Canteen Yaara Development Association Commences (Free) Extra Classes For Final Year Students

Canteen Yaara Development Association Commences (Free) Extra Classes For Final Year Students

Canteen Yaara Development Association (CAYDA),a youth group in Damongo,the Northern Region of Ghana has successfully commenced "free" extra classes for final year students preparing to write this year's Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

The beneficiaries of the package which full cost is being absorbed by the association include all final year students of Canteen Junior High School(Block A and Block B);and any other interested final year J.H.S student resident in Canteen but schooling outside the community.

The extra classes is part of a comprehensive package being rolled out by the association under its Education Committee (CAYDA-EDUCOM).The aim is to change the face of education in Canteen and arrest the falling standard of education in the community.

Students under the package will receive weekly motivation,including text books.Teachers will be motivated on a monthly basis.

The teachers recruited for the classes are regular teachers of canteen J.H.S (Block A and B) and some teachers from the community.

The focus in the interim is on the final year students due to the limited time at their disposal.Then gradually,the primary schools and subsequent batches would be phased-in in a comprehensive and well planned package.

Prior to starting the extra classes,the Education Committee of Canteen Yaara Development Association(CAYDA-EDUCOM) had series of meetings with stakeholders ranging from teachers,school authorities,parents,pupil,opinion leaders where the idea was overwhelmingly endorsed.

The Circuit supervisor of Canteen Circuit and a rep from the education service in the district have been part of these meetings.

Canteen Yaara Development Association (CAYDA) is a youth group inaugurated in the latter part of 2017 to champion the developmental course of Canteen.

Parents are entreated to advise their wards to take advantage of the classes and be serous in that regard.

Sealed:
(CAYDA-EDUCOM official communication),

Ananpansah B Abraham (AB)
(Secretary-CAYDA EDUCOM)

Kichana Emmanuel
(Chairman-CAYDA EDUCOM)

Story filed by ANANPANSAH AB
(Village Writer)

N/R:GNAT organizes entrepreneural/business management training for young teachers

N/R:GNAT organizes entrepreneural/business management training for young teachers

The Ghana National Association of Teachers(GNAT),Northern Region has successful trained young teachers in the region in Entrepreneurship and Business Management.

The training was held at GNAT Hall in Tamale,the Northern Region of Ghana with the aim of equipping young enterprising teachers with the requisite skills to start their own businesses or manage existing ones'.The training also falls in-line with the GNAT Youth Policy.

The one-day Business Management training under the auspices of Northern Regional GNAT Youth Desk,saw 14 GNAT Districts across the region with a total of  29 participants undergoing the training.

Speaker upon speaker,the young teachers were advised to plan today and live a life beyond retirement.Participants were also taken through how to start, sustain and run an entrepreneurial business.

The Deputy Regional manager, National Board for Small Scale Industries(NBSSI), Mr.Mohammed in a presentation reiterated the fact that there were many opportunities for young teachers to start and manage their own businesses. What the teachers needed to do was to prepare a comprehensive business plan and seek for the right funding.

He mentioned specifically of sources of business financing such as Rural Enterprise Programme(REP), Angel Investors,Virgin Capital, NBSSI, MASLOC,National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Fund (NEIF), Skills Development Fund (SDF),MTN Group Venture Incubation Programme,African Women Development Fund for Social entrepreneurship inter alia as opportunities opened for young teachers with business ideas.

Depending on only one stream of capital(salary) to him is dangerous in this era of heightened entrepreneurship and globalisation.Young teachers must endeavor not to die with those rich business ideas.

Mr .Charles Atiah,the CEO of the award winning Dream Consult and Suppliers in a presentation on Entrepreneurship and Business Management advised the youth in the teaching fraternity to have a vision,never ever think small, ignore the naysayers, work hard and give back.

These he said were the five rules that made Arnold Schwarzenegger's who he is today.

Starting a business according to him is like going into labour:"Don't wait till old age when you don't have energy to push.Give the business the time a nursing mother gives to her baby,"he added.

He advised young teachers against bloating their payslips with unnecessary and unproductive loans.

The regional GNAT chairman,regional GNAT Secretary,Regional youth coordinator and 14 District youth coordinators were some of the GNAT officers present for the training.

Source:Ananpansah B Abraham (AB)

Fire officer gunned down in Damongo

Regional News of Sun, 15 Apr 20188

Fire officer gunned down in Damongo

A station officer at the Sawla Branch of the Ghana National Fire Service has been shot dead in Damongo, the West Gonja District of Northern Ghana.

Elliasu Cosmas Mahama was on his way from his yam farm when he met his untimely death.

The fire officer though stationed in Sawla has his family in Damongo and usually visits them during the weekends. He was on such usual visits and decided to get some yam from his farm, and was hit by a stray bullet whilst on his way back.

The body has been deposited at the West Gonja Catholic Hospital and will be transported to Kpembi for burial.

The matter has been reported to the Damongo Police station.

Residents who are alarmed following the sad story are calling for security to be beefed up in the town.

