I DID NOT CHOOSE SANG AS DISTRICT CAPITAL - MION MP

(Daily Graphic, 11 Jan, 2012, page 17)

THE Member of Parliament (MP) for the Mion constituency in the Northern Region, Dr Ahmed Yakubu Alhassan has denied allegations that he selected Sang as the district capital for the newly-created Mion district.

The MP was recently assaulted by some residents of Sambu during his recent visit to the area, because the people are opposed to the selection of Sang as district capital, instead of Sambu.

He told the Daily Graphic that he had no hands in the selection of the district capital and that a committee had been set up by the government to appraise the various towns in each new district and select the one which is of economic and business importance as the district capital.

Dr Alhassan, who is seeking a third term in Parliament, rejected rumours that the people were against his re-election bid, stressing that they were misinformed that he selected Sang as the district capital for Mion.

The MP urged contestants of the parliamentary primaries of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Mion constituency to avoid personal attacks and engage in a clean campaign.

He said he was not pleased about some comments he had heard about himself allegedly being made by some of the contestants, but gave the assurance that he would not be drawn into such mudslinging.

“I do not see why we should be against each other since we are all in the same party. We should allow the delegates to select their preferred candidate for the seat,” he stated, adding that he was convinced he would emerge victorious.

Dr Alhassan denied allegations that he was buying expensive cars to the neglect of the needs of his constituents, saying that the car he was using was given to him as an MP.

He also denied peddling lies about one of his opponents, Mr Ibrahim Tanko, stressing that such rumours were calculated to destroy his image.

The Mion MP said criticisms that he had not done anything for the Mion constituency are misplaced because he had than a lot including helping the area to be carved into a district out of the Yendi municipality.

He said he wrote a proposal in 2008 to the government making a case for Mion to be made a district, adding that he followed up on it when the NDC came into power and the result is now obvious.

Dr Alhassan said in his bid to ease the water problems of some communities in his constituency, he constructed three boreholes in three villages.

He mentioned that he had also made efforts to connect many communities in the constituency to the national grid, adding that areas such as Sambu, Adiboo and Zakpalis had benefited from a street lighting project through his effort.

Dr Alhassan commended the government for allocating GH¢1 million to the newly-created Mion district, describing the development as unprecedented in the history of Mion.

He said the money would be used judiciously to set up the district administration offices and commence other development projects.

SAVE FOREST RESERVES IN NORTHERN REGION

(Daily Graphic, Jan 9, 2012, page 20)

THE importance of forests to human life cannot be overemphasized. According to agric scientists, forests, apart from conserving nature, are a source of life.

They purify the air that we breathe, serve as habitat for the animals that we feed on, and preserve climatic temperatures to protect our bodies. In Africa, in particular, forests are the main source of herbs and many of the food we eat.

Experts have also noted that forests play a crucial role in helping mitigate the impact of climate change on humans.

Some illegally-sawn timber that were recently seized in Saboba

According to the Director of the United Nations (UN) Forum on Forests Secretariat, Mr Pekka Patosaary, forests can act as a ‘sink’ to absorb greenhouse emissions and store large quantities of carbon for extended periods of time.

No wonder the developed world is now committing itself to invest in afforestation projects in Africa under the United Nations’ Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) initiative.

One is therefore at a lost why forests in the Northern Region of Ghana are being depleted at such an alarming rate, in spite of how essential they are to the livelihoods of the people in the region.

Checks at the Forestry Commission indicate that there are 24 forest reserves in the Northern Region.

The region even boasts of having the largest forest reserve in Ghana, the Yakombo Forest Reserve, near Buipe, which occupies an estimated land area of 1,160km².

Each year, more trees are planted in various parts of the region so as to create new or replenish existing woodlots and forest plantations.

Currently, the Forestry Services Department (FSD) of the Forestry Commission is establishing large acres of forest plantations in various parts of the region through the National Forest Plantation Development Programme.

