An amount of $203.5 million, part of the $547 million Millennium Challenge Corporation’s (MCC) Ghana Compact was invested into food security, an MCC factsheet dated May 15, 2012 and obtained by ghanabusinessnews.com has disclosed.

Areas of food security the investments went into were irrigation, technical assistance, rural finance, land tenure and rural roads, the document shows.

Rural roads had the highest investment with $90.4 million, followed by technical assistance ($62.2 million) and rural finance ($23.6 million).

The rest – irrigation, received $23.2 million with land tenure getting $4.1 million.

According to the US-run MCC, 10 agribusiness centers and three public pack houses were constructed in Ghana through the $19.8 million Post-Harvest Activity and it provided the “missing link between farmers and markets” by reducing post-harvest losses and preparing produce for export.

The factsheet indicates that more than 15,000 additional metric tonnes of pineapple and over 5,000 additional metric tonnes of mangoes have been exported as a result of these investments.

The MCC’s compact trained more than 66,000 farmers in over 1,200 farmer based orga­nizations (FBOs) in Ghana’s commercial agriculture sector.

“The goal of this $62.2 million Commercial Training Activity was to make Ghanaian agriculture more productive, including boosting the production of high-value exports like pineapple, mango and Bird’s Eye chili pepper,” it said.

The Ghana Compact closed February 15, 2012.

By Ekow Quandzie

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Source: http://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2012/05/20/mcc-invested-203-5m-into-food-security-during-ghana-compact/

Berekum Arsenal snuffed-out a crucial 2-1 victory over Wassaman United in a desperate bid to avoid relegation.

Wassaman have by the result been relegated from the top tier Glo Premier League and will be playing Division 1 next season after amassing a meager 26 points.

Awudu Masawudu put the Arsenal ahead in the 31st minute with Hamza Mohammed increasing the tally two minutes to recess.

Rafael Obeng pulled one back for the United side but that proved to be merely a consolation.

The pulsating game crowned a week of controversy in which the host team-Arsenal-protested the live telecast of the match by MetroTV.

The protests sparked speculations the home side were plotting to adopt all means to win the match.

But on the day, Arsenal lived up to expectation with a 2-1 victory and virtually condemning Wassaman United back to division one.

In the other penultimate games, Mighty Jets secured a late equalizer against Glorious Accra Hearts of Oak but the 1-1 drawn game will not help their battle against relegation.

Kpando Hearts of Lions picked the maximum points by beating New Edubiase by a lone goal courtesy a second half penalty kick.

The victory proved crucial for Kpando side avoiding relegation.

At the Obuasi Lenclay Sports Stadium, local rivals Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Ashgold traded off an impressive 3-2 thriller with the homeside picking maximum points.

Kotoko fought back but were unable to cancel the three goals by the homesters.

Kotoko are undoubtedly the run-away league leaders but Ashgold definitely have the last bragging rights.

Liberty and Berekum Chelsea shared the spoils with a 1-1 drawn game in Accra

The game between Bechem United and Ebusua Dwarfs ended barren.

Arsenal need a point in their next game against Accra Hearts of Oak to confirm their participation in the 2012-13 Glo premier league.

Mighty Jets and Bechem United both need crucial victories in the last matches and hope Arsenal will falter in their last game, before one of them could stay.

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Source: http://sports.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201205/86898.php

Breakdown: An Indian woman has filed for divorce saying she cannot trust her husband, after he neglected to update his relationship status on Facebook

Source: http://edition.myjoyonline.com/pages/oddity/201205/86857.php

Bartin Oduro

Mr Ebo Barton Oduro, Deputy Attorney General and Deputty Minister of Justice, on Saturday said the government would realize the Millennium  Development Goals (MDG) through the provision of quality education in the country.

He said it is in line with objective that the Government was providing facilities such as classroom blocks, mono desk, dormitory blocks,  ICT centres, science laboratories and many other infrastructure  as well as  rganizing special training sessions for  teachers to upgrade their teaching skills.

Mr Oduro, who is also the Member of Parliament for Cape Coast, said this at the 21st anniversary and 3rd speech and prizing giving day of the Oguaa Senior High Technical  School  (Ostech) at  Ekon near Cape Coast under the theme, “Infrastructural Development – a Vital Key to Academic Excellence”.

