Students appeal to NAGRAT to return to the classroom

The Greater Accra Regional Students' Representative Council on Thursday appealed to the Government and the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) to speedily resolve the issues that have led to the five-week-old strike by NAGRAT members.

At a press conference in Accra to express the frustrations of students of second cycle schools for being neglected by their teachers since schools re-opened, Master William Boye, Regional SRC President, said students for some time now had been treated unfairly.

This is because strikes by members of NAGRAT had become an annual ritual, he said, adding that students had now become fed up with it and asked the Government to be sensitive to the plight of teachers.

He said Ghanaian students would be writing the same West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examination with colleagues from the West Africa Sub-Region from April 2007 irrespective of whether they had completed their syllabus or not.

"The examinations are not in anyway marking time with NAGRAT's strike action," he said, and urged both the Government and NAGRAT to consider the plight of the students when taking their stand in the impasse.

Mr Boye said it was obvious that students were being deprived of their right to education granted them by the Constitution and queried: "Is this to suggest that Government through the Ministry of Education and NAGRAT are interested in us having a mass failure?"

He said teachers were the backbone of second cycle schools and without them everything came to a halt with discipline breaking down. Mr Boye said the absence of the teachers created an avenue for some students to roam about in town while at the same time creating other avenues for others to engage in drug.

He, therefore, appealed to the Concerned Parents Association, Parliamentary Select Committee on Education, Council of State, Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice and all stakeholders to intervene to resolve the impasse to enable NAGRAT members to return to the classroom as early as possible.

GNA

Cabinet approves 300 million dollars loan for affordable housing

Cabinet has approved a 300 million-dollar concessionary loan to further support and advance Government's promise of providing 100,000 affordable housing units by December 2007. Announcing this on Thursday in Accra, Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, said the Company providing the loan would also construct the houses across the country.

"Government's role is to facilitate the process; with an eight-year moratorium if a flat is sold roughly at 130 million cedis the amount will be recouped in no time," he said. Mr Owusu-Agyemang said this when he inaugurated a Local Organizing Committee for the organization of a sub-regional conference dubbed "West Africa High Level Peer Exchange on Government Enablement of Private Sector Lending for Affordable Housing.”

The three-day conference to be held in Accra from November 27 to December 1, 2006 would afford participating countries the opportunity to share experience on how best governments could encourage the private sector and domestic services industry to invest in affordable housing.

Mr Owusu-Agyemang also announced that the Government had released funds to commence work on affordable housing in Tamale and Koforidua besides the ongoing projects at Tema, Nungua and Kumasi.
"When Government says it will deliver, it's not a matter of a joke. This clearly shows that something is being done and it is to ensure that the Government leads in the crusade to reduce the cost of construction in this country."

He said the design for the about 12 million-euro "Sodom and Gomorrah" affordable housing units project at Amasaman would soon be ready for construction to begin.
When the project is completed, a housing unit would be sold at about 6,000 dollars.

Currently, the country has a backlog in excess of 500,000 housing units and an annual demand of over 175,000 units. Government expects to clear this within the next five years.

On the upcoming conference, the Minister said the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, US Agency for International Development, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and UN-HABITAT would provide support.

Togolese President arrives for a day's visit

Mr Faure Gnassingbe, the Togolese President, arrived to a rousing welcome in Accra on Thursday for a day's state visit.

President John Agyekum Kufuor and his Vice, Alhaji Aliu Mahama were on hand to meet him at the gangway immediately the Presidential jet carrying him and his entourage touched down at the Kotoka International Airport.

He was then escorted to a saluting dais erected in his honour and as the Ghana Army Band struck the national anthems of Ghana and Togo, a 21 gun-salute boomed at the background. President Gnassingbe thereafter inspected a Guard of Honour mounted by three officers and 101 men from the 48 Engineer Regiment of the Ghana Army.

President Kufuor later introduced him to members of his Government. The two Leaders also exchanged greetings with an enthusiastic crowd of Togolese, who treated their President to some beautiful cultural displays.