During a recent visit to the Northern Region by the Parliamentary Select Committee on Lands and Forestry, the Northern Regional Forestry Manager, Mr Ebenezer Djaney Djagbletey, revealed that the region had exceeded its targets for the plantation programme.

“A total area of 3,309 hectares had been planted by the end of December, 2010, which is far higher than the 2000 hectares target that had been set,” he told the committee.

He said in Yendi alone, a total area of 1,126 hectares was planted in off-reserve areas and 200 hectares in existing forest reserves.

In Tamale, a total area of 462 hectares was planted in off-reserve areas, whiles 70 hectares of areas located within forest reserves had been planted.

In spite of all these glamorous statistics about the establishment of large acres of forest plantations, the question to ask is “how many of these trees would survive?”

How many would become prey to the painful blade of chain-saw operators and how many would crumble when the dry season fires start?

Statistics from the EPA paint a gloomy picture about the depletion of forest resources in the Northern Region.

According to the EPA, the region loses 38, 000 hectares of its tree cover every year due to activities such as indiscriminate bush burning, deforestation, use of chemicals in fishing, over grazing by livestock and illegal commercial logging.

Just recently, the FSD intercepted large quantities of illegally sawn rosewood, which had been felled from forest plantations in the Saboba district.

Due to the depletion of forests and the vegetation, some parts of the region are being reduced to desert-like conditions and this has caused a reduction in food and water resources and also increased the intensity and duration of droughts and disasters in the north.

It is sad to note that many community folk do not seem to know about the harm they cause to the environment and future generations when they run down forest resources.

The extent to which they cut down trees for firewood and to make space for farming and settlements exposes the region to desertification.

Unfortunately, forest conservation issues do not receive adequate attention from local government authorities and politicians in the region.

Under the noses of District Chief Executives, Members of Parliament, Co-ordinating Directors and traditional rulers, forests are destroyed and no one seems to border.

It is high time that the nation’s leaders and the entire populace were reoriented on the importance of forests and the need to conserve them.

Politicians, chiefs and opinion leaders in the region must stand up now to protect the region’s forests and not wait for calamity to befall us.

UNDERSTANDING SADA IS CRUCIAL TO ITS SUCCESS

(Daily Graphic, Jan 9, 2012, page 10)

IT is understandable why the establishment of the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) was greeted with much delight among some sections of the Ghanaian population, particularly those from the northern Savannah areas.

The North has remained backwards for a long time in terms of development and this has been blamed largely on an old colonial policy which resulted in a situation where development efforts were centred in the south.

After independence, however, it was realised that the lack of development of the north was a bane to the progress of the country in general.

For instance, the low standard of education in the north meant a high level of illiteracy in that area.

The lack of development in the north also resulted in the mass migration of a large army of unemployed youth to the southern sector to seek job opportunities, and consequently leading to over population in cities like Kumasi and Accra, thereby eroding the development gains made in the south.

A number of interventions were therefore introduced to reduce the development gap between the south and the north. Although, many of these achieved some success, they were not enough to bring about the desired transformation of the north.

This re-echoed the need for a much more pragmatic, sustainable and well-strategized development blueprint for the north.

Many therefore heaved a sigh of relief when the government introduced the SADA Bill to parliament, which was consequently passed into law after there was general consensus on the relevance of this body.

The SADA Law (Act 805, 2010) mandates the authority to work towards bridging the development gap between the Northern Savannah Ecological Zone and the rest of the country.

This zone, which is considered the food basket of the country, comprises the Northern, Upper East, Upper West and parts of the Brong Ahafo and Volta regions.

Subsequently, the government constituted and inaugurated a board to oversee the affairs of SADA. A former Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Gilbert Seidu Iddi, was later appointed to run the day to day operations of SADA as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

So finally, here is the much awaited development machine for the north.

