TANO SOUTH DISTRICT CELEBRATES 59TH INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSAY

A parade of school children and school cadet corps drawn from Primary, Junior High and Second Cycle schools in Bechem the Tano South District Capital and its environs has been held at Bechem to mark the Tano South District’s Version of the celebration of Ghana’s 59^th Independence Anniversary.

The celebration which attracted a large number of people both young and old saw in attendance Nananom of the Bechem Traditional Council, Heads of various Government Departments, Security Agencies, the Clergy, Assembly Members and people from all walks of life.

In an anniversary speech after the District Chief Executive, the District Director of Education and the District Police Commander had inspected a parade mounted by the school children and the cadet corps, the Tano South District Chief Executive Hon. Bukari Zakari Anaba extended the felicities of His Excellency John Dramani  Mahama to good the  people of the District on the occasion of  Ghana’s 59^th  Independence Day Anniversary  Celebration.

Hon. Anaba said, the celebration would usher the people of Ghana especially the youth into knowing how such a historic event occurred and to also know the founding fathers who through their blood and toil fought to attain it.

Hon. Anaba said, the theme for the celebration ‘’ Investing in the youth for Ghana’s Transformation’’ which was significant could not have come at the right time and said the theme was also in line with the policy direction of the President John Dramani Mahama  since the government is committed to investing in the youth of the country. He said, the government has also put in place policies and programmes to ensure the youth are given the needed support to be able to play their role in the country.

Hon. Anaba said, the government has established the Youth Enterprise Support (YES) as a Multi Sectorial Initiative under the office of the President with collaborative support from key Agencies such as the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSS), National Youth Authority (NYA), Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Trade and Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and stressed that, the focus of the programme is to tap into the creativity and innovativeness of young entrepreneurs through the provision of mentorship, technical and financial support to enhance the success of their businesses.

He said, the Youth Enterprise Support Programme is currently focusing on entrepreneurship development targeted specifically at the rural youth in Ghana and said the objective of the programme is meant to prevent rural – urban migration and also reduce rural unrest in order to improve farm earning which provide autonomy, independence and reduce the need for social support.

The District Chief Executive in the speech on this occasion advised the youth who are unemployed especially those seeking employment to take advantage of this programme to submit their business plan to the YES Secretariat to start up their business and also used the occasion to catalogue some of the achievements of government in the areas of Agriculture, Education, Health, Energy and Infrastructural Development.

The celebration was climaxed with a march past of  school children and the cadet corps after which certificates and books were presented to all participating schools and prizes awarded to the three top performing schools in the Primary, Junior High and second cycle level.

TANO SOUTH NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR CIVIC EDUCATION HOLDS INTER PARTY DIALOGUE COMMITTEE MEETING

The Tano South District Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education has held an inter party dialogue committee meeting at Bechem to educate party representatives and other stakeholders on the role of the Electoral Commission and the experience Ghanaians have gained from the 2012 election petition case which was sent to the supreme court.

Topics that were treated at the forum included, the representation of the people, the right to vote, how to prevent election fraud and duties of both the electoral commission and the political parties and present at the function were  Mr. Issah Nasagri, the Brong Ahafo Regional Director of NCCE, Nana Okumasono Osei Tutu, the Nkabomhene of the Bechem Traditional Area who chaired the function, Miss Georgina Agyeiwaa, the Acting District Director of NCCE, Heads of Departments, representatives of political parties and other stakeholders.

In a presentation, Mr. Issah Nasagri said, since 1992 Ghana’s electoral system has undergone various transformations and as a result Ghana’s voting system is now Biometric whereby a Bio Metric verifying system is used during polls.

Mr. Nasagri said, the constitution of Ghana mandated all Ghanaians who are eligible to vote are  to cast their vote to elect a president and it is mandatory that, the elected president is responsible to provide equal opportunities to the citizenry of Ghana irrespective of their political affiliation, ethnicity and religion. He urged voters in the 2016 elections to vote for the candidate of their choice whom they think could lead the Nation into prosperity.

Mr. Nasagri, on the right to vote said, a voter must be a Ghanaian of eighteen years and above and of a sound mind and registered as a voter.

He said the duties of the political parties as mandated by the constitution of Ghana requires the freedom of Association and it behoves on every Ghanaian to join any political party of his or her choice and the party is also required to introduce its ideology or manifesto to the electorates and it is upon the dissemination of its ideologies and manifesto to the people that the party is able to attract followers. He advised that differences in political ideologies should not create enmity amongst the people and entreated political party leaders to see to it that they do not push minors and non – Ghanaians to register as voters so as to vote for their party.

Mr. Nasagri said, it is the duty of the electoral commission to create electoral boundaries for both National and Local Government elections, conduct and supervise all public elections, educate people on the electoral processes and its purposes and to perform other functions as may be prescribed by law. He said, the electoral commission must be transparent and cooperate with the civil society organizations to initiate effective mechanisms and strategic plans which can curb electoral fraud and hinted that when a particular party is allowed to cheat in elections it hampers the progresses of the country.

Nana Okumasono Osei Tutu in his closing remark urged participants to go home and preach the facilitator’s gospel to those who could not make it to the function and said when people are abreast with the trend of affairs especially the electoral processes and systems they will not be manipulated by politicians to embark on electoral fraud since ‘’ lack of knowledge makes people perish’’  and appealed to the electoral commission of Ghana to do all it can to make peace prevail before, during and after the 2016 presidential and parliamentary elections.