EP Church, Ghana
demands keys to house
Ghana's solutions
to problems lie with its people
A statement issued in Accra said
"We are on the firm conviction that the level of the recently announced
petroleum prices are unjustifiable especially in the light of the accusations
of waste, inefficiency and corruption levelled by the President against the management
of TOR.
According to the minority just
as in the case of the IFC loan, members are requesting the NPP Government to
roll back on the announced petroleum price increases before it is too late
because the adverse effects of these increases will far outweigh any short-term
benefits Government hopes to gain from them.
"We also advise government
to urgently sit down with the leadership of other political parties and social
partners to urgently review the situation and agree on realistic but affordable
prices for petroleum prices," it noted.
The statement which was signed
by Hon. E.K. Doe-Adjaho, Minority Chief whip, said these increases would inflict unimaginable
hardship on the disadvantaged rural and urban poor population and would also
put undue pressure on industry and commerce.
"The increase of almost 100
percent in the case of petrol and only a little less in the case of all the
other petroleum products, are the most unprecedented in the colonial and
post-independence history of this country," the Minority said.
"Not even at the height of
the Gulf War in 1991, when crude oil prices rose from a previous low of 10
pounds sterling per barrel to over 40 pounds sterling per barrel, did the then
Government raise petroleum prices by as much as 100 per cent," it stated.
It said the increase in the
price of kerosene was not only anti-people, especially for the most vulnerable
groups, but also appeared almost deliberately designed to take life out of the
rural communities.
"Indeed it is the greatest
paradox of our history, that persons who proclaimed to champion the interest of
the ordinary people of this country while in opposition by organising massive
demonstrations against policies of the previous government, are today while in
government, inflicting such cruelty on the same people," it noted
The statement said compared to
these consequences, the gimmicks alongside the increases such as the proposed
wage freeze for members of the executive and the reduction in their fuel
allocations appeared almost insulting.
"Clearly the new prices
have no relationship with the previously announced petroleum price fixing
formula or with the fraudulent TOR debt. We are also aware that the new prices
have a hidden VAT adjustment," the statement said.
It said pressured by IMF and the
World Bank to increase the VAT rate but unable to do so because of its
historical antipathy to VAT and haunted by the twin ghosts of the "Ku Me Preko and Ya Bre
demonstrations, the NPP had opted for political and economically suicidal path
of achieving its revenue mobilisation targets through such callous increases in
petroleum prices.
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Wa (Upper West)
A statement signed by Mr. Ishak Dapilaa, Constituency
Chairman, said although the Minority Leader had the constitutional right to
declare his intention to stand for re-election, it was unacceptable for him to
state that his decision was the result of appeals by members the constituency
branch of the NDC.
It said Mr Bagbin's
announcement was tantamount to imposing himself to the electorate as he had
already declared himself as the NDC candidate before Congress.
"We the constituency
Executive want to use this opportunity to inform all our supporters not to be
scared by such a statement because it is not true and we also wish to encourage
all interested persons who have the intention of contesting under NDC ticket
come the year 2004 general elections to prepare for primaries next year".
The statement said the Executive
want to avoid the imposition of candidates on electorate, which was partly
responsible for the poor performance of NDC in the 2000 general elections.
"In our constituency alone we
lost more than 2,000 prominent supporters and we feel it is too early for us to
be hearing such statements," it said.
It added that Mr. Bagbin's conduct was likely to sow seeds of discord among
the rank and file and called on the party members to ignore the Minority
Leader’s premature statement.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 20
January 2003- The Reverend Prosper K. Manu, Head Pastor of the Back To The
Bible Church, has attributed the immorality and the socio-economic problems of
the country partly to the failure of the majority of Christians to put into
practice the real teachings of Christ.
He said Christians formed a
greater percentage of the population and are found in workplaces, homes and
business enterprises, and yet corruption and immoral acts continue to rise in
the society.
