector, 37 in sanitation, 15 local government projects, as well as nine projects in the health sector.
Mr Nkrumah said there were positive developments in the sub-metro and that 98 projects were executed by the Sekondi, Essikado-Ketan, Takoradi and Effia-Kwesimintsim sub-metros.
The outgoing metro chief executive said his administration achieved a lot in the areas of road construction and improvement in traffic management.
He said the assembly entered into contract with a private company for the collection of property rates, business operating permits, on-street parking tolls and outdoor advertising fees.
He said the assembly also contracted some private companies to collect and dispose of waste, with some given the additional responsibility for landfill management at the temporary dumping sites.
According to him, the assembly entered into yet another agreement with a private company, Zoomlion for the supply and servicing of equipment.
Mr Nkrumah called on members of the assembly to support his successor to ensure that Professor John Evans Atta Mills’s administration successfully steered the affairs of the country to ensure the growth of the motherland.
“Finally, I urge you to continue educating the electorate on issues to ensure that conflict, insults, misconduct and hatred are eliminated so that we can move on as brothers,” he said.

US NAVAL PERSONNEL DONATE TO ORPHANAGE (PAGE 44)

United States Naval officers aboard the USS Nashville under the African Partnership Station (APS) have presented humanitarian support worth $40,000 for the upkeep of inmates of the Ogyam Orphanage Foundation in the Ahanta West District of the Western Region.
The sailors also presented educational materials to some basic schools in the Sekondi/Takoradi metropolis and renovated and painted some blocks at the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital.
The items presented to the orphanage included clothes, bed spreads/blankets, toys, baby diapers, footballs, easy wears, among others, as well as playing materials.
The Commander of the USS Nashville, Capt Cindy Thebaud, said apart from the officers sharing experiences with their Ghanaian counterparts, they also deemed it right to support institutions such as orphanages, hospitals and schools.
She said the APS always acted upon the recommendation of sister navies in the partner countries under the station on what support they could give to the needy in West and Central Africa.
Captain Thebaud said the sailors were very happy when the children greeted them with joy and expressed the hope that the items would be of a great help to them.
“Our joy was to see the smiles on the faces of the children and care givers. We are more than happy,” she noted.
The Founder of the home, Mrs Thea van deu Bosch, said it was important to give a helping hand to needy children and ensure that they were brought up in a socially acceptable manner.
She said it was important to take care of orphans and give them the care they needed to ensure that they did not grow up on the streets where they would be exposed to danger.
Mrs Bosch said the foundation started when she visited the country and came face to face with the plight of the children, saying, “I was deeply touched by the state of the children, as some died from very simple and preventable diseases such as pneumonia, abdominal infections and the simple flu.”
She said on her return to The Netherlands, she had support to ship sponsored aid goods to Ghana in March 2005.
She said at the moment the orphanage had about 62 children, which was enough at the moment, saying, “We are not only interested in admitting the children; we should take those we can cater for at a time, not increasing what we cannot support.”
She appealed to members of the general public, churches, associations and groups to come to the aid of the children.
The US and the Ghana navies also played music for the children, while the personnel danced with the children.

OIL COMPANIES WILL RESPECT VALUES OF THE PEOPLE (PAGE 54)