However, it has become obvious that many people are still dissatisfied. This time, the dissatisfaction is not about government’s inaction in developing the north, but the failure of the newly-established SADA to hit the ground running.

Those who are discontented claim they are yet to see any physical signs of the impact of this authority, in spite of the launch of the Millennium Villages Project (MVP).

Of course, how can you begrudge them? It was the daily language of politicians that SADA would offer a quick solution to the problems of the north, such as unemployment, poor road networks, ailing agriculture, environmental degradation, high illiteracy, name them.

As a result, many northern folk nurtured high expectations about the performance of the then yet-to-be-created SADA. Therefore, failure to see these promises materialise would ultimately generate some disillusionment.

In fact, some have also raised concerns over the failure of government to adequately resource SADA as promised earlier.

My role as a journalist however gives me a unique opportunity to approach this issue from a different perspective.

From my layman’s diagnoses, there is deep misunderstanding among the northern Ghanaian population – be they literates or illiterates – about the mandate of SADA.

This deep-seated misunderstanding has the tendency to affect the credibility of SADA and the government as well. It can erode public confidence in the ability of SADA to transform the north, and lead to a situation where people’s preconditioned minds tend to affect their co-operation with the authority.

SADA, as I understand, was not established to carry out development works all by itself. SADA would neither go to the farms to till the lands, plant and harvest the food, nor would it pick up graders to work on the deplorable roads.

If SADA needs to do some research or feasibility studies into a particular area of intervention, it would not be the one to do it. It would have to work with other institutions that have the capacity to do so, such as the University for Development Studies (UDS) and the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute (SARI).

Again, SADA is not a project that would elapse within a stipulated time and it is not a replacement to all other development programmes in the north.

It would also not be a replacement to the various decentralised bodies or to the National Development Planning Commission, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), the Ministry of Roads and Highways, etc.

Thus, the establishment of SADA does not mean that all resources and funds allocated for the development of the Savannah areas would be channelled to it.

In fact, my understanding is that SADA is an engine that has been built by seasoned economic and development ‘engineers’ with the sole purpose of fast-tracking the development process in the north, just like how the engine of an automobile keeps it moving.

It is a permanent body that would link up with all institutions that are working towards the development of the north and offer strategic leadership and direction to the development process in the north.

By so doing, SADA would ensure that all these institutions focus on the very essential areas and that there is coordination, but not duplication.

SADA would be the magnet that would attract development funds for the north. It would therefore ensure that these funds reach the institutions that are responsible for carrying out the various interventions.

It would as well supervise, monitor and ensure the success of these projects and also ensure the sharing of best practices.

So, in effect, the workings of SADA would ultimately do away with the current situation where the development process in the north is so haphazard and lacks direction.

For me, therefore, it thus not matter how much money government gives to the SADA secretariat, because SADA thus not need to carry out the interventions all by itself, except to ensure that funds are made available for the various initiatives.

Giving a lot of money to SADA at this crucial moment would be like putting the cart before the horse. The plans and linkages must come first, before funding is made available.

The point must, however, be made that the SADA secretariat requires some amount of funding for administrative purposes; but more importantly, it requires the support of the country’s political leadership and that of civil society and the private sector.

I dare say that the failure of SADA would start the day it begins attempting to ‘do it all’. Let us guide against this, otherwise we would get to a point one day when this body is unable to do everything and yet all others might have abandoned their roles and watching from the fence.

2000 CHILDREN BENEFIT FROM NUTRITION PROGRAMME

(Daily Graphic, Jan 7, 2012, page 15)

MORE THAN 2000 children selected from communities in the Yendi Municipality and Saboba District have benefitted from a health and nutrition intervention extended to them by two non-governmental organisations working in the Northern Region.

Each year, Tuma Kavi, a grassroots organisation, in partnership with the Christian Children’s Fund of Canada (CCFC), undertakes a health and nutrition assessment for children in its operational communities.

