A bag of gari, which was sold between GH¢800.00 and GH¢850.00 depending on the size has been reduced to GH¢750.00 and GH¢800.00 respectively, with a bowl of gari being sold at GH¢20.00 from GH¢25.00 previously.
Also, a pack of sachet water, which was sold between GH¢8.00 and GH¢9.00 depending on the brand, presently sells at GH¢6.00 and GH¢7.00, while a sachet goes for 30 Pesewas from 50 pesewas.
“Ice water used to be dominant in rural communities including those without electricity where sellers refrigerate it or put big chunks of ice on it to get it chilled. It used to be sold at an affordable price to consumers but was kicked out of the market as it could not match sachet water in terms of hygiene.
Though its purity is still in question, it is about affordability in this time of economic hardship, according to the consumers interviewed.
Mrs Eunice Ayamba, a sachet water producer, in an interview with the Ghana news Agency (GNA), said they were left with no option than to reduce prices to stay in business.
I usually supply my water to the Pelungu, Kongo and Yorigo among other communities in the region but overtime, I realized demand was coming down, my distributors would take water to these communities and return with almost same, because sellers still had water packed and could not take more since demand was low.
“Even in Bolga here, the demand for sachet water is high at Lorry stations, mechanic shops among others, but that is where ‘’ice water ‘’ is dominating now and so we are left with no option than to reduce prices even though we are only breaking even,’’ she added.
Ms Victoria Ayinbisah, alias Ama Gari, told the GNA that apart from students who said they were compelled to buy at the increased price because there was no option, most customers walked away when the increased prices were mentioned to them.
“In fact, we just don’t have any option than to reduce prices because customers just walk away when you mention the price with some telling you it is better, they use their money for other foods instead of gari which should be affordable,”she stated.
Maternal deaths have declined significantly in the Upper East Region within the first 10-months of 2022.
At the end of October 2022, the region recorded 22 deaths, compared to the 39 deaths recorded within the same period in 2021 and 42 deaths in the whole of 2021.
This is attributed to the many interventions being rolled out at the regional, district and community levels by the authorities of the Ghana Health Service(GHS) and partners in the region.
Dr Josephat Nyuzaghl, the Deputy Regional Director, Ghana Health Service in charge of Public Health, announced this in Bolgatanga at the launch of a STAR-Ghana Gender Rights and Empowerment Project (G-REP) organised by the Rural Initiatives for Self-Empowerment (RISE-Ghana), a Non- Governmental Organisation.
The three-year project with funding support from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is aimed at strengthening health committees and citizens groups to champion access to quality maternal health in the Talensi and Nabdam Districts.
Dr Nyuzaghl underscored the need for collective and sustained efforts from all stakeholders to consolidate the gains made in reducing maternal deaths.
He, however, said the Eastern corridor of the region, comprising the Bawku enclave had in recent years recorded high maternal deaths and noted that lack of district hospitals to serve as referral facilities and other critical health professionals contributed to that effect.
He expressed the hope that government’s agenda 111 and the move by the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council to task all the Municipal and Districts in the region to take measures to attract medical doctors to their respective areas would contribute to address the problem and improve upon maternal and child health.
“Last year, more than 50 per cent of the deaths came from Bawku, Pusiga, Tempane, Garu, Binduri and Zebilla enclave but a lot of work has gone on at the community level to try to encourage them to report early for antenatal care and get the minimum package for pregnant women,” he added.
Mr Awal Ahmed Kariama, the Executive Director, RISE-Ghana, said apart from the country’s agenda of achieving Universal Health Coverage by 2030, the Sustainable Development Goals called for the need to prioritise and improve healthcare delivery systems, especially at the health facility level for improved maternal health.
To this end, he said, the project sought to mobilise women, girls and citizen groups, including civil society organisations and the media to champion issues of maternal health financing and policy implementation to ensure that the service provided at the healthcare facilities were quality and accessible.
He said as part of the project, the facility health committees in 14 sub-districts and health facilities in the two districts would be strengthened to use the scorecard to help them develop action plans.
“We want to further use these action plans to influence the budget and plans of the local district assemblies in Talensi and Nabdam as well as engage the private sector actors.
“We want to create an enabling environment and local dialogue around increasing financing for maternal health service delivery,” Mr Kariama added.
Maternal deaths have declined significantly in the Upper East Region within the first 10-months of 2022.
At the end of October 2022, the region recorded 22 deaths, compared to the 39 deaths recorded within the same period in 2021 and 42 deaths in the whole of 2021.
This is attributed to the many interventions being rolled out at the regional, district and community levels by the authorities of the Ghana Health Service and partners in the region.
Dr Josephat Nyuzaghl, the Deputy Regional Director, Ghana Health Service in charge of Public Health, announced this in Bolgatanga at the launch of a STAR-Ghana Gender Rights and Empowerment Project (G-REP) organised by the Rural Initiatives for Self-Empowerment (RISE-Ghana), a Non- Governmental Organisation.
The three-year project with funding support from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is aimed at strengthening health committees and citizens groups to champion access to quality maternal health in the Talensi and Nabdam Districts.
Dr Nyuzaghl underscored the need for collective and sustained efforts from all stakeholders to consolidate the gains made in reducing maternal deaths.
He, however, said the Eastern corridor of the region, comprising the Bawku enclave had in recent years recorded high maternal deaths and noted that lack of district hospitals to serve as referral facilities and other critical health professionals contributed to that effect.
He expressed the hope that government’s agenda 111 and the move by the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council to task all the Municipal and Districts in the region to take measures to attract medical doctors to their respective areas would contribute to address the problem and improve upon maternal and child health.
“Last year, more than 50 per cent of the deaths came from Bawku, Pusiga, Tempane, Garu, Binduri and Zebilla enclave but a lot of work has gone on at the community level to try to encourage them to report early for antenatal care and get the minimum package for pregnant women,” he added.
Mr Awal Ahmed Kariama, the Executive Director, RISE-Ghana, said apart from the country’s agenda of achieving Universal Health Coverage by 2030, the Sustainable Development Goals called for the need to prioritise and improve healthcare delivery systems, especially at the health facility level for improved maternal health.
To this end, he said, the project sought to mobilise women, girls and citizen groups, including civil society organisations and the media to champion issues of maternal health financing and policy implementation to ensure that the service provided at the healthcare facilities were quality and accessible.
He said as part of the project, the facility health committees in 14 sub-districts and health facilities in the two districts would be strengthened to use the scorecard to help them develop action plans.
“We want to further use these action plans to influence the budget and plans of the local district assemblies in Talensi and Nabdam as well as engage the private sector actors.
“We want to create an enabling environment and local dialogue around increasing financing for maternal health service delivery,” Mr Kariama added.
A joint security made up of military, police, and immigration officers have arrested a suspected Boko Haram fighter in the Upper East Region of Ghana.
According to a Joynews report, the suspect, identified as Hassan Hussein, was traced by the joint security force to his hideout in the region’s capital; Bolgatanga where he was arrested on Sunday, October 30, 2022.
Preliminary investigations reveal that; the suspect has links with Nigerian Jihadist group; Boko Haram. Security sources say the suspect was found with a wound suspected to be from a gunshot.
The report also indicated that the suspect’s arrest comes after an earlier arrest of two individuals by immigration personnel stationed around Nasia barrier in the Mamprusi West Municipality of the North East Region, had mentioned Hassan Hussein as their leader.
Police have since begun investigations whereas the other two suspects have been asked to be brought to Accra for further investigations.
The Builsa Traditional Council in the Builsa North Municipality of the Upper East Region, has banned all forms of post Basic Education Certificate Examination(BECE) jamborees and get-together in the area.
The Council has explained that the decision was intended to “avoid the many bad incidences that characterize these programmes, some of which include sexual activities that lead to teenage pregnancies, violent fights and injuries, theft and drug or substance abuse among others.
“I wish to state unequivocally that there shall be no holding of get-togethers and jams within the Buluk Traditional Area this year 2022 or any after-party,” the Sandem Nab Azagsuk Azantilow, Paramount Chief of the area, said in a signed statement copied the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sandema.
Nab Azantilow, who is the President of the Council, called on Management of the Ghana Education Service (GES) in the Traditional Area to draw the attention of all Head Teachers of Basic Schools to the directive.
“I also call on drinking spot operators to desist from attempting to carry out the activity in any form or shape they may intend to brand it, as this would not be tolerated within the Builsa Traditional Area any more.
“It is my firm belief that together we all help keep safe our lovely young pupils from the danger that these events bring,” the Paramount Chief said.
Nab Azantilow on behalf of the Chiefs and people of Buluk, wished the candidates success in the just ended BECE, saying “It is our fervent hope and prayers that you would make yourselves, your parents and teachers and the Council proud, and that your hard work would pay off.”
In a related development, the Rural Initiative for Self-Empowerment- Ghana (RISE-Ghana), a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in a statement copied to the GNA, commended the Builsa Traditional Council for the initiative.
The statement, signed by its Executive Director, Mr Awal Ahmed Kariama said, the practice of organizing post-exam jamboree and parties had become an avenue for various forms of abuses including sexual exploitation, which needed proactive measures across all facets of society.
The NGO, a member of the Upper East Regional Child Protection Network and the Alliance for Sexual and Reproductive Health, said the initiative by the Council was a “step worthy of praise and emulation.”
