The Chief of Essipong, Nana Kofi Abuna V has appealed to the government to establish an Education Fund with part of the expected revenue from crude oil for needy but brilliant students in the Western Region.
Nana Abuna made the appeal at a durbar to mark this year’s Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Teachers Day celebration, held at Fijai in the Western Region.
He said a percentage of the revenue from the oil fields in the region could be dedicated for the endowment fund to provide quality education to the children of the region.
He said the region had been neglected for far too long by successive governments in spite of the fact that it contributed more than 50 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Nana Abuna stressed that the region was lagging behind in terms of infrastructural development, saying, ‘Why is it that we produce the chunk of the country’s natural resources such as cocoa, timber, rubber, palm oil, diamond, gold, bauxite, manganese and other resources, yet all the successive governments failed to develop the region?.
He expressed concern about the low standard of education in the region.
“Even though there is education in the region we need quality education to help our children to be in responsible positions in the region and the country at large”, he added.
Nana Abuna noted that the oil companies had employed foreigners to work on the oil rig because of their skills and qualifications and urged the youth in the region to pursue relevant courses in the petroleum industry that would enable them to become employable in the oil and gas sector.
A two-day workshop for Queen mothers and selected Assembly women on Local Governance and Decentralization has opened, with a call on them to actively participate in the administration of their localities.
The workshop on the Topic, “Understanding the Basics of Local Governance and Decentralization”, would sharpen the skills of the female leaders to mobilize women in their communities to engage effectively in local governance.
The workshop is being organized and funded by Local Governance and Decentralization Programme (LOGODEP), under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Ms Eva Osei, Citizen Participation Expert and a facilitator at the workshop, told the Ghana News Agency that, LOGODEP sought to improve the existing service delivery systems at the Metropolitan, Municipal and the Districts Assembly levels through training and technical assistance.
She said LOGODEP would also ensure that more citizens, particularly women, were involved in the decision-making process at the community, sub-district and district levels.
LOGODEP, is a three-year programme funded by the American people in the Western Region to advance the USAID and Ghana’s strategic objective five, which is “Strengthening Democratic and Decentralization Governance through Civil Involvement”.
Ms Osei noted that all the 17 districts in the region are covered under the programme, which would expand public participation in local governance, support targeted districts to increase their internally generated funds and provide a comprehensive development plan for the districts.
She said participants understanding of local governance would deepen their operational systems at the local level.
Nana Kofi Abuna V, chief of Essipon, in the Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly said, the training has become necessary in order to strengthen the capacity of female leaders at the local levels.
She said development at the local levels hinges on the active participation of women, who were the core in nation building.
Nana Abuna V added that, the training would enable them to also form a stronger force in articulating issues that affected women at the local levels as well as building partnerships with female assembly women.
In December, Ghana joined the ranks of Africa's oil producers - it now expects its economic growth rate to double. The BBC's Rob Walker went to Takoradi, the hub of the new industry, to see how a once-sleepy city is changing. He plans to return regularly, to build a portrait of a society in transformation. On the western edge of the Ghanaian city of Takoradi, newly built villas with wide verandas are rapidly eating into green forest and farmland.
For Takoradi's ambitious new entrepreneurs like Peter Abitty, there is opportunity here. Mr Abitty is a real estate agent with a bright pink shirt, and an even brighter smile. He shows me round an eight-bedroom house looking out onto the sea, surrounded by banana trees and coconut palms. Yours for $5,000 (£3,000) a month - five times its rental value a couple of years ago. "Tenants that come here can take the coconuts for free! We don't charge anything," Mr Abitty says. Already there has been lots of interest. "The reason is very obvious." The estate agent points over the horizon: "It's out there: oil, oil, oil." 'Everyone will gain'
Ghana made its first big oil find off the coast from Takoradi in 2007, and turned on the taps late last year.
The discovery may not be on the same scale as the African oil giants, Nigeria and Angola.
“Start Quote
If there is oil and gas in the region, we in the west should benefit more than everybody else”
Chief Nana Kofi Abuna V
But it is enough for the government to forecast that the rate of economic growth will more than double from 5% last year to as much as 12% this year. And unlike those countries, Ghana enjoys a reputation as one of Africa's best governed states. Takoradi, a dusty, run-down port city, is the hub for the new industry.
But it is not just international oil companies that are booming here.
"In five years time, I see Takoradi becoming one of the modern cities of the world," said Alfred Fafali Adagbedu, owner of Seaweld Engineering, one of the many new local companies set up to service the oil sector. "I can imagine skyscrapers, six-lane highways and malls." Mr Adagbedu left a job in Equatorial Guinea and came home to Ghana after oil was discovered. "The transport industry is going to improve, because workers on the rig are going to need to be transported. Agriculture is going to see a boom because all those people on the rig will need to be fed."
