Ninety kayayei pass out

Assemblies of God Relief and Development Services (AGREDS), an NGO based at the Agbogbloshie Market in Accra, has assisted 90 kayayei (female porters) by helping them to learn various vocational skills. The skills include catering, dressmaking, tie and dye, hairdressing, cosmetic making and bead making. Mr Joseph Wumbee, Executive Director of AGREDS, said this at the Seventh Graduation Ceremony of the Skills and Empowerment Programme for Girls in Accra under the theme, "Growth and Poverty Reduction; The Role of Skills Training for the Vulnerable in Society." He said since the inception of the NGO eight years ago, it had trained 631 girls within the Agbogbloshie area. Mr Wumbee said the deprived and vulnerable trainees were victims of poverty who had been physically and emotionally abused adding that after graduating, 90 per cent of the girls returned to their communities to start life. He said through the support of the partners of the NGO, each of the 90 was receiving an input credit support in the form of tools and a start-up capital on the skills acquired. They would also participate in an ongoing refresher training support scheme as part of their reintegration, monitoring and mentoring programme. Further funding was also being mobilised for the payment of apprenticeship and attachment fees requiring top-up and further training to enable them to compete favourably in the changing market environment while plans were also being put in place to help them acquire their own work space upon completion. Mr Wumbee added that they had constructed a pre-school building for children of market women and street girls. The Minister for Women and Children's Affairs Hajia Alima Mahama in a speech read on her behalf said government had set up the micro finance and small loans fund to improve access to credit for women and the vulnerable. "This year the government has through the Micro Finance and Small Loans Centre provided 17,770 women with credit," she said, and urged those who had passed out to access the credit and work hard in order to pay back the loans. Hajia Alima said government was implementing a poverty reduction strategy to ensure sustainable growth and protecting the vulnerable and deprived in society. She urged AGREDS to create awareness on the human traffic law since some of the girls were trafficked.GNA

New form of child abuse surface in N/R

Alhaji Mustapha Ali Iddris, Northern Regional Minister has expressed concern about an emergence of a new form of child abuse and exploitation, which was more serious than the "kayayee" and the child labour.The practice known as "Taalar", is where under-aged children are engaged in petty trading and hawking from one community to another to sell even at night at the peril of their lives instead of being in school.Alhaji Iddris was speaking at the 10th anniversary celebration of the Christian Children's Fund of Canada (CCFC), an international NGO based in Tamale.The celebration was for the NGO to showcase its activities and successes chalked so far in the region during its 10 years of operation and also to learn public and community level support to sustain its programmes.The Minister said, parents must live up to their parental responsibility and ensure the proper upbringing of their children to protect them from all sorts of exploitation and expressed regret that some parents allow their children to suffer.He said the distances between communities in the region were very far apart and bushy, which was very dangerous for children to embark on such journeys under severe conditions to make a living instead of being in the classroom.Alhaji Iddris said it was significant for parents and opinion leaders to collaborate to prevent children from engaging in petty trading while the District and Metropolitan Assemblies could enact and enforce by-laws to prevent children from selling.Alhaji Iddris said the female children who are engaged in the "Taalar" practice were exposed to dangers such as rape, prostitution and molestation while the males had the tendency of indulging in alcoholism and drug abuse.He said children were the future leaders of the country and that their fundamental rights must therefore had to be respected and protected to adequately prepare them for future challenges. It is a common phenomenon in the Tamale Metropolis to also see male children who are supposed to be in school are seen going round with hoes on their shoulders at residential areas shouting "Paa o paa", for jobs to earn a living.Some residents some times take undue advantage of their plight and tab their labour and give them meager monies, some times left over food, a situation that needed to be checked and addressed. The Minister appealed to NGOs operating in the region to tackle children's issues seriously and should educate them to live discipline lives to be obedient and honest to their parents. Alhaji Iddris commended the CCFC for the tremendous assistance to communities and people in the region and urged them not to relent in efforts to reduce poverty. 24 Nov.06
Source:GNA