Story by Ananpansah B Abraham (AB)

NADMO supports victims of recent rainstorm

Regional News of Sun, 15 Apr 2018

NADMO supports victims of recent rainstorm

The National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) in the West Gonja District of Northern Ghana has supported victims of recent rainstorm in the District.

The rainstorm which badly hit communities including Laribanga and its environs ripped off the roofs of many houses. Properties worth thousands of Ghana Cedis were also lost following the storm.

Responding to the plight of the affected communities, Mr.Bavug Adam,the District Director of NADMO launched a formal appeal to the Assembly for support.

The District Coordinating Director of the Assembly, Mr.Mahamud Salifu on behalf of the DCE presented eleven(11) packets of roofing sheets to NADMO following formal reports on the situation.

The Coordinating Director had maintained that it has always been the norm for the Assembly to strengthen the activities of NADMO to effectively mobilize resources and coordinate disaster in the District.

The District Director of NADMO who donated the items to the victims commended the Assembly for the swift response to the plight of the people.He praised the leadership of the Assembly for the support and prayed they continue to respond positively to the needs of the people when the need arises, adding that no one pray for such catastrophes.

He stated further that the continuous support of the Assembly was necessary for the efficient and effective response to disaster in the District.

Mr.Alhassan Ibrahim, a teacher and a victim who benefited from the relief items thanked NADMO and the Assembly for the kind gesture.
According to him,the support was timely and will go a long way to ameliorate the suffering visited on them by the storm.

Story by Ananpansah B Abraham (AB)

Court begins hearing on nurse who allegedly raped Italian patient on admission

West Gonja Hospital Rape Case:Court begins hearing

The Tamale High Court in Northern Ghana has begun hearing the case involving Ernest Green and Maltiti Daniela in which the former, an enrolled nurse at the West  Gonja Hospital was accused of raping the latter,an Italian National who was on admission at the facility.

The accused person has however presumed innocence of the allegation. 

Today's sitting was very brief with many people believed to be sympathisers of Green traveling from far and near to witness the process.

A plea by Lawyer for the defendant to the presiding judge to use his discretion to grant the accused bail was not granted...He had argued that the fundamental rights of the accused had been breached by the police,since the accused was arrested on April 6, kept in custody and only  produced on April 8.This he said exceeded 48 hours as prescribed by law.

Lawyer for the plaintiff had maintained that granting the accused person bail will prejudice police investigation citing so many cases in law to back his argument.

Police investigation into the matter is yet to be completed for the docket to be submitted to the court.

Both the defendant and the plaintiff were not present in court...The defendant was in Prison custody and the Prison was not served notice to produce him in court.The plaintiff was said to be kept in a safe place.

The case was initially remanded from the Lower Court to the High Court since the Lower Court had no jurisdiction to sit on the case.

The court was presided over by Justice Kwame Gyamfi.

The case has been adjoined to Tuesday,April 17,2018.

Background:
Ernest Green was arrested by the Damongo police following reports made by Daniela Maltiti to the Italian Embassy and one Dr . Martin,a physician assistant that he had raped her whilst she was on admission at the West Gonja Hospital.

The accused person who has pleaded not guilty to the charge of rape has since been in custody in Tamale pending police investigation into the matter.

Source:Ananpansah B Abraham(AB)

West Gonja Hospital Rape Case:Media Reports Skewed In Favor Of Italian-Administrator

West Gonja Hospital Rape Case:Media Reports Skewed In Favor Of Italian-Administrator

Remy Nyewie,the Administrator of the West Gonja Hospital in Damongo in the Northern Region has expressed worry over what he describes as skewed reports on the purported rape of an Italian lady on admission at the hospital.

According to him,it's unfair reporting the issue to the media in a skewed way.This one-sided report he said was already damaging the image of the accused and the integrity of the hospital prematurely.

He made these comments in a one-on-one interview with a Damongo based local radio station,PAD FM.

"We are surprised that investigation is not complete and the victim has not given his statement yet.So it is premature to give information to the media.The police are already damaging the image of the accused and the integrity of the hospital.We think it is unfair reporting the issue to the media in a skewed way...,"he reiterated.

He wondered why it was wrong disclosing the name of the victim as well.Is it because she is a white lady?He queried.
Adding that they don't mind what the outcome of the case would be.If a court of competent jurisdiction establishes that their staff was guilty, they don't have a problem.It is the truth of the matter they are out for.

He was however worried over how the psychological damage can be repaired if it turns out that the accused is innocent of the allegation. Indicating that from the findings,they trust they have a good case.

Even though,he declined to give details and go into the merits of the matter,he disclosed that the lady came to the hospital Friday night at 12:00 am and not Thursday as reported.She reported of diarrhoea and vomiting...The staff who was on duty that day took the risk and went round for infusions from other clients for the white lady because she had no money on her...

The victim(Maltiti Daniela),25 was yet to settle the cost of the infusion according to the administrator.And even though,she has not been discharged from the hospital,her folder has since been taken away and photocopied by one Dr.Martin,a white man who claimed to be a physician.This was on the blindside of the hospital.

