SSNIT ORGANISES FORUM IN YENDI

 (Daily Graphic, Nov 24, 2011, Page 23)

 THE Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) has reminded workers in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions of the need to ascertain on a regular basis if their employers were paying their contributions.

According to the Area Manager of SSNIT for the three northern regions, Mr Allan Azu, some workers were living in a delusion that their SSNIT contributions were being paid only to realise when it is too late that this was not the case.

He said workers could avoid this risky situation if they made it a habit to visit SSNIT periodically to check the status of their contributions.

“It is your money that you are investing for future purposes, so if you fail to ensure that this money is really being stored for you, you would be doing harm to yourself,” he stated.

Mr Azu made these remarks during the opening of the SSNIT open air customer clinic in Yendi. The programme, which took place at the forecourt of the Yendi community centre, lasted for four days.

The area manager said the desire of SSNIT was to imbibe in its client the habit of checking and updating, regularly, their records, instead of waiting till they go on retirement and begin to encounter some difficulties.

“We want to ensure that by the time the customer is claiming his or her contributions, the whole process could run smoothly without any delays or hindrance,” he stated.

He reminded workers who had already begun their retirement to provide their life certificates at periodically to give indication that they are still alive.

The Yendi Branch Manager of SSNIT, Mr Patrick Agblemor said SSNIT introduced the customer clinic because it wanted to address proactively the problems that often emerged when clients are due for their claims.

“We know many of you (customers) feel reluctant to come to us and this is why we have decided to come closer to you,” he noted.

Mr Agblemor said there were some things that workers often tended to overlook, which later turn to hunt them.

He mentioned a change of name, residential or work address, SSNIT number and employment as some of the few details that needed to be corrected.

The branch managed urged workers in Yendi to take advantage of the customer clinic to update their records, clarify the status of their contributions and make the necessary changes.

He said clients of SSNIT could also use the customer clinic to find out if the loans they guaranteed for students under the Student Loan Scheme had been repaid.

“If you guaranteed a loan for a student and the person has defaulted in payment, then it behoves on you to find the person and bring the fellow to SSNIT for an arrangement to be made for repayment, else the balance would be deducted from your contributions,” he cautioned.

HUNDREDS QUEUE TO USE TOILET IN KOBLIMAHAGU ...On World toilet day

(Daily Graphic, Nov 23, 2011, Page 19)

HUNDREDS of residents of Koblimahagu and its surroundings in the Tamale metropolis last Saturday formed long queues in their attempt to access the only toilet in the area, which was actually constructed to serve school children in a nearby school.

Children queue to use their school toilet in Koblimahagu

This symbolic act by the residents sought to bring the attention of duty bearers to the lack of sanitary facilities in the Koblimahagu vicinity, which has resulted in the practice of open defecation, a situation that has dire consequences on the health of the people.

Two non-governmental organisations, WaterAid and New Energy, partnered to organise the event in line with activities to mark the World Toilet Day, which is held annually to remind world leaders that millions of people still lack access to improved sanitary facilities.

Koblimahagu is one of Tamale’s suburbs located in the south of the city, about 2000 miles from the city centre. It is estimated that more than 5000 people live in the area.

Whiles some of the residents rely on a six-seat toilet facility constructed for an Islamic School in the area, others use a public toilet that is located close to Kukuo, a neighbouring community.

However, over 70 per cent of the residents resort to the use of bushes, uncompleted buildings and polythene bags when responding to nature’s call.

Aside from these, water facilities in the area are woefully deficient, access roads remain in a deplorable condition and there is no electricity in about 90 per cent of the community.

The assembly man for the Koblimahagu electoral area, Mr Iddrisu Mustapha told the Daily Graphic that the lack of sanitation facilities had been a major problem in the community.

He said he and other stakeholders had engaged the assembly on a number of occasions to address this issue, but nothing concrete has yet been realised.

Mr Iddrisu said apart from sanitation problems, Koblimahagu and its surroundings were in a myriad of problems, including the unavailability of electricity, lack of access roads and the lack of potable water.

“We contributed some money to buy pipelines and provided labour to help the Ghana Water Company Limited to lay these pipes, but it is still inadequate,” he stated.

He said the Guinea Worm Eradication Programme (GWEP) had given indications it would further extend the pipelines by 200 metres.

In an interview, the Chief Executive Officer of New Energy, Mr Thomas Sayibu Imoro said the celebration of the World Toilet Day at Koblimahagu was aimed at drawing the attention of the assembly and other stakeholders to the sanitation challenges facing peri-urban and rural areas in the Tamale metropolis.

He however noted that although the focus was on toilets, New Energy with support from WaterAid, was advocating the provision of potable water facilities to communities that had no access to clean water.

He said this was part of the ‘Water works campaign’, which seeks to advocate increased and sustained financing for Water and Sanitation.

“Certainly, we cannot ensure sanitation and personal hygiene without water. The absence of water creates a sanitation mess, because there would not be water for hand-washing or for domestic use,” he stated.

