Story: Abdul Aziz
Great excitement and uproar from a teeming crowd greeted the unveiling of the Kantanka Obrempon limousine, manufactured by Apostle Kwadwo Safo, Head of Kristo Asafo Mission, at a ceremony at Awoshie, a suburb of Accra, yesterday.
The ceremony was the high point of this year’s Charity and Technology Exhibition held by the church.
The first people to take a ride in the limousine were ministers of state and one of the aspirants who participated in the contest for the flagbearership of the ruling New Patriotic Party.
They included Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Joe Baidoe-Ansah, Minister of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and President's Special Initiatives, and Dr Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, a former Chief Executive of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.
Other dignitaries included judges, senior civil servants and policy makers.
In an address, Mr Baah-Wiredu said the government was determined to ensure that entrepreneurs and businessmen reaped the full benefit of the Golden Age of Business.
He said that would ultimately lead the country to achieve the desired middle-income status by 2015.
He said Apostle Safo's work was an epitome of a good private sector initiative and deserved all the support from the government and all patriotic Ghanaians to make the venture more productive.
He assured Apostle Safo and others in the private sector that the government would not relent in its efforts to ensure that business thrived by offering a congenial atmosphere for private initiative.
He urged Apostle Safo to consider exploring some initiatives and interventions, such as the Venture Capital Fund, to expand his business.
Mr Baidoe-Ansah said the government was focussing more on the small and medium enterprises sector, which constituted about 70 per cent of all the industrial establishments and contributed nearly 85 per cent of manufacturing employment.
He said his ministry was working in close collaboration with the Kristo Asafo Mission under the Technology Innovation Centre for Capital Goods Manufacture to establish an integrated foundry and tools training centre to produce tools as spare parts for the agricultural and industrial sectors.
For his part, Apostle Kwadwo Safo said he had placed emphasis on invention and high technology because no country could develop without a sound technological base.
He said the church’s Gomoa Mpota Technological Centre would recruit young graduates to train them in the production of high technology items.
The inventions on display at the exhibition included his first two vehicles, the latest limousine and an excavator.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Friday, December 21, 2007
SUBJECT JUDGES' DECISIONS TO CRITICAL ANALYSIS (Page 24...Published Dec 17, 2007)
Story: Abdul Aziz
The Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina Wood, has called on Ghanaians, especially legal luminaries, to critically examine the decisions of judges and analyse them for the development of the judicial system.
Justice Wood explained that for sometime now the bench had no source of knowing what other institutions such as the Bar thought of their work as judges.
Mrs Wood made the call when she delivered the keynote address at the launch of a book, “The Role of the Supreme Court in the Development of Constitutional Law in Ghana’’ by Dr Seth Y. Bimpong-Buta, a former Director of the Ghana School of Law.
The Chief Justice said such reviews were useful in helping the judiciary to revise and reflect on their work so as to update their knowledge on the current state of the law.
She said the publication had, therefore, come to fill the yawning gap in the development of constitutional law in the country.
She commended Dr Bimpong-Buta, saying that his work would contribute in a great measure to the development of democratic culture and good governance in the country.
She recommended the book to the bench, Bar, teachers of the law, and all institutions and individuals who had an interest in the development and administration of law and justice.
Mrs Wood said the author had successfully demonstrated that the development of a democratic culture and good governance in the country did not depend on the Supreme Court alone, and that the complementary role of the Bar, civil society organisations (CSO), the media and the individual was crucial to the establishment of a truly democratic, peaceful and stable society.
Dr Bimpong-Buta said the book mainly praised the Supreme Court for some of its superb and courageous decisions since independence, that had helped in the development of constitutional rule in the country.
He said in doing so he was also compelled to comment on some of the shameful decisions of the Supreme Courts that enabled politicians to trample on the rights of Ghanaians, with far-reaching consequences.
Launching the book, Mr Justice V. C.R .A.C. Crabbe, a constitutional expert, who had presided over the drafting of two constitutions for the country, said the study of the law could be found in judgements.
Justice Crabbe said the publication of the book was, therefore, a one-stop shop for lawyers, teachers, judges and law students in search of information on landmark judgements in the country.
Nana (Dr) S .K. B. Asante, a constitutional expert who helped in drafting the 1992 constitution and chairman for the book launch, said Ghanaians needed to appreciate the fact, with some sense of gratification, that the country had enjoyed an uninterrupted constitutional regime for 15 years.
Dr Asante, therefore, observed that the occasional calls for amendment of the constitution stemmed from a failure to appreciate the critical role of the Supreme Court in interpreting, clarifying, refining and consolidating the constitution.
The Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina Wood, has called on Ghanaians, especially legal luminaries, to critically examine the decisions of judges and analyse them for the development of the judicial system.
Justice Wood explained that for sometime now the bench had no source of knowing what other institutions such as the Bar thought of their work as judges.
Mrs Wood made the call when she delivered the keynote address at the launch of a book, “The Role of the Supreme Court in the Development of Constitutional Law in Ghana’’ by Dr Seth Y. Bimpong-Buta, a former Director of the Ghana School of Law.
The Chief Justice said such reviews were useful in helping the judiciary to revise and reflect on their work so as to update their knowledge on the current state of the law.
She said the publication had, therefore, come to fill the yawning gap in the development of constitutional law in the country.
She commended Dr Bimpong-Buta, saying that his work would contribute in a great measure to the development of democratic culture and good governance in the country.
She recommended the book to the bench, Bar, teachers of the law, and all institutions and individuals who had an interest in the development and administration of law and justice.
Mrs Wood said the author had successfully demonstrated that the development of a democratic culture and good governance in the country did not depend on the Supreme Court alone, and that the complementary role of the Bar, civil society organisations (CSO), the media and the individual was crucial to the establishment of a truly democratic, peaceful and stable society.
Dr Bimpong-Buta said the book mainly praised the Supreme Court for some of its superb and courageous decisions since independence, that had helped in the development of constitutional rule in the country.
He said in doing so he was also compelled to comment on some of the shameful decisions of the Supreme Courts that enabled politicians to trample on the rights of Ghanaians, with far-reaching consequences.
Launching the book, Mr Justice V. C.R .A.C. Crabbe, a constitutional expert, who had presided over the drafting of two constitutions for the country, said the study of the law could be found in judgements.
Justice Crabbe said the publication of the book was, therefore, a one-stop shop for lawyers, teachers, judges and law students in search of information on landmark judgements in the country.
