Friday, April 25, 2008

Guidelines on used electronic import

25-04-08
Back page
THE Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is developing guidelines to regulate the importation of used electronic gadgets into the country.
The guidelines are expected to prevent the dumping of such gadgets, a practice which could be harmful to the public.
The Public Relations Officer of the EPA, Mr William Abaidoo, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic yesterday, noted that the guidelines would serve as a standard for what "we want to have and receive as a country in terms of electronic waste".
Mr Abaidoo mentioned electronic gadgets, which he described as ‘electronic waste’, as used television sets, radios, computers, cameras and mobile phone batteries.
He noted that most used electronic gadgets were hazardous, adding that if such waste was not regulated and indiscriminately added to other refuse, the toxic from it could leak into underground water sources.
He said a proposal had been tabled by the Chemical Control and Management Committee to set up a sub-committee of the hazardous waste committee to look at used electronic gadgets separately.
According to him, the committee was going to categorise the types of used electronic gadgets that the country received, after which an inventory would be taken to ascertain the actual situation on the ground by sending questionnaires to importers and end users of those electronic products to see the quantity they received, what they used them for and the way they were disposed of.
Mr Abaidoo said the committee would then use that as a baseline data to come out with the guidelines to regulate the inflow of the items, as well as suggest ways of disposal and recycling of the waste.
He said the committee would comprise the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), the Ministry of Trade, end users of electronic waste, computer technicians, repairers, the Ghana Standards Board and telecommunication companies.
“We have finished all the paperwork. The identification of stakeholders has also been done,” he added.

Seven to probe student's death

25-04-08
Page 3


A SEVEN-member committee has been set up by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports to investigate circumstances that led to the death of Master Gafaru Abdul Rahman, a final-year student of Adisadel College.
The committee, which is chaired by Mr Duah Adonteng, Managing Director of Ghana Post, has been given up to May 16, 2008 to submit its report.
The terms of reference are to investigate the routine Sunday activities of the school, and find out whether the activities breached the school rules and regulation, as well as government policies in education.
In addition, it is to find out whether members of staff on duty were performing their official duties or not, whether there had been any petition either from a student or parent with regard to Sunday morning routine activities and how the students had access to the new block.
The committee would also to find out whether the students found in the block were all Moslems or not, the general state of affairs in the school with regard to discipline, the extent of co-operation among members of staff in enforcing discipline in the school and to investigate any other related issues and make recommendations on the findings.
Master Abdul Rahman allegedly jumped to his death when a senior housemaster of the school went to lock the block, which had been inaugurated a week earlier. The block had not been opened for use but students were said to be using it.
Inaugurating the committee, the Minister of Education, Science and Sports, Prof Dominic Fobih, charged the members to come out with the truth to clear the circumstances that led to the death of the student.
He said the inauguration of the committee was an expression of the government’s commitment to ensuring that education was accessible to all, irrespective of race, religion, or status.
“I have considered it expedient to constitute this committee to look at the circumstances that led to the Adisadel College incident and to use this to review generally the management of such situations in all second cycle institutions with the view to establishing appropriate guidelines for all second cycle schools,” he emphasised.
Prof Fobih said issues of discipline had become an important subject in modern times not only because of its effect on the development of the individual and institutions, but because it was a necessary prerequisite for the development of every society.
Mr Adonteng assured the minister that the task given the committee would be carried out effectively.
He said the committee would leave no stone unturned in unravelling the truth, saying that “it is our privilege and obligation to respond to this national calling”.
The other members of the committee are the Omanhene of Mamfe Akuapem, Osabarima Nana Ansah Sasraku III, former head and representative of Conference of Managers of Education Units (COMEU), Very Rev Dr Richard Foli and the General Manager of Islamic Schools, Alhaji Arimeyao Shaibu.
The rest are the parent-teacher association (PTA) Chairman of the school, Dr Fiifi Mensah; the Managing Director of Phonix Insurance, Mrs Aeo Nkani and the Regional Security Co-ordinator, Air Commodore (Retd) Richard Awuku.

'Forge a common front' Teachers, other educational workers advised

03-28-08
Page 11

THE Deputy Minister of Education, Science and Sports, Mrs Angelina Baiden-Amissah, has stressed the need for teachers and other educational workers to forge a common front in order to achieve their objectives.
“It is only in unity that we can achieve quality education for all. A family divided against itself cannot stand and make any substantial achievements,” she said adding that “we must, therefore, approach our individual tasks as educators with a common aspiration and a common goal”.
Mrs Baiden-Amissah made the call at the opening of Education International Regional Advisory Committee (EIRAC) meeting in Accra.
The programme which was on the theme: “Uniting For Stronger Unions’”, was attended by representatives of the committee from Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo and Zimbabwe.
The objectives of Education International include the promotion and protection of human and trade rights, the promotion of quality public-funded education for all, building the capacity of member unions to achieve their objectives, as well as empower union leadership at all levels to enable them to provide democratic and effective leadership.
Mrs Baiden-Amissah said it was incumbent upon all to search for a viable model of organisation and adequate funding of educational institutions.
Ghana’s commitment and contribution to Africa’s educational development, she said, remained unquestioned, and that the government would leave no stone unturned in its bid to address the challenges facing the education sector.
Welcoming the participants, the General Secretary of the Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union (TEWU), Mr Dan Ayim Antwi, said unity was the hallmark of trade unionism and its absence could be “likened to the disperasl of seeds on rock or rolling stone that gathers no moist”.
“It is only the unity of our unions that can strengthen our hands to give both qualitative and quantitative services to our members and the students we educate, and thereby facilitate the rapid development of our nations,” he said.
The General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Mrs Irene Duncan-Adanusah, reiterated the need for the teachers to have a common front.