Tullow Oil, Ghana has assured the chiefs and people of the Western region of its support and adherence to the socio-cultural norms of the people to guarantee social and industrial harmony for the new industry to be beneficial to the country.
This came to light when officials of various oil companies working at the Jubilee Oil Fields off the shore of Cape Three Points, led by Tullow Oil, met members of the Western Regional House of Chiefs to brief them on their operations at the field as they prepared to start production by October 2010.
The Senior Social Responsibility Advisor to Tullow, Okyeame Ampadu-Agyei, in his presentation said the people of the region and the country as a whole should not panic about the impact of the operations at the oil fields.
He said the oil companies had a comprehensive corporate responsibility guideline that took a look at all areas including fisheries and other on-shore activities.
That aside, Okyeame Ampedu-Adjei said, the oil companies at the field would respect the socio-cultural diversity of the people and also contribute to the development of the local communities.
He said the expectations of the people of the region and that of the country were high and therefore, the companies would operate in an honest and transparent manner to win the trust of the people.
He assured the chiefs that Tullow and other exploration companies would also ensure complete adherence to environmental issues.
“I can assure you Nananom that issues of health, education, enterprise development, biodiversity conservation would be our top priority,” he said.
Okyeame Ampadu-Agyei said they would make use of the available opportunities and resources in the region for its growth and development.
He said the oil companies were also bracing themselves to address constraints militating against the development of the region to ensure total transformation through teamwork.
“We will not be working in isolation, we are all partners, and the focus will be on the transformation and creation of a good future for the people of Ghana,” he added.
Okyeame Ampadu-Agyei said there would also be the establishment of community-based social responsibility committees to ensure that whatever support or projects that were initiated would reflect the people’s will.
For his part, the President of the Western Regional House of Chiefs, Awulae Attibrukusu III, said even though the oil industry was very young in the country, experience from neighbouring countries where the industry was booming had a lot of lessons for both corporate Ghana and local communities.
He said the chiefs appreciated the move by Tullow to meet with them and brief them on its current state of their operations.
He assured them of the support of the chiefs and urged them to ensure good environmental practices, saying, “I know an objective of the corporate world is to maximise profit, but that should not be at the expense of the environment we hold in trust for the generations unborn.”
“I trust that the environmental policies you have in place will as much as possible be in conformity with the country’s environmental protection laws to promote good environmental practices,” he added.
Awulae Attibrukusu said the community was grateful that the companies were aware that they would be operating within a multi-cultural environment and urged them to ensure that the tradition and culture of the people were respected.

FISHERMEN URGED TO BE VIGILANT (PAGE 14)

Fishermen along the coast of the Western and Central regions have been urged to be vigilant and co-operate with the Ghana Navy to eliminate illegal activities within the country’s territorial waters.
A Deputy to the Commander of the United States-Africa Command (AFRICOM), Ambassador Mary Carlin Yates, made the call after interacting with fishermen in various fishing communities along the coast.
She said the US government was committed to helping Ghana and other West/Central African countries in the fight against illegal fishing and other illegalities at sea.
She said unregulated fishing would not only deplete the county’s fish stock but also destroy renewable resources for generations unborn, depriving Ghanaians of the needed daily quantities of fish for their dining tables.
Ms Yates said criminal gangs, pirates, smugglers and fleets engaged in illegal fishing were thriving due to the nation’s law enforcement challenges.
She said one solution was to strengthen and improve regional co-operation in maritime security under the African Partnership Station (APS) which would make members more proactive instead of reactive.
“They will be equipped with skills and knowledge to be able to be proactive and ensure safety in the maritime domain,” she explained.
Mrs Yates said her visit to the fishing communities was to listen to the people directly affected by the activities of pair trawlers, as “the American government is committed to a safe and secure maritime domain”.
She urged the fishermen to co-operate with the Ghana Navy, as the US Navy was sharing enough experience with it under APS and that with the collaboration both the navy and the fishermen would be one step ahead.
The Chief Fisherman of New Takoradi, Nana Ackon, said the solution was to equip the Navy to handle the situation.
He promised the former ambassador that fishermen would co-operate with the Ghana Navy to help fight the menace and expressed gratitude for her visit.

MORE ILLICIT DRUGS PASS THROUGH GHANA (SPREAD)

THE total value of illegal drugs trafficked through the West African sub-region has risen to more than $2 billion, higher than Ghana’s annual gold export, the Deputy to the Commander of the United States-Africa Command (AFRICOM), Ambassador Mary Carlin Yates, has stated.
According to her, eight per cent of the total drug seizures in the whole of Europe passed through Ghana, adding that there was the need for seriousness in clamping down on the drug trade to save the country.
Ambassador Yates, who is also a former US Envoy to Ghana, was speaking to the media after her tour of the US Naval ship, USS Nashville, at the home port of the Western Naval Command in Sekondi and some fishing communities within the metropolis.
She expressed shock at the increasing use of the country for drugs and the invasion of the country’s territorial waters for other illegal activities.
The ambassador said the United States would put its expertise at the disposal of the government of Ghana and other members within the APS to make the countries stronger for the battle against drugs and other illegal activities.
Mrs Yates said Ghana had beautiful legislation on the drug trade and that what was left was their implementation to ensure that the country was made less attractive to drug barons.
She said AFRICOM co-ordinated a wide range of programmes and activities with the goal of increasing African security capacity which promoted US interests in a more stable global community.
Already, she observed, Ghana and the United States had exceptional co-operation to counter narcotics and the end desire was to disrupt drug trafficking and dismantle the drug network through capacity building of the Ghana Navy and the police.
Mrs Yates said other areas that were in focus were the funding of drug screening equipment, upgrading of facilities at the airport to support the country to counter narcotics, as well as other custom programmes.
She said money laundering was also another problem, saying that the AFRICOM counter-office was working closely with the United States Treasury Department and regional governments on programmes to address money laundering and provide legal security of assets owned by known drug-trafficking leaders.
The Commander of the APS, Cindy Thebaud, said the US was committed to the African agenda under the APS.

