Upper West Regional Minister, Dr Hafiz Bin opened and participated in a training Workshop on Public Procurement and Contract Management for Procurement Officers, MMDCEs and MMDCDs in the Upper West Region.
Upper West Regional Minister, Dr Hafiz Bin opened and participated in a training Workshop on Public Procurement and Contract Management for Procurement Officers, MMDCEs and MMDCDs in the Upper West Region.
Procurement entities are required to ensure fairness, transparency and non-discrimination in the Public Procurement as well as effective contract management in order to promote competitiveness and confidence of all stakeholders. However, many state agencies face various bottlenecks in the implementation of the public Procurement Law 2003(Act 663 and Amended in Act 914), regulations and guidelines.
As a stop-gap measure, the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council under the Ghana Secondary Cities Support Program organized a two day training Workshop on Public Procurement and Contract Management for officers in the Upper West Region to help enhance their knowledge and expose them to emerging issues in Public Procurement and Contract Management.
The Upper West Regional Minister, Dr Hafiz Bin Salih while opening the workshop on Thursday morning, appealed to practitioners especially Municipal and District Chiefs Executives to strictly adhere to the Public Procurement Act.
He noted that, he will not hesitate to offer up any appointee or officer under his jurisdiction found guilty of such accusations for prosecution.
According to the Minister, various projects were in the pipeline in the course of the 2022 fiscal year and beyond.
He added that as practitioners who will be in charge of the procurement and administration of these contracts, all officers should demonstrate professionalism and ensure that there is value for money.
Dr Bin Salih pledged the continuous support of the Regional Coordinating Council in organizing such capacity building sessions and continuous professional development courses for officers in the service to build their capacity.
Wa land dispute shooting incident
The Regional Security Council Members on the directive of the Upper West Regional Minister Hon. Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih, visited all victims of the Wa land dispute shooting incident including the deceased families to sympathize with them and to assure them that justice will be served. The Minister is currently attending a cabinet retreat in Accra and could not join the delegation. Consequently, he directed the Regional Security Council to immediately visit all the victims to see how they are doing and assure them of justice on the matter.
On the early hours of Thursday, 17th March 2022, there was a land dispute in a suburb of Wa leading to gun shots where five innocent people were shot leaving two dead and three others injured. The injured were receiving treatment at the Municipal Hospital in Wa but have now been discharged.
The suspect who did the shooting has since been arrested by the Upper West Regional Police Command and investigation has commenced. The suspect was arraigned before court and remandered into police custody. The CID Headquarters has taken over the case and has assured the general public that justice would be served and that all persons found culpable would be brought to book to face the law.
Speaking to affected victims of the incident on Sunday morning, Lt. Col. Francis Kwasi Gyemah called on the deceased families and other victims on behalf of the Regional Minister to remain calm and assured them that justice would be served. He noted that, the Upper West Regional Minister has not been sleeping on the matter since Thursday and that anyone found taking the law into his hands would face the law accordingly. He added that the Minister as chairman of REGSEC was so passionate about the matter and would ensure that culprits of the incident would not go unpunished.
The five victims include, Mr Stephen L. Mane a retired lecturer at Dr. Hilla Liman Technical University who is deceased, Mr. Alhassan Iddrissu a staff of UBIDS who is also deceased, Umar Amin, Haruna Umar and Hamza Erasung Hammad a student of UBIDS..
GREEN GHANA DAY FOR UPPER WEST REGIONAL COORDINATING COUNCIL
The government of Ghana intends to plant five million trees in a day across the country as an initial programme under its Green Ghana Project.
The trees are scheduled to be planted on June 11 this year and Ghanaians would be mobilised to plant trees on the day and nurture them to maturity as a way of contributing to the preservation of the environment.
In the Upper West Region, the exercise would commence with the Upper West Regional Minister Dr Hafiz Bin Salih planting a tree. Join the Uppe Regional Minister tomorrow 11th June 2021 to plant a tree under the Green Ghana Project to preserve our vegetation. The Upper West Region is expected to plant 150,000 trees across the region.
Deputy upper West Regional Minister urged all professionals in the nurses and midwifery to be more professional in how they handle the sick.
The Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, Hon. Amidu Issahaku Chinia has called on all professionals in the Nurses and Midwifery profession to emulate the the shining example of Florence Nightingale and be more professional in how they handle the sick in the health facilities.
Hon Chinia said this while addressing health professionals on behalf of the Regional Minister Hon. Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih at the Climax of the 2019 Nurses and Midwives week celebration in Wa on 18th May, 2019.
The Minister added that, Health professionals should also be more friendly to the relatives of Patients so that people who visits our health facilities would be happier and can appreciate the good work nurses and Midwives do on daily basis.
He noted that, nurses and Midwives are pivotal to the success of every health system in the world and that without them, no health system can effectively function.
“This is especially so in health facilities in rural areas where their are no doctors or physician assistants, and nurses or midwives have to play multiple roles to manage cases that are brought before them. Some of you are good and you handle such situations well on daily basis for no special reward but your pay as a nurse or midwife”, he explained
Hon. Chinia noted that, government was taking steps to improve the finances of health facilities in the country and that it has cleared most of the debts that was accumulated under the National Health Insurance Scheme. He said, government has also increased the tariffs by twenty percent to help address the funding challenges the scheme is currently faced with and ensure regular payment of claims to facilities.
The Minister indicated that government has given clearance for the recruitment of health professionals such as doctors, nurses and Midwives and that the Regional Health Administration has completed the recruitment process of nurses, midwives, nurses assistants and community health nurses and was currently posting them to various Districts of the region to begin work.
