Soldier Nabbed For Robbery

The suspects with the soldier man (2nd left)

Sunyani, Feb. 27, 2015 -SIX ARMED robbers, including a serving military officer, have been arrested by the Sunyani police patrol team after allegedly robbing a macro finance company at gunpoint at Wenchi in the Brong-Ahafo Region.
The notorious armed robbery syndicate, most of whom are said to be on police wanted list, were grabbed in the early hours of Thursday with their booty at the Yawhima barrier, near Sunyani, when they were returning after allegedly robbing the Wenchi branch of BACCSOD Macro Finance Company which is owned by the Catholic Church.
The suspects are Staff Sergeant Alhassan Hameed, 42, a military officer of the Third Infantry Battalion (3BN) in Sunyani; Sheriff Adams aka Alhaji Fresh, 31, a suspected hardened criminal who is currently standing trial for robbery at the high court but was granted bail; Osei Kuffour, 32; Kwadwo Francis, 25; Exmond Bawuah, 27 and Kwabena Yeboah, 32.
The arrest of the gang drew a large crowd of residents to the regional police headquarters to catch a glimpse of the suspects.
Briefing the media, the Brong-Ahafo Regional Crime Officer, Superintendent Alhaji Maama Arhin, said the suspects had earlier in the night (Wednesday) stormed the bank at gunpoint and tied the watchman on duty, broke into the building and took away an unspecified amount of money in different denominations.
They then picked the watchman, dumped him at a distance and then took off.
He said upon information, all patrol teams in the region were alerted, leading to the arrest of the suspects at the barrier when they were going back to their base in Sunyani.
Supt. Arhin said a search on them revealed four mobile phones, two knives, two crowbars, one screw driver, one strong decoder, one military uniform, an unspecified amount of money, a machete, a pistol and cartridges.
The Opel Astra taxi with registration number ER 3527-U, which the suspects had allegedly been using in their robbery operations, has also been impounded by the police.
“This syndicate has been on the wanted list of the Brong-Ahafo police for some time now,” Supt Arhin said, adding, “They have robbed Derma Rural Bank, Sunyani branch, Bechem Rural Bank and Bomaa Rural Bank with the same modus [operandi].”
He said a victim, Tigri Abu, has also identified the soldier and Kwadwo Francis for having robbed him in Kumasi of his Ecolak bag containing a laptop, iPad, Samsung Galaxy 5, iPhone, six mobile phones with passport and a cash amount of 1.5 million CFA.
“We are pleading [with] the public to come and assist us. Whoever has been robbed by these people should come and give us information while we prepare them for court,” he appealed.

The money stolen from the bank

Banker-To-Banker
In a related development, the Brong-Ahafo Regional Lottery Authority, with the assistance of the police, has busted 13 suspects who were engaging in illegal lottery at Techiman.
The suspects are Aboagye Godwin, 26; Kyere Charles, 35; Usiff Shakuru, 21; Boadi Solomon, 36; Richard Annor, 26; Adjei Eric, 25 and Issaka Abdul Mumuni, 32.
The rest are Obeng Emmanuel, 22; Clement Nsenkyire, 40; Osei Kuffour, 52; Benjamin Akwasi Ameyaw, 32; Abubakari Sadik, 23 and Osei Osae, 21. They would be put before court today.
Source: Fred Tettey Alarti-Amoako

‘We’re Determined To Capture BA’

Richard Adu Kwadwo

Sunyani, Feb. 26, 2015 -YOUTH ACTIVISTS of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Brong-Ahafo Region have issued a strong signal that they would leave no stone unturned in their quest to capture the region for the NPP in the 2016 general elections.
The Wenchi Constituency Youth Organiser of the party, Richard Adu Kwadwo, told DAILY GUIDE on the sideline of the regional rally of the youth wing at Bechem at the weekend that the youth had resolved to ‘kill’ themselves for the party by working extra hard to ensure a landslide victory for Nana Akufo-Addo and all NPP parliamentary candidates in the region.
According to Mr. Adu Kwadwo, the victory for the NPP would not be complete without capturing the Tano South seat, which is currently being occupied by the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC’s) Dr Hanna Bissiw.
The NPP youth activist noted that the Tano South seat is very important to the NPP because the constituency is the gateway to the Brong-Ahafo Region.
He therefore appealed to the rank and file of the party, especially the youth, to come on board in the victory struggle, saying that the shattered hopes of the Ghanaian youth can only be restored when Akufo-Addo and the NPP come into power to implement their tailor-made youth-friendly policies.
The NPP youth wing has vowed to increase the parliamentary seats from 13 to 23 in the region in December 2016.
In view of that, it launched its regional campaign with a mammoth rally at Bechem last Sunday, which was used to also raise funds for the acquisition of logistics for the 2016 electioneering campaign. The event was attended by gurus in the party.

