Back Page
02-10-08
GHANA will no longer be a dumping ground for second-hand refrigerators if the legislation to regulate their importation comes into force in the second quarter of next year.
The Executive Secretary of the Energy Commission, Dr Ofosu Ahenkorah, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that “all the second-hand fridges that are imported into the country are not good. They were not made for our climate as they use a lot of energy,” he said.
He said for instance, used fridge consumed 1,200 units of electricity a year, adding that the figure was far in excess of the European Union (EU) consumption of 500 units.
Dr Ahenkorah said apart from the importation, the legislation would also cover local manufacturing and sale of refrigerators throughout the country.
He noted that the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) had completed the standards that would regulate the importation of used fridges, and that what was left was the legislation.
Dr Ahenkorah indicated that the Energy Commission was going to meet the importers of used fridges to discuss issues on the importation and sale of fridges.
He said there are some brand new fridges that were not made for the country, and that when the legislation was introduced they would also be affected.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said from January 1, 2010, the importation of electrical equipment with components that contained ozone-depleting substances would be banned.
The Deputy Director of the National Ozone Unit of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Mr Emmanuel Osae Quansah, said this at this year’s United Nations International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Committee submits report on mission schools management
Page 11
01-10-08
THE committee set up by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports (MoESS) to review the 1999 partnership agreement between the government and religious bodies in the management of mission schools, has presented its report to the sector minister.
According to the Chairman of the committee, Prof. Kwasi Ansu-Kyeremeh, the exercise was fruitful as it provided the opportunity for the stakeholders to deliberate on issues affecting both the government and the missions.
He said throughout the deliberations there was cordiality on the part of members with a mission to help provide quality education for all.
Prof. Ansu-Kyeremeh said even with disagreements, the committee members were able to co-operate for the improvement of education and added that there was consensus among the members.
Receiving the report, the Minister of Education, Science and Sports, Prof. Dominic Fobih, commended the committee for the seriousness they attached to the task assigned them.
He said there was the need to strengthen the partnership existing between the government and owners of mission schools so that, as he put it, “We can build an effective human resource development system”.
Prof. Fobih, for his part, said the ministry was going to study the report and respond appropriately, adding that the recommendations would go a long way to bring about improvement in education.
The committee was set up on April 24, 2008.
01-10-08
THE committee set up by the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports (MoESS) to review the 1999 partnership agreement between the government and religious bodies in the management of mission schools, has presented its report to the sector minister.
According to the Chairman of the committee, Prof. Kwasi Ansu-Kyeremeh, the exercise was fruitful as it provided the opportunity for the stakeholders to deliberate on issues affecting both the government and the missions.
He said throughout the deliberations there was cordiality on the part of members with a mission to help provide quality education for all.
Prof. Ansu-Kyeremeh said even with disagreements, the committee members were able to co-operate for the improvement of education and added that there was consensus among the members.
Receiving the report, the Minister of Education, Science and Sports, Prof. Dominic Fobih, commended the committee for the seriousness they attached to the task assigned them.
He said there was the need to strengthen the partnership existing between the government and owners of mission schools so that, as he put it, “We can build an effective human resource development system”.
Prof. Fobih, for his part, said the ministry was going to study the report and respond appropriately, adding that the recommendations would go a long way to bring about improvement in education.
The committee was set up on April 24, 2008.
Concerns over Right to Info Bill
Page 3
01-10-08
THE Coalition of the Right to Information has raised concerns over certain aspects of the Right to Information Bill which it says need to be addressed to make it meet best practices and become more effective.
Their concerns include what they described as the time limit within which information was to be provided, the failure of the bill to see the chieftaincy institution as a public institution, the omission of private bodies in the main body of the bill and the exemption provisions.
“Our general comment on the current bill is that it involves a fair attempt to meet international human rights norms and best practice, except for a number of significant shortcomings that, in our view, require further amendment,” a member of the coalition, Mr Akoto Ampaw, said when he presented a paper on, “The Coalition’s Concerns on the Bill”, at the Right to Know Day in Accra on Monday.
He said the time limit in the bill within which information should be disclosed was unduly long and that “timely disclosure of information is fundamental to the efficacy of any right to information legislation”.