Kufuor's Responds to inside critics

Demands scrutiny of aspirants, ampoons ungrateful Kwabena Adjepong As Hawa Yakubu counsels Prez to stay neutralReports reaching the political desk of this paper indicate that President John Agyekum Kufuor, has taken a swipe at some of his cabinet Ministers who are overtly and covertly campaigning to succeed him by accusing him the (president) as being the bane of the party’s problem.Mr. Kufuor who also took serious reservations with one of the aspiring candidates dared the cabinet ministers to prove to the party member’s programmes and policies that they have proposed to revive the hopes and whip up enthusiasm of the party members of which he the president had rejected or opposed.He urged the party executives to challenge those aspirants are accusing him to tell them what they have done.“They are still cabinet ministers and we take decisions together. When they come to you, ask them about what they have done for the party. What programmes and policies that they have brought to me and I have refused,” he fumed.President Kufuor made this observation last Sunday at Maple Leaf Hotel at Achimota in Accra to round off a three-day strategic review workshop organized by the NPP.Not enthused by some actions of those canvassing to succeed him, he attacked one of the aspirants (obviously he was referring to Kwabena Agyapong, his former press secretary) for going to the Volta Region and telling the party delegates that he (Kwabena) has been advising the president but he refused to take itSpeaking in twi, to the party members, he said, “Saa akoa noa, o’nenam ewo Volta region eekeka see, we tumi fo saa mentie …saa akoa no mimpe se meka ne ho asem, efri sei maboa no paa, nti megyae nasem amano,” literally meaning “that person who is going round in the Volta region telling them that he advised me but I didn’t take it, I don’t want to say anything about him. This is because I have helped him very much hence I will leave him,” he said.He continued to admonish the party executives present at the workshop that, “it is now the time for you to ask them about how many times they came to me with a proposal and I declined,” and stressed further on the need for the delegates and the party gurus to subject the aspirants to a proper scrutiny about what they have done to the progress of the party since they became cabinet Ministers and are now wanting to lead the party.According President Kufuor, it was unfortunate that the aspirants are professing to be the apostles that have the party at heart rather than him. “Nobody in the party apart from Mr. C.T Dedem, a member of the council of elders of our great party and a few others, can claim they have the party’s interest than I do.”Contrary to the perceptions that Mr. Kwadwo Mpianim, Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chief of Staff that he wields more power, Mr. Kufuor stated other wise. “He has no powers as others are saying.” The Minister corroborated this assertion when he led the discussion on government and party relations.President Kufuor cautioned the aspirants in the presence of Hon. Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, Minister of Water Resource, Works and Housing, an aspirant, Hon. Felix Kwasi Owusu-Adjepong, Majority Leader and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, an aspirants, Mr. Dan Kweku Botwe, former general secretary, also an aspirant and a host of others, our intelligence gathered.Mr. Mpianim, who most party faithful regard as the ‘most powerful’ person next to President deflated the reports and said, “I have no power,” and dismissed the assertions that he was the bane of the party.According to party insiders at the workshop, Mr. Mpianim recounted frustration of party members when they want to meet ministers and District Chief Executives.He cautioned the ministers and DCEs to make themselves available to the party members and not to provide a platform for them to continue to grumble, which he underscored, was not good for the fortunes of the party.His comment came when he was leading a discussion on party government relations, an open discussion to identify the problems and recommend workable solutions to the problems.The party’s Iron Lady, Mad. Hawa Ogede Yakubu, the first vice national chairperson of the party, advised the president to desist from meddling with the aspirations of aspirants and asked him to play a neutral role so that his exit from presidency would leave a better legacy in the party.Hackman one of the aspirants who is in the race and completed a tour of the western region was so wowed by the intervention of Hawa that he went and embraced her, even though she has previously shown discourtesy to Hawa in the past when he was foreign Minister.Our intelligence revealed that Mr. Dan Kweku Botwe, the chairman of research committee of the party spoke on winning strategies and drew thunderous applause with his skillful presentation, with a majority standing up to applaud him including even the party chairman, Mr. Peter Mac Manu.
Source:Chronicle

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