News Categories: General

The National Peace Council in the Upper East Region has urged women to take a stronger role in preventing conflicts both within their homes and in the wider community. The call comes in the wake of a wave of unrest in senior high schools, including a recent riot at Bolgatanga Technical Institute that led to the school’s indefinite closure.

Speaking on A1 Radio, Assistant Programmes Manager of the Peace Council in the Upper East, Fouzia Ayinpogbila Issifu, highlighted the influential position women hold in shaping family and community life. She stressed that women should not see themselves only as victims of conflict but as central figures in building peace. According to her, women have the power to either fuel disputes or resolve them, and for this reason, they must always choose to foster harmony.

She noted that women play a crucial role in guiding their husbands and children, urging them to de-escalate rather than aggravate tensions. Fouzia explained that when conflicts erupt, women and children are often the most affected, making preventive action within households essential to curbing violence in society.

She also emphasized the importance of mothers instilling discipline and peace in their children from an early age. She cautioned that encouraging retaliation when children face challenges in school can foster a culture of violence that extends into adulthood. Instead, she urged parents to guide their children toward peaceful resolution of disputes.

The Peace Council believes that strengthening peacebuilding roles at the family level is critical to addressing broader community challenges and reducing the likelihood of violent incidents such as the recent school riots.

Source: A1Radioonline.com | 101.1MHz | Gifty Eyram Kudiabor | Bolgatanga

The District Chief Executive (DCE) for  Talensi, John Miilem Nabwomya, has praised the SPRING Project for its remarkable contribution to women’s economic empowerment and community development in the Talensi District of Ghana’s Upper East Region.

Speaking at the launch of Phase 2 of the Sustainable Project in Northern Ghana (SPRING), Mr. Nabwomya commended the leadership behind the initiative and celebrated the project’s ability to mobilize and uplift women across rural communities.

“The leaves, the stem, and the roots — every part is important. Similarly, every aspect of a woman’s contribution to her family and community matters,” Mr. Nabwomya remarked, using a powerful analogy to highlight the central role of women in society.

The SPRING Project, which focuses on the cultivation of Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato (OFSP) and the promotion of shea-based agribusiness, is being implemented by TRAX-Ghana with support from Tools for Self Reliance, a UK-based development organization. The initiative aims to enhance food security, household income, and financial independence among female-headed households.

Mr. Nabwomya emphasized that projects like SPRING are vital to achieving sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction in rural areas.

“With projects like this, household income for women will increase tremendously and be sustained,” he stated.

He also encouraged beneficiaries to adopt a culture of care and responsibility toward the resources provided through the project, stressing that proper maintenance of equipment is essential for long-term impact.

“Whether it’s equipment or any other form of support, you should handle it carefully and maintain it well, so it lasts and continues to benefit the program. The proper use and maintenance of these machines will also contribute to boosting women’s incomes.”

Highlighting the broader economic significance, the DCE concluded by stating:

“When women’s incomes increase, there is economic development and expansion in every country.”

Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Gerard Asagi|Bolgatanga

The Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions Social Cohesion (SOCO) Project organises SOCO inter-community cultural festival. The theme for the festival is promoting Social Cohesion through culture. Various communities in the Talensi District were invited to participate in the cultural festival.

The District Coordinating director, Mr. Clifford Baba Atanga in his speech, addressed all invited guest and was delighted to be part of the 68^th Independence Day Celebration of our beloved country, Ghana. This day was set aside to celebrate and remind ourselves of the toil, and sacrifices made by our founding fathers in the processes leading to the attainment of self-rule for our dear nation. This day also provides us the opportunity to reflect and reaffirm our commitment to the long-held values of this great nation; rule of law, freedom of speech and association, media pluralism, and tolerance for divergent views and opinions among others.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the theme for this year’s Independence Anniversary Celebration, “Reflect, Review, and Reset” is not only apt but timely. The theme recognise the need for a deep national reflection and introspection, to assess the country’s progress and forge a path towards renewed vision for development. Indeed, after 68 years of our nationhood, it is proper to reflect, review, and reset the key sectors of our national life to give citizens a sharper focus and direction.

In conclusion, Invited guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, as we celebrate Ghana’s 68th independence anniversary, consider it as a divine call to reflect on our past, review our present, and reset for our future.

God bless our homeland Ghana and make our nation great and strong!

Long live Ghana and Long live the good people of Talensi District.

Thank you and May the Almighty God Bless us all.

John Dramani Mahama of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has taken the oath of allegiance and the presidential oath to officially take over the reins of government as Ghana’s sixth President of the Fourth Republic.

He was sworn in by the Chief Justice of Ghana Gertrude Torkornoo on Tuesday, January 7, 2025, in parliament at the Black Star Square in Accra. His swearing-in followed that of the first Ghanaian female Vice President, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang who also took the oath of office and the Vice presidential oath.

Mr John Mahama was also the fourth President of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, having previously occupied the high office of the President between January 7, 2013, and January 6, 2017. He’s Ghana’s first president under the 4th Republic to have lost an election and returned to the seat after contesting two more elections with a landslide victory.

With his resounding victory in the December 2024 elections, John Dramani Mahama becomes the first president in Ghana’s history to be democratically elected to a non-consecutive second term. President Mahama is an exemplary family man with strong Christian values. He has been happily married to Lordina Dramani Mahama for over thirty-two years.

View images of the inauguration here.

Source: MyJoyOnline

The Third Ordinary Meeting marks the last sitting for the year 2024 and the District Chief Executive Hon. Thomas Duanab Wuni is delighted that the year has almost ended on a good note. The main business of the meeting is for stakeholders to consider and approve the composite budget, fee fixing resolution and other necessary documents for 2025 fiscal year of the Assembly and is a mandatory requirement by the Assembly to carry out its activities for the coming year.

