Saltpond CIC ICT CLUB VISITS KAKUM NATIONAL PARK

ICT cannot be examinable-MP

The Member of Parliament for Mfantseman East, Mr George Kuntu-Blankson, has appealed to the Ghana Education Service (GES) to extend the time of making Information Communication Technology (ICT) examinable in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) from proposed the 2011 to 2015.

    

This would enable children in schools in rural areas who did not have access to computers to acquire them and prepare well before the examination.

    

Mr Kuntu-Blankson said this when donating 45 computers to 42 Junior High Schools, two preparatory schools and a youth fellowship in his constituency at Ekumfi Eyisam near Mankessim.

    

He said the GES could kill the interest of children in the ICT if they rushed to make it examinable subject when they were not prepared for it.

    

Mr Kuntu-Blankson said the donation of the computers, which were acquired with his share of the Common Fund, was to promote teaching and learning of ICT.

    

“Now every JHS in my constituency owns a computer,” he said and urged teachers of the subject and heads of the schools to manage them well to benefit every child.

    

Mr.Kuntu-Blankson appealed to District Assemblies, Parent/Teacher 

Associations and past students to help the schools to acquire computers to facilitate teaching and learning of the subject.

    

The Rev Kojo Baiden, the minister in charge of the Ekumfi Eyisam Methodist Church who received the computer on behalf of his Church’s Youth Fellowship, thanked the MP for the donation on behalf of the beneficiaries.

GNA/AMA

Student killed through occultism

Information gathered over the weekend indicates that fear has gripped students of a well known Senior High School in the Central Region, after one of three students, who allegedly practiced occultism, died at a hospital.

The three, whose names are being withheld for security reasons, according to investigations, were introduced into the practice by their seniors.

Sources disclosed that the three were taken to a ‘juju’ man, one Sir John at Mankessim in the Mfantseman Municipality.

Information has it that the students practiced their occultism in the bush and sometimes, late at night in the classroom.

They went for the powers to be able get rich, learn hard as well as to lure ladies.

The incident came to the public domain when one of them, whose father is a pastor abroad, got sick from breaking the occultism rules and was therefore taken home due to the deteriorating condition of his sickness.

According to sources, this compelled one of the past students of the school to call the boy’s mother to find out how the boy was faring.

The said past student later prompted the mother to ask the boy to tell the truth, since he (the boy) has been involved in occultism.

Sources said the form three Visual Arts student, 18, refused to tell the truth and was later rushed to a hospital in Cape Coast where he was admitted for about a week.

Reports indicate that the boy’s skin started peeling off while on admission and he died later, sending chills down the spines of the other two; aged 16 and 17, who come from strong Christian homes. They later approached their headmaster and confessed to him.

The body has been deposited at the hospital morgue where he died.

The two boys were asked to stay with their housemaster and their parents were called to report to the school on Sunday.

A meeting was held between the headmaster, housemasters and some reverend ministers in Cape Coast to find a lasting solution to the problem.

The source further said during the meeting, one of the students claimed the ‘juju’ man had already left Mankessim and did not know his whereabouts.

Daily Guide/AMA

(MANKESSIM) MFANTSEMAN : Firemen responding to treatment

Eight firemen are among a number of injured responding to treatment at the Saltpond Hospital after their fire tender crashed into a vehicle rescuing victims of a fatal accident.

The incident occurred near Mankessim on the Accra-Takoradi road. The fire fighters were rushing to rescue survivors of an accident which claimed at least nine lives and left many injured. According to the Fire Service, the fire tender skidded off the road, Kwesi Ankonam Quayson Assistant Chief Fire Commander at the Central Regional Fire Service told Joy News.

“We tried to get there as quickly as we can baring in mind the safety of the fire fighters. “...In this situation one may suggest that the slippery nature of the road (It had been raining all morning and was even drizzling at the time of the accident) could have contributed to the vehicle going off the road and falling on its side.

“We are not ruling out any foul play on the part of the field members, but what we can say is that whatever happens was in exercise of their mandate,” he said.



AMA

ICT CLUB USES REAL IT SOLUTIONS SOFTWARE

Members of the Saltpond CIC Club were today introduced to the Real IT Solutions Educational Software. They were taught how to use the Spelling Bean Game Software. Some of the kids were very happy using the software because it was their first time of using such educational but exciting software.

The software would be made public in the course of the week where pupils in and around Saltpond could visit the centre and use it to learn.

The center management would like to express our profound gratitude to GIFEC for such an assistance and we would like to also assure them of the full utilization of the software towards creating an IT community and imbibing in the young ones computer skills and the spirit of team work.

