President Kufuor returns from Paris
Mahama leaves for NAM conference
African Parliament in the offing- President
President Kufuor confers with Council of State members
Emulate selfless patriots of February 28 - Erskine
EP Church urged to bury differences
Be loyal to elected leaders - Rev Boampong
Police Commander taken to Mallam
Trial of Abodakpi, Selormey adjourned
GES to close down illegal private schools
Pilgrims need to plan well - Boniface
Government asked to withdraw minimum wage
GES to make IT examinable subject in Secondary Schools
MPs not delegates - Justice Crabbe
Ghanaians urged not to play politics with fuel prices
President Kufuor returns from Paris
Accra (Greater Accra) 25 February
2003- President John Kufuor returned to Accra on Sunday from Paris, France,
after attending the 22nd session of Franco-African Summit.
The Deputy Foreign Minister
Alhaji Mustapha Iddris accompanied him. He was met on
arrival by the Vice President Aliu Mahama, Ministers of State; Chief of Defence
Staff, Lt. Gen. Seth Obeng; Inspector General of Police,
Nana Owusu Nsiah; Dean of the Diplomatic Corp,
Ibrahim Omar; French Ambassador, Jean-Michel Berrit
and the British High Commissioner Dr Rod Pullen.
The
Over 40 African Leaders attended
the summit, which was under the theme: "
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Mahama leaves for NAM
Heads of States and
representatives of the 160-member organisation would attend the
Issues to be discussed include
terrorism, the world economic situation, disarmament and international
security, the external debt and the war cloud over
The Chief of Protocol Sammy Eddico and the Malaysian High Commissioner to
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African Parliament in the offing- President
President Kufuor made the
observation when a delegation of the National People's Assembly of the People's
Democratic Republic (PDR) of
He said collectively, the
various Parliaments would understand each other as well as the values of the
various peoples. President Kufuor said
Younes who recounted the tremendous
assistance offered by
Algerian
flag".
He said the Algerian government
and the Assembly were committed to strengthening the cordial relations between
the two countries. Younes said the visit to
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President Kufuor confers with Council of State members
Accra (Greater Accra) 25 February
2003- President John Kufuor on Monday held the first quarterly meeting with
members of the Council of State this year, at the Castle, Osu.
The quarterly meetings provide
opportunity for both the Office of the President and the Council to discuss
issues of national concern and take stock of the state of the nation.
President Kufuor expressed
appreciation to the Council members for their concern to the national
socio-economic development efforts and the offer of objective advice to the President.
For example he said nominations
submitted to the Council for appointments, were scrutinised well and their
sincere and objective assessment had enabled the government to appoint
competent people to serve the nation.
"You truly make me feel
some powers behind the seat of the President that had enabled me to rule the
nation confidently". President Kufuor thanked the Council for acknowledging
the efforts made by the government since assumption of office, his re-election
as the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the 2004 elections and
also his election as the Chairman of ECOWAS.
He said "these appointments
are taken as reflections in the efforts of the government and the office of the
President shares the honours with you as good advisers". Professor Alex Kwapong, Chairman of the Council said the re-election of President
Kufuor as the flagbearer of the NPP and Chairman of ECOWAS marked the
recognition of the achievements made so far in the country under his leadership
to maintain a democratic rule. He urged the government to continue to devote
the highest priority to the socio-economic development of the country.
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Emulate selfless patriots of February 28 - Erskine
Akim Swedru (Eastern Region)
A former Commander of the United
Nations International Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), General Emmanuel Alexander Erskine, made the call at the 5th annual 28
February, Lectures at the
He said he was not happy that in
spite of the fact that government spent huge sums of money to train medical
doctors, the country was still forced to depend on Cuban doctors to provide
health services because "our young and newly-qualified doctors cannot make
sacrifices for the nation."
General Erskine,
who is also a member of the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC), suggested
that the youth should be made to undergo military training in the course of
their national service to help to instil a sense of discipline in them.
