Tamale, Sept. 23, GNA - The Northern Ghana Education Trust Fund (NETFUND), on Tuesday awarded 50 brilliant but needy students from the Upper East, Upper West and Northern Regions with scholarships worth about 150 million cedis.

The NETFUND was instituted in 1998 to support education in the three northern regions, which had been worsening and to improve the standard of teaching and learning.

The 50 beneficiary students made up of 25 boys and 25 girls were the first to benefit from the scheme since its launch in 2001 by the Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama in Accra.

The scholarship would cover all expenses of the 50 students including textbooks and other fees.

At the same function, four of a 13-Member Board of Trustees of the NETFUND chaired by Alhaji Rashimo Gbadamosi, a former Director General of Education, was inaugurated.

Madam Hajia Adisa Munkaila, a Member of the Council of State who inaugurated the Board, said it became extremely difficult for children of the north to get access to quality education due to the poverty level and the high costs involved.

She said the policy of cost sharing in tertiary institutions had further aggravated the situation.

Hajia Munkaila said structures were put in place both at national and regional levels to ensure that the FUND was on a sound footing for its sustenance and to get other people to contribute. She called on the President to extent and initiates at least one Presidential Special Initiative PSI on any business in the north so that the people could get something doing to contribute meaningfully to the FUND.

Mr Ernest Debrah, Northern Regional Minister, described the idea of creating the Fund as laudable, adding that it was a demonstration and determination of people of northern origin to improve the educational standards and lay a solid foundation for its social and economic development.

The Minister appealed to all people of northern origin to at least contribute about 2,000 cedis each towards the Fund to ensure its sustainability.

OLAM Cocoa Buyin Company donates electric poles to community

Kasapin (B/A), Sept. 23, GNA - OLAM, a private Cocoa Purchasing Company operating in the Asunafo District of Brong Ahafo has presented 30 low tension electric poles valued at 50 million cedis to the people of Kasapin towards their on-going electrification project. The presentation was in response to the traditional council's plea to private companies in the area to assist the community to fund the project.

Presenting the items, Mr Saurabh Mehra, Country Head of OLAM, lauded the joint cooperation between his company, Kasapin Traditional Authority and the Asunafo District Assembly, which he said had tremendously facilitated the company's brisk business in the area. Mr Mehra announced that the company had set aside 10 million cedis this year to be given out as loans to cocoa farmers for improved harvests.

He assured people in the Kasapin Cocoa District of the company's preparedness to complement their efforts to improve their standard of living and urged them to sell their produce to the company to enable it to honour its social responsibility pledges.

Mr George Boakye, Asunafo District Chief Executive, thanked the Company for its prompt response to the request and urged other private cocoa purchasing companies to emulate it.

He said the District Assembly would continue to support companies that demonstrated their readiness to help improve the living standards of the people.

The Chief of Kasapin, Nana Opunu Awisie Wiredu Brempong commended the gesture and pledged the people's assistance to enable the company to operate successfully in the area. Nana Brempong called on the people to reciprocate the gesture by doing genuine business with the company. 23 Sept. 03