SHEIKH SALAWAATIYA MAINTAINS WORLD WAR III IF…

Ghanaian Muslim Cleric, Sheikh Imam Hussein Rashid maintains that the rising tension between North and South Korea could lead to World War III if the United Nation fails to use diplomacy to resolve the deadlock.

The Chief Imam and Spiritual Leader of the Salawaatiya Muslim Mission in Ghana asserts that natural calamities such as land-slides, air and sea disasters, earthquake and volcanic eruptions, outbreak of epidemics, storms, lightning and thunder will occur very commonly in 2011 unless religious and world leaders intensify their prayers to mitigate their effects.

He also warned the youth against unprotected sex and alcoholism saying “its adverse effects will cause their untimely death”.

Sheikh Imam Rashid affectionately called Kutubu-zamaani was addressing a large gathering of Muslims at his private residence in Gumani where he unfolded the scriptures as required of him annually after the celebration of every fire festival.

The Salawaatiya Muslim Mission Leader inspired Ghanaians to be more prayerful as economic activities and food sufficiency are bound to flourish in 2011.

He urged political and influential leaders to live exemplary lifestyles by refraining from the use of abusive language, character assassination and actions that will destabilize the fragile peace citizens are enjoying.

Sheikh Imam Rashid further implored the Ghanaian media to be circumspect in their reportage by shunning persons who want to use particularly radio stations to create unnecessary tension in the country.

He unveiled alms which he noted when adhered to could prevent the projected calamities part of which he called on Heads of State the world over to recite the Holy Qur’an 220 times, slaughter seven white and six brown cows and make available an equivalent of $490,000 US Dollars to be given to the needy.

Sheikh Imam Rashid tasked Kings and Paramount chiefs to recite the Holy Qur’an 67 times, slaughter three cows, 10 brown sheep and an amount of $4,000 US Dollars to feed the destitute in society.

Whereas every family head is expected to recite the Holy Qur’an 4 times, slaughter a brown sheep, six bowls of rice, seven bowls of other grains and an amount of GH 49 cedis, individuals are required to make a donation of four bowls of grains and an amount of GH 22 cedis to be given to the poor.

He wished Christians all over the world Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and underscored the need for Muslims and Christians to deepen their inter-religious faith.

IDC SUPPORTS ASSEMBLYWOMEN ASPIRANTS IN N/R

The Integrated Development Centre (IDC), a local NGO, has begun mounting campaign platforms for female aspirants in the upcoming 2010 District Assembly and Unit Committee Elections in some selected Districts in the Northern Region.

The NGO under its Governance and Gender Education programme has taken the initiative to support female candidates win their seats and take part in active grassroots participation process.

Gender Advocates belief that women have the ability to advocate for change when given the opportunity to serve in leadership positions.

Thus, as December, 28, 2010 which is the set date for the local elections approaches, civil society groups have been making dispassionate calls to all Ghanaians to vote for all women contesting.

In the Nanumba North District where IDC operates, about five energetic young women from three electoral areas have been speaking to their electorate most especially men to vote for them for positive change in their electoral areas.

The aspirants who are all contesting for their first time include Ms Salamatu Zakari, a health worker and Mrs. Iddi Fusheitu, a teacher from the Masaka Electoral Area.

The rest are Mrs. Ibrahim Jamilatu and Mrs. Zakari Zahidatu, both of them teachers from the Suburi Electoral Area as well as Mrs. Amadu Maria, a business woman from Yepalsi Electoral Area.

The campaign platforms which attracted both women and men as well as traditional and opinion leaders ignited a huge support for the Assemblywomen aspirants.

The people pledged to vote for all of them come December 28^th because according ting to them, the men have failed to bring them the needed development that they often anticipate over the years.

Meanwhile, according to the Electoral Commission, women represent 20 per cent of the candidates contesting the elections and if all the 20 percent are given the mandate it would increase the number of women in the District Assemblies.

ALHAJI AYANA THREATENS COURT ACTION AGAINST HAJJ BOARD

Pressure is now on the National Hajj Board to vomit about 400,000 US dollars belonging to about 102 disappointed Pilgrims from the three Northern Regions before the end of January 2011 or face legal battle. It is believed that the Board also owes other private Hajj agencies who clients were also disappointed and left to their fates at the Kotoka International Airport and the Hajj Village in Accra this year.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ayana Hajj Agency in Tamale, Alhaji Yakubu Ayana who seems to have come under excessive pressure from the disappointed Pilgrims as a results of the undue delay in refunding monies paid for their Air ticket and other vital traveling documents, has told the media that he could no longer accept further excuses from the Hajj Board.

The Renowned Business Tycoon and Philanthropist, furiously maintained that the various “diplomatic tactics” he had employed to save his head from the angry Pilgrims who troop to his office on daily basis with all manner of abusive comments, had not yielded any positive results, since they apparently see no reason why the National Hajj Board should withhold their monies.

According to Alhaji Ayana, he wrote a letter to the National Hajj Board for
refund and was told that Court had placed an injunction on the Board’s account, but he still insisted that that should not affect his private business. He explained that, about 102
out of the over 620 Pilgrims who registered with his Agency for this year’s Hajj were unjustifiably disappointed by the Board and the victims had
since mounted incessant pressure on him for their monies.

Alhaji Ayana who reiterated his unqualified apology to the clients, passionately appealed to the government and the office of the National Chief Imam to impress upon the National Hajj Board to release the money to enable him pay back the people.

He noted that Ghana as a nation had been given a yearly quota of sending at most 6850 Muslims to Mecca, but since the last 25 years that he had operated as an Agent, Ghana had not been about to even send 3,000 Pilgrims.

