Government appreciates remittances from abroad
Accra (Greater Accra) 28 January 2003- The law courts in
Accra were very busy on Monday as lawyers resumed work and were seen going
about their normal duties with zeal. Last Thursday, lawyers in the city
withdrew their services and boycotted the courts in protest against new filing
fees approved by the Chief Justice, which they described as
"illegal".
The lawyers said they were particularly concerned because
they felt that the "illegal filing fees" had no legal backing.
Following the protest, the Chief Justice held a meeting with members of the
Rules of Court Committee, after which it was decided that the new fees
structure would not be implemented until the Constitutional Instrument (CI) on
it came into force.
On Wednesday, 22 January the Attorney-General laid before
Parliament CI 41, Civil Proceedings (Fees and Allowances) Rules 2003, setting
out the new fees and allowances chargeable and payable to the Judicial Service
for the filing and discharge of court processes.
Unless annulled by Parliament by a two-thirds majority, CI
41 would become law on 27 February this year. In coming out with the new fees,
the Judicial Service felt that the old law, LI 1540 enacted in 1992, was out of
touch with reality, and was costing the service a great deal of public money,
and therefore, saw it expedient to come out with new fees.
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Prince Nii-Ashie Neequaye, spokesman for the association,
who disclosed this in an interview, said members wanted to await the outcome of
a meeting between the Chief Justice and the National Executives of the
Association fixed for Thursday, 30 January.
The lawyers withdrew their services last Thursday to
protest against new filing fees they termed "illegal filing fees, by the
Judicial Service". Soon after the boycott of the law courts by the
lawyers, the Chief Justice reached a consensus with members of the Rules of
Court Committee and suspended the implementation of the new fees structure
until the Constitutional Instrument (CI) on it came into force.
Unless annulled by Parliament by a two-third majority, the
Instrument laid before Parliament on 22 January this year, would become law on
27 February.
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Daniel Kwasi Abodakpi, ex-minister for Trade and Industry
and Selormey, deputy minister for Finance 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. When the court resumed
sitting at
"I was hoping to see my client here but he did not
turn up, I would plead with the court to adjourn the matter to next Monday by
which my client would be here for trial to continue." The trial judge
Justice Stephen T. Farkye obliged and adjourned the case.
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She said although accurate data on the prevalence and
different forms of child abuse in
Mrs Asmah said this in an address read for her at a day's
forum to evolve a National Programme of Action for Children in line with the
Declaration and plan of action adopted at the UN General Assembly Special
Session on Children held in May last year.
About 100 participants comprising presiding members of
district assemblies, religious leaders and non-governmental organisations
committed to the welfare of children from the Central,
The Minister regretted that a national study conducted in
1999 revealed that violence was a reality for a substantial number of women and
children in Ghana in their families, communities and in schools and that those
between the ages of 10 and 18 are the most at risk of sexual violence.
''Recent reports also indicate that children whose health
and education are seriously violated are those in the fishing and mining
industries or working under a specific manager who uses children to sell on the
streets.''
Mrs Asmah expressed concern about female genital mutilation
that remains a practice affecting about 86 per cent of the female population in
parts of
Isaac Edumadze, Central Regional Minister, regretted in a
speech read for him that in spite of the government's commitment to improving
the status of children in the country, their situation had not improved and
child abuse was on the ascendancy.
''Our society is bedevilled with all forms of abuse such as
harassment, sexual abuse, incest, child trafficking and child commercial sex
workers.'' He said even though poverty was mostly cases cited as the cause of
these barbaric acts parental responsibility was the major obstacle facing children
in the country.
''
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Accra (Greater Accra) 28 January 2003- Prof Emmanuel
Dankwa, Counsel for Tsatsu Tsikata, former Chief Executive of the Ghana
National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), on Monday told a Fast Track Court (FTC)
in Accra that his client has no case to answer.
