Exclusive Audio: President Mahama's 2016 Easter Message

President Mahama exchanging pleasantries with chiefs at the durbar

President John Mahama has urged Ghanaians not to only dwell on the failures of the country Ghana but also celebrate her successes.

According to him, Ghana has chalked a lot of successes ahead of her peers in the West African sub region since independence, which we most often take for granted.

Delivering his 2016 Easter message at Sokpoe in the South Tongu district of the Volta on Saturday, President Mahama said  just as the lessons of Easter remind us of adversity and opportunity, so is the story of Ghana.

“Easter teaches us life is not one long smooth journey of opportunity alone. As a nation, 59 years of independence, we have gone through adversity but we have also had our moment of opportunity. And so what makes the difference between success and failure is that we don't lament on our moments of adversity but we recognize our moment of opportunity and take advantage of it,” President Mahama stated at the 32nd annual Tortsogbe (River crossing) festival celebrations by the Chiefs and people of Sokpoe, a community along the western bank of the Volta river.

He further noted that “we all want to go to heaven, but we cannot walk straight into heaven like this. You have to die first before you resurrect in heaven. So you must necessarily go through adversity in order to that you can have opportunity.”

He therefore believe, it is only when citizens appreciate and boast of the country’s successes that, others will be motivated to work hard to make Ghana a better place. Play attach audio and listen to full message.

Source: Voltaonlinegh/LA

South Tongu GES falls on capitation grant to pay utility bills

Heads of some public basic schools in the South Tongu district of the Volta region are up in arms against the district education directorate for cutting down on their allocation of the capitation grant, being disbursed for running of the schools.

Information gathered by Voltaonline, revealed that, the education office levied each basic school pupil, 50pesewas and subsequently deducted it from their share of the capitation grant of GHc4.50 per child.

The amount which is lodged in a special account known as ‘District Support Levy’ is meant to help the office defray its debts to utility providers including the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

But some of the head teachers who are unhappy about the deduction noted that, it will adversely affect the smooth running of the schools, as they depend on the grant to supply teaching aids and other items needed to teach the pupils effectively.

Dozens displace by weekend Rainstorm

Hundreds of families in South Tongu, Ketu-North and Ho municipalities of the Volta Region were rendered homeless, a rainstorm swept through some communities in the three districts, over the weekend.

Roofs of some basic schools were also ripped off, disrupting educational activities in the affected communities.

According to information from the National Disaster Management Organisation, (NADMO) the rain storm swept through Hodzo in the Ho municipality days earlier and destroyed the roof of a 6-unit classroom block in addition to few individual houses.

Similar destructions were experienced at and Devego in the Ketu-North district, the storm hit there and South Tongu district on the Saturday.

Three communities, Agbagorme, Agbakorpe and Lakpo were worst affected, with 92 homes and three schools destroyed.

Deputy Minister Tour Flood affected Areas

Mr. Ganyaglo (M) with Madaam Azumah-Mensah inspecting the Kpetoe Bridge

The Deputy Volta Regional Minister, Francis Komla Ganyaglo, in the company officials of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) and the Feeder Roads Department, on visited areas hit by recent flooding in five districts of the region to commiserate with victims and assess the impact of the devastated disaster.

The flooding which was as a result of the overflow of River Todze following heavy downpours submerged farmlands, houses and displaced thousands of persons in the Agortime-Ziope, Akatsi South, Adaklu, South Tongu, and Central Tongu districts.

The Deputy Minister and his entourage first stop was at Kpetoe, capital of Agortime-Ziope district, where he was joined by Member of Parliament, Juliana Azumah Mensah and DCE Michael Adjaho to commiserated with the chiefs and family of the middle aged man who lost his life as a result of the collapse of a building by flood waters.

They also inspected the submerged bridge on the Ho-Aflao road and the flooded maternity ward of the Kpetoe health centre.

Pencils of Promise to boost Education delivery in Volta region

Mr. Goba, director of PoP signing the MoU with Mr. Ganyaglo and Alhaji Haroon

In an era where the standard of Basic and Senior High school education in the Volta region continue to take a nose dive coupled with poor and inadequate classroom infrastructure, an educational charity organisation, Pencils of Promise (PoP) have officially entered into a Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with the Volta Regional Directorate of Education to help stem the situation.

The MoU, pave the way for PoP to complement government’s effort in providing classroom blocks and other teaching and learning materials for schools in deprived communities for the next five years. The charity organisation which started operations in 2012 has already built classrooms for 53 schools in 15 districts of the Volta region within the last two years.

Mr. Freeman Goba, Country Director of the organisation said Pencils of Promise is committed to providing 500 school blocks in Ghana by the end of 2015. This, he said is in fulfilment of the Organisation’s mission of bringing smiles on the faces of the less privileged, through the provision of shelter and logistics to deprived community schools.