Current political issues, main input for
reconciliation and not the past - MP
Atwima-Kwanwoma NDC elects new executive
Veep calls on chief to join fight against
HIV/AIDS
Reconciliation needed for national unity
Volta Region to be leading coconut producer
soon
Government to restructure prisons service
"Aviation Security and drug traffickers
are not friends", GCAA
Stadium Disaster Fund Committee presents
report
Legal system to be specialized
Current political issues, main input for
reconciliation and not the past - MP
Bunso (Eastern Region) 01 December 2001- The Member of Parliament (MP) for Fanteakwa, Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo on Wednesday suggested that in reconciling the country, the main focus should be on the current issues that were dividing the country along political lines.
The MP, however, said the National Democratic Congress (NDC) supported the exercise but noted that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government was doing politics of " We and them".
Speaking at the conference of the Abuakwa constituency branch of the NDC at Bunso, Mr Ofosu-Ampofo expressed doubt about the ability of the government to reconcile the country, if it wanted to place emphasis on the past.
The MP accused the President John Kufour and his Cabinet Ministers of not inviting the Ex-President or former Ministers for discussions on national issues.
He said despite the many electoral promises made by the NPP it had not been able to formulate policies that could give Ghanaians hope for a better future adding, "should an opinion poll be conducted now, the NDC would lead".
Earlier, delegates to the conference disrupted all protocols at the conference as they scrambled for nomination papers to file their nomination for executive positions within the constituency branch of the party.
When calm was finally restored, a 15-member constituency executive was elected under the chairmanship of Mr Ampofo Doudu, Presiding Member of the East Akyem District Assembly.
Other members included Mr Nimako Danquah, Vice-Chairman, Mr Haruna S. Afrifa, Secretary, Mr Samuel Abedi, Treasurer, Mr Joseph Frimpong, Organiser, Mr Okyere Acheampong, Propaganda Secretary, Mr Opoku Kumi, Youth Organiser and Ms Janet Frimpomaa, Women Organiser.
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Atwima-Kwanwoma NDC elects new executive.
Kotwi (Ashanti Region) 01 December 2001-The Atwima-Kwanwoma Constituency of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has elected Oheneba Kwame Kyem, an assembly member, as sits new chairman. This was during the party's delegates' conference held at Kotwi, in the Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma District.
Other elected officers were Nana Baffour Awuah, Vice-Chairman, Nana Kofi Akosa, Secretary, Clement Obeng Fordjour, Organiser, Ms Felicia Asaika, Treasurer, Bright Adusei, Youth Organiser and Ms Gifty Gyau, Women's Organiser.
Oheneba Kyem in an address after the election, asked members to remain committed, dedicated and loyal to the cause of the NDC. He said: "The deliberate campaign by sections of the mass media to paint the NDC black should not dampened your spirits."
He noted that with determination, diligence, hard work, patience and tolerance, the party could wrest political power from the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) in 2004.
Oheneba Kyem gave the assurance that he and his team would do everything possible to increase the NDC's votes in the area in the next general election.
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Veep calls on chief to join fight against
HIV/AIDS
Tamale (Northern Region) 01 December 2001- Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama has called on chiefs to join the fight against HIV/AIDS which he described as pandemic that was threatening the nation's survival.
He said the youth on which the nation's survival depended were at risk and they should be educated to abstain from casual sex or practice safe sex.
The Vice President was speaking when he paid separate courtesy calls on the two traditional rulers of Tamale, Dakpena Richard Alhassan and the regent of Gulkpegu, Naa Alhaji Ziblin Adbulai as part of his three-day visit to Tamale.
Alhaji Aliu also urged chiefs to lead the crusade against illiteracy in the Northern Region by encouraging their subjects to send their children to school.
Naa Alhaji Ziblin pledged that he would take up the challenges but appealed to the government to make education affordable.
He hinted that there was likelihood of food shortage in the North in view of the poor rainfall this year and appealed to the government to take immediate measures to make up for the possible shortfall.
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Reconciliation needed for national unity
Accra (Greater Accra) 01 December 2001- Dr Baffour Agyeman-Duah, Associate Executive Director of the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), on Friday said although democracy thrived on different opinions, an unhealthy situation could develop when citizens were sharply divided on political issues.
He told the Ghana News Agency in Accra that this could become especially disturbing when these divisions were strong enough to threaten national unity.
Dr Agyeman-Duah was commenting on the on-going debate on the National Reconciliation Bill, which has split Parliament down the middle.
MPs of the NDC walked out of Parliament last week when the Attorney-General Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was rounding up debate on the National Reconciliation Bill. The minority accused him of using insulting language.
Dr Agyeman-Duah said even in western countries, which had advanced democracies based on differences in opinion, national unity basically overrode those differences.
He said as a result of extreme abuses in the past by some governments, there were people with very strong political feelings, which were not complimentary to the growth of democracy.
