“Is that the work of the RCC??”– Paul Danka questioned Reg. Minister Involvement between Shaanxi and Small Scale miners
John Paul Danka, One of the astute communicators of the Opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has questioned the involvement of Upper East Regional Minister Stephen Yakubu following the alleged One Million dollar equivalent he is said to have received to settle miners whose concessions were taken by a Mining Company initially known as Shaanxi and now Earl International. Apexnewsgh.com report According to Mr. Danka, “Another problem is the regional Minister, look at what is happening in my area. You have people who came to this republic in the name of supporting mining services called Shaanxi, fast-forward 2008 that law reviewed. Then, there is somebody holding a lease, a concession permit in that area, that Company changed itself to Earl and there is a lease given to them in the name of large-scale mining. How on earth can you give a lease upon a lease or concession upon a concession and you have that minister coming to that enclave. What is in that pot? He quizzed Mr. Danka questioned the Minister’s involvement on a local radio station Dreamzfm in the Bolgatanaga Municipality monitored by Apexnewsgh.com on Friday, October 7, 2022 “Your regional Minister took over, asking those who have issues and those who have gone to court to come out for out-of-court settlement. As we speak today, what has happened to that one? The alleged One million dollar ($1 million) equivalent that the Upper East Regional Minister is said to have received and see how he would be able to help those whose concessions have been taken, to help actually paid them off as we speak we have issues. Is that the work of the RCC?? “You have not seen anything yet, as for the time bomb in Talensi, is still hanging is just a matter of time because once we have realized that government is complicit, the youth of Talensi are not going to sit down, and allow the government because we cannot trust the NPP administration with regards to our natural resources, we cannot. Is like those who benefitted from the pot are okay, but the rest of the people who are there nobody cares about them”. “We know what galamsey has done for our people, is a matter of we making sure we let them follow the due process, let them know the parties that can help them. Most of the roofing and the good building you see hitherto were not there, most of those proceeds are from there. People have worked at galamsey in Talensi and helped their brothers and sisters go to school, and advance their education. So, if you come and you are taking that thing off and you don’t handle it well, is just a matter of time when it explodes, we will then see how the national security issue will be handled”. He laments Source: Apexnewsgh.com|Ghana For publication please kindly contact us on 0256336062 or Email: apexnewsgh@gmail.com
“Nana Akufo-Addo is galamsey and galamsey is Nana Akufo-Addo”–John Paul
One of the astute communication team members of the Opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) John Paul Danka has said with the current happenings across the various mining area in the country he could only be concluded that President Nana Akufo-Addo is galamsey and galamsey is President Nana Akufo-Addo. Apexnewsgh.com report According to Mr. Danka, “There has always been regulation in terms of small-scale mining, it is the enforcement that was the problem and going on I would tell you unequivocally that we have galamsey on our hand but it was better till Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ban galamsey. “Nana Addo is galamsey and galamsey is Nana Addo”. Nana Addo is the face of galamsey. He cannot run away from the fact that where we have found ourselves, Nana Addo is the cause of what is currently happening”. Mr. Danka spoke on Dreamzfm a local radio station in the Bolgatanaga Municipality monitored by Apexnewsgh.com on Friday, October 7, 2022 Making some reference to the pronouncement made by former President John Dramani Mahama, he said: “And I would entreat that yes, John Dramani Mahama said that when given the opportunity, he will pardon our brothers and sisters who are languishing in jail per the illegal mining act they found themselves culpable in the sense that, you cannot lock Ghanaians allow a Chinese or allow Chinese people to be rooming free and he also create Cavour that by now they have served some days and they have learned their lessons. He didn’t just end there, he also went ahead to say that, to ensure that the training and packaging we say we are going to do when we get the opportunity we will implement them”. “No government has ever had goodwill like Akufo-Addo before and no government has ever lost goodwill in a short while like Akufo-Addo in both governance and the issue of tackling galamsey”. “You the media started this galamsey fight, you wanted the official endorsement, he bought into it banned, made taskforce to go into it. You have opened audio and clear videos of a Sector Minister, Presidential staffer involved in galamsey proceeds in terms of equipment and machinery. What has happened to them? The time they said they banned galamsey was it not the time the women Organizer of the NPP excavator was burnt? Didn’t she go to court to secure a judgment debt? Our foreign reserve we are talking about Akonta mines, who is for Akonta mines? Is it not the regional chairman of the NPP for the Ashanti region? So, if Charle Bissiue, prof. Frimpong Boateng is rooming, the other boys involve are rooming, the JOY exposé where we saw military men and their faces, we saw the tango between the media men who went there and that of the security men. You have the state apparatus, military men, the rank of a staff sergeant guarding galamsey operators. What has happened to them up to date? With those videos, why would you wait for an investigation? Investigate what? It is not an allegation”. He stressed Source: Apexnewsgh.com|Ghana For publication please kindly contact us on 0256336062 or Email: apexnewsgh@gmail.com
