"Not too late to amend Reconciliation Act," Mumuni
Tema (Greater Accra) 23 February 2002 - The Tema District Council of Labour (TDCL) has called on the government to be circumspect in its dealing with the Volta
Aluminium Company (VALCO), which is the main source of support to all aluminium industries in the country.
It said the VALCO crisis would have serious consequences on Aluworks Ghana Limited, Pioneer Aluminium Company, Ghana Aluminium and a host of small-scale aluminium product factories, which have created jobs for a good number of the unemployed in the informal sector.
This was contained in a statement issued at Tema, on Thursday, by the Executive Committee of the TDCL and signed by Mr Wilson Agana, Chairman and Mr Mohammad Baba Tairo, Secretary.
The statement was in reaction to the 48 hours notice given last Tuesday to VALCO, an aluminium smelter plant at Tema, by the Ministry of Energy to shut down two of its four operational pot lines to save 150 megawatts of electricity in view of the low water level of the Volta dam.
The TDCL noted that the rapidity of the Ministry of Energy's action in handling the matter would not give room for an orderly and well phased out programme to deal with the situation, thereby heighten the fears of workers in the aluminium industry and Tema in particular.
It, therefore, called on the government to consider the thousands of spiral job losses that may affect aluminium and allied workers, which may cause social menace such as school dropout and crime.
The TDCL said it appreciates government's bid to avoid irregular power supply to the Electricity Company of Ghana but urged government to use the current negotiation with VALCO to resolve all outstanding issues pertaining to VALCO's operations in a more humane manner.
This it said would ensure that workers do not suffer untold hardship as a result a of Government/VALCO crossfire. The TDCL expressed the hope that the government would consider its candid submission by suspending its immediate intention to cut VALCO's energy requirements that might cause the company to cut its production by 50 per cent until negotiations had been exhausted.
VALCO, which would have to lay off 1,250 workers, has indicated that it would require 30 days to shut down the two pot lines otherwise molten aluminium running through the pot lines would solidify resulting in a huge losses to the company.
GRi../
Send your comment to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra) 22 February 2002 - Finance Minister Yaw Osafo-Maafo on
Thursday announced that more than 107 billion cedis had been allocated to improve basic education.
Under the Basic Education Sector Improvement Programme, 2,000 teachers' accommodation, 100 classroom blocks and 150 KVIPs would be provided at the cost of 57.790 billion cedis.
In this year’s budget statement presented to Parliament he said 420,000 pieces of classroom furniture would be procured at the cost of 50 billion cedis.
Mr Osafo Maafo said 13.173 billion cedis had also been earmarked to improve infrastructural facilities in senior secondary schools. The government, the Minister said, would reinvigorate the traditional emphasis on education by addressing challenges such as low enrolment, low quality of education, low numbers of students with adequate employable skills and institutional deficiencies.
Mr Osafo-Maafo said some teacher training institutions would be rehabilitated, while at least one senior secondary school in each of the 110 districts would be upgraded. Additionally, he said, some second cycle schools would be connected to the Internet.
GRi../
Send your comment to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra) 23 February 2002 - Finance Minister Yaw Osafo-Maafo on
Thursday said the implementation of a programme to abolish the Cash and Carry
System in the Health sector would begin under a pilot scheme, this year.
In the 2002 Budget Statement presented to Parliament, Osafo-Maafo announced that construction of new hospitals at Gushiegu and Begoro would start, while the district hospital being constructed at Sogakope would be completed.
The Minister said 16 health centres would also be completed, while others at New Edubiase, Juabeso, Bimbilla and Dodowa South would be upgraded. Additionally, staff accommodation at all major hospitals are to be expanded.
GRi../
Send your comment to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra) 23 February 2002 - The Government has so far spent 52.3 million dollars on the Keta Sea Defence project to fight sea erosion in the area, the
Minister of Finance, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo said on Thursday.
The Minister, who was presenting the 2002 Budget to Parliament, said some phases of the project were completed last year.
He said three out of seven groynes designed to be constructed in armour rock were completed and parts of land in Vodza and Adzido were reclaimed for resettlement through hydraulic filling of sand dredged from the Keta Lagoon.
Also completed were sand embankment for link road up to 6.5 kilometres out of 8.3 kilometres through hydraulic filling, placing of crushers run stone, grading, watering and rolling and cross roads to groynes sites.
