Action Forum man denounces Victor Smith as "anti-democrat"
Accra (Greater Accra) 12 April 2002- President John Agyekum Kufuor has appointed a nine-member National Reconciliation Commission to be chaired by Mr Justice K. E. Amuah-Sekyi, a retired Supreme Court Judge.
President made the appointments in consultation with the Council of State and in accordance with the National Reconciliation Act, a Deputy Government Spokesman told newsmen at a briefing in Accra on Thursday.
The other members are: Bishop Charles Palmer-Buckle, Catholic Bishop of the Koforidua Diocese, Maulvi Wahab Adam, Ameer and Head of the Ahmadiyya Movement in Ghana, Professor Abena Dolphyne, Former Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Legon and Professor (Mrs) Henerietta Mensah-Bonsu of the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, Legon.
The rest are: Dr Sylvia Boye, formerly of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Mr Christian Appiah Agyei, former General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), General Emmanuel A. Erskine, former Commander of UNIFIL and Uborr Dalafu Labal II, Paramount Chief of Sangule.
The Commission, which would be inaugurated soon by President Kufuor, would have the mandate to operate for a year from the first day of its sitting with a provision for further six months.
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Yendi (Northern Region) 12 April 2002- The death toll in the Yendi tragedy is now 30, Mr Mahammad Habibu Tijani, Yendi District Chief Executive, told a delegation of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Minority in Parliament that visited Yendi on Wednesday.
He said 21 people were injured. Twenty-eight houses including the Ya-Na's Palace were burnt while 2,080 persons made up of 1,014 females and 1,066 males have been displaced.
The delegation, led by the Minority Leader, Mr Alban Bagbin with Madam Alice Boom, MP for Lambussie as the other member, was in Yendi to acquaint itself with the security situation on the ground and express the condolences of the Minority to the bereaved families and sympathise with those who lost their property.
Mr Tijani said 200 mini bags of rice, 40 bags of beans, 500 blankets and 500 mats have been received from the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) for distribution to the victims of the catastrophe.
He said those who fled Yendi in the wake of the calamity had started returning to their homes. He said both the Andani and the Abudu gates had agreed on the establishment of an independent judicial inquiry into the mayhem.
The two gates had also pledged to support and co-operate with the government to find a lasting solution to the wrangle about the Ya-Na's skin. Mr Bagbin said the Minority was making efforts at reconciling the people to complement government's efforts and commended the security agencies for working hard to restore peace to the area.
He urged them to work extra hard to facilitate the peace and reconciliation process initiated by the government and pledged the support of the Minority group in Parliament.
Ya-Na Yakubu Andani, Paramount Chief of the Dagbon Traditional Area was killed in overnight fighting in Yendi on Tuesday March 26. Fighting had erupted on Monday between the Andani and Abudu chieftaincy gates to Ya-Na Skin. Sporadic gunshots were heard during the whole of Tuesday despite the presence of armed soldiers and police.
A dusk to dawn curfew was imposed on Yendi on Monday because of the tense situation there and the Northern Regional Security Committee deployed armed soldiers and police to the area and banned the celebration of this year's annual Bugum (Fire) Festival at Yendi that was to have taken place on Monday night.
Tension had been mounting between the two gates since last January over the celebration of the Muslim Eid ul-Adha festival. The Andani Gate that is currently occupying the Dagbon Skin was said not to have been happy when the rival Abudu Gate celebrated the festival in the traditional way at the house of its regent.
Since then, there had been rumours of an imminent attack and counter-attack by the rival chieftaincy gates, which boiled over into an exchange of gunfire on Monday morning. The clash was precipitated when one of the factions allegedly attacked a young man from the rival camp and destroyed his bicycle.
There has been a long-standing dispute over the succession to the Ya-Na Skin. The former Minister of the Interior, Alhaji Al-Hassan Yakubu and the Northern Regional Minister, Prince Imoro Andani resigned to facilitate investigations into the dastardly act.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 12 April 2002- African leaders have been urged to develop the human resource of the continent through educational programmes to enable the youth to play an active role in the development of their communities.
"Young people in Africa are the most precious human resource for the continent's sustainable development based on the Scout's values." Mr Lamine Diawara, Director, Dakar Operations Centre of the Africa Regional Office of the World Scout, said this when he opened a seven-day West Africa Regional workshop in Accra.
The workshop, which drew 30 participants from Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria, the Gambia and Sierra Leone, would among other things examine issues pertaining to West Africa youth programmes.
Mr Diawara said the youth needed to be trained through scouting to make them more disciplined, responsible, independent, supportive and committed to play a constructive role in the development of their societies. He said scouting was to equip the youth with vocational skills and other techniques that would enable them to contribute to the development of their communities.