Source: Fred Tettey Alarti-Amoako

BA NPP Youth Hold Rally

Sammy Awuku (m) at the rally

Sunyani, Feb. 25, 2015 -THE RACE to recapture the Brong-Ahafo Region for the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2016 elections has begun with a mammoth rally at Bechem in the Tano South District.
The weekend event, which saw bigwigs of the NPP from the national headquarters, Ashanti and the Brong-Ahafo Regions, was used to raise funds to procure logistics to support the campaign of the youth wing.
Speaker upon speaker chastised the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government for the economic dungeon it has put the nation into, with its attendant untold hardships.
The regional chairman of the party, Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh, called for national prayers for the country because according to him, the nation has come to the crossroads.
He however, mentioned that the economic mismanagement by the NDC government would not automatically affirm political power for the NPP.
The regional chairman therefore called for hard work, commitment and sacrifice by all party members and sympathizers, devoid of internal bickering, to attract more people to the party.
“We need to go back to the spirit of total commitment and sacrifice which brought the party into power in 2000,” he pointed out.
Mr. Asomah-Cheremeh appealed to the rank and file of the party to be mindful of their pronouncements so as to keep the unity of the party intact, while advising aspiring parliamentary candidates to conduct themselves according to the tenets of the party’s constitution.
The national youth organiser, Sammy Awuku, stressed the need for a change of government in 2016 to save Ghanaians from further hardships.
Mr. Awuku said the future belongs to the youth and therefore challenged them to be courageous and work extra harder to join the campaign to get rid of the Mahama-Amissah-Arthur administration. He called for efforts to capture first time voters to vote for the party.
Kwame Baffoe aka Abronye DC, the regional youth organizer, vowed to lead the youth wing to pursue a vigorous campaign to increase the NPP’s 13 seats to 23 in 2016.
He took a swipe at the Tano South NDC MP, Dr Hannah Bissiw, for deceiving the people in the area as he alleged that the MP had announced at various forums that she had constructed all the roads in her constituency.
The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP, Bernard Antwi-Boasiako aka Wontumi, promised to adopt the Tano South constituency, currently being occupied by the NDC.
According to him, he would put every resource in place to equip the party to snatch the seat, which was one of the traditional seats of the NPP.
Alfred Ofori Annye, the regional secretary, maintained that the economic mess created by the NDC government had taken a great toll on all state institutions, most of which are lacking the basic logistics like stationeries to operate with.
Other speakers were Nana Obiri Boahen, deputy general secretary of the NPP; Ignatius Baffour Awuah, MP for Sunyani West and Yaw Adomako Baafi, a leading member of the party.
Source: Fred Tettey Alarti-Amoako

NHIA Cripples Health Facilities In Brong Ahafo

Dr Letsa

Sunyani, Feb 24, 2015 -HEALTHCARE DELIVERY in the Brong-Ahafo Region may soon be crippled if the delayed in reimbursement from the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to service providers are not addressed immediately.

According to the Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Timothy Letsa, there are difficulties to secure timely reimbursements from the NHIA for the procurement of much needed drugs and non-drug consumables for health facilities in the region to operate.

“As it stands now many health facilities are saddled with debts and it is going to be extremely difficult to render quality services if this trend is to continue in 2015,” Dr Letsa pointed out.

Dr. Letsa stated this on Wednesday during the 2014 Annual Performance Review Meeting of Brong-Ahafo Regional Health Services in Sunyani.

The three-day meeting which was under the theme, Achieving Health Outcomes In The Midst of Resource Constraints,” sought to review the region’s performance with respect to health service delivery in 2014; share experiences, best practices, innovations and challenges and to devise strategies for improvement for 2015 and beyond.

Currently, many health facilities in the region, including the Regional Hospital, which is the biggest facility in the region, are all facing serious challenge of drug shortages following the failure by the NHIA to effects payments to the facilities.