He recalled that formerly, the
best institutions suited for imparting and maintaining discipline were the Boys
Scouts and Girls Guide Movements and called for their reactivation to instil
discipline into the society.
General Erskine
said since the youth were the future leaders of the society, there was the need
for them to demonstrate a high sense of discipline. The Headmaster of the
School, Solomon Djaba-Mensah advised the students to
identify what they want to do in life and to have the strong determination to
pursue it.
He said
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EP Church urged to bury differences
This would enable them to
collectively find means of assisting bereaved families of members of the EP
Church, Ghana, who died in a recent car crash while returning from a
colleague's funeral in the
This was contained in a message
signed by its chairman, Reverend Togbe S.K. Fugah, to the Church and the bereaved families. Togbe Fugah said the tragic
nature of the accident, which occurred two weeks ago, claiming 14 lives and
leaving 30 seriously injured, required the sympathy of the two rival churches
and a collective approach to relieve the families of their grief and pain.
"In spite of the
differences in leadership, the two churches should remember that they still
remain brothers and sisters under one umbrella", he added. The VCC also
wished the injured a speedy recovery.
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Be loyal to elected leaders - Rev Boampong
"They need our unceasing
prayers, counsel, goodwill and moral encouragement to perform and live up to
expectation". The Rev Boampong said this in a
sermon at an induction service of the newly elected executive of the Kumasi
Diocesan Methodist Guild at the
He condemned a situation where
some people just sit back and look out for slips on the part of elected leaders
so that they could mischievously, use them to incite public anger, disaffection
and create confusion.
"This is completely
unacceptable as we would not be able to make any meaningful headway either as a
church or nation with such attitude and mentality". The Rev Boampong asked the new diocesan executive to see their
position as one that demanded selflessness, service and sacrifice.
He reminded them that it was
only with humility that they could carry the people with them and enjoy their
co-operation. "To become effective leaders, you must avoid the temptation
to become arrogant or overbearing", he added.
John Sikayena
Gyasi, the diocesan chairman, said their vision was
to help Vice President Aliu Mahama's campaign against
indiscipline in the society. He said as a Christian organisation, they were
disturbed by the careless disregard for law and order by most Ghanaians,
reckless lifestyles of the youth and "the degradation of the environment
with impunity."
Gyasi said in the next three years,
the executive would focus on evangelisation to turn many souls away from evil. They
would also organise talks to sensitise people on the HIV/AIDS and mobilise
members to undertake regular clean-up exercises to help promote environmental
sanitation, among other things.
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Police Commander taken to Mallam
The women had sent a list, which
had the name of ACP Boakye and that of suspected
armed robbers currently in Police custody, to the Mallam.
They were also having in their possession a newspaper cutting of two of the
most wanted armed robbers, who were arrested in 1999 after being involved in an
armed robbery at Tema.
Bright Oduro,
Greater Accra Regional Crime Officer, told the Ghana News Agency that on
Saturday Police tailed one Erica, a girlfriend of Ataa
Ayi, a notorious armed robber now at large and Becky,
the girlfriend of "Old School," a convicted armed robber, to the
cottage of the Mallam.
Oduro said the two ladies, who were
in a taxicab, went to the cottage and it was after they had brought out the
pictures and the list containing the names of robbers in Police custody and
that of the Regional Commander that they approached and arrested them. "The
two ladies could not give any tangible reason why they had those pictures and
the list of names," he said. Police investigations are continuing.
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Trial of Abodakpi, Selormey adjourned
Accra (Greater Accra) 25 February
2003- The Fast Track Court trying two former Ministers of State for their
alleged involvement in fraud in the Trade and Investment Programme (TIP) on
Monday adjourned to March 3, at the instance of the defence.
They are Daniel Abodakpi, ex-Minister for Trade and Industry and Victor Selormey, a former Deputy Minister of Finance. Abodakpi and Selormey are being
tried on seven counts of conspiracy to commit crime, defrauding by false
pretences and wilfully causing a total loss of 2.73bn cedis to the State.
