Accra (Greater Accra) 04
February 2003- Moses Dani Baah,
Deputy Minister of Health, on Monday said the absence of reliable population
data focusing on the distribution of health conditions and health service
utilisation in Africa and Asia was affecting health delivery services.
He said although there were
affordable and effective interventions, many countries in the sub-region still
experience high mortality.
Opening the third annual general
meeting of the Indepth Network of Scientists in
He said lack of reliable data
does not give scientists the opportunity for cross-site investigations of
certain common health problems, which would lead to capacity development and
have invariable influence on the health services.
The five-day meeting, under the
theme "Indepth Network and fighting against
poverty related diseases" is being organised by the Navrongo
Health Research Centre of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and Indepth Network Secretariat,
The participants would among
other things discuss health equity and reproductive health, Human resource
development and policy to practice, ethics and child survival, migration and
urbanisation.
Dani Baah
said lack of representative data on HIV/AIDS about
"The HIV/AIDS which
continues to ravage sub-Saharan
He urged the scientists to look
into the issue of migration with regard to health and socio-economic factors
since primarily, studies conducted were on the
national level and provide only crude international migration statistics.
Dr John Gyapong,
Director of the Health Research Unit of the Ghana Health Services, challenged
participants to develop a core of scientists with specialised skills
"otherwise your good work will remain on the shelves and gather
dust".
He said the establishment of the
core of scientists would enable them to challenge the status quo where health
services planning are based in the 'expert opinion' and mentioned some of the
poverty related diseases as malaria, tuberculoses, HIV/AIDS, guinea worm and
leprosy, which are all eradicable.
Dr Gyapong
urged them to promote formal training programmes that would expose young
graduates to the formal academic environment and identify potential leaders.
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Akosombo (Eastern Region) 04 February
2003-Emmanuel Bombande, a facilitator of the West Africa
Network for Peace (WANEF) on Monday observed that the current crisis in the
Dagbon traditional area touches the soul and honour of the people and that no
matter how "outsiders" mourn and grief, they could not feel the pain
and shame more deeply than the people of the area.
He said under such
circumstances, leadership in the crisis must have the ultimate aim of redeeming
the image and honour of Dagbon because "this is a responsibility to the
dead, the living and the unborn people of the Dagbon state".
"Leadership cannot live up
to this responsibility by digging into the past and pointing accusing fingers.
In our view, we are collectively responsible for the current state of affairs
in Dagbon," he noted.
Bombande was speaking at the opening of
a two-day government-initiated Peace and Reconciliation Workshop on the Dagbon
crisis at Akosombo in the Eastern Region.
The workshop, dubbed, the "Akosombo Initiative" seeks to build on previous
initiatives by bringing representatives of the two gates as well as key
government and civil society organisations together to consult among themselves
and help design a comprehensive peace building process for Dagbon for the
consideration of the government.
The Konrad-Adenauer
Foundation, a German developmental organisation, is funding the peace process,
which is the initiative of the Minister of Defence, Dr. Kwame Addo Kufuor, with the prior approval of Cabinet.
Present at the workshop included
the Minister of Defence, Dr. Kwame Addo Kufuor, UNDP
Resident Director, Mr Alfred Fawundu, the
representative of the Christian Council of Ghana, Right Rev. Dr. Sam Prempeh,
the National Chief Imam, Sheik Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, the Majority and Minority leaders in parliament,
Papa Owusu Ankomah and Mr Alban Bagbin who took turns to address the meeting.
Although the workshop was
intended to bring both gates to the peace-table, only the Abudu's
were present.
Bombande stated that although a lot of
efforts had been made to keep the peace in Dagbon, there had been no adequate
framework for resolving the complex and protracted issues that every government
before and after independence had been confronted with.
He observed that once those
protracted and unaddressed issues remained, interested groups or individuals
whose actions and inactions appeared as criminal acts, which lead to sudden
escalation of violence, exploit them.
