Form partnership
with Ghanaian contractors
Don't force people
to go through arbitration
EP Church not
opposed to reconciling
VRA, Wereko-Brobby files writ against 'Chronicle'
Andani
family meets Regional authorities
Government would
ensure the rule of law
Complicity charge
against Dr Nyamekye withdrawn
Selormey
on admission at Korle Bu Hospital
Travellers from
Asia should report chest problems
Herbal drugs
producers urged to prove themselves
Deaths from Malaria
and TB go up in Africa
Change laws on
illegal killing of elephants
Winning spree of
NPP: Potential for One Party State
NPP condemns NDC
for accusing them of harassment
Citizens must
protect constitution
Form
partnership with Ghanaian contractors
Accra (Greater Accra) 29 April
2003- Vice President Aliu Mahama on Monday asked German road contractors to
form partnerships with their Ghanaian counterparts to make them competitive to
win big contracts in the country and the West Africa Sub- Region.
The Vice President, who said
this at the Castle, Osu,
when he received a nine-member delegation of road contractors from the Free
State of Saxony, Germany, noted that Ghanaian contractors would benefit from
the expertise and technology transfer when such relationships were formed.
"There are enormous
benefits from such joint partnerships for your mutual benefit. Indeed, it would
be a win-win situation," he said. The one-week visit of the delegation was
facilitated by the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), as part of its programme
to build the capacity of
Vice President Mahama said the
Government was pleased with GTZ's assistance because
it wanted the capacity of local contractors to improve to enable them to
benefit from World Bank and other donor funded projects.
GTZ has over the past two years,
sponsored local training for contractors to build their capacity as well as
exchange programmes to Germany on internship. It would sponsor 10 contractors
and engineers to visit
Vice President Mahama said
The Leader of the delegation,
Ulf Richter of the Saxony Ministry of Economic Affairs, said members of the
group, who have specialised in various fields of construction, such as
extraction, machinery and logistics and international construction, would look
at their areas of interest for cooperation.
He said details of their
cooperation would be worked out during the visit of their Ghanaian colleagues
in
Johannes Twumasi-Mensah,
Chairman of the Association of Road Contractors, lauded the support they were
receiving from GTZ, which had also helped to develop their website, as very
beneficial. He said three contractors left for
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Don't force
people to go through arbitration
Mrs Justice Wood was speaking on
customary arbitration at a workshop on conflict management and resolution at
the Sarfo Hotel in
Members of Anti-Violence
Response and Prevention Group, a civil society organisation at Kwanfinfin in the Atwima
District, representatives from the Commission on Human Rights and
Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Social Welfare Department and the Judicial
Service attended the workshop.
Mrs Justice Wood appealed to
people engaged in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to ensure respect for
the rules of natural justice and fair play. ''Arbitrators should not sit on
cases they have either direct or indirect interest in or its outcome.
Arbitrators should exhibit high ethical standards, honesty, integrity and
fair-mindedness.''
"The award (decision) given
must be clear, certain and consistent and not contradictory." She said the
effect of valid arbitration was that one party could not come out of the
decision and take the matter to court again.
The decision would bind the
parties, their children and grandchildren and that a winning party could go to
court to enforce the decision. Nene A.O. Amegatcher, an
The four-day workshop was
designed to help build the capacity and equip the participants with skills to
play the role of effective mediators. They were taken through the processes of
negotiation, mediation and arbitration.
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EP Church
not opposed to reconciling
The Right Reverend Dr L. K. Buamah, Moderator of the EP Church, Ghana, said the church
was focused on instituting mechanisms that could bring back members, who had
left the church while at the same time attracting new members.
Rt Rev Buamah
said this when he delivered a sermon at a thanksgiving service held at the Ayigya Chapel in
The three-day meeting was held
under the theme: "Closing The Gap". The
Moderator said the decision of the Church to put in place an open-door policy
was evidenced that it was zealous about reconciling with those who left the
church and also ensuring the unity of purpose within the fold.