 “In the midst of dwindling resources and uncertainty, how do we as a region prepare for EVD [Ebola Viral Disease] and other emergencies?” Dr Letsa asked.

He indicated that the region has attained 94.3 percent coverage of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), saying however that this improvement has brought in its wake the difficulties to secure prompt reimbursements from the NHIA.

A section of the participants

Ebola

Dr Letsa disclosed that the region recorded 13 suspected Ebola cases in 2014, which were all tested negative.

He stated that the capacity to manage cases of EVD has been linked with the construction of GH¢100,000 EVD isolation centre. He urged communities and all stakeholders to be vigilant and report suspected cases of EVD to their village volunteers and the nearest health facility.

Cholera

The region, he said, recorded 1,046 cases of cholera last year and 26 deaths, explaining that a lot still remains to be done as the environmental and human behavioural factors contributing to the cholera outbreaks still persist.

“Let me sound a word of caution that until stringent efforts are made by our districts led by the local government authorities we could be recording another outbreak this year,” he warned.

Guinea Worm

Dr Letsa said the region chalked success when an International Certificate Team to assess the guinea worm situation in July 2014, found that the region had met all the conditions for certification as guinea worm free.

Deputy Regional Minister, Justice Samuel Agyei, advised health professionals to put in place the best strategies and systems to ensure access, equity and efficiency in health service delivery in the midst of resource constraints.

Source: Fred Tettey Alarti-Amoako

Pregnant Woman Busted With Wee

The suspect with the items

Odomase, Feb 24, 2015 -A 31-year-old pregnant woman suspected to be a trafficker of narcotic drugs, has been arrested by the Brong-Ahafo Regional Police Command.
Agnes Yeboah was busted by a police patrol team upon a tip-off during a special operation at her Odomase residence, near Sunyani on Saturday, February 21.
The police retrieved from Agnes’s room a total of 23-and-a-half mini bags of dry leaves suspected to be Indian hemp.
Agnes allegedly attempted to bribe the police during her arrest with an amount of GH¢1,800 to free her, but the police officers rejected the offer.
The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Brong-Ahafo Regional Police Command, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Christopher Tawiah, hinted DAILY GUIDE yesterday.
ASP Tawiah said that the suspect, upon her arrest, confessed to the police that the substances were brought to her by her husband, Kwaku Richard, who is based at Badu, near Nsawkaw in the Tain District of the region, on that fateful day at about 12:00am for distribution to their clients. However, at the time of the operation, the man had left the house.
The suspect further informed the police that her husband stays at Tain area and occasionally pays her visits at Odomase.
Agnes is currently in police custody helping in investigations.
Source: Fred Tettey Alarti-Amoako

Sankore Killer Strikes Again

The victim

Sankore, Feb. 23, 2015 -Akwasi Adu, the dreaded suspected killer from Sankore in the Asunafo South District of the Brong-Ahafo Region – who allegedly killed a local evangelist, Kwabena Nyame and absconded some years ago – has returned and is terrorising residents in the area.
The ‘danger man’ on Thursday, February 19, allegedly struck again at the Sankore market area, brandishing a machete and nearly chopped off the head of Kwaku Protoa, one of his targets.
Eyewitnesses hinted DAILY GUIDE that the callous incident happened around 3pm in the full glare of traders, but nobody dared utter a word or attempted to rescue the victim.
When the victim was rushed to the Star of Light Hospital at Sankore, Akwasi Adu, an ardent activist of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), purportedly pursued him to the health facility to attack him again; this time round, he was said to be holding a gun, but the hospital authorities managed to close the main gates and invited the police, who came in swiftly to fire warning shots and whisked the traumatised victim away to the Goaso Municipal Hospital for treatment.
Kwaku Protoa was discharged from the hospital on Friday, while Akwasi Adu walks on the streets of Sankore a free man.
The victim later explained to DAILY GUIDE that he was eating at a food joint at the market when his assailant approached him and told him that he was on his wanted list.
According to Kwaku Protoa, hot exchanges ensued between him and Akwasi Adu and he decided to leave the scene for the sake of peace. However, when he turned AKwasi Adu allegedly attacked him with a machete from behind, cutting deep into his neck, making him sustain serious injuries.
It will be recalled that Akwasi Adu, a notorious thug of the NDC and Kwabena Noah, an accomplice, allegedly shot dead Kwabena Nyame, a local evangelist, during a rampage on July 19, 2009 at Sankore.
They escaped after killing the evangelist and after extensive search by the police, AKwasi Adu was finally arrested at the Sakumono residence of the current Regional Minister, Eric Opoku.
He was arraigned before a high court in Sunyani and charged for murder but for some strange reasons, the case was transferred to the Wenchi High Court.
Surprisingly, the murder suspect was granted bail during the trial, and has since been walking a free man, terrorising persons from the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) he believed caused his arrest.