Rev. Manu was speaking at the
ordination service of five pastors into the divine Ministry at the Back To The Bible Church at Kaase in
Rev. Manu said most Christians
only take delight in being regular at church professing to be genuine, and yet
engage in corruption, immorality and misconduct.
He therefore, reminded
Christians that the destiny of the country lies in their hands and said the
Bible should always guide them in their daily activities.
Rev. Manu admonished the pastors
to lead exemplary lives, as their flock would be looking up to them for
guidance. He advised them to be humble in the performance of their duties,
saying, "God exalts those who humble
themselves".
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EP Church,
Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 20
January 2003- Following the Appeal Court's dismissal of an appeal for stay of
execution filed by the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Solicitors for
the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana have given people occupying House
Number 30 Block 19 at New Amakom in Kumasi, three
months with effect from 1 November 2002 to quit and vacate the place.
A letter from Yaanom Chambers Barristers and Solicitors in
The letter also asked the
affected people to hand over the keys of the house to Raphael Aboagye of Gyidi Chambers,
Koforidua, Solicitors for EP Church of Ghana, to be
handed over to them with a receipt within the time limit.
The plaintiffs, according to the
letter, were also demanding the 500,000 cedis cost awarded against EP Church of
Ghana by the
On 1 December last year, the
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He noted that adherents of Islam
lived under deprived conditions while the Quran
contained several commandments of positive things to do to effect changes in an
individual and the society as well as the growth and prosperity.
These were contained in a
special message read on his behalf by Boniface Abubakar
Sadique, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, at
the 40th Annual National Conference of Islamic Secretaries in
The Vice-President said the goal
of Islam was to produce and maintain conditions conducive for man to worship
God and said the theme for the three-day conference, "Islam and the Social
Development of Man" should afford Muslims an opportunity to reflect on the
unsatisfactory social conditions of Muslim communities in the country.
He expressed concern about the
increasing number of broken homes, drug and child abuse and the general
indiscipline and immorality within Muslim communities.
Alhaji Aliu Mahama therefore called
on Muslim leaders and organisations to devote their time and activities towards
programmes to create better living conditions in their communities to bring
them closer to God.
Dr Richard Anane, Minister of
Roads and Transport, said the government appreciated constructive criticism
that would enhance peace, development and good governance. The Minister who is also the MP for Bantama said the government would construct roads to open
up the country to make for easy movement.
He said the increase in the
price of petroleum products was to offset the huge debt at the Tema Oil
Refinery (TOR), which had become a problem and therefore stressed the need for
drivers and passengers to co-operate for mutual understanding in the face of
the increases.
He called for support for the
government to provide the necessary infrastructure for the accelerated
development of the country. Alhaji Ahmed Kwasi
Yeboah, Kwabre District Chief Executive, urged
Muslims refrain from violence and to preach peace to attract more followers to
the religion.
Sheikh Adam Mohammed Appiedu, National President said the aim of the
organisation was to encourage Muslims to acquire formal education. He said it
had acquired 150 acres of land at Duayaw-Nkwanta in
the Brong Ahafo region for the establishment of a College to train teachers for
Islamic Schools and called on the government for support.
Osongah Nii
Adjei Kreku 11, Tema Mantse,
who is also a Muslim, called on the members to follow the teachings of the Quran and lead lives worthy of emulation. He asked Muslims
to send children to school and to ensure that they studied hard to become
useful citizens.
Baba Ahmed Yacoub,
a representative of the Islamic Council for Development and Humanitarian
Services in charge of Aid Department said, the Council promised continued
support for the educational programmes of the organisation.
He announced Council readiness
to construct a six-classroom block and a mosque for the organisation in any
part of the country. Sheik Ishaaq Nuamah,
General Secretary, appealed to members to support the activities and programmes
of the organisation.
Alhaji Yacoub
Manu, who chaired the function, stressed the need for leaders of religious
organisations to unite to ensure peace, love, unity and understanding.
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Mumford (Central Region) 20 January
2003- The Minister for Environment and Science, Professor Dominic Fobih, on Friday stated that while the government has no
intention of taking over land, it would not sit down unconcerned for landowners
to sabotage efforts to promote investment.