President Kufuor and President Gnassingbe drove to the Castle where they held talks behind closed doors on bilateral ties.

WAEC immortalises dead Staff

The Ghana National Committee of West African Examinations Council (WAEC) on Wednesday immortalized Mr Sakyi Asare-Menako, a Principal Assistant Registrar of the Council, who lost his life in line of duty by naming its examination hall at the Switchback Road in Accra after him.

The late Mr Asare-Menako was on the October 8, 2005, assaulted by a group of candidates after he had seized their mobile phones when an examination was in session at the Accra Academy Secondary School. Mr Asare-Menako, who was invigilating, suffered fatal injuries and died on October 11.

At a memorial service to honour and unveil a plaque at the examination hall, Reverend Robert Aboagye-Mensah, Presiding Bishop of Methodist Church of Ghana, described Mr Asare-Menako as a man with noble character, just and upright, who promoted justice and fairness and sought to prevent injustice.

"Seeking to prevent cheating at the examination hall and fight against corruption and injustice, our dear colleague, Asare-Menaku paid the ultimate price,” he said. "He was a man who stood for purity and honesty and in his own small way tried to exhibit all these characters to check examination malpractices. He was brutalized and died as a result," he said.

Rev. Aboagye-Mensah commended WAEC for honouring Mr Asare-Menaku for his great service and urged the Government to see examination malpractice as a serious offence. He appealed to the Ghana Police Service to ensure that the culprits, who caused the death of Mr Asare-Menaku, were brought to book.

Mr Kwame Ampofo Twumasi, Deputy Minister of Education, Science and Sports, said examination malpractices were a menace that must not be countenanced since they posed a great threat to the recognition of WAEC certificates. He said in an attempt to address the problem, Parliament had passed the WAEC Act 719, which prescribed stiffer punishments for all kinds of examination malpractices.

The Deputy Minster urged churches; traditional leaders; opinion and community leaders to help in the education of students on the ills of examination malpractices. Mrs Patience Ayensu, Head of National Office of WAEC, condemned the acts of the students and expressed worry that candidates were becoming more desperate in their quest to pass examinations at all cost hence the nature of malpractices, which had graduated into sophistication.

She said the Council would not be deterred by the incident in its fight to stem the negative practices of students adding that with the passage of the WAEC Act: “We will ensure that candidates who will be caught violating any of the examination rules suffer stiffer punishments as enshrined in the Bill.” Mrs Ayensu appealed to the Inspector-General of Police to intensify efforts to ensure that the law dealt with perpetrators of the heinous crime.

She said in addition to naming the WAEC Examination hall after Mr Asare-Menaku, the Council would institute a bursary for the only son of the departed colleague up to the tertiary level.

North Korea claims nuclear test

North Korea says it has carried out its first test of a nuclear weapon, the state news agency (KCNA) has reported. It said the underground test, carried out in defiance of international warnings, was a success and had not resulted in any leak of radiation.

The White House said South Korean and US intelligence had detected a seismic event at a suspected test site. The White House said the reported test was a "provocative act", while China denounced it as "brazen".

In an unusually strong statement against its ally, China expressed its "resolute opposition" to the claimed test and said it "defied the universal opposition of international society". The BBC's Jonathan Marcus says North Korea's claimed test does not necessarily mean it has a fully-fledged nuclear bomb or warhead that it can deliver to a target.

Our correspondent says there will now be pressure on the UN Security Council to push for a resolution condemning North Korea and probably demanding a stiff menu of economic sanctions. US White House spokesman Tony Snow said: "We expect the UN Security Council to take immediate actions to respond to this unprovoked act."

The BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Beijing says China's statement is an indication of how strongly it is angered by North Korea's action, although Beijing will still be loath to support tougher sanctions against Pyongyang. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is in Seoul for a meeting with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, said the test was "unpardonable".

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Japan had detected seismic waves, but could not confirm whether they were from a nuclear test. President Roh said the claimed test had created a "severe situation" that threatened stability in the region.