Prof. Dankwa, who was making a submission of "no
case" against his client after the prosecution had closed its case, prayed
the court to acquit and discharge his client. The defence team, including Major
R. S. Agbenotoh (Rtd), was expected to open its defence when the prosecution
closed its case, but it stated at the last sitting that it intended to make a
submission of no case.
"It is our submission that the prosecution has
woefully failed to prove all charges levelled against us," Counsel
submitted. Tsikata is being tried for allegedly causing the loss of more than
2.3bn cedis to the state and therefore, 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, presided over by
Mrs Justice Henrietta Abban, an Appeal Court Judge, sitting with an additional
responsibility as a High Court Judge, has admitted him to a 700m-cedi
self-recognisance bail.
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".
According to Prof. Dankwa, the evidence before the court
was that the accused authorised Investment Holding Limited, a subsidiary of
Merchant Bank, to make an investment of 20m Cedis in a company called Valley
Farms from funds the Merchant Bank held on behalf of GNPC.
He added that evidence was further led to show that Tsikata
signed the Guarantee Agreement for a loan to Valley farms on behalf of GNPC
with an official of the French Government aid agency, Caisse Centralle de
Developpement, which later came to be known as Caisse Francaise de
Developpement.
He also submitted that GNPC itself benefited directly from
financial assistance from Caisse Francaise de Developpement. Osafo Sampong,
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), objected to most of the references
counsel extensively quoted, with regard to evidence from witnesses and reminded
him that the court had records on them.
The trial Judge then advised Counsel to dilate on the
salient points that were relevant to the offence and urged him to be mindful of
the laid down guidelines on submissions. The case was adjourned to Thursday, 31
January to enable the prosecution to reply to the submissions.
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Buduburam (Central Region) 28 January 2003- The United
States Government on Monday presented over 100,000 worth of furniture, exercise
and textbooks to support education of refugees at the Buduburam Refugee Camp
near Kasoa in the Central Region.
They constituted 1540 dual desks for pupils, 100 teacher's
tables and chairs, 10,000 assorted textbooks and 100,000 assorted exercise
books. Presenting them to the authorities at the camp, the newly appointed
She said educating children was one of the fundamental
building blocks for a strong economy, adding that one of her major goals in
Ambassador Yates said the
To this end, she said the
Assiedu-Afram, Deputy Minister of Interior reiterated
commitment to hosting and fulfilling its obligations under the various Refugee
conventions. He described the donation as the true meaning of burden sharing
and appealed to the residents at the camp to make maximum use of the facilities
offered them to enable them to contribute their quota to the society.
Afram also appealed to the Buduburam school management
committee to ensure that the materials were used for the benefits of the
residents and the local community. He urged them to take their education all
the seriousness it deserves saying, "there is no age limit in education
and you must endeavour to take the full advantage of the facilities.
"Being a refugee does not mean you don't deserve
better education and better future," he said. Thomas Albrecht, the UNHCR
He said for many, this would throw open the doors to the
future, for some it would pave the way to become competent leaders of tomorrow
and for all it would ensure that they have the basis for judging their leaders
and for taking their own part in democratic and peaceful development that the
sub-region deserve.
He described the donation as the best investment in peace,
security, stability and prosperity that could possibly be imagined. John
Thompson, the
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Accra (Greater Accra) 28 January 2003- Kofi
Amponsah-Bediako, Assistant Government Spokesman on Sunday called for
collaboration between traditional and orthodox medical practitioners to address
the health problems of Ghanaians since traditional medicine plays a significant
role in the well being of the people.
He said public confidence in traditional medicine had grown
to the extent that a sizeable number of the population still relied on the
sector for the treatment of various ailments.
Amponsah-Bediako was speaking at the appraisal meeting and
end-of-year get-together of distributors of "Agya Appiah Aduro Ye"
herbal and alternative medicine, a traditional health institution in
The producers of Agya Appiah Aduro Ye herbal and
alternative medicine belong to the Ghana Federation of Traditional Medicine
Practitioners Association (GHAFTRAM).