Nana (Dr) S .K. B. Asante, a constitutional expert who helped in drafting the 1992 constitution and chairman for the book launch, said Ghanaians needed to appreciate the fact, with some sense of gratification, that the country had enjoyed an uninterrupted constitutional regime for 15 years.
Dr Asante, therefore, observed that the occasional calls for amendment of the constitution stemmed from a failure to appreciate the critical role of the Supreme Court in interpreting, clarifying, refining and consolidating the constitution.
Friday, December 14, 2007
MINISTRY TO CLOSE UNAPPROVED ROUTES ON MOTORWAY (Back Page)
Story: Abdul Aziz
The Ministry of Transportation has embarked on an operation to close all unauthorised access routes on the Accra-Tema Motorway to avoid further accidents.
The unauthorised exit and entry points on the motorway had been a source of danger to the motoring public. It would be recalled that former President Jerry John Rawlings narrowly escaped death on the motorway when a vehicle appeared from an unauthorised route to cross his path.
According to Mr Ken S. Anku, a media consultant to the Ministry of Transportation, the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) was undertaking the exercise purely in the interest of the safety of the motoring public and not for any other considerations.
He said as a responsible and sensitive ministry, it had developed some short term and long term solutions to ease the effects of traffic jams that might result from the closure of those unauthorised routes.
He said as a first step, the ministry was in the process of providing alternative exit and entry points on the motorway at a location further west of the overhead cattle bridge.
Mr Anku explained that the intervention was intended to provide a safer access to residents located along the road.
He further said that in order to ease traffic movements within the Accra East corridor, the ministry, through the Department of Urban Roads, was continuing to improve on the La beach road.
The Ministry of Transportation has embarked on an operation to close all unauthorised access routes on the Accra-Tema Motorway to avoid further accidents.
The unauthorised exit and entry points on the motorway had been a source of danger to the motoring public. It would be recalled that former President Jerry John Rawlings narrowly escaped death on the motorway when a vehicle appeared from an unauthorised route to cross his path.
According to Mr Ken S. Anku, a media consultant to the Ministry of Transportation, the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) was undertaking the exercise purely in the interest of the safety of the motoring public and not for any other considerations.
He said as a responsible and sensitive ministry, it had developed some short term and long term solutions to ease the effects of traffic jams that might result from the closure of those unauthorised routes.
He said as a first step, the ministry was in the process of providing alternative exit and entry points on the motorway at a location further west of the overhead cattle bridge.
Mr Anku explained that the intervention was intended to provide a safer access to residents located along the road.
He further said that in order to ease traffic movements within the Accra East corridor, the ministry, through the Department of Urban Roads, was continuing to improve on the La beach road.
TRAGEDY AT ANYAA .....2 Kids die, another injured as school wall collapses (1b)
Story: Abdul Aziz
TWO kindergarten pupils of the Happy Souls Academy at Anyaa in the Ga West District who were seen off to school yesterday morning by their parents met their untimely death when a wall of the school building collapsed on them.
A third pupil who sustained serious injuries is on admission at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.
Four others who sustained minor injuries have been treated and discharged from Korle-Bu.
The Proprietor of the school, Mr Emmanuel Afful, who was at the school when the incident occurred, has been placed in custody at the Anyaa Police Station to assist the police in their investigations.
Mr Afful told the Daily Graphic at the police station just before he was put in cells that he was in his office when he heard some shouts.
He said he rushed out, only to be confronted with the scene of a wall that had collapsed on some of the children who were playing around it.
He said he and the teachers immediately went to the rescue of the children, adding that three of the seriously injured were rushed for first aid treatment at the El Bethel Clinic and Maternity Home at Anyaa, where they were referred to the Korle-Bu Hospital for further treatment.
Mr Afful said on arrival at the clinic, the midwife declared two of the three children as already dead, while the third one, who was in a state of unconsciousness, was put on drip and rushed to Korle-Bu for intensive care. The two dead pupils were deposited at the mortuary of the same hospital for autopsy.
The proprietor, in a statement to the Anyaa Police, gave the names of the dead as Sarah Siw and Samuel Mbaye, both four, while Benedict Djan Agyei is the one currently on admission at the ICU of Korle-Bu.
Madam Becky Ansong, the midwife in charge of the El Bethel Clinic, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that when a taxi pulled up at the clinic with three kids, she found out that two of them were already dead.
The third was attended to and taken quickly in a waiting taxi to the Korle-Bu.
A visit to the school revealed a sad spectacle, with bloodstained walls and floor and parents trooping there to find out whether their children had been affected.
Mr Kofi Twum, a parent who has three children in the school and who helped in the rescue operation, said seven children were caught by the collapsed building, with three seriously affected, while four sustained minor injuries.
He, however, said his three children were not injured, since they were far from the wall when it collapsed.
Mr Twum said some parents came to the school to either take their children home or to clinics within the vicinity for medical check-ups.
Later, officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), led by EX WO 1 Brookman Mensah of the Rapid Response Unit, arrived in the school to cordon off the danger area to prevent schoolchildren from playing around the remaining standing wall.
TWO kindergarten pupils of the Happy Souls Academy at Anyaa in the Ga West District who were seen off to school yesterday morning by their parents met their untimely death when a wall of the school building collapsed on them.
A third pupil who sustained serious injuries is on admission at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.
Four others who sustained minor injuries have been treated and discharged from Korle-Bu.
The Proprietor of the school, Mr Emmanuel Afful, who was at the school when the incident occurred, has been placed in custody at the Anyaa Police Station to assist the police in their investigations.
Mr Afful told the Daily Graphic at the police station just before he was put in cells that he was in his office when he heard some shouts.
He said he rushed out, only to be confronted with the scene of a wall that had collapsed on some of the children who were playing around it.
He said he and the teachers immediately went to the rescue of the children, adding that three of the seriously injured were rushed for first aid treatment at the El Bethel Clinic and Maternity Home at Anyaa, where they were referred to the Korle-Bu Hospital for further treatment.
Mr Afful said on arrival at the clinic, the midwife declared two of the three children as already dead, while the third one, who was in a state of unconsciousness, was put on drip and rushed to Korle-Bu for intensive care. The two dead pupils were deposited at the mortuary of the same hospital for autopsy.
The proprietor, in a statement to the Anyaa Police, gave the names of the dead as Sarah Siw and Samuel Mbaye, both four, while Benedict Djan Agyei is the one currently on admission at the ICU of Korle-Bu.