Mr Osafo-Maafo said similar works were carried out in parts of Ada, Nkontompo, Shama, Axim and Akatakyie as part of efforts to protect the coastline through a combination of the use of a system of groynes armour rocks/gabions revertment and groyne structures from sea erosion.
The Minister touched on the Korle Lagoon Ecological Restoration Project and mentioned the dredging of the lower lagoon and canalisation of the upper lagoon; channel improvement of the Kaneshie, Odaw/Korle and the Agbogbloshie canals; and slope protection to the sides of the Kaneshie, Odaw/Korle Canals as some of the activities completed last year.
The rest are the provision of gabion hydraulic pump structure in the Kaneshie Canal; landscaping, site reclamation and grassing of the former Pig Farm at Korle Gonno.
The government, the Minister said, also secured funds to build serviced land banks at Dunkonah, Berekusu, Manchie and other parts of Accra.
GRi../
Send your comment to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra) 23 February 2002 - The key elements of the government's economic policy for 2002 is to expand and upgrade infrastructure facilities to provide a template for increased economic activity and wealth creation, Finance Minister
Yaw Osafo-Maafo, said on Thursday.
In pursuance of this objective a budgetary allocation of 604.1 billion cedis has been provided for infrastructure development. The bulk of the expenditure, Mr Osafo-Maafo said would be funded from external sources.
Mr Osafo-Maafo said the Ghana Highway Authority would start the reconstruction of the following trunk roads for which funding has been secured: Accra-Yamoransa; Bole-Bamboi; Apedwa-Bunso; Bonso-Anyinam; Anyinam-Konongo; Tema- Akatsi-Aflao; Kumasi-Techiman and the Axim Junction-Tarkwa road.
The rest are Pantang-Mamfe; Kadjebi-Brewaniase-Oti Damanko; Bibiani-Abuakwa; Bawdie-Asankragwa; Wiaso-Asawinso-Osei Kojokrom; Oda-Nkawkaw and the Tetteh Quarshie Circle-Adenta.
Mr Osafo Maafo said the construction of the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange would also begin this year. Work, he said, would continue on the following road projects:
Takoradi-Agona Junction (28kms); Wenchi-Sampa (30kms) - Phase I and the Tamale-Yendi (43kms).
Mr Osafo-Maafo said the Ghana Highway Authority would undertake 543 kilometres of regravelling; 108 kilometres of spot improvement, 191 kilometres of resealing, 108 kilometres of resurfacing and 135 kilometres of upgrading of roads throughout the country.
In addition, the Department of Feeder Roads would undertake the regravelling, spot improvement, surfacing, rehabilitation and upgrading of 3,198 kilometres of roads under its periodic maintenance programme nationwide.
Roads to be surfaced include: Ekye Amanfro - Amankwakrom; Sokode - Bame; Old Ningo - Lekponguno; Eshiem - Besease Anyinaso; Abosso Wassa - Nkran; Akropong - Kapro-Adankwame; Bawku - Narungu; and Salaga Town Roads.
Mr Osafo-Maafo said the Odumase-Seikwa and Sombo - Sankana roads would be regravelled and rehabilitated, respectively. The Department of Feeder Roads would further construct 15 bridges in the Western, Volta Central Eastern and Ashanti Regions.
The Department of Urban Roads would continue its main activities of regravelling, resealing, resurfacing, rehabilitation and upgrading of 311 kilometres of roads in the Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies and the Ga District, he said.
Mr Osafo-Maafo announced that construction works would start on the following in the course of the year: Kwame-Nkrumah Circle - Achimota (Neoplan Road); Adiembra - Inchaban Roads in Sekondi; Tema - Manhean Valco roads; New
Over-pass to Ashiaman in the Tema Municipality; and Asafo-Market Interchange;
Traffic management facilities in Adum and Kejetia in Kumasi would be installed.
GRi../
Send your comment to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra) 23 February 2002 - The Ministry of Finance would review existing policies to guide the operation of mass transportation in the cities.
Consequently, the Omnibus Services Authority (OSA) would be restructured into zonal semi autonomous subsidiary companies with private sector participation to enable it to contribute to the mass transportation programme.
Presenting the 2002 Budget Statement to Parliament on Thursday, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, said the Government would continue to assist private sector operators to acquire high occupancy buses to augment their fleet.