“For example, the bill provides for 21 days for a decision to be taken whether or not to provide information. Then there is a further 14 days after this within which the information is to be given. Then again there is provision for a further extension by a further 21 days where the application is for a large quantity of information or requires a search through a large number of documents and compliance with the original time limit of 21 days will interfere with the operations of the agency,” he explained.
Mr Ampaw stated that to give an information officer 21 days to make such a decision could not be justified under any circumstance, adding, “We are proposing that the time limit to take a decision on whether or not to grant information applied for should be reduced to 10 days and that a further 14 days be required within which to provide access to the information.”
In addition, he said where there was the need for further extension of the time limit required for providing the information, it should be by a further 14 days, not 21 days.
On the chieftaincy institution, he said there was no doubt that the institution wielded considerable political authority and undertook functions that impinged on the public interest, for which reason it ought to be accountable in the exercise of its public functions.
He said, for instance, that stools collected royalties and other moneys for public purposes.
“What is more, the institution is increasingly clamouring for greater public authority. Consequently, it is only fair and proper that it be covered by a right to information bill as a public organ to reflect the realities in Ghana,” he said.
Mr Ampaw said the role of private bodies in various facets of the country’s social and economic life demanded that they be covered by provisions of the substantive legislation, and not the mere possibility of coverage under subsidiary legislation.
He said although the coalition recognised that the provisions affecting private bodies could not be the same as those relating to public agencies, there was “a wealth of experience world-wide regarding provisions relating to private bodies that Ghana could well adopt in the bill to meet our specifications”.
He said although the bill generally recognised the principle of maximum disclosure and the obligation of the government to disclose information, those principles continued to be hampered and undermined by the manner in which the exemption provisions were formulated.
Mr Ampaw said the exemption provisions were, in the coalition’s assessment, not uniformly subject to what he termed “the test of decisive harm and public interest”.
“Some provisions meet the test of the harm; others have a test of the harm, but the wording of the test is loosely formulated, allowing for widespread discretion on the part of the giver of information. Others still do not have the test at all,” he stated, adding that, for example, all information for submission or submitted at the Office of the President or the Vice-President was exempt under the bill.
He said a certificate under the hand of the Secretary to the President or the Vice-President that information was exempt was conclusive proof unless the question of disclosure of the information arose in proceedings before a court, and that it was only in such a case that where there was the claim that disclosure would be prejudicial to the security of the state or the public interest, the Supreme Court, by virtue of Article 34 of the Constitution, had the exclusive jurisdiction to determine whether or not the information ought to be disclosed.
Mr Ampaw said similar provisions regarding information for submission to Cabinet or submitted to Cabinet was exempt, saying that again by Section 7(3) of the bill, information created by or in the custody of the Armed Forces or the security and intelligence agencies which related to the security of the state was exempt.
“These blanket exemptions cannot be justified as reasonably necessary to protect the security of the state or the public interest, for the simple reason that they are not subject to any harm or public interest. The fact that a piece of information is before the Office of the President or created by the security agencies does not mean ipso facto that disclosure of such information is exempted,” he said.
He said it was the position of the coalition that the blanket exemptions should be re-drafted to include a sufficient test of harm in line with international best practice and consistent with the principle of sovereignty of the people.
He said making the Attorney-General the responsible agency to implement the law was “likely to have the practical effect of throttling the bill at birth” and called for the establishment of an independent information commission to implement the Right to Information Law
The Chairperson of the Parliamentary Legal and Constitutional Committee, Mr Yaw Baah, said freedom of information was the "touchstone of democracy" and a fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution.
"People have the right to know what people in public offices do," he stated.
The Executive Secretary of the Ghana Integrity Initiative, Mr Vitus Azeem, explained that a Freedom of Information Law would put legal power in the hands of citizens seeking to ensure accountability of their elected representatives. Ordinary people would be able to take their demand for information to court if necessary, he added.
"We want transparency because it is an effective tool in the fight against corruption," he stated, explaining that without transparency, the Whistleblower’s Act of 2006 would be useless.
The Co-ordinator of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), Nana Oye Lithur, said in spite of the long and drawn out process of drafts and revisions which the bill had undergone, the current version would not provide an acceptable level of access to information.