The accused is to write his statement today in the presence of his lawyer,Emelio Musah.He is also to be processed for court today for hearing on the case to begin.

Meanwhile,Justice Badam Parmaak,the district P.R.O of GRNMA indicated in a statement that the white lady has not been consistent in her argument.At a point,she indicated the ward was warm so she decided to remove her clothing leaving her pant and the suspect came in and started removing her panties.But in her statement in Tamale, she wrote that she was feeling cold since the ward had an air condition and she had asked the accused to cover her with a blanked which he ended up having sex with her.
According to him,Daniela had always relied on the accused anytime she needed assistance until 8:30 am when he handed over.

The accused was arrested following reports made by the Italian Ebassy to the police headquarters in Accra last week.
Initial demands by the West Gonja District Hospital to screen the lady by way of internal investigation was declined by the police.

The outcome of a vagina examination conducted on the victim at the Tamale Teaching Hospital to prove whether the accused actually ejaculated is yet to be known.The police have however picked the bedsheet on which the act was purported to have occurred as exhibit.

The accused is said to have consistently maintained since the day of the arrest that the act never occurred as alleged.

Source:Ananpansah B Abraham(AB)

Military brutality: Civilian cries for justice

Military brutality: Civilian cries for justice

Gyimah Ibrahim who was manhandled by some military men is unhappy the case is not being investigated.
The young Artisan cum businessman, Gyimah Ibrahim from Damongo, the West Gonja District of Northern Ghana who was severely brutalized by some armed military officers is crying for justice.

The civilian who was manhandled and extorted by three armed military men believes little is being done to prosecute the case after the arrest of the military men who fell from grace.
It has been a month since the arrest of the military officers involved in the act and Gyimah Ibrahim laments the fact that the Northern Regional Police Command is doing little to prosecute the said Officers.

According to him, the Northern Regional Police Crime Officer, Superintendent Kusi Appiah on the 22nd February,2018, invited him and the West Gonja District Crime Officer, Chief Inspector S. S. Gbeve to the Regional Police Headquarters to identify the culprits for onward interrogation.
Superintendent Kusi Appiah according to him, has since not shown much interest in pursuing the case and that he keeps making excuses to the effect that he Gyimah Ibrahim is not an armed robber as perceived by the soldiers.

Gyimah Ibrahim wants Superintendent Kusi to desist delaying the process of justice and do the right thing; process the officers for court since "Justice delayed is Justice denied."

Narrating his ordeal in the hands of the military men that fateful day in an interview with a Damongo based local radio station PAD FM, Mr. Ibrahim who felt traumatised feared the military were not out to protect the citizenry. He wondered why after taking money they set him free without carrying out any investigation as they initially insisted.
All he prays for now is for justice to be served in this case to serve as a deterrent to others.
" I am disappointed with the way the Police is handling the case.I am afraid they don't want to pursue the case.They are trying to kill the case.First,the charge was robbery and now am told it is extortion and assault and as I speak,I don't even know how far they have gone with the case and anytime I call the crime officer it is always stories,"lamented the disappointed Artisan.

Chief Inspector S.S. Gbeve of the Damongo Police Command who is handling the case at the District level on his part said, he as a District officer has done all that he needed to do as far as the case was concerned.
He said he is also at a loss at the moment since he has not heard anything from the regional officer for over a month regarding Gyimah's case for which reason he can't tell the date set aside for the commencement of the case.
The three officers have been charged with armed robbery,assault and extortion.

Background
It all started one fateful Tuesday afternoon around the Damongo Catholic Guest House junction,a few kilometres away from Damongo township when the victim, Gyimah Ibrahim popularly known as 'Kashinteng Boafe' had stopped by on a drive to ease himself. He was run into by some military men numbering three(3) believed to be traveling from Tamale to Wa dressed in their military uniforms with a military van.
On spotting him, they stopped by and interrogated him.

The military men queried whether that was the proper way of packing. Before the victim could respond, one of the military men forcefully opened the door of his car and found a single barrel and a pistol therein. He yelled for the attention of his colleagues that the victim was carrying a weapon and therefore a criminal.
One of the military men immediately corked his gun and ordered the victim to go on his knees (kneel) which he obliged. The car of the victim was then ransacked; all his phones were seized. A sum GhC2,800 was confiscated from the victim as well.

Gyimah Ibrahim attempted explaining that he was not a criminal and that the weapons were dully registered. He tried to show them the registration documents to the weapons but the military will have non of that. He was manhandled.
They then threatened to carry him along to Wa if he does not own up or do something. Gyimah explained that there was a police command in the district and he was willing to submit himself to any kind of investigation. The military declined to refer the victim to the district police command for investigation with the reason that the police are always in bed with criminals.
They drove him past the District Police Command and stopped a few kilometres to a near by community called Laribanga. They ask the Gyimah to "talk like a man" else if the case gets to Wa, it will become a very big case.

The military men took Ghc1000 from the victim and another undisclosed sum of money from a civilian who attempted intervening before setting Gyimah free.

Source:Ananpansah, B Abraham (AB)