Bombande said the difficulty was that
addressing criminal acts committed by individuals or groups in such complex
conflicts like that of Dagbon was an important aspect of building durable peace
but such actions do not constitute a comprehensive approach towards sustainable
peace.
"We need to address the
underlying issues. Obviously, this will require addressing the past but this
has to be done in ways where the values of peace inform how we talk about the
past", he said.
He however, said that peace in
Dagbon would only be possible if the people in that traditional area were
committed to the process.
Fawundu reiterated the call for both
gates to exhibit maturity while the process to find lasting peace in the area
continued.
He said that
Sheik Sharubutu
said that the only way to solve the Dagbon issue was for government and civil
society to endeavour to create an enabling environment that would engender
dialogue and reconciliation between the two gates for peace to prevail in the
area.
He said it was also the
collective responsibility of Ghanaians to ensure that peace and harmony
prevailed in Dagbon and throughout
The Islamic leader appealed to
Muslims in Dagbon to note that the fundamental element in the value system of
Islam was "peace and human brotherhood".
He further told both sides to
adopt the attitude of reciprocating evil with good as advocated in the Quran.
Participants at the workshop are
expected to design a comprehensive peace building process in Dagbon, but the
basic underlining assumption is that the facilitators of the process should be
the people of both gates.
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Akosombo (Eastern Region)
Dubbed the "Akosombo Initiative", the Minister of Defence, Dr
Kwame Addo- Kufuor said the workshop is one of two
more initiatives the government has lined up to support its efforts as well as
those of other agencies in attempts to find a permanent solution to the crisis
triggered by bloody clashes in March last year that led to the murder of the overlord
of Dagbon, the Ya Na. Some 30 people also died in the
fighting.
Dr Addo-Kufuor,
who is also the Acting Minister of the Interior, said he could not reveal the
second initiative at this stage because of its delicate nature.
The "Akosombo
Initiative" seeks to build on the previous initiatives by bringing
representatives of the two gates as well as key government and civil society
organisations together to consult among themselves and help design a
comprehensive peace building process for Dagbon for the consideration by the
government.
"Furthermore, the Akosombo Initiative seeks to create a common platform for
the harmonization of the inputs of the participants so as to come up with
innovative solutions to the peace building process in Dagbon," Dr Addo-Kufuor said.
The Minister recounted efforts
that the government has made so far to let permanent peace return to the area.
These include several visits to the area by ministers, parliamentarians,
religious groups, security agencies, NGOs, a UN Committee specialising in
conflict resolution and the President's appointment of a committee of three
eminent traditional rulers to help restore peace.
"These rulers are working
quietly but effectively behind the scenes and in due course, the beneficial
effects of their work would will be visible," Dr Addo-Kufuor observed.
According to him, as a result of
these initiatives, there are certain hopeful signs indicative of desire to
reconcile in certain groups within the traditional area, especially in certain
youth groups.
"Also noticeable are
certain positive changes in the attitude in some leading citizens also in the
traditional area," Dr Addo-Kufuor noted and
urged the two gates to be tolerant with each other to enable the judicial
process to bring the guilty to book.
He said at the same time
institutions in the traditional areas which are responsible for providing
health to the sick, education for the youth, agricultural inputs and extension
services to farmers, social services to the community at large and commercial
and industrial activities are given the chance, in a peaceful and stable
environment, to operate for the people.
"Whatever has happened in
the past, and granted, cruel and ghastly things have happened in the recent
past in the traditional area, life must go on in the
interest of the present and future generations. The traditional area must have
its fair share of progress and prosperity" the minister pointed out.
Dr Addo-Kufuor
reiterated that government has no special attachment to either gate in the
crisis and does not stand to gain anything from the crisis adding "The
government's only interest is that there should be peace and prosperity in
Dagbon Traditional area, as well as the rest of
Dr Addo-Kufuor
said it is therefore, important that all parties directly involved in the
conflict should dispel any negative preconceived ideas to make it possible for
a solution to the problem to be found.