01-10-08
THE Coalition of the Right to Information has raised concerns over certain aspects of the Right to Information Bill which it says need to be addressed to make it meet best practices and become more effective.
Their concerns include what they described as the time limit within which information was to be provided, the failure of the bill to see the chieftaincy institution as a public institution, the omission of private bodies in the main body of the bill and the exemption provisions.
“Our general comment on the current bill is that it involves a fair attempt to meet international human rights norms and best practice, except for a number of significant shortcomings that, in our view, require further amendment,” a member of the coalition, Mr Akoto Ampaw, said when he presented a paper on, “The Coalition’s Concerns on the Bill”, at the Right to Know Day in Accra on Monday.
He said the time limit in the bill within which information should be disclosed was unduly long and that “timely disclosure of information is fundamental to the efficacy of any right to information legislation”.
“For example, the bill provides for 21 days for a decision to be taken whether or not to provide information. Then there is a further 14 days after this within which the information is to be given. Then again there is provision for a further extension by a further 21 days where the application is for a large quantity of information or requires a search through a large number of documents and compliance with the original time limit of 21 days will interfere with the operations of the agency,” he explained.
Mr Ampaw stated that to give an information officer 21 days to make such a decision could not be justified under any circumstance, adding, “We are proposing that the time limit to take a decision on whether or not to grant information applied for should be reduced to 10 days and that a further 14 days be required within which to provide access to the information.”
In addition, he said where there was the need for further extension of the time limit required for providing the information, it should be by a further 14 days, not 21 days.
On the chieftaincy institution, he said there was no doubt that the institution wielded considerable political authority and undertook functions that impinged on the public interest, for which reason it ought to be accountable in the exercise of its public functions.
He said, for instance, that stools collected royalties and other moneys for public purposes.
“What is more, the institution is increasingly clamouring for greater public authority. Consequently, it is only fair and proper that it be covered by a right to information bill as a public organ to reflect the realities in Ghana,” he said.
Mr Ampaw said the role of private bodies in various facets of the country’s social and economic life demanded that they be covered by provisions of the substantive legislation, and not the mere possibility of coverage under subsidiary legislation.
He said although the coalition recognised that the provisions affecting private bodies could not be the same as those relating to public agencies, there was “a wealth of experience world-wide regarding provisions relating to private bodies that Ghana could well adopt in the bill to meet our specifications”.
He said although the bill generally recognised the principle of maximum disclosure and the obligation of the government to disclose information, those principles continued to be hampered and undermined by the manner in which the exemption provisions were formulated.
Mr Ampaw said the exemption provisions were, in the coalition’s assessment, not uniformly subject to what he termed “the test of decisive harm and public interest”.
“Some provisions meet the test of the harm; others have a test of the harm, but the wording of the test is loosely formulated, allowing for widespread discretion on the part of the giver of information. Others still do not have the test at all,” he stated, adding that, for example, all information for submission or submitted at the Office of the President or the Vice-President was exempt under the bill.
He said a certificate under the hand of the Secretary to the President or the Vice-President that information was exempt was conclusive proof unless the question of disclosure of the information arose in proceedings before a court, and that it was only in such a case that where there was the claim that disclosure would be prejudicial to the security of the state or the public interest, the Supreme Court, by virtue of Article 34 of the Constitution, had the exclusive jurisdiction to determine whether or not the information ought to be disclosed.
Mr Ampaw said similar provisions regarding information for submission to Cabinet or submitted to Cabinet was exempt, saying that again by Section 7(3) of the bill, information created by or in the custody of the Armed Forces or the security and intelligence agencies which related to the security of the state was exempt.
“These blanket exemptions cannot be justified as reasonably necessary to protect the security of the state or the public interest, for the simple reason that they are not subject to any harm or public interest. The fact that a piece of information is before the Office of the President or created by the security agencies does not mean ipso facto that disclosure of such information is exempted,” he said.
He said it was the position of the coalition that the blanket exemptions should be re-drafted to include a sufficient test of harm in line with international best practice and consistent with the principle of sovereignty of the people.