'Forge a common front' Teachers, other educational workers advised

03-28-08
Page 11

THE Deputy Minister of Education, Science and Sports, Mrs Angelina Baiden-Amissah, has stressed the need for teachers and other educational workers to forge a common front in order to achieve their objectives.
“It is only in unity that we can achieve quality education for all. A family divided against itself cannot stand and make any substantial achievements,” she said adding that “we must, therefore, approach our individual tasks as educators with a common aspiration and a common goal”.
Mrs Baiden-Amissah made the call at the opening of Education International Regional Advisory Committee (EIRAC) meeting in Accra.
The programme which was on the theme: “Uniting For Stronger Unions’”, was attended by representatives of the committee from Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo and Zimbabwe.
The objectives of Education International include the promotion and protection of human and trade rights, the promotion of quality public-funded education for all, building the capacity of member unions to achieve their objectives, as well as empower union leadership at all levels to enable them to provide democratic and effective leadership.
Mrs Baiden-Amissah said it was incumbent upon all to search for a viable model of organisation and adequate funding of educational institutions.
Ghana’s commitment and contribution to Africa’s educational development, she said, remained unquestioned, and that the government would leave no stone unturned in its bid to address the challenges facing the education sector.
Welcoming the participants, the General Secretary of the Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union (TEWU), Mr Dan Ayim Antwi, said unity was the hallmark of trade unionism and its absence could be “likened to the disperasl of seeds on rock or rolling stone that gathers no moist”.
“It is only the unity of our unions that can strengthen our hands to give both qualitative and quantitative services to our members and the students we educate, and thereby facilitate the rapid development of our nations,” he said.
The General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Mrs Irene Duncan-Adanusah, reiterated the need for the teachers to have a common front.

CHASS calls for review of transfer policy

03-27-08
Page 55

THE Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) is advocating a review of the Ghana Education Service (GES) transfer policy in senior high schools.
The policy stipulates that only second-year students can be transferred.
According to the CHASS , transfers should cover second and third year students now that the senior high school programme is for four years.
The President of the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS), Mr Samuel Ofori-Agyei, disclosed this to the Daily Graphic in Accra.
A reminder on the policy guidelines on student transfers, withdrawal or dismissal signed by the Director of Secondary Education at the Ghana Education Service (GES), said although student transfer was not encouraged, there were a number of procedures through which that could be done.
“Parents must search for a school that is willing to offer midstream admission to the child,” it said, adding that the head of the school must also “issue an assurance letter to the parents”.
It explained that such a parent’s application letter must give tangible reasons for the transfer, provide photocopies of the student’s school reports for the last two terms, Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) result slip and clearance letter from the head of the present school, indicating that there were no outstanding bills and debts, among other things.
The letter, dated August 29, 2007, noted that transfers were only possible when students were moving from one public senior high school to another.
It also said that no student on transfer should be admitted into the final year in another school while second year students who left their school should be made to repeat the second year.
“A student who leaves a private school for public school should be made to repeat senior high school form one. This means that the student should purchase a re-entry form, complete and submit it for processing through the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS),” the letter said.

Ghanaians mark holiday with picnicks, beach activities

03-25-08
Spead

GHANAIANS yesterday marked the Easter Monday holiday with recreational events including beach activities and picnics to climax the Easter celebrations.
While a number of churches held picnics, other individuals, including children, thronged the beaches to have fun.
As of 11 am a large number of people had converged on the Dansoman beach. There was open air music, food and drinks to spice up activities on the beach.
Some young men, however, took advantage of the huge patronage of the beach to charge a fee of GH¢1 before allowing people to enter the beach. There were as many as four barriers where the young men stood to collect money.
At the Korle Gonno Beach, a number of people had started arriving with their ice chests packed with assorted drinks, and other food items to enjoy themselves.
The caretaker of the beach, Atta Ayifio, told the Daily Graphic that measures had been put in place to prevent people who came purposely to swim from drowning.
He said some fishermen who were experts in swimming had received training to guide people who would want to swim to avoid drowning.
The churches were not left out either, as members gathered at their various places of worship to engage in fun games, eat and dance to some music.
At the Gethsemane Methodist Church, Mamprobi, members danced to the tune of brass band amidst merrymaking.
The situation at the Holy Trinity Cathedral Church in Accra was also full of joy as both the young and old, including Reverend Ministers of the church, were engaged in drumming, outdoor and indoor games, eating, drinking and dancing.
An elder of the church, Madam Diana Quartey, said Easter Monday was a time that brought together all members of the church to socialise and make new friends.
Members of the Mamprobi Circuit of the Methodist Church converged on the Dr E.A. Allotey-Pappoe School to play ludo, football, tug-of-war, spoon and lime race, table tennis and other games.
The Circuit Steward, Mr Samuel Aryee, told the Daily Graphic that the annual event was to afford them the opportunity to interact, share ideas on the way forward and have fun.
He said it was also to prevent the youth from using the occasion to go out and engage in acts that could affect their development.
Members of the Martyrs of Uganda Catholic Church at Mamprobi also engaged in a number of fun games including football, quiz and ludo.

Disbursement under LEAP starts today

03-19-08
Page48
ABOUT 8,350 individuals from 1,654 households will between today and tomorrow receive their grants under the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme.
Each beneficiary would be given GH¢16 for a two-month period while the next payment will be made in May.
The National Co-ordinator of LEAP, Mr Lawrence Ofori-Addo, made this known to the Daily Graphic yesterday.
Beneficiaries in Bawku will, however, not receive the grants as a result of the conflict in the area.
Mr Ofori-Addo said the grants would be disbursed to beneficiaries in Bawku once there was normalcy.
He said the LEAP Secretariat had completed the data verification of the beneficiaries and that the beneficiaries had also been issued with identification cards, adding that the payment would be done through Ghana Post and the district offices of the Department of Social Welfare.
LEAP is part of the National Social Protection Strategy (NSPS), a social grant which seeks to provide funds on conditional basis to extremely poor households with vulnerable orphans. The core feature of the programme is direct cash transfer to categories of poor people.
Mr Ofori-Addo said three other areas — Lawra, Ga West and the Tema Municipality, where errors were identified on the data of some beneficiaries — will have to wait until they were corrected, stating that “as soon as they are corrected they will be added to the list”.
“Our officials are currently contacting the beneficiaries and arranging the payment points. We don’t expect long queues, since everything would be smooth,” he said
Mr Ofori-Addo indicated that the five-year programme, which was at the pre-pilot stage, was expected to cover 164,370 households under the period.
Ninety-two households will benefit in Dangbe West, 43 in the Tema Municipal area, 45 in Ga West, 73 in the Cape Coast Municipal area, 74 in the Agona District, 84 in the Assin North District, 99 in Nzema East, 94 in Asuogyaman District and 86 in the Manya Krobo District.
The rest are 93 households in Yilo Krobo District, 115 in New Juabeng, 74 in Fanteakwa, 98 in Kwahu West, 97 in Akuapem South, 89 in Ketu South, 70 in Kumasi Metro, 98 in Obuasi, 104 in the Techiman Municipality, 93 in the Bole District and 31 in the Lawra District.
The Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS 5) which was conducted in 2005 and 2006 indicated that 41 per cent of Ghanaians were poor and out of that figure, 18.2 per cent were considered extremely poor.