CIC GETS INTERNET

The community information centre was last week connected to the internet. This was in fulfillment of the promise made by Gifec to the centre some time ago. The main room has a 42 sitting capacity with state of the arts equipments. This would make it possible for school children and the general public to have adequate space and comfort to learn ICT.
Plans are far advanced for the introduction of Diploma Courses to make the centre very attractive and self-financing.

QUIZ COMPETITON

The centre organized a quiz competition for five selected Junior High Schools in Saltpond. The schools were Roman Catholic Junior High School, Lower Town M/A, S.S. Peter and Paul, Methodist M/A and A.M.E Zion Junior High Schools. The compettion was jointly sponsored by the Mfantseman Municipal Assembly and The Mfantseman Education Directorate.

At the end of the completion, Roman Catholic Junior High School was adjudged the overall winner after the keenly contested competition. Lower Town M/A Junior High followed directly with only 2 points apart. The contestants received prizes and were very confident that the quiz had really helped in bring out the best in them and expressed their desire to take further courses in ICT to broaden their knowledge base.

Mr. Bainson, a representative from the Mfantseman Education Directorate entreated the pupils to take ICT very seriously since the world was moving in the direction of technology. He also encouraged and assured the manager of the CIC of the willingness of the directorate to sponsor such activities.

The manager, Mr. Joseph Buckman assured them that he would organized same competition in all the remaining circuits in the municipality.

CIC LAUNCHES FREE IT TRAINING FOR BASIC SCHOOLS

The Community Information Centre has begun free Information Technology Training for some selected basic schools in Saltpond. This, the centre believes, would go a long way to equip pupils with the basic knowledge they need so far as ICT training was concerned.


Some of the schools were A.M.E. Zion JHS, Catholic Girls, Lower Town JHS, Anglican JHS and Methodist Primary B.

The teachers and pupils thanked the centre for organising such an important program for them. The teachers expressed optimism that their pupils would be well vexed in computing within the shortest possible time. They however, are pleading with government, NGOs, individuals and institutions to provide them with ICT equipments to aid in teaching and learning.

The manager, Mr. Joseph Kojo Buckman, assured them that the program would continue as long as the CIC existed and would do all he could to provide them with practical training in ICT.

 

COMPANY DONATES GENERATOR TO SALTPOND HOSPITAL

An organization, Lu Shan International Company Ltd., has presented a 60-KVA generator to the Saltpond Government Hospital.

The generator and its installation is estimated at GH¢30,000.

The company has also declared its intention to support the maintenance of the generator every three months.
Mr. Emmanuel Sam, an employee of the company who presented the generator to the hospital on behalf of the Managing Director (MD), Mr. Sintim Aboagye, said the MD was touched after reading a report in the newspapers that a medical practitioner at the hospital performed a surgical operation with a flash light during a recent power outage.

He said Mr Sintim Aboagye, who also works Saltpond Offshore Oil Company, had decide to help the hospital to work.

The medical superintendent in charge of the hospital, Dr Derrick Bonsu, expressed gratitude to the company and it chief executive for the support, stressing that the donation had relieve hospital of a great burden.

The district coordinating director for Mfantseman. Alhaji Isshak Azure, said the frequent power outage in the area were disturbing, and, therefore, thanked the company for the gesture.

He gave the assurance that the district assembly would collaborate with the saltpond offshore oil company to promote the development of the area.

The chief of Nankesido, Nana Baah, appealed to companies working in and around saltpond to support the community to improve the standard of living of the people.

source: Daily Graphic 16th February, 2010

The Mfantseman Municipal Assembly has in January this year increased vehicle and market tolls collected in the municipality to enable the assembly continue development project that are ongoing.

Ticket issued to traders for GHp10 previously will now go for GHp 20, taxies and small vehicle drivers who were paying GHp20 previously will now pay GHp 40 daily, whiles big vehicles and Container Car drivers who were paying GHp 40 daily are now to pay GHp 80 respectively.

Some Mercedes 207 bus and Container Car drivers at the Abaadehay Station at Mankessim were okay with the increase but called on the Municipal Assembly to lay pavements blocks at the station to prevent the place from becoming muddy when it rains.

They also asked for the drains to be desilted often and refuse containers placed at vantage areas to prevent littering.

They again complained they were forced to purchase car stickers from Abura/Asebu Kwamankese outlet office because the Mfantseman Assembly outlet Office was always in short supply of the stickers when they went there to purchase.

They added the police often harassed them if the stickers were not embossed on their vehicles and had therefore resorted to purchasing from the above-mentioned assembly.