He said making the Attorney-General the responsible agency to implement the law was “likely to have the practical effect of throttling the bill at birth” and called for the establishment of an independent information commission to implement the Right to Information Law
The Chairperson of the Parliamentary Legal and Constitutional Committee, Mr Yaw Baah, said freedom of information was the "touchstone of democracy" and a fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution.
"People have the right to know what people in public offices do," he stated.
The Executive Secretary of the Ghana Integrity Initiative, Mr Vitus Azeem, explained that a Freedom of Information Law would put legal power in the hands of citizens seeking to ensure accountability of their elected representatives. Ordinary people would be able to take their demand for information to court if necessary, he added.
"We want transparency because it is an effective tool in the fight against corruption," he stated, explaining that without transparency, the Whistleblower’s Act of 2006 would be useless.
The Co-ordinator of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), Nana Oye Lithur, said in spite of the long and drawn out process of drafts and revisions which the bill had undergone, the current version would not provide an acceptable level of access to information.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Illegal energy lamps flood the market
Back Page
26-09-08
THERE is widespread illegal importation and sale of non-compliant energy saving lamps (Compact Fluorescent Lamps) in the country, the Executive Secretary of the Energy Commission (EC), Dr Ofosu Ahenkorah, has said.
He told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the importation of the illegal CFLs was contrary to the energy efficiency standards and labelling requirements stipulated by the Energy Standards and Labelling Regulations of 2005.
He named some of the CFLs on the market as Elbee, Global, Crabtree Tribe, Ling, Tong Lighting, Harbour, Crystal, Osram Dulux and Economy Hongyao.
The rest are: Gava, Vyba, Oscar Mettro, Miracle Koshi, SL-Prismatic, Ouqi, Philips, Bruder, Ground, Sunsea, Focus, Marksonic (Fine) and Eurolite.
Dr Ahenkorah explained that in 2002, the government, upon the recommendation of the Energy Foundation, removed import duties and Value Added Tax (VAT) on energy saving lamps.
The objective, he said, was to ensure that the sale of energy saving lamps were affordable to the people instead of the incandescent bulbs, which consume four times the energy of CFLs.
He said apart from not lasting long, the inferior lamps did not bright enough, thereby compelling people or consumers to use more of such lamps at one place.
Dr Ahenkorah said having realised that there was the need for lamps imported into the country to meet certain standards, standards were set and gazetted in August, 2003.
To make the standards work, he said, the Legislation of 2005 was passed to make sure that all energy saving lamps complied with the standards set.
He said the discovery of the illegal sale on non-compliant CFLs was made by the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) during a compliance monitoring exercise, saying that in the course of the exercise, it was realised that the illegal lamps did not have labels, a key requirement under the 2005 Legislation.
Section 5(1) of the Energy Efficiency Standards and Labelling (non-ducted air conditioners and self-ballasted fluorescent lamps) Regulations, 2005 states that “A person shall not store, offer for sale, sell, distribute, import or otherwise dispose of a self-ballasted lamp unless the lamp bears a label that indicates the minimum performance.”
Dr Ahenkorah said any person who contravened any of the requirements on labelling in the regulations committed an offence and was liable to summary conviction of a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units, or a term of imprisonment not exceeding one year or both.
Dr Ahenkorah said tests conducted on the illegal lamps showed that instead of the lamps lasting 6000 hours, they lasted 600 hours.
Such a practice, he said, affected the consumer the more, and that “once the consumer loses confidence in the lamps he/she turns to the use of incandescent bulbs, which consumes more energy”.
On the state of the country’s energy situation, Dr Ahenkorah said it was okay.
“I don’t think we would run into the energy crisis again,” he pointed out.
26-09-08
THERE is widespread illegal importation and sale of non-compliant energy saving lamps (Compact Fluorescent Lamps) in the country, the Executive Secretary of the Energy Commission (EC), Dr Ofosu Ahenkorah, has said.
He told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the importation of the illegal CFLs was contrary to the energy efficiency standards and labelling requirements stipulated by the Energy Standards and Labelling Regulations of 2005.
He named some of the CFLs on the market as Elbee, Global, Crabtree Tribe, Ling, Tong Lighting, Harbour, Crystal, Osram Dulux and Economy Hongyao.