It said the action by the Builsa Council was in line with Ghana’s Children’s Act 560 and the United Nations Conventions on the Right of the Child, which morally and legally obligated all stakeholders to “promote the best interest of the child” in all matters concerning children.
RISE-Ghana said “It is our hope that, other Traditional Councils and mandated stakeholders will not only give the needed support but emulate such an innovative gesture.”
Thieves have allegedly robbed a Women’s group in Woredaa, a suburb of Zanlerigu community in the Nabdam District of the Upper East Region, of a solar panel pump controller they used for irrigation farming.
The alleged thieves forcefully broke the padlock of the iron fence to the garden and took away the solar pump controller and wires that were connected to the solar panel of the mechanized borehole.
The pump controller is a component of the solar water pump system that adjusts the pump system parameters to meet user needs and shield the pump system.
Mrs Modester Azumah, the leader of the group, said the group members were saddened by the event as the rains were subsiding and they would be unable to engage in irrigation farming would adversely affect their livelihood.
“I see myself and my colleagues as the saddest people at this moment, we are so devastated, most of us had nothing to do before we were engaged in dry season farming, through which we get nutritious vegetables and earn income to support our families, but look at what just happened, we are stranded and hopeless,” she stated.
“We will really suffer if we do not get immediate help to continue farming, and only God knows what will become of us then, therefore we are appealing for help from benevolent organisations so that we can have something to depend on,” she added.
Mrs Yenpoka Zure, a member of the group, said any effect on them would trickle down to those they fed as the livelihoods of their families were also dependent on their irrigation farming.
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“Women are such that whatever we get no matter how little it is, gets to the kitchen to prepare food for our children, and so it affects us directly as irrigation farmers and extends to our children and some of our unemployed husbands who depend in one way or the other on us,” she lamented.
“I am surprised, what sort of thieves are these without mercy on their mothers like us, how much would they sell it to benefit them”, she quizzed.
The irrigation project, which donated the equipment to the women, is being funded by Mezure, a German organization and implemented by the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Catholic Diocese Development Organisation (NABOCADO).
It is aimed at empowering women and serving as a source of livelihood for them to support their families.
Some fish farmersand institutions in the Upper East Region are sustainably increasing fish production and contributing to the national fish stock for food and nutritional security.
The government, under its Aquaculture for Food and Jobs programme, has empowered some youth groups and institutions in the region including the Navrongo Central Prison and the Navrongo Youth Farmers Brigade in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality to venture into pond and cage fish farming.
Apart from providing them with technical knowledge and expertise, the government, through the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture, also supported them with fish feed, fingerlings and holding facilities.
This aimed to sustainably increase fish production in the region, created employment and helped reduce poverty among the youth and contributed to the country’s drive to achieve food and nutritional security.
Mr Francis Adjei, the Upper East Regional Director of Fisheries Commission, who said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Bolgatanga noted that catfish and tilapia were being cultivated.
At the Navrongo Central Prison, under the pond fish farming, two cages were provided with 24,000 fingerlings and 274 bags of fish feed were supplied and they recorded two harvests and restocked the cages with new fingerlings.
“They have harvested two times and were yet to harvest the third time, although the first-time stocking was high, that is, 12,000 per cage which resulted in mortalities, the harvest was over 600 kilogrammes while the second harvest was 1,460 kilogrammes.
Mr Adjei noted that the Navrongo Youth Farmers Brigade, were also supported with 11,000 tilapia fingerlings and 274 bags of fish feed were supplied to them, which provided jobs to them and increased their income levels.
Apart from that, the Commission had also restocked the capture fisheries including the dams and other water bodies in the region and collaborated with stakeholders including the Irrigation Company of Upper Region, Ghana Police Service, chiefs, and farmers to ensure safety.
The Regional Director explained that the Directorate had a demonstration fishpond for providing technical and practical training on fish farming to students and youth and the move had motivated about 20 people to venture into backyard fishing farming.
“Over 50,000 catfish have been stocked in these backyard fish farming which is tank and tarpaulin fish farming and some people have harvested already, with the first one having about 500 kilogrammes and the second one 250 kilogrammes,” he added.
Mr Adjei explained that the excessive cost of fingerlings and fish feed had been identified as two critical challenges confronting fish production in the region and the government was working to address them to encourage more youth into the sector through the setting up of hatcheries in the Northern enclave.
He said currently the government was renovating the fish hatcheries at Gowrie, near the Vea Dam in the Bongo District, adding “when that is finished, we will be able to supply over one million fingerlings annually to fish farmers in the Northern enclave.
“Because currently the farmers travel down south to purchase the fingerlings and by the time, they get here about 70 to 80 per cent are dead and so before the hatchery is ready for use the Commission uses its vehicle to transport the fingerlings from the South to the farmers which have reduced the mortality rate to about two per cent,”.
Mr Adjei encouraged the youth to venture into backyard fish farming and noted that the Commission had been able to identify a private entrepreneur who had established a fish feed production company in Bolgatanga and would soon begin to supply feed to the Northern sector.
The Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG), has inaugurated a 43,000 euros psychiatric hospital in Bolgatanga, capital of the Upper East Region to provide mental health care for patients in the 15 municipalities and districts.
It is the first of its kind in the region.
The facility which has come as a saviour to the region would help curtail the inconvenience and financial burden families of mental health patients bore in transporting patients to the southern parts of the country to seek treatment.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony in Bolgatanga on Monday, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the PCG, Rt Rev. Prof. Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante, explained that the facility was in response to government’s call to complement its effort in expanding health delivery services in the country.
He stated that the PCG has been the third major contributor to the development in health delivery, aside government and the Catholic Church.
“The dedication of this mental health facility is in line with the church’s readiness to support government expand and improve service deliveries in all parts of the country and this time mental health services,” the moderator stressed.
Rt Rev. Prof. Mante indicated that the county’s mental health policy made it clear that good mental health contributes positively to physical health, family life, education, social participation and economic development.
The moderator said the church had built over 59 health services registered under the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) in the 16 regions of the country.
He indicated that the PCG established the first mission healthcentre in the then Gold Coast, in 1885 at Aburi in the Eastern Region, stressing that, “since then the church has expanded to other countries including Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Nigeria”
“While establishing hospitals, the church saw the need to also deliver Primary Healthcare Services (PHC) in rural areas. In collaboration with government, the first PHC programme was started at Asante Akyem and later on extended to Dormaa, Bolgatanga, Bawku, Salaga, Afram Plains, Sandema, Tamale and Enchi,” he stressed.
The Moderator noted that the PCG has also contributed to education by providing over 2,500 basic schools, 34 senior high schools, five colleges of education, two private chartered universities.
It also includes several community based rehabilitation centres, seven agricultural stations, relief services, four vocational schools, five lay training centres and water projects.
He stated that the Upper East, North East and Upper West regions are hosts to the largest number of these social intervention programmes.
He added that the church would monitor the growth of the mental health facility in region.
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Bolgatanga, Mr Rex Asanga, who represented the Regional Minister, Stephen Yakubu lauded the efforts of the PCG for initiating considerable number of social intervention programmes and projects in the region which, he noted, had contributed significantly to improving the lives of the people in the area.
For many, Paga, the capital of the Kassena-Nankana West District of theUpper East Region is known as a tourist destination in Ghana because it is blessed with friendly Crocodiles with ancestral connection.
But, the history of the people Paga, Ghana and Africa cannot be told in total without the Pikworo Slave Camp at Nania community, about three kilomtres West of Paga.
Pikworo, in the Kassem dialect means a place of rocks and Nania means a place of cattle. The names depicted the abundance of rocks in a very thick forest in the area around the 1700s.
The Pikworo Slave Camp was founded in 1704 as a transit centre, where slaves were kept in shackles, auctioned and later resold in the Salaga Slave Market after trekking about 150kilometres to the South.
They were then moved onto the Coast for shipment to French, English and Dutch slave traders.
History
History has it that Pikworo was a thick forest with rocks until one day in the 16th century, a man named Baggaw, came from nowhere and asked the natives of the community for a place to settle.
The community members, after several trials to ascertain the origin of the man who kept on changing his identity and lying to them, gave him the name, “Daggaw” which in Kassem simply means, “bushman”, to depict that the man came from the bush.
The natives also accepted him for who he was because they thought that the man was running away from danger due to the volatile nature at the time with slave trading at the peak in Burkina Faso and Mali.
In that era lands were given out for free, so the natives gave Daggaw a piece of land to settle and farm and treated him like a brother and friend but never knew he had other intentions.
After settling well into the community, Daggaw, who could speak multiple languages developed a plan by visiting the houses of the community, convincing the households that he had a link at the Coast with the Whites that he could link their young energetic sons and daughters to travel and work with the Whites to enable earn well and come back to take good care of their families.
He used items like mirrors, hard drinks, gun powder, salt and things that were not common in the community at the time just to convince them and out of ignorance, they bought into his words and handed over their energetic sons and daughters to him.
Holding place
These people were camped at Pikworo, which eventually became a holding place for slaves. There was no shelter and they were chained and shackled against trees and had their freedom curtailed.
The slaves would trek several kilometres from Nania to the Salaga Slave market in the Savannah Region and proceeded to Asin-Manso and to the Elmina Castle to be transported to Europe via ship.