Dr Agyeman Duah said although certain governments were so structured as to facilitate human rights abuses, such as past military regimes, it would be important to take care of all people with grievances irrespective of which kind government must have been in power.
While the government bill limits the work of the National Reconciliation Commission to military governments, the NDC wants all governments since independence in 1957 to be looked at.
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Volta Region to be leading coconut producer
soon
Accra (Greater Accra) 01 December 2001- The Volta Region is soon to become the leader in coconut production following the introduction of a new hybrid.
African Environmental Regeneration Movement (AFERM), an NGO, is introducing the hybrid that is disease-proof and matures in three years.
Mr Daniel Fianu-Dezor, Executive Secretary of AFERM who spoke to the GNA on Friday, said the introduction of the hybrid was part of International Tropical Timber Organization's (ITTO) project to rehabilitate defunct State Farms at Abutia.
He said the hybrid, which had higher oil content than the local variety, was capable of bearing an average of 70 fruits at a time. Mr Fianu-Dezor said AFERM had acquired 4,761.21 hectares of land to cultivate the coconut and intersperse it with timber tree species such as Odum, Wawa, Mahogany, Teak and Ebony.
"We have also supplied coconut seedlings to some farmers in the Ho district and we are prepared to supply more seedlings to other farmers who show interest in the cultivation of the coconut to make the Volta Region the number one producer for Ghana.
"We are beginning the cultivation of coconut once again following the destruction of coconut in the Central and Western Regions by the Cape St Paul disease".
He said 63 permanent and over 150 casual workers had been engaged on the project. Togbe Botchway Ayipe VI, Chief of Abutia Kloe and project manager, commended AFERM for its initiative and urged farmers and landowners to take up the cultivation of coconut as income generating venture to create wealth for the region as well as jobs for the youth.
Mr Emmanuel Okyere Boateng, a worker on the plantation and a former employee of the Forest Services Division, hailed the project saying he earned more money now than when he was in the civil service.
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Government to restructure prisons service
Accra (Greater Accra) 01 December 2001- Government is taking a number of steps to improve the Ghana Prisons Service to enable it to perform its statutory functions with efficiency, Mr. Yaw Barimah, Minister of Works and Housing, said on Friday.
Speaking at a ceremony to round off this year's Prisons Week celebration, the Minister said appropriate contacts were being made with foreign prison services for training opportunities to broaden the horizon of Ghanaian prison staff.
Activities for the week, which was under the theme: "Rehabilitation of Prison Inmates in the new dawn", included an open day and exhibition of handicrafts by prisoners, games and a symposium.
Mr Barimah, a former Deputy Minister of the Interior, said a collaborative project was being undertaken with the UK Prisons Service to design a strategic development plan to guide the general direction of the Ghana Prisons Service.
"There is also collaboration among the various stakeholders of the criminal justice system to make the agencies more efficient in the handling of cases of all prisoners."
Mr Barimah said the Attorney General's Department, the prisons and police services were finding ways to expedite the trial of remand prisoners who form the majority of inmates as part of measures to decongest the prisons.
He said foreign funding was being sought to address the poor state of transportation, communication and accommodation.
Mr Barimah said government was also sourcing for funds to relocate badly sited prisons such as the Maamobi Prison Complex, the Kumasi Central Prison and the Obuasi Local Prison.
"This would involve a trade-off where new prisons with accompanying modern facilities and barracks accommodation would be built and occupied by the Prisons Service while the current land will be ceded to the developers who provided the funding," he added.
Mr Barimah noted that the prisons were not places where people were sent to idle as a punishment, but a place for sober reflection and training to help inmates acquire employable skills to earn a decent living after leaving the prison.
He said given the needed resources, materials, proper orientation and motivation, so much could be produced in the prisons to generate income not only for the Prisons Service but also for other sectors of the economy.
"The public could also help by contracting the Prisons Service for the construction and rehabilitation of buildings, manufacture of furniture and sewing of uniforms to enable them to generate income and skills," the Minister added.
Mr Richard Kuuire, Director-General of the Prisons Service, asked government to provide the necessary resources to overhaul the entire prisons system in Ghana.
He called on non-governmental organisations and other public-spirited groups to enter into partnership with the service to engage the skills of the inmates to generate revenue to improve upon conditions in the prisons.
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"Aviation Security and drug
traffickers are not friends", GCAA
Shai-Hills (Greater Accra) 01 December 2001- The Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCCA) on Friday cautioned its security personnel against colluding with drug dealers, currency traffickers and other criminals that would want to sneak through the security system.
The warning comes at time that customs officials in the United Kingdom are investigating how 30 kilograms of cocaine recently passed through the Kotoka International Airport to London without detection.
Mr Samuel Osei-Ansah, Acting Deputy Director-General (Technical), gave the warning at the passing-out parade for 57 newly recruited Aviation Security Guards at the Army Recruit Training School (ARTS) at the Shai-Hills. "The Ghana Civil Aviation Authority is not a place to make quick money by condoning criminal activity", he said.