The rest are: Gava, Vyba, Oscar Mettro, Miracle Koshi, SL-Prismatic, Ouqi, Philips, Bruder, Ground, Sunsea, Focus, Marksonic (Fine) and Eurolite.
Dr Ahenkorah explained that in 2002, the government, upon the recommendation of the Energy Foundation, removed import duties and Value Added Tax (VAT) on energy saving lamps.
The objective, he said, was to ensure that the sale of energy saving lamps were affordable to the people instead of the incandescent bulbs, which consume four times the energy of CFLs.
He said apart from not lasting long, the inferior lamps did not bright enough, thereby compelling people or consumers to use more of such lamps at one place.
Dr Ahenkorah said having realised that there was the need for lamps imported into the country to meet certain standards, standards were set and gazetted in August, 2003.
To make the standards work, he said, the Legislation of 2005 was passed to make sure that all energy saving lamps complied with the standards set.
He said the discovery of the illegal sale on non-compliant CFLs was made by the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) during a compliance monitoring exercise, saying that in the course of the exercise, it was realised that the illegal lamps did not have labels, a key requirement under the 2005 Legislation.
Section 5(1) of the Energy Efficiency Standards and Labelling (non-ducted air conditioners and self-ballasted fluorescent lamps) Regulations, 2005 states that “A person shall not store, offer for sale, sell, distribute, import or otherwise dispose of a self-ballasted lamp unless the lamp bears a label that indicates the minimum performance.”
Dr Ahenkorah said any person who contravened any of the requirements on labelling in the regulations committed an offence and was liable to summary conviction of a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units, or a term of imprisonment not exceeding one year or both.
Dr Ahenkorah said tests conducted on the illegal lamps showed that instead of the lamps lasting 6000 hours, they lasted 600 hours.
Such a practice, he said, affected the consumer the more, and that “once the consumer loses confidence in the lamps he/she turns to the use of incandescent bulbs, which consumes more energy”.
On the state of the country’s energy situation, Dr Ahenkorah said it was okay.
“I don’t think we would run into the energy crisis again,” he pointed out.
GRASAG calls for release of thesis grant
Page 31
26-09-08
THE Graduate Students Association of Ghana (GRASAG) has called on the government to immediately release the 2007-2008 academic year thesis and bursary grants.
In addition, it has demanded a 100 per cent increase in the grants, effective the 2008-2009 academic year, to meet the increasing cost of goods and services.
"The inexplicable delay in disbursing the 2007-2008 academic year thesis and bursary grants to graduate students in Ghana speaks eloquently about how the government perceives graduate education. The 2008-2009 academic year has begun and is into its second month now but the thesis and bursary grants for 2007-2008 academic year are yet to be paid," the National President of GRASAG, Mr Michael Adusei, said at a press conference in Accra.
He said GRASAG would advise itself if the government failed to release the 2007-2008 grants by October 15, 2008, adding that a lot of efforts had been made to facilitate their payment.
He said, for instance, that press releases, press conferences and radio interviews, complemented with incessant visits to the offices of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), the Scholarship Secretariat and the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, "have all been employed as weapons to move the government to pay the grants".
Mr Adusei said a petition sent to the Chief of Staff on the delay in the disbursement of the grants had yielded no response and asked whether or not the grants had been abolished.
"Currently, the bursary grant, which is paid uniformly to all postgraduate students who complete the bond forms, stands at GH¢230 per year for a maximum period of five years for PhD programmes and three years for Master's programmes," he said.
The thesis allowance, he said, was paid once in a year in a graduated way to postgraduate students as MA/MSC/MBA/LLM/PGDip, GH¢69; MPhil, GH¢172.50, PhD, and GH¢287.50 and said "we believe the above figures do not reflect economic realities, for which reason we are asking the government to review them so that they will fulfil their intended purpose of promoting graduate education".
Mr Adusei also announced that disability allowance payable to students with disability in the various institutions was in arrears for three years.
The President of the Disabled Students of the University of Ghana, Mr Bernard Oduro Takyi, who confirmed this, said the situation had resulted in hardship on the part of disabled students.
26-09-08
THE Graduate Students Association of Ghana (GRASAG) has called on the government to immediately release the 2007-2008 academic year thesis and bursary grants.