MOBILE INCUBATOR FOR EFFIA-NKWANTA HOSPITAL (PAGE 29)

Timely Care Foundation, a Takoradi-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), has presented a mobile incubator to the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital in Sekondi.
The item is a donation from a couple in Austria, Mr Peter Rieser and Mrs Maria Rieser. Rev. Francis Oppong Ankomah of the foundation who presented the item to the hospital said the couple visited the hospital some time ago and promised to donate the facility to the hospital.
He said the focus of the foundation was to help society by providing medical care, professional counselling, and giving employable skills to people through vocational training.
Rev. Ankomah said the NGO also solicited support for orphanages, rehabilitated accident victims and generally helped those in need of help.
He said it was very important that the well-endowed supported the deprived to make life a little better for them.
Rev Ankomah expressed the hope that the incubator would go a long way to support the hospital.
The Administrator of the hospital, Mr Bediako Mica, thanked the NGO for the support and gave the assurance that the item would be put to good use.

NOISE POLLUTION SERIOUS IN TWIN CITY (PAGE 29)

Music marketing groups are a nuisance to residents of the twin-city of Sekondi-Takoradi.
These groups use vehicles on which they have mounted giant public address systems and play music so loudly to attract patronage to the discomfort of the residents. A typical example is a Nissan Urvan mini-bus with registration number GW 7206 X, which operates in the central business district of the twin-city.
There are also many other KIA trucks and saloon cars that have adopted the same strategy to sell their video and musical cassettes, resulting in unnecessary traffic.
The noisy activities of these mobile vans are such that when they drive through the streets, people in offices find it very difficult to communicate.
Some of the vans deliberately park behind some schools and play loud music to distract the students and pupils as well as their teachers, thereby disrupting academic work.
Apart from the noise, the drivers of these vans have no regard for other vehicles when they stop at designated bus stops to market their wares and also create heavy traffic jams.
An electrician, Wofa Yaw, said any time a van drove past his shop, he and his boys were compelled to halt all communication because they could hardly hear anything.
“ Interestingly, the vans move at a slow pace and we have to endure the noise. If the city authorities are aware of this, they must act and stop the nuisance now,” he said.
Some teachers also expressed similar sentiments and called for the enforcement of the law on noise making, since the activities of the mobile marketing vans were a nuisance.
Antie Alice, a trader, said some of the boys who sold the CDs on the vans enter their shops and sold to their customers. She asked, “How can I have a shop and when you are also selling you just enter my shop to sell your wares?”
The salesboys on the minibuses usually hang onto them dangerously as they move round.
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly, Mr John Laste, said there were by-laws indicating the noise that one could generate at a particular place.
According to the by-law, “No audio cassette, compact disc or other forms of recorded musical products shall be produced, engineered or sold in any place unless the place has been inspected, approved and licensed by the assembly.”
Mr Laste explained that this was necessary because the assembly needed to ensure that the activities of such people did not create any inconvenience for others.
He said the by-law further states that in all premises for the production or sale of musical products, there should be a sound-proof room which should be equipped with such instruments or gadgets that can eliminate any unnecessary loud noise which will be a nuisance to the public.
He said it was also an offence under the by-law for any religious institution to play music at any place beyond 10p.m. even if the place had approval to do so, stressing that the mobile vendors were acting illegally.
Mr Laste said the assembly had noticed such activities and reminded people that under the law, offenders could be arrested and fined.
The public relations officer said it was very important for people to anticipate the end result of their actions and that even without the by-law they should know that their action was wrong.
He said those mobile vans aside, itinerant preachers at the various markets within the CBD were also flouting the by-law, hiding under the cover of the Gospel.
He called on the people who had business plans and wanted to adopt various strategies to market their products to be mindful of their actions.
“Everybody has the right to go about their business activities but that does not give anybody the right to let his or her mode of operation become a problem for others,” Mr Laste said.