He underscored the important role infrastructure  play in the development of education, stressing that  the need to tackle infrastructural development head-on has become  an issue of paramount importance not only to support classroom  accommodation, but for other areas such as staff bungalows, laboratories, dormitories, halls of residence, lecture theatres for teachers, workers and beneficiaries of the system across board within  Ghana’s educational terrain in general.

Mr Oduro said the government , stakeholders and policy makers  were concerned about the relationship  between school facilities and students  learning and achievement, not only because of health , security, and psychological  issues, but also because the failure to create and maintain optimum learning environment  could undermine other efforts to reform education in the country.

He said it was  vision of the  government to  use  quality education delivery to accelerate the nation’s socio-economic development through expanding access to education at all levels of education., raising quality of teaching and learning, making education more relevant to national goals  and aspiration  as well as  making  tertiary  education more cost effective.

He stressed that for the youth to meet the challenges of the global world it was imperative for them to take their studies seriously adding that the world economy was knowledge driven and that  it was important to acquire the necessary skills in the areas of mathematics,  sciences and technology.

Mrs Ama Benyiwa-Doe, Central Regional Minister, in speech a read for her, said the government underscores the important role education played  in the socio-economic development   of the country and would therefore endeavour to give the sector the needed support.

She in this regard urged the students to reciprocate government’s   efforts by taking their studies seriously and endeavour to  eschew vices such as drug abuse, cybercrime and violent acts before during and after the December polls.

Mrs Anastasia Thomford  Okyere, headmistress of the school, commended the government  and GETFUND for  providing the school with a number of infrastructural projects  including the construction of  12 and six unit classroom blocks, two dormitory blocks, stressing that in the  more than 17 years existence of the school it has not seen such massive infrastructural development.

Mrs  Okyere  said  the school had chalked a lot of successes over the years and that it recorded 100  per cent pass in this year’s WASCE   as against 53 per cent in 2008 stressing that  out of  a total 209 students who registered for the WASCE, 105 passed in eight subjects , with the overall best  candidate scoring aggregate 11.

She said although the school had chalked some successes, it was still saddled with a lot of problems including the lack of   a well-resourced ICT,science laboratory,  a modern library, assembly and dinning  halls, accommodation for teachers  and  an administration block.

She in this regard called on the government and other stakeholders to come to the aid of the school particularly in the  building of  bungalows  for staff since most  of them lived  far away from the  school,  thereby making  teaching and learning difficult.

Source: GNA

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Source: http://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2012/05/20/government-committed-to-providing-quality-education-deputy-minister/

A child and women activist of the Oasis Generation Limited, Mrs. Philomena Wiredu has challenged all female students to stay focused and dream big.

She said the saying that the women’s place is in the kitchen no longer holds as women can combine their careers and household duties.

She was addressing some female students from sections of Senior High Schools in Accra, Friday on a Total Woman Seminar which formed part of the company’s celebration of the International Women’s Day which fell on March 8, 2012.

According to her, women as the world can see, have over thousand and one potentials in them which need attention, determination and hard work to harness.

She therefore challenged girls not to allow themselves to be under estimated by the opposite sex and refuse to be failures in their life endeavors.

Mrs. Wiredu said though cooking is good, education is better and with the combination of the two, there will be no doubt that a girl child may achieve some of the best things that life has got to offer in the near future.

Speaking on the topic: Sex, Love and various misconception about Relationships, she said most ladies across africa are so passionate about getting into “love relationships” at the wrong time which later becomes a draw back in their life.

She noted that what most men want is sex and not necessarily love especially when they are in their youthful ages and advised that female students should be focused on their education, dream big and work hard until they achieve 80% of their goals in life before engaging themselves in such relationships.

Instead of jumping from bed to bed due to broken homes, peer group influence, poverty among others, Mrs. Wiredu said it is best for the girl child to engage herself with inspirational books, handicraft or any other socially acceptable work that can earn her some cash to support herself while in or out of school.

She said beauty alone is vain, adding a woman must be virtuous, protect her body and heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life.

Another member of the Oasis Generation Limited, Madam Cynthia A. Sottie advised all females regardless of their religion or family status to totally abstain from sex until marriage with their “Mr. Right”.

She encouraged students to be assertive rather than aggressive saying “this will boost your confident level, take away fear from your life and even help you to say no to certain decisions that contradict your values.”