In addition, it has demanded a 100 per cent increase in the grants, effective the 2008-2009 academic year, to meet the increasing cost of goods and services.
"The inexplicable delay in disbursing the 2007-2008 academic year thesis and bursary grants to graduate students in Ghana speaks eloquently about how the government perceives graduate education. The 2008-2009 academic year has begun and is into its second month now but the thesis and bursary grants for 2007-2008 academic year are yet to be paid," the National President of GRASAG, Mr Michael Adusei, said at a press conference in Accra.
He said GRASAG would advise itself if the government failed to release the 2007-2008 grants by October 15, 2008, adding that a lot of efforts had been made to facilitate their payment.
He said, for instance, that press releases, press conferences and radio interviews, complemented with incessant visits to the offices of the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund), the Scholarship Secretariat and the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, "have all been employed as weapons to move the government to pay the grants".
Mr Adusei said a petition sent to the Chief of Staff on the delay in the disbursement of the grants had yielded no response and asked whether or not the grants had been abolished.
"Currently, the bursary grant, which is paid uniformly to all postgraduate students who complete the bond forms, stands at GH¢230 per year for a maximum period of five years for PhD programmes and three years for Master's programmes," he said.
The thesis allowance, he said, was paid once in a year in a graduated way to postgraduate students as MA/MSC/MBA/LLM/PGDip, GH¢69; MPhil, GH¢172.50, PhD, and GH¢287.50 and said "we believe the above figures do not reflect economic realities, for which reason we are asking the government to review them so that they will fulfil their intended purpose of promoting graduate education".
Mr Adusei also announced that disability allowance payable to students with disability in the various institutions was in arrears for three years.
The President of the Disabled Students of the University of Ghana, Mr Bernard Oduro Takyi, who confirmed this, said the situation had resulted in hardship on the part of disabled students.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
NADMO, five others embark on fire audit exercise
Back page (72)
25-09-08
THE National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and five other organisations have begun what they call a ‘fire audit’ exercise in some major markets in the Greater Accra Region to identify possible hazards that are likely to cause fire outbreaks.
The exercise, which is being undertaken with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), Ghana Police Service, City Guards and representatives from assemblies in the metropolis, is aimed at preventing fire outbreaks in the markets.
The Greater Accra Co-ordinator of NADMO, Mr Ben Brown, made this known to the Daily Graphic yesterday.
The move is as a result of the rampant fire outbreaks in markets and other places. The Kantamanto Market, for instance, recorded its second fire outbreak in two years on Monday night.
The Makola Market had also experienced a number of fire outbreaks that have destroyed goods worth millions of cedis over the years and last July fire gutted a warehouse, a hairdressing salon, an internet cafe and a Benz cargo truck at Adabraka in Accra.
Mr Brown said the fire audit exercise had been carried out at Tudu and was currently being carried out at the Makola Market.
From Makola, he said, the team involved in the programme would move to the Kaneshie Market, and subsequently to the other markets in the metropolis.
He said the exercise involved the examination of electrical wiring to find out how old the wires were and whether or not they had been truncated.
‘’We also check the kind of gadgets that are used in the markets,” he said, adding that “when we check and the right thing is not done, the ECG would remove the meter till the right thing is done”.
Mr Brown who deplored the way and manner some electrical connections were done in markets and said such connections were responsible for fire outbreaks, hence the need to prevent them.
On the Monday night fire outbreak at the Kantamanto Market, he said NADMO had begun assessing the extent of damage to goods and other property to ascertain their actual cost, adding that “this would take three days”.
In addition, he said, there would be counselling of the victims to let them know the kind of interventions that were there from government agencies, banks and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to help bring their (victims) lives back to normalcy.
Mr Brown said the sole responsibility of reconstructing the market rested with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), and that the responsibility of NADMO was to partner the Assembly to ensure ‘sustainable development’ of the markets.
Sustainable development, he said, included ensuring access roads through the market, a clinic to meet the health needs of the traders and provision of potable water and a crèche.
“Once that is done, we would be able to meet the needs of people yet unborn, among other things,” he stated.
In a related development, the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has expressed concern about comments made by some eyewitnesses on some media networks to the effect that the first fire engine to respond to the incident at Kantamanto, did so without water.