Madam Becky Ansong, the midwife in charge of the El Bethel Clinic, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that when a taxi pulled up at the clinic with three kids, she found out that two of them were already dead.
The third was attended to and taken quickly in a waiting taxi to the Korle-Bu.
A visit to the school revealed a sad spectacle, with bloodstained walls and floor and parents trooping there to find out whether their children had been affected.
Mr Kofi Twum, a parent who has three children in the school and who helped in the rescue operation, said seven children were caught by the collapsed building, with three seriously affected, while four sustained minor injuries.
He, however, said his three children were not injured, since they were far from the wall when it collapsed.
Mr Twum said some parents came to the school to either take their children home or to clinics within the vicinity for medical check-ups.
Later, officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), led by EX WO 1 Brookman Mensah of the Rapid Response Unit, arrived in the school to cordon off the danger area to prevent schoolchildren from playing around the remaining standing wall.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
ANDANIS, ABUDUS DISAGREE OVER FINAL PEACE AGREEMENT (Published Tuesday, December 11, 2007. Page 31)
Story: Abdul Aziz & Vincent Adedze, Tamale
With preparations already underway for the funeral of the late Na Mahamadu Abdulai IV, disagreement has arisen between the Abdulai and Andani gates in the Dagbon chieftaincy affair over a document currently circulating in Yendi.
While the Regent of Dagbon, Kampakuya Naa Yakubu Abdulai, is questioning the authenticity of the document which is said to emanate from the Otumfuo Committee of Eminent Chiefs, the Abudu gate is quoting it to support its stand of performing the funeral at the Gbewaa Palace.
In a statement issued in Yendi over the weekend, Naa Abdulai said the document was capable of inciting people to create violence in the area.
Naa Abdulai’s statement was issued on the same day the Abudu gate issued another statement which entreated the government to call to order certain individuals the gate claimed were intent on fomenting trouble in the area during the performance of the late Na Mahamadu Abdulai IV’s funeral.
Sources said the funeral for Na Abdulai was scheduled to be performed sometime this month and was the reason for the Abudu statement that “we equally believe that we can perform the funeral without much government security presence; the Abudu and Andani families both need to have sober reflections and to allow for the spirit of compromise, justice and fair play to help us in our quest to restore and preserve Dagbon custom”.
Both sides of the debate base their stand on a document headed “Final Peace Agreement” and said to have been issued by the Eminent Chiefs made up of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II; the Yagbonwura, Doshie Bawa; and the Nayiri, Mahama Abdulai Naa Bohugu.
While the Abudus draw from it the mandate to organise the funeral of the late Naa Mahamadu Abdulai IV at the Gbewaa Palace, Regent Kampakuya, Naa Yakubu Abdulai, said reports reaching him indicated that there was some outward expression of disaffection among the people of Dagbon arising from the contents of the document.
He cited two portions of the document which he said convinced him that it could not have come from such respected Eminent Chiefs.
He explained that the Eminent Chiefs would not allow the situation in which a unitary Dagbon Kingdom would have two palaces (old and new) occupied by two regents (regent of Dagbon and regent of his father) at the same time.
He said the Eminent Chiefs knew that no custom, especially no Dagbon custom, would allow the occupation of two palaces by two different regents or chiefs of one kingdom at the same time under any condition.
He further said that no external body could direct the rightful chief of Dagbon on how to govern his kingdom as long as he was within Dagbon custom and national law.
Naa Abdulai said the Eminent Chiefs would not also advocate the selection and enskinment of a Ya Naa by persons who did not qualify by custom to do so and thereby create a cycle of litigation and eventual violence.
He said he was, therefore, fortified in his belief in the non-authenticity of the document because it was incompatible with the known mandate of the eminent chiefs.
The mandate of the Otumfuo Committee, he explained, was to establish how best all the necessary customary rites could be performed before an appropriate date for the burial of Ya Naa Yakubu Andani II was fixed by the traditional authorities in Dagbon.
He said the second mandate was to mediate for reconciliation between the Abudulai and Andani royal families and third to advise the government on the customary procedure to be pursued to achieve a lasting peace within Dagbon state in particular and Ghana as a whole.
Naa Abdulai, therefore, appealed to all citizens of Dagbon to take time and study any document which may come into their possession before allowing themselves to be excited or incited by its contents.
Stating the position of the Abudu gate at a press conference in Yendi, the Secretary to the Abudu family said it was important to state the position of the Abudu family regarding recent developments in the Dagbon chieftaincy issue.
Of critical concern to both parties was the performance of the final funeral rites of Na Mahamadu Abdulai at the Gbewaa Palace.
Mr Iddrisu observed that “the attitude of the Andani leadership and of recent his children, widows and even some members of the press regarding the performance of the funeral of Na Mahamadu, is not the best”.
“We entreat our Andani cousins to come join us bid farewell to the Dagbon King, for we shall always be there for them and for Dagbon,” he further said.
He cautioned against those individuals who hide behind the name of the Andani family to “issue empty and sometimes serious threats” to cause confusion in Dagbon, as well as scare officialdom to manipulate justice and fairness to their advantage.
“Let it be said here and now that the Committee of Eminent Chiefs’ duty is to sort out the confusion regarding Dagbon custom and to return it to normalcy,” the secretary stressed.
Mr Iddrisu expressed regret and surprise that “the very road map from which the Andani family has benefited is today found unacceptable and contrary to Dagbon custom”.
He noted that the funeral of Na Abdulai would be performed in the Gbewaa Palace, pending the “green light from the Committee of Eminent Chiefs as a customary and legal necessity, come the due date scheduled for it”.
With preparations already underway for the funeral of the late Na Mahamadu Abdulai IV, disagreement has arisen between the Abdulai and Andani gates in the Dagbon chieftaincy affair over a document currently circulating in Yendi.
While the Regent of Dagbon, Kampakuya Naa Yakubu Abdulai, is questioning the authenticity of the document which is said to emanate from the Otumfuo Committee of Eminent Chiefs, the Abudu gate is quoting it to support its stand of performing the funeral at the Gbewaa Palace.
In a statement issued in Yendi over the weekend, Naa Abdulai said the document was capable of inciting people to create violence in the area.
Naa Abdulai’s statement was issued on the same day the Abudu gate issued another statement which entreated the government to call to order certain individuals the gate claimed were intent on fomenting trouble in the area during the performance of the late Na Mahamadu Abdulai IV’s funeral.