Kasoa market to get more facilities

02-04-08
Page 48

A GH¢3,500,000 trading complex is to be added to the new Kasoa Market located on the Kasoa-Bawjiase road in the Central Region.
The project, to be carried out by Kabod Kedel Company Limited, an investment firm, is expected to be completed in five years.
Facilities to be put up include, lockable stores, a clinic, a crèche, a hostel, a cold store, stalls, a fire station and places of convenience.
At a ceremony to cut the sod for the commencement of work, the District Chief Executive for the Awutu Senya, Mr Solomon Abam Quaye, said the project was significant to the country’s internal trade.
According to him, the market was moved from the old to the present site to ease traffic on the main Kasoa-Winneba road, as well as to ensure convenient shopping through the provision of the requisite amenities.
He advised traders who had acquired places in the market illegally to vacate such places, since the assembly would eject them, adding that all must support the government to weed out indiscipline.
Mr Abam Quaye urged the chiefs and people in the area to join forces with the company to develop the area.
The Director of Kabod Kadel, Mr Peter Nuamah, said the project, when completed, would have several prospects and benefits not only to the town’s folks, but people from outside the town.
He said the project was an income-generating venture for the Awutu Senya District Assembly, since it would strengthen it to generate the needed revenue to embark on other development projects.
The Presiding Member of the Awutu Senya District Assembly, Mr Chess Esker, said apart from generating income for the assembly, the construction of the project would also create jobs for the unemployed in the area.

BECE candidates to choose six schools

04-02-08
Spead Lead

BASIC Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates will henceforth choose six senior high schools (SHS) or technical institutes, instead of four, to increase their chances of being placed in schools of their choice under the Computerised Schools Selection and Placement System (CSSPS).
The Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Mr Samuel Bannerman-Mensah, told the Daily Graphic that beginning from the 2008/09 academic year, the placement exercise would be done only once.
“Henceforth, there will not be second, third and fourth placements,” he said, adding that the move was to ensure that all students reported at the beginning of the academic year to ensure smooth academic work.
Mr Bannerman-Mensah said the arrangements were part of steps taken by the service to address earlier challenges that came with the placement exercise.
He said candidates who would be writing the BECE this month would be given the opportunity to choose two more schools and programmes, in addition to the four already selected.
According to him, the exercise would be carried out from April 7-12, 2008, adding that “all heads of junior high schools (JHS) are to assist and guide their respective candidates in making informed choices” from a given list of SHS.
Mr Bannerman-Mensah said heads of JHS were to prepare the minds of their candidates for the exercise and that district directors and district examination officers were to ensure that all schools participating in the 2008 BECE were informed and prepared adequately for the exercise.
“Heads of participating JHS and their candidates are to note that the choices are additional to the choices already made during the batch registration for the 2008 BECE carried out by WAEC in November/December 2007,” it added.
The statement indicated that heads of JHS, parents and candidates were to co-operate with the GES officers in the exercise, since it was the wish of the GES that all qualified candidates were placed before school re-opened for the 2008/09 academic year.
The Co-ordinator of the CSSPS, Mr Andrew Akuoko, told the Daily Graphic that vacancies still existed in some SHS, saying that they were due to health and transfer reasons.
He said the service was determined to carry out a smooth placement exercise.

Govt releases subsidy for second cycle schools

04-04-08
Page 3

THE Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) has released GH¢1,855,149.00 as scholarship grants for second cycle schools in the three northern regions.
The money, which covers the 2007/2008 academic year, was released to the Scholarship Secretariat for onward transfer to the schools.
“There is no outstanding debt now. With the release of the money we don’t owe the schools,” Assistant Director 2B of the Scholarship Secretariat, Ms Anna Adjei-Wiredu, said in an interview with the Daily Graphic yesterday.
She attributed the delay in the release of the money to administrative procedures.
Heads of second-cycle schools in the three northern regions threatened to send home first and second-year students by yesterday, Thursday, March 13, 2008, if full grants of the first and second terms were not released.
They explained that since the beginning of the academic year in September, last year, only 40 per cent of the feeding grant for second and final-year students had been released, while nothing had been received for first-year students for the same term.
As a result of the delay in the release of the funds, food suppliers in the three regions were on the heels of heads of senior high schools for outstanding food bills.
The Minister of Education, Science and Sports, Prof. Dominic Fobih, on March 10, 2008, directed the GETFund to immediately secure funds from other sources to the Scholarship Secretariat for onward transfer to schools in the three northern regions.
The GES had earlier appealed to the heads of schools to exercise restraint as steps were being taken, following the threats by heads that they were sending the students home until the funds were released.
Meanwhile, the GES has welcomed the release of the funds to the schools, saying that it would ensure that academic activities were not interrupted.
“This is one piece of good news and we are grateful to the GETFund,” the acting head of the Public Relations Unit of the GES, Mr Paul Krampa, told the Daily Graphic.