Source: Fred Tettey Alarti-Amoako

Kintampo NDC Issues Ultimatum To President

Tapog Plasidious

Sunyani, Feb 19 -President John Mahama has been given a 7-day ultimatum to remove the Kintampo North Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Justice Michael Baffoe, or face the wrath of supporters of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the area.
A group within the NDC calling itself Northern Network and Associates for NDC Kintampo North (made up of NDC members who are non-indigenes of Kintampo) issued the threats over the weekends in Kintampo, based on what they described as the lackadaisical attitude by the leadership of the party in the region to call the MCE to order.
“We are giving the President one week ultimatum to sack the MCE if not we shall advise ourselves,” a statement signed by Tapog Plasidious, spokesperson of the network, pointed out.
According to the group, their action is to save the NDC party from losing the 2016 elections in the constituency following the conduct of Mr Baffoe.
Mr Tapog alleged, among other things, that the MCE has brought division among the leadership of the party in the area as he has sidelined a section of the constituency officers, including the chairman, George Markus Kpogo.
They also accused the MCE for allegedly organising some thugs to attack and collect the list of assemblymen prepared to pass a vote of no confidence in him, while charging him for meddling in chieftaincy issues.
However, speaking to DAILY GUIDE yesterday, the MCE denied all the allegations, claiming that members of the group could not prove any of their allegations before a team of regional and national officers who tried to resolve the impasse.
The constituency secretary, Emmanuel Kafui Venkumwimi, also corroborated the assertions of the MCE and described the group as a bunch of disgruntled party people who are on a mission to destroy the MCE for their personal gains.
The secretary explained that the network consists of party members who contested Mr Baffoe for the MCE position but lost.
He accused the constituency chairman for masterminding the activities of the group.
According to Mr Venkumwimi, the chairman recently led the network to write fictitious petition to Accra raising all sorts of falsehood against the MCE all in his attempts to get the chief executive removed.
He said prior to the selection of the MCE, about 21 names came up and those who did not get the position came together to fight the MCE and the leadership of Kintampo.
“Since then, they have been tormenting the MCE because they managed to get one of them elected as the constituency chairman. The chairman promised them (network members) that as soon as he becomes the constituency chairman, he will smoothen the way for them to prosecute their agenda against the MCE,” the constituency secretary alleged.
Mr Venkumwimi further stated that the agenda to get rid of the MCE was becoming difficult for the chairman to execute, so he (the chairman) had directed his anger at the chief executive.
The secretary further disclosed to DAILY GUIDE that the rest of the constituency executives, made up of 17 out of the 21 members, had presented a counter petition against the earlier one the chairman and his network presented to the party national leadership about the MCE.
 Source: Fred Tettey Alarti-Amoako