Sources said the funeral for Na Abdulai was scheduled to be performed sometime this month and was the reason for the Abudu statement that “we equally believe that we can perform the funeral without much government security presence; the Abudu and Andani families both need to have sober reflections and to allow for the spirit of compromise, justice and fair play to help us in our quest to restore and preserve Dagbon custom”.
Both sides of the debate base their stand on a document headed “Final Peace Agreement” and said to have been issued by the Eminent Chiefs made up of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II; the Yagbonwura, Doshie Bawa; and the Nayiri, Mahama Abdulai Naa Bohugu.
While the Abudus draw from it the mandate to organise the funeral of the late Naa Mahamadu Abdulai IV at the Gbewaa Palace, Regent Kampakuya, Naa Yakubu Abdulai, said reports reaching him indicated that there was some outward expression of disaffection among the people of Dagbon arising from the contents of the document.
He cited two portions of the document which he said convinced him that it could not have come from such respected Eminent Chiefs.
He explained that the Eminent Chiefs would not allow the situation in which a unitary Dagbon Kingdom would have two palaces (old and new) occupied by two regents (regent of Dagbon and regent of his father) at the same time.
He said the Eminent Chiefs knew that no custom, especially no Dagbon custom, would allow the occupation of two palaces by two different regents or chiefs of one kingdom at the same time under any condition.
He further said that no external body could direct the rightful chief of Dagbon on how to govern his kingdom as long as he was within Dagbon custom and national law.
Naa Abdulai said the Eminent Chiefs would not also advocate the selection and enskinment of a Ya Naa by persons who did not qualify by custom to do so and thereby create a cycle of litigation and eventual violence.
He said he was, therefore, fortified in his belief in the non-authenticity of the document because it was incompatible with the known mandate of the eminent chiefs.
The mandate of the Otumfuo Committee, he explained, was to establish how best all the necessary customary rites could be performed before an appropriate date for the burial of Ya Naa Yakubu Andani II was fixed by the traditional authorities in Dagbon.
He said the second mandate was to mediate for reconciliation between the Abudulai and Andani royal families and third to advise the government on the customary procedure to be pursued to achieve a lasting peace within Dagbon state in particular and Ghana as a whole.
Naa Abdulai, therefore, appealed to all citizens of Dagbon to take time and study any document which may come into their possession before allowing themselves to be excited or incited by its contents.
Stating the position of the Abudu gate at a press conference in Yendi, the Secretary to the Abudu family said it was important to state the position of the Abudu family regarding recent developments in the Dagbon chieftaincy issue.
Of critical concern to both parties was the performance of the final funeral rites of Na Mahamadu Abdulai at the Gbewaa Palace.
Mr Iddrisu observed that “the attitude of the Andani leadership and of recent his children, widows and even some members of the press regarding the performance of the funeral of Na Mahamadu, is not the best”.
“We entreat our Andani cousins to come join us bid farewell to the Dagbon King, for we shall always be there for them and for Dagbon,” he further said.
He cautioned against those individuals who hide behind the name of the Andani family to “issue empty and sometimes serious threats” to cause confusion in Dagbon, as well as scare officialdom to manipulate justice and fairness to their advantage.
“Let it be said here and now that the Committee of Eminent Chiefs’ duty is to sort out the confusion regarding Dagbon custom and to return it to normalcy,” the secretary stressed.
Mr Iddrisu expressed regret and surprise that “the very road map from which the Andani family has benefited is today found unacceptable and contrary to Dagbon custom”.
He noted that the funeral of Na Abdulai would be performed in the Gbewaa Palace, pending the “green light from the Committee of Eminent Chiefs as a customary and legal necessity, come the due date scheduled for it”.
DISABLED SOCIETY TO EXPAND BUSINESS ...(Published Monday, Dec 10, 2007. Page 55)
Story: Abdul Aziz
THE Ghana Society of the Physically Disabled (GSPD) is to diversify its operations by branching into the hospitality industry by producing tooth picks for restaurants.
This is to ensure that the society’s factory that currently produce chalk operates throughout the year instead of the current practice of closing down for lack of market for chalk.
Mr Elvis Kosi Alipui, Production Manager of the chalk factory, said recently, the factory had to close down and the 17 workers sent home because of lack of market for 30,000 boxes of chalk produced.
He said, however, that when the Ghana Education Service (GES) heard of the stock, it issued a cheque for ¢105 million to clear it.
He said apart from clearing the stock, the GES had awarded another contract to the factory to produce 50,000 boxes of chalk for 2008.
He said when the tooth pick line was added to the chalk factory, it would assist to limit the constraints of cash flow associated with the chalk factory to enable it to expand in the future to meet more demands.
Mr Alipui said the society was sourcing funds for members of the society to learn different trades such as tailoring, computer programming and craftsmanship to open joint ventures as part of the diversification process.
He, therefore, appealed to non- government organisations (NGOs) to come to the aid of the society.
He said the chalk factory which was closed recently for lack of contracts would be re-opened in January for production to start on the 50,000 boxes of chalk for the GES valued at ¢175 million.
The production manager said the factory when producing at full capacity was capable of generating employment for 33 physically disabled persons but it was currently employing only 17 persons.
He said when many institutions offered them contracts the company could be able to expand its operations to employ more people to ensure equity in the society, as well assist the disabled to come back to the mainstream society, to contribute their quota to national development.
Mr Alipui said many disabled people had now acquired skills but required funds to put these skills into practice to prevent them from going back to the streets to beg for alms, which was a dent on the image the Ghana Society of the Physically Disabled had worked hard to improve.
THE Ghana Society of the Physically Disabled (GSPD) is to diversify its operations by branching into the hospitality industry by producing tooth picks for restaurants.
This is to ensure that the society’s factory that currently produce chalk operates throughout the year instead of the current practice of closing down for lack of market for chalk.
Mr Elvis Kosi Alipui, Production Manager of the chalk factory, said recently, the factory had to close down and the 17 workers sent home because of lack of market for 30,000 boxes of chalk produced.
He said, however, that when the Ghana Education Service (GES) heard of the stock, it issued a cheque for ¢105 million to clear it.
He said apart from clearing the stock, the GES had awarded another contract to the factory to produce 50,000 boxes of chalk for 2008.
He said when the tooth pick line was added to the chalk factory, it would assist to limit the constraints of cash flow associated with the chalk factory to enable it to expand in the future to meet more demands.