Mr Diawara urged participants to develop new tools out of the core programmes to enable members to make meaningful contributions in nation building by developing self-reliance and commitment to help solve problems in their communities.
Deputy Chief Scout Commissioner Jemima Nartey-Adjirakor of Ghana said the association was faced with financial and communication problems and called on benevolent organisations to assist it.
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Yendi (Northern Region) 12 April 2002- Mr Alban Bagbin, the Minority Leader in Parliament, has called on Ghanaians to see the Yendi chieftaincy conflict as a national problem and not as a government or political problem. ''Nobody should, therefore, try to play politics with what has happened in Yendi,'' Mr Bagbin said at separate meetings with leaders of the Andani and Abudu's gates.
He was leading a two-member Minority delegation to Yendi following the assassination of Ya-Na Yakubu Andani, Paramount Chief of Dagomba Traditional Area and the murder of 29 others. The other member of the delegation was Madam Alice Boon, Member of Parliament for Lambussie.
Mr Bagbin said the introduction of politics into the crisis would cloud the minds and thinking of people and thus ''divert the course of justice''. The Minority Leader said because of the sensitive nature of the problem, Parliament could not debate it. He said parliament would review the six weeks' State of Emergency, depending on the security situation to enable them to go to their farms
Mr Bagbin urged the people to preach peace while the government looked into the root causes of the problem to find a lasting solution to it. He told the factions to ''open up their hearts and talk peace if not finding a lasting solution to the conflict would be impossible and unachievable.
"All those preaching animosity and creating confusion should be seen as no true sons of Dagbon," he said. The Minority leader appealed to religious bodies to pray to God to intervene to bring peace to the area.
''I urge leaders of the two gates to bring their wisdom and influence to bear on the youth to stop creating confusion,'' Mr Bagbin said and called on non-governmental organisations to assist victims of the conflict.
Madam Boon urged women to caution their husbands to maintain peace in the communities at all times. "You should know that in any conflict situation it is women and their children who suffer most", she said. The leaders of the two gates pledged their support and co-operation with the government to find a lasting solution to the problem.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 12 April 2002- The government on Thursday said that it stood by the decision of the National House of Chiefs on 21 January 2002, upholding the judgement of the Judicial Committee of the Upper West Regional House of Chiefs, which recognised Na Yakubu Seidu as Wa-Na.
Mr Ferdinand Ayim, Special Assistant to the Minister of Information and Presidential Affairs, told journalists in Accra that that due general insecurity in the North, the Wa-Na had, however, been advised to postpone the outdooring ceremony.
Three Royal Gates to the Wa Skin - Yijiihi, Najeri and Jonyuohi - had protested to the Upper West Region Security Council against moves by the Nakpaha Gate to outdoor Alhaji Yakubu Seidu as the Paramount Chief of the Wala Traditional Area.
The three gates said before Alhaji Seidu's enskinment, they had informed the Council on 27 February about their appeal at the Supreme Court against the ruling of the National House of Chiefs that went in favour of Alhaji Seidu.
Mr Ayim, who was updating the media on the aftermath of the Yendi crisis, explained that although the other three Gates filed a motion of leave at the Supreme Court, the National House of Chiefs went ahead and dismissed the case brought before it on 27 February 2002 paving the way for the enskinment of the Wa-Na on 11 March, 2002.
However, a request to the Regional Security Co-ordinating Committee (REGSEC) for an outdooring on 8 April was turned down due to the general insecurity situation following the Yendi Chieftaincy crisis and its likely spillover effect to other vulnerable areas in the Northern sector.
The Special Assistant said the REGSEC held separate meetings with all the parties involved and explained the security implications on the outdooring and urged them to resolve any differences between them and the Acting President of the Wala Traditional Council.
Mr Ayim stated that in line with the government's mandate to provide security and safety for all citizens, personnel from the Tamale Air Borne Force and Police Service had been deployed at sensitive locations in the traditional area to maintain law and order.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 12 April 2002 - The provisional voters' register would be displayed from 23 to 29 April, the Electoral Commission announced on Thursday. The register would be displayed from 7am to 6pm, including weekends, at same centres in electoral areas where last month's registration exercise was undertaken for inspection and scrutiny, it said.
A statement signed in Accra by Mr Henry W. Okyne, Director, Public Affairs of EC, said this was in compliance with Regulation 18 of the Public Elections Registration of Voters Regulation.
