Governments urged to encourage global literacy rate
Accra to host conference on Redevelopment
Two pastors, others of SDA Church on theft charge
Attorney-General commends security services
Nkroful to be developed into a major
tourist destination
Auditor-General to produce documents in court
"Defence has no basis for making submission of no
case"
Health Minister urged junior doctors to exercise restraint
Integrate AIDS patients into society
NRC invites Nanfuri and Assase-Gyimah
Gamey expresses surprise
Governments urged to encourage global literacy rate
The statement was to mark the
launch of the United Nations Literacy Decade considered as an affirmation of
the link between literacy and work to translate into reality the millennium
declaration, the world's governments adopted as a blueprint for building a
better world in the 21st century.
It said the decade should prove
wrong the making and the breaking of promises to achieve those goals but rather
it should be possible "to mobilise the resources, human and financial
needed to translate our pledge into reality".
The statement noted that the
decade was a recognition that mankind ought to go beyond efforts of the past,
and an opportunity to apply lessons from the past mistakes. The statement said
Literacy was the prerequisite for a healthy, just and prosperous world, which
was especially true of female literacy.
"We know from study after
study that there is no tool for development more effective than the education
of girls and women. Thus the first two years of the decade will be focused on
literacy and gender.'
The statement called on all to
rededicate themselves to the eradication of adult
illiteracy saying that the best approaches that were known were those that were
based on community action which took into account local context and conditions
and put the needs of the learners at the centre with backing from governments,
international governments and civil society.
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Accra
A statement signed by the
Captain Nkrabea Effah-Dartey, Deputy Minister of
Local Government and rural Development, said a programme for the exercise would
be launched during the conference
About 200 delegates would be
attending the conference, which is to be addressed by Peter Ala Adjetey, Speaker
of Parliament, Kwadwo Baah Wiredu Minister of Local
Government and Rural Development and I. C. Quaye, Greater Accra Regional Minister.
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Two pastors, others of SDA
Church
Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 18 February
2003- The Sunyani Circuit Court on Monday granted 200 million cedis bail each
with two sureties to be justified to two pastors and three others of the
Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church alleged to have stolen more that 19,000 US
Dollars, 160 million cedis and quantities of Aluzinc
roofing sheets belonging to the Church.
Pastor James Kwaku
Badu, Pastor Frederic Kofi Agyei-Baah,
Alfred Owusu Ansah, Treasurer/Financial
Administrator, Daniel Kwabena Donkor and Kwabena Boa-Amponsem, executive members, pleaded not guilty to 12
counts of conspiracy to steal, stealing and dishonestly receiving.
The Court presided by Kofi Debrah ordered them to reappear on
The Court also asked its
registrar to write a letter to Bank of Ghana and Barclays Bank of
Assistant Superintendent of
Police (ASP) Alex Yartey Tawiah,
the prosecutor, said on 27 June last year, a letter of complaint titled "Financial
Malfeasance and Stealing at Mid-West Ghana Conference (MGC) of the
The investigations revealed that
in 1998, Pastors Mununkum, Badu
and Appiah Kubi Kwarteng (at large), conspired and
stole 18 packets of Aluzinc roofing sheets being part
of a donation from the United States (US) for the roofing of the church
building.
They reportedly shared the
sheets among themselves in the house of Henry Adusi Poku, a witness, at Techiman. ASP
Tawiah said other malpractices were detected at MIG
and were reported to the Church's Headquarters in
Only Pastor Mununkum
was subsequently dismissed after the inquiry even though there was enough
evidence against the other accomplices. The prosecutor added that the Commission's
findings infuriated the complainants in the case hence the request for criminal
investigations.
Six packets of the sheets, being
the share of Pastor Kwarteng, now in the USA, were retrieved from Isaac Ayiah, a witness, who was taking custody of them at Hausua, near Techiman, while four
packets and 17 singles of the sheets out of the six packets, being the share of
Pastor Mununkum were also retrieved from the house of
a witness in the case, on the instructions of Pastor Badu,
who is his elder brother.
