CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION FOR CULTURAL HERITAGE DEVELOPMENT OPENS

The Vice President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, has called on African governments to help raise the consciousness of their people about their indigenous traditions and customs.

He, said, they would be helping to protect the cultural heritage asset of the continent by making their people proud of and confident in their traditions and customs.

Alhaji Mahama pointed out that ?this, indeed, can be achieved through education by emphasizing the resilience, vitality and contemporary relevance of these cultural assets and accentuating their positive attributes?.

The Vice President made the call at a five-day African Regional Conference on Education for Cultural Heritage Development in Accra.

It is being organised by UNESCO, in conjunction with the Ghana National Commission on Culture (NCC).

The Chairman of the NCC, Professor George Hagan, said Africa lagged behind in cultural heritage development due to financial resources, infrastructure, logistics, information technology and human resource capability.

LA POLYCLINIC UPGRADED TO GENERAL HOSPITAL STATUS

The La Polyclinic in Accra has been upgraded to the status of a general hospital.

The 101-bed capacity hospital has been provided with two well equipped operating theatres, a fully automated laboratory, an ultra-sound scan unit, a dental unit and an ambulance service and has a staff strength of 374.

Inaugurating the hospital, the medical director of the hospital, Dr. Patrick Frimpong, said obstetric and gynecological cases were also to be handled at the hospital.

He noted that the hospital had been receiving referrals from private maternity homes throughout the Accra/Tema Metropolis and that it had been chosen as part of the ambulance and emergency services of the Ghana Health Service.

USAID PROVIDES $34,000 SUPPORT FOR THE BLIND

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has granted $34,000 (about ?306 million) to the Ghana Association for the Blind (GAB) in support of efforts at enabling visually impaired persons to have a secret vote.

A statement issued by the USAID in Accra on Thursday said the assistance is to enable thousands of registered voters who are visually impaired to fully participate in the December elections.

The facility will assist in training the visually impaired to identify candidates of their choice with the use of ballot guides.

A ballot guide, other wise known as ?tactile ballot?, has dots and windows in which the number of dots blocked on the guide can help the visually impaired to detect the numerical placement of the candidate in order to be able to make a thumbprint in the right window.

The tactile ballot was developed and used in Ghana in 2002 during the year?s district level elections at selected number of polling stations.

MINISTER INAUGURATES 5,000 MACHINES FOR TAILORS AND DRESSMAKERS ASSOCIATION

The Minister of Women and Children Affairs, Mrs. Gladys Asmah, has presented 5,000 sewing machines with accessories to the Ghana National Tailors and Dressmakers Association.

The machines were procured from the Women Development Fund, each machine is accompanied by a start-up capital of ?500,000.

Mrs. Asmah announced this at the launch of ?work and pay for your equipment or tools project? for trained but unemployed artisans in Accra.

Under the ?work and pay for your equipment or tools project? prospective beneficiaries were provided with the sewing machines and other tools through partner banks including ARB and ADB, the banks would then arrange the terms of payment in flexible terms so that the beneficiaries work and pay for them.

The President of the Ghana National Tailors and Dressmakers Association, Mr. Samuel K. Osafo, said that his association regarded the efforts made by the Ministry as important.

He said that part of their long-term strategy was to put up resource centres in the 10 regions to train people to be competent tailors and dressmakers.

MINISTER INAUGURATES POST OFFICE

The Minister of Communication and Technology, Mr. Albert Kan Dapaah, has cut the tape to inaugurate the ?230 million Post Office at Kumbungu in the Tolon-Kumbungu District of the Northern Region.

Mr. Kan Dapaah assured the people that telephone facility as well as internet services would be extended to the districts to open up the area to the outside world.

He appealed to the people not to allow politics to divide them, but rather be tolerant and live together peacefully.

The Northern Regional Manager of Ghana Post, Ms. Antoinette Tamakloe, advised the residents of the area to make maximum use of the available postal boxes. She also promised an improved service for customers.

GOVERNMENT COMPLETES 15 CENTRES IN SIX REGIONS

The government has completed 15 health centres in six regions of the country under phase two to improve health delivery in rural communities.

The programme costs a total of ?30 million.

The health centres are located at Sewum and Akontombra in the Western Region, Mankessim and Abakrampa in the Central Region, Kotokuom, Antwiaso and Aframso and Banda-Ahenkro in the Brong-Ahafo Region.

The rest are at Adutor, Juapong and Anyami in the Volta Region and Ajena, Adeiso and Pokrom in the Eastern Region.

The Sewum and Akontrombra health centres which were completed at the cost of ?2.2 billion and ?2.1 billion respectively, were handed over to the Ministry of Health at two separate functions at the weekend.

Speaking at the function, an Economic Officer at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr. Adu Amponsah, said it was the wish of the government that ghanaians did not travel long distances for medical care.

TWO BODIES UNDER MINISTRY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT INAUGURATED

The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), Mr. Kwadwo Adjei-Darko, has inaugurated the Institute of Local Government Studies (ILGS) and the Local Government Service Council (ILGS) and charged them to act as advocates for local government.

Mr. Adjei-Darko asked them to make recommendations to the Ministry on how best to ensure efficiency, welfare, disburse funds and undertake research to enhance the future of local government.

The 10-member ILGS has Dr. T. B. Wereko, a Consultant, as its chairman. The LGSC is under the chairmanship of Nana Boachie-Danquah of the University of Ghana Business School, and has 12 other members.