During the exhibition period all registered voters both new and old are entreated to go to their centres to ascertain whether the particulars of their data in the register are correct. Registered voters are also to make claims for insertion of their names omitted from the register and to object to the inclusion of names of unqualified persons in the register.
The statement said they are also to ensure that any request made for permanent transfer had gone through, assist in removing the names of deceased persons in the register and to ascertain once more, their polling stations for the forthcoming district assembly elections and future elections.
The Commission cautioned all registered voters to note that it was an offence for one to have his or her name in more than one divisional register or in the same register.
"Anyone who finds himself or herself in such a situation is advised to go to the exhibition centre in his or her electoral area to have that registration which might have been done inadvertently cancelled." The EC appealed to all Ghanaians and stakeholders to co-operate in making "this national exercise a great success".
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Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 12 April 2002-Another drama unfolded at the murder trial of Professor Agyewodin Adu Gyamfi Ampem II, Omanhene of Achirensua at the Sunyani High Court on Thursday when a prosecution witness became temporarily dumb for about five minutes.
Osei Brown, an apprentice fitter and the sixth prosecuting witness in the case stood speechless in the box for about five minutes before denying authorship of certain aspects of a statement he had earlier given to the police.
He was the only person crossed examined by defence counsel. The presiding judge, Mr Justice Baffoe Bonnie came to his aid before he (witness) spurted out his denial of the statement. The Omanhene is charged with murder for allegedly shooting one Nii Atoquaye to death.
On Wednesday, Emmanuel Barnes, the fifth prosecution witness caused a stir when he vehemently denied authorship of a statement he was said to have made to the police, forcing the prosecutor to plead for an adjournment till Thursday
Brown denied a suggestion from Mr Otu Essel Kwadwo Fordjour, leading defence counsel that a large group of youths alleged to have inspected a toilet and were singing and beating gong-gong whilst moving towards the Omanhene's palace.
Counsel showed witness a portion of a statement he had given to police confirming that the group was singing and beating gong-gong on the day of the incident, but witness flatly denied giving such statement to police.
Earlier, witness had told the court that a group of about 20 youths had decided at a meeting to inspect a public toilet and that on their return, the accused fired at them without any provocation.
In an hour-long cross-examination, which was not different from the questions and suggestions posed to previous prosecution witnesses, Brown's response to most of them were negative. The prosecutor, Mr Betuusiseeh Cab-Bayuo, Chief State Attorney, declined to call more prosecution witnesses.
He told the court that he would rather arrange for a ballistic examiner and a medical officer to appear before the court to also testify. The court therefore adjourned the case till Tuesday, 16 April 2002.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 12 April 2002- Mrs Gladys Asmah, Minister for Women and Children's Affairs, on Thursday called for stiff punishment for those found guilty of domestic violence, rape and defilement. She also called for the speeding up of the trial of such cases to discourage out of court settlements.
"Recent events in the country against women and children have made women insecure, vulnerable and restless," she said, when she paid a courtesy call on the Chief Justice Edward Kwame Wiredu to discuss urgent concerns of women and children.
The Minister said women were dissatisfied with the way cases concerning them were handled by the courts. "Our perception is that the courts are not doing enough to protect the women and children in the country." Mrs Asmah cited cases of violence against women in which culprits were freed and added that they strongly believed that the courts could do a lot to ensure their protection.
Another area of concern to the Ministry, she said, was the sentencing of pregnant women to jail and, therefore, appealed to the Chief Justice re-examine that aspect of the law with a view to adopting a humane approach to the problem.
"We are not in any way implying that you should set aside the law when it comes to women and children's issues. "What we are appealing for is the recognition that women and children are the most vulnerable and defenceless groups in society and, therefore, need maximum protection where they are abused."
The Chief Justice said most courts in the regions would be automated to speed up procedures and make sure that victims of violence were not punished twice by delays, which sometimes obstructed justice. He said the judiciary was going through transformation adding that training programmes would be organised for judges to help correct the lapses.
Mr Justice Wiredu said most judges could not be blamed for their rulings. "Some prosecutors do shoddy work and sometimes cannot even produce witnesses. In such cases all a judge can do is to acquit the accused."
He, however, said judges could draw the attention of prosecutors to flaws on the charge sheets they presented to court. He commended the Minister for drawing his attention to issues concerning women and the law and called on the public to bring to his notice cases of violence, which were thrown out of court.
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Techiman (Brong Ahafo) 12 April 2002- Isaac Osei-Antwi, District Chief Executive (DCE) for Techiman, has warned northern ethnic groups in Techiman District against activities that could lead to a spill over of the Yendi tragedy to the area.
