WAR ON PAIR TRAWLING (FRONT PAGE LEAD)

Some of the speedboats to be used by the Navy in the anti-pair trawling exercise.
The Western Naval Command and the Ghana Air Force have embarked on an operation to protect the fish stock in Ghana's territorial waters.

The move is to ensure that the country’s fishermen derive optimum benefit from her marine resources and halt the depletion of Ghana's fish stock by those engaged in pair trawling.

The exercise, code-named “Operation Stock Control” under the Anti-Pair Trawling Operations of the Ghana Armed Forces, will ensure policing activities that will deter and stop pair trawling activities in the country once and for all.

The programme is also intended to provide the much-needed relief for Ghanaian fishermen who have been subjected to severe harassment and considerable loss of income as a result of pair trawling.

Under “Operation stock control”, the Ghana Navy has been equipped with three speedboats to patrol the country’s territorial waters.
The Navy will be assisted by the Ghana Air Force, which will fly its aircraft to prompt the Navy to the activities of pair trawlers.

Defence Minister, Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, who announced this at the launch of the Anti-Pair Trawling Operations in Sekondi, said the ministry was aware of the effect of pair trawling on fish stock.

“I must express regret here that it has taken this long to put in facilities to effectively check and stop pair trawling,” he said.

“Fortunately, as you can see, displayed today are three patrol boats and these boats will provide us with the capacity to check the pair trawling menace in the country’s territorial waters. From today “Operation Stock Control” will ensure that the trend is reversed,” he said.

He said pair trawling had a very negative effect on the country’s maritime domain and called on the stakeholders in the fishing industry to give their utmost support to ensure the success of the operation.

“The government is aware of the harm that pair trawling has caused to your legal fishing activities. I am also aware that you have lost considerable amounts of money because of the poor catches resulting from pair trawling,” he said.

Mr Kan-Dapaah added that the Defence Ministry would provide all the necessary logistics to motivate the task force to deliver satisfactorily.

He thanked the US government for providing the country with speedboats for the purpose.

For her part, Fisheries Minister, Mrs Gladys Asmah, said presently, the ministry needed the concerted efforts of all stakeholders to save the situation.

Officials of the two ministries, the fisheries sector and other dignitaries were later taken on a tour aboard the patrol boats.

Story by Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu

War On Pair Trawling • Navy, Air Force To Collaborate (Front Page Lead Story)

Story by Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu

The Western Naval Command and the Ghana Air Force have embarked on an operation to protect the fish stock in Ghana's territorial waters.

The move is to ensure that the country’s fishermen derive optimum benefit from her marine resources and halt the depletion of Ghana's fish stock by those engaged in pair trawling.

The exercise, code-named “Operation Stock Control” under the Anti-Pair Trawling Operations of the Ghana Armed Forces, will ensure policing activities that will deter and stop pair trawling activities in the country once and for all.

The programme is also intended to provide the much-needed relief for Ghanaian fishermen who have been subjected to severe harassment and considerable loss of income as a result of pair trawling.

Under “Operation stock control”, the Ghana Navy has been equipped with three speedboats to patrol the country’s territorial waters.
The Navy will be assisted by the Ghana Air Force, which will fly its aircraft to prompt the Navy to the activities of pair trawlers.

Defence Minister, Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, who announced this at the launch of the Anti-Pair Trawling Operations in Sekondi, said the ministry was aware of the effect of pair trawling on fish stock.

“I must express regret here that it has taken this long to put in facilities to effectively check and stop pair trawling,” he said.

“Fortunately, as you can see, displayed today are three patrol boats and these boats will provide us with the capacity to check the pair trawling menace in the country’s territorial waters. From today “Operation Stock Control” will ensure that the trend is reversed,” he said.

He said pair trawling had a very negative effect on the country’s maritime domain and called on the stakeholders in the fishing industry to give their utmost support to ensure the success of the operation.

“The government is aware of the harm that pair trawling has caused to your legal fishing activities. I am also aware that you have lost considerable amounts of money because of the poor catches resulting from pair trawling,” he said.

Mr Kan-Dapaah added that the Defence Ministry would provide all the necessary logistics to motivate the task force to deliver satisfactorily.

He thanked the US government for providing the country with speedboats for the purpose.

For her part, Fisheries Minister, Mrs Gladys Asmah, said presently, the ministry needed the concerted efforts of all stakeholders to save the situation.

Officials of the two ministries, the fisheries sector and other dignitaries were later taken on a tour aboard the patrol boats.