ASP Tawiah
said MGC had 19,121 US dollars in its accounts at the Barclays Bank Ghana
Limited in Sunyani but this was allegedly withdrawn by Pastor Badu, Pastor Adjei-Baah and Owusu
Ansah and changed at the black market rate.
The three upon arrest alleged
that they had deposited the money at the Bank of Ghana, Sunyani in the form of
treasury bills. He said when they were asked to produce documents covering
their claim they refused, insisting that they would only do so after they had
been arraigned before a court and the Bank also on request declined to disclose
any information to the police.
The prosecutor said the accused
also conspired and stole 160 million cedis belonging to the Conference after
the former Administrator of the MGC had handed over to them the session at Techiman.
The three later told the
congregation that the financial position of 160 million cedis read at the
session was a misinformation. In 1997 and 2001 the Conference allocated 28
packets of Aluzinc roofing sheets for work on a
branch at Aworowa, near Techiman,
which was headed by Owusu Ansah, but according to
Samuel Yeboah, Treasurer of the branch, only 22 packets were received and the
remaining six were not accounted for.
ASP Tawiah
said the three accused also allocated 28 packets of roofing sheets for projects
at Brodi, near Sampa in
1997 and 2001 and when the police visited the area in their investigations,
Elder George Okra, an Administrator confirmed having received some packets of
the roofing sheets but refused to surrender way-bills and documents on them.
The prosecutor said Pastor Badu sent his younger brother, Kwabena Donkor,
to collect six packets of roofing sheets from Poku at
Techiman in a Peugeot caravan to Kintampo.
He said Pastor Badu in 1998, bought four packets of roofing sheets at a cost
of 1,700,000 cedis from Pastor Adjei Baah and
investigations revealed that he used the items to roof the house of one Daniel Kuma at Techiman.
ASP Tawiah
added that Boa-Amponsem dishonestly received four
packets of the roofing sheets from Pastor Adjei-Baah and
other Elders of Sunyani New Town Church, which was contrary to the Conference's
working policy. He said evidence would be led to prove all the charges against
each of the accused persons.
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Attorney-General commends security services
Tamale (Northern Region)
He noted that in spite of the trying
circumstances in which the personnel of the security services work, they have
been able to ensure that the people abide by the rule of law and order in the
area.
Nana Akuffo-Addo
was addressing a durbar of State Attorneys and members of the Ghana Bar
Association (GBA) drawn from the
The Minister, who was
accompanied by his deputy, Mrs Gloria Akuffo, warned
that anybody who would foment trouble in Dagbon would be made to face the law
squarely, adding that it is not in the interest of anybody that the state of
emergency should continue to be enforced in Dagbon.
He said investments needed to
develop the area would not come if the current state of insecurity persisted. Nana
Akuffo-Addo said government was particularly
concerned about the spate of armed robbery in the country and gave the
assurance that measures would be in place to ensure the speedy trial of the
robbers to allow law-abiding citizens to go about their legitimate duties
peacefully.
Issah Ketekewu,
Deputy Northern Regional Minister said the Regional Co-ordinating Council would
encourage District Assemblies to contribute their quota towards the maintenance
of peace in the region.
He said the ability of the
Regional Security Council to address issues of potential threat to peace
depended largely on the co-operation of the Attorney-General's Department, the
police and the courts.
The Deputy Regional Minister
said the judicial system in the region had for sometime now, suffered a myriad
of problems to the extent that until recently, only the courts in Tamale
operated.
He however, noted that during
the past year, strides made in terms of resourcing
the police and posting of magistrates to man the courts in the districts, has
brought some hope to law-abiding citizens. Nana Akuffo-Addo
later presented computers, photocopiers and accessories to the Wa, Bolgatanga,
Tamale, Sunyani and
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Nkroful to be developed into a
major tourist destination
Sekondi (Western Region)
Speaking during a courtesy call
on him by Balory Orlov,
Russian Ambassador, on Monday, Aidoo said the Nzema East District Assembly had been directed to submit
proposals towards the project.