Landowners should remove
obstacles on lands acquisition to promote investment and development. He was
reacting to a suggestion by Abraham Mensah, Gomoa
District Finance Officer, at the People's Assembly at Mumford
that that lands under litigation should be confiscated to the State.
Prof Fobih
announced that with effect from 2003/2004 academic year pupils in basic schools
would not pay fees or levies in fulfillment of the NPP's campaign promise.
He said the government could not
implement the programme earlier because school structures needed rehabilitation
or reconstruction and materials such as furniture to enhance teaching and
learning.
On a suggestion for the creation
of a Ministry for Chieftaincy Affairs, the Minister said the government had
appointed a Chieftaincy Commission to oversee affairs of the institution.
Prof Fobih
cautioned fishermen against buying fish from trawlers on the high seas, which
he said was against the Fisheries Law and encouraged foreign operators to flout
the nation's regulations banning such vessels from fishing close to the shore.
An appeal was made to the
government to consider fishermen for the highest award during National Farmers
Day celebrations. A participant expressed disappointment that since the scheme
was instituted, no fisherman had won the highest award, adding that,
Godsent Incoom,
District PWD Engineer, urged top functionaries to stop "labeling workers who insist on the right thing to be
done" as enemies of the government, adding "such comments demoralise
workers from doing their work well".
K. T. Hammond, Deputy Minister
of Energy, briefed the Assembly on efforts by the government for the country to
strike oil in the country and said, "Some progress has been made in
exploration," which would be announced later.
Ms Joyce Mildred Aidoo, District Chief Executive, enumerated development
projects initiated by the government and its partners in the district. She
called on the people to rally behind the government to carry through its
programmes.
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Koforidua (Eastern Region) 20
January 2003- The Chief Justice is to establish a Fast Track Court to try armed
robbery cases at the next sitting of the Criminal Assizes in Accra this year,
the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Nana Akufo-Addo
has announced.
He said Fast Track Courts would
be established in all the regions as part of measures to speed up cases to
promote confidence in the judicial system.
Nana Akufo-Addo
was addressing a symposium organised by the Koforidua Polytechnic Chapter of
the Tertiary Education Students Confederacy (TESCON) of the NPP on Saturday on
the theme: "Does the NPP government believe in the Rule of Law?"
He said the repeal of the
criminal libel and sedition laws and the supply of vehicles to the Police were
part of measures to promote the rule of law and to strengthen security in the
country, adding "the Ghanaian media now is the freest in the world".
The Attorney General noted that
the Yendi crisis exposed the neglect of the security
services, saying, the non-functioning of a MOWAG battery at a crucial time made
it impossible for the army to abate the situation on time and said the
situation was being addressed.
He said NPP was rebuilding the
country based on the principle of the rule of law, adding, "everything we are doing is open to the people and that is
why we did not hide the TOR (Tema Oil Refinery) debt of 3.4 trillion cedis from
the people".
On the increase in petroleum
prices, Nana Akufo-Addo explained that the government
had to take the bold decision in order not to compromise on the future of the
people, saying, "we are sticking to it because we
know the majority of the people will support us".
According to him, out of the
total vehicle population of 500,000, 62 per cent were privately owned and said
it was not justified for the people to subsidise fuel for the comfort of the
few.
The Deputy Minister of Defence,
Mr Eddie Akita who spoke on "Discipline as a pre-requisite for excellence
in education," called on students to join in the crusade against
indiscipline by respecting the rules and regulations in their institutions to
promote a conducive atmosphere for teaching and
learning.
He reminded them that in this
era of terrorism, students should be on their guide and not to allow terrorists
to infiltrate their ranks to destabilise the country since the sub-region had
become volatile in terms of armed revolts and conflicts.
The Minister of Works and
Housing and MP for Koforidua, Mr Yaw Barimah, said
the government had done a lot within its two years of office than what the
country saw over the past 20 years.