Uneasy Calm At Bui Dam

The Bui Dam

Sunyani, Feb 18 -The current national energy crisis is likely to be worsened following threats by employees of the Bui Power Authority (BPA) – operators of the Bui hydroelectric dam – to demonstrate against the management of the company.
Credible information available to DAILY GUIDE suggests that the workers had been compelled to go public because they claimed that they could no longer stand the harsh treatment being meted out to them by management.
The agitated employees cited in particular, the chief executive officer (CEO), Jabesh Amissah-Arthur – a brother of Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur – who they accused of having assumed the position of a ‘tin god’ and intimidating employees who are not in his good books.
The workers alleged that the CEO had created the culture of silence and cronyism in handling the company, which they said was seriously affecting the operations of the dam.
A number of the employees, who spoke to the paper on condition of anonymity for fear of being victimized by management, said they had complained severally about the leadership style of the CEO to the board chairman of BPA, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, who doubles as the General Secretary of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC). However, they said nothing had been done to call the CEO to order, apparently because of his strong link to corridors of power.
They further alleged that Mr. Amissah-Arthur had prevented employees of BPA to form a union to champion the interest of the workers, despite the frequent engagements with the officials of the Trades Union Congress (TUC).
Staff who dared to express their concerns about the actions of the CEO were purportedly intimidated and in some cases sacked.
On the allegation of cronyism, they pointed out that there are selective promotions. They cited the managers of Power Operations, Administration and Maintenance, who they alleged, were appointed to their present positions as a result of their personal relationships with the family of the CEO.
DAILY GUIDE also gathered that only 11 out of the 31 staff, mainly HND holders, who successfully underwent a training programme at the VRA Training School recently, were promoted to senior staff level.
Management claimed that there were no funds to pay them as senior staff officers – an assertion the workers rubbished.
The paper also learned that there was no potable water at the site, leaving most employees to drink from pools of water in some rocks.
“It is against these injustices and harsh treatment that we are planning to demonstrate against the management, especially our CEO who has installed CCTV cameras at all offices, vehicles and the Control Room and connected them to his personal wrist watch just to monitor our activities even in our vehicles, because he is afraid of his own shadow,” one of the employees told DAILY GUIDE.
Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer of the BPA, Wumbilla Salifu, has failed to respond to the allegations which the paper forwarded to his mail when he requested them a week ago.
The Bui Power Station, located in the Banda District of the Brong-Ahafo Region, was commissioned in 2013 to generate 400 megawatt (MW) of power to supplement the existing supply.
Source: Fred Tettey Alarti-Amoako

BA Youth In Sanitation Finds Use For Water Sachets

Mariam displaying some their products

Sunyani, Feb 18 -A SUNYANI-based organisation, BA Youth In Sanitation, has come out with innovative project to turn water sachets into assorted useful products.

Currently, the organisation has used the waste sachets to sew school bags, aprons for sellers, rain coats, umbrellas, shopping bags, tarpaulins to cover vehicles, among other products.

The organisation, which started operations in the last quarter of 2014, out-doored their products and operations on Saturday through a clean-up exercise and public education on sanitation in some principal streets of Sunyani, Brong-Ahafo Regional capital.

Alexander Obeng Boateng, one of the Coordinators of the group, told DAILY GUIDE during an interview that the move by his organisation is to help create job opportunities for the teeming unemployed youth, make good use of the waste in the system and keep the environment clean.

According to him, his outfit realised that relying on the only monthly organised national clean-up exercise would not solve the sanitation problem the country is saddled with, “so we realised that we have to come up with a programme to educate the citizenry on the need to keep their surroundings clean and also turn the waste we generate into useful products.”

Mr Alex Obeng Boateng

Mr. Boateng further mentioned that his organisation has planned to partner various stakeholders on the National Sanitation Day to mobilize the youth to clear the filths on the streets.

He expressed optimism that the general public would patronize their products since the company has come to address major nuisance facing the society.

He stated that funding and lack of a warehouse to keep their raw materials such as the collected water sachets were some of the major challenges facing the organisation.

Mariam Iddrisu, also a Coordinator of the project, thanked various institutions and individuals such as Nana Yaa Nyamaa II, Queen mother of the Sunyani Traditional Council, for supporting the initiative.