Mr Alipui said the society was sourcing funds for members of the society to learn different trades such as tailoring, computer programming and craftsmanship to open joint ventures as part of the diversification process.
He, therefore, appealed to non- government organisations (NGOs) to come to the aid of the society.
He said the chalk factory which was closed recently for lack of contracts would be re-opened in January for production to start on the 50,000 boxes of chalk for the GES valued at ¢175 million.
The production manager said the factory when producing at full capacity was capable of generating employment for 33 physically disabled persons but it was currently employing only 17 persons.
He said when many institutions offered them contracts the company could be able to expand its operations to employ more people to ensure equity in the society, as well assist the disabled to come back to the mainstream society, to contribute their quota to national development.
Mr Alipui said many disabled people had now acquired skills but required funds to put these skills into practice to prevent them from going back to the streets to beg for alms, which was a dent on the image the Ghana Society of the Physically Disabled had worked hard to improve.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
'EMPOWER WOMEN TO NEGOTIATE SAFE SEX' (December 6, 2007)...Page 17
Story: Abdul Aziz
THE government has called on the civil society organisations (CSO) to partner it to empower women and to make them capable of negotiating safe sex.
This is because the Abstinence, Be faithful and Use Condoms (ABC) concept, as a means of halting the spread of HIV/AIDS, has been facing several constraints.
The Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Abraham Odoom, who made the call at an international conference on AIDS, said one of the major constraints of abstinence was that it was not an option for poor women and girls who had no choice but to marry at an early age.
He said being faithful was also not protecting women whose partners were not faithful to them.
Mr Odoom reiterated that the tool for using condoms for protection against HIV/AIDS had been found to be a decision that was not made by women but by only men.
He said the Ministry of Health and the civil society, therefore, needed to strategise to put the power and the tools for preventing HIV in the hands of women to safeguard their health status.
He explained that a strong collaboration between the CSOs and the government could reach out to women, whether they were faithfully married mothers or sex workers trying to make a living, to be independent and never needed their partners’ permission to save their own lives.
Mr Odoom, therefore, urged participants who were drawn from Central, East, West and Southern Africa, Europe and the United States to make central theme of the 2-day conference how to empower women to negotiate safe sex and not depend on the caprices of men.
Prof. S.A. Amoa, Director-General of the Ghana Aids Commission (GAC), said actively engaging the civil society organisation had been high on the agenda of the GAC, because CSOs had been identified as vehicles through which the grassrooots communities could be reached.
He said contrary to the belief that CSOs misused funds provided them for intervention activities, they contributed in no small measure towards achieving the objectives of the national response.
Mr Vitus Nanbigne, Co-ordinator of Woyome Foundation for Africa (WOFA), an international HIV/AIDS charity organisation, commended the Ministry of Health for supporting the NGO to hold the conference in Ghana.
He said the core objectives of WOFA was to establish hospitals, treatment, rehabilitation and research centres across Africa.
He said construction of the first hospital in Africa would start in Accra next year.
Mr Nanbigne said the AIDS Hospital in Accra would comprise 350 rooms, an HIV/AIDS research facility that would be opened to all researchers.
THE government has called on the civil society organisations (CSO) to partner it to empower women and to make them capable of negotiating safe sex.
This is because the Abstinence, Be faithful and Use Condoms (ABC) concept, as a means of halting the spread of HIV/AIDS, has been facing several constraints.
The Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Abraham Odoom, who made the call at an international conference on AIDS, said one of the major constraints of abstinence was that it was not an option for poor women and girls who had no choice but to marry at an early age.
He said being faithful was also not protecting women whose partners were not faithful to them.
Mr Odoom reiterated that the tool for using condoms for protection against HIV/AIDS had been found to be a decision that was not made by women but by only men.
He said the Ministry of Health and the civil society, therefore, needed to strategise to put the power and the tools for preventing HIV in the hands of women to safeguard their health status.
He explained that a strong collaboration between the CSOs and the government could reach out to women, whether they were faithfully married mothers or sex workers trying to make a living, to be independent and never needed their partners’ permission to save their own lives.
Mr Odoom, therefore, urged participants who were drawn from Central, East, West and Southern Africa, Europe and the United States to make central theme of the 2-day conference how to empower women to negotiate safe sex and not depend on the caprices of men.
Prof. S.A. Amoa, Director-General of the Ghana Aids Commission (GAC), said actively engaging the civil society organisation had been high on the agenda of the GAC, because CSOs had been identified as vehicles through which the grassrooots communities could be reached.
He said contrary to the belief that CSOs misused funds provided them for intervention activities, they contributed in no small measure towards achieving the objectives of the national response.
Mr Vitus Nanbigne, Co-ordinator of Woyome Foundation for Africa (WOFA), an international HIV/AIDS charity organisation, commended the Ministry of Health for supporting the NGO to hold the conference in Ghana.
He said the core objectives of WOFA was to establish hospitals, treatment, rehabilitation and research centres across Africa.
He said construction of the first hospital in Africa would start in Accra next year.
Mr Nanbigne said the AIDS Hospital in Accra would comprise 350 rooms, an HIV/AIDS research facility that would be opened to all researchers.
SUBMIT TO VOLUNTARY TESTING (December 5, 2007)
Story: Abdul Aziz
POLITICAL, traditional, religious and corporate leaders have been called upon to show courage and openly submit themselves for voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) for HIV/AIDS to encourage ordinary people to patronise VCT.
The Co-ordinator of an international HIV/AIDS charity organisation, Woyome Foundation for Africa, who made the call, said the fact that citizens knew that their leaders were openly testing would give a new boost to the HIV/AIDS prevention campaign in the country.
Mr Nanbigne, who addressed a two-day international conference on HIV/AIDS in Accra, said it was worth emulating the VCT programme for corporate leaders currently underway in Kenya.
He particularly called on the Ghanaian government to demonstrate true leadership by showing examples of voluntary testing.
He commended female Members of Parliament (MPs) for undergoing voluntary screening for breast cancer, adding that a similar exercise could be organised by Parliament devoted to VCT for HIV.
The Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Abraham Dwumah Odoom, who opened the conference, said the ABC of prevention HIV/AIDS (Abstinence, Be faithful and Condom use) was facing major constraints amidst the rising prevalence rate in the country.
He said the tool to be considered now was the empowerment of women to negotiate save sex.
Mr Odoom said stopping HIV/AIDS was the top priority of the government because the pandemic had the potential to erode all social and economic gains made over the years.