The indebted National carrier, the Ghana Airways, was receiving attention, he said, adding "the government will soon come out on the way forward."
Mr Osafo-Maafo said in collaboration with other stakeholders, the National Road Safety Commission would intensify and sustain its road safety education programmes.
He said the government would import 100 large capacity buses for private sector operators this year in furtherance of government's policy on mass transportation. This follows Parliament's approval of a loan facility to import the buses.
Mr Osafo-Maafo said preparatory works for the reconstruction of the Accra-Yamoransa; Achimota-Apedwa; Tema-Sogakope; Kumasi-Techiman; Axim Junction-Tarkwa; Anyinam-Kumasi; Tetteh Quarshie Circle-Mamfe roads and the construction of Tetteh-Quarshie interchange were at various stages at the end of 2001. Work, he said, would continue on these roads.
He said the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) in its maintenance programme in 2001 completed 109 kilometres of regravelling out of a programmed 173 kilometres.
The following were also completed: 100 kilometres of spot improvement out of 146 kilometres; 225 kilometres of resealing out of 403 kilometres; 82 kilometres of re-surfacing out of 103 kilometres and 77 kilometres of upgrading out of 80 kilometres.
Some of these are the Brofoyedru-Akenkansu; Telekobokazo-Aniben Junction; Denu-Kedzi, and Bolgatanga-Bawku roads.
Mr Osafo-Maafo said as part of the road construction programme, the GHA also completed 244 kilometres out of 460 kilometres of roads. These included the Kpando-Worawora (Phase 1); Gyato Zongo-Yeji; Biriwa-Takoradi and Obuasi Town roads. Work is also in progress on the Wenchi-Sampa and Takoradi-Agona Junction roads.
The Department of Feeder Roads rehabilitated 407 kilometres of roads, regravelled 315 kilometres of roads, surface dressed 7.4 kilometres and undertook spot improvement of 613 kilometres of roads including the Jirapa-Babile in the Upper West Region; Elluokrom-Fosukrom in the Western Region, Gromesa-Kramokrom in the Ashanti Region and Kpatinga-Nawuni in the Northern Region.
He said the surface dressed roads also included the Ekye-Amanfrom-Amankwakrom and Huhunya-Boti roads. Fifteen bridges were completed in the Western and Central Regions while the Department of Urban Roads completed 120 kilometres of resurfacing, resealing and rehabilitation works out of the programmed 211 kilometres of roadway.
GRi../
Send your comment to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra) 23 February 2002 - The agriculture sector recorded a growth of 4.0 per cent, indicating a substantial improvement on the 2.1 per cent recorded in year ending 2000.
"This strong growth was accounted for principally by the crops and livestock sub-sector which contributed the largest share of gross domestic product for agriculture," Yaw Osafo Maafo, Finance Minister, said when he presented the 2002 budget on Thursday.
The Finance Minister said available data indicated that, with the exception of maize and millet, considerable increases were achieved in the output of other major staple crops during the year under review.
However, three other sectors, namely the industry, mining and services, recorded lower growth rates than were expected. The industrial sector grew by 2.9 per cent, lower than the growth of 3.8 per cent recorded in 2000 while the mining and quarrying sub-sector recorded a negative output growth of 1.6 per cent, against 1.5 per cent growth in 2000.
The Services sector recorded a growth rate of 5.1 per cent compared to the 5.4 per cent growth in 2000. On sub-sector basis, Mr Osafo-Maafo said the cocoa sub-sector showed the weakest growth rate in the year under review in the area of production and marketing, recording 1.0 per cent compared to a growth of 6.2 per cent in 2000.
The Minister said the performance of the fisheries sub-sector also continued to be weak in 2001, achieving a growth rate of 2.0 per cent. The forestry and logging sub-sector, he said, also recorded a lower than expected growth rate of 4.8 per cent in 2001 in contrast with the strong recovery of 11.1 per cent in 2000.
The mining and quarrying sub-sector recorded a negative output growth of 1.6 per cent, against the 1.5 per cent growth in 2000 while all the other sub-sectors within the industrial sector achieved slightly lower rates of growth in 2001 compared to the levels in 2000.
Mr Osafo-Maafo gave the growth rates of other sectors in 2001 as manufacturing sub-sector, 3.7 per cent; electricity and water sub-sector, 4.0 per cent; and the construction sub-sector, 4.4 per cent.
