INAUGURATION OF NORTHERN COMMAND AND SIX INFANTRY BATTALION

 The Northern command of the Ghana armed forces has officially been inaugurated at a brief inauguration ceremony in Tamale. The central command which was formally the Northern command handed over the command to the six infantry battalion and airborne force to the Northern command in tamale. The Northern command is now officially under the command of the General officer commanding, Brigadier General Stanley Brian Alloh. The handing over fully establishes the Northern Command which is part of efforts to booster security in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions. speaking at the handing over ceremony at Nyohini a suburb of Tamale the Commander of the Central Command Brigadier General Cosmos Bretu Alhassan said the restructuring of the army into three commands was not an easy task but due to the support from the Ghana commercial bank GCB, urban roads, VRA and Ghana Water Company limited GWCL it was done swiftly. He called on army officers to work effectively to serve the purpose for establishing the Northern command. Speaking at the ceremony the upper east regional minister Albert Abongo commended the Ghana armed forces for working relentlessly to establish the command to ensure peace in the Northern regions. He said peace in the Northern region is to some extent fragile because of outstanding chieftaincy and land litigation issues and efforts are underway to work collectively to deal proactively and decisively with conflicts before they escalate. He said the present peace in the country should not make security agencies complacent as there are still key flash points which should not be taken for granted in this electioneering period. He added that the security agencies are fully prepared to deal with any person or group of persons who are contemplating on disturbing the relative peace we enjoy.

UDS TAMALE, NAVRONGO, AND NYANKPALA CAMPUSES CONGREGATION 2016

The University for Development Studies UDS held its seventeenth congregation to confer certificates and awards on graduants and staff at the forecourt of the university’s Tamale campus. Three thousand seven hundred and twelve students in total graduated from the Navrongo, Nyankpala and Tamale campuses which included one hundred and thirty eight students from the graduate school. The occasion was graced by the Sagnarigu chief, the Deputy Northern Regional Minister, the Ghana ambassador to Angola, and the Northern regional police commander among others. The Vice Chancellor of the university Professor Gabriel Ayum-Teye in an address said the university was growing at a fast rate to meet the demand of the ever increasing student population. He advised the graduants to be steadfast when they leave the walls of the university as life out there is tougher than in school and despite the unemployment crises the country is facing graduants should be self innovative and impact positively on their society. He commended government for its unwavering support in the completion of the auditoriums in all the campuses and also for the hostel facility recently completed on Tamale campus. Professor Ayum-Teye however appealed to government for good road networks on the campuses and also to the alumni association of UDS to give back to their Alma Mata by giving the various faculties a facelift. In a speech read on behalf of the president the chairman of Ghana Gas Professor Kwesi Botwe said through science and education the country flourishes and so the graduating students should be empowered to work hard to overcome the challenges the country faces. He said UDS is a manifestation of government’s vision to liaise with an institution in alleviating poverty and thus government plans to use reports from community service by the students to solve development needs. Professor Kwesi Botwe assured the new vice chancellor of government’s commitment to provide infrastructure. He urged aspiring candidates in the 2016 elections to engage in peaceful dialogues, and that as peacemakers Ghanaians must continue to preach and act peacefully before during and after the elections.

STRAY ANIMALS ON STREETS OF TAMALE, A DORMANT NUISANCE

Stray animals on the principal streets of Tamale are becoming a nuisance to pedestrians and motorists. Goats, sheep and cattle are seen all over the metropolis including the busy business district. The animals are not only a nuisance to the public; their presence is also un-befitting of a modern metropolis. Their presence cause vehicle and motor accidents, while some cause financial loss to traders in the market when they topple over their grains and other foodstuff. The owners of these stray animals are nowhere to be found and one wonders if some of these owners exist at all. Both pedestrians and motorists lament over how stray animals on the streets cause unnecessary traffic and panic on numerous occasions. Some residents also rescue these stray animals and take them to the assembly where they are kept and announcements made for their owners to come and pay a fine before collecting their animals. According to the Head of Administration at the Tamale central sub metro assembly Blaise Dasanah said the assembly as the local authority has its by-laws that bind the operation of the metropolis, and that act of leaving animals to stray goes against the by-laws. He said the assembly enforces the fee-fixing regulation of the local government ministry that covers the arrest of stray animals especially on the principal streets, how the arrests should be done, and the fee stipulated for the kinds of animals arrested. He added that since the fees charged for a ruminant is 30Ghana cedis per day and a cow is 50Ghana cedis per day the problem should have been curbed, but the animals are still very much on the principal streets, this he said is due to the attitude of the owners of these animals who do not seem perturbed by the high charges on the arrested animals. Mr. Dasanah said the task force mandated to arrest these stray animals are up to the task and very vigilant in their duties but it will take a joint consensus from residents of Tamale and the authority to curb this canker totally.    It is quite ironic however that down south these animals are very expensive and so are hardly seen gallivanting on the streets. One wonders if it is because animals are in abundance in the northern region, and the question that still lingers however is, what effective solution should be proposed to end this menace if payment of fines is not enough?