When the community realised that Daggaw was deceiving them, they rose against him, and perceiving the threat, he decided to invite his two friends, Samori Ture and Babatu from Burkina Faso and Mali respectively who were experts in slave trading in their countries.
They recruited people and armed them with weapons to forcefully capture the people.
Features
The reason for using the place as a camp was that the rocks provided certain basic things for the slave traders such as spring water which was used for drinking and cooking.
The slaves were made to carve bowl-like holes in the rocks to serve as bowls for food to be served for them, grinding stones for the grinding of flour and other items to prepare food were also created by the slaves on the direction of their slave master.
Some rocks in the area generated different sounds when hit with stones and the rocks were used to provide source of entertainment in the evening for the slaves to relieve them of the torture experienced during the day.
Punishment rock and cemetery
Some rocks served as meeting places, where the slaves met every morning and evening for briefings from their masters. The highest rock point served as a watch tower against slave raiders.
Slaves who tried to escape or disobeyed their masters were made to sit on a rock called, “the punishment rock” with their hands tied at the back, legs chained against the rock and made to watch the sun from sunrise to sunset. Some became blind in the process.
Those who could not withstand the punishment died and were buried in the cemetery created in the area in local and traditionally made tombs.
According to Mr Eric Kandwe, a Tourist Tour Guard at the Pikworo Slave Camp, slave trade in the area was abolished in 1762 when Samori Ture and Babatu were killed by the Paramount Chief of Sandema in the Builsa Municipality, when they attempted to capture some energetic young people as slaves, but the Daggaw was able to escape and until date, no one knows what happened to him.
Redevelopment
Despite the huge tourism potentials that could create jobs and rake in revenue for the government, not much has been done over the years to develop the area to attract the needed tourists.
Mr Henry Yeledour, the Upper East Regional Director, Ghana Tourism Authority, on the occasion of the World Tourism Day, told the Ghana News Agency that the Pikworo Slave Camp was one of the most attractive tourist sites in the country.
He said it was regrettable that it had been left underdeveloped over the years to take advantage of the proximity of the border to attract tourist.
However, he said, government had constructed a modern administration block and waiting area at the Pikworo Slave Camp and was in the process of constructing washrooms, summer huts and a peripheral wall as part of enhancement processes.
He said roads leading to the Pikworo Slave Camp and other tourist sites in the area such as the Zenga Crocodile pond were deplorable and called on stakeholders to invest strategically to develop domestic tourism.
More than one million network subscribers will have their unregistered SIM cards deactivated after September 30, 2022, as they are without a Ghana card, the
sole identification document for the ongoing SIM registration exercise.
The Independent Ghana has arrived at this conclusion following careful analysis of statements by relevant stakeholders in the communication sector who are to
ensure the smooth running of the SIM registration exercise.
The institutions involved in this analysis are the National Identification Authority (NIA), the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, and the National Communications Authority (NCA).
The NIA is responsible for the issuance of the Ghana card and, according to the authority, it will not be able to issue all the Ghana cards needed to enable network subscribers to register their SIM cards.
On September 9, 2022, the Director of Corporate Affairs at the NIA, Dr Abudu Abdul Ganiyu, told JoyNews that NIA has issued 15,859,251 Ghana cards and is yet to print 528,360 cards, as well as issue 763,877 cards. In total, 1,292,237 Ghana cards are yet to be received.
A week after his comment, the Executive Secretary of the Authority, Professor Kenneth Agyeman Attafuah, while addressing the press on the provision of Ghana cards ahead of the September 30th deadline, said “we cannot do that.” “There is no way that the NIA can register those people. It is technically, physically impossible. We had said way back in March that it was impossible. I have said it is like expecting a maiden to make a baby every three months,” he said.
Professor Kenneth Agyeman Attafuah explained that the NIA will not be able to provide all eligible Ghanaians with their Ghana cards owing to a lack of officers at its registration centres. “Today, there is only one office in a district. At the 200 registration centres, you may have about 16 NIA officials serving the people.
Today, there is only one office per district, and there are four people in that district office. The maximum is five at the regional offices. We augment the staff
numbers with national service personnel,” he said.
Weeks before the NIA made this revelation, the Ministry of Communications and Digitalization for the second time extended the SIM card registration
deadline from July 31 to September 30.
The exercise was extended because of challenges involved in the issuance of the Ghana card, Communications Minister Ursula Owusu-Ekuful admitted on July
31, 2022, in a press briefing. Days after the extension, it emerged that the number of people who trooped to the registration centres to register their SIM cards
had plummeted.
According to figures from the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, the number of subscribers re-registering their SIM cards fell to 5,861 on August 19, 2022, from about 235,000 recorded on July 31, 2022, when the extension was announced. This represented a 98% decline. The data also showed that by August 1, 2022, the number of registrations fell to 62,715, compared with the 235,460 recorded on July 28, 2022.
The trend continued until it dropped further to 5,861 by August 19th, 2022. Despite the decline in numbers and the NIA’s inability to provide all Ghana Cards, the NCA and the Communications Ministry have made no move to extend the registration deadline to ensure the affected Ghanaians are not disadvantaged.
Even though the NCA has been dragged to court, the Authority is yet to rescind its decision and provide the NIA more time to provide citizens with their Ghana
cards. Galamsey: 12 excavators seized; one arrested in Ashanti region Effects of blocked SIM cards on the economy should the NCA block SIM cards after September 30, as stated earlier, the government risks losing some of the taxes it generates from citizens who make use of voice and data services.
A communication service tax of 5% is levied on charges payable by both individual and corporate users of electronic communication services (ECS) provided by
service providers other than private electronic communication services.
Government will lose a large sum of money it would have generated from network service providers through the over one million network subscribers who have not registered their SIM cards. Also, network service providers will lose subscribers, thereby reducing their revenue. The assertion is that a number of Ghanaians yet to retrieve their Ghana cards engage in mobile money transactions. Government is able to generate revenue through its electronic transaction levy (e-levy) of 1.5% on mobile money transactions above the GHS100 threshold.
The revenue generated from this tax will decline as over one million network subscribers will be without an active SIM card.
Interior Minister Ambrose Dery has advised residents in Bawku, in the Upper East Region, to aim at embracing peace in order for the curfew imposed on them by the government to be raised.
According to him, the existing state of lawlessness and disorder in the region is detrimental to the development of the area and the country as a whole.
“If you give us peace, we will see how we will review the curfew in the next few weeks. But if you tell us the only thing you know is war, we will increase it. “I am not sure, that is what you want,” he said.
The Interior Minister’s remarks follow appeals for the government to lift the aged curfew that has been imposed on the community.
On Wednesday, November 24, 2021, the Interior Ministry imposed a 14-hour curfew on the Bawku Municipality, where inhabitants remained indoors from 4:00pm to 6:00am.
Also, individuals found to be in possession of a weapon or ammunition within the municipality were to be detained and prosecuted. However, on Monday, December 27, 2021, the township witnessed the loss of lives and the destruction of property as a result of gunshots in the area. In January this year, four people
were shot dead, and eight others sustained injuries during renewed clashes between Kusasis and Mamprusis in Bawku.
This went on despite a curfew imposed by the Interior Ministry. Due to the insurgence, the Minister for the Interior by Executive Instrument renewed the
curfew hours imposed on Bawku Municipality and its environs from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am, which took effect Monday, September 26, 2022.
A former Principal, St John Bosco College of Education (COE) in Navrongo in the Upper East Region, Mr Alfred Ndago, says teachers need assistance to overcome challenges of the new education curriculum to ensure effective teaching and learning.
“The new curriculum is very good for the basic, secondary or technical schools, but the fact that there is not much preparation for the teachers to upgrade quickly to fit into the transitional period needs to be critically looked at,” he said
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Bolgatanga, Mr Ndago said the upgrading of training colleges to the tertiary level was laudable, but the teachers needed to be assisted to overcome the challenges of the new system.
He said before the transition, a teacher on study leave could be replaced by a National service person but with the current status of the colleges, a National service person would be out of place to assist in the absence of the teacher.
“Many teachers are now attending courses in the various universities to upgrade in order to fit themselves in the new institutions and that comes with disruption of attention for teaching and learning”, he added.
Mr Moses Bampil Badeabo, a tutor at the Gbewaa College of Education in Pusiga in the Upper East Region, said the upgrade had reduced the exodus of teachers in search for degrees as teacher trainees previously with diploma went almost out of place since the certificate became inadequate and many were leaving to study in the universities for degrees.
He said teachers leaving the classroom with or without study leave created huge teacher absenteeism.
Mr Badeabo said if curriculum implementers applied themselves to how the courses were designed, the objectives, indicators, and outcomes expected, and if teachers did professional work they would bring out the best in the pupils.
He said the component of training using the new curriculum methods of impacting knowledge was one of the best but the implementation of any policy was bound to have challenges and trainers of teacher trainees had the duty to psyche them well to apply to the changes and be committed to them.
He said a successful implementation of the new curricular was expected to build students’ competence, enhance their ability to communicate very well after completion of their basic education and that made it a good shift away from the former British system where everything was based on grammar.
He said the COEs were making all the demands because the work load and project work structure had changed.
Also, classroom infrastructure had reduced and could not accommodate additional intake since four-year groups were still staying with other year groups.