Aidoo did not disclose details of the
development package but it would be of benefits to the tourism industry. He
said the Western Region was the only region in the country producing bauxite,
manganese and has large volumes of iron ore deposits.
Aidoo said iron ore could be combined
with bauxite to manufacture steel and that feasibility studies carried out
indicated that iron ore and steel project could be viable in the region. He
said a dam could also be constructed to provide power for the project.
Aidoo said the region had deposit of
silica sand and limestone, which could be used to manufacture cement. Large
deposits of clay are available in the region and could be utilised to
manufacture paints, bricks, tiles and ceramics.
Aidoo said the region accounted for 45
per cent of the country's oil palm output but it was going to take advantage of
the President's initiative on oil palm to encourage large-scale oil palm
production. He appealed on the Russian government to consider investing in
these areas.
Orlov said it was time a
He said the Russian Embassy had
been receiving enquiries from both Ghanaian and Russian businessmen about trade
and investment opportunities. Orlov said Russian auto
manufacturers were keen to have dealers of their products in the country.
He said
At a meeting with
representatives of the regional association of Ghana Industries and Chamber of
Commerce, Orlov announced that a Russian Parliamentary
delegation would visit the country this year.
He said the delegation would be
accompanied by a business delegation and urged the two associations to draw up
proposals for the consideration of their Russian counterparts. James Kainyah, Chairman of the Western Regional Chamber of
Commerce, said the Aboso Glass Factory, which was
built by the Russians was now dormant. He said the Russian and Ghanaian businessmen
could team up to revive the factory.
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Auditor-General to produce documents in court
Accra (Greater Accra) 18 February
2003- An Accra Fast Track Court hearing the case of two former Ministers of
State, on Monday ordered the prosecution to get recorded proceedings of some
salient points in cross-examination of its witness to enable the witness to
answer questions put to him by defence counsel.
The order followed a submission
by Charles Hayibor, defence counsel that Edward Duah-Agyemang, the Auditor-General and a prosecution
witness could not answer some of the questions posed to him.
The prosecution witness at some
stages said he needed to crosscheck with his files in his office before he could
answer some of the questions directed to him. Agyemang Duah
however, explained that he did not know that those documents could be relevant
to the trial.
Hayibor in his submission stated that,
"In the interest of justice, the entire file on the Trade and Investment
Programme (TIP) should be brought to court so that the prosecution witness
could answer questions relating to the trial.
The court presided over Stephen Farkye, an Appeal Court Judge who is sitting as additional
High Court Judge obliged. Agyemang-Duah, the
prosecution witness, was answering questions by defence in the case in which
Daniel Abodakpi, ex-minister for Trade and Industry
and Victor Selormey, deputy minister for Finance are
being tried on seven counts of conspiracy, 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. The witness agreed with defence counsel that the cover of the audit report,
by the Baffour-Awuah and Associates was not submitted
to him.
He said the cover of the audit
report indicated that it was submitted to the offices of the National Security
Co-ordinator and the Ministry of Finance. The Auditor-General agreed with
counsel that Baffour-Awuah and Associates did carry
out the auditing on behalf of the National Security Coordinating office.
Agyemang-Duah
mentioned that some of the terms of reference of the auditing were to determine
propriety of TIP, whether there were any losses of revenue by the government
and assessed TIP.
When asked whether one of the
terms of reference of the audit report was to prosecute, the witness said it
was not his responsibility to do that.When witness
was asked whether he submitted his report to Parliament, he replied in the
negative saying it was based on his discretion and his office was yet to do
that.
He indicated that the year
2000's report by the Auditor- General presented to Parliament did not include
that of the TIP. Agyemang-Duah agreed with defence
that one of the criteria, which his office used in appointing Baffour-Awuah and Associates was based on competence.