"It is not in the interest
of the traditional area or for that matter
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Kwesi Arhin,
Projects Accountant of the secretariat also stated that he did not have
anything relating to the Park Valley Project.
Arhin was giving evidence in a case
in which Daniel Abodakpi, Minister of Trade and
Industries and Victor Serlomey, former deputy finance
Minister are 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 on self-recognisance bail in the sum of three billion cedis each by the
court presided over by Stephen T. Farkye, Appeal
Court Judge, who is sitting on the case as an additional High Court Judge.
Led in evidence by Anthony Gyambiby, Principal State Attorney Arhin
said he was employed at GS in January 1999.
He explained that some of his
functions at the secretariat included management of project funds, reconciling
of bank statements, processing of bank statements among other things.
The prosecution witness said
that GS used a number of procedures in awarding contracts. These included
advertising, submission of proposals, short listing and evaluation of projects
by experts.
He said GS never paid for
proposals but rather payments were normally done after contracts have been
awarded.
Earlier in cross examination,
Joseph Ashai Ollenu,
another prosecution witness, who is also a secretary at GS agreed with Charles Hayibor, counsel for a Abodakpi that the Science and Technology project was once
mentioned during one of the secretariat meetings.
He told the court that on 7
November 2000, during one of the meetings of the oversight committee on Park
Valley Projects, he did not write minutes of the meeting since Ms Eva Tailor,
also of the secretariat was asked to do so.
Ollenu said although he did not write
minutes of the meeting, he had a photocopy of his own notes he took down. When
asked whether he could get a copy of the minutes, he stated that Ms Tailor in
whose custody the documents were was out of the country.
He told the court that some of
the resources of the Trade and Investment Programme (TIP) were initially used
to fund the
He mentioned the Volta River
Estates as beneficiary of the TIP funds but said he could not tell how TIP
funds were disbursed.
Barima Manu counsel for Selormey who associated himself with Hayibor
asked Mr Ollenu whether there was a library at GS?
Ollenu replied in the negative. He
disagreed with Manu that Selormey was a member of the
Oversight Committee of the GS projects. The court discharged Ollenu and adjourned the matter to10 February.
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The 51-member contingent is made
up of five officers and 46 men and is charged with the special assignment of
providing security for the headquarters of the ECOFORCE mission during their
six months service at
In the next one-and-half weeks,
the first contingent would be joined by another batch of about 205 soldiers.
Under the ECOWAS arrangement, five countries in the
Addressing a farewell parade
mounted by the first contingent of the Ghanaian ECOFORCE mission at the
He said in this regard, the
soldiers owe it a duty to avoid acts that will tarnish the image of
He explained that neutrality was
the only way they, as Ghanaian soldiers on the peace mission could win the
confidence and respect of all the parties involved in the Ivorian conflict.
He observed that the situation
in
Brigadier Ayiku
cautioned, "Severe disciplinary action will be taken against any Ghanaian
service personnel caught in any arms deals in the mission area".
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Sekondi (Greater Accra) 04 February
2003- The Western Regional Police Command on Monday assured the public that
adequate security measures had been put in place to protect the Regional
Minister, Joseph Boahene Aidoo,
and that of his family.
"We are offering him
24-hour protection, security at his residence has been beefed up and detectives
are working around the clock to give him and his family maximum security,'' Issaka Salami, regional crime officer, told the GNA that
the police were not taking the alleged threat on the life of the regional
minister lightly.
According to him other measures
have been evolved to ensure that no harm is done to the minister but these
cannot be made public.
Tanker drivers were alleged to
have threatened to kill Aidoo following an operation
in which he caught some people siphoning fuel from tankers.
Many people the GNA spoke to advised the security personnel not regard the threat on the
life of the minister as a mere joke. A commercial driver who asked not to named
said some tanker drivers ''are heartless, are dreadful on the road and can
carry out the threat,” while two others Kofi Eshun a
fisherman and Maame Akua Kwansima said “They are our colleagues and we know the
stuff they are made of. They are capable of anything.''