Grandpa's Dream Comes True-Graduates at 83

04-05-08
Front page

A Ghanaian octogenarian has set an unusual standard for adult education by graduating from the University of Cape Coast (UCC) at the age of 83.
John Harry Johnson, whose 84th birthday falls today, April 5, 2008, had completed a three-year diploma programme in Basic Education.
A father of six, with 13 grandchildren and five great grandchildren, Mr Johnson studied Mathematics, Guidance and Counselling, Basic Philosophy and Science, specialising in Mathematics.
Before enrolling at the UCC in the 2004/2005 academic year, Mr Johnson had pursued programmes in Mathematics at the University of Bucharest in Romania, the Reading University in London and the University of Cambridge.
A product of St Augustine’s College in Cape Coast in the Central Region, Mr Johnson, who is teaching at the Jubilee School in Cape Coast, told the Daily Graphic in Accra that there was the need to tell his success story to prove a point that old age did not mean inability.
For him, there was the need to give credence to the fact that there was no end or age limit to studying, saying that it all depended on the individual’s ability to continue studying.
Nobody, he said, had followed up on his studies at the university since it was first reported that he had enrolled there to pursue a programme, hence the need for him to tell his story after completing the course.
According to him, sitting in class with people who could be his grandchildren had not meant much to him.
“I was determined to do the course,” he said, and advised the youth to take their studies seriously.
Given his passion for teaching, Mr Johnson said he decided to pursue the course at the UCC to enable him to understand the current syllabus being used at the basic educational level.
“I now have a full spectrum of the system, from kindergarten to pre-university,” he noted.
He stressed the need for the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports to come out with a policy on the re-engagement of retired teachers to fill the vacancies that existed in basic and second-cycle schools, since there were educationists who were physically fit to continue to impart knowledge to the young ones.
“As long as you are physically fit, you should be allowed to work. Age has nothing to do with the ability to teach. You need not be given a fat salary; only allowances that will make you viable,” he emphasised.
Mr Johnson said when recruiting retired persons to teach, age should not be looked at, only the expertise and intelligent quotient (IQ) of the person being recruited.
Speaking with passion, he said, “I enjoy teaching, since its a joy to teach,” and indicated that he taught children in his area for free.
He taught for 16 years at St Augustine’s College and 10 years at Mfantsipim School. He said he had taught a number of prominent Ghanaians, including a former Minister of Education, Science and Sports, Papa Owusu-Ankomah, and the current Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Mr Samuel Bannerman-Mensah.
He expressed his displeasure at the way he was retired at 55 in 1979 when the retirement age was increased to 60 in the same year, adding that the educational authorities failed to re-engage him.
Mr Johnson said he had to go to Nigeria to teach for some years, after which he returned to Ghana to be re-engaged. When he returned, he went to teach at St Augustine’s College from 1988-1990; the School for the Deaf, 1991-1993, and the Montessori Junior High School, 1994-1995.
He was the Headmaster of the Albert Sam Junior High School in 1996 and taught at the Hanover Park Primary School, the Tuwofu International School and the Golden Treasure Primary School.
Born on April 5, 1924 to Madam Ekua Akowa and Mr William Johnson, Mr Johnson is married to Mrs Charlotte Johnson.
He attended the Government Boys’ School in Cape Coast, St Augustine’s College, the Winneba Specialist Training College, among other institutions.

Books on self development launched

04-07-08
Page 33

TWO books, Who Wears the Crown and School Self Evaluation-A Tool For Academic Excellence, authored by Mr Anthony Yao Boafor, a retired educationist, have been launched in Accra.
According to the author, the books seek to develop the best qualities in the individual.
He said self evaluation was a critical analytic activity for identifying one’s strengths and weaknesses and taking measures to reduce weaknesses to the minimum in order to improve one’s performance.
According to Mr Boafor, Who Wears the Crown is an attempt to explore the dynamics of success or excellence, adding that there were many people who had achieved success or excellence in different spheres of human endeavour.
In an address read on his behalf to launch the books, the Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Mr Samuel Bannerman-Mensah, commended the author for taking pains to share his thoughts and ideas with the younger generation.
He said the need for creating a generation with critical and enquiring minds could not be over-emphasised, saying that there were vast opportunities for attaining excellence.
He observed that self evaluation was one of the most critical activities which every individual had to embark on from time-to-time in a systematic way to ensure progress in life.
Mr Bannerman-Mensah said the issues raised in the book complemented, to a large extent, the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports’ policy on quality education, and recommended the book to educationists.
He said Who Wears the Crown which captures some fundamental principles for attaining excellence, indicated that “the crown is never obtained on a silver platter” as there were mountains and valleys that needed to be overcome.
The youth, teachers and all workers in general could draw some useful guiding principles from this simple book. I recommend this book to all basic schools to serve as a supplementary reader, he stated.

Expedite action on Tourism Fund

04-07-08
Page 29

THE Tourism Investors and Practitioners Organisation (TIPO) has called on the government to expedite action of the establishment of the Tourism Development Fund.
The organisation said such a measure was bound to propel the country’s efforts in tourism to greater heights.
The President of TIPO, Mr Forster Nyarko, made the call at a ceremony to brief the press on its study tour of Mauritius.
He pointed to the fact that security and good governance of the country should provide an opportunity to draw tourists from different parts of the world and increase the number of visitor arrivals.
Unfortunately, even combined with our extraordinary landscape, unique culture and variety of attractions, the vision to brand the country as a destination of preference unequalled anywhere else in sub-Saharan Africa had not fully materialised, he said.
Mr Nyarko said that the WTO Tourism Vision 2020 forecast that international arrivals were expected to reach more than 1.56 billion over the period, adding that the three top receiving regions were Europe (717 million tourists), East Asia and the Pacific (397 million), the Americas (282 million), followed by Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.
He said the organisation would continue to push its programmes with a view to improving tourism generally in the country.
TIPO’s programme and activities, he said, included assisting to attract domestic and foreign investments, ensure an appropriate environment and adequate incentives for current operators and new investors, seek support for small- and medium-size entrepreneurs and create a forum for stakeholders to express their views.
Mr Nyarko said Mauritius had identified tourism as a prime industry contributing to the build-up of national revenue, adding that it took investors in the sector a maximum of only 48 hours to go through the required processes to commence business or get approval.
He stressed the need for cleanliness, adding that that was true of Mauritius, since that country had consciously developed its beaches to attract visitors and pleasure-seekers from around the world.
A member of TIPO, Nana Dr Baah Wiredu, said like the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), the Tourism Development Fund would be able to address the challenges in the tourism sector.