"Irrespective of the petty
squabbles, we remain brothers in Christ propagating the same gospel" he
said, adding: "The petty squabbles in the church should not be an obstacle
to the resolve of the church to reach out to people in the country."
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VRA, Wereko-Brobby files writ against 'Chronicle'
The suit issued by Kofi Aboagye and Co is against the Chronicle Media Limited, A.C.
Ohene, Editor of the Ghanaian Chronicle and John Bediako, Staff Writer of the newspaper. The writ filed on
14 April seeks exemplary damages of one billion cedis for libel of VRA and its
Chief Executive as well as the granting of a perpetual injunction to restrain
the newspaper to desist from publishing further defamatory articles against the
VRA and its Chief Executive.
The said articles were published
in the Chronicle on
It said the Authority intended
to file the requisite amendments to the original writ to cover the latest
allegations and if necessary seek further damages for the additional libel
contained in the said publications.
The statement said VRA had taken
the court action in order to offer the newspaper "ample opportunity"
in a court to substantiate and establish beyond every possible doubt "the
series of malicious allegations and accusations that the newspaper has rained
systematically on the Authority over the past several months".
The statement said VRA had
chosen not to use its constitutional right of rejoinder because "the very
grave and serious nature of the accusations and charges made against it
required that they be proven or exposed as lies that they are".
"In our view, the most
proper and responsible way to dispel these charges or for the Chronicle to
prove its case, is to bring the matter before the judicial courts of this
country who have the statutory responsibility to
establish the facts or otherwise of alleged criminal conduct on the part of the
Authority."
The statement said the VRA
believes that its action constitutes "a defining moment" for the
practice of journalism and accountability of public office holders under the
Constitution.
It said VRA recognises the right
of journalists to publish the truth. "By the same token, we also believe
that public office holders, and indeed all citizens of
"The VRA and its Chief
Executive are confident that their policies and actions have been carried out
in the best interest of
It said in spite of the very low
level of water in the Akosombo Dam, the VRA would
continue to meet the power requirements of all its customers to the full. In
another development, Dr Wereko-Brobby has described
as false a statement by Doe Adjaho, Minority Chief
Whip, that the Chief Executive and senior management had awarded themselves 300
percent increases in salaries.
In a letter to Adjaho and copied to the Speaker, Dr Wereko-Brobby
said by rushing to press without proper verification, the MP had done
"incalculable harm to VRA, its senior management and I believe to yourself
for peddling such lies...."
Dr Wereko-Brobby
asked Adjaho to substantiate the contents of the
statement "or knowing that they are a pack of lies" withdraw them
immediately and apologise to the Board and senior management of the Authority.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 29 April
2003- Madam Betty Vanderpuye, 39, widow of a Ghanaian
laboratory technician who was killed by unknown assailants in the US last two
months, on Monday appealed to the government to investigate the motive behind
the murder.
Tearful Madam Vanderpuye told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in
"My husband left
"I have always dreamt of
the day we would be re-united and so I was very terrified when I heard the news
that my husband's body had been discovered in his flat in
Madam Vanderpuye
said one Eric Otubuah, a relative of the deceased who
accompanied the ashes of her cremated husband to
She said the certificates were
returned to her with the explanation that since the children were not with
their father in the
"As a petty trader and now
a single parent how can I cater for the needs of my children now in
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Andani family meets Regional authorities
Tamale (Northern Region)
At a meeting with the Regional
Security Council (RESEC), the chiefs led by Gulkpa-Naa,
asked the security agencies to set free persons arrested for wearing talisman
during the clashes period.
Ernest Debrah,
Northern Regional Minister told newsmen at a press briefing that the chiefs
also want the government to limit the curfew to the Tamale Municipality alone
and not to cover the whole of Dagbon State.