Amponsah-Bediako said it was in recognition of the
important role played by traditional medicine that its practitioners have been
allowed to benefit from various training and educational programmes organised
by the government through the Ministry of Health (MOH).
He said the MOH would continue to offer strong support for
the sector to enable them to contribute their quota to the health needs of the
country. The Assistant Government Spokesman however, urged them to be truthful
in advertising their products and to eliminate quacks among them, adding that
they should consider researching the market so as to reposition the sector to
sustain public confidence.
Amponsah-Bediako advised that any appraisal of the Agya
Appiah alternative medicine should be based on the standards set by GHAFTRAM
and approved by the MOH. He noted that the rich experience of practitioners
like Agya Appiah could be tapped by the Traditional Medicine Desk of the MOH,
who would share this knowledge with students of the Herbal Department of the
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
In this way, he said, the experiences of traditional
medicine practitioners could be documented and copyrighted before the
multinational drug companies encroach upon them. He advised the practitioners
in the sector to support government's afforestation programme aimed at
preventing the depletion of forest from which they derive most of their herbs.
Anthony Normeshie, President of GHAFTRAM said the
association would operate within its mandate and work closely with the MOH to
sustain public confidence in the sector. He said records showed that 70 percent
of Ghanaians relied on herbal products and that it would be advantages if the
sector was accorded the needed support to enable it compete on the
international market. He disclosed that the long awaited Traditional Medicine
Council would soon be operational to address issues bordering on ethical
standards.
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Wa (Upper West) 28 January 2003- Dr Edward Mahama, leader
of the People's National Convention (PNC) announced at Wa on Sunday that the
party's national delegates congress in March would decide whether the party
should dissolve and join a united Nkrumaist party under the Convention People's
Party (CPP).
Dr Mahama made this known when he addressed the Upper West
Regional Delegates Congress of the party at Wa. He said talks about uniting the
Nkrumaist parties started since 1992 and that various compromise proposals he
and other leaders suggested were rejected at various negotiations.
The PNC leader said one of the proposals he made was that
the Nkrumaist parties could adopt the name PNC with the CPP symbol for a united
Nkkrumaist party with the slogan God and
Dr Mahama said a book, which he had written with the title
the 'New Ghanaian Politics of Integrity', which deals with political philosophy
of the late Third Republican President Dr Hilla Liman would be launched soon.
He called on PNC members and supporters to be steadfast in
their loyalty to the party. In his address, the out-going regional chairman of
the party, Dr Gilbert Bainge called on party members to make sure that the PNC
register marketable candidates for 2004 elections.
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Akropong-Akuapem (Eastern Region)
He explained, however, that the government calculated all
the consequential fall-outs of the decision and felt it was in the national
interest to take such a bold decision now to save the economy for posterity.
Kan-Dapaah, who was addressing a regional rally of the New
Patriotic Party (NPP) at Akropong-Akuapem on Sunday, declared that the two most
"positive changes" that had happened to the country since the
two-year Kufour administration took over power were the decisions on assessing
the HIPC Initiative and the hike in the petroleum prices.
According to him, the two decisions were based on the true
state of national affairs which the people must be told but which the previous
government "shied away from thereby risking the nation's current and
future development."
The Minister of Finance, Yaw Osafo Maafo, stated that even
though the Kufuor administration inherited a huge debt from its predecessor, it
was determined to pay it and bequeath a buoyant economy for generations to
come.
He said the administration had resolved to improve the
income level of cocoa farmers to enable them recapture their former financial
status, saying this had already began by increasing the producer price of the
commodity four times within two years from 241,000 cedis to 531,000 cedis per
bag.
Osafo Maafo urged the people to be patient with the
government since it was taking systematic policies to resuscitate the economy,
adding that this had already brought down the interest rate from 54 per cent to
27 per cent while inflation was also falling steadily.
The Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Nana
Akufo-Addo, stated that if there was any group of politicians which had been
"telling the truth" to Ghanaians then it was the NPP tradition dating
from the days of Dr J.B. Danquah who "even suffered detention and death
based on those principles."
He spelt out those principles as democratic governance,
rule of law and private sector-led economy, which he said, were now being
implemented world-wide. Nana Akufo-Addo cited the repeal of the criminal libel
law to buttress the point that the administration believed in freedom of speech
by the people to enable them take part in national governance, the setting up
of the fast track courts for speedy trials and equipping the police to
discharge their duties efficiently.
The Minister of Communication and Technology, Felix Owusu
Agyapong, said the NPP was strictly following its manifesto for which it won
power, saying this was manifesting in the recent trunk roads projects among
other policy initiatives which the people would have to use to judge it in the
2004 elections.
He asked Ghanaians to be patient with the government and
give it 20 years to deliver as they "allowed the Rawlings regimes before
you judge who did better for the nation."
The Eastern Regional Minister, Dr Francis Osafo-Mensah,
urged Ghanaians to have faith in the capability of the Kufuor administration to
develop the country and stressed the need for respect of the law and authority
as the bedrock for development. Speakers at the rally included the Regional NPP
Chairman, Nana Adi Ankama, District Chief Executives and Parliamentarians.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 28 January 2003- Alhaji Mustapha Ali,
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Monday said good governance was now more
than ever necessary to avert conflicts and ensure peace, stability and
development in Africa.
He said "good governance, characterized by the
principles of participation, transparency, accountability, rule of law, equity,
strategic vision, political openness, tolerance, decentralized power
structures, effectiveness and consistency, is now more than ever the condition
for the achievement of peace and development in Africa."
Alhaji Ali made the remark at the opening of a three-week
course on Peace-building and Good Governance for African Civilian Personnel,
organised by the Legon Centre for International Affair (LECIA) of the
University of Ghana (UG).
Thirty participants from 19 African countries are attending
the three-week course, which focuses on capacity building for civilian
personnel to supplement the efforts of existing Peace Support training
institutions, based on enhancing the capacity of military and police personnel.
Alhaji Ali called on parties involved in efforts at
restoring peace to conflict stricken countries in
He noted that a great deal of human suffering in
The continent has since 1970 had more than 30 wars fought
on its territory, which most of them have been intra-state in origin, he said.
"In 1996 alone 14 of
Alhaji Ali said a look at the causes of intra-state
conflicts in
He said good governance would ensure that the necessary
structures and institutions were in place for human rights protection, rule of
law and other democratic features, such us dialogue and others that gives rise
to grass-root participation in the process of governance.
“Civil society in developing countries, have a key role to
play in preventing and resolving conflicts. Civilian entities like religious
bodies, the media, business groups, and non-governmental organizations also
have roles to play in the promotion of dialogue and reconciliation.”
Alhaji Ali said Peace-building involve a lot of approaches,
processes and stages necessary for the transformation of a conflict stricken
societies toward a more sustainable, peaceful, relationships and governance
modes and structures.
“Peace-building includes building legal and human rights
institutions, as well as fair and effective governance and dispute resolution
process and systems,” he said. He said the inclusion of civilian personnel in
the capacity building initiatives for peace-building, conflict prevention and
resolution will contribute in no small measure to the global effort aimed at
addressing the sources of tension and grievance, which often gave rise to armed
conflicts.
Alhaji Ali pledged the government's support for the
programme and also promised he would personally ensure that uncompleted LECIA
permanent building would be completed and delivered on time.
He said since the NPP government took over power it has
seen to the construction of a fence wall round the building, adding that funds
to be released for the completion of the building would be included in this
year's budget of the Ministry. "The contractor undertaking the
construction has assured us of his readiness to deliver on time and we would
ensure that," he said.