“Management is worried over the constant and persistent peddling of false information by some victims of fire disasters. Such falsehoods do not only soil and bring the name of the service into disrepute, but also bring down the morale of firefighters who, in spite of inadequate logistics and personal protection, put their lives on the line to ensure the safety of both lives and property,” a statement signed by DOIII Timothy Osafo-Affum said.
According to the statement, the service had consistently informed the public that its fire engines had capacities of 1,000 and 1,200 gallons of water, which could be expelled between two and five minutes depending on the intensity of the fire.
It said the problem of the fire service had been the unavailability of flowing fire hydrants in the country, and that “until this problem is fixed and proper layouts for easy accessibility put in place, the current situation where fire [engines] have had to move from accident scenes within a twinkle of an eye in search of water will continue to be with us for a long time”.
“We want to assure the public that investigations are underway to find the cause of fire (at Kantamanto) and to come out with comprehensive measures to curb future occurrences,” the statement said.
25-09-08
THE National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and five other organisations have begun what they call a ‘fire audit’ exercise in some major markets in the Greater Accra Region to identify possible hazards that are likely to cause fire outbreaks.
The exercise, which is being undertaken with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), Ghana Police Service, City Guards and representatives from assemblies in the metropolis, is aimed at preventing fire outbreaks in the markets.
The Greater Accra Co-ordinator of NADMO, Mr Ben Brown, made this known to the Daily Graphic yesterday.
The move is as a result of the rampant fire outbreaks in markets and other places. The Kantamanto Market, for instance, recorded its second fire outbreak in two years on Monday night.
The Makola Market had also experienced a number of fire outbreaks that have destroyed goods worth millions of cedis over the years and last July fire gutted a warehouse, a hairdressing salon, an internet cafe and a Benz cargo truck at Adabraka in Accra.
Mr Brown said the fire audit exercise had been carried out at Tudu and was currently being carried out at the Makola Market.
From Makola, he said, the team involved in the programme would move to the Kaneshie Market, and subsequently to the other markets in the metropolis.
He said the exercise involved the examination of electrical wiring to find out how old the wires were and whether or not they had been truncated.
‘’We also check the kind of gadgets that are used in the markets,” he said, adding that “when we check and the right thing is not done, the ECG would remove the meter till the right thing is done”.
Mr Brown who deplored the way and manner some electrical connections were done in markets and said such connections were responsible for fire outbreaks, hence the need to prevent them.
On the Monday night fire outbreak at the Kantamanto Market, he said NADMO had begun assessing the extent of damage to goods and other property to ascertain their actual cost, adding that “this would take three days”.
In addition, he said, there would be counselling of the victims to let them know the kind of interventions that were there from government agencies, banks and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to help bring their (victims) lives back to normalcy.
Mr Brown said the sole responsibility of reconstructing the market rested with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), and that the responsibility of NADMO was to partner the Assembly to ensure ‘sustainable development’ of the markets.
Sustainable development, he said, included ensuring access roads through the market, a clinic to meet the health needs of the traders and provision of potable water and a crèche.
“Once that is done, we would be able to meet the needs of people yet unborn, among other things,” he stated.
In a related development, the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) has expressed concern about comments made by some eyewitnesses on some media networks to the effect that the first fire engine to respond to the incident at Kantamanto, did so without water.
“Management is worried over the constant and persistent peddling of false information by some victims of fire disasters. Such falsehoods do not only soil and bring the name of the service into disrepute, but also bring down the morale of firefighters who, in spite of inadequate logistics and personal protection, put their lives on the line to ensure the safety of both lives and property,” a statement signed by DOIII Timothy Osafo-Affum said.
According to the statement, the service had consistently informed the public that its fire engines had capacities of 1,000 and 1,200 gallons of water, which could be expelled between two and five minutes depending on the intensity of the fire.
It said the problem of the fire service had been the unavailability of flowing fire hydrants in the country, and that “until this problem is fixed and proper layouts for easy accessibility put in place, the current situation where fire [engines] have had to move from accident scenes within a twinkle of an eye in search of water will continue to be with us for a long time”.