Tragedy In Takoradi (Front Page Lead story)

Story by Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu
A six-month-old baby boy was burnt to death by a fire in a house at Effiakuma, a suburb of Takoradi, over the weekend while his mother was away attending to the call of nature.

The fire also destroyed property worth thousands of Ghana cedis.

Not even the cries of the five-year-old brother of the six-month-old baby was enough to save the situation.

Indeed, when the boy rushed out of the room crying, the co-tenants thought it was the result of punishment meted out to him by his mother.

When they realised that he was calling for help, it was too late to save the baby from the ragging fire.
Neighbours said they did not know the baby was in the room until his mother came back asking: “What about my baby? I left both of them in the room.”

Although officials of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) arrived early enough to fight the fire, they could not have access to the fire point as a result of the crowded nature of the community.

When the Daily Graphic got to the scene about 6.30 a.m., the firemen had managed to remove the roofing of the building to avoid an explosion, while other members of the community helped with buckets of water to put out the fire.
The only property left for the victim, Madam Limatu Sayid, were the blouse and the cover cloth she had on her when she left the house.

According to the grief-stricken Madam Limatu, she woke up about 5.45 a.m. to visit the community toilet and the baby started crying.

“I had wanted to send him to a neighbour, but after breastfeeding him, he slept again, with the elder brother lying beside him,” she said.

Madam Limatu said what was more painful was that on her way from the KVIP she saw the cloud of smoke, but little did she know that it was coming from her room and that the lives of her children were in danger.

“I have lost everything, including my baby,” she said, with tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

The remains of the baby will soon be released to the family for burial after the police have completed their investigations.

Other members of the community, co-tenants and elderly Muslim women took Madam Limatu to their home to console her.

According to officials of the GNFS, the cause of the fire was not immediately known.
Investigations are still ongoing.

SANITATION WORSENS IN SEKONDI/TAKORADI METROPOLIS (PAGE 69)

The inability of the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) to pay waste management contractors for the waste they collect to the dumping sites is seriously affecting the clearance and disposal of garbage from the designated points.
The delay has currently resulted in unsightly heaps of garbage and overflowing containers at the markets throughout the metropolis.
Vehicles belonging to waste management contractors are said to have broken down and they need money to maintain them.
At the Takoradi Central Market, all the three huge containers placed in front of the Ghana Commercial Bank, U-84 and opposite the Takoradi offices of Ghana Textile Printing company are overflowing with garbage.
One of the interesting things is that despite the stench emanating from the heap of rubbish, hawkers display their wares and go about their business.
At the moment, the waste management contractors claim the delay in paying them for their services is having a negative effect on their business, since they have to maintain their trucks.
Although they would not disclose how much money the assembly owes them, they said the payment was too slow to support any result-oriented venture such as waste management.
Apart from the central market, there are other areas in the metropolis where the containers have been waiting for days to be lifted.
When the Daily Graphic contacted the assembly, the Public Relations Officer, Mr John Laste, acknowledged the problem and said there were processes the payment had to go through for the contractors to be paid.
The contractors first had to submit their claims to the assembly, which would also ensure that proper procedures had been followed before effecting payment and asked the waste contractors to bear with the assembly.
“I can say for a fact that waste management is one of our top priorities, and we would not compromise the health of the people for anything, but we also have serious social problems that hamper the dreams of the assembly,” he said.
“Take the Market Circle, Takoradi; houses around the market are supposed to use the door-to-door service, but before the market women commence business, the residents might have filled the containers with their household waste,” he lamented.
“I can assure you that if the people respected the laid-down regulations, things would be different; waste produced at the market would not fill the containers in a day”, he added.
That aside, Mr Laste said the amount residents were paying for their waste was pittance, which could not support the assembly. “It is too abysmal and even that they will not pay. Therefore, we find ourselves in a very difficult situation”.
He further explained that the assembly had to find a way out to ensure that the city was not engulfed in filth. “What the public forgets is that when we talk about waste management, they have a very important and prime role to play. The moment they assume that it is the duty of the assembly, then we are in trouble. But immediately residents recognise the problem and become part of the solution, there lies our redemption,” he said.
“That notwithstanding, we are doing everything possible to ensure that the city is the neatest in the country,” he said.
Mr Laste used the opportunity to warn residents around the Market Circle to desist from using the refuse containers meant for traders and appealed to the contractors not to neglect their duty, since they would be paid.