Ghana saves GH¢800,000 from recycling waste

04-09-08
Page 31

THE country saves GH¢800,000 every year as result of the transformation of waste materials by research scientists at the Animal Research Institute and the Cocoa Research Institute into animal feed for the livestock industry.
They include cocoa husks, palm kernels, coconut chaff, cocoa puds, pito mash, cassava peels and copra.
The Director of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Prof E. Owusu-Bennoah, stated this in an address read on his behalf at the opening of a two-week refresher course for West Africa alumni of Practical Training Centre plus (PTC+) at Barneveld College in The Netherlands.
The programme which is on the theme, “Chain Management for Sustainable Pig/Poultry in West Africa”, aims at among other things, to keep the alumni abreast with modern trends in agriculture. PTC+ in Barneveld has for the past 35 years, trained about 130 Ghanaians in the field of poultry, pig and feed milling.
Prof Owuwu-Bennoah noted that increase in agricultural productivity and production should be the immediate focus in the attempt to create and increase wealth despite the discovery of oil.
“The CSIR through the activities of its scientists has been the main engine powering this drive in this country by the continuous release of new and improved crop varieties such as quality proten maize as well as effective and efficient animal feeding strategies and disease control packages,” he said, adding that future programmes in the animal sector would include the use of molecular biology techniques for characterisation of disease agents and the diagnosis of diseases such Swine Fever, Bird Flu, Gumboro disease and Newcastle disease.
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Mr Ernest Debrah, said the government had established a Poultry Development Board to advise it on the development of the poultry industry.
He named some of the major constraints in the sector as low genetic material of livestock species, poor management practices and low productivity, inadequate availability of quality feed, low application of good agricultural practices in the production, handling and transportation of livestock products as well as low awareness of food safety.
As part of measures to address such constraints, he said, the ministry would undertake the breeding of genetically superior livestock for farmers, develop and promote good management practices and appropriate housing for livestock and improve the nutritive value of rangelands by the introduction of proven forage legumes.
The acting Director of the Veterinary Division of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Dr E.B.M. Koney, said about 40,000 birds were destroyed last year during the outbreak of the Avian Influenza.
The Deputy Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Ms Benedicta Naana Biney, said the involvement of teachers in the programme meant a lot since it would arouse the interest of the youth in the area of agriculture.
A trainer at PTC+, Mr Helmich van Rees, said the institution was an international training centre which focused on all the links in the production chain of plant and animal commodities, agricultural and food technology.
The main activities of the institution, he said, were designing and conducting application oriented training programmes and transforming of information to become knowledge of clients.
He said PTC+ had undertaken projects in South Africa, Senegal, Zambia and Uganda.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Northern Ghana to experience normal rains

04-10-08
Page 64

THE northern part of the country is expected to have normal rains this year, a senior meteorologist with the Ghana Meteorological Agency, Mr Amos Narh, has disclosed.
Consequently, he advised people in the area, especially farmers, to take advantage of the rains and plant their crops.
“We are going to have enough rains to sustain agriculture. The people should take advantage of this,” he advised, adding that the rains were expected to start in mid-May in the northern part of the country.
Mr Narh told the Daily Graphic that the agency would inform the public on any changes in the weather condition.
Last year’s rains in the north, coupled with other factors, such as the opening of the spillway of a dam in Burkina Faso, resulted in flooding in the three northern regions, displacing thousands of people.
Bridges, houses and other property running into billions of cedis were also destroyed in the floods. Large acres of farm land and roads were also submerged by flood waters and a number of lives were also lost during the floods.
A rapid response team has been formed by the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to undertake emergency operations in Accra, in line with the severe flooding which is predicted to hit parts of the south.
The Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinator of NADMO, Mr Ben Brown, said a team had been assembled from the Navy, the Air Force, the Police Service, the Fire Service, the Red Cross, Civil Aviation, the Ghana Health Service and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to provide rescue and other services wherever flooding might occur.

Let's end Sefwi chieftaincy dispute

04-11-08
Page 31

THE Sefwi Citizens Association in Accra has appealed to the factions involved in the Sefwi chieftaincy dispute to unite and work together for an amicable settlement of the dispute.
It also stressed the need for Ghanaians, especially those from Sefwi, “to put their hands on the wheel to assist in the speedy resolution of the dispute”.
Addressing a press conference in Accra yesterday, the Patron of the association, Mr Francis Assuah, said Sefwi citizens pledged their unflinching support and commitment to any move that would see to the early resolution of the dispute, which, according to him, was eroding their pride.
He said for the period (about two years) the dispute had lasted, divisiveness, hatred and fanaticism had been the order of the day, adding that posterity would not be kind to the factions should they preside over the destruction of the Sefwi state during their life time.
The Yam festival, which had not been celebrated for sometime now, he said, was an occasion that fostered unity among the Sefwis.
“To say that the dispute has brought most economic activities in the area to a standstill will be an understatement. In fact, there has not been any meaningful development in the area since the dispute erupted,” he stated.
Mr Assuah indicated that the dispute had been a drain on the District Assembly’s coffers, saying that the well-being of soldiers who had been stationed at Sefwi Wiawso to maintain peace and order for the past years had been the responsibility of the assembly.
According to him, the area was gradually being isolated from national activities, and cited the change of venue in the celebration of last year’s International Cocoa Day from Wiawso to Bibiani due to security reasons.
He added that the chieftaincy problem might have also accounted for Wiawso not being elevated when a number of district assemblies that were contemporaries of Wiawso were elevated to municipal status recently.
Mr Assuah said a number of politicians would be visiting the area for campaigns and asked how the people would have a common front to demand their share of the national cake.
“As the saying goes, when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. In this case, it is the development of the area, the sense of pride as a people and the innocent and law-abiding Sefwis who are suffering,” he emphasised and said the fact that the dispute had not resulted in violence and loss of life proved that the Sefwis were peaceful by nature.
The chairman of the association, Mr Stephen Kwayie, reminded the factions that no investor would go to an area that was conflict-prone.

Change science teaching methods-Koram

04-14-08
Page 21

THE Head of the Department of Epidemiology at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), Prof Kodwo Koram, has called for a drastic change in the teaching of science in educational institutions in the country.
He said there should be an opportunity to enable students to explore more, while there should be enough practical lessons.
He noted that the exposure of students to real science at the formative level of the educational system was virtually non-existent, adding, “We must be serious at providing functional practical laboratories where students can undertake practical lessons.”
Prof Koram made the call when he presented a paper on, “Making Science Education a Top Priority in Ghana: Benefits and Challenges”, at the 70th anniversary lecture of the Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School (PRESEC) in Accra.
He said there should be innovative ways in the teaching of the sciences to bring out the joy of discovery in students pursuing the subjects, saying that a science culture should be created in the country to assist it in its growth and development.
He indicated that the world was changing fast and that things learnt today might change in the future, hence the need for the educational system to inculcate in students the art of life-long learning.
Prof Koram said the country should have people who would come out with scientifically sound solutions to the common problems facing it to enable it to meet the needs of the people.
Skilled manpower, he said, was needed to produce high-value goods for the citizenry and called on policy makers to provide the right environment for the provision of this skilled manpower.
He said PRESEC should reflect and build on the gains it had made in the past 70 years and charged the current crop of students to make proper use of their time in the school.
The Chairman for the function, Prof Rudolf Darko, said the country needed to invest more in science education “if we are to move forward”.