“We want to assure the public that investigations are underway to find the cause of fire (at Kantamanto) and to come out with comprehensive measures to curb future occurrences,” the statement said.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
181,000 Vacancies declared for BECE placement
Page 11
24-09-08
HEADS of second cycle schools have declared a total of 181,000 vacancies for the placement of qualified Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates under the Computerised Schools Selection and Placement System (CSSPS).
The number of declared vacancies outstrips the 173,315 BECE candidates who qualified for placement this year.
What this means is that there is hope for the 33,837 qualified BECE candidates who have not yet had placement into second cycle schools, the Director of the Basic and Secondary Education Unit of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Mr Stephen Adu, told the Daily Graphic in an interview.
Out of a total of 173,315 BECE candidates who qualified for placement, 139,478 candidates including 1,579 re-entry candidates have been placed into senior high schools and technical institutes leaving 33,837.
Mr Adu attributed the non-placement of some qualified candidates into second cycle schools to the wrong selection of programmes and schools.
He said the candidates used wrong codes for instance to select schools, adding that although the candidates were required to choose from six schools, some of them did not do so, probably confident that they were going to get their first choice schools.
“We are going to sort out all these problems on own merit. That is why we have established a task force on the placement exercise,” he stated.
Mr Adu explained that the placement was done on competitive basis, and that those who had not been placed had been directed to contact their district directors for further instructions.
To qualify for placement, a candidate needed to score not more than grade five in the four core subjects of English, mathematics, science and social studies, and not more than grade six in any other two subjects.
He added that the raw scores of candidates were used in the selection process, and that even though two candidates might have the same aggregate, one might get his/her first choice school ahead of the other.
About two weeks ago, the GES released the 2008 placement of qualified BECE candidates into second cycle schools under the CSSPS.
A statement signed by the Director General of the GES, Mr Samuel Bannerman-Mensah, said the results of the placement would be available at junior high schools, senior high schools and technical institutes from Friday, September 26, 2008.
It said candidates could access their placements by texting only their index numbers to MTN, 1755, 1756; Kasapa, 1755 and Onetouch, 7777.
It noted that the placement was based on choice of schools, programmes and scores, and that fresh students were expected to report to their respective institutions on October 14, 2008.
24-09-08
HEADS of second cycle schools have declared a total of 181,000 vacancies for the placement of qualified Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates under the Computerised Schools Selection and Placement System (CSSPS).
The number of declared vacancies outstrips the 173,315 BECE candidates who qualified for placement this year.
What this means is that there is hope for the 33,837 qualified BECE candidates who have not yet had placement into second cycle schools, the Director of the Basic and Secondary Education Unit of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Mr Stephen Adu, told the Daily Graphic in an interview.
Out of a total of 173,315 BECE candidates who qualified for placement, 139,478 candidates including 1,579 re-entry candidates have been placed into senior high schools and technical institutes leaving 33,837.
Mr Adu attributed the non-placement of some qualified candidates into second cycle schools to the wrong selection of programmes and schools.
He said the candidates used wrong codes for instance to select schools, adding that although the candidates were required to choose from six schools, some of them did not do so, probably confident that they were going to get their first choice schools.
“We are going to sort out all these problems on own merit. That is why we have established a task force on the placement exercise,” he stated.
Mr Adu explained that the placement was done on competitive basis, and that those who had not been placed had been directed to contact their district directors for further instructions.
To qualify for placement, a candidate needed to score not more than grade five in the four core subjects of English, mathematics, science and social studies, and not more than grade six in any other two subjects.
He added that the raw scores of candidates were used in the selection process, and that even though two candidates might have the same aggregate, one might get his/her first choice school ahead of the other.
About two weeks ago, the GES released the 2008 placement of qualified BECE candidates into second cycle schools under the CSSPS.
A statement signed by the Director General of the GES, Mr Samuel Bannerman-Mensah, said the results of the placement would be available at junior high schools, senior high schools and technical institutes from Friday, September 26, 2008.
It said candidates could access their placements by texting only their index numbers to MTN, 1755, 1756; Kasapa, 1755 and Onetouch, 7777.
It noted that the placement was based on choice of schools, programmes and scores, and that fresh students were expected to report to their respective institutions on October 14, 2008.
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