SERIOUS ENCROACHMENT ON AIR FORCE STATION LANDS (PAGE 29)

Land has become one of the hottest commodities in the twin-city of Sekondi/Takoradi metropolis. People disregard the plans for land use or what public lands have been earmarked for and have been encroaching seriously on them.
Some of the areas which have been seriously encroached upon are the military lands, especially the land which has been reserved around the Takoradi Airport, which serves as a buffer zone between communities close to the airport and the runway.
The land was acquired by the government for the Ministry of Defence in the 1960s and properly demarcated with signposts with the inscription “Ministry of Defence - Ghana Armed Forces (MOD- GAF)” indicating the intended purpose for the land.
Encroachers are fast developing the restricted area which is very close to the runway, ignoring the security risks they are exposing themselves and their families or tenants to. Others are also farming on the land.
Maize planted on the farms has also attracted many small birds which usually fly in flocks after feeding on the crop. Experts have warned the encroachers against such practices because they are exposing themselves to great danger especially in the event of a disaster.
Bird-hazard, according to some pilots, is mostly caused by these small flocks of birds that fly in the path the aircraft and which can damage an aircraft engine worth millions of dollars.
The settlers on these restricted lands also rear animals which also stray onto the runway.
Others also use the runway as thoroughfare because they see it as the shortest route to the central business district.
When the military attempt to enforce discipline in accordance with their regulations at the base, members of the public accuse them of molesting their civilian brothers.
The Takoradi Airport is the only place in the country which has been well planned and designated for the training of pilots for the Ghana Air Force. Therefore, a large parcel of land was reserved for training purposes in the 1960s.
Flight experts say the reserved land was purposely meant for pilots to crush land in the event of a mishap after their planes take off.
Also, when the unexpected happens during training and the plane crush lands within the reserved or the restricted area, it is expected that no harm will be caused to members of the communities around the airport.
The Daily Graphic found during a visit to the restricted area around the airport that encroachers have put up houses in the demarcated area reserved for military use only.
Although high-rise buildings are not allowed around airports, some developers have built storey buildings while others are also winning sand in the area and have constructed roads across the restricted area.
A military base is a facility, settlement, reservation, or installation that shelters military equipment and personnel. It may also contain large concentrations of military supplies and other logistics.
The bases are restricted to the military alone and only authorised personnel are allowed entry.
Interestingly the encroachers claim that the lands belong to them and that when purchasing the lands they did not know the danger they were exposing themselves to.
The Ministry of Information and National Orientation and National Commission on Civic Education have a lot of work to do to educate the populace on why they should keep off military zones.
The Ministry of Defence, aware of the dangers involved, therefore, created a buffer zone to guide against public intrusion on their training grounds and to ensure uninterrupted training exercises. The military bases usually have housing units, mess, churches, gymnasium, sports courts, schools, parks, etc. to ensure that they have the peace of mind to defend the nation when the need arises.
Following the oil find in the Western Region, however, the demand for land is great and people have started encroaching on the restricted military zone and claiming ownership of the lands. Many of the encroachers are said to have petitioned people in high places to press upon the military to allow them to continue their development in the restricted areas.
It is about time the public realised the importance of training pilots for the Ghana Air Force and avoided any interruptions.
One interesting thing is that the encroachers have titles to the land they are developing.
When the Daily Graphic contacted the Western Regional office of the Lands Commission to find out if the office was aware of the encroachment in the restricted area, the acting Regional Lands Officer, Mr S. Hans Jorie, responded in the affirmative.
He said a portion of it was initially government land but that had not been appropriated and urged the Ghana Air Force to move in quickly to acquire it.
Mr Jorie said they had had discussions with the military and advised them accordingly, adding that on October 20, 2008, the commission wrote to the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly requesting it to suspend the granting of building permits to developers in the area.
The acting land officer said after careful deliberation the commission recommended that steps should be taken to have that portion of the land which is not part of the government land acquired for the Air Force.
Therefore, “until acquisition is completed, granting of building permits for the development of that portion should cease”, the commission advised the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly.
He said the letter was the outcome of the meeting and based on the realisation that a portion at the Airport Ridge was considered a threat to the airfield since it was too close to it.
“We will move into action when the military puts in application for the acquisition of that portion of the land which is not part of government land, to give the military total control over the area,” he said.
Asked if that would not constitute an injustice to people who had legally acquired part of that land, he said, “If it is in the interest of the people, the larger public, the state has no option than to acquire it.”
He said the issue had been dragging for long and that in 1996 the then Takoradi Station Commander called for their assistance for the place to be properly demarcated.
The commission has thrown the ball onto the court of the Ministry of Defence and the government as well as the Military High Command for urgent action to halt the encroachment and that must be done fast.
To properly secure the area before the commencement of work on the new airport planned for Takoradi and the completion of the wall around it, it would be important for the ministries of Defence and Aviation to move in to save the situation.
That aside, the public should be aware that the suspension of further development projects at Airport Ridge is in the larger interest of public and flight safety.