The chiefs appealed to the
government to relax the curfew period from the current
The Regional Minister pleaded
with the press to contact him for correct information on the clashes before
going on air or print. He appealed to citizens resident in
Brigadier George Ayiku, General Officer Commanding the Northern Command,
commended the people for co-operating with the security agencies deployed in
the municipality. He said the security situation in the municipality was
returning to normalcy and that security personnel would continue to patrol the
streets to maintain law and order. "Our aim is to find a lasting solution
to the Dagbon crisis and not to deepen wounds."
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Government
would ensure the rule of law
Amasaman (Greater Accra)
Attoh, who was launching the third
National Constitution Week celebration at Amasaman
said Ghanaians should be able to seek redress without any intimidation and be
encouraged to participate in the decision-making process.
He said mal-administration and
financial mismanagement, which have characterized the old system, must be
eliminated so that people could have confidence in the local government reform
and the decentralisation programme.
Attoh called on the youth to study
the 1992 Constitution: "so that our human rights cannot be trampled
upon." Mrs. Doris Bimpong, the Magistrate at the
Circuit Court at Amasaman, said the 1992 Constitution
was important for the sustenance of the country's democracy and any attempt to
violently or unlawfully disrupt that order constituted treason, which was
punishable by death.
Mrs Bimpong
said constitutional rule could best be safeguarded and consolidated by removing
constraints that impedes the smooth operations of state institutions such as
the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), CHRAJ and the Electoral
Commission. He said the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary should also be
allowed to perform their functions independently.
Mrs Bimpong
called on the government and the opposition parties to co-operate for a healthy
political atmosphere towards the consolidation of constitutional rule. Mrs
Beatrice Duncan, Child Protection Officer, UNICEF, said children must be
protected from abuses to ensure their survival and development.
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Complicity
charge against Dr Nyamekye withdrawn
Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 29 April
2003- The Attorney-General's office in Sunyani on Monday withdrew a charge of
complicity in an alleged rape case against Dr. Kofi Baah
Nyamekye, Senior Medical Officer of the Government
Health Centre at Akropong in Atwima
District of Ashanti, for lack of evidence.
The alleged rape case was
against one Joseph Amankwaah, a Sunyani based
photographer. Prosecution in the case told a Magistrate Court in Sunyani that
the charge that Dr. Nyamekye aided and abetted one Alhassan Ali and Emelia Danquah in committing crime by
fixing a medical report on Emelia Danquah that fabricated a rape charge against
Amankwaah had been withdrawn, following the advice
from the Attorney-General's Office.
The Court, presided by Charles
Adjei Wilson, therefore, discharged Dr.Nyamekye, who
is also Head of the Buruli Ulcer Surgical Team in the
Atwima District. Assistant Superintendent of Police
(ASP) Alex Yartey Tawiah,
prosecutor, explained that after convicting the first, second and third accused
persons in the case with two others at large and due to certain legal
connotations in the case, the docket had to be referred to the
Attorney-General's office for advice.
The Prosecutor said after
examining the docket, the Attorney General's office said Dr.Nyamekye
acted in his professional capacity as a Medical Officer, "so his report
that Emelia was raped after examining her was based on his professional
findings."
ASP Yartey
said the Attorney General's office had also instructed that Dr. Nyamekye's exoneration be given the same prominent
publicity in the media as was done when the case was brought before the court
by the police, to restore his professional image.
The Attorney-General's office
further directed that the police must intensify its search to apprehend the
said Alhassan Ali and the other accused person at
large, "to prosecute them for bringing about this state of affairs."
It would be recalled that the
Prosecution in the case on
Wednesday, 29 January this year, however, applied that the Police wanted to use
Dr. Nyamekye as a prosecution witness in the case.
This was "because the supposed rape victim, Emelia, 17, had confessed that
the case was calculated to implicate Amankwaah to
enable them to dupe him of his money and so the Doctor's complicity was also
framed up against him."
Counsel for Dr. Nyamekye, Anthony Yeboah of Hayfron
Benjamin and Company, a Kumasi-based legal firm objected to prosecution's
application or request on grounds that using his client as a witness in the
case was a different thing all together without the involvement of the court.