He disagreed with a suggestion
by defence that he did not appoint Philip Baffour-Awuah,
a chartered accountant to audit the TIP. Defence however, tendered the Auditor
General's report for the year 2000 but the prosecution objected to it saying
the report was not relevant to the trial. The court overruled counsel's
application.
Sitting continues on 24
February.
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"Defence has no basis for making submission of no
case"
Tsikata is alleged to have cause the loss of 2.3 billion cedis to the state during his
term of office. Osafo Sampong, Director of Public Prosecutions
(DPP), was replying to submissions made earlier by the Defence counsel at the
FTC presided over by Mrs. Justice Henrietta Abban,
Appeal Court Judge with an additional responsibility on the case as a High
Court Judge.
He said neither the Criminal
Procedure Code nor the Courts Act make any provision for a submission of no
case, but a practice had evolved over the years making it a time honoured
tradition. "Making a submission of no case after the close of the case of
the prosecution is not automatic", he pointed out.
The Prosecution Team includes
Ms. Gloria Akuffo, Deputy Attorney-General (Leading),
Anthony Gyambiby, Principal State Attorney and Augustines Obuor, Assistant State
Attorney.
Tsikata is charged with four
counts of wilfully causing financial loss to the state and intentionally
misapplying public property. He has denied the charges and the court, has
admitted him to a 700 million-cedis self-recognisance bail.
Tsikata will reappear before the
FTC on Monday, 3 March, when Mrs. Justice Abban would
give her ruling on the matter. Sampong stated that
though the practice by some counsel to make a submission of no case had come up
in recent times and that the circumstances under which a submission of no case
could be made was when there has been no evidence to prove an essential element
in the crime charged and when the evidence adduced by the prosecution has been
so discredited as a result of cross examination.
The DPP told the court that
"none of the prosecution witnesses was subjected to any rigorous cross
examination to warrant claims that he had been discredited", adding that,
"the evidence before the court were truthful and reliable and it can not
be said that any of them had been so discredited that this court will find it
unsafe to rely on".
Commenting on the practice
direction, the prosecutor explained that Section 179(3)(a) which formed the
basis of the first three counts stated that; "Any person through whose
wilful, malicious or fraudulent action or omission makes the State incur a
financial loss commits an offence and the penalty is set out in Section
179D".
He stated that Section 179D says
"A person convicted of an offence under any of the offences specified in
this chapter, is liable on conviction to a fine of not less than five million
cedis or imprisonment not exceeding 10 years or both.
According to him, the
ingredients of the offence were that 1. There was a loss, 2. The loss was
financial and that 3. The financial loss was the result of the wilful act or
omission of the accused person.
Sampong said there were pieces of
evidence to show that Tsikata's conduct was wilful and reckless, adding that he
operated outside the objects and functions of the corporation.
He emphasized that the PNDCL64
establishing the GNPC, confined or limited the functions and object of the corporation
to promote exploration and development of petroleum and its core business was
petroleum exploration and development, but the accused veered off intentionally
to undertake cocoa farming.
He added that no decision in respect
of this matter was even discussed at any board meeting of the GNPC, saying,
"on the basis of this the accused should be called upon to open his defence,
because all the essential elements of the offence have been established".
The DPP also said that the
argument by defence counsel that Tsikata had been charged for a conduct, which
was not an offence at the time it was committed was not tenable.
He said "this is because
the actual payment and the loss to the corporation occurred in 1996 which is
reflected in the charge sheet and we submit that all the acts of the accused
were done after the amendment to the Criminal Code in 1993". The
Prosecutor said "it is therefore, our submission that the investment in
Valley Farm is outside the core object of GNPC as outlined by PNDCL64".
Sampong suggested that if the accused
was talking about his Fundamental Human Rights, then that was not how it should
be invoked, and that he must follow the proper procedure. Sampong
said evidence had been led through the fifth prosecution witness in the case
that 20 million-cedis that was invested in Valley Farms on behalf of GNPC was a
public property.