He said the wholesale, retail trading, restaurants and hotels, all sub-sectors of the services sector, recorded higher growth than in 2000, but the other sub-sectors recorded slightly subdued growth rates.
GRi../
Send your comment to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra) 23 February 2002 - Some Minority members on Thursday welcomed the increase in producer price of cocoa as announced in the 2002 budget and condemned the document for being silent on the prices of sheanut, coffee and other farm produce.
They said it was also regrettable that the policy statement was quiet on wages and salaries. Dr Benjamin Kunbuor, NDC Lawra-Nandom said there must be equity in sharing the national cake and the increase in the earning capacity of the cocoa farmer must equally be extended to other farmers.
The budget was a discriminatory one and did not sufficiently address the problem of the rural poor.
Mr John Tia, NDC Talensi, said the budget was one emanating from a "desperate man struggling to impress the electorate and in the process satisfied only a section and forgot about the rest."
Mr Steve Akorli, NDC Ho-East said there were not sufficient tax relief in the fiscal policy to give incentive to businessmen to ensure the success of the government's policy of golden age of business.
Mr Johnson Asiedu-Nketiah, Wenchi-West said the increase in cocoa prices from 274,000 cedis per bag to 387,500 cedis per bag was good but that the increases could not off-set smuggling of the commodity to neighbouring countries because it was being sold there at between 400,000 to 500,000 cedis per bag.
Mr Kofi Attor, NDC Ho-West said it was pathetic that the Majority applauded the Finance Minister's announcement that the decision point for the HIPC initiative would be taken on Friday 22 February.
He said all that it meant was that Ghana was being welcomed and initiated into the club of poor countries where the donor countries have to start to dictate their terms to the country.
Mr Attor said, "it was the same process our government, the NDC took with the Bretton Wood Institutions with the Structural Adjustment Programme which had landed us into this economic situation."
He said it was time "we re-examine our economic performance critically, adopt a planned economy so that we could get rid of the neo-colonial economy we are managing.
"It is difficult to come out of the HIPC initiative and the claws of the Bretton Wood Institutions and yet it is necessary to begin from some where to maintain our national pride."
GRi../
Send your comment to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra) 23 February 2002 - Personnel of the Ghanaian Battalion 55 (Ghanabatt 55) currently serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), have been presented with UN Peace Medals at a ceremony in South Lebanon.
The awards were in recognition of their participation in peacekeeping and their commitment to finding solutions to bring peace to their area of operations.
A statement issued in Accra, on Tuesday, by the Ghana Armed Forces' Directorate of Public Relations said the ceremony was witnessed by a military delegation led by the Army Commander, Major General Cletus Yaache.
The statement said an address read for the UN Secretary General by the UNIFIL Force Commander, Major General Latit Tewari commended the officers and men of Ghanabatt 55 for their high level of co-operation, dedication and loyalty exhibited in their areas of operations.
GRi../
Send your comment to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra) 23 February 2002 - Ruby Wortordjor, also known as Slippery Ruby, a self-styled businesswoman, who has defrauded a host of people in the Accra metropolis is in the news again. She has succeeded in duping two gentlemen, including a journalist, over rent advance.
The two, Mr Daniel Kenu, a sports journalist with the Ghana News Agency and Mr Anthony Ayitey, an accounts officer with Wienco, paid a total of 4.8 million cedis as two-year rent advance at Banana Inn in Accra for a hall and chamber each.
Mr Ayitey told the Ghana News Agency that he and Mr Kenu signed a tenancy agreement with Ruby in October and July 2000 respectively. Little did they know that she was Slippery Ruby and that the house did not belong to her.
Apparently, Ruby had rented the four-bedroom house from its owner, Madam Vivian Ama Dorkenoo, also of Banana Inn in 1997 for 120,000 cedis a month and had ever since been sub-letting parts.
Mr Ayitey said Ruby made them pay a fixed water bill of 10,000 cedis a month each, even though, she only paid 7,500 cedis a month to the Ghana Water Company. She also collected 17,500 cedis from each of the tenants instead of 7,800 cedis as electricity bill.
Trouble started when the landlady, Madam Dorkenoo heard that Ruby had sub-let parts of the house to people and she filed a suit at the AMA Community Tribunal to eject her. And after a long battle, the court on Monday February 11 effected the ejection order.