He said the new fuel prices are
meant to lay a solid foundation of prosperity through self-denial instead of
mounting debts and misery for the future.
The Deputy Minister of
Communication and Technology, Mr John Achuliwor,
called on students to take advantage of educational opportunities to groom
themselves adequately into future leaders to continue on the foundations being
laid.
Speakers at the function,
chaired by the Eastern Regional Chairman of the NPP, Nana Adi
Ankamah, included the Eastern Regional Minister, Dr
Francis Osafo-Mensah, Government Spokesman, Nana Ohene
Ntow, Asamoah Boateng of
the Office of the President and the National Organiser of the NPP, Lord Commey.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 20 January
2003- Vice President Aliu Mahama on Saturday told road contractors that the
government expected 'value for money' for the huge resources spent on road
projects.
Consequently, he advised them to
avoid negligence, lack of supervision and non-adherence to project
specifications, which were usually the cause of shoddy works.
The Vice President Mahama was
speaking at a dinner dance organised by the Association of Road Contractors of
Ghana in
The occasion, which coincided
with the 75th birthday of the former Chairman, Robert K. Tetteh,
was used to honour him for successfully steering the affairs of the association
since its formation in 1993.
Vice President Mahama said: ''As
someone who has been in the construction industry for a long time, I am aware
that one of the criticisms levelled against operators in the industry most of
the time is that of 'shoddy work.''
It said negligence by on our
part as professionals and practitioners for not executing works properly or
adhering to specifications for our selfish ends is unpatriotic an unacceptable.
Alhaji Mahama, therefore, urged
the contractors to let their professional and moral ethics strengthen and drive
them to build good roads. The Vice President, however, expressed concern about
the relatively higher cost of roads construction in the country as compared to
others countries in the sub-Region.
He asked members of the
association to collaborate with the government to resource the Building and
Road Research Institute to discover cheaper local materials for the industry.
On efforts being made by the
government to ensure that Ghanaian contractors qualify for major and high value
specialists construction works funded by the World
Bank and other development partners, he announced that the inter-ministerial
committee tasked to address the issue would submit its final report next week.
Vice President Mahama said the
government would expedite action on the report to remove the restraining
factors that had stifled the growth of the local contracting firms in the
construction industry.
Major construction jobs have
become the preserve of foreign firms, as their Ghanaian counterparts are unable
to meet the financial obligation and technological capacity required for such
jobs.
To complement the government's
efforts, Vice President advised local contractors to form joint ventures, which
he said would build up their finances, increase their access to credit schemes,
be able to buy equipment and become competitive.
He said: ''The construction
business is capital intensive it is, therefore, imperative that we build high
level trust among ourselves and subdue our selfish interests. So long as we
remain fragmented small firms with minimal capital base we can never compete
effectively with foreign firms, which are better endowed.''
Another means of building their
capital base, the Vice President suggested, was the establishment of a fund
with a percentage contribution from their Interim Payment Certificates to be
able to purchase modern equipment.
On the request by the
association for decentralisation of the supply of bitumen and chippings, he
said negotiations were underway to make them available from the Northern and
Southern sectors.
Dr Richard Anane, Minister of
Roads and Transport, assured the contractors that the government would clear
the arrears of genuine jobs on schedule, while agencies that work on their
payment certificates would speed up the processing to ensure prompt payments.
He urged them to take advantage
of the training programmes being run by Ministry with other collaborators to
build their capacities. Mr Tetteh commended the
government for paying the huge arrears over the years, saying the non-payment
of the debts in the past caused tragedies for some of their members.
He suggested to the government
to use part of the road fund to buy modern equipment, which he said was too
expensive. Foreign contractors should also be made sublet 40 per cent of their
jobs in
Tetteh noted that bad engineering and
the award of contracts to unqualified contractors were also causes of shoddy
jobs that needed to be checked. Twumasi-Mensah said
the Association was using peer-monitoring mechanisms to check sub-standard
jobs.