“ There is no policy implementation without challenges and I believe all these will come to pass since we have already seen efforts of government in putting up needed infrastructure in almost all the 46 teacher training colleges and I hope that when they are completed, accommodation issues will be resolved”, he said.
On Tuesday, August 16, 2022, three people were shot dead close to the entrance of the Bawku Senior High School. Â They were returning from Bolgatanga in a commercial vehicle.
The deceased are; Fatawu Ibrahim, Bunyaminu Adam and Ibrahim Abdulai.
Even though the cause of the killing is yet to be ascertained, it has been linked to the ethnic disturbances in Bawku.
The driver of the vehicle who sustained a gunshot wound in the leg together with one passenger managed to flee to for their lives.
A strong performance at numerous concerts and festivals in Ghana and throughout the world over the past few weeks suggests that Ghanaian musicians are having a great time.
In addition to demonstrating that our music and performances are appreciated, it also sets the stage for a positive future for the Ghanaian arts scene, its practitioners, and important stakeholders.
The enterprising Ghanaian singer, songwriter and performer from the Upper East Region gave a spirited performance when she mounted the Kentefugu Fest stage on Saturday 7th August 2022 at the Kwaku Summer Festival, which took place at the Nelson Mandela Park.
Lamisi received a standing ovation during her performance on two occasions with the audience continually screaming her name, a signal of approval. At a point, she had to pause her performance to engage with the audience and thank them for such a great reception.
As if that was not enough, just after announcing the last song of her performance, the audience started screaming for more. With approval from the organisers, she had to stay on for a few more minutes to wrap her performance with the audience applauding her.
The Kwaku Summer Festival is a grand celebration of cultural diversity and identity in the Zuidoost district, with culture, sports and food as the most important forms of expression and where broad (social) participation and the Surinamese origins are the most important pillars.
Kwaku Summer Festival is one of the larger festivals in the Netherlands and one of the largest events in Amsterdam, attracting around 300,000 visitors every year. The festival brings cultures together and provides a series of beautiful performances, dance, film, music and of course football.
Unknown gunmen have shot and killed three people in the Upper East Regiontown of Bawkuon Tuesday afternoon, August 16, 2022.
The three victims, who were all men, were shot as they rode in a car from Bolga to Bawku.
According to reports, the incident took place at about 2:00 pm.
A family member (name withheld) of the victims who confirmed the incident to Graphic Online, noted that the three were shot on the highway near the Bawku Senior High School.
He gave their names as Muniyamimu Ashimu, 47; Fatawu Ibrahim, 37 and Mmam Abduali Ibrahim, 43.
One of them, the family member said, had a court case in Bolga and that they were returning home from the hearing that they were shot.
The police have confirmed the shooting incident but declined to give details.
Guinea fowl hawkers at the Zebilla barrier in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region have decried low patronage of their wares in recent times.
Although guinea fowls from Zebilla have been tagged as the most “preferred and delicious,†these hawkers lamented in separate interviews with the Ghanaian Times that they sold little to nothing in a day in the past months and that was very disturbing as it was their only source of livelihood.
The paper in its visit to the place last Saturday, around 1:30pm, observed that these hawkers sat idly behind their wares waiting for customers, passers-by, and vehicles to quickly attend to.
Hawked by women, these guinea fowls were displayed openly in pans and wooden trays to attract patrons.
These hawkers were also spotted calling out to passers-by and rushing to vehicles to attract customers for patronage.
The fowls which were in half and full were sold between GH¢30 and GH¢80 either roasted or fried. They came with red powdered pepper and were sold with fried yam.
Linda Mbii who said she had not sold anything yet at the time the Ghanaian Times visited said sales had been that way for some time.
She indicated that the prices of the guinea fowl ranged from GH¢30 to about GH¢70 and that the prices had risen as a result of the constant hikes in petroleum products and their attendant impact on commodity prices.
Mrs. Mbii said that was the only business she had operated for the past 20 years and was her only source of income.
She explained that Zebilla was the hub for guinea fowl, so people from far and near came to buy in bulk for retailing and wholesaling.
Mrs Mbii called on all who used the barrier to patronise them to sustain their livelihood.
Ms Portia Hamdiya, another hawker, similarly decried the recent fall in the patronage of their meat.
She noted that she could make sales of more than GH¢500 in a day but that was not the case now, as she had not made up to GH¢200 at the time of the interview.
Ms. Hamdiya stated that guinea fowls are ordinarily sold because of their nutritional benefits but they were almost at a loss because of the high cost of living being experienced currently in the country.
She called for a cut in the prices of commodities to help make things affordable for all.
For her part, Aisha Aboku said she was hopeful that patronage would pick up and get better.
She affirmed that she also sold her fowls at the same prices (between GH¢30GH¢70)and believed she was going to make more sales before end of day.
Farmers in Bolgatanga, in the Upper East Region, have bemoaned the lack of rain for some weeks now.
At the moment, the lack of rain is causing the majority of the crops to wither. The farmers are concerned that their harvests might eventually fail if the scenario persisted.
Some of them spoke to GhanaWeb’s Upper East Regional Correspondent, Sarah Dubure.
Mr. Atuah lamented that the lack of rain has slowed the growth of their crops, with some on the point of extinction.
He explained that under typical conditions, groundnut plants should have reached the blooming stage by now, but there are no visible signs of flowering.
“Now we are expecting that the groundnuts would be at the flowering stage, but because there is no rain, they are not flowering and some of them are even dying,” He said.
Mr Atuah further stated that the situation was not different with millet and corn.
“Some of the corn are also dying, and millet are also dying. Even now, with millet, they are supposed to grow, but because the rain has stopped, they are not doing well, so we don’t know what will happen,” He pointed.
Another farmer, Mr. Aniah Ayariga, pointed out that the situation was disturbing because they were worried about their crops and are desperately waiting for the rains to fall.
” The millet (first crop always planted and harvested)was doing well, but when the rain stopped for a long time, it did not produce the millet seeds again. You know, when it is time for them to produce the millet and the rain delays, they don’t produce again. They will just be there like that,” he reiterated.
Mr. Moses Abindau bemoaned the fact that, contrary to the norm, there had been little rain in July this year.
“We are in the seventh month and yet, the rains are not falling. Withthout rain, our crops will not do well. This is the time for us to get more rain in terms of farming.”
He added that this year’s food scarcity was ultimately caused by a similar circumstance to previous year’s.
He prayed that rain would fall so that the Region’s food situation would look better than it has in recent years and in years to come.
Eleven pupils of the Paga E/A primary school in the Kassena-Nankana West District in the Upper East region, have been hospitalised after the walls of two classrooms collapsed on them, GhanawEb’s Upper East Correspondent Senyalah Castro reports.
A Monday (March 21) afternoon rainstorm, which swept through the town, ripped off the roofs of buildings and schools in the town.
The school’s authority said the wounded pupils were rushed to the Paga District hospital for medical attention.
The headmaster of the school, Addiyire Peter Ajegiwe, told GhanaWeb the pupils sustained injuries on their legs, hands, and heads, adding no life was lost.
“This afternoon, a rainstorm hit Paga causing a lot of havoc and 11 of our pupils got wounded as a result of the rainstorm. When the rain was falling, they [pupils] were all in their various classrooms but the pupils of the basic 3 classrooms were unfortunate as the walls collapsed and fell on some of the pupils. Some of them got seriously wounded and we had to take them to the Paga hospital for treatment.”
“The situation is alarming and we don’t know what to do. It’s only through God’s intervention that these children are safe.”
Collapsed school building
Addiyire bemoaned that the failure on the part of local authorities to renovate the dilapidated school building despite knowing its condition is to blame for the disaster.
He said the school management had written severally to the district Assembly since 2017 informing it of the worsening condition of the school building but all efforts did not yield any positive response.
Addiyire pointed out that the disaster is an indication of how the local authority was failing in its duties, stressing the disaster could have been prevented if authorities had taken earlier steps to address it.
“It’s sad. When I took over this school in 2014, I wrote letter upon letters to the district assembly making several appeals for them to come and renovate this school because it is just at a collapsing stage. But there was no response.”
Addiyire fears academic activities in the school will be affected if authorities are not quick in their response to address the challenge brought by the disaster.
He was particularly worried about how the school will operate when the rainy season sets in.
The rainstorm also damaged the roof of the Paga E/A Junior High School building. The roof of the form 1 classroom has been ripped off.
The Paga central mosque also had its roof completely peeled off in the storm.
Several stores in the Paga market have also been damaged by the Monday afternoon storm.
One person is confirmed dead while 18 others have been arrested after sporadic shooting at Bawku in the Upper East Region, on Monday, March 14, 2022.
The deceased, Mohammed Bole, 81, was returning from Pusiga to Bawku on his horse when he was shot and killed by an unknown assailant at Guzasi.
According to the Bawku Municipal Police Commander, Superintendent of Police, Simon Akabati, when the police personnel arrived at the scene, the deceased had been shot multiple times, with sporadic shooting within the area.
He said the 18 persons were in police custody in connection to the shooting and would be arraigned before court, while investigations into the cause of the killing continues. Security personnel were deployed to the scene to maintain law and order and calm has since been restored.
Since November 2021, the Bawku Municipality and its environs had experienced violent chieftaincy disputes resulting in the killing and injuring of many. The conflict is as a result of the performance of the funeral of a chief of the traditional area, who died more than 41 years ago.