"Even market women are going to see more business, because a lot of workers are going to have very fat pay checks. Everyone in this city is going to gain in business." It is a boost the city badly needs. At the once-thriving railway station, washing hangs from a train that has not moved in years. Squatters have moved into the sleeping car.Once the trains stopped running, many businesses ground to a halt as well.
The city authorities now want to reverse this decline. They want to demolish part of the city centre and redevelop it with high-rise buildings to provide more space for new businesses attracted by the oil find.
It would mean several hundred existing residents being relocated.
Rising prices
"There should be some sacrifice, if we want to move ahead as a metropolis. But I believe with proper education they will understand," said city assembly member John Davies.
The redevelopment will take at least five years, and will depend on the city finding the necessary investment.
But for many residents, Takoradi has already changed. New traffic jams clog up the streets at rush hour. Hotels are fully booked. The price of goods has risen, and rents for many residents - not just those in luxury villas - have spiralled. In one of the newly built parts of the city, I meet Efua, a teacher. Efua's landlord told her the rent on her house was going to double. When she couldn't pay, she came home to find an eviction notice posted on her door. "He's giving it to the oil people, because he knows that as a poor teacher I can't get money to pay such a huge amount," she said. A few months after oil production started, it is already clear there will be losers as well as winners in Takoradi.
Despite rising expectations, only a small proportion of young people leaving higher education in the city are likely to get jobs from oil. That is why local leaders want 10% of the estimated $1bn a year the government will receive in oil revenues to be used for developing Takoradi and the western region of Ghana.
'Oil curse'
"Many resources are coming from the western region. From years back, gold is here, timber is here, diamonds are here," said Nana Kofi Abuna V, one of the few female chiefs in the area. Rents are spiralling and new houses for high-income earners are being built "But when they share the cake up there, they leave out the western region. This time, if there is oil and gas in the region we should benefit more than everybody else."
But a national strategy for managing the oil revenues is not yet in place. Some worry that the "oil curse" could strike Ghana as it has Nigeria, where oil has been used to fuel conflict and corruption. Alfred Fafali Adagbedu, who owns Seaweld Ghana, doesn't share those fears. "I'm very sure we will avoid the mistakes. Ghana is a democracy, everyone is watching, so there is going to be a lot of improvement here."
For some in Takoradi, there are more subtle fears about the future. "Sometimes I get confused myself whether I love the slow, easy nature of the city, or if I want to see the improvements," said Melody FM presenter Nana Otu Gyandoh. "I'm scared at the rate things are changing. Girls my age are not interested in the likes of me. They want to hook up with a white man. Our social set-up has been shaken and we are yet to come to terms with it."
Takoradi is changing in ways many people here are not yet sure they understand.
There is ambition and expectation, but there is also uncertainty about who is going to gain and who is going to lose now that Takoradi has become an oil city.
NANA KOFI ABUNA V SPEECH AT THE ANNUAL CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE OFHEALTH SERVICE ADMINISTRATOR'S OF GHANA UNDER THE THEME 'SUSTAINING THE NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE SCHEME - THE ROLE OF THE HEALTH SERVICE ADMINISTRATOR'
NOVEMBER 4, 2010
Hon Minister (Western Region)
Hon Minister of Health
Director General, Ghana Health Services
Western Regional Health Director
The Organizers
The Press
Ladies & Gentlemen
It gives me great pleasure that I welcome you all to the annual continuing professional education conference of Health Service Administrator's of Ghana under the theme 'sustaining the national health insurance scheme - the role of the Health Service Administrator'
Healthcare is a business and, like every business, it needs good management to keep the business running smoothly. We have good and great Health Administrators this morning to have their annual conference to review their administrative work and to further plan, direct, coordinate, and supervise the delivery of healthcare in Ghana.
The health service administrators played a key role in the implementation of the policy at the facility level and together with other managers, the Administrators have responsibility for the efficient management of the health institutions.
For the purpose of this gathering this morning and as part of their objectives to organizes an annual conference in the form of workshops/seminars through which members update their knowledge on emerging issues in the health sector.
The emerging issue now is the role or roles of the Health Service Administrators in sustaining the National Health Insurance Scheme.
I can say this morning that the National Health Insurance Scheme in this Metropolis is making impressive progress in supporting the citizenry especially the poor and the vulnerable to have access to quality health care. But how do we achieve the expected goal and how do we sustain the already chalked successes recorded despite the numerous challenges being faced by the Scheme.
The meeting should be able to access the schemes performance, monitor their expenditure pattern, making constructive suggestions to the managers and the entire management team with the view to increasing the Scheme area of coverage.
As we all listen to all the resource persons invited, I believe we will be more equipped and update our knowledge to sustain the National Health Insurance Scheme.
Once again, I salute the purposefulness of the organizers as I welcome all to this educational conference.
NANA KOFI ABUNA V SPEECH AT THE BINDURA CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP (BCF) DURING THE LEADERSHIP TRAINING SEMINAR HELD AT THE TESANO BAPTIST CHURCH ACCRA, GHANA UNDER THE THEME GIVING GOD GLORY BY STUDYING HIS WORD
OCTOBER 18, 2010
To God be the glory for the great things He has done at the Bindura Christian Fellowship.