He assured them that government was ready at all times to work with the Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwifery Association, the nurses and Midwives Council, and all relevant bodies to improve the working conditions of nurses and nurses trainee.
“Be more Nationalistic and Vigilant by Reporting all Criminals we are Shielding in our Communities to the Appropriate Security Agencies” –Upper West Regional Minister to the People of Upper West.
The Upper West Regional Minister, Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih has called on the people of Upper West Region to be more nationalistic and vigilante by reporting all criminals they are harboring or shielding in their communities, to the appropriate security agencies to bring them to book. He also cautioned the security personnel to be disciplined and professional whenever such miscreants in society are reported to them; that is, by shielding the identities of the informants.
“When the identities of such informants are exposed to the criminals, their lives will be put in serious danger. I wish to further state that, for the fear of informant’s identity being revealed, people who know the criminals among us do shy away from giving information to the Police and other security agencies”, he noted.
He reiterated that, without adequate and reliable information, it will be very difficult in fighting crime such as: armed robbery, tribal and chieftaincy conflicts, political vigilantism, terrorism, among others in the region.
The Minister made the call whiles addressing the Regional Coordinating Council Meeting on 14th May, 2019 in Wa.
Dr. Bin Salih indicated that, the Government is aware of the inadequate security personnel and logistical constraints in the country and has embarked on the recruitment of more security personnel in all the sectors. He said, the Ghana Police Service has also been equipped with vehicles and other logistics to carryout highways patrols throughout the country; and the establishment of the Counter-Terrorism Unit, have helped reduce the armed robbery and other criminal cases, of late.
Apart from the general security issues confronting the nation, the Minister used the opportunity to appeal to the Upper West Regional House of Chiefs to use their institution to resolve all pending chieftaincy disputes in the region. He acknowledged the important role that the chieftaincy institution plays in the development of the nation. As such, the smooth succession to thrones, if well codified will help eliminate or reduce the spate of disputes that threaten the peace of the region. He entreated the representatives of the Regional House of Chiefs to take the matter for serious consideration at their next meeting.
Upper West Regional Minister expressed his disappointment with his MMDCEs and MDCDs over late attendance to the Regional Coordinating Council meeting in Wa.
The Upper West Regional Minister , Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih, expressed his disappointment at his Municipal/District Chief Executives, Municipal/District Coordinating Directors and Heads of decentralized departments for attending the Regional Coordinating Council meeting late.
The RCC meeting that was supposed to start at exactly 9:00am, saw the MDCEs and some DCDs arriving after 10:00am. The Minister, Dr. Bin Salih who doesn’t joke with time management was seated with his Deputy exactly 9:00am with only two DCEs present without any coordinating director.
The Minister in addressing the council meeting, cautioned council members against late attendance to meetings and programs. The Minister urged all Heads of Departments to be time consious and take time Management very serious since it retrogress productivity in the region.
The Council meeting is often organized to discuss on developmental issues in the region, give account on what has transpired over the period, possible ways of improving service delivery and the way forward.
The National Security Ministry used the meeting to sensitize members on terrorism and terrorist attacks. The Ministry was embarking on an awareness creation exercise to prepare the minds of Ghanaians on some precautionary measures to take in the era of terrorism.
“UDS Lecturers are among the best in Ghana and we Need their Ideas in Reviewing the Regional Development Strategy”-Upper West Regional Minister
The Upper West Regional Minister, Dr. Hafiz Bin Salih has called for suggestions and ideas from the UDS lecturers and stakeholders towards reviewing the Regional Development Strategy (RDS). According to him, the Regional Coordinating Council was working hard towards reviewing the RDS document and that having being an alumnus of the University and knowing the good lecturers the university have, he would tap their ideas to be incorporated into the strategy so that they can together develop the region and move the region forward.
The Minister made the call when the Governing Council led by the Council Chairman called on him in his office on 13th May, 2019 to congratulate him, on his appointment and introduce the Governing Council to him. The courtesy call was also to discuss some relevant issues confronting the University.
On his part, the Council Chairman indicated how excited they were when they heard that Dr. Bin Salih who is an alumnus, was appointed as the Upper West Regional Minister. He said they were proud of him and promised the minister their support in moving the region forward.
The Council Chair also noted that, the university was in a transition period and that a team has been set up by the Council to do all the grounds work in ensuring a smooth transition. He said the Governing Council would do everything possible to ensure that government intentions for making the university autonomous are achieved.
He added that the school currently lack some basic infrastructure such us, library complex and hostel facilities for students that needed serious attention.
Dr. Bin Salih appreciated their visit and indicated to them that UDS has shaped his life in so many ways which he believes contributed to his appointment as the Regional Minister and that he would not disappoint them. He said he would do everything possible to make UDS and the good people of Upper West proud.
The Minister commended the University Council for opening a health facility in the region that has now become a referral point, due to their quality health professional and good service delivery. He assured that, whatever the RCC would do to make the clinic function well to achieve its core mandate would be done. As such, the Council should not hesitate calling on the RCC when they need any form of support that would help the clinic enhance its service delivery.
Touching on the transition of the University, Dr. Bin Salih indicated that the people of Upper West Region are anxiously waiting for the transition and that he prays that it come to fruition. He noted that at the last Cabinet Meeting, the President indicated to them that he wanted all the new universities to become operational this year, 2019.
Responding to the infrastructural needs of the school, the Minister said he has taken note of all the projects the RCC started in the school, and that he would work hard towards the completion of such projects. He asked the University to submit the list of all uncompleted projects so that he can make follow ups from the Ministry to ensure their completion.
The University is expected to furnish the office of the Upper West RCC with the list of all uncompleted projects by next week for further action.