He said Seoul would react "sternly and calmly". The South Korean military - which has been put on a heightened state of alert - had the capability to cope with any North Korean provocation, he said. Seoul also suspended a scheduled aid shipment of concrete to North Korea, the state news agency reported.

'Historic event' When it announced the test, KCNA described it as an "historic event that brought happiness to our military and people". "The nuclear test will contribute to maintaining peace and stability in the Korean peninsula and surrounding region," KCNA said. South Korea's Yonhap news agency reports that the test took place in Gilju in Hamgyong province at 1036 (0136 GMT). Russia's defence ministry said it was "100% certain" that an underground nuclear explosion had taken place, ITAR-Tass news agency reported.

The Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers have held a telephone conference call with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to discuss the issue, South Korea's foreign ministry said.

The development comes three days after the UN Security Council agreed on a formal statement urging North Korea to cancel any planned nuclear test and return to disarmament talks.

The Security Council had already imposed an embargo on the import and export of missile-related materials in July, after North Korea test-fired several missiles. Source: Njoyopnline.com+ bbcnews

Stars Triumph over S Korea

The senior national team, the Black Stars today continued their winning streak over the Asians by beating the Red Devils of South Korea 3-1 in Seoul on Sunday.

Striker Asamoah Gyan and Midfielder Michael Essien scored for the Black Stars in Ghana’s final Asia tour game. Both sides ended the first half goalless.

The second half produced a four-goal thriller with the Black Stars hitting the Koreans three times against one from the home team. Ghana opened the scoring in the 50th minute through Asamoah Gyan who connected with the head a Laryea Kingson cross from the right. Eight minutes later, Chelsea midfielder, Michael Essien scored the second.

South Korea rallied back to pull one back through D. Hyun in the 63rd minute. With three minutes to end regulation time, Asamoah Gyan hit a brace, scoring Ghana’s third goal to seal a 3-1 victory for the Black Stars.

The Black Stars first beat Japan 1-0 in Yokohama on Wednesday. Ghana, who scored all the goals in the second half looked the better side in both halves, with a team which also featured Stephen Appiah, Sulley Muntari and Michael Essien. The game was the second for the Black Stars in four days.

NYP is not a Political Tool

Alhaji Abubakar Saddique Boniface, Minister for Manpower, Youth and Employment, on Sunday noted that the launch of the National Youth Employment Programme was not on political lines, but rather meant to support the youth, literate or illiterate.

He said the programme’s basic objective was to change the standard of living for the youth to ensure that they were gainfully employed. Mr Boniface was speaking at a joint launch of a programme dubbed: “Teens Forum and the inauguration of an advisory board for Youth for Christ (YUFRIST) a non-governmental organization committed to improving the lives of the youth.

The programme was on the theme: “50 Years of Political Independence, Morally upright, dedicated and informed youth – Ghana’s golden asset.” The Minister expressed the commitment of the
government through his Ministry to implement prudent policies that would promote morally upright and informed youth. He said: “My Ministry has realized that access to capital is one major problem facing the youth.

It is therefore heart warming that government has introduced the Venture apital Fund to help address the issue.” Mr Boniface urged adults, especially parents to guide the youth to be conscious about morality, uprightness and dedication to service to enable them to unearth their untapped potentials and skills.

On the HIV/AIDS menace, Mr Boniface encouraged young girls to avoid early marriages and rather stay in school to enable them to become role models.

“With the right tools of decency, morality and commitment to future prospects of our country we can stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in order to preserve our youth,” he said. Mr Jehoiada Godwin Amuzu, Executive Director of YUFRIST expressed concern about the lyrics of most hip-life Songs and urged musicians to inject sanity into their lyrics.

“I am not condemning hip-life music but it could be used to educate and caution the youth against social vices,” he said. He urged political leaders to demonstrate practical commitment to the fight against indecency, triviality and other social vices that draw the nation back. GNA