I appreciate the Almighty God for the priviledge given me to chair this all important Leadership Training Seminar starting from today 18th October, 2010. I also appreciate the event planners for allowing them to be used by God to effect both moral and spiritual change in the lives of people, to God alone be the glory.
I also appreciate the presence of H.E.Jean-Piere Tete Gbikpi-Benissan (The Togo Ambassador & Dean of Ambassadors in Ghana) who is also the Special Guest of Honour of this great seminar.
I want to salute the courage of all the men of God around and the participants for their time. God bless you all.
We are all here to receive the WORD. In Isaiah 9:8, the Lord sent a word unto Jacob and it hath lighted upon Israel. The word of God will be coming our way during this programme which will cause us to give glory to His name. He has not asked the seed of Jacob to seek him in vain.
God is saying no matter the dimension of glory we may have experienced till date, I am again moving you forward to higher dimension of glory.
Again, in case anyone has suffered any setback or any form of stagnation or frustration in the past, God is saying through this leadership training seminar, I am bringing you out of every shame and reproach into realms of glory you had never thought possible in your life time. That for your shame you shall have double.
The question then is,
how do I partake of this wave of glory? and what does it take to gain access to our next level of glory through his word. The Bible says, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Cor 3:18).
We look to Christ through the word to experience a new level of glory. You will recall that God’s word is likened to a mirror in the epistle of Apostle James.
Therefore to move from glory to glory, we must stay on the word for every change we desire.
• We must engage the word in confronting the challenges of life
• We must apply ourselves to the revealed word of God.
• We must put the word to work as a life style.
Once again, I salute the purposefulness of the organizers as I welcome all to this life transforming seminar.
Great Teachers of Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Area
It is with great pleasure and excitement that I stand here as a humble citizen of the Republic of Ghana and a good friend of our good and great Teachers in the land.
It is also with great joy that I welcome you to the climax of the International Teachers’ Day Celebration, I am pretty sure that we have had a very fruitful celebration.
Traditional rulers play a pivotal role in the socio-economic development of our dear Metropolitan Area. Both Chiefs and Queen Mothers are esteemed in their respective communities as the door keepers of tradition and change. In times past they determined and sanctioned the norms and values of society and instituted measures to monitor their use and application. With the introduction of modern laws and policies however, Chiefs and Queen Mothers now play the unique role of ensuring effective harmonisation of the old and new for the betterment of society.
I (Nana Kofi Abuna IV) with the support of other partners have instituted a scholarship to the girl child education within and around Essipun Community to ensure that all children go to school. Nana Abuna V Education Fund was also launched to cater for the needy but brilliant children from Basic school to the University level
WHY, ONE MAY ASK
It is just a vision into the theme of this great celebration that Education is the vital key to accelerated socio-economic development of our Metropolitan Area
I have heard several times that "If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; but if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people."
There can be no significant or sustainable transformation in societies and no significant reduction in poverty until people receive quality education they need to take their rightful place as equal partners in the development of the Metropolitan Area.
Investment in quality education is key to the Metropolitan Area’s future success. Without skills such as literacy, numeracy and problem-solving, millions of children and adults would be trapped in poverty.
I will not talk much but would have talked better on girl child education" due to my background and declaration I made in 2004 “As for me and my Council of Elders, we shall make sure that all girls go to school" I stated this on the 12th May 2004 when I hosted the durbar on Girl Child Education "towards the achievement of gender parity in education in Ghana.
The economic and social gains from education
Good access to education and health, and in terms of freedom to develop our potential - has a great value in its own right. For example, if with equal education, women's contribution to economic development is comparable to men's, then reducing gender-imbalances in education will enhance women's capacity to contribute to economic progress. This is the efficiency reason for reducing gender inequality in areas where women are currently deprived.
Social efficiency
While the economic benefits of educating girls are similar in size to the economic benefits of educating boys, recent findings suggest that the social benefits from investing in female education are far greater than those from investing in male education. Specifically, female education has powerful effects on the total fertility rate.
The way forward in the Metropolitan Assembly
In order to see how more girls and boys can be educated in our Metropolitan Area, it is essential to ask what holds them back from gaining education currently. There are many reasons why women's education seriously lags behind men's education, particularly in the Metropolitan Area. The most commonly cited is that in certain societies many parents continue to envisage a strict gender division of labour. If for most of her adult life a daughter will be a housewife, it seems pointless to educate her.
But for the sake of our dear Metropolitan Area, I will advise that we encourage our children to get quality education that will improve and accelerate great development. All sectors of economy revolves round a quality education
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, I hereby deem it a great privilege to welcome you all to this International Teachers’ Day Celebration in Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Area and trust that you will enjoy yourselves with quality information we will get here. Please, stay welcome, blessed and be with us as long as you wish.