Prof. David Millar presents draft concept paper for PBL in NAVASCO as part of his Birthday Anniversary
As part of his birthday Anniversary, President of the Millar Institute for Transdisciplinary and Development Studies Professor David Millar who also doubled as an old student of Navrongo Senior High School have put up a ‘draft concept paper’ for what he called a Novel Approach to Teaching and Learning in Secondary Institutions in Ghana Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in Navrongo Senior High School (NAVASCO). According to Professor Millar, “The records show that University for Development Studies, Tamale was first to introduce PBL in her Medical Programs in Ghana, and University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, was first to do likewise in a Social Science Programs. The same records show that PBL is alien to Secondary Institutions”. “The public have bemoaned the education standards in the country and the general perception is that they are following along with the fact that they are not relevant for purpose. A clarion call from stakeholders but especially from the Education Minister during his recent visit to the UN Submit (September 2022) added to the need for proactive strategies to salvage Ghana’s Education”. He said: “In sharing with these concerns the Old Students Association of Navrongo Senior High School (NABIA), is attempting at heeding the call by all a sundry to come out with innovations to help salve her Alma Mata”. Meanwhile, as part of his birthday anniversary, Profession David Millar presented the concept paper to the school management and staff of her Alma Mata NAVSACO. Apexnewsgh.com can confidently report that the management of the school was extremely excited when the draft concept paper was presented to them by astute Professor Millar, as they immediately requested for urgent implementation of the concept. Kindly read the full concept below PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING (PBL) IN NAVRONGO SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL (NASVASCO)(DRAFT CONCEPT PAPER) PUT TOGETHER BY PROF. DAVID MILLAR OCTOBER, 2022 PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING (PBL) INTRODUCED IN NASVASCO: A NOVEL APPROACH TO SECONDARY TEACHING AND LEARNING IN GHANA 1.0 Prelude Problem-Based Learning (PBL) at the Second Cycle Institutions Level is not new in the Advanced Countries but it is relative new in Africa; and in Ghana not known to be practice anywhere at the Secondary Levels. This approach to teaching and learning is very prominent at various Medical Schools the world over. The records show that University for Development Studies, Tamale was first to introduce PBL in her Medical Programs in Ghana, and University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, was first to do likewise in a Social Science Programs. The same records show that PBL is alien to Secondary Institutions. Recent events in the Education Programs in Ghana has given rise to a need for major reforms towards emphasis on TVET and Hands-on Education for various educational offerings. The public have bemoaned the education standards in the country and the general perception is that they are following along with the fact that they are not relevant for purpose. A clarion call from stakeholders but especially from the Education Minister during his recent visit to the UN Submit (September, 2022) added to the need for proactive strategies to salvage Ghana’s Education. In sharing with these concerns the Old Students Association of Navrongo Senior High School (NABIA), is attempting at heeding the call by all a sundry to come out with innovations to help salve her Alma Mata. Hence, the Old Students Association, with her own voluntary contributions, mobilized from Old Students Local and International have offered to launch the PBL program at NAVASCO, in collaboration with GES, the School Authorities, PTAs, and the Student Body. This will be organised first as an ICT-Science Club for PBL (starting with Biology, Chemistry, and Physics as pioneer courses). The experiences from this experiment, if impactful, will then be expanded to other programs of learning. 2.0 What is Problem-Based Learning (PBL)?(This is sub-chapter is extensively from literature)The term “Problem-Based Learning” (PBL) was originally developed by Barrows and Tamblyn (1980) for Medical Education. It is based on the Constructivist Theory of Learning.PBL is a pedagogical strategy that uses open ended / ill-structured problems that mirror real-world problems. The authenticity of the problems helps students to transfer their knowledge and skills beyond the classroom, preparing them for the workplace and life in a rapidly changing world. The open ended nature of problems gives students the flexibility to approach it from different angles, to take different thematic sidelines according to their personal interests. This gives them control of the learning process, capturing their interest and motivating them to learn.Lewis et al. (1998) emphasises that the act of posing problems is integral to the process of solving problems. Finding or posing problems is a creative endeavour that can occur prior to, during, or after the act of problem solving. By keeping the problem definition open, the students can “frame and reframe” their perspective on a problem so they reach “goal clarity”. Educational psychologists have discovered that solving a problem is a back-and-forth (recursive) process, not a linear one (Pea, 1985). In this way the student takes ownership of the problem thus enhancing their engagement and responsibility for the learning process. Suggested principles of PBL (Slavery and Duffy, 1995)• Anchor all learning activities to a larger task or problem.• Support the learner in developing ownership for the overall problem or task.• Design an authentic task.• Design the task and the learning environment to reflect the complexity of the environment they should be able to function in at the end of learning.• Give the learner ownership of the process used to develop a solution.• Design the learning environment to support and challenge the learner’s thinking.• Encourage testing ideas against alternative views and alternative contexts.• Provide opportunity and support for reflection on both the content learned and the learning process.• Gudzial et al. (1997) consider the two most important aspects of Problem-Based Learning to be the authentic real world problems and students reflection on their experiences. • The teacher’s role changes from the provider of content to the facilitator of the learning process. Teachers present students with authentic problems and provide an