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Selormey on admission at
Accra (Greater Accra) 29 April
2003- An Accra Fast Track Court trying two former Ministers of State for their
alleged involvement in the Trade and Investment Project on Monday adjourned the
case to 12 May because Victor Selormey, one the
accused persons, was absent from court.
The court presided over by
Justice Stephen T. Farkye, an Appeal Court Judge, who
was sitting with additional responsibility as a High Court Judge, enquired
about the whereabouts of Selormey and was told by a
Prisons Officer that he was ill and had since last Friday been on admission at
the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. Barima Manu, Counsel
for Selormey, former Deputy Minister of Finance, also
confirmed the report.
The Court, therefore, adjourned
the case to 12 May Daniel Abodakpi former Minister of
Trade and Industry and Selormey are jointly being
tried on seven counts of conspiracy to commit crime, defrauding by false
pretences and wilfully causing a total loss of 2.73 billion cedis to the State.
They have denied all the charges and are currently on self-recognisance bail in
the sum of three billion cedis each.
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Travellers
from
Sunyani (Brong Ahafo)
This is because the Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is more virulent in
He said a Technical Committee of
the Association had gone to the ports and frontiers to create awareness about
the disease. "A lot is being done
to avert any situation of its outbreak in the country."
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Herbal drugs
producers urged to prove themselves
Saltpond (Central Region)
Dr Frederick Vormawor,
Medical Superintendent in charge of
This, he explained, had made
health authorities not to take them serious. "We look up for the day when a herbalist could convince us that he has really got a cure
for malaria and HIV/AIDS," he said.
Dr Vormawor
said this at a health education forum on malaria, organised by
Dr Vormawor
commended the Heads of States of the countries that met at the
Dr Vormawor
appealed to the people to adopt preventive methods against the disease by
destroying anything that could encourage breeding of mosquitoes and rather
promote constant usage of nets, insecticides and other mosquito expellants.
He appealed to the Ghana
Standard Board (GSB) and Food and Drugs Board (FDB) to ensure that insecticides
and mosquito coils, which have flooded the markets, do not contain chemicals
that could be injurious to health.
Dr Vormawor
expressed concern about self-medication and said the practice had encouraged
the parasite to build resistance to chloroquine, the first line of treatment of
malaria. Joseph Abaidoo-Abbam, the Administrator at
the Hospital called on environmental health inspectors to educate the people on
the need to observed environmental sanitation.
Nana Baah
VII, Chief of Saltpond Lower Town, urged Africans to help erase the tag
"The Whiteman's Grave" which was placed on the continent by the
colonial masters because of the deadly disease malaria. Chief Inspector Patrick
Yeboah of Saltpond Police Station assured the chiefs of police assistance in
dealing with people who commit sanitary offence.
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Deaths from
Malaria and TB go up in
Accra (Greater Accra) 29 April
2003-Emmanuel Addipo-Adapoe, President of the Greater
Accra Health Training Institutions (GAHTI), on Monday said the death toll from
malaria and tuberculosis related diseases in Africa was on the increase because
quality health care delivery was being compromised.
"It is disheartening that
Africa loses about one to two million lives to malaria and another 20,000 to
Tuberculosis", Addipo-Adapoe said and added
these diseases could be prevented by simply educating the public to adopt
hygienic practices.
Addipo-Adapoe, who was speaking at the launch
of the maiden annual GAHTI Awareness Week in
"Lets
train ourselves to wash our hands thoroughly with soap and detergents after
funerals, parties and other social gatherings, after touching door handles
especially in overcrowded homes, hospitals, clinics and schools".
Teachers and school heads, he
said, should be encouraged to ensure that pupils sent their cups to school to
prevent the transmission of contagious diseases. "They should also be
encouraged to ensure that students, who come to school with severe and
excessive coughs and sneezes are isolated and medical
attention sought immediately, he said.
Addipo-Adapoe said in addition to hygienic
practices, the public also had the responsibility to maintain quality health
and adhere strictly to drug prescriptions and dosages to complement efforts of
health workers. This, he said, was necessary to prevent drug abuse, which
tended to build resistance against some drugs and, therefore, rendered them
ineffective.
