MP WORRIED ABOUT MOBILE PHONE USAGE BY DRIVERS (PAGE 35)

THE Member of Parliament (MP) for Ahafo-Ano North, Mr Richard Akuoko Adiyia, has expressed concern about the usage of mobile phones by drivers when they are behind the steering wheel.
He said he had made a statement on the issue on the floor of Parliament, since that was one of the major causes of accidents on the roads. 
Mr Adiyia expressed the concern in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Kumasi.
  He said the country could not ignore such an unseen contributory factor to the rising chain of accidents on the roads.
 Mr Adiyia stressed the need for the government to channel more resources into road safety campaigns since public education was also necessary to minimise the carnage on the roads.
The MP said even though he was aware that there was no statistics to prove that the use of mobile phones while driving had been a major cause of accidents, he knew the government loses US$165 million annually on medical expenses on accident victims, damaged vehicles and insurance costs, representing 1.6 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He paused to ask if making or receiving calls while driving could be a “friend or foe?”  
According to Mr Adiyia, some drivers boasted that they were able to combine mobile phone usage effectively while driving with hands freely on the gadgets without any eventualities.
Giving statistics of accidents recorded in the Ashanti Region by the Police Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU), he said in the first quarter of 2009, the region lost 469 lives through accidents as compared to 396 during the same period last year.
He said if such nasty trends continued in all the regions, within three years, half the population would have been lost.  
Mr Adiyia observed, “While we are looking for safe food to eat, we must equally look for safe vehicles to travel on.”
He advised travellers to carefully look at the condition of vehicles before boarding them.
Mr Adayia also urged motorists against fatigue, speeding, wrong overtaking and overloading, which were major causes of road accidents.

GHANAIANS URGED TO COMMIT THEMSELVES TO NATIONAL DEV (PAGE 22)

THE General Overseer of the Caravan of Prayer Outreach Ministry, Pastor Johnson Briamah Seidu, has called on Ghanaians to commit themselves to the total development of the country.
He said freedom was necessary in human life but its achievement depended on the people and their commitment to national development.
He, therefore, stressed the need for all Ghanaians to work hard to move the country forward.
Pastor Seidu was preaching a sermon at his ministry, near the Kumasi High School. It was on the theme; Let us rise up and build.
Pastor Seidu called all Ghanaians to change their attitude and work relentlessly to rebuild the nation.
He recalled the biblical history when after the crucifixion of Jesus, the apostles prayed and cast a lot that fell on Matthias to replace Judas.
Pastor Seidu stated that since Ghanaians voted for a change, and has happened, they should all contribute their quota towards the reconstruction of the nation.
Prayers were said for the leaders of the nation and the country in general.
The congregation also prayed for drivers so that the carnage on our roads could cease.

CHRISTIANS URGED TO WIN MORE SOULS FOR CHRIST (PAGE 21)

A LECTURER at the University of Science and Technology, Very Rev. Dr Paul Kwabena Boafo, has urged Christians to intensify their evangelism in order to win more souls for Christ.  
He advised Christians to go out into homes and on the streets to spread the gospel. 
Dr Boafo was speaking at a three-day seminar organised by Emmanuel Society of the Methodist Church in Kumasi.
He quoted Reverend John Wesley as saying that when he sent his followers out to evangelise, he told them not to do anything but to save souls. 
 Dr Boafo, who is a Doctor of Philosophy, reminded the participants never to be discouraged but should continue to offer prayers for the converts to take Christ as their Lord and their saviour.
  Dr Boafo charged Christians to exhibit the change the people were yearning.
He also admonished them to obey the law and with that new spirit, Ghanaians should work in unison to leave a better legacy for the future generation. 

HELP ELIMINATE CHILD SLAVERY (BACK PAGE)

THE Minister of Chieftaincy and Culture, Mr Alex Asum-Ahensah, has called on Ghanaians to join hands with the government to eradicate child slavery and trafficking.
He explained that while some children were lured from their parents and sexually abused, some were sold as slaves, with many more drafted to fight in wars.
Such activities, he said, “jeopardise their health and future education”, stressing, “Child prostitution and other forms of treatment to children must be promptly reported to the police for urgent action.”
Mr Asum-Ahensah made the call at the 2009 Easter School for Children in Kumasi on Monday.
The school, with the theme; “Growing child participation through service learning”, was attended by selected children from various parts of the country and other countries on the continent.
Mr Asum-Ahensah expressed the need to encourage children to make their views known on issues that affected them, saying promoting children’s participation on issues would ensure their growth and development.
The Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs, Ms Akua Sena Dansua, said the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was an internationally agreed framework that ensured minimum standards for the well-being of the child.
It also promotes and protects the inherent dignity of every child.
She said it was important for society to devise measures that would promote the welfare of children to enable them to develop their potential fully.
Ms Dansua also emphasised the need to help children to better understand the concept of child rights to enable them to take informed decisions on issues that affected them.

MP WANTS PROJECTS COMPLETED IN AHAFO ANO NORTH (PAGE 16)

THE Member of Parliament (MP) for Ahafo Ano North Constituency, Mr Richard Akuoko Adiyia, has identified the upgrading of the Tepa District Hospital, solving the perennial water shortage and the tarring of about 28 kilometres of two major roads in the constituency as critical needs which call for immediate attention.
He said the district hospital was over-stretched by both out-patients and in-patients who patronised it, adding that people from as far as Goaso and beyond used the facility.
Mr Adiyia has, therefore, called on the government, the District Assembly, the Ministry of Health and the Traditional Council to expedite action on the ongoing expansion programme at the district hospital to relieve the people of their plight.
The two preliminary roads, he said, were from Anyinasuso to Asuhyeae, a stretch of about eight kilometres.
He said the roads become unmotorable whenever there was heavy rainfall and called on the government to expedite action to enable work on it to be completed on schedule.
The Member of Parliament said he observed during his tour of some towns that the roads had developed dangerous potholes with stagnant water, and pleaded that the seven-kilometre stretch be completed between six and eight months to facilitate easy movement of people and goods.
Some of the communities he visited included Mamfo, Asuhyeae, Tiwobabi, Fenobo and Achina, where he asked them to live a peaceful life and be each other’s keeper.
He urged them to co-operate with the government to work for the welfare of all to move the country forward.
Mr Adiyia also donated sporting equipment to some schools.
On water, he said the situation at Mabang and Akwasiase needed urgent solution, even though work on the project was ongoing, the snail pace movement made the lives of the people too cumbersome.
He appealed to the District Chief Executive to see to the early completion to relieve the people of their plight.