Addressing chiefs and opinion leaders of the Zongo community in Techiman, he warned that anyone caught inflaming passions in the district over the Yendi tragedy would be made to face the full rigours of the law. The DCE asked the people to keep the peace that the district was enjoying since the government was doing all it could to resolve the conflict.
He urged particularly Dagombas in the district to exercise utmost restraint. Mr Wiredu Nkansa, Techiman District Police Commander, said the Police was determined to arrest the perpetrators of the Yendi carnage and asked those in Techiman to trust the Police.
Mr Antholy Kwaku Marnuh, Presiding Member of Techiman District Assembly, advised the youth to preach peace and co-existence. Abdulai Alhassan, chief of Zongo, emphasised that Islam abhorred violence and pledged to use the Mosque to propagate the message of peace in Dagbon.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 12 April 2002- The New Patriotic Party (NPP) is to launch its new party card to replace those currently in possession of members, Mr Dan Botwe, General Secretary of the party announced on Wednesday.
Briefing the media during a meeting with regional secretaries and organisers of the party in Kumasi, he said the introduction of the new cards would enable the party to know its actual membership, adding every member would have to apply.
Mr Botwe also announced that the party would go to congress sometime this year, to elect its presidential candidate in accordance with its constitution, which enjoins it to elect a presidential candidate 24 months before general elections.
He said the meeting was to discuss the state of the party in the regions in preparation towards the 2004 elections, explaining that such meetings also helped to disseminate information and learn at first hand the strength of the party.
Mr Botwe said it was also to afford the national secretariat the opportunity to answer questions about issues in the party and to get feedback on people's feelings at the grassroots on the government's performance.
The General Secretary said how to raise money and encourage members to pay their dues towards funding party activities was of concern to the leadership. The introduction of the new party card, Mr Botwe said, would enable the party to know members who pay their dues regularly.
He announced that the regional secretariats would be computerised and that Greater Accra, Central, Brong-Ahafo, Western and Eastern regional secretariats would be equipped first, while the rest would follow later.
Mr Botwe asked all those who left the party to join the NDC to return to the fold since the party was ready and willing to accept them. Asked whether Alhaji Inusah would be accepted back into the party, the General Secretary said the party does not reject those who want to join, but that he would apply.
Mr Botwe said the party would celebrate its 10 years of existence in recognition of the vision of its founding fathers saying that at a time when they advocated multi-party democracy, market economy, human rights, the rule of law and freedom of expression, they were not understood.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 12 April 2002- Professor Dominic Kweku Fobih, Minister of Environment and Science, on Thursday asked individuals, groups and organisations to protect the environment and help prevent its further damage.
Launching three celebrations slated for the month of June in Accra - World Environment Day, World Day to Combat Drought and Desertification and Day for Scientific Renaissance in Africa, he urged journalists to help create the needed environmental awareness among all Ghanaians.
The celebrations fall on 5 June, 17 June and 28 June, in that order. The days would be celebrated under the theme: "Give Earth a Chance" as part of a global mandate, while the national theme is "The Earth, Our Home, Our Future". "Save our lands from wildfires" is the theme for the World Day to Combat Drought and Desertification, while the Day for Science Renaissance is "Science and Technology for Health".
Prof. Fobih said World Environment Day was intended to stimulate worldwide awareness of the environment and enhance community attention and action. He said a number of activities had been planned to accompany the observance of the World Environment Day including a national clean up campaign, schools' environment quiz, synchronised national radio and TV broadcasts to launch a series of media promotion of a sustainable environment and a nation-wide tree planting exercise.
"The climax will be a national durbar at the Jackson Park, Kumasi", the Minister said, adding that apart from the national durbar, there would be regional celebrations to ensure that the world environment day activities assumed a long-term character covering the whole year.
He said one of the major activities planned for this year's celebrations of world environment day was a national tree planting exercise in schools and communities. "The Ministry is in the process of selecting five schools and two communities in each of the 10 regions to commence the tree planting exercise," he said.
Prof. Fobih said journalists, who had contributed to creating awareness on the environment, would be recognised at the World Environment Day celebration as apart of the environmental reporting award scheme.
He said the second event, the World Day to Combat Drought and Desertification, is rotated among the three northern regions where there were severe threats of desertification. This year's celebration would be launched at Savelugu in the Northern Region, Prof. Fobih said.
"It is one of the districts most affected by desertification as a result of mass deforestation using machinery such as bulldozers to clear the land for commercial cultivation of rice and maize in the early 1960s and thereafter."
He said large tracts of land had, therefore, become bare, eroded and degraded to the extent that they were incapable of producing reasonable yields of maize or rice. "The durbar in the district will definitely create awareness among the large number of people, who depend on the land for their livelihood," Prof Fobih said.