Source: Fred Tettey Alarti-Amoako 

Nkroful Citizens Seek President’s Intervention

Mr Tandoh

Sunyani, Feb 17 -Citizens of Nkroful, the hometown and original burial place of Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president, have made a passionate appeal to President John Mahama to intervene in a protracted impasse between the community and Adamus Resources Limited (ARL), an Australian surface mining company operating in the area.
Whilst the people claim that Nkroful is a historical town which should be preserved for the present and future generations, ARL is said to be carrying out surface
mining activities in the area.
Speaking to DAILY GUIDE in Sunyani, Peter Aliefeh Tandoh, a concerned citizen of Nkroful, alleged that the mining company had already generated its own Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) without receiving any input from the people of Nkroful.
“Adamus Resources Limited wants to fight tooth and nail to impose its own MoU which did not factor in EPA laws, safety, protection, peace and the fundamental human rights of the people of Nkroful,” he lamented.
Mr. Tandoh said it is based on these concerns that the people are calling on the president to intervene for the land that their forefathers bequeathed to them to be preserved.
The community also called on the Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and his outfit to step in to protect Nkroful and its environs.
Nkroful, which is the capital town of the Ellembelle District Assembly, serves as the food basket not only for its catchment area, but also for the people of Jomoro, Evalue and the Nzema East Districts, and by extension, the country.
The historical town is also a potential tourist centre for both Ghanaians and foreigners and for that matter, its heritage must be kept intact, underscored Mr Tandoh.
He noted that 105 years after the birth of Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Nkroful had attained some monumental significance and that its location on the map of Ghana is of great importance.
“No wonder 21^st September on the Ghanaian calendar has for some time now been declared yearly as Founder’s Day. If the hometown of the former first gentleman man of the land who championed the attainment of Ghana’s independence would be given out to surface mining, then we don’t have a future,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, efforts to contact the authorities of Adamus Resources for their response proved futile.

Source: Fred Tettey Alarti-Amoako

SDA Abandoned Church Over Attacks By Muslim Youth

Sunyani, Feb 16 -Reports reaching DAILY GUIDE from Atebubu in the Brong-Ahafo Region indicate that members of the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church in the town stayed indoors on Saturday (the Sabbath) to avoid further attacks by the Muslim youth in the area.

The Central SDA temple was demolished on Friday by an angry mob involving Tijaniyah Muslim youth who also burnt down the eight-bedroom official residence of the pastor in-charge of

Burnt mission house

 the SDA schools in the town.
Initial report suggested the Alhasuna sect was involved in the attacks but checks indicate that it was rather the Tijaniya group.

The Muslim youth engaged the police in an open-air gun battle and placed the entire area under siege, amid throwing of stones at the police and residents who dared come closer.

The irate Zongo youth, who wielded guns and other offensive weapons, launched the violent attack on the church following a dispute over a piece of land which the two religious sects were claiming ownership of.

As at press time yesterday, the situation was under control following the deployment of more police and military personnel to the town to maintain law and order.

The burnt mission house accommodated close to 20 teacher trainees who are doing their teaching practice in the school. They lost valuable items such as laptops, cellular phones, books and certificates, among others.

The Brong-Ahafo Regional Crime Officer, Superintendent Alhaji Maama Arhin, yesterday hinted DAILY GUIDE that police investigations had pointed to two influential Muslim leaders who are believed to have incited the youth to engage in the attack.

The Crime Officer assured the public that the two identified Muslim leaders would be invited to the regional headquarters in Sunyani for questioning when the current tension in the town calmed down.

According to him, the chief of Atebubu, Nana Owusu Akyeaw Obrempong II, who allegedly sold the disputed land to the two religious organisations, had so far declined to talk to the police investigators to enable them build up their case.

The disputed land, which is about half a plot, was said to have been acquired by the SDA Education Unit in 1967, part of which they had used to build its basic school and the residence of the pastor in-charge.

However, the Muslim group had also claimed ownership of the said land, maintaining that they bought it from the chiefs in 2010 and had since been using the place as a prayer ground during the Eid festivities, especially at the end of the annual Ramadan fasting.

The church petitioned the district assembly, the traditional council and the district police command over a wall the Muslim sect was constructing around the land, which even blocked access to the pastor’s residence.

According to the authorities of the SDA School, after many efforts to settle the impasse had yielded no results, the school management resorted to the court where they succeeded in securing an interim injunction to restrain the Muslims from continuing with the project.

Reports said the Muslim youth continued the project despite the court injunction, which compelled the police to move to the site last Friday at the time they (youth) were working, resulting in the chaos.

Source: Fred Tettey Alarti-Amoako

Muslim Youth Burnt SDA Church At Atebubu

Sunyani, Feb 14 -A number of people yesterday sustained gunshot wounds at Atebubu in the Brong-Ahafo Region, as Muslim youth belonging to the Alissuna wal Jama’a sec engaged the police in an open-air gun battle.
DAILY GUIDE learnt that the Muslim youth, numbering over 1,000, stormed the SDA church premises near the Atebubu Government Hospita