Taxi and small vehicle drivers at the Esssuehyia and the main stations were asking for the stations to be swept thoroughly every day for refuse that pile up at the stations to be collected to prevent inconvenience caused by its stench.

They are also asking for pavement blocks to be laid to prevent flooding during the raining season.

Traders at the Kwasiadwaso near the Mankessim round about also appealed to toll collectors to be patient with them because when they go for the tolls they may not have made any sales and hence ask them to go later which they refuse and often create misunderstandings.

They again want the market to be maintained and the refuse site near the market to be relocated.

Most drivers at the Saltpond Station were okay with the increase but traders at the market appealed to Environmental Officers to put measures in place to ensure that animals do not destroy their wares and also asked for the installation of an Information Centre at the market so that they would be adequately informed about government business.

WIDOWS AND ORPHANS HONOURED

The Mfantseman East MP, Hon. Kuntu Blankson has organised a special programme for widows and orphans at Essuehyia in the Mfantseman East Municipality on Friday January 1, 2010.

The programme, which was organised in a way of Church Service, brought together many Pastors who preached the word of God to the widows and the orphans specially. The Pastors asked them to be prayerful always and be happy in the Lord.

The MP for the area, Hon. Kuntu Blankson urged the people to pray for him and assured them of good roads and potable water. Some of the leading members of N.D.C. were given certificates for their support in bringing the party to power.

Fifty (50) bags of rice and twenty (20) bails of second hand clothes were given to the widows and the orphans.

Some dignitaries present at the programme were Mfantseman West MP, Hon. Aquinas Tawiah Quansah; Hon. Henry Kweku Hayfron, MCE of Mfantseman, Nana Kwaku Ewusi VII of Abeaze Traditional Area and some Assembly Members of the area were in attendance.

PUBLIC REACTION ON PRESIDENT MILLS’S ONE YEAR IN GOVERNMENT

A cross section of people has expressed their views on President Mills’s one year in government in Mfantseman Municipality. Whiles some think one year is too short a time to assess the government; others are of the view that there should have been massive improvement in the lives of people by now since he promised so.

Some fishermen at Ankaful, a suburb of Saltpond appealed to government to enact a law to barn the use of light in fishing since he promised to do that immediately he assumed office as president. They feared if the practice was not abolished on time it would bring about depletion of the fish stock of the country’s ocean, which would adversely affect fish supply in the country.

Traders at Saltpond and Mankessim Markets also complained of low patronage of their wares and attributed it to increase in fuel prices. They added consumers have resorted to buying in bulk on market days and were calling on the government to maintain the present fuel price for sometime even if the commodity was increased on the world market.

They said, if fuel prices were maintained it would reduce transport fares which would also enable farmers to cart farm produce to market centres which would result in the reduction of cost of food stuffs for consumers to purchase at affordable price.

A civil Servant also thought government should reduce import duties because most consumer goods on the market are imported and hence if the cost of imported goods were reduced it will aid in reduction of goods on the market as well as bring down the high cost of living.

He also felt that payment for the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) should have started in January this year instead of July as stated by government and appealed to government to do something to save the situation.

Some section of the public also held the view that it was too early to assess the government within one year and was of the view that if people would be fair to government, they should assess his one year in Office to that of the previous government comparatively to be able to give a fair judgment.

They were also of the view that the previous government within one year in Office complained of debt which they said resulted in untold hardship on the economy and thus took the country to HIPC.

They also added that president Mills’ government was also facing the same problem of massive debt left by the previous administration and asked Ghanaians to give the president time to solve the debt problem and to put the economy in shape since he was given a four-year term.

An Assembly member said though government was on course, he thought unemployment rate has risen.

He was also not happy with some foot soldiers of the president’s party taking undue advantage of their coming into power to seize public toilets, people cars, beating, maiming and alleged killing of opposition party members.

Some people said they were not happy with sacking of some National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) employees and bringing in members of the NDC because the concept of the previous government in putting the programme in place was not to employ party members but Ghanaians.

They appealed to government to pay the allowances of NYEP employees since most of them are bread winners of their families and hence government should do something about the issue.

They again said most drug stores in the municipality refused to issue out drugs to patients with Health Insurance Subscription forms from hospitals due to non-payment of claims by the Authority.

An opinion leader wanted contracts, which were awarded by the previous government and had been stalled to be continued to ensure their completion, for example road contracts, construction of school blocks, offices and others.

He cautioned that the onset of rains might lead to flooding which may damage them.

In all people were of the view that the government has not done badly in one year but were calling on him to do more to improve the lives of the ordinary Ghanaian.

BY: RUBY NYAMEKYE OFOSUA

JOURNALIST - MFANTSEMAN