Alfred Salia Fawundu, UN Resident Co-ordinator said the
need to give practical training to civilian component of peace operations has
become evident in the last decade in the face of dramatic changes peace
operations have undergone.
He noted that between 1948 and 1988 peace keeping was
purely a military matter as most of the 54 peace keeping operations, 16 of
which were in Africa, were in response to inter-state wars.
“Since cold war tensions have subsided, peace has been
threatened by conflicts that are mainly intra-state in nature. Consequently,
traditional peace keeping has given way to complex, integrated operations,
which require a combination of political, military and humanitarian actions.”
This underscores the need for training of civilians to know
and appreciate the situations they are up to against in peace-building as
increased roles, including provision of relief, monitoring of elections,
promotion of human rights, assistance of local authorities in institution
building among others are assigned to them.
Prof Kofi Kumado, Director of LECIA said Africa, more than
any other part of the world, needed to develop the capacities needed for
effective human and societal response of social turmoil.
He praised the Italian government, Scoula Superiore
Sant'Anna Pisa of Italy and the United National Department for Economic and
Social Affairs for their financial support.
The three-week course is the first in the series of two
outlined for this year, and it would include classroom lectures, military
training, visits to prisons cells and some field work such as assistance to
internally displaced persons and technical assistance to local authorities
among others.
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Government appreciates remittances from abroad
He said the
Government would therefore not relent in its effort to create a conducive
environment for the smooth operations of money transfer schemes to the country.
Speaking at
two fund-raising events involving the Atwima Koroye Kuo and the Morso Club of
the UK, Osei said he was optimistic that the level of remittances could reach
the $1bn mark in the future from its present level of $530m as at September
this year.
Osei,
therefore, urged Ghanaians to continue to use legitimate channels for the
transfer of monies to enable the Government have access to the required
resources for development projects.
He praised
the two associations for making financial and material contributions available
for the development of their communities and urged them to consider widening
the areas of their assistance.
On the
economy, H.E. Osei said Government’s programmes to reverse the downward trend
of the economy, since it assumed office, was on course and recounted the
substantial gains in sectors such as agriculture, education, health and
infrastructure.
He said as
a result of the re-alignment of the economic structures, confidence in the
economy had been restored. Osei, therefore, assured his audience that the
people of Ghana would in the not too distant future reap benefits from the
seeds nurtured by the Government of the New Patriotic Party.
On the
spate of armed robberies in certain parts of the country, Osei said the law
would catch up with the criminals and announced that appropriate strategies had
been devised by Government to deal with the situation. Osei assured Ghanaians
abroad that the Government would not shirk its responsibility to protect life
and properties of citizens and foreign residents.
At another
fund-raising event organised by the Diamond club of UK, Kwabena Baah-Duodu,
Deputy High Commissioner, urged the members of the club to use its hard-earned
reserves to undertake strategic development projects in any part of the
country.
He urged
club members to continue to remain united and eschew tendencies, which would
run contrary to the aims and objectives of the club. Baah-Duodu praised the
members for their dedication, unity of purpose and discipline which, he said, should
serve as an inspiration to all Ghanaian clubs and groups in the UK.
The event
provided an opportunity for members of the club to ask questions on
developments at home. Some of the
questions and comments centred on the need to set up special courts to handle
cases involving armed robberies, the tightening of security at the airport to
avert future occurrence of ”stowaway” cases on aircrafts leaving Ghana and the
speedy processing of dual citizenship applications, which were duly answered by
the Deputy High Commissioner.
The
In his
remarks, David Anderson, Marketing Manager of the company, thanked Ghanaians
and friends of Ghana for their support and patronage. He added that continuous
usage of the services of the company was a sure guarantee that the foreign
exchange component would eventually reach the Government for major projects and
for social developments at home in the interest of the people.
He
announced that the company would in the coming year continue with its expansion
policy to bring the service of the company at the doorstep of the people in the
UK, thus creating job openings for Ghanaians.
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