He therefore did not understand why the Hajj Board should purchase only 2,500 air tickets from the Saudi Embassy instead of the 3,000 people who registered with the various Hajj Agencies.

The inability of the Board to deny those people a Visa did not only create panic and disappointment, but also reduced the integrity of the agencies who served as bridges between the people and the Hajj Board.

Alhaji Ayana however disputed allege claims by the National Hajj Board that the Saudi
Embassy gave Ghana only 2,500 quota for the 2010 pilgrimage and revealed that
the real quota was 6,850.

MCC/ WFP SIGN AGREEMENT TO IMPROVE GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY

The United States Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Chief Executive Officer Daniel W. Yohannes joined United Nations World Food Program (WFP) Executive Director Josette Sheeran to sign a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday, December 14, 2010 to scale up MCC’s and WFP’s global economic growth, poverty alleviation, and food security efforts.

A statement copied to The Daily Dispatch in Tamale, said MCC and WFP have been working together in Ghana, where WFP recently bought 1,000 metric tons of maize worth US$360,000, enough to feed 70,000 people, from farmers and farmer-based organizations mostly trained through MCC-funded programs, as part of the UN agency’s Purchase for Progress (P4P) initiative. P4P is an innovative program that seeks to leverage WFP’s purchasing power and link small scale farmers to markets in 20 countries.

“Achieving MCC’s commitment to poverty reduction through economic growth
requires partnering with those who share our vision for a world of greater opportunity and prosperity for the poor and vulnerable,” said MCC CEO Daniel Yohannes.

“MCC finds such a friend and partner in the World Food Programme, which is pursuing innovation and results in advancing food security around the world”, he added.

“This is the kind of partnership that unleashes the potential of smallholder farmers, who hold the key to food security,” said WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran. “Connecting small farmers to markets helps transform local economies and can transform nations.”

The memorandum signed on Tuesday builds on a previous memorandum signed between MCC and WFP in December 2008, to expand the affordability and availability of food for the world’s poor. Under that first memorandum, MCC and WFP built a solid foundation for sustainability and collaboration in the global agricultural sector.

In addition to training farmers, MCC will fund the construction of agribusiness centers, which are post-harvest facilities where farmers can sell or store their crops. These privately-operated agribusiness centers are critical to the development of Ghana’s grain sector and will provide a reliable source of supply for WFP’s P4P and other WFP regional purchase programs.

Cooperation will continue in Ghana, and will likely extend to other countries, including Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Mali, and Senegal, where MCC and WFP both lead active projects.

MCC and WFP’s collaboration is intended to improve and stabilize food security through a number of concrete measures, including: increases in agricultural productivity, improved access to credit, investments and training across the value chain, including in food production, post-harvest handling and storage, distribution systems, and market access. Other measures are investments in agriculture infrastructure, improved access to water, incorporating nutrition interventions into maternal and child health programs, health education, and HIV programs and integrating gender policies into agricultural activities to recognize the critical and central role that women play in sustainable food security.

Since 2004, MCC has committed nearly $8 billion in grants through compacts with 22 developing countries. MCC partner countries have elected to use over $4 billion of this total investment to directly contribute to improved food security. MCC is equipping poor farmers with the tools they need to produce more, ensuring their own food security, and empowering them to contribute to the food security of their communities.

For over four decades, WFP has provided access to nutrition and improved quality of life for the world's most vulnerable people at critical times. Each year, on average, WFP feeds more than 90 million people in more than 70 countries.

UDS GETS OFFICE FOR ADVANCEMENT, LINKAGES & INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMES

The University for Development Studies (UDS) has recently, established a new Directorate for advancement, linkages and International programmes.

Part of the mandate of this office will be to foster and promote the image of UDS internationally, as well as to encourage possible links with foreign institutions across the world.

Staff across different Faculties and Schools, are also expected to identify programmes and projects which could be promoted and given international image.

Through the establishment and promotion of these linkages, both staff and students of UDS will have more opportunities for foreign exchange visits and sponsorship of their work.

According to a statement posted on the University’s website, it also expect that many foreign scholars and other partners interested in working and collaborating in the development of Northern Ghana would find it convenient to contact the University through its one-stop contact point.

The statement said an obvious choice for promotion is the Third Trimester Field Practical Training (TTFPT), a flagship programme of the University, which has attracted much attention from different institutions since its inception.

Other opportunities for international collaboration lie within the development of postgraduate programmes which can be implemented with collaboration with other local or foreign universities, and many others.

Established in May 1992 by PNDC Law 279: It began academic work in September 1993 with the admission of thirty-nine (39) students into the Faculty of Agriculture, (FOA), Nyankpala.

The Faculty of Integrated Development Studies, (FIDS), Faculty of Planning and Land Management (FPLM) and Faculty of Education, Law and Business Studies (FELBS), Wa, School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS), Tamale, Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources (FRNR), Nyankpala, Faculty of Applied Sciences (FAS), Faculty of Computational and Developmental Mathematics (FCDM), Navrongo and the Graduate School now in Tamale were phased in from 1994 to date.

The mission of the University is to run programmes that will effectively and efficiently combine academic work with community-participation and extension.

The University’s principal objective is to address and find solutions to the environmental problems and socio-economic deprivations that have characterized northern Ghana in particular and are also found in some rural areas throughout the rest of the country.

Accordingly, UDS consciously and systematically run programmes that are targeted to prepare the individuals to establish their own careers in specialized areas. Further it equips these practitioners with requisite knowledge to enable them to live and function in any deprived community in the country.

The university presently runs six faculties, one school and two centres of excellence. Further there are Masters Programmes in the social sciences, and sciences leading to the award of doctorate degrees.