Present at the seminar was an official sponsor of Ms Ghana, Mrs. Jennifer Agyemang, the Director of the young achievers group, Deborah Ahenkorah, and representatives of female students from several Senior High Schools including, the Osu Presbyterian SHS, Labone Senior High School and Kinbu Secondary and Technical School.

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Source: http://edition.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201205/86858.php

Police in the Northern Region are hunting for armed robbers who attacked passengers on two Metro Mass Transport buses on the Damongo-Fufuoso highway, Saturday.

Numbering about 12 and armed with machetes, guns and other deadly weapons the robbers blocked the road and subjected the passengers to inhuman treatment and allegedly attempted to rape one of the female passengers.

They made away with cash, mobile phones and other personal belongings of the passengers.

Witnesses suspect the robbers are from the Fulani origin.

“They were Fulani people. I saw them. They came to me; about three of them came to me asking me to give my money to them,” one of the victims told Joy News.

“They actually wanted to rape a certain lady because we overheard her saying she is bleeding. But they considered the nursing mothers and asked to go and sit down and take care of their children. I was harassed seriously,” another woman said.

Northern Regional Police have confirmed incident.

The regional commander DCOP George Tuffuor said they have begun investigations.

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Source: http://edition.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201205/86883.php

Parts of Accra and Cape Coast have been left in complete darkness following a torrential rain, Saturday.

The rain lasted barely an hour and left in its wake tumbled bill boards, trees.

Director of operations at the Electricity Company of Ghana Engineer Tetteh Okine told Joy News several high tension cables in many parts of Accra, Winneba and Apam were destroyed.

He assured however that ECG is working tirelessly to restore power to the affected areas.

“So many wires are off. Roofing sheets going into the line. Certain trees fell on the line. We are trying to restore power to all the customers,” he explained.

The affected areas include Spintex Road, Madina, Ashale Botwe, Weija Barrier, Dome, Achimota, Asylum Down, Dansoman Odorkor.

He said Winneba has also been affected by the rainstorm.

Tetteh Okine said his outfit are working to restore power to the affected areas.

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Source: http://edition.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201205/86885.php

A seven year old girl and her mother met their untimely death when a tree fell on them during Saturday’s rainstorm.

The two were in their shop at Pedu, a suburb of Cape Coast when the incident happened.

The storm that swept the entire coastal belt ripped off several roofs and pulled down bill boards.

Central regional correspondent, Richard Kwadjo Nyarko reports several shops were also damaged.

He said the tree broke from the stem and fell on the shop housing the Nigerian mother and her daughter.

The bodies of deceased persons have since been deposited at the Central Regional Hospital.

The situation obstructed free-traffic flow for a period until the fire service came to cut the tree into pieces.

Nyarko said NADMO officials have arrived at the scene of the accident to assess the extent of damage.

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Source: http://edition.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201205/86893.php

The national U-20 team, Black Princesses qualified for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup after a convincing 4-1 win over Tunisia on Saturday, at the Accra Sports Stadium.

The Princesses came from behind to score four goals in the second half to complete a double over the Tunisians and qualified on 7-2 goal aggregate.

The Ghanaians will be making their successive appearance at the biennial global championship but labored to snatch the ticket this time after surviving an earlier scare from the North Africans.

The Tunisians got off well for the match delayed by the heavy downpour just before kick-off, forcing the Ghanaians into their half. The circuit passing of the Princesses did not help their cause allowing the Tunisians to dominate.

On 20 minutes, the Tunisians silenced the scanty crowd at the stadium with the opener through Imem Ben Mrad who headed home from Chaima Albassi’s corner-kick.

The Princesses struggled in search of their feet but the Tunisians managed to hang on to the lead at half time.

The hosts resumed the better side backed with the introduction of some fresh limbs including Beatrice Sesu. Three minutes into the half, Elizabeth Addo drew level by finishing off a through pass from Priscilla Saahene.

Six minutes later, Alice Eva Danso shot the Princesses into the lead for the first time in the game by heading home from Afriyie’s cross from the right.

Burly striker Candice Osei Agyemang silenced her critics with the third goal on 75th minutes with Afriyie providing the assist.

Addo concluded the routing with her second of the day and fourth for her side on the stroke of full time.

The final tournament has been scheduled from 19 August to 8 September in Japan.

Source: GNA

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Source: http://www.ghanabusinessnews.com/2012/05/20/ghana-qualifies-for-u-20-womens-world-cup/