Nine days ago the Regional
Minister led a team of policemen to bust a fuel racketeering syndicate. In that
operation six people were arrested and a few days’ later soldiers
arrester nine people involved in fuel siphoning and seized several drums hidden
in the bush.
It is believed that those
arrested in the two operations "are only small flies in the deal" and
the people called the police and the Minister of Energy to step up the
investigations to find the "big fishes" behind the fuel deals.
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A statement signed in
It said he was appointed after a
competitive interview and selection process. Ayeboafoh,
a product of the
Ayeboafoh holds a post-graduate degree in
journalism from the
He was once the vice president
of the Ghana Journalists Association. As a student, he was secretary and later
president of the Junior Common Room of Commonwealth Hall,
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Speaking to the Ghana News
Agency (GNA) in Accra Emmanuel Asamoah Owusu Ansah,
Judicial Secretary said the date fixed for the opening of assizes in the Greater
Accra Region has been slated for 10 February.
He said before all assizes could
begin, the Judicial Service needed to consult the Attorney-General
(prosecution) to get ready so that trials of various cases could begin. Owusu-Ansah acknowledged that the Magistrate court erred by
fixing 3 February for the officers to stand trial at the High Court.
"The magistrate court needs
not to give out a definite date for trial to commence since all assizes in the
Greater Accra Region would begin on 10 February." he said. On January this
year an Accra Magistrate court committed Chief Superintendent of Police
Koranteng Mintah,
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mr. Frank Awuah,
ASP Faakyi Kumi, ASP B.B. Bakomora, ASP John Naami and ASP
Frank Aryee to stand trial at an Accra High Court on
3 February.
Their committal followed their
second appearance before an Accra Magistrate court after bills of indictment
had been served on them to reappear before the court. Each has been charged
with 126 counts of manslaughter. Their pleas were not taken.
The magistrate, Mrs Elizabeth Adusei granted each of them 20 million cedis bail with two
sureties. The Police Administration had interdicted the six officers following
their alleged involvement in disturbances that resulted in the death of 126
soccer fans after a league match between Accra Hearts of oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.
However, the Administration
withdrew the interdiction on the grounds that it was no longer necessary since
investigations had been completed. The fans died in a stampede when police
fired tear gas into the stands to control people from throwing plastic chairs
and other objects onto the field of play. President John Agyekum Kufuor set up
the Commission to investigate the incident, which is the worst in
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Woarakese (Ashanti Region)
Bright Addai-Mununkum,
the Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma District Chief
Executive, said the increase was the only option left for salvaging the
economy.
''But for the courage of the
government to increase prices of petroleum products the debt at the Tema Oil Refinery
(TOR) would have shot up to a point that would have eventually brought all
economic activities as well as operations of the country's commercial banks to
a halt.''
Addai-Mununkum said this at fund-raising
harvest held by the inhabitants of Woarakese and Onwi in
At Woarakese
projects being implemented include a community centre and a sanitary facility
while the inhabitants of Onwi are engaged in building
a kindergarten school. Onwi citizens are
rehabilitating roads in the town and the chief's palace.
The projects are funded through
voluntary contributions and donations. The get-together at Woarakese
also marked the climax of activities of the "Kohwe
Kose" festival, an event used to portray the
rich culture of the people and to instil in the younger generation an
appreciation for the values of the area.
J.K. Asuming,
Presiding member of the Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma
District Assembly who is the assemblyman for the Woarakese
electoral area, said as part of measures to bring peace and development to the
area, a local reconciliation committee is to be set up in the town.
He said the committee would be
made up of representatives of the traditional authorities, the unit committee
and the assemblyman. Asuming also announced the
creation of an emergency health fund for Woarakose
into which he had lodged 500,000 cedis.
The amount is part of his ex-gratia award for the last four years he served as
assemblyman. Nana Adjei Kwame the II, Woarakesehene,
appealed to the inhabitants, predominantly farmers, to form smaller farming
groups to enable them to easily qualify for government.
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