TEERE engages stakeholders as they kick start a 3 year WEPLOG project
Professor Avea Nsoh, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of TEERE is registered as a national NGO initially domiciled in the Upper East region but working across the northern regions, has announced a 3 years partnership agreement with STAR-Ghana Foundation on their Gender Rights and Empowerment Programme (G-REP). This was made known in a speech read on his behalf in a stakeholder’s consultative meeting on October 06, 2022, at Kassena-Nankana Municipal Assembly Hall. According to the CEO, the project seeks to mobilize and empower women towards the upcoming 2023 District Assembly Election. Indicating that “there is a global battle for the proper representation of women in our governance space”. He said: “The trend is not good in our domestic scene as the project officer shall soon present us with some data. In an era of leave no one behind, we must collaborate to ensure proper representation of women and vulnerable groups in the decision-making spaces”. Meanwhile, Maxwell Babilo Banu, the project officer for the Women Empowerment and theirParticipation in Local Governance (WEPLOG) noted that the project focus is to empower women and to increase their numbers in the local governance pace. According to him, the first year of the project is concentrating on getting more women elected in the upcoming 2023 District Assembly elections. “As you have seen in the presentation, data available indicated, within the two project intervention District, that is Bongo and Kassena Nankana Municipal. In 2019, the last District Assembly election, two women contested in the Kassena Municipal and they eventually lost and so no woman was elected. Likewise in the Bongo District. Four women contested in Bongo and none of them got elected, so as it stands, no women representation in the District Assembly. However, in the Kassena Nankana Municipal, they ended up appointing two women to the District Assembly. And so, the project intends to go out there and identify women” the project said The Kassena Nankana Municipal District Chief Executive Joseph Adongo described the project as an important “This is a very important programme especially now that we are moving into the Assembly elections. Is now public knowledge that most women don’t come out and there are several reasons why they don’t come up. It can be from their social standing, financial standing, and all those things”. “So, I think that this particular that is coming, which has started, I have seen that people are bringing out views that are very important”. We the men sometimes want to be domineering and because of that, we don’t want to allow them to lead. Women also think am a woman, why will I go and contest against a man when I have a man in my house? It means am disrespectful. So, that one made them not to contest and a lot of issues. I am happy with the response the women themselves are now giving by saying they are now enlightened unlike before. This will be a wake-up call because it will tell us that few of them will be representing us and we need to do whatever we can to bring them up. I also think, those who would like to show up, will have to do their groundwork very well. They need to build their character, they need to be involved in the community they come from, and you need to make sure that they are trusted.People will not just vote for you because you are a woman, the DCE advised Navro pio whose representative was present at the stakeholder’s consultative meeting commended the leadership of the project for their nice initiative.He said, trying to empower and then encourage women to participate in local governance, is a nice way to help tackle and balance gender inequality.He gave his blessing and support to TEERE to carry out the project in his traditional area smoothly without any hindrance. Also sharing her views at the stakeholder’s consultative meeting, the Naaga Divisional Queen Mother Malsungu- Tumpaele said: “The woman does everything, to take care of the girl child is a woman. But when it comes to your daughter’s marriage, they don’t even involve the mother. She will not be part of the decision-making. Meanwhile, is the mother who nurtured the girl from the beginning. So, from the onset, they have seen women in this part of our that we can never be leaders and for that matter all the time if we want to play a leadership role, you would receive intimidation and they don’t even want to encourage us”. However, some statistics shown by TEERE also pointed out that women’s participation in local governance in the last Assembly election in Bongo and Kassena Nankana Municipal wasn’t encouraging. The paramount chief of Kassena-Nankana Traditional area, Municipal Chief Executive, Co-ordinating Director, Budget and Planning officers, Municipal Heads of Department, Heads of Religious bodies, Heads of second cycle schools, CLOSSAG, Representatives of Persons with Disabilities, Representatives of political parties, reps of women and youth groups were all present at the stakeholder’s consultative meeting. The project is sponsored by STAR-Ghana Foundation with funding from the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO). Source: Apexnewsgh.com|Ghana For publication please kindly contact us on 0256336062 or Email: apexnewsgh@gmail.com