CR LOSES GH¢44 MILLION THROUGH DISASTERS (PAGE 54, JULY 31, 2010)

THE Central Region has lost property worth more than GH¢44 million to various natural disasters from January to June, this year.
The disasters include rainstorms, domestic and bush fires and tidal waves.
The Central Regional Minister, Mrs Ama Benyiwa-Doe, announced this at the region’s turn of the “Meet-the-Press” series in Cape Coast last Thursday.
She said the disasters left about 6,117 persons displaced and also damaged 8,278 houses and about 100 acres of land.
On the recent floods, Mrs Benyiwa-Doe said three districts, including Agona West, Agona East and Gomoa East were affected.
She said the floods claimed 11 lives, rendered 16,731 persons homeless, including 3,981 males, 8,785 females and 3,965 children.
Mrs Benyiwa-Doe said 3,000 of the affected persons had been registered and are being supported and rehabilitated.
She stated that a presidential task force had carried out an assessment for the appropriate actions to be taken.
The regional minister urged the affected communities to exercise restraint as the government was taking measures to find funds to rebuild the infrastructure destroyed through the disasters.
On the environment, Mrs Benyiwa-Doe stated that about 40 per cent of the region’s land mass of 9,826 kilometres had been severely degraded due to both nature induced and, especially human induced activities, adding that the hidden cost of the land degradation to the region was estimated at $434 million per annum.
She was particularly concerned about the pollution of the Benya, Fosu and Narkwa lagoons and Rivers Akora and Ochi, and advised the communities to stop polluting those water bodies.
On youth employment, Mrs Benyiwa-Doe said 21,730 persons had been engaged under the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) to reduce the unemployment situation in the region.
Mrs Benyiwa-Doe said significant achievements had been chalked in the health sector in the region, stating that no case of cholera had been reported in the region since 2007.
She said there had also been remarkable achievements in immunisation programmes in recent times with immunisation recording over 100 per cent participation.
She said although there were challenges of personnel and infrastructure, a 60-bed capacity hospital at Twifo Praso to be completed by 2012, the construction of a 140-bed capacity hospital at Winneba and the upgrading of the Ajumako District hospital were some of the projects that were expected to help improve the health service delivery in the region.
Mrs Benyiwa-Doe also expressed concern about illegal mining (galamsey) activities in the region, which she said, had claimed many lives and was presently making the treatment of safe drinking water very expensive at the Sekyere Hemang Water Treatment Plant.
She said the government was working hard to provide many more communities with potable water, adding that districts including Assin North, Assin South, Gomoa East and Gomoa West, Abura Asebu-Kwamankese, Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam and Asikuma-Odoben Brakwa would benefit from borehole projects.
She said an ultra modern cold store facility had been provided at Nyanyano in the Gomoa East District, while a second one was at an advanced stage of completion at Kormantsi in the Mfanstman District to reduce post harvest losses in the coastal areas.
Touching on security, the regional minister expressed concern about 18 murder and 31 robbery cases recorded as of May, 2010, and advised the public to volunteer information on suspicious characters.
The Information Minister, Mr John Tia Akologu, who chaired the function, said it was important for journalists to bear in mind the ethics of the profession in the discharge of their duties.
He said while the government was not interested in criminalising speech, it behoves on journalists to ensure that their reports did not split society or dent the reputation and the fundamental human rights of others.