He complained about the
difficulty in securing funds from the various commercial banks, but commended
the Amalgamated Bank for its support to contractors since the collapse of the
Bank for Housing and Construction. The Prisons Band provided music to which the
Vice President, with his wife Hajia Ramatu, danced alongside other diners.
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Saturday condemned the
government for increasing petroleum products by 90.4 per cent and asked for
salary adjustment by the same percentage for the betterment of the ordinary
worker.
Alhaji Hamed
Ramadan, Vice Treasury of the party said this when he addressed a large
gathering of supporters and sympathisers of the party at Kokomba
Market, in
The purpose was to formerly
announce to the members that the PNC was still in motion and to solicit their
support to win the 2004 general elections.
Alhaji Ramadan said the NPP
administration has disappointed Ghanaians in everything, including their
inability to control the economy and that the subsequent increase in fuel would
further increase the woes of the people, particularly the poor, who could not
take three square meals a day.
He said government has shown
total disregard to Ghanaians, adding, "the
exercise is a heartless one" and that it was wrong for government to use
smuggling as a main factor of increasing the price of the product.
Alhaji Ramadan said, "If it
was the question of arresting smuggling, why can't government also increase the
price of cocoa to make its smuggling irrelevant".
He said the average Ghanaian
could not afford the school fees, health service bills and the cost of all
other essential services would naturally go up, resulting in hardship to
parents.
Dr Edward Mahama, leader of the
party advised members of the party to access their living standards since the
government came to power and exercise their franchise
wisely to change the government for the better.
He said government should have
increased the product bit by bit so as to reduce the impact, adding that a PNC
government would ensure that Ghanaians would not face such hardships.
Mallam Tamalbe
Osmanu, chairman of the Kokomba
Market Sellers Association assured the PNC of their support and advised the
leadership of the party to help develop the market.
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Koforidua (Eastern Region)
He said the approach being
adopted by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) relying on the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) for funding to carry out its developments
would not solve the present hardships being faced by the people.
Addressing a meeting of the
Eastern Region executive committee meeting at Koforidua on Saturday, Dr. Al-hassan, who is also the National Chairman of the party
called for the mass mobilisation of the country's resources for the production
in all fields of the economy for domestic consumption and for export.
According to him, under the
leadership of the NPP the country has remained fixated on preserving the
economic policy framework promoted by the Western powers even though these
policies have run down our productive capacity and blocked economic
integration.
He described as unfortunate the
derailment of policies and programmes initiated by the Nkrumah regime, which he
said, had derailed the country's economy.
Dr Al-hassan
said a CPP government would adopt policies that would be based on
industrialization, which would improve the lot of the people.
He spoke on the merger of the
CPP and the Ghana Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) and described it as a move
in the right direction and hoped other Nkrumahists
would join their folk.
The Leader of CPP referred to
the statement made by the NPP National Chairman, Mr Haruna
Esseku at its party's recent congress denying the relevance of the CPP and
justifying the 1966 coup, as "nothing more than the groaning of a
political leadership that has not been able to keep faith with the
masses."
He stressed that, "CPP
believes in the rule of law and democracy and does not believe in Coups."
He asked the members to explain the party's polices and programmes to the people
to win more souls for the party.
John Ameka,
General Secretary of GCPP said the decision by the party's leadership to merge
with the CPP was the wish of the majority of the masses to enable it wrest
political power from the NPP in the 2004 elections.
He expressed gratitude to CPP
for accepting them in order to forge ahead as Nkruamhists
and appealed to other Nkrumahist parties to join
their folk.
Dr David Pessey,
a member of the National Executive Committee of the National Reform Party
(NRP), who attended the meeting as an observer, explained that two meetings had
already been held on the possible merger with the CPP.
However, he said, the final
decision would have to be endorsed at the party's national delegates congress
slated for March this year. Earlier, Nana Owusu Sekyere,
acting Eastern Regional chairman of the party called for discipline among the
ranks and file of the party.
He gave the assurance that the
regional executives would work tirelessly in all the constituencies for victory
for the party and therefore, appealed to the national executive for logistic
support to carry out its programmes.
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