They have denied all the charges
and are currently on self-recognisance bail in the sum of 3bn cedis each. At
the last sitting, Charles Hayibor, counsel for Abodakpi prayed the court to compel Edward Agyemang-Duah, the Auditor-General and a prosecution witness, to
produce the entire file of TIP in court so that he could answer questions put
to him.
Agyemang-Duah
at Monday's sitting produced the file but defence prayed the court to give them
a few minutes to look through it. The court therefore stood the case down. When
the court resumed, Hayibor informed the court that
the TIP file containing other relevant documents was too bulky and asked for an
adjournment to enable them to study it critically so that they can continue with
the Auditor-General's cross-examination.
"To ensure fair play and
justice in the trial, the court must give us some time so that we can study
these files and documents," he said. Anthony Gyambiby,
a Principal State Attorney agreed with the defence. At this juncture the court
presided over by Stephen T. Farkye, Appeal Court
Judge, who is sitting on the case as an additional High Court Judge, adjourned
the matter.
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GES to close down illegal private schools
Ho (Volta Region)
Gyang was speaking at the launch of
the Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS) week under the theme,
"Education and Discipline-The Role of Private Schools".
He said the exercise would
eliminate the practice of "packing children into ramshackle and rickety
structures under the pretext of giving education." Gyang
called on proprietors to refrain from demanding exorbitant fees for procurement
of school uniforms from parents since the "Ministry's decision on uniforms
is inconclusive."
''Even if a final decision is
taken on the issue of uniforms, such uniforms would strictly be made in the
country and not imported as some proprietors are alleged to be telling their
pupils.''
He appealed to GNAPS to
undertake a feasibility study into their operations and make proposals that would
enhance their effectiveness. Mama Adokuwa-Asigble IV,
National President of GNAPS, in an address read for her appealed to the
government to expedite work on the proposed Private Education Regulation Bill
that has been in abeyance for some time now. Mrs Christine Searyor,
acting Ho District Director of Education, urged GNAPS to update the skills of
its teachers and get involved in extra-curricula activities.
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Pilgrims need to plan well - Boniface
He, therefore, advised future
pilgrims to prepare early and adequately so that they did not suffer financial
difficulties. Boniface said although Muslims were known to help one another in times
of need, yet it was necessary that pilgrims should not become burdens on others
in a foreign land.
He said on previous pilgrimages
Ghanaians were hosted near the Haram (Mosque) but it
was unfortunate that this year they occupied a hotel, which was far away from
the prayer centre and had to commute a lot.
He said the Ghanaian delegation,
which was led by Alhaji Ben Salifu, Minister of State, National Development Planning
Commission (NDPC) prayed for an end to the conflict in
They also offered prayers for
peace and prosperity for all Ghanaians and especially, President John Kufuor
and the government. Boniface said fellow Muslims saluted the Ghanaian pilgrims
for the peace and stability prevailing in country and praised the role the Ghanaian-born
UN Secretary-General Busumuru Kofi Annan was playing
in the handling of international issues.
All the Ghanaian pilgrims are
yet to arrive in the country because bad weather had delayed the Ghana Airways'
flight schedules. He confirmed that four male Ghanaians died in
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Government asked to withdraw minimum wage
Accra (Greater Accra) 25 February
2003- The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) on Monday urged the
government to immediately withdraw the 9,000 cedis minimum wage announced last
week and further deliberate on the issue.
"It is inappropriate to
prematurely state your stance rigidly to the general public while negotiations
were still in progress," a statement signed by Edward Kofi Omane Boamah, NUGS President,
said.
It also said the government's
action is "a blatant deviation from the tenets of negotiations". The
statement said NUGS had keenly followed the "marathon meetings" of
the Tripartite Committee in their bid to arrive at an affordable and human-centred
wage.
"As a country we quickly
ascribe low productivity largely to inefficient labour without critically
looking at other factors such as inefficient machinery, which do not contribute
to high turnover but reduce work input".