He further said HIV/AIDS was a security issue engaging the attention of the government, which was committed to bringing it under control.
The deputy minister urged civil society organisations (CSOs) to assist the government in empowering women to become independent financially to enable them, especially the poor and the vulnerable, to say no to men who indulged in unprotected sex.
POLITICAL, traditional, religious and corporate leaders have been called upon to show courage and openly submit themselves for voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) for HIV/AIDS to encourage ordinary people to patronise VCT.
The Co-ordinator of an international HIV/AIDS charity organisation, Woyome Foundation for Africa, who made the call, said the fact that citizens knew that their leaders were openly testing would give a new boost to the HIV/AIDS prevention campaign in the country.
Mr Nanbigne, who addressed a two-day international conference on HIV/AIDS in Accra, said it was worth emulating the VCT programme for corporate leaders currently underway in Kenya.
He particularly called on the Ghanaian government to demonstrate true leadership by showing examples of voluntary testing.
He commended female Members of Parliament (MPs) for undergoing voluntary screening for breast cancer, adding that a similar exercise could be organised by Parliament devoted to VCT for HIV.
The Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Abraham Dwumah Odoom, who opened the conference, said the ABC of prevention HIV/AIDS (Abstinence, Be faithful and Condom use) was facing major constraints amidst the rising prevalence rate in the country.
He said the tool to be considered now was the empowerment of women to negotiate save sex.
Mr Odoom said stopping HIV/AIDS was the top priority of the government because the pandemic had the potential to erode all social and economic gains made over the years.
He further said HIV/AIDS was a security issue engaging the attention of the government, which was committed to bringing it under control.
The deputy minister urged civil society organisations (CSOs) to assist the government in empowering women to become independent financially to enable them, especially the poor and the vulnerable, to say no to men who indulged in unprotected sex.
1 MILLION TOURISTS COMING (Tuesday, Dec 4, 2007... 1b)
Story: Abdul Aziz
ABOUT one million football fans and tourists are expected in the country to round off the Jubilee year and usher in the Ghana 2008 football tournament.
This represents an expected growth of about 55 per cent over the arrivals in 2006 when 497,129 tourists visited the country.
Receipts from tourists in 2006 were $987 million and that figure is expected to hit a record in January 2008.
The Public Relations Manager of the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB), Mr Ben Ohene-Ayeh, who made this known, said the ministry was working closely with the Local Organising Committee (LOC) to ensure that football fans and tourists enjoyed the maximum comfort during their stay in the country.
He said rooms in Five-star to Two-star hotels had increased from 19,967 to 21,159 in the major hosting cities of Accra, Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi and Tamale.
He said the board was working in close collaboration with the security agencies to provide security, as well as protect the local population from sex tourists, and warned that the board would not hesitate to inform the security agencies about the hotels and brothels that would be used as sex tourist destinations.
Mr Ohene-Ayeh said the GTB was determined to ensure that tourists who visited the country carried away with them good impressions to enable them to repeat their visit to the country.
An official of the LOC said about 12,000 accredited officials, including media practitioners, were expected to cover the tournament.
Kwame Asare Boadu & George Ernest Asare report that in Kumasi the hotels are more than ready to play host to the guests.
According to officials of the hotels and the Kumasi Branch of the GTB, all the necessary measures, including improved facilities and training of hotel staff, needed to ensure quality services for guests had either been completed or were almost complete to project the image of Kumasi and Ghana as a credible host of the Ghana 2008 festival.
A visit to some of the hotels by the Daily Graphic revealed that nothing was being left to chance to project the hospitality industry using the soccer fiesta.
At the Crystal Rose Hotel at Ahodwo, massive renovations had been undertaken to give facilities there a facelift.
The Marketing Manager of the Crystal Hotel Group, Mr Enoch Takyi-Mensah, said, “We are on course to playing a leading role in Ghana 2008.”
At the recently completed Crystal Rose Hamilton Court, a new hotel from the Crystal Hotel stock, located off the Ahodwo-Daban road, everything had been neatly done, with the entire building being refurbished and freshly painted.
At the Miklin Hotel, the General Manager, Mr David Gyekye, said, “We are so ready that even if it starts tomorrow we will not be found wanting.”
Mr Gyekye said a modern gym had been developed to provide efficient services for clients, adding that “with meals, our efficient staff are poised to serve our clients with special indigenous meals, as well as Arabian cuisine, Chinese food and other continental dishes to make them feel at home”.
The Deputy Managing Director of the Cicero Guest House, Mr Ernest Ampofo, said all facilities at the hotel had been adequately renovated to the requisite standard.
He said apart from painting the hotel to give it a new look, management had also provided new furniture and expanded the terrace bar to entertain clients.
He said the GTB had built the capacity of the staff and management to enhance efficient service delivery, stressing that the guest house was also ready to meet the food requirements of its guests.
Mr Osei Kuffour Bonsu, who is the Director of Marbron Hotel, gave the assurance that with its well-trained staff and facilities, there was no way that it would fail to meet the requisite services required of it.
The Manager of Chariset Hotel, Mr Mike Landn, said apart from the modern facilities that met international standards, the members of staff of the hotel had adequately been trained by the GTB to enable them to offer the services required.
The Manager of Royal Park Hotel, Mr Jeffery Cheung, said apart from a reserve generator to provide power for the hotel in case of any power outage, the management had sourced for new supplies for the kitchen to enhance its service delivery.
“Internet facilities to enable our guests browse from every corner of the hotel are provided and continental dishes will also be served, so we have no problem,” he said.
Commenting on the preparations, the Ashanti Regional Manager of the GTB, Mr Ekow Sampson, said at least six modern hotels with more than 30 rooms each had come up in Kumasi recently, a development which was good for the Kumasi venue.
He said another training exercise would be carried out for the front-line staff of the hotels before the start of the tournament.
As the date for the kick-off gets closer, however, the scenario in Tamale appears different.
Zakaria Alhassan reports from the metropolis that it is unlikely that some of the proprietors of hospitality facilities, including those constructing new hotels, will be able to complete work before the tournament commences.
A renowned Tamale-based building contractor, Alhaji Sumani Zakari, who is working day and night to complete a Four-star hotel he is putting up at Vittin, a suburb of Tamale, was confident that he could at least complete about 60 rooms for use during the tournament.
Known as the Ganaa Hotel, the intended seven-storey facility that is supposed to contain 124 standard rooms and suites will also have a swimming pool, a tennis court, a business centre, conference halls, a penthouse, among others.