Graduates urged to prepare for job market

04-15-08
Page 31

THE Chief Operating Officer of Ghana Home Loans, Mr Kojo Addo-Kufuor, has charged graduates of tertiary institutions to prepare themselves adequately to enable them to meet the demands and requirements of employers.
He was because employers needed employees who could add value to their businesses.
Speaking at a career seminar organised by AIESEC, a student-run association, Mr Addo-Kufuor said, there were lot of opportunities for graduates to take advantage of, but for lack of adequate preparations they could not get them.
Mr Addo-Kufuor charged the participants to do some research about organisations or companies they intend to work with, so as to give them a fair idea as to where they were going, adding that that would help them during interview for employment.
“One of the best ways to impress your recruiter is to let them know that you know something about their business,” he explained.
In preparing for interview on the job market, he said, they should prepare for some obvious like “tell me about yourself” to enable them to score full marks.
With regard to the preparation of Curriculum Vitae (CV), he said, they should check their spellings, grammar, use basic fonts like Times New Roman and arranged in chronological order.
Mr Addo-Kufuor asked graduates to give a good impression of themselves by getting to the venue for the interview before the stipulated time, saying that they should be presentable and smart in their appearance.
The Managing Partner of Oxford and Beaumont, Mr Elikem Nutifafa Kuhenhia, said graduates should have interpersonal skills and have a hunger to develop.
He said they identify their strengths in the markets and make adequate use of them, and urged the students to make the most of their time at the university.
Mr Ralph Fiifi Amissah, the acting Head of Human Capital at the United Bank for Africa (UBA), said career planning must be effectively done to enable graduates to achieve the desired results on the job market.
He said career planning did not only happen before work but in the course of work, and stressed the need for graduates to be able to deliver on their responsibilities.
In a related development, AIESEC held a Career Fair for students of the University of Ghana.
It sought to educate them how to prepared for the job market.
Representatives from seven organisations namely- Ghana Home Loans, United Bank for Africa, Standard Chartered Bank, SAS Financial Group, Oxford and Beaumont Solicitors, Nestle Ghana Limited and Corporate Assessment Company mounted stands where students interacted with them.
Some of the organisations took the applications and CVs of students while some of them (students) were interviewed.

Greater Accra Civil Servants housing project begins

04-15-08
Page 24

The Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Alhaji Abubakar Boniface Saddique, has cut the sod for the construction of a housing estate, estimated at $11 million, for the Greater Accra branch of the Civil Servants Association (CSA).
The project, which is being financed by VANDT Developers Limited, is situated on 540 acres at Obosomase in the Eastern Region and is expected to be completed in about nine months.
Speaking at the ceremony, Alhaji Siddique said the move by the association was in line with the government’s policy to provide decent and affordable housing to Ghanaians.
He said the government provided the affordable housing scheme to provide houses to the citizenry, adding that about 5,000 of the houses were expected to be completed by the end of this year.
He commended the Grater Accra branch of the Civil Servants Association and expressed the hope that civil servants in the other regions would emulate what their colleagues had done.
The Chairman of VANDT Developers Limited, Mr Isaac Enimil Osei Bonsu, said with housing deficits estimated at 500,000, the delivery of well-priced and affordable houses in a co-ordinated manner had become pertinent for real estate development in the country.
He said the project which started as a dream of the hardworking executives of the CSA, was a clear manifestation of the prevailing economic climate and the golden age of business being enjoyed in the country.
“For this public/private partnership, VANDT would provide financing and construct the houses and the Civi Servants Association will provide buyers who have been pre-qualified for mortgages,” he said, adding that “the pre-qualification process is still ongoing and this will involve the detailed analyses of members’ current salaries, allowances, years to retirement and ability to service a 12 to 20-year mortgage to match the requirements of prospective mortgage providers”.
The Chairman of the Greater Accra branch of the CSA, Mr James Amissah, said the project was expected to address the housing needs of civil servants.
The Chief of Obosomase, Nana Yaw Dartey, called on the government to improve the road network in the area.

Internal Audit Agency organises seminar for journalists

04-16-08
Page 31

A seminar to inform and build the knowledge of media practitioners on the role of the Internal Audit Agency in improving accountability and performance in the public sector opened in Accra yesterday with a call on media practitioners to act as agents in seeking the truth and uncovering falsehood.
The President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Mr Ransford Tetteh, who made the call, noted that the media had a crucial role to play in the fight against corruption by giving people access to balanced information.
“The role of the media is, therefore, critical in promoting good governance and controlling corruption. They do not only raise public awareness of corruption but also investigate and report incidents of corruption,” he said.
The seminar, which was organised by the Internal Audit Agency, also aimed at establishing a level of awareness among media personnel of the internal audit practice in ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), as well as metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs).
Mr Tetteh said the effectiveness of the media depended on their access to information and freedom of expression, as well as a professional and ethical cadre of investigative journalists, saying that aggressive and independent journalism was one of the most effective forces that acted against corrupt practices.
He said an independent and liberal judicial system was an important component which ensured media freedom to promote good governance and accountability.
He noted that a judicial system that was too repressive severely limited media freedom and indicated that the fear of having to pay huge amounts of money as a result of libel suits might cause the media not to risk publishing certain matters, even though they might be in the public interest.
“The GJA calls for the setting up of a special fund to assist media houses that are dragged to court out of the desire to serve the public interest and the common good,” he said.
Mr Tetteh said the government and the larger society should accept the watchdog role of the media in promoting public accountability and good governance and “give them the necessary protection to carry out this onerous responsibility at all times”.
The Director-General of the Internal Audit Agency, Mr Patrick Numo, said the agency was established under Act 658 of 2003 to primarily ensure financial discipline and accountability in the public sector.
The media, he said, had played and would continue to play a vital role in the promotion of good governance in the country. It was, therefore, necessary for the to fully understand the work of the agency to enhance the performance of their agenda setting and watchdog roles.
“The Internal Audit Agency considers the media as a very important stakeholder and partner in the development of our nation and in the attainment of the goals and objectives of the agency. It is for this reason, among others, that the agency found it necessary to host this workshop,” he emphasised.
He said it was important to gather views, ideas and suggestions from the media on the most effective and efficient ways of propagating the essence of the internal audit practice to the various publics.