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GES to make IT examinable subject in Secondary Schools
Sekondi (Western Region) 25 February 2003- The Ghana
The officer in-charge of the
Education, Management and Information System (EMIS) of the GES, Rev Vincent L. Yensu, said this at the first graduation of
He appealed to organisations and
individuals to provide more equipment to schools and colleges to improve the
standard of teaching and learning of computers. Yensu
called on private institutions to operate within Ministry of Education's
guidelines and avoid the tendency to make maximum profit.
He said the nation should give
children of school going age education that would equip them to face the challenges
and make them marketable. The Headmaster of the school, Joe Mensah, said 32
students passed in the various levels of skills in computer studies. He said
the school intended to expand its services and appealed for land to enable the
school to expand.
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MPs not delegates - Justice Crabbe
Akosombo (Eastern Region)
He said: "An MP is a
representative to serve the nation as whole, not necessarily the interests of
the constituency, nor, indeed the interests of the political party which the
member belongs. If an MP cannot put country before party, he/she is not fit to
be in Parliament."
Justice Crabbe
was speaking at a two-day capacity building workshop for the leadership of
Parliamentary Select Committees at Akosombo organised
by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs in collaboration with the Ghana Centre
for Democratic Development, (CDD-Ghana) and Friedrich Nuamann
Foundation at
Akosombo.
The workshop aimed at
strengthening the capacity and technocratic base of committees of Parliament
and reviewed the role of the chairpersons and leadership of Parliamentary
Committees; deliberated on how to render the Committees more proactive,
strengthen agenda/priority setting and time management and improve media
relations and reach out to the public.
Justice Crabbe,
who was speaking on: "How to render the Leadership of the Parliamentary
Committees more proactive," said the three arms of government played
complementary roles and not competitive. Each did not exist to the exclusion of
the others.
Parliament had within its
powers, to detect and supply the deficiencies in legislation proposed by the
Executive, he said, but stressed that the House had failed the nation woefully
on this directive.
He, therefore, urged the MPs, to
re-examine their political principles and actions, as they were part of the
social administration of the country. The Statutes Commissioner, therefore,
urged the Parliamentarians to have a defined policy of their own, scrutinise
bills on their reality as opposed to the theory, stressing; "the winnowing
stage of the consideration of bills is very, very admirable.
"But winnowing implies
separating the chaff from the wheat, the chaff in our present context implies background
knowledge of an informed policy, which you need to bring to bear on the subject
at hand."
Justice Crabbe
said; "I appreciate the collective policy of your respective political
parties, but when an issue arises before the House, what is your informed
policy as an individual Member of Parliament; as a citizen of the Republic,
which you can use to measure the line taken by the political party in relation
to the policy expressed by the Government in the Bill?"
Explaining the role of
Leadership of Parliamentary Committees, the former Clerk of Parliament, S. N. Darkwa said the Committees
performed important tasks, which were mostly complex and technical that all the
200 members could not effectively carry out in the chamber.
He outlined some of the duties
as scrutinising bills and delegated legislation - statutory instruments in
detail; examining government accounts to ensure value for money in respect of
government expenditure; to oversee the activities of the Executive in greater
depth than in the House and to investigate issues and provide public contact.
Darkwa said the Constitution provided
for the establishment of Standing Committees to which every member including Ministers
must belong as well as the formation of Select Committees that existed by
virtue of the standing orders and members were selected from backbenchers.
He said the House also from time
to time set up Adhoc Committees to consider a
particular problem or a matter of public importance. On the powers of
Parliamentary Committees, the Former Clerk said they were circumscribed by the
rules laid down in standing orders of the House and observed that the House at
times was reluctant to allow Committees much scope or initiative to make
inquiry into matters which had not been referred to it.
He said although they were
constrained, the Committees were sufficiently well armed to carry out their
tasks and could compel the relevant bodies to produce documents and papers
relevant to their inquiry.