Ms Elizabeth Ohene, Minister of State at the Office of the President, urged journalists to take more interest in environmental issues since the whole country was at risk of losing its natural vegetation cover.
"The problem is no longer that of the urban centres alone. There are signs of degradation all over including the rural areas," she said, adding that there was the need for every member of the society to show interest in protecting the environment.
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London (UK) 12 April 2002 - Old boys of Kumasi High School (Kuhis) have intervened to resolve a dispute between the headmaster of their alma mater and parents of current students.
The problem came to attention when the Ghanaian Chronicle published a story about Kuhis students being obliged by the school authorities to buy set texts that they did not necessarily need for their course studies.
The headmaster sent students home last year to find ¢108,000 to cover the cost of five English books per person. Three of the books - George Orwell's Animal Farm, Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart and Ama Ata Aidoo's play The Marriage of Anansewa, which cost ¢17,000 each - are set texts only for students offering literature in English as a chosen subject.
However, the headmaster declared all five books compulsory purchases for all arts and science students alike. Outraged parents and guardians responded by petitioning the Ashanti regional director of the Ghana Education Service. They demanded that he intervene to stem what they said was the exploitation of students, and claimed that those who questioned the demand for the cash supplement were being threatened with dismissal.
The petition was copied to the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the school's board of directors, the parent-teacher association and the national press. At Christmas, old boys of Kuhis (Abrantie) held an end-of-year dinner-dance at the Kingsway Restaurant in London's East End to raise funds for computers for current students. However, worried by news reports of the impasse, the old boys decided to change tack.
Led by general secretary Lawrence Kofi Baafi and finance secretary Paul Mensah Domfeh, London Abrantie negotiated with their American counterparts to find a solution to the standoff. In March, a representative of US Abrantie travelled to the UK from New York to meet London Abrantie for further discussions.
On behalf of the London and US branches, Baafi then negotiated with the headmaster and the Kumasi branch of Kuhis Old Boys, and agreed with them to use the funds raised at the dance to buy books. The move by the London chapter resolved the dispute between the headmaster, PTA and students at one stroke.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 12 April 2002- Mr Abrampah Mensah, Interim National President of the Action Forum of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who has been implicated in an attempt to harm some journalists in the country, on Thursday denounced Mr Victor Smith, an aide of former President Jerry John Rawlings, as an anti-democrat.
"The NDC as a political party has no hand in any plot against journalists in the country. But certain individuals within the NDC party who have never believed in democratic principles are using diabolical plans to pursue their political ambitions, not caring a hoot about the party's political image," he said.
He was speaking at a news conference organised to react to what he described as insinuations and misrepresentations on the airwaves and in the print media against him.
Security agencies are investigating Mr Smith, Special Assistant to former President Rawlings, and Mr Mensah for a letter Mr Smith said he helped Mr Mensah to draft to warn two journalists about their criticism of the former President.
The two journalists are Mrs Margaret Amoakohene, a lecturer at the School of Communication Studies, University of Ghana, Legon and Mr Kweku Baako Jnr, Editor of the Crusading Guide.
Mr Mensah said he was founder and leader of the Action Forum and they have been working with Mr Smith's office since its establishment. "Indeed I have known Mr Victor Smith for years."
Mr Mensah said as a law-abiding citizen, "I was shocked when the option of causing harm to journalists was proposed by Mr Smith. And as Ghanaian and nationalist, I was not prepared to be part of that." He said it was "shameful and rather disturbing" that Mr Smith should organise threatening letters against some good journalists of this country.
Mr Mensah, who described himself as a staunch member of the NDC, said he had never written an apology letter through an Accra FM station to Former President Rawlings and Victor Smith in his (Mr Mensah's) involvement in a secret plot to kill journalists.
"I simply wish to state that I did not write the so called apology letter. I strongly believe it is a diabolical plan poorly executed by the few anti-democracy elements within the NDC who, being angry with me, are trying to incriminate me in order to cover their shameful deeds."
He said the NDC as a party was trying to build a bridge with the media and would not encourage violence against it. Mr Mensah denied being planted by Mr Baako or Dr Obed Asamoah, a leading member of the NDC, to trap Mr Smith.
He said he enjoys support from many NDC members, who have a strong desire to sustain national democracy. Mr Mensah called on the party hierarchy to condemn those who want to undermine critical institutions like the media, judiciary and chieftaincy.
He denied ever appearing before any disciplinary committee of the party for insubordination and called on political parties to encourage their members to be bold and to speak the truth to move the country forward.
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