According to him, the amount was
intentionally misapplied and that the accused neither sought any professional advice
nor the approval of GNPC Board of Directors. He said there was no doubt that
the intentional and wilful action of Tsikata has caused a loss to the state.
The DPP said the minutes in various
meeting books, exhibits and Tsikata's refusal to seek
professional advice were deliberate and intentional. "Consequently, the
submission of no case by the Defence should be overruled and the accused called
upon to open his defence".
Earlier in his submissions,
Professor Emmanuel Victor Oware Dankwa,
counsel for Tsikata, told the court that since the prosecution had failed to establish
a "prima facie" case against his client, he should be acquitted and
discharged.
"It is our submission that
the prosecution has woefully failed to prove all charges levelled against
us," he declared. Quoting Article 19, Clause five of the Constitution to
support his submission, Counsel pointed out that, "A person shall not be
charged with or held to be guilty of a criminal offence which is founded on an
Act or Omission that did not at that time take place and constitute an
offence".
Counsel told the court that GNPC
itself benefited directly from the guarantee agreement, which his client signed
on its behalf with officials of Caisse Francaise Development. Counsel submitted further that none
of the six prosecution witnesses led evidence to show the wilful action or
omission of his client through which the State incurred a financial loss.
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Health Minister urged junior doctors to exercise restraint
He said the issue had to go through
a process, which demanded a declaration of principle and time, thus, "the
delay in the results". The Minister said this when he briefed the press after
a lengthy meeting with the representatives of the striking doctors, the Board
Chairman of the hospital and the administration.
Dr Afriyie
commended the doctors for suspending their strike action while the Greater
Accra branch of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) concluded negotiations with
government.
He noted that it was not elegant
to see doctors using strike actions as the only alternative to have their
grievances addressed by government and expressed the hope that such issues
would not arise again.
Dr Afriyie
attributed the problem to the breakdown of communication between the Ministries
of Health, Finance, the hospital's administration and the doctors but said; "with
the good will on both sides issues would be resolved".
He noted that government had
already started addressing some of their pressing needs and that the issue of
cars had almost been solved. Over 400 cars are in for distribution and most of
the beneficiaries would be junior doctors in the rural areas.
"I have directed that a
junior doctor be put on the committee handling the vehicles to ensure that the doctors witness whatever goes on". The Minister
mentioned the issues of accommodation at the hospital and the take off of the
postgraduate school as some of the areas that would soon be solved to avert any
confrontation.
He said though the doctors had
given government up to 31 March as the deadline for resolving their grievances
such information had not been communicated to him and, therefore, the ministry
might not be able to meet the deadline.
Dr Ishmeal
Sackey, Spokesman for the striking doctors, said they
did not enjoy being on strike just to have their problems solved and called for
more consultations and communication to solve the problem once and for all.
Junior doctors of the Korle-Bu
Teaching hospital on February 10, embarked on a strike action for better
conditions of service. Their action resulted in an influx of patients to other
hospitals like the
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Integrate AIDS patients into society
He said stigmatisation of such
diseases made their treatment extremely difficult and as such, there was the
need to be compassionate towards them. Rev Gyan Duah was preaching at a thanksgiving service at the Bantama Presbyterian Church to mark the end of a three-day
retreat, organised by ministers of the church and their spouses in the Asante Presbytery in
The retreat had as its theme:
"Jesus, The Friend of Outcasts". The Clerk of the General Assembly
said some people contracted diseases like HIV/AIDS not because of immoral lives
but out of ignorance.
Ghanaians, particularly
Christians must therefore, show love, sympathy and kindness to people living
with HIV/AIDS and other contagious diseases such as leprosy and tuberculosis. Rev
Gyan Duah said such people
needed compassion and must not be treated as outcasts.
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NRC invites Nanfuri and Assase-Gyimah
Accra (Greater Accra) 18 February
2003- The National Reconciliation Commission on Monday said it has invited
Peter Nanfuri, former boss of the Bureau of National Investigations
(BNI), and Captain Assase-Gyimah (RTD), to submit
statements in response to testimonies which mentioned them as perpetrators of
torture.