2008 WASSCE begins Tuesday

04-11-08
Page 11

THE 2008 West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) will begin throughout the country next week Tuesday, with 136,936 candidates sitting for the examination.
They are made up of 77,281 males including 16 visually impaired males and 59,655 females comprising five visually impaired female candidates.
A total of 572 schools and 572 supervisors would be in charge of supervision of the examination.
Meanwhile, the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) has urged candidates writing the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) to comport themselves and observe all the rules governing the examination.
“It is our prayer that all of you will comport yourselves well and observe the rules and regulations governing the conduct of the examination to avoid any act that will put your school into disrepute,” it said.
A statement issued by the National CHASS Secretariat, wished the candidates all the best in the examination.
It said the National CHASS would like to take the opportunity to “wish you all divine wisdom, direction, health and protection during the entire period of the examination”.
It urged the candidates to have faith in God and be assured that they could do all things through Him who strengthened them.
It said the candidates should be confident that once they were well-equipped they would come out with flying colours.
“We wish you a malpractice-free examination and May the Good Lord see you through successfully,” it added.

Work progresses on Legon hostel facility

04-18-08
Page 11


WORK on the construction of a hostel facility that will comprise 7,100 beds for the University of Ghana, Legon to ease the perennial accommodation problem facing the students is progressing steadily.
So far the sub-structure, comprising the foundation and ground floors of each of the four storey building projects which began in September last year, has been completed.
Construction work is on schedule and efforts are being concentrated on the super structure which includes the rooms.
The hostel project estimated at GH¢ 7.29 million and is being funded by a consortium of six banks and the University of Ghana. It is expected to be completed in May 2009.
President J.A Kufuor who cut the sod for the commencement of construction of work in September last year said at the sod-cutting ceremony that universities were not lacking in terms of bankable assets that could be invested; citing land, cash in the bank and ideas.
Workers of the four construction firms; Berock Ventures, Adanko Company Limited, Jeskan Limited and Kingdwosco Limited were busily working when the Daily Graphic team visited the project site on Thursday.
The acting Director of Physical Development and Municipal Services of the University of Ghana, Mr Philip Azundow said there had been additional spheres to the work as a result of the slope of the land for support services like banking, among other activities.
He said the building being constructed by Berock Ventures Limited was 42 per cent complete followed by Kingdwosco, Adanko and Jeskan, adding that “when you finish ahead of schedule you are given a bonus.
However, he said, when the work was behind schedule, the construction firm would be penalised based on the rent payable for each room it failed to complete on time.
Mr Azundow indicated that there would be a biogas plant at the site where wastes generated would be recycled, saying that the authorities were considering using the gas from the plant to generate electricity.
The Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof. Clifford Nii Boi Tagoe, said at the sod cutting ceremony that the authorities were doing everything to improve on academic, residential and recreational facilities at the University and expressed appreciation to the government, the Ghana Education Trust Fund and some individuals for their support.

Proposed EPA will deepen unemployment

04-19-08
Page 23

THE Food Rights Advisor to ActionAid International, Ms Anna Antwi, has said the proposed Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) being negotiated between the European Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will deepen unemployment in the country.
Apart from that, the agreement would also worsen poverty and hunger, especially among rural producers.
“Jobs and employment in Ghana are threatened by the EU’s proposed free trade agreement with the country. The agreement will enforce the lowering of import tariffs on products like tomato paste, chicken parts, meat, dairy and other products which will flood the local markets. The consequence is great hardships in poor, rural communities where people’s livelihoods are destroyed, making local producers poorer,” she emphasised.
Ms Antwi said this at a panel discussion organised as part of the civil society forum on the upcoming 12th United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to be held in Accra from April 20 to 25, 2008.
The programme, which was on the theme, “International Trade and Employment: The Case of Agriculture in Ghana”, was organised by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and it formed part of the FES work with the TUC to engage trade unions, experts and policy makers on the link between international trade and development.
Ms Antwi noted that the agreement would also prevent Ghana from developing new industries in the future.
She said the implication was that the country would not be able to reduce poverty but remain dependent on primary commodities, with fewer employment opportunities, saying that “Ghana will also depend on the developed nations for its food needs and in the process support the economies and generate employment for other nations”.
She said women would be victims of poverty, with less job opportunities and less social amenities or support for them.
The acting Secretary-General of the TUC, Mr Kofi Asamoah, who spoke on the poultry industry, said there had been unprecedented increase in the importation of chicken, rice, tomatoes and other commodities, mainly from Europe and America, as a result of the unbridled trade liberalisation.
He said although 95 per cent of the country’s poultry requirements were produced domestically in 1992, the figure dropped to 10 per cent in 2002 when the country imported about 26,000 tonnes of chicken, mostly from the EU.
“Many small and medium-scale poultry farmers have closed their enterprises and those surviving are unable to operate at their full capacities. Earlier studies have estimated that over 400,000 jobs have been affected in the poultry industry alone as a result of the importation of cheap poultry products,” he said.
The Resident Director of the FES, Ms Kathrin Meissner, said the upcoming UNCTAD meeting would play an important role in determining the future relevance of the organisation in the multilateral trade regime.
The General Secretary of the General Agriculture Workers Union (GAWU), Mr Kingsley Offei-Nkansah, stressed the need for the government to develop pro-poor policies to get the country out of poverty.