They could also require the
attendance of witnesses and examine them on oath or affirmation, he said,
stressing that anyone who refused to appear before a Committee might be charged
with contempt and punished accordingly.
Darkwa advised Committees not to
detract from the essential purpose of the House to attend to committee meetings
as they reduced attendance in the Chamber and created absence of a quorum.
The Constitution requires that a
quorum should be present before the House could commence business and a
different quorum is need before decision could be taken in the House. The
absence of a quorum in the Chamber, therefore, disrupts businesses to be
transacted.
The Former Clerk, therefore,
tasked Chairpersons of Committees to ensure that meetings were not held during
sittings, except when committees were required to consider urgent bills or
matters of urgent public interest.
Papa Owusu-Ankamah,
the Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, urged the
Committees to be pro-active. He said "though the scope of the powers of Committees
has on many occasions been the subject of debate, there is no doubt that
Committees of our Parliament have great potential which still remain largely
unexplored.
"While various reasons may
be assigned for this situation, especially the dearth of resources in terms of
support, both human and financial, it must be admitted that probably there may
be something more that ought to be done by members themselves, particularly the
Leadership of Committees to enable it to become more effective," he
emphasised.
The Majority Leader urged the
Leadership of Committees to lead the House in its monitoring and investigative
roles and to meet the growing demand that Parliament ensured that public office
holders discharged their responsibilities in the interest of the nation.
The Minister for Parliamentary
Affairs said the Executives had a genuine interest in supporting Parliament to strengthen
its capacity to enable it to complement the efforts of the Executive in the
implementation of its programmes.
Papa Owusu-Ankamah
also lauded the confidence and ability of MPs and Parliament to meet the
expectations of Ghanaians. Other speakers included Hon. Freddie Blay, the First Deputy Speaker and Dr Audrey Gadzekpo of
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Ghanaians urged not to play politics with fuel prices
Suhum (Eastern Region) 25 February
2003- The Minister of Energy, Albert Kan Dapaah, has
urged Ghanaians to avoid playing politics with fuel pricing to ensure that a
good foundation for the economy was laid for generations unborn.
Addressing a public rally
organised by the Suhum constituency of the New
Patriotic Party (NPP) on Sunday, he explained that the recent fuel price increases
and the decision for the country to access the HIPC initiative, formed part of
government's measures to revive the economy.
Kan-Dapaah
stressed that the bold decisions underscored the government's determination to
exhibit transparency in governance and good management of the economy.
He said even though the fuel
price hikes was painful in the short term, it would lead to the future
well-being of the economic life of the people. "We could have played cheap
politics with the situation by leaving it as it is to win popularity while in
fact, endangering the future of all of us and generations unborn."
Kan-Dapaah
appealed to the people to be patient to enable the government's policies to
bear fruit. The Minister of Works and Housing, Yaw Barimah,
cited many projects being implemented in the districts by the NPP government
saying it is an indication of the judicious use of the country's resources.
He said the price of a load of
cocoa under the previous government could buy only seven bags of cement while
under the NPP the farmer could buy double the number, adding, this would enable
more farmers to put up houses and look well after their families.
Barimah stated that since last year,
the government had been subsidising education of second cycle students to
ensure that the youth acquire good educational foundation. He announced that
the government would soon come out with another presidential initiative on
poultry under which inputs would be provided to poultry farmers to increase
production and avoid the importation of poultry products.
The Eastern Regional Minister,
Dr Francis Osafo-Mensah, assured the people that he was actively monitoring the
District Chief Executives in the region to ensure that they utilised public
funds judiciously to provide social amenities for the people.
He told them that the government
was determined to implement its five priority programmes and announced that each
of the 15 districts was being supplied with two food processing machines to
help check post-harvest loses.
The MP for Suhum,
Ransford Agyepong said he
had supplied drugs and medical equipment estimated at 1.1bn cedis to the Suhum government hospital. The DCE, Michael Mensah
enumerated a number of on-going projects including roads, water and educational
infrastructure and assured the people that more would be provided including
markets and electrification projects.
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