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Change laws
on illegal killing of elephants
Moses Kofi Sam, Head Of Elephant Programmes of the Wildlife Division of the
Forestry Commission, made the call when he briefed the press after the opening
of the meeting in
He said there was a stakeholders
meeting underway to find which areas of the law needed to be amended or
changed. Nineteen participants from
He said though there was a ban
on trading of elephants, many people still hid under the carpet to kill and
sell elephants and its parts. "We have started creating the awareness on
the need to conserve the animals and with the support of some organisations, we
are equipping our staff to be doing the policing in the reserved areas,"
he said.
Sam called for the involvement
of the community in the fight against illegal killing of elephants. The Head of
Elephants Programmes suggested that destruction of crops by elephants should be
considered as a disaster and be given the needed attention.
Nick Ankudey,
Executive Director of Wildlife Division, said Kakum
and
Ankudey said a new project,
Northern Savannah Biodiversity Conservation Programme would be managing the Sisili-Nazainga and the
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Winning
spree of NPP: Potential for
The panellists noted:
"Winning party sympathisers, media practitioners, civil society
organizations and entire democratic forces should not jubilate
over the winning spree of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), but should
lament over the loses of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as the
development had the potential of plunging the country into a one party
state."
The Panellist, mainly officials
from the Ghana Immigration Services, Ghana Police Service, Prison Services, Political Party representatives, Supreme Court Judges,
Students and Civil Society Organizations were contributing to the main lecture
theme: "A Decade of Constitutionalism in
The National Commission for Civic
Education (NCCE) is organising the week to create an increased and sustained
interest and participation of all Ghanaians in the new democratic dispensation
to achieve good governance, social and political stability for national unity
and development.
It would also be used to assess
10 years of constitutional rule, pitfalls and challenges with a view to
strengthening good governance through effective and resourceful democratic
institutions and civil society.
The Panellists and participants
exposed the dangers of a one party state and appealed to all democratic forces
and political party operatives to intensify public education on the benefits
and beauty of multi-party democracy.
In a paper presented on behalf
of Professor Emmanuel Gyimah-Boadi, Executive
Director of Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), he decried the
creeping political and religious intolerance in the society, saying it posed a
threat to constitutionalism.
"This negative culture is
reflected especially in the lack of or extremely low levels of sympathy for
opposition parties and dissenting voices in
Prof. Gyimah-Boadi
said the sharp reversal of support for the NDC soon after leaving power and the
popular identification with the ruling NPP...and the natural tendencies to go
with the winner appeared to be carried to extraordinary heights in Ghanaian
politics.
"This opens the question of
who would stay in the opposition to undertake the important democratic task of
keeping the government on its toes." The CDD-Ghana Director, whose speech
was read for him by Dr Baffour Agyeman Duah, Associate Director of CDD, identified the huge
deficits in civic competence and political efficacy in the country as another
threat to
This Prof. Gyimah-Boadi said was amply reflected in paternalistic, supplicatory and sycophantic attitudes to persons in authority
and indeed to those with favours and largesse to dispense.
He also described the hybrid of
the
"Our democratic
constitutionalism is also faced with threats inherent in a Constitution that
fosters 'hegemonic Presidency,' where the President is granted vast appointing
powers, with no ceiling on the number of appointments he could make to the
Supreme Court and the number of ministers he could appoint and has near
monopoly control over the public purse.
"A hegemonic Presidency is
at work when the President of a supposedly liberal democratic system can
physically assault his Vice President but does not suffer any constitutional
penalties, in terms of constitutionalism, it may be said that the 1992
Constitution grants too much power for a good President to need, and too much power
for a bad President to have," Prof Gyimah-Boadi
emphasised.
Prof Gyimah-Boadi,
therefore, called on civic educators to sensitise and create the awareness to
reduce the deficits of democracy and constitutionalism especially those that
relate to political culture and political attitudes.