We are not on strike-TEWU

04-19-08
Page 23

THE Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) says it has not embarked on any industrial action as reported by a section of the media.
“We have not gone on strike, since there is no need for that now,” the General Secretary of TEWU, Mr Dan Ayim Antwi, told the Daily Graphic yesterday.
He said a resolution adopted by TEWU and the Federation of University Senior Staff Associations of Ghana (FUSSAG) on April 14, 2008, called on the government to review upward, the mandate given to the Vice Chancellors of Ghana (VCG) to conclude negotiations with the two bodies on salaries and allowances.
However, he said, the resolution indicated that if by the close of work on Monday, April 21, 2008, the government had not made it possible for the VCG, TEWU and the FUSSAG to “conclude negotiations on salaries and allowances, the government should accept responsibility for whatever happens”.
“We don’t want to create any situation that will be unbearable in the universities. That is why we want the authorities to act with dispatch,” he said.
TEWU members in the universities are in administration, transport services, teaching assistants and the non-academic staff.
Mr Antwi noted that TEWU submitted proposals early in September 2007 before its collective agreement expired on December 31, 2007, adding that in November, the parties met but could not conclude negotiations.
“In January, we adopted a resolution and gave a deadline of two weeks, failure of which we would advise ourselves,” he said, adding that in the course of the period, the National Labour Commission (NLC) mandated the two sides, TEWU-FUSSAG on one hand and the VCG on the other hand, to resume negotiations.
The negotiations, he said, resumed on February 27, 2008, but could not conclude negotiations after TEWU-FUSSAG rejected an offer of 10 per cent from the VCG.
Mr Antwi explained that the various unions in the public sector had agreed that they would not accept any offer less than 20 per cent this year.
TEWU and FUSSAG, he said, therefore, asked the VCG to go for an improved mandate and reconvene on March 12, 2008, and indicated that “as of now, they have not called us”.
Last Monday, he said, the executives of the local unions in the universities met the leadership of TEWU and FUSSAG on the matter, and that it was after that meeting that local union executives went back to meet their rank and file to brief them on the outcome of the meeting with the leadership.
That, he said, was what took place on Thursday.

2008 BECE begins today

04-21-08
Page 11

This year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) begins throughout the country today.
A total of 337,110 candidates, made up of 184,919 males and 152 females would take part in the examination which would be written in 9,212 schools.
There would be 1,183 centres and 1,183 supervisors in charge of the examination.
In the Greater Accra Region, 61,313 candidates would be writing the examination, Eastern Region, 37,689 candidates; Central Region, 35,965 candidates; Western Region, 33,967 candidates; Ashanti Region, 69,818 candidates; Brong Ahafo, 30,590 candidates; Volta Region, 26,472 candidates; Northern Region, 21,443 candidates, Upper East Region, 12,257 and Upper West Region, 7,596 candidates.
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has cautioned candidates and teachers to follow all the examination rules since the necessary penalties would be applied when they were flouted.

WAEC security apprehends three persons

04-21-08
Page 11

SECURITY personnel of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) have apprehended three persons alleged to be involved in the extortion of money from candidates registering for the November/December West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
This followed media reports of alleged extortion, frustration of candidates and their parents, as well as shortage of entry cards for the registration of the examination.
The suspects who were said to be operating at the Sekyi Asare Menako Hall on the Switch Back Road are Bright Kumado, Japhet Penny and Peter Kuma.
The three said they were facilitating the registration of the candidates. Bright and Japhet said they were asked by an Internet operator at Madina, William Owusu, to help him in the registration of the candidates.
He said they charged the candidates GH¢7 for the facilitation of the registration of the candidates.
The Director in charge of Legal Affairs at WAEC, Mr Frederick Selby, told journalists that Peter had in his possession brown envelopes containing the declaration and confirmation forms of candidates stamped white envelopes.
He is alleged to have charged GH¢1.2 per candidate for the white stamped envelopes and GH¢2 for the collection of the brown envelopes he collected from candidates for submission.
He said the council did not ask any candidate to submit envelopes as part of the registration process.
The Head of National Office of WAEC, Mrs Patience Ayesu, said the council had not employed anybody or agents to facilitate the registration of November/December candidates, saying that suspects were not even supposed to be operating at the council’s premises.
She said WAEC was capable of doing its own registration and did not hire anybody to assist it in the registration of candidates.
She, therefore, advised candidates to desist from channelling their registration through agents and deal directly with the council.
She warned those involved in the illegal act to stop, else they would be caught soon since the council had stepped up security checks.
Mr Selby wondered why some candidates decided to entrust their registration into the hands of others since all the information on the examination was provided on the Internet.
He said the council needed only the declaration and the confirmation forms and nothing else, saying that once those forms did not get to them, it created problems for the council.
He said the council would investigate whether the forms collected by suspects had been presented to it.
The Daily Graphic reported last week that frustration, anger and allegations of extortion by officials of the WAEC had nearly marred the last day of the on-line registration for the November/December WASSCE at the Presbyterian Boys Secondary School (PRESEC) on Monday.

Third International ICT conference launched

04-23-08
Page 31
THE Minister of Education, Science and Sports, Prof Dominic Fobih, yesterday launched the third international conference on Information Communication Technology (ICT) for Development, Education and Training to be hosted by the country next month.
The annual event, which was hosted in Nairobi, Kenya, last year, will be attended by about 1,800 guests and will be held from May 28-30, 2008.
Addressing the press in Accra, Prof Fobih said the sharing of ideas, best practices and lessons learnt in both developing and industrialised countries would strengthen the emerging Ghanaian community of ICT practitioners, as well as forge co-operation between African and European stakeholders.
He said the conference, which will focus on developing e-learning capacities in Africa, would bring high quality expertise and knowledge in a cost-effective way to the country through mobilising more than 300 African and international speakers.
“The magnitude of the event and its features will provide an unprecedented opportunity for hosting the country’s professionals and stakeholders for benchmarking, learning, sharing and networking, thus strengthening the numerous educational technology initiatives and projects,” he said.
Prof Fobih said in spite of the numerous benefits of e-learning, there were some challenges, including limited access to ICT hardware, inadequate infrastructure, and training of teachers and ICT co-ordinators.
The Director General of the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence, Ms Dorothy Gordon, who outlined the structure of the conference, said there would be four plenary sessions, 66 sessions in 11 parallel conference stands, 48 demonstrations and best practices, 13 workshops and a number of new features.
She said the event, which will be organised in conjunction with International Conferences, Workshops and Exhibitions(ICWE) organisation and Hoffmann and Reif Consultancy, would seek to demystify the concept of e-learning.
She said pre-conference workshops would offer participants the opportunity to gain from leading experts knowledge and insight into a variety of specialised fields.
The Co-ordinator of the ICT session at the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, Rev Emmanuel Dadebo, said the government had mapped out a number of strategies in the deployment of ICT in the country.