DRIVERS RESUME RECKLESS PARKING ON PAVEMENTS (PAGE 29)

DRIVERS have resumed reckless parking on both sides of the streets and unauthorised places in the Sekondi/Takoradi metropolis, because the assembly has suspended the operation of the 24-hour towing service.
The suspension came about because the company, which was operating the service, failed to meet the expectations of the assembly.
At the moment, the assembly has not found a replacement and, therefore, there is complete lawlessness on the streets.
The Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly had hitherto designated parking lots on the streets in the metropolis where people could park their vehicles.
The Public Relations Officer of the assembly, Mr John Laste, said the assembly had put the services of the company on hold for some time, since they had not met the expectation of the assembly.
He said at the moment, city guards had been deployed on the streets to ensure sanity on the roads.
However, a tour around the metropolis by the Daily Graphic indicated that the guards were not up to the task.
Although the former towing company was under-resourced; it provided some checks that helped to reduce and control the recklessness on the roads, since they often clamped vehicles and the offenders were made to pay instant fines of GH¢40.
The current situation in the metropolis, especially the central business district indicates that most commercial drivers have a stronger edge over the city guards.
Some taxi drivers have moved to the street corners and park in front of supermarkets and jostle one another for passengers coming out from the shops, a situation which was previously unknown.
The reality is, apart from the State Transport Company yard and two other bus terminals opposite the Mankesim Whitehouse near the Market Circle, there are no bus terminals in the metropolis and drivers do whatever they deem fit.
Besides, business activities around the Market Circle have resumed with zeal, causing a lot of inconvenience to motorists. Most hawkers display their wares on “trucks” and take over one side of the roads, especially those around the Market Circle.
When the Daily Graphic enquired from the drivers if they were aware of the inconvenience they were causing to other road users as a result of their business activities, they laughed it off and said it was election time, so they were at liberty to do whatever pleased them.

YOUTH URGED TO REVIVE SPIRIT OF VOLUNTARISM (PAGE 29)

The Chief of Takoradi, Nana Busumakora III, has called on the youth to be part of nation building and not to ignore the spirit of voluntarism.
He said the hope and prospects of a nation became stronger when its youth took great interest in things that would advance the development agenda of the nation.
He made the call when two officers from the regional headquarters of the Sekondi station of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) embarked on a peace walk and arrived in Takoradi as part of their peace message for the country.
The two officers, Fireman John Dominic Dadzie and Station Officer Joseph Cornelius Ampiah, were met on their arrival at the Apremdo Barrier by their fellow officers.
Nana Busumakora said it gladdened his heart when the youth took it upon themselves to volunteer their support for the national campaign for peace and stability to promote accelerated national development.
He said the eyes of the world would be on Ghana during the upcoming elections, to exhibit the strong democratic strides the country had made among its peers in Africa.
“It is heart-warming for personnel of the GNFS to embark on a walk across the country with the message of peace and stability,” he said.
He prayed and asked for God’s protection for the two officers as they continued their journey through the Central, Greater Accra and the Volta regions before making it back to Takoradi.
“I must be honest that my people and the whole of the Western Region are proud of you,” the chief said. He called on Ghanaians to be tolerant now, during and after the elections.
The Regional Fire Officer, Nana Ekwow Abban, said it was very important that every Ghanaian took a personal interest in jealously protecting the enviable peace and stability that the country was enjoying.
“We at the fire station have taken it upon ourselves to carry our message of peace to the people”, he added.
The regional fire officer urged members of the general public to embrace the spirit of brotherliness and ensure that the interest and peace of the country were protected.
Nana Abban said the objective of his men was to use the message of peace to create awareness of the need to maintain peace throughout the country.
He said there were similarities in Ghanaian cultural beliefs, irrespective of the region one hailed from and that it was very important for all Ghanaians to live in peace.
The two peace walkers were initially met on arrival in the metropolis by the Commanding Officer of the Second Battalion of Infantry, Lt. Col. Francis Vib-Sanziri at the Myohanung Barracks at Apremdo in Takoradi.
They were then met at the Takoradi Central Market Fire Post by the Western Regional Police Commander, Commissioner Mohammed Arhmed Alhassan.