The court with the consent of the real landlady gave the two gentlemen two weeks' grace period to look for a new place. Sources at the tribunal said Ruby had filed an appeal to claim some monies for the cost of renovating the house.
The landlady was subsequently ordered to pay over three million cedis at the Rent Control Officer in Accra.
The Presiding Chairman of the Tribunal, Mr Kwadzo Owusu, sequel to the plea of the two gentlemen, ordered the rent control office to pay Ruby after the balance of the journalist and the account officer had been deducted from the amount.
When the Principal rent officer Mr S. M. Cobblah was contacted by the landlady and the two gentlemen, he asked them to come on Wednesday, February 20. However, when they went on the agreed day, Mr Cobblah said he had given all the money to Ruby contrary to the rulings of the Tribunal.
His reasons were that the tribunal never gave him a written order and Ruby and her fourth husband, Rocgues, had harassed him persistently to a point that he had no option than to succumb.
GRi../
Send your comment to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra) 23 February 2002 - A United Kingdom-based Consortium with the vision to develop Accra as a sustainable city and re-positioning it as a world city fit for the 21st Century, on Thursday held a closed-door meeting with President John
Agyekum Kufuor at the Castle, Osu.
The meeting, which formed part of a consultation process with President Kufuor and key sector Ministers of State was also a follow-up to a meeting held between President Kufuor and the Society of Black Architects (SOBA) in July last year.
The Consortium is made up of architects, consulting engineers, manager and construction consultants.
Miss Elsie Owusu, an architect and leader of the Consortium, told newsmen that the project was not a face-lift for Accra but a Private-Public Partnership (PPP) project to create jobs, education and training for their Ghanaian counterparts.
She said during their meeting with President Kufuor last year, they were tasked to put their talents and experience at government's disposal for the full utilisation of the potentials in the architecture of the Flagstaff House and its environs to generate funds.
Miss Owusu said other areas to be tackled by the Consortium were the drainage, road infrastructure, solution to the perennial floods and development of a master plan to make Accra one of the prestigious cities in the world.
Mr Alan Turner, Managing Director of Gleeds BBL, an International Management and Construction Consultants based in Bristol, UK, said the Consortium on completion of their work, would help raise the image and profile of the country internationally for investments.
He said the project would be extended to other urban towns in the country. The Consortium is expected to visit Jamestown, Osu, Nima, Tema and Aburi. It would also travel to Kumasi to meet the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and Mr Maxwell Kofi Jumah, Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive.
In another development, Mr John Edward Thomas, Senior Vice President of Eddie Bauer Corporation of the US also held a meeting with President Kufuor behind closed doors.
The meeting centred on the President's Special Initiative (PSI) on Garments. Eddie Bauer is one of the leading garment retail chains in the US, which offers a distinctive and diverse range of clothing, accessories and home furnishing.
GRi../
Send your comment to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Tema (Greater Accra) 23 February 2002 - Mr Mohammed Mumuni, NDC MP for Kumbungu, said on Wednesday that it was not too late to take a step back to amend the National Reconciliation Commission Act to meet the will of all Ghanaians.
"In a haste, the government did not listen to divergent views and today they are lamenting because people see it more as an NPP exercise than a national one", he said.
Mr Mumuni was speaking at a symposium organised by the Tema Chapter of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Alumni on the topic, "National Reconciliation - The Way Forward" as part of the golden jubilee celebrations of the University.
He said the need for national reconciliation was a good thing but the way it was being managed by the government left much to be desired, especially, when the government ignored all calls by many Ghanaians regarding which periods of the country's political history it should cover.
Mr Mumuni, who spoke on the minority perspective on the issue, said; "the minority thinks the agenda for national reconciliation is good, but there are certain confidence building measures, which are missing, thus, losing its national character".
He said there was an extent of hate and division among the people dating back to the country's independence in 1957 and it was important to include all those periods up to January 6, 1993 to give the Commission's work a neutrality.
"If we want to establish an authoritative record of violation of human rights for this country, then we have to go back to the days of the Preventive Detention Act (PDA), the Aliens Compliance Order, which are vital in the country's history", Mr Mumuni said.
He said the "'window of opportunity,' which may allow victims of injustice of other political eras excluded from the Reconciliation Act was an apartheid way of doing things and equally unjust under the 1992 Constitution".
GRi../
Send your comment to viewpoint@ghanareview.com