ISD News File - Wednesday, November 24

PRESIDENT INAUGURATES BUILDING PROJECT FOR UDS

President Kufuor has inaugurated two storey buildings constructed at the cost of ¢4 billion to provide lecture halls and office accommodation for the Nyankpala Campus of the University of Development Studies (UDS) at Nyankpala in the Northern Region on Monday.

Addressing students of the university as part of his five-day visit to the Northern Region, President Kufuor assured the university community that the development of UDS would be one of the main challenges of his government if it were retained in power after the December elections.

He said, education was a key factor in the development of the country and, therefore, his government would marshall all the resources to ensure quality education.

Later in the day, President Kufuor addressed rallies at Tolon and Savelugu and paid a courtesy call on the Chief of Kumbungu, Naa Abu Iddrisu.

SPEAKER OFF FOR WTO CONFERENCE IN BRUSSELS

The Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Peter Ala Adjetey, has left the country for Brussels, to attend the parliamentary conference on the WTO, which will take place from November 24 to 26.

The meeting, scheduled to take place at the premises of the European Parliament in Brussels, is a follow up on previous sessions held in Geneva and Cancun, in February and September.

The meeting is meant for members of parliament who specialise in matters of international trade. They will have opportunity to exchange views with colleagues in other parliaments and interact with government officials who are directly involved in WTO negotiations.

The Brussels session is taking place at time when some important difference regarding international trade disparities remain between the positions of WTO members, as a result of which concentrated political will is needed to bring the negotiations to a successful end. To this end, members of parliament have now been officially inculcated into the discussions.

From Brussels, the Speaker will go to Algeria where he will attend the 45th session of the Executive Committee of the African Parliamentary Union.

Members of the delegation include members of Parliament from both sides of the House and officials of the parliamentary service. The delegation will return to the country on December 4.

WORLD VISION SUPPORTS KEJABIL

The Programme Officer of World Vision Australia, Mr. Paul Wood had inaugurated a ¢4.6 billion borehole project at Kejabil in the Ahanta West District in the Western Region.

The project which is the 48th of its kind in the district was funded by the Australian government with support through the AusAid and by the people of Australia, mainly through the child sponsorship programme.

In an address, the Ahanta West District Chief Executive, Mr. Kwesi Biney, expressed the assembly's appreciation towards the enhancement of the socio-economic life of the people of the district through the World Vision.

WORK BEGINS ON MAAKRO JUNCTION SAMPROSO ROAD

The government has since 2001, awarded 234 trunk road projects on contract. They comprise 2,256 kilometres of road and 43 drainage facilities which are estimated to cost about ¢1 trillion.

The Minister of Roads and Transport, Dr. Richard Anane, made this known at a sod-cutting ceremony for work to begin on the 40-kilometre Maakro Junction – Techiman Road at Bremang, a suburb of Kumasi in the Ashanti Region.

He said, 64 out of the projects had so far been completed. The project, which forms the first phase of a 116-kilometre road project, is estimated to cost about 18.8 million Euros and is being financed by the European Union (EU).

Dr. Anane, said in the feeder roads sector, the length of engineered network had increased from 12,700 kilometres as of 2001, adding that similar salutary effects had been observed in the urban roads sector.

$41 MILLION SECURED FOR TAKORADI PORT FACELIFT

The Minister of Finance and Economic planning, Mr. Yaw Osafo-Maafo, has announced that the government has secured a $41 million (¢38 billion) loan to fund a major rehabilitation of Takoradi Port.

He said, the main aspect of the job would be the dredging of the docks to a depth that would enable larger and more modern vessels to berth there, in order to make Takoradi the preferred port of call in the West African sub-region.

Mr. Osafo-Maafo said that hundreds of jobs would be created rapidly to enhance ghana's chances of becoming the “gateway to the sub-region”.

The Minister was addressing a rally at Takoradi to launch the campaign of the local constituency branch of the NPP.

SOLAR POWER FOR THREE DANGME SCHOOLS

The Minister of Energy, Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, has inaugurated solar electrification at three schools in the Dangme East District of the Greater Accra Region.

The schools are Akpotsitse Early Childhood Development Centre, Hwakpo Junction Secondary School (JSS) and Afiadenyigba Basic School. Akpotsitse Early Childhood Centre and Hwakpo JSS each received a 21-inch colour television set in addition.

The purpose of the solar power project, which was executed free of charge for the schools by the government, is to make it possible for pupils of the schools to study in the evenings and watch television broadcasts under the PSIs on Distance Learning (PSI – DL). The combined value of the three solar power plants is 6,000 Euros.

Inaugurating the project, Dr. Nduom said that since the year 2000, the Ghana government had extended electricity to 1,400 communities nationwide.

He said, “the Ministries of Energy and Education, Youth and Sports, are collaborating to provide solar energy to schools in communities where there is no electricity”.

Mr. Clement Abavana, Director of Renewable Energy in the Ministry of Energy, said the Ministry had provided solar electricity systems to 58 schools and eight clinics throughout the country. He said that 2,500 homes in the south had solar power systems installed.

GERMANS ASSESS GHANA'S DECENTRALIZATION PROCESS

A three-member delegation from the German Embassy in Ghana, supporting the improvement of the country's decentralization programme has toured some districts in the Brong Ahafo and Ashanti Regions to acquaint themselves with the progress of the concept at the grassroots level.

They are Dr. Wolfram Fischer, in-charge of Local Governance-Poverty Reduction Support Programme, Dr. Wolfgang Weth, Director of the German Financial Co-operation (KFW) and Ms. Dorothea Groth, Counsellor of the German Development Co-operation.

In 2001, both countries agreed to concentrate development co-operation on three priority areas, food security and agriculture, employment oriented private sector development and good governance and democracy.

Led by Ms. Groth, the delegation spent two days to tour projects sites at Atebubu, Nkoranza, Techiman in the Brong-Ahafo Region and Offinso in the Ashanti Region.

ELECTRICITY COMPANY SECURES $15 MILLION TO IMPROVE SERVICES

The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has secured a $15 million dollar loan facility from the World Bank to improve its services.

The Managing Director, Mr. Stephen Akuako, who announced this at the opening of a workshop on 'Delivering Quality Customer Services' in Accra, said the loan is to enable the company to improve its technical and customer service and transformers will be procured and installed in the regions to boost power supply.

It was organised by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission to upgrade the skills of the participants to enable theme to deliver optimum quality customer service to the public.