According to the Northern Regional Manager of the GTB, Mr William Ayambire, at the moment the total number of hotel rooms in the metropolis is 800.
“And because of the fear that the rooms may not be enough to accommodate the expected fans, we have gone public to appeal to residents who have decent rooms to spare to come forward for their facilities to be inspected before they hire them out,” he intimated.
The manager also welcomed the suggestion by the Tamale Metropolitan Co-ordinating Director, Alhaji Mohammed Adam Baba, that some school dormitories could be used by the fans.
Mr Ayambire, however, added that “in that case, those dormitories should be identified now so that they can be renovated in time, since most of such facilities in the schools are in a state of disrepair and, therefore, they will be unfit for use by the fans”.
As a result of the limited number of rooms, some representatives of the four teams that will be based in Tamale have began booking for available rooms at some of the hotels, such as Mariam and Gariba Lodge.
The four teams are Senegal, South Africa, Angola and Tunisia.
They, together with officials of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), will be accommodated at the newly constructed Three-star status Enhanced Hostel at the University for Development Studies Medical School in Tamale.
Others will also be housed at the newly constructed students’ hostel at the Tamale Polytechnic.
Mr Ayambire renewed his appeal to the general public to give out their decent homes and rooms for hire during the tournament.
From Takoradi, Kwame Asiedu Marfo reports that fervent preparations are underway in the Shama Ahanta East metropolis towards the successful hosting of the event in Sekondi, which is one of the four venues for the tournament.
The preparations include the improvement of the road network, effective waste management, the provision of accommodation, as well as the beautification of the Twin-City of Sekondi-Takoradi.
The provision of accommodation, however, seems to stand out as the most prominent among the preparations being made, since people, particularly football fans, who will throng the twin-city have to be accommodated.
While the government is making efforts to provide accommodation for the teams, individuals who are in the hospitality industry are also supporting the government’s effort in that direction.
Private hoteliers are either putting up new hotels or expanding existing facilities to provide more rooms for the football fans who will flood the twin-city next year January.
Some of these hotels include the Takoradi Hotels, which is working hard to provide 62 additional rooms for the visitors, and the Akroma Plaza, which is making efforts to provide about 50 rooms.
According to conservative estimates, about 50,000 football fans are expected to ‘invade’ Sekondi-Takoradi for the tournament, but the Principal Officer of the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB) in the Western Region, Mr Michael Kpingbi, puts the figure at 20,000.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in an interview, he said there were about 1,800 hotel rooms been provided by star-rated and non-star rated hotels in the Shama Ahanta East metropolis and that the GTB had started registering private homes, hostels, as well as unoccupied bungalows and rest houses belonging to some companies, to be used as supplementary accommodation by visitors.
He said some of those supplementary facilities included the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) Hostel, the Workers College Hostel and the Ghana Telecom Guest House, adding, “We are falling on all of them to use them as accommodation by the visitors during the tournament.”
He said those supplementary facilities would also provide about 1,800 rooms, adding that 25 new hotels scheduled to be completed next year would also provide 404 rooms.
According to the principal officer of the GTB, the board, as well as the Ghana 2008 Secretariat, was registering people who had supplementary accommodation every day.
However, he said it was the duty of the GTB to inspect the facilities to know whether they were of acceptable standard.
Mr Kpingbi, however, could not tell whether there would be enough accommodation for the visitors or not, since the board was still arranging for private accommodation, while the number of fans was not certain.
He disclosed that 800 people from the hospitality industry would be trained to improve on service delivery during the tournament, explaining that 300 would come from the formal sector, comprising hotels and restaurants, while 500 would come from the informal sector, comprising chop bar and drinking bar operators, car rentals, as well as taxi drivers. All of them would undergo a six-day training programme to improve on their service delivery.
He said 100 of them were already undergoing the six-day training programme in Takoradi .
The Managing Director of the Takoradi Hotels, Nene Tetteh Kupualor Bessey I, told the Daily Graphic that he had expanded facilities, including rooms, at his Taadi Hotel Annex at Effia, near Takoradi, under phase one of the new project.
He said 32 out of the 62 rooms were completed in October this year.
ABOUT one million football fans and tourists are expected in the country to round off the Jubilee year and usher in the Ghana 2008 football tournament.
This represents an expected growth of about 55 per cent over the arrivals in 2006 when 497,129 tourists visited the country.
Receipts from tourists in 2006 were $987 million and that figure is expected to hit a record in January 2008.
The Public Relations Manager of the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB), Mr Ben Ohene-Ayeh, who made this known, said the ministry was working closely with the Local Organising Committee (LOC) to ensure that football fans and tourists enjoyed the maximum comfort during their stay in the country.
He said rooms in Five-star to Two-star hotels had increased from 19,967 to 21,159 in the major hosting cities of Accra, Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi and Tamale.
He said the board was working in close collaboration with the security agencies to provide security, as well as protect the local population from sex tourists, and warned that the board would not hesitate to inform the security agencies about the hotels and brothels that would be used as sex tourist destinations.
Mr Ohene-Ayeh said the GTB was determined to ensure that tourists who visited the country carried away with them good impressions to enable them to repeat their visit to the country.
An official of the LOC said about 12,000 accredited officials, including media practitioners, were expected to cover the tournament.
Kwame Asare Boadu & George Ernest Asare report that in Kumasi the hotels are more than ready to play host to the guests.
According to officials of the hotels and the Kumasi Branch of the GTB, all the necessary measures, including improved facilities and training of hotel staff, needed to ensure quality services for guests had either been completed or were almost complete to project the image of Kumasi and Ghana as a credible host of the Ghana 2008 festival.
A visit to some of the hotels by the Daily Graphic revealed that nothing was being left to chance to project the hospitality industry using the soccer fiesta.
At the Crystal Rose Hotel at Ahodwo, massive renovations had been undertaken to give facilities there a facelift.
The Marketing Manager of the Crystal Hotel Group, Mr Enoch Takyi-Mensah, said, “We are on course to playing a leading role in Ghana 2008.”
At the recently completed Crystal Rose Hamilton Court, a new hotel from the Crystal Hotel stock, located off the Ahodwo-Daban road, everything had been neatly done, with the entire building being refurbished and freshly painted.
At the Miklin Hotel, the General Manager, Mr David Gyekye, said, “We are so ready that even if it starts tomorrow we will not be found wanting.”