Mr Osei-Ansah, who was the reviewing officer for the parade, said the days when the Aviation Security Guards were equated to watchmen at the airport was past and they now have to seriously brace themselves up for their new roles.
The guards, including 12 women, were taken through various disciplines including physical training, unarmed combat, communication skills, weapon handling, recognition of explosives and weapon parts and security.
The training was meant to sharpen their mental alertness, instil esprit-de-corps in them, inculcate discipline and develop loyalty to their superiors and peers.
Mr Osei-Ansah noted that the GCAA now needed disciplined, loyal, dependable and analytically minded men and women who have initiative and were capable of taking quick decisions to manage its hi-tech equipment for the safety and comfort of its customers.
He said recent developments in the aviation industry, especially, the events of September 11 in the United States, had brought into sharp focus the important role of security in the industry.
He said the GCAA was doing its best to provide a safe and efficient air transport system in the country, adding that equipment alone was not enough to ensure the safety desired hence the investment in the development of its human resources.
Mr Augustus Otoo, the Parade Commander, was adjudged the best all round trainee, Miss Lily Gyapomaa Danso came out as the best in leadership, Mr Frank Adjei was the best in drill while Miss Juliet Osei Adu was honoured as the best female trainee.
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Stadium Disaster Fund Committee presents
report
Accra (Greater Accra) 01 December 2001- The May 9 Stadium Disaster Relief Fund Management Committee on Friday presented its recommendations on how the 2.3 billion cedis collected so far should be disbursed.
Mr J.S. Addo, Chairman, said the thrust of their recommendation was to ensure that the children of the deceased and the permanently incapacitated people did not, as far as possible, suffer serious financial difficulties.
"We do not believe that any of the children should be school drop-outs because of financial constraints. "As a result, he said, the committee proposed an educational scheme based on the Ghana Education Service's "bright but needy children" concept for them.
Mr Addo said the committee had also designed another scheme for the permanently incapacitated and other dependants of the deceased adding, "We hope government will be able to supplement this amount to increase the capital for the scheme to be sustained."
He said that the capital at the Bank of Ghana had been invested to generate sufficient income to sustain the proposed scheme over the next 17 years.
Mr Addo noted that the delay in presenting the Committee's report was due to the detailed analysis of a lot of data collected from the representatives of the deceased and the injured.
He said 15 of the applications were not attended to because of inaccurate information provided while others did not have representatives at all.
Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Minister of Information and Presidential Affairs, received the report on behalf of the government and gave the assurance that government would spend about two weeks to study it after which a statement would be issued.
He expressed government's gratitude to the public for their donations saying, they were still receiving more, He commended the committee for their enthusiasm to serve even without any remuneration.
One hundred and twenty-six people died during a stampede at the stadium when police fired teargas during a league match between Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.
A commission of enquiry, which investigated the tragedy, has since presented its report and the government has issued a white paper, which said a number of senior police officers at the stadium would be prosecuted.
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Legal system to be specialized
Accra (Greater Accra) 01 December 2001- Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, announced on Friday that government the intend to create specialized tribunals for the various sectors of the economy to facilitate the operations of the system.
"We are preparing to initiate a programme to establish labour, commercial, environmental and other tribunals," he said. Nana Akufo-Addo was answering a question at a luncheon organised by the Ghana Chamber of Mines (GCM) to expose players in that sector to reforms in the legal regime of the mining industry.
He said the Attorney-General's Department believed that specialisation of the legal system was a sure way to facilitate its operations.
Nana Akufo-Addo said as part of measures to ensure strict enforcement of environmental laws for instance, the A-G's Department would next year establish an environmental desk to closely monitor and suggest necessary reforms to the environmental laws.
The mining laws were also currently under review and the Law Reform Commission and the Ministry of Mines in collaboration with the GCM were involved in the review process.
"Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) concerned with mining and the environment, mining communities and the general public will be given the chance to make inputs on completion of the first draft of the new mining law," he said.
Nana Akufo-Addo said recent events in the mining industry required that such reforms should be undertaken to ensure local and foreign investor confidence in the industry.
"The time has come for the application of appropriate policies and laws to stimulate direct indigenous and foreign investment into the mining sector, especially gold, which accounts for 85 per cent of our mineral revenue," he said.
Nana Akufo-Addo, also MP for Abuakwa, said the government had identified three potential investors in bauxite mining in the Abuakwa State and efforts were being made to provide the needed support to make their operations a reality.
He said measures were also in place to take a critical look at the activities of NGOs against the background of regulations on their operations.
Nana Akufo-Addo said most NGOs in the country arrogated to themselves roles and functions, which belonged to the government and in the process created problems for the government.
He said government was taking a critical look at the legal regime of NGO's activities to determine the legal boundaries within which they must operate and to ensure that they remained and became firm within those boundaries. "This, we believe, will spare us some of the nightmares NGOs create for us."
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