SHEA INDUSTRY FACES IMMINENT COLLAPSE ...Due to low prices

(Daily Graphic, Nov 23, 2011, Back Page)

THE National Association of Shea nut Farmers, Processors and Buyers of Ghana has cautioned the government of an imminent collapse of the shea industry following the drastic reduction in the price of a bag of shea nuts.

According to them, the government had, for the first time through the Ghana Cocoa Board, unilaterally announced that 90 kilograms of shea nut should be sold at GH¢36.

They noted that this price represents a 31 per cent reduction over the existing market price, which is GH¢52 for 85 kilograms.

They therefore intimated that if government’s involvement in the shea industry would be to worsen the plight of the players and supervise the crumbling of the industry, then it is better the government allowed the existing arrangement where market forces determined the prices to prevail.

At a press conference in Tamale to put forth their grievances, the actors of the shea nut value chain argued that the fixing of unfair prices had discouraged many of the farmers and processers, particularly the women and youth, from continuing with the business.

They cautioned that a collapse of the share industry would have dire consequences on poverty levels in the country, because many people in the three northern regions and parts of the Brong Ahafo and Volta regions depended on the shea industry for a living.

“The shea nut business is the main source of livelihood for the people of the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions. Due to the poor prices, however, the business is in crisis, because the women are no more prepared to pick the nuts,” the General Secretary of the association, Mr Emmanuel Abu Alhassan Nyabto stated.

He said the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had promised during the 2008 election campaign to revamp the sector, only to come and further impoverish actors in the industry.

Mr Nyabto again raised issues with the Ghana Cocoa Board for failing to involve them in the process to fix the new price for shea nut and therefore blamed it for what it described as a wrong decision.

He alleged that the fixing of the low price was an attempt to favour the international and local companies that were buying the nuts because they would now pay less for more.

Meanwhile, a collapse of the shea industry could impact negatively on the livelihoods of many women, who go through risks, such as snake bites, to gather the nuts to sell to middle men.

“When the industry collapses, these women would lose their source of livelihood and this would deepen rural poverty,” Hajia Abiba Salifu, a shea nut dealer stated.

She said it was through the picking and selling of shea nuts and its butter that many women in the north were able to get some income to take care of their families, particularly the children.

“Since the new price was announced many of our colleagues have become discouraged and frustrated. Just imagine if you were managing with a little cedis and now you are being paid only some few pesewas. How can you survive? It just doesn’t pay to remain in this work,” Hajia Abiba lamented.

CLIMATE CHANGE PROJECT BEGINS IN WEST MAMPRUSI

(Daily Graphic, Nov 23, 2011, Page 22)

THE implementation of a project intended to mitigate the effects of climate change in parts of the West Mamprusi district of the Northern Region has kick-started.

The project, christened ‘Fighting climate change through reforestation’, would attempt to restore the vegetative cover protecting parts of the Volta River Basin through reforestation activities in the Zuoh and Mishio areas.

The implementation of the project would span a period of nine months on a pilot basis, beginning from October, 2011 and would be extended to other communities along the White Volta River when successful.

The Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF), a German-based foundation, and the West Mamprusi District Assembly have partnered to implement the project.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between the HSF and the assembly at a short ceremony that was witnessed by other stakeholders, including the Forestry Services Division, Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) and the Zasilari Ecological Farms Project.

The Project Co-ordinator, Mr Issifu Sulemana told the Daily Graphic that under the project, the HSF was expected to provide financial, logistical and institutional support for the implementation of the project, whiles the district assembly and other decentralised departments would provide administrative and other technical support.

“We expect the two beneficiary communities to provide land, labour and other necessary assistance to ensure smooth take off and completion of the project,” he stated.

Mr Sulemana mentioned that the two communities selected for the project, Zuah and Mishio, were relatively small farming and fishing communities, where the impact of climate change could be more severe due to the destruction of tree vegetation in those areas.

“The continual depletion of tree vegetation has affected rainfall and soil moisture necessary to support crop growth. The once thick tree vegetation fringing the rivers and serving as a home for the fauna and some flora is no more. Flood waters now spread wildly and the effects are very enormous,” he noted.

He entreated the community folk to endeavour to own the project and lead its implementation so as to reap the expected benefits.

The District Chief Executive (DCE) for West Mamprusi, Mr Issifu Adam lauded the initiators of the project, noting that many communities in the district stood the risk of being devastated by the effects of climate change.

He said the district was battling with several environmental challenges such as bush fires, over grazing, drying of water bodies and deforestation.

“The district assembly would monitor closely the implementation of this project and so I entreat all other partners to do their part,” he stated.

The Director of HSF for West Africa, Mr Ralf Wittek reiterated the commitment of his organisation to help marginalised and vulnerable communities to cope with the effects of climate change.

He reminded the implementing partners that they must work to ensure the success of the project because it was the German tax payer’s money which was being committed to help poor indigenes in Africa.