As part of this exercise, the children are screened for various ailments and provided with medications, including de-wormers.

This year’s exercise was carried out in seven schools located within deprived communities in the Yendi Municipality and the Saboba District.

The exercise was supported by the respective assemblies of these two areas as well as the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and the Ghana Education Service (GES).

Speaking to the Daily Graphic during the exercise, the Program Officer for Tuma Kavi, Mr Joshua Salifu Mogre said many of the children were found with conditions such as ringworm, malnutrition and sores.

“Some of the conditions are caused by worms and this explains why we have chosen to always include a de-worming exercise,” he stated.

Mr Mogre further noted that aside the health screening, Tuma Kavi, with funding from the CCFC, had provided rainwater harvesting tanks and learning materials for the various schools in its operational areas.

“We have also constructed new classroom blocks and we are supporting the school feeding programmes in these schools,” he added.

He said over GH¢240,000 had so far been spent on implementing these projects in these beneficiary schools, adding that more of such interventions would be implemented during 2012.

Mr Mogre said Tuma Kavi had received assurances from the Country Director of the CCFC, Mrs Sanatu Nantogma, that the CCFC would remain a major partner in efforts aimed at improving upon the welfare of children in disadvantaged communities.

“We at Tuma Kavi also remain committed towards introducing more interventions that would bridge the gap between children in rural communities and their counterparts in urban areas,” he pledged.

HARUNA DECLARES OPERATION WIN ALL 82 POLLING STATIONS

(Daily Graphic, Jan 7, 2012, page 13)

THE Minister of Communications and Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale South, Mr Haruna Iddrisu has declared ‘operation win all 82 polling stations’ in the Tamale South constituency.

“We are declaring ‘operation win all 82 polling stations’ in Tamale South without any doubts,” he stated at the inauguration of the extension of electricity to Pagazaa, a farming community located in the south of Tamale.

Speaking to applause, he asked the people of the Northern Region not to entertain any fears of a possible mayhem in the 2012 elections.

He said he was of the firm conviction that the right thinking members of the society would prevail and prevent the violence-inclined persons from acting at will.

“In 2012, there would be no violence as some politicians are seeking to make us believe. We will go into a clean election and the Electoral Commission (EC) would declare the winners without any fuss,” he said, as he

The MP said it was the wish of some people that the elections turned violent, but noted that such pessimistic thoughts would not materialise, because a large section of Ghanaians were peace-loving.

He therefore entreated the youth not to allow themselves to be used by any politician to foment violence or fight for any selfish course.

It was a joyful ceremony as the inhabitants of Pagazaa, chiefs and elders, assembly representatives and members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) thronged the grounds to witness the symbolic switching on of lights in Pagazaa by the MP.

Mr Iddrisu said a number of communities in his constituency had been connected to the national grid since the NDC took office and mentioned other communities that would soon be connected.

“The extension of power to Koblimahagu is on course because the project has been awarded on contract. Soon, Cheko, Jerigu, Lahagu and other communities would also be connected,” he revealed.

The MP urged people living in communities that were not connected to the national grid not to exercise patience because the government had already awarded on contract the extension of power to many rural and peri-urban communities in the region.

He made reference to the President’s approval of a US$120 million facility for the extension of electricity to 400 communities in the Northern Region and gave the assurance that this project was in progress.

On the chances of the NDC in the Tamale South constituency, Mr Iddrisu said he was absolutely confident that the NDC would retain the parliamentary seat and Prof John Evans Atta would beat Nana Akuffo Addo of the NPP by a wider margin.

The MP said he was aware of the challenges facing women in Pagazaa and assured the women that he would soon extend a hand of support to them.

The Chief Executive of the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TaMA), Alhaji Abdulai Haruna Friday commended Mr Iddrisu for his leadership attributes.

He said with the help of the MP, a number of development interventions including schools, roads, microfinance and energy, had been provided to many communities in Tamale south.

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.