Copies of the verbatim
transcript of the testimonies in question have been forwarded to the two for
their study, Ms Annie Anipa, the NRC Public Affairs
Director said. In an encounter with the press in
She said the Commission had
received letters from Nanfuri and Capt Assasie-Gyimah complaining that they were not offered the
opportunity to attend the hearings of the cases in which they were cited as
perpetrators.
Nanfuri and Captain Assasie-Gyimah
have also gone to the mass media with their complaints, generating public
debate on the fairness of the Commission to the two. Ms Anipa
said in the case involving Mr Nanfuri, the Commission
had explained to him that the case in question, in which Sawundi
alleged he masterminded his torture at the BNI office, was reviewed in the
middle of January 2003.
Ms Anipa
said a copy of the statement was subsequently delivered by hand to Nanfuri's solicitors at Agbenetor
Chambers on 29 January for his study and comments, but Nanfuri
informed the Commission that he did not receive the statement until
As for the case in which Madam
Jacqueline Acquaye a baker of Aburi,
who accused Lt Col Kusi of being a perpetrator in her
testimony, Ms Anipa said Madam Acquaye
did not name Lt Col Kusi in her written testimony.
This notwithstanding, the
Commission had forwarded the transcript of the relevant portions of the
verbatim report of her testimony to Lt Col Kusi for his
study, Ms Anipa said, adding that Lt Col Kusi had also submitted a statement to the Commission, and
he would be given the opportunity to be heard publicly if it considered it
necessary.
She noted that the Commission
was not a court of law in the sense that it was not out to determine whether a
witness was guilty or not and for that matter respondents were only invited for
hearing only when they were named as perpetrators with specific allegations
made against them.
She said as at
She assured the public that the
Commission was committed to principles of natural justice and procedural
fairness, and as such, all witnesses whether presumed victims or perpetrators
would be given the opportunity to tell their side of the story.
Ms Anipa
said the Commission had put in place procedures to ensure that the Commission
remained focused on its mandated functions. She explained that in all cases,
persons whether alleged victims or perpetrators appearing for the hearing were
required to fill a statement ahead of hearing.
This, she said, would afford the
Commission the opportunity to review the statement and determine its relevance
to its mandate. Dr Ken Attafuah, the Commission's Executive
Secretary, said public officials against whom allegations were made would be
invited to the Commission public hearing subject to specific allegations and
damage and injury to the petitioner.
He said since the Commission
started taking statements in September last year, a number of people the
Commission recognised as knowledgeable enough on purported role of identifiable
bodies on human rights infractions, including the Students and Labour union, the
Legal and traditional bodies had been invited for hearing in camera.
Edward Mingle, Head of the Legal
Affairs Department, said Enoch Teye Mensah, MP, Ningo Prampram, cited as a
perpetrator in an evidence had been served with a
statement of the petitioner through the Speaker of Parliament. Mingle said it
was better for the purposes of records if respondents react to allegations to
the Commission rather than resorting to the media.
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Gamey expresses surprise
He said he made the statement
during the inauguration of Human Resource Association of the
In a statement issued and signed
in
He said he was being accused of
expressing his views based on his personal experience in that field for so many
years. He said subsequent comments during radio interviews were all intended to
restate his opinion and to merely show effect of salary increases on the national
economy and not to push any wedge between workers, employers and the
government.
He said "indeed, Prof Cletus
Dordornu of the GIMPA expressed the same opinion and even
supported it with indices. "I wonder if he was
supporting the government as I am being accused of doing," he said.
"I am not in any doubt that
union leaders of today will appreciate his knowledge, past role, and assistance
in these matters, and should be most grateful if the unions will see me first of
all as a Ghanaian and also as consultant expressing his candid opinion on a
national issue without any malice or ulterior motive".
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