The funeral, if performed, would pave the way for the enskinment of another chief. Currently, a curfew is in place from 2000 hours to 0500 hours and a ban on motorbike riding and wearing of smock within the Bawku Township and its environs.
Meanwhile, the Government, through the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, in an earlier statement, said the chieftaincy disagreement was settled by the Supreme Court in 2003 and urged all parties to respect the ruling.
More than 40 people have been killed, so far, with several injured since the reoccurrence of the impasse in November.
Upper East Regional Minister, Stephen Yakubu has stated that no Ghanaian was attacked in the recent terrorist attack that happened in Burkina Faso close to the Pusiga district in the Upper East region.
The regional minister, who was reported to have said this by Asaase Radio, said that the terrorist attack was not targeted at the Ghanaian community as has been reported by the media.
According to Stephen Yakubu, the terrorist attack happened in an illegal mining site in Burkina Faso and all Ghanaians who were working there managed to escape and run back home.
“What happened about three days ago was actually something that happened in Burkina Faso but very close to the border in the Pusiga District. It is a galamsey site … and the information we have is that these jihadists stormed the place and killed some security men there who are not Ghanaians. Our boys and wives that are working there fled and came home,†he was quoted by asaaseradio.com.
Stephen Yakubu reiterated that persons who managed to escape the jihadists attack to Ghana were not refugees but Ghanaian citizens.
“There were about six of them with seven children. These people were not refugees, they were not Burkinabes. They were citizens who had run back to the country,†he said.
The regional minister assured that government would put in measures to ensure that terrorist attacks do not reach the borders of Ghana.Â
“The president is very aware of what is happening in the region and has been helping the region in terms of logistics to make sure that our borders are very secure,†he said.
Young girls in the Upper East Region have been empowered through soccer to stand for their rights and amplify efforts towards ending Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV).
This is the second year running the tournament has been organized and it was part of the commemoration of the 16 days of Activism against SGBV under the ENOUGH! Project with support from Oxfam Ghana, Women in Law and Development in Africa and sponsored by the European Union(EU).
Sexual and Gender-Based Violence has been one of the major factors affecting the development of youth especially in the Region where statistics available at the regional office of the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit indicate that 65 and five cases of defilement were recorded in 2020 and the first quarter of 2021.
Also, data from the Ghana Health Service has also revealed that the region recorded 6,533 cases of teenage pregnancy in 2020 and 5,534 teenage pregnancies within the first 10 months of 2021.
Mr Awal Ahmed Kariama, Executive Director of RISE-Ghana, explained that the goal of the ENOUGH! project is to empower men, women, girls, and boys to take positive action to end SGBV in Ghana and other African countries.
He said, this among other forms of violence adversely affected young girls, hence, the Rural Initiatives for Self-Empowerment-Ghana (RISE-Ghana) to collaborate with the Regional Football Association to organize the football gala for female clubs in the region to drum home the need to end SGBV.
He said the incessant increase in cases of teenage pregnancies, rape, defilement, and assault among others had led to school drop-out rates and added that it was affecting the development of young people especially girls.
Mr Kariam said efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals would not yield positive results if stakeholders did not collectively work to end the menace and promote gender equality equity and empowerment.
“The gala is therefore meant to build the confidence of the young girls, provide them with the needed sexual and reproductive health education to enable them to make informed decisions regarding their sexual life and stand against abusesâ€. He stated.
Mr Salifu Shaibu Zida, Regional Chairman of the Football Association, noted that SGBV had no place in the footballing world and applauded the collaboration to employ football to fight the canker.
He admonished the girls to be disciplined and focus on their careers to succeed.
Mr Iddrisu Ahmed, Regional Director of the National Sports Authority(NSA) urged the girls to pass the knowledge acquired through the project to their colleagues to help end the phenomenon.
In all, eight female clubs across the region participated in the gala. They are Bolga All Stars Ladies (champions), Sumbrungu Ladies, Zono Ladies, Builsa Ladies, Sharp Arrows, Achula Princesses, Save the Frogs Ladies, and Zorko United Ladies.
The Upper East Regional Co-ordinating Council has banned the wearing of smocks in Bawku township with immediate effect.
In a press statement signed by Regional Minister Stephen Yakubu, the Council indicated that the decision was taken after consultation with the Upper East Regional Security Council (REGSEC).
The imposition according to the release seeks to address the use of smocks by “criminals or unscrupulous elements to hide arms and ammunitions and attack opponents or innocent civilians.â€
Residents in Bawku are therefore urged to take note of the directive to be enforced by Municipal Security Committee (MUSEC) and comply until further notice.
Individuals who fail to heed the directive the Council noted “will be dealt with accordingly.â€
Prices of foodstuffs such as rice, beans and maize have increased significantly across market centres in the Upper East Region in the first quarter of 2021.
According to traders at the Bolgatanga foodstuff market, prices of foodstuff have increased drastically because farmers prefer to sell them directly to middlemen to make more profit than selling it to the market women.
The traders say a bag of maize which sold at GH¢230 cedis a week ago is now selling at 270 cedis, a bag of Guinea Corn which was being sold for GH¢300 cedis is now selling at GH¢320 cedis while a bag of beans and gari which sold for GH¢500 cedis and GH¢550, however, remain unchanged.
A bag of beans that used to go for 450 Ghana cedis is now selling at GH¢700 Ghana cedis. Soya beans are selling at 450 Ghana cedis instead of the usual GH¢300 Ghana cedis.
A bag of groundnuts depending on the size of the bag which used to go for GH¢120 and GH¢400 is now selling at GH¢250 and GH¢600 Ghana cedis.
The traders attributed the increasing cost of maize and guinea corn to the operation of a beer factory in neighbouring Burkina Faso whose middlemen come to the Bolgatanga market to buy maize and guinea corn to feed the factory.
Some market women at the Bolgatanga market gave further details about the prices of foodstuffs.
The market men and women advised farmers to consider restraining themselves from selling to people whose aim is to export which is contributing to the high cost of foodstuff prices which led to hardship.
The market men and women said the poor rainfall pattern coupled with the smuggling of fertilizer for the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative is likely to cause poor yield this year.
They appealed to the government to offer the Planting for Food and Jobs fertilizer directly to the farmers instead of dealing with agents.
Currently, the price of 50kg fertilizer in the open market in the Upper East region ranges between GH¢200 and GH¢220 cedis. The Planting for Food and Jobs fertilizer is currently in short supply.
Traffic lights are intended to control accidents, but there is rather unfortunate incidents of accidents at traffic light intersections in the Upper East Region.
In an exclusive interview with Ghanaweb’s Upper East Regional correspondent, Sarah Dubure, the Upper East Regional Head of National Road Safety Commission, Mr. Dennis Yeribu, attributed the cause of the phenomenon to human error, which he categorized into three.
He mentioned the categories as road users who jump traffic lights, those that are inconsiderate of other road users, and those who use the road wrongly.
Mr. Yeribu emphasized that the primary cause of the accidents was the jumping of traffic lights by recalcitrant road users who felt their movement would not be interrupted by those who were in motion because the traffic light had turned green and given them the go-ahead to move.
The Road Safety Officer noted, that over the past few weeks, they recorded cases of recalcitrant road users who jumped red traffic lights and bumped into those who were given the green light to move, resulting in some injuries.
He further noted, that three kinds of collisions occurred at the traffic light intersections.
He explained them as pedestrian hit where motorists collided with pedestrians, vehicle to vehicle collisions, and property damage, where a vehicle ran into a property, a traffic light, or ab infrastructure.
Mr. Yeribu also expressed worry over reckless riding by motorists at the traffic intersections.
“We have the situation where a lot of motorists, once it (traffic light) gets to the green, they want to speed up, so that the number does not get them at the stop side, and we want to admonish the motorists to stop that because it can cause a lot of accidents”. He observed.
He cautioned that in other to avoid situations like that, it was very important for drivers and motorists to go below a speed of 30km per hour, at the intersections.
This he noted, would help drivers and motorists to stop on time in the event of looming hazard, as their thinking and stopping distance would be accurate.
Mr. Yeribu also observed that another phenomenon was the knocking down of pedestrians by motorbikes at the intersections.
He noted that in order to ensure the safety of pedestrians, they should use the demarcated section for them, where there are two thin lines ahead of a thicker one.
He advised that anytime the pedestrian traffic light turned green, they should briskly cross the road, while listening and looking; they should look left, right and left again while the ‘green man’ was still on.
Mr. Yeribu also advised drivers and motorists to be patient and allow pedestrians to cross the road anytime the ‘red man’ turned red and the pedestrians were yet to finish crossing.
He also admonished pedestrians against the use of mobile phone while crossing the road.
The Road Safety Officer charged pedestrians to avoid wearing dark coloured clothes like, black, red and brown, but rather wear bright coloured clothes like white and yellow at night to make them visible to other road users.
He added that they could alternatively hold flashlights at night, if they did not have brought coloured clothes.
Mr Yeribu also cautioned cyclists against the act of riding their bicycles across the road. He noted that the best way was to dismount the bicycles and push them across the roads.
The Road Safety Officer cautioned children to desist from tying pullovers around their waists whiles riding bicycles, as they could easily get into the bicycle spokes and make them trip over.
He also kicked against the riding of bicycles by children at night.