Again, the District Chief Executive spoke about the achievements in various sectors and departments in the district.

First of all, the Agriculture sector is the main source of income of households in the district. It accounts for 70% of total employment. In this regard, the directorate through Agriculture Extension officers (AEA) visited total of 7,917 farmers to assist them in composting, pest identification, vaccination and animal treatment among others. Under planting for food and jobs, the district received some fertilizers and improved seeds from central Government to support farmers in the district to improve their yields.

Security in the district is of outmost concern therefore the District Security Council (DISEC) ensures continuous peace and stability in the district. Furthermore, the health sector has several CHPS compounds and nurse’s quarters in the district as well as logistics provided as well. On the part of education, the Assembly is making efforts to improve quality education delivery in the district. The assembly continuous to provide school blocks, provision of furniture among others and support school children particularly the girl child on teenage pregnancy and other social vices.

Hon. Presiding members, the assembly has started making use of the District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP) equipment by reshaping some major roads and extending electricity supply to some communities as well.

In conclusion, I entreat you all to deliberate on issues so that concrete and substantive decisions could be made at the end of the sitting to enhance the development of the district in the coming year.

Some farmlands along the White Volta River in the Binduri, Bawku West and Talensi districts have been submerged due to heavy downpour coupled with the spillage of the Bagre Dam.

Over the past four days, the Upper East Region has experienced heavy rainfall resulting in flooding in some parts of the region.

Speaking to Mark Smith on Daybreak Upper East show on A1 radio, the Binduri district director of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), Daniel Azimbe, indicated that some farmlands in the Binduri district have been submerged.

The situation, according to him, is attributed to the torrential rainfall witnessed in the region for the past few days coupled with the spillage of the Bagre Dam.

He said, “We have rainfalls around the Binduri district, coupled with the spillage of the Bagre Dam. And really, it came on the 19th, that was the spillage date that we have been alerted by the authorities of the Bagre Dam. And as of yesterday, around 8 o’clock, we had the effect on our communities in the Binduri district.”

The affected communities include Yarugungu, Pansi, Isakaten, Yarugu-Biaka, the Bazua area, that is to Azumsapelega, flowing down to the end of Agomsi, that is the Kadi area. Crops have been flooded as a result of this spillage.

“So, we really have the effect, because most of our crops that are not matured for harvest have been flooded at the moment. Quite a number of farms have been submerged, and then we have houses that are very close to the area of the river. But at the moment, we are just carrying on the monitoring and the assessment. And at the moment, it is the crops that have been submerged,” Azimbe explained.

He added that they cannot provide specific figures at the moment as they are still on the ground assessing the extent of the damage. Thankfully, they have not yet received any reports of loss of life or property, including livestock.

The Head of the White Volta Basin at the Water Resources Comission, Jesse Kazapoe also confirmed reports of floods in the Bawku West District.

Source: A1Radioonline.Com|101.1 MHZ|Samuel Adagom|Bolgatanga

The Department of Social Welfare of the Talensi District Assembly has presented items to some Persons With Disability to enable them work and provide for themselves.The beneficiaries were educated on the importance of taking good care of the items.

Nine key projects are expected to be pursued under phase two of the Gulf of Guinea Northern Regions Social Cohesion (SOCO) in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region.

Thomas Duanab Pearson Wuni, the District Chief Executive of Talensi, said this when he recently discussed the progress and plans for the second phase of the SOCO projects during an interview on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show.

According to Mr. Wuni Pearson, the nine projects would include Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compounds, school projects, water and sanitation improvements, and boreholes.

He added that outside of physical infrastructure, there would be a Local Economic Development (LED) initiative aimed at empowering women in shea butter extraction and rice parboiling.

The Talensi DCE noted that the procurement processes for the projects are complete, with only final approvals pending before construction can commence. “We are done with the processes. We are just waiting for approvals so that we can award it and have contractors on site.”

He emphasized that these projects are tailored to meet community needs, a reflection of SOCO’s participatory approach.

“SOCO is community participatory. And what do I mean by that? We don’t just come and start putting up projects. We have three area councils. So the assembly members will meet with the area councils there. We have a team that will engage you. You tell us what your developmental needs are. So once we collect that data, we bring it back to the assembly and then we now look.”

According to him, the expectation is that these projects will commence by the end of August and be completed before the upcoming elections. “These projects will be delivered before we go to elections. I believe so,” he said.

Addressing challenges from the first phase, Mr. Duanab noted issues with labour payments but assured that lessons learned would expedite the current phase.

“Phase 1 had challenges because we had a problem with how we pay our labour.”

“Our experiences from phase 1 will hasten and expedite these projects in phase 2. We wouldn’t have those challenges again,” he stated. He expressed optimism that the new projects will significantly benefit Talensi. “We expect that this should translate and transform Talensi going forward.”

The projects and other initiatives by the NPP, according to Mr. Wuni Pearson, put the NPP in the lead ahead of the 2024 general elections. According to the DCE, the NPP candidate for the area, Robert Alibo, remains in pole position to lead the party ahead of the parliamentary election.

“We are prepared, but we won’t disclose what we are going to do to win. We will win, Inshallah.” Mr. Duanab further appealed to the residents of Talensi to continue supporting his administration, promising continued dedication and service. “I just want to beg the people in Talensi: Keep us in government and you will see the best of us. I am here to serve and they can see that. Keep us in government and we will continue to serve you,” he said.

Source: A1Radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Gifty Eyram Kudiabor|Ghana