Burnt mission house

l on Friday afternoon after the mid-day prayers with guns and offensive weapons and set the newly built mission house ablaze and further brought down the walls around the church and demolished the temple.
The presence of the police did not deter the irate Zongo youth, as they exchanged fire with the small number of police personnel present and overpowered the security agency.
They placed the entire area under siege, throwing stones at anybody who dared come closer including the police.
Eyewitnesses informed DAILY GUIDE that the Muslim youth went berserk after the wall they were constructing on a disputed land around the SDA Church was demolished by the police, based on a court order.
According to residents, the two religious organisations are claiming ownership of a parcel of land in the area.
The said land, which the SDA Church allegedly acquired in 1967, houses the church’s mission house, temple and school.
Eyewitnesses mentioned that the Alissuna sect have also been using a section of the disputed land as prayer grounds during the Eid festivities, especially the annual break of Ramadan fasting, and insisted that they have documents covering the land.
A member of the Church hinted DAILY GUIDE that the leadership of the SDA Church reported the matter to the Atebubu Traditional Council, District Chief Executive and the District Police Command to intervene in the impasse.
However, efforts by the various groups to settle the impasse did not materialise, compelling the SDA church to resort to the court.
The church succeeded in securing an interim injunction to restrain the Muslims from continuing with the wall project.
However, reports said the Muslim sect continued the project despite the court injunction.
The police were compelled to move to the site on Friday at the time the Muslim group was working there, resulting in the chaos.
Meanwhile, a reinforcement team has been dispatched to Atebubu to restore law and order.
The Brong-Ahafo Regional Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Christopher Tawiah, said police patrol teams at nearby districts and commands including Special Weapon Tactics Team (SWAT) as well as Crime Scene Management team from the Regional Headquarters have since been dispatched to the town.
“The Regional Police Commander is in a good position to make sure that the situation is brought under control,” he stated.
Source: Fred Tettey Alarti-Amoako

MOBILE LIBRARY PROJECT LAUNCHED AT TEWBABI

Nana Siraa-Ababio

Sunyani, Feb 13 -ABOUT 1,000 school children at Tewbabi and its environs, near Berekum in the Brong-Ahafo Region have benefited from a Mobile Library Project to improve quality education in the area.

The one year project, being championed by the Environment of Hope Foundation (EoHOPE) in collaboration with the Asuama Kyere Community Mobile Library Project (AKCOMLIP-Ghana) and the US Embassy with support from the Ghana Library Authority, was launched on Tuesday at Tewbabi. The two other beneficiary communities are Adom and Abisase.

As part of the launch, a mobile library van of the Ghana Library Authority stocked with about 2,500 books including fictions and non-fictions adult, students and children ones, was stationed at Tewbabi for four days for the children to read the books.

After the four days, the books would be lent to the children where they would be supervised by trained community volunteers and the project coordinator to read them. Under the project, every child is expected to read a book a week.

Speaking at the programme, the Executive Director of the EoHOPE Foundation/AKCOMLIP-Ghana, Nana Afia Siraa-Ababio III, expressed her heartfelt gratitude to the US Embassy for sponsoring the project.

 Nana Siraa-Ababio, Queen mother of Kato, near Berekum, said the project which is under the theme, “Developing Reading and Writing Where they Matter Most,” was geared towards polishing the reading and writing skills of the children, especially in the deprived communities in the Berekum Municipality.

She indicated that the Foundation will liaise with the Ghana Education Service (GES) to seek their technical advice in executing the project, adding that they would operate within the confines of the rules and regulations of the GES.

Nana Siraa-Ababio explained that Tewbabi and its environs were selected based on a stakeholders’ meeting comprising of the Berekum Traditional Council, Municipal Assembly, Municipal Education Directorate to address the challenges in those communities.

She called on all the stakeholders, most especially the beneficiary communities, to play their roles effectively in order to bring the project to fruition, while urging parents to allow their children to be actively involved in the exercise.

“Plans have been put in place to extend this project to cover all the remotest communities in the Municipality and the Brong-Ahafo Region as a whole. This cannot be done without your support,” she pointed out.

The Queenmother of Tewbabi, Nana Kyeremaa Duodu I, who chaired the function, lauded the project and urged residents in the area to embrace it in order to give their children a better future.

The Berekum Municipal Chief Executive, Opoku Boakye Yiadom, commended the EoHOPE Foundation for bringing the project to the Municipality.

Five bicycles and a motorbike were distributed to the volunteers and the project coordinator to enhance their operations.

Source: Fred Tettey Alarti-Amoako