Three persons are reported dead and at least 10 houses burnt at Kandiga and Doba communities, in the Kassena-Nankana West District and Kassena-Nankana Municipality of the Upper East Region, following renewed clashes over land.
The police Kassena-Nankana Municipal Police Command had so far arrested 11suspects, and retrieved one pump action gun, three single barrel guns and twelve live carriages, from them.
The Kassena-Nankana Municipal Police Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Francis Oppong Agyare, confirmed the story to the Ghanaian Times, here on Monday.
He said when the police received a distress call on Saturday dawn that some houses were in flames in the conflict communities, they alerted the Ghana National Fire Service.
DSP Agyare said normalcy had returned to the area, and people were going about their activities peacefully.
He said the Municipal Security Council (MUSEC) imposed curfew in the conflict areas since June, this year following land dispute.
DSP Agyare said “the MUSEC has been managing the situation until Sunday when a 23-year-old man was murdered on his way to his farm. The man is from Kandiga, but allied to the Doba Chief, so he was killed by people, believed to have come from Kandiga, which triggered the clash again. It subsequently turned into a conflict between some members of the Kandiga community, those who they think aligned themselves to the Doba Chief, were targetedâ€.
It would be recalled that in June this year, six people were reported killed and 12 houses torched after some residents from the Doba and Kantiga clashed over land intended for a police station project.
The police arrested 10persons in connection with the June violence, some guns and cartridges retrieved from suspects and they were put before court.
Dennis Yeribu, the Upper East Regional Director of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), has appealed to road users to help curb incidence of road crashes to save lives.
He said the surge in road accidents during festive seasons continued to be a disturbing phenomenon and appealed to road users to act responsibly to reduce the menace.
The NRSA head, who made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Bolgatanga, said: “It is our collective responsibility to stop road accidents so that as a road user, endeavour to arrive alive wherever you find yourself”.
He said NRSA had laid down some measures to reduce road crashes as the yuletide approached, including community outreaches to sensitize the public. The NRSA would also collaborate with the Ghana Police Service (GPS) and other key stakeholders to champion road safety in the region, he added.
On Community Outreach plans, he said the Authority would embark on road safety campaign dubbed “Arrive Alive” in some selected Municipal and District Assemblies (MDAs) in the Upper East Region.
He said officials from NRSA would educate pedestrians, motorists and tricycle operators on how to use the road safely without endangering others. He said the team would also distribute educative materials and play jingles crafted in local dialects to sensitize residents.
On Publicities, the Authority would embark on radio sensitization for the public on road safety protocols, which would target all categories of road users.
Provisional accident figures from NRSA in the Upper East Region indicate that 197 cases were recorded involving 334 vehicles with 66 deaths, 59 males and 7 females from January to November this year.
There were also 15 cases of Pedestrian knockdowns, 11 deaths and a total of 251 injuries.
For election-related incidences alone in December, two accidents cases were recorded with one death.
Confirmed results from the Electoral Commission (EC) indicates that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has won 14 parliamentary seats out of the 15 seats in the Upper East Region.
According to the EC the National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer, former President John Dramani Mahama, was ahead of the New Patriotic Party (NPP)flagbearer, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo.
Dr Dominic Akuritinga Ayine, the NDC incumbent Member of Parliament (MP)for Bolgatanga East, got 12,394 votes to beat the NPP candidate Mr Emmanuel Abugre Abole, who had 6,042.
Mr Sampson Tangombu Chiragia, the NDC parliamentary candidate for the Navrongo Central pulled 26,947to beat the Upper East Regional Minister, Madama Tangoba Abayage, who secured 15,821 votes.
Mr Cletus Apul Avoka, the NDC parliamentary candidate for the Zebilla constituency unseat the Upper East Deputy Regional Minister, Mr Frank Adongo Fuseine. MrAvoka secured 33,616 while his main contender got 15,997.
For the Builsa North and Builsa South Constituencies, Mr James Agalga and MrClement Apaak the incumbent NDC MPs retained their seats.
Mr Agalga secured 13,826 to beat the NPP parliamentary candidate, Abakasi Maurice James, who obtained 13,826. MrApaak got 7,451 to beat his main contender, MrGariba Danial Kwame, who secured 5,674 votes.
The seating MP for the Nabdam, MrMark Kurt Nawaanihad 10,842 votes to beat Mr Boniface Gambilla, the NPP parliamentary candidate, who got 7,924 votes.
Mr Mahama Ayariga, the seating MP for Bawku Central retained the seat with 25,490 votes, He to beat his opponent, Madam Gabiana Agbanwaa Bugri, the NPP parliamentary, who polled 23,125 votes.
The incumbent NDC MP for the Garu Constituency, Alalugah Albert Akuka, secured5,720 votes to beat his opponent, MrMusah Osman of the NPP, who got 9,344 votes
The NDC MP for the Pusiga, Madam Laadi Ayii Ayamba, retained her seat when she pulled 14, 929 while Mr Abdul-Karim ZanniDubiure of the NPP had 14,866 votes.
For the Bongo constituency, the NDC MP, Mr Edmond BawaAbambirehad 26,268 votes to beat the District Chief Executive for the area, Mr Peter Ayinbisa Ayamga,of the NPP, who secured 17,276 votes.
Mr Thomas Dalu, the NDC candidate for Chiana-Pagahad 21, 954 votes to beat the NPP candidate, who had 15, 540 votes.
The incumbent NDC MP for Bolgatanga Central, Mr Isaac Adongo, obtained 38,000 votes to defeat Rex Simeon Azar, who secured 22,000.
For the Binduri constituency the incumbent NDC candidate, Dr. Robert Baba Kuganab-lem, who got 14, 562 votes, lost to Mr Abdulai Abanga, who secured 15,540 votes. .
Out of 660,181 registered voters in the Upper East Region, a total of 5,947 voters will take part in the 2020 Special Voting on Tuesday, December 1.
They include the election officers, security agencies and the media practitioners who would be working on December 7.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Bolgatanga, Mr Worlanyo Mensah Tegah, the Deputy Regional Director of the Electoral Commission (EC) disclosed that the special voting would take place in all the 15 district offices of the Commission, however, Bolgatanga Central would be divided into two making the total voting centres for the special voting 16.
Breaking the statistics down, the Deputy Regional Director noted that Bolgatanga Central, which would have two polling stations for the special voting had 416 and 415 voters respectively while Navrongo Central had 622. A total of 739 would be voting in Bongo, 529 in Bawku Central, 157 in Binduri, 105 in Bolgatanga East, 393 in Builsa North, 156 in Builsa South, and 543 in Chiana-Paga.
The rest include: 106 in Garu, 565 in Zebilla, 167 in Tempane, 533 in Pusiga, 465 in Talensi and 36 in Nabdam.
Mr Tegah disclosed that 1,496 polling stations would be used on December 7, for the elections and the directorate had received all the election materials and added that the Commission was prepared to deliver on its mandate on the election days.
He disclosed that some election officials had already received training while a few more were undergoing orientations.
He said measures were in place to ensure that all the prescribed protocols to combat the spread of the coronavirus disease pandemic were strictly adhered to and added that COVID-19 ambassadors had also been trained in that regard.
Mr Tegah, therefore, urged the public to cooperate effectively with the election officials and the security agencies on the elections to ensure a peaceful and violence-free election.
He further warned the youth not to allow themselves to be used by politicians to foment trouble on the Election Day and added that the law would deal with any miscreants who tried to disrupt the conduct of the elections.
The Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr John Dramani Mahama, on Sunday arrived in the Upper East regional capital, Bolgatanga, to begin a three-day campaign tour of the region.
This follows his successful campaign tour of the Ashanti Region which ended on Sunday.
While in the Upper East Region, Mr Mahama will address members and supporters of the NDC in various constituencies. He will hold a number of community engagements and address durbars.
He will also highlight his plan to create jobs, implement Free Primary Healthcare, roll out Free Technical and Vocational Education and Training (Free T-VET) and state-sponsored National Apprenticeship Programme.
Mr Mahama will end his campaign tour of the Upper East Region on Tuesday.
The Paramount Chief of the Chiana Traditional Area, Pe Dituudini Adiana Ayagitam III has been elected President of the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs.
Pe Ayagitam takes over the affairs of the House for the next four years from the outgoing President, Naba Orlando Ayamga Awuni III, Paramount Chief of the Naaga traditional area.
Pe Ayagitam obtained 19 votes out of the total number of 28 members of the house to beat two other contestants, Nab Azugsuk Azantilow, Paramount Chief of the Sandema traditional area who secured six votes and Pe Oscar Batabi Tiyiamu II, Paramount Chief of Kayoro who obtained three votes.
The House also elected the paramount Chief of Mirigu, Naba Anonsona Anthony Abisa III as the Vice President. He obtained 18 votes to beat the contender, Naba Clifford Abagna Asobayire V of the Kologo traditional area who secured 10 votes.
Per the rules of the house, the outgoing and elected Presidents are automatic representatives to the National House of Chiefs.
Also, Navro Pio, Pe Dennis Aneakwoa Belinia Adda who represented the Kassena-Nankana zone for the election went unopposed as a representative to the National House of Chiefs.
Two other Chiefs, Naba Kosom Yelzoya Asaga II, Paramount Chief of Nangodi from the BONABOTO area and Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, Paramount Chief of Bawku from the Kusag area, were both elected as representatives to the National House of Chiefs.