NEW CASE OF YELLOW FEVER CONFIRMED IN NR

(Daily Graphic, Nov 23, 2011, Page 48)

HEALTH authorities in the Northern Region have confirmed a new case of yellow fever disease in parts of the region.

This follows laboratory findings that attributed the death of a 16 year-old boy from Dikatami in the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba district to a yellow fever infection.

Consequently, district and regional health facilities in the region have been put on high alert to identify and manage effectively any case of yellow fever.

Briefing the Daily Graphic, the Deputy Regional Director in Charge of Public Health, Dr Jacob Mahama said on August 20, this year, the boy reported at a clinic in the Sawla district of the Northern Region with complaints of fever, chills, vomiting and abdominal pains.

He said after examinations, he was referred to the Wa Hospital in the Upper West Region, where he died the next day.

“However, the blood sample of the patient was sent to Accra and later to Dakar, Senegal, in September this year where it was found to be positive for yellow fever,” he noted.

Dr Mahama said following the confirmation of the yellow fever case, a team from the Regional Health Directorate, comprising disease control officers, clinician, doctor, epidemiologists and health promotion officer, was dispatched to Sawla.

The team, he noted, undertook a search for other cases, by reviewing the records in all the facilities.

He said the team found no other case, but sensitised the health staff in the district and the community people on yellow fever, its symptoms and causes.

Dr Mahama said the World Health Organisation (WHO) had recommended that there should be a reactive vaccination in various parts of the country to prevent the spread of the disease.

He said, in the Northern Region, the vaccination would take place in six districts that have been considered as high risk due to their proximity to Wa and Cote d’Ivoire, where there has been an outbreak of yellow fever.

The districts are the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba, Bole, Central Gonja, West Gonja, East Gonja and West Mamprusi.

“We would be vaccinating children who are 10 years and above. We are not including those below, because the assumption is that this group of children was already vaccinated as part of the routine EPI,” Dr Mahama explained.

He said already the region had received the vaccines and had distributed them to the districts, pending the commencement of the vaccination exercise from 22nd to 28th November, 2011.

Yellow fever, as explained by Dr Mahama, is an acute viral fever with symptoms that include fever, chills, vomiting and jaundice.

It’s a disease prevalent in Tropical Africa and South America, because the Aedes mosquito which transmits this virus breeds in the tropics.

Twenty to thirty per cent of patients who suffer from severe yellow fever lose their lives.

The best ways to avoid yellow fever is through vaccination and by avoiding the bite of a mosquito.

PEOPLE OF KUMBUNGU LAUD PRESIDENT - For giving them a district

(Daily Graphic, Nov 22, 2011, Page 13)

THE people of Kumbungu in the Northern Region have lauded the President, Prof John E. A. Mills for elevating the Kumbungu Township into a district.

They said they had long awaited such a move, but were gradually losing hope due to the failure of past political administrations to bring it into fruition.

MP, Kumbungu

They made this known at a colourful durbar organised by members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Kumbungu to express the party’s gratitude to the government for making Kumbungu a district.

The durbar, which was held at the centre of Kumbungu, was largely characterised by traditional dance ranging from ‘Damba’ to ‘Nabiagu’ as local drummers and Gonje-beaters dished out tune after tune to keep the event running from afternoon to evening.

Speaker after speaker spoke about the need for Kumbungu to see more investments in its infrastructure, particularly in the area of roads, schools and health facilities.

In his remarks, the Member of Parliament for Kumbungu, Alhaji Imoro Yakubu noted that Kumbungu deserved to be a district because although it had a large population, it was lacking behind in terms of development.

“Even though, the government is yet to present to Parliament the legislative instrument that will back the creation of the district for approval, we cannot wait to show our happiness and appreciation to the president for this wonderful gift,” he said.

He assured the President that the chiefs and people of Kumbungu would work together to sustain peace in the area and also support the government to implement its development programmes in the area.

The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Tolon/Kumbungu, Alhaji Iddi Manzah Mahama said the separation of Kumbungu from the Tolon/Kumbungu district would help attract more funds for development projects in both the old and new districts.

“Now Tolon and Kumbungu would get an enhanced share of the national cake and this would empower both districts to aggressively pursue the development challenges facing the two areas,” he stated.

Kumbungu is one of the biggest towns in the Tolon/Kumbungu district. It is the seat of the Kumbung-Naa, which is one of the powerful and revered traditional seats in the Dagbon Traditional Area. The current Kumbung-Naa is Naa Iddrisu Abu II, who is a prominent senior citizen.

The new Kumbungu district, which would have Kumbungu as the district capital, would also include towns like Bontanga, Dalun, Zangbalin, Zugu and Vogu.

The new assembly would have a number of development challenges to address, including fixing the poor road network linking various towns, such as Botanga to Nawuni, Kumbungu to Savelugu and Bontanga to Kasulyili.

Another priority of the new assembly would be to improve the educational standards in the area, by supporting educational institutions like the Kumbungu Senior High School, which has not received much attention for several years.