ILLEGAL WATER CONNECTIONS FRUSTRATE AVRL'S OPERATION (PAGE 29)

Illegal water connections continue to hamper quality service delivery by the Aqua Vitens Rand Limited to customers in the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolis.
The illegal operations also deny the Ghana Water Company Ltd of its revenue.
Recently the Loss Control Unit of the AVRL discovered that some customers had illegally diverted water supply lines to their sale points where they sold water to members of the public without paying the accrued revenue to the provider of the service. These customers are reported to have acquired their service lines for domestic use but diverted the water into huge water reservoirs on their premises for sale.
Sometimes the illegal connection is done on the line leading to the premises of the customer, which means that the water does not pass through any meter to enable the AVRL to obtain its revenue.
The Regional Customer Services Manager, Nana Ewusi-Mensah, led newsmen to the premises of a customer, Janet Attiogbe of House Number PT95A Takoradi. He said such illegal acts were a drain on the revenue generation of the company.
Nana Ewusi-Mensah said in April 2006, when the line was extended to the customer’s premises, their consumption, according to the meter at the time, was 96,000 litres a month.
“But the consumption kept dropping steadily, and as we speak consumption has dropped from 96,000 litres to as low as 11,000 litres a month,” he said.
The customer services manager said the difference of more than 85,000 litres monthly had become a loss which started three months after the line was extended to the premises of the customer.
Asked how they managed to detect the loss, he said there was a record of every customer which indicated their consumption rate but since that dropped without any tangible reason they had to visit the customer to verify.
Nana Ewusi-Mensah said it was through a check on the line that they realised the illegality.
He said a lot of money was spent on the treatment of the water before it was passed to the final consumer at a highly subsidised cost.
“If this amount of water is diverted and the revenue goes to people who want to cheat the system then we are in trouble. It is a great loss to the company and we cannot talk about efficient and effective service delivery if we continue to cheat the system; people must change”, he said.
“I want to use this opportunity to let customers know that the Loss Control Unit of the company has every right to visit customers to check on their operations”, he said.
Mr Sampson Ampah, the Regional Public Relations Manager, urged members of the general public to report such illegal activities to the company or through their toll-free number, 0800-40000.
“The focus is to ensure that we give uninterrupted service to our customers and generate the expected revenue to guarantee a continuous service to the nation, but acts of this nature are a complete setback for us,” he said.
He warned that the Loss Control Unit was on the loose and would fish out customers who had connected water to their premises illegally.

EVANS AIDOO PLEDGES TO WORK WITH EVERYBODY (PAGE 14)

The new Western Regional Minister, Mr Paul Evans Aidoo, has pledged to work with everybody in the region for the betterment of mother Ghana.
He has therefore called for collective efforts to ensure the development and total transformation of the region.
He said elections were over and the time had come to unite and chart the path of development of the region which provides the lion’s share of the country’s economic support.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic at Sekondi, the regional minister said he would welcome ideas from all quarters to ensure that, together, they could contribute to the region’s growth.
The minister said: “There is a lot of work to be done and each and every one of us has a role to play. Therefore, the time has come for us to contribute in a manner that would push the growth of the region faster than we expected.
“We as individuals, groups or associations, entrepreneurs, corporate chiefs and other traditional rulers have a role to play. I would ensure an open and transparent administration to ensure that people feel they are part of the growth process,” he said.
“We in the Western Region are endowed with arable land and very industrious people. What we need at the moment is to ensure that we join hands and focus on how to take advantage of things to make life better for the people in our communities, towns and villages,” Aidoo said.
“One of the interesting things I want us to focus on is how to take advantage of the various areas, for the region is rich, particularly in cocoa, timber, mining and agriculture.”
He said it was good that the region had discovered oil and urged residents to work hard to ensure that every town and village, district and metropolitan area benefited.
He called on the people of the region and the business community to ensure that other services to come as a result of the discovery of the oil were used to improve the living standards of the people.
Mr Aidoo said it was on the agenda of the government to ensure that the needed platform was created for growth as well as investing in people, jobs and the economy to ensure uniform growth.
He thanked the chiefs and people of the region, religious organisations for their support, saying: “I will work with everybody for the betterment of mother Ghana. We should not leave anything to chance.”