Mr Gyekye said a modern gym had been developed to provide efficient services for clients, adding that “with meals, our efficient staff are poised to serve our clients with special indigenous meals, as well as Arabian cuisine, Chinese food and other continental dishes to make them feel at home”.
The Deputy Managing Director of the Cicero Guest House, Mr Ernest Ampofo, said all facilities at the hotel had been adequately renovated to the requisite standard.
He said apart from painting the hotel to give it a new look, management had also provided new furniture and expanded the terrace bar to entertain clients.
He said the GTB had built the capacity of the staff and management to enhance efficient service delivery, stressing that the guest house was also ready to meet the food requirements of its guests.
Mr Osei Kuffour Bonsu, who is the Director of Marbron Hotel, gave the assurance that with its well-trained staff and facilities, there was no way that it would fail to meet the requisite services required of it.
The Manager of Chariset Hotel, Mr Mike Landn, said apart from the modern facilities that met international standards, the members of staff of the hotel had adequately been trained by the GTB to enable them to offer the services required.
The Manager of Royal Park Hotel, Mr Jeffery Cheung, said apart from a reserve generator to provide power for the hotel in case of any power outage, the management had sourced for new supplies for the kitchen to enhance its service delivery.
“Internet facilities to enable our guests browse from every corner of the hotel are provided and continental dishes will also be served, so we have no problem,” he said.
Commenting on the preparations, the Ashanti Regional Manager of the GTB, Mr Ekow Sampson, said at least six modern hotels with more than 30 rooms each had come up in Kumasi recently, a development which was good for the Kumasi venue.
He said another training exercise would be carried out for the front-line staff of the hotels before the start of the tournament.
As the date for the kick-off gets closer, however, the scenario in Tamale appears different.
Zakaria Alhassan reports from the metropolis that it is unlikely that some of the proprietors of hospitality facilities, including those constructing new hotels, will be able to complete work before the tournament commences.
A renowned Tamale-based building contractor, Alhaji Sumani Zakari, who is working day and night to complete a Four-star hotel he is putting up at Vittin, a suburb of Tamale, was confident that he could at least complete about 60 rooms for use during the tournament.
Known as the Ganaa Hotel, the intended seven-storey facility that is supposed to contain 124 standard rooms and suites will also have a swimming pool, a tennis court, a business centre, conference halls, a penthouse, among others.
According to the Northern Regional Manager of the GTB, Mr William Ayambire, at the moment the total number of hotel rooms in the metropolis is 800.
“And because of the fear that the rooms may not be enough to accommodate the expected fans, we have gone public to appeal to residents who have decent rooms to spare to come forward for their facilities to be inspected before they hire them out,” he intimated.
The manager also welcomed the suggestion by the Tamale Metropolitan Co-ordinating Director, Alhaji Mohammed Adam Baba, that some school dormitories could be used by the fans.
Mr Ayambire, however, added that “in that case, those dormitories should be identified now so that they can be renovated in time, since most of such facilities in the schools are in a state of disrepair and, therefore, they will be unfit for use by the fans”.
As a result of the limited number of rooms, some representatives of the four teams that will be based in Tamale have began booking for available rooms at some of the hotels, such as Mariam and Gariba Lodge.
The four teams are Senegal, South Africa, Angola and Tunisia.
They, together with officials of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), will be accommodated at the newly constructed Three-star status Enhanced Hostel at the University for Development Studies Medical School in Tamale.
Others will also be housed at the newly constructed students’ hostel at the Tamale Polytechnic.
Mr Ayambire renewed his appeal to the general public to give out their decent homes and rooms for hire during the tournament.
From Takoradi, Kwame Asiedu Marfo reports that fervent preparations are underway in the Shama Ahanta East metropolis towards the successful hosting of the event in Sekondi, which is one of the four venues for the tournament.
The preparations include the improvement of the road network, effective waste management, the provision of accommodation, as well as the beautification of the Twin-City of Sekondi-Takoradi.
The provision of accommodation, however, seems to stand out as the most prominent among the preparations being made, since people, particularly football fans, who will throng the twin-city have to be accommodated.
While the government is making efforts to provide accommodation for the teams, individuals who are in the hospitality industry are also supporting the government’s effort in that direction.
Private hoteliers are either putting up new hotels or expanding existing facilities to provide more rooms for the football fans who will flood the twin-city next year January.
Some of these hotels include the Takoradi Hotels, which is working hard to provide 62 additional rooms for the visitors, and the Akroma Plaza, which is making efforts to provide about 50 rooms.
According to conservative estimates, about 50,000 football fans are expected to ‘invade’ Sekondi-Takoradi for the tournament, but the Principal Officer of the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB) in the Western Region, Mr Michael Kpingbi, puts the figure at 20,000.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in an interview, he said there were about 1,800 hotel rooms been provided by star-rated and non-star rated hotels in the Shama Ahanta East metropolis and that the GTB had started registering private homes, hostels, as well as unoccupied bungalows and rest houses belonging to some companies, to be used as supplementary accommodation by visitors.
He said some of those supplementary facilities included the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) Hostel, the Workers College Hostel and the Ghana Telecom Guest House, adding, “We are falling on all of them to use them as accommodation by the visitors during the tournament.”
He said those supplementary facilities would also provide about 1,800 rooms, adding that 25 new hotels scheduled to be completed next year would also provide 404 rooms.
According to the principal officer of the GTB, the board, as well as the Ghana 2008 Secretariat, was registering people who had supplementary accommodation every day.
However, he said it was the duty of the GTB to inspect the facilities to know whether they were of acceptable standard.
Mr Kpingbi, however, could not tell whether there would be enough accommodation for the visitors or not, since the board was still arranging for private accommodation, while the number of fans was not certain.
He disclosed that 800 people from the hospitality industry would be trained to improve on service delivery during the tournament, explaining that 300 would come from the formal sector, comprising hotels and restaurants, while 500 would come from the informal sector, comprising chop bar and drinking bar operators, car rentals, as well as taxi drivers. All of them would undergo a six-day training programme to improve on their service delivery.
He said 100 of them were already undergoing the six-day training programme in Takoradi .
The Managing Director of the Takoradi Hotels, Nene Tetteh Kupualor Bessey I, told the Daily Graphic that he had expanded facilities, including rooms, at his Taadi Hotel Annex at Effia, near Takoradi, under phase one of the new project.
He said 32 out of the 62 rooms were completed in October this year.
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