Speaking to the media shortly after the election, the newly elected President, Pe Ayagitam III thanked his colleagues for the confidence reposed in him.
He pledged to work hand in hand with stakeholders to ensure that the building of the Regional House of Chiefs is renovated to befit the status of the paramount Chiefs.
He also promised to “restore the relevance of the House of Chiefs in the region and the country at largeâ€.
“My ultimate aim is to make sure that we are consulted as stated in the constitution in every governmental appointment so that we will not have the problem of complaining that the government has left us out. In the past, it has not been done. This time onwards, we will make sure that we are accorded the necessary allotment or consulted when it comes to decision-taking in the regionâ€, he said.
He pledged to work with government appointees and the Chieftaincy Ministry in combating conflicts, elevate some divisional Chiefs see to fill all vacant skins in the region.
The outgoing Vice President of the House, Naba Baba Salifu Atamale Lemyaarum, thanked members of the house for the show of leadership exhibited during the elections.
Naba Lemyaarum who described the election which was conducted by the Electoral Commission as “free and fair†asked the EC to replicate same in the coming general elections.
Relatives of late 48-year-old Abugri Sule of Bulpielisi in the Tempane District of the Upper East Region, are accusing the District Chief Executive for Pusiga- Zubeidu Abdulai of hiding and running away from the bereaved family after crushing the latter to death.
On November 20, 2019, the vehicle on which the District Chief Executive (DCE) was travelling in crushed the victim to death. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Basyonde clinic.
Outraged over what they described as the unethical, arrogant and slippery posture of the embattled DCE, after the gruesome death of its relative, the bereaved family, says it is unable to come to terms with the manner in which the suspect has completely stayed away from basic required tradition, describing it as uncultured.
Barely a year after the gruesome death of its relative, grieving family members are up against the teacher turned politician for arrogantly ignoring the family and dodging basic required traditional rites that comes with accidents related deaths.
An 80-year-old traumatized mother of the deceased in a sobbing mode told this outlet that “â?¦look at me. At this age, my breadwinner is killed and the suspect has not even bordered to visit his ‘mother’. She described her late son as a very hard working and a humbled fellow. She continued “Musah left behind widows and orphans. We know that he [referring to the DCE] can’t replace life, but tradition demands that he even come to meet the family for resolution”.
Fuming relatives of the late famer are accusing Mr Zubeiru Abdulai of not availing himself for the commencement of basic traditional rites required to spiritually cleans and wean the accident scene off future accidents.
“These are rites all persons of Northern extraction are familiar with. You don’t wait to be told. The TINDANAS {Custodians of the land] are saying that, it is only the suspect who can perform that ritual. But he has refused to avail himself. The family cannot perform that rites. We would have performed it, but that proposal is alien” said an outraged brother of the deceased.Â
The family added that calls on the embattled DISEC leader to replace the borrowed motor-bike that the decrease was crushed with at the time of the accident have equally fallen on death ears. “We have made it known to the DCE that the motor-bike that our late brother was crushed alongside with belongs to someone and even if he can replace that to the owner, but all that has been ignored”.Â
The DCE’s failure to properly mourn with the bereaved family, has sent the Builpielisi community into disbelieve, as many described the latter’s posture as unethical, arrogance and unacceptable.Â
The embattled DCE in an Interview with this outlet, admitted the incident, but claimed he is unaware the deceased left behind widows and orphans.
Meanwhile, a trustworthy police source disclosed to this outlet that the DCE is not availing himself for investigations.
 DSP Dan Yaro-the Garu District police Commander, however, told this reporter that investigations are still on-going. He wouldn’t give details, but asked for calm.
Mr Kwesi Amoako Atta, Minister of Roads and Highways has assured the people of the Upper East Region of new sets of traffic lights to reduce road traffic accidents in the Region.
He said all the malfunctioning ones in the Bolgatanga Municipality would also be fixed.
Mr Amoako Atta gave the assurance when he paid a working visit to the Region to tour major road construction sites including the Bolgatanga-Bawku-Pulmakum stretch of road, the Tamne Bridge, the Bongo-Balungu Bridge among others.
“We have selected several traffic lights in Bolgatanga, Bawku and Navrongo and we are mounting five traffic lights in Bolgatanga, three in Bawku and two in Navrongo,†the Minister said.
He disclosed that procurement for the traffic lights was almost completed, adding that, “I want to assure you that the Director for Urban Roads is pushing for it and they will be put in place pretty soon.â€
The only traffic lights in the entire Region located in Bolgatanga and Bawku Municipalities have broken down and none of the traffic lights in the Region is functioning after the only functioning set located in the Regional capital, Bolgatanga near the offices of the Ghana News Agency and the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) broke down several weeks ago.
The malfunctioning traffic lighting system in the major towns causes accidents, especially on market days.
Mr Amoako Atta said his outfit would ensure that the malfunctioning traffic lights in the Region were all restored before erecting new sets.
Madam Tangoba Abayage the Regional Minister who raised the concern about the malfunctioning traffic lights in the Region appealed to the Minister for swift intervention.
The Upper East Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Mr. P.P Apaabey Baba has expressed worry at the level of stigmatization against persons with COVID-19 and those who have recovered from the disease in the region.
“Stigmatisation can lead to depression, it can lead to people withdrawing from society, it can lead to loss of status in society and this can affect the individual when it comes to daily human interaction and contribution to national development,†Mr. Apaabey said in a Citi News interview.
Mr. P.P Apaabey Baba thus hinted of plans targeted at key stakeholders across the region to safeguard the rights and dignity of persons infected or recovered from COVID-19.
“We would now begin to identify certain key stakeholders such as the leadership of social groupings so that they will intend spread the message to their constituencies and also to give more leverage to our COVID-19 champions to share their experience and educate the public about the effect of stigmatization on persons with COVID-19 and recovered persons.â€
A clinical psychologist at the Bolgatanga Regional hospital Mr. Dickson Nsoh reiterated calls for public empathy for those who have recovered from the disease.
He indicated that the stigmatization of persons who have recovered from COVID-19 will only worsen their wellbeing in society.
Mr. Nsoh cautioned the public against stigmatisation and called for the provision of psychosocial support for recovered persons.
“Let us empathise with them. Let us give them hope and encouragement and let us not run away from them and let us accept them so that we can make progress. If we begin to run away from them, what will eventually happen is that, psychologically their worth will begin to reduce. They will begin to experience low self-esteem and eventually that can affect their total wellbeing,†he added.
All persons infected with the COVID-19 and receiving treatment at the Upper East Regional Hospital in Bolgatanga have recovered and discharged.
According to Mr Dickson Baba Nsoh, a Clinical Psychologist at the Regional Hospital, more than 10 people have been treated and discharged at the facility although it did not include those receiving treatment at home.
“The fact of the matter is that, we have been able to successfully manage and discharge all those we were having at the treatment Centre but do not forget we were having some that were being managed from home.
“I would not want to give statistics because when it comes to COVID-19, there is somebody who should be doing that but far more than 10 persons have been discharged,†the Clinical Psychologist disclosed.
Mr Nsoh disclosed this at a training session on stigmatization, organized by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) in Bolgatanga. The Upper East Region has so far recorded 26 confirmed COVID-19 cases with two deaths.
Earlier, the first pregnant woman who had tested positive for the virus was treated and discharged.
Aside from the seven police officers who were reported to have tested positive for Covid-19 in the Bolgatanga Municipality, many others in the region are sitting on tenterhooks as they await their Covid-19 test results.
Over 100 police officers, who were identified to have come into contact with the seven police officers, have had their samples taken for testing during a contact tracing exercise, and the results are yet to be released.
Another group of police officers drawn from the Bolgatanga Municipality, Nabdam, Talensi and Bolgatanga East districts, and members of the SWAT and Visibility Units have also had their samples taken.
Some of the police officers are anxious and waiting eagerly to know their Covid-19 status.
A few that spoke with DAILY GUIDE said their partners were equally apprehensive and would only be at ease after their results had been released.
The Upper East Regional Police Commander, DCOP Ampofo Duku, had earlier confirmed the seven positive cases and admitted that the sense of fear among personnel could affect their morale.
DCOP Duku said many of the results of the samples taken had not been released and they were psyching themselves up for the outcome.
Meanwhile, the Regional Police Command has put in place strict precautionary measures across all police stations in the Upper East Region, including handwashing and mandatory wearing of face masks by all police officers, including members of the public that visit the police stations on a daily basis.
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) in the Upper East Region says the high infection rate among health professionals at the Regional hospital has the potential to interrupt routine service delivery.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Bolgatanga, on the impact of the infection rate of staff of the Regional hospital on service delivery, Mr Zakariah Yakubu, the Head of Administration at the facility disclosed that a total of eight staff from the hospital were infected.
He said before the results of staff that came in contact with confirmed patients were released, they were under self-quarantine for two weeks, Mr Yakubu said patient attendance to the hospital was generally low, “Work will continue as normal with more precaution. We have started mass testing for staff,†he added.
According to a current COVID-19 situation report from the GHS in the Region, seven persons turned out positive out of 168 samples that were tested after the last update, representing 4.2 percent.
Six people out of the seven new cases are contacts of a previously confirmed case while one was from routine surveillance which puts the total case count for the Region at 26, with 2 deaths.