Laary Bimi
NCCE Chairman, blamed media practitioners for the
current antagonism between the NPP and NDC and cautioned Journalists about the
consequences of one party state even for free speech.
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NPP condemns
NDC for accusing them of harassment
Accra (Greater Accra) 29 April
2003- The Northern Regional Secretariat of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on
Monday denied claims by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that NPP
activists were leading the security agencies to arrest and harass NDC members
at Tamale.
"This claim by the NDC is
highly unfortunate and undesirable," a release signed by Alhaji Salifu Abdurahmani, Northern Regional Chairman of the Party, said
in
"We would have wished that
the two NDC stalwarts visited Tamale to ascertain the extent of damage and the
gravity of the atrocities committed rather than sitting in
"We also wish to remind the
NDC that when investigations are to be made by the Police, people must be
arrested led by the complainants themselves. The NDC should also note that some
of the culprits were arrested on the scene."
The release explained that since
the crisis erupted in Yendi a year ago, the situation
in the Tamale Metropolis in particular, had become very fluid and this had
created a state of anxiety, instability and fear among all members and
sympathisers of the NPP.
That tense situation, according
to the release, was reported to the security agencies that seemed relaxed.
"NPP believes that had emboldened such perpetrators, who behaved as if
they were above the law.
"This we believe culminated
into the carnage that erupted for three days without the NDC or any traditional
ruler coming out to condemn the activities of the youth, who went on rampage to
harass any body in NPP regalia and destroying NPP structures.
"It is sad to note that it
was only after the irate youth had vandalised and burnt NPP activists'
property, houses, cars, motorbikes and even killing and burning some of our
members that the perpetrators were arrested, and the NDC are now beginning to
complain about the mode of arrest." The NPP said it is, therefore,
ridiculous for anybody to call for immediate release of those arrested as
suspects.
The release said the attacks on
NPP activists were calculated plans by some politicians to frustrate the
efforts the government and the international community were making in promoting
peace in Dagbon.
It, therefore, called on members
of the NDC to come to Tamale to "see things for themselves" and to
cooperate with the government to identify the real perpetrators of the
atrocities rather than politicising the attacks.
It further called for serious
and fair investigations into the carnage and the events leading to the attacks.
The release also appealed to the government, as a matter of urgency, to
resettle displaced families and foot the medical bills of the injured while
arranging for compensation for those who lost their property.
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Citizens
must protect constitution
Ho (Volta Region)
The 1979 Constitution provided
for such protective clauses and provisions and yet it was overthrown, he said.
Owusu-Yeboa was speaking at the launching of this year's National Constitution
Week celebration in the
It was organised by the National
Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and attended by representatives of
political parties, human and civil rights organisations and Heads of
Departments. "Protective clauses and provisions," do not by
themselves possess any protective charm against military coup d'etats, the Regional Minister said.
The citizenry's deepest
understanding, appreciation and commitment to protecting the values of
democratic political governance as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution offered
the most viable protection, he added.
Owusu-Yeboa said,
"Entrusting our liberties and lives into the capricious hands of
self-appointed political leaders who procured state power and authority through
military coup, should be resisted".
He called for support and
encouragement for the NCCE to enable it fulfil its Constitutional mandate of
motivating, inspiring and strengthening the citizenry's resolve to resist and
overcome attempts to subvert the constitutional order.
Ferdinand J. K. Anku, Regional Director of NCCE, called on the electorate
to refrain from voting on tribal or ethnic lines but to endeavour to vote for
quality leadership and principled men to consolidate and sustain
constitutionalism.
He appealed to the government to
allocate adequate resource to the NCCE to carry out their mandate of
consolidating constitutionalism and democratic governance.
Modestus Ahiable,
MP for Ketu North, asked the NCCE to be vigilant and
to speak out against issues that are likely to undermine the consolidation of
the Constitution. He urged the Commission to fashion out innovative ways of
raising funds to complement resources made available for its work.
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