The report indicated that the second death in the Region was recorded in the Bawku Municipality on April 26, 2020, the same day a sample from the patient was taken for laboratory investigation, adding that the deceased had a co-morbid condition.
Five Districts, namely the Bolgatanga, Bawku, Kassena-Nankana Municipalities, the Bawku West and Pusiga Districts have recorded cases of the virus, “Thirteen (13) cases are currently on admission. They are all stable and responding to treatment. Six of the seven cases are being prepared for admission,†the report said.
Apart from the 33year old pregnant woman who fully recovered and was discharged, the report said three additional patients also fully recovered after two successive negative tests were conducted, which brings the total recovery cases in the Region to four including one patient who was translocated to Accra.
From the report, 26 samples of suspected persons and contacts from the Bawku Municipality were sent for laboratory investigation, four out of the number turned out positive, and 18 were negative while four are pending.
The Bawku West District had six samples from suspected persons and contacts, one turned out positive, and four were negative, with one pending, while the Binduri and Bolgatanga East Districts had one and two suspected cases respectively which all turned out negative.
The Regional capital, Bolgatanga has the highest positive cases of 18, while 36 samples out of 412 were pending, as 358 turned out negative, Bongo District recorded no cases out of 12 suspected samples tested, ten came out negative with two pending.
Builsa North and South recorded no positive cases, however, both Districts each have two pending results, out of four samples from the north, two were negative, and seven out of nine samples from the south turned out negative. The Kassana-Nankana West, Nabdam, Talensi, Garu and Tempane Districts had no recorded positive cases, and for Garu, 13 samples of suspected persons all turned out negative.
A 72year-old man was on Friday shot dead at Kandiga in the Kassena Nankana Municipal (KNM), Upper East Region, after a two-day violent conflict between the Doba Community in the Kassena Naakana West District and Kandiga.
The two communities share boundaries and have over the past years disagreed over the ownership of a piece of land on which an old structure that has been earmarked to be renovated and converted to a Police Station is sited.
According to Police Superintendent Francis Agyare, the KNM Police Commander, the conflict started last Wednesday when the people of Doba noticed that the old structure was being renovated by the Kandiga people.
He said it was quickly put under control by a joint force of the military and the police but after calm had returned, an unidentified person, two days later, shot the old man who was standing in front of his house.
Following the incident, the KNM imposed restrictions on movement of people in the two communities and beefed up security to maintain calm.
A statement issued by the Municipal Assembly and copied to the media, said: “in accordance with the Imposition of Restriction Act 2020, Act 1020 and on the authority of the Upper East Regional Security Council, the Kasena-Nankana Municipal Security Committee (MUSEC) in conjunction with the District Security Committee of the Kasena-Nankana West District Assembly, hereby announce for the information of the general public, especially the chiefs and people of Doba and Kandiga traditional area, that restriction of movement of persons within the area has been imposed, from 6:00pm to 8:00am each day beginning from Friday 24th April, 2020 until further noticeâ€.
The statement added that it was prohibited to carry arms or other similar harmful implements in the area and anybody who flouts the directives will be dealt with accordingly by the security services.
Meanwhile, the security in the area is maintaining calm while the shooting incident is being investigated.
The first COVID-19 patient in the Upper East region, a 33-year-old pregnant woman has tested negative for the virus after weeks of treatment at the treatment center in Bolgatanga.
Upper East Regional Minister Tangoba Abayage who confirmed this to MyNewsGh.com said though her second test turned out negative after weeks of management, the mandatory last test is expected to be conducted to declare her fully recovered.
After this, she is expected to be discharged to reunite with her family.
The patient, a resident of Bolgatanga tested positive for the novel Corona Virus, making the first case to be recorded in the region.
Having visited the maternity unit of the Bolgatanga regional hospital, management of the hospital subsequently closed down the unit for decontamination.
The Upper East Region has so far recorded eight cases of the novel coronavirus with one death.
Two Health Workers in the region are among the 8 persons who tested positive for the novel Coronavirus according to the Regional Health Directorate.
The two MyNewsGh.com gathered, are staff of the Regional Hospital in Bolgatanga who came into close contact with the first case recorded at the facility on April 3 involving 30 weeks pregnant 33-year-old resident of Bolgatanga
A situational report by the Upper East Regional Health Directorate on COVID-19 stated that “Two (2) of the new cases are health care workers.â€
The Upper East region as of April 16, 2020 had recorded additional four (4) new cases bringing the total number to eight (8) with one death.
The deceased, a 52-year-old woman from Mazema, a Community in the Bawku Municipality died a day after her samples were taken for testing which turned out positive.
She visited the Presbyterian Hospital in Bawku on the 7th April with fever, difficulty in breathing, coughing, running nose, diarrhoea and muscular joint pains.
The Upper East Region has recorded four new confirmed cases of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) bringing the total number of confirmed cases to eight.
A statement signed by the Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Winfred Ofosu said one of the cases which was detected through routine surveillance in the Bawku Municipality however passed on before the laboratory results were received from the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research.
It further explained that “the burial of the deceased was appropriately supervised as it was a suspected caseâ€.
According to the statement, the other three cases were contacts of the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the region which was reported on April 3.
The statement added that, the laboratory feedback of the new cases was received on Thursday April 16, 2020.
The Ghana Meteorological Agency has warned of a rise in cough, sneezing, catarrh and sore throat in the north of the country following a dust storm that is currently sweeping across the Upper Regions.
Residents of the Upper East, Upper West and Northern Regions woke up to an atmosphere choked with dust particles that has impaired visibility and settled on every available surface.
While there has been a mixed reaction to the rather unusual development, the Ghana Meteorological Agency has said the unpleasant weather condition is climatologically associated with the harmattan season.
A statement from the agency signed by Deputy Director, Joseph Portuphy said, “From November-December every year through to the following year April or Mid-May is noted climatologically as the harmattan season for Notthern Ghana. However, each season comes with its variations in intensity either severe, moderate or slight.â€
The Meteo Agency stated that the dust plume is anticipated to clear by the weekend, Saturday or Sunday thus 18th or 19th April, 2020.
The statement further warned of effects and reactions that residents of the affected regions may suffer noting that “this may lead to catarrh, sore throat, sneezing and the possibility of cough.â€
It also advised the curtailment of exposure to the dust and wind.
The Upper East Regional Director of Health Services Dr. Winfred Ofosu has revealed that preliminary investigations show that the first confirmed COVID-19 patient in Bolgatanga possibly contracted the virus before travelling out of the region and back.
According to Dr. Ofosu, there is the need for the people of the Upper East region to take seriously the recommended precautionary measures of social distance, hand washing and use of hand sanitizers. In his assertions, it is dangerous for residents to presume that the virus is yet to spread in the region and only the confirmed patient has the tendency to spread the virus.
“From the preliminary investigations that we conducted though is not conclusive yet[but] some of the symptoms started here before she travelled. Which means that she probably got the infection here in Bolga. If that is the case, it means that the virus is already in circulation,†he said at a media briefing in Bolgatanga on Sunday.
He added that “It is not likely that she got the disease from outside but she got it here.â€
Dr. Winfred Ofosu further disputed reports that the patient absconded or was forcefully taken out of the hospital by her husband.
He stated that the patient asked to be discharged when symptoms which reported to the facility with had remitted saying that “so they requested to be discharged since there was nothing ongoing. The slip was that they were not properly informed that the woman was being investigated for COVID. But he (husband) was asked that the woman had to self isolate. So that was how they went home.â€
He further stated that the patient has since been brought back to the hospital and currently under care at the Regional hospital though she could be managed at home.
Meanwhile, the maternity block where the COVID-19 patient visited and was admitted will be closed for disinfection on Monday, April 6, 2020, and to resume operations on Tuesday, April 7.
Recent floods in the Upper East Region have claimed three lives and caused considerable damage to personal and public property as well as farm produce in the Builsa South District.
A school building has had its roof ripped off partially by the winds that accompanied the heavy rains, forcing pupils to abandon school as a result.
The month of October recorded catastrophic heavy rains that ravaged mainly the Kassena-Nankana West District, the Builsa North District and the Kassena Nankana Municipality.
The Builsa South Member of Parliament (MP) Dr Clement Apaak recently visited his Constituents to commiserate and mourn with them over their loss.
The Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia also visited and made donations but much is still needed.
“Government is concerned with what has happened in all the affected communities and families. We feel your pain and on behalf of the President, Nana Akufo-Addo and all Ghanaians, I extend our deepest condolence to you and pray that, God grants all departed loved ones a peaceful rest. I am told some relief items have come and more are yet to arrive, they are meant to cushion you in this painful time,†Dr. Bawumia said.
Meanwhile, the torrential rains that lasted for over two weeks have claimed 21 lives according to figures from the National Disaster Management Organisation(NADMO).
Cumulatively, from January 2019, a total of 28 lives were lost in the floods, while 640 people are currently displaced in so many communities of the Region, with about 19 people also receiving medical attention at various health facilities in the region.
Mr Mba said the spillage of the Bagre dam in Burkina Faso that claimed so many lives annually should also be tackled to ensure that the practise was stopped.
He also suggested to the government to expedite action on the construction of the Pwalugu and other dams that would contain the situation by absorbing water from Burkina Faso dams during the spillage.
