NDC to sue NPP government if it approves loan
But NPP government says the loan is genuine
Nestle workers withdraw their services
Beckley case adjourned to 22 July
Tribalism and coup d'etat have halted progress in Africa
Upper East NPP raises 100 million cedis
"I am not inciting people against government programmes" - Benyiwa-Doe
Aliu advocates support for moral training of youth
Rev. Minister expresses concern about indiscipline in society
Volta Lake disaster boat owner granted Police enquiry bail
Work begins on first Women's University in Ghana
Place premium on regional cooperation- Barimah
Analyse technological advancement before application- Sai
Ghana must benefit from scientific studies
Plant Tissue Culture Unit screams for support
Wa Polytechnic Council inaugurated
Nation’s future depends on agriculture – Agriculture minister
Accra (Greater Accra) 09 July 2002- The National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Monday described as fraudulent a proposed loan transaction of eight trillion cedis that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Government was seeking to borrow from International Finance Consortium (IFC).
It said, "the NDC makes bold to predict that Ghana would lose millions of dollars if NPP government makes the mistake of entering into an agreement with the so-called IFC, and it would turn out to nothing more than fake men who would vanish with the transaction fee".
Dr Josiah Aryeh, General Secretary of NDC said at a press conference in Accra to throw more light on the consequences of the loan agreement, which has been sent to Parliament for approval. The government should be held liable if it allowed the so-called IFC fraudsters to dupe the people of Ghana, Dr. Aryeh said and called on parliament not to approve the loan.
According to him an analysis of the loan agreement in support of the objectives showed that it was a carefully orchestrated plan by faceless international fraudsters and crooks and some Ghanaian collaborators to defraud the nation. He explained that the NDC supported the objectives of the loan, which sort to enhance rural and infrastructure development, but that the loan would rip the country of millions of dollars.
Dr Aryeh said the loan contraction was a "scam" by international fraudsters and crooks to loot the nation of its scarce resources. "We intend to sound the 'red alert' to the government that they are taking the country's finances down the drain, and possibly taken key members of the NPP government itself and the people of this country with them into the plug hole".
The General Secretary described the transaction as ridiculous in its tracks and asked for its immediate withdrawal from Parliament to save the country from humiliation and embarrassment. He deplored the naiveté of the NPP government to be played on by such a "419 Scam" by entering into agreement with them.
Dr. Aryeh explained that the lender allegedly chose the "IFC" as a name or initials carefully to make it seem as the International Finance Corporation "IFC" of the World Bank, which in true terms, have no relationship with the Bank. He said it was difficult to believe that the investment capital of one billion dollars repayable over 25 years has an annual interest rate of 2.5 percent while the rates in the USA were hovering around 3 to 6 percent.
He noted that the government was also required to issue an unconditional sovereign guarantee to repay the loans in favour of the "IFC" after three years of contracting the loan adding that "The government risks full exposure if the " IFC" discontinues the guarantee, takes the monies and fails to transfer any monies to Ghana."
Dr. Aryeh expressed concern that neither the IMF nor the World Bank resident representatives in the country has been seen commenting on the loan agreement. This, he said, has a very great implication on the two Bretton-Woods Institutions.
He said the NDC government must not be misunderstood to be seeking to thwart the effort of the NPP government to secure a loan for infrastructure and development projects. The NDC was rather seeking through this exposure, to protect the sovereign interest of the country from schemes and scams of international fraudsters and crooks, he added.
He also called on the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), the Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA), and the economics department of the universities and other research institutions to organise seminars and workshops to debate on the merits and demerits of the loan agreement.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 09 July 2002- The National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Monday threatened to take legal action against the government if parliament approved eight-trillion cedis loan transaction with International Finance Consortium (IFC), a US based company.
Dr Josiah Aryeh, General Secretary of the party declared the party's stand when he answered questions from the press in Accra, when he called the loan as an international fraud designed to dupe Ghanaians, at a press conference.
He said: "we in the NDC were surprised to learn that the government had entered into a loan agreement of eight-trillion cedis which turn out to be among the '419 scam' and we will not hesitate to take legal action against it if it goes ahead to approve it in parliament".
According to him the NDC was always fighting and would continue to fight for the interest of the people and that the party would do evil to Ghanaians if it watched “certain fraudulent things by government unconcerned”.
Dr. Aryeh said the government's zero tolerance for corruption would not materialise if it was involved in fraudulent acts that would rip the country of a lot of resources in the already HIPC situation. "If government imprison people because of financial loss to the state and it is also causing financial losses, then those who are involved have to also be brought to book," he stressed.
He said the supreme interest of the nation could not be fought by parliament alone, hence the prompt action by the party to sound the "correction bell" for government to rescind its decision of contracting such a loan, which he described as "dubious."
The General Secretary alleged that government did not take any feasibility study before entering the agreement adding, the "government has no business plans for the country". He said, recently the President, John Agyekum Kufuor and the Finance Minister, Mr. Yaw Osafo-Maafo made two contradictory statements at separate occasions and wondered who was telling the truth about Ghana's economic situation for the past 17 months.
Dr. Aryeh said the President said in May this year that there were positive showings that the government was on the right path while the Finance Minister said on 4 July that the economic situation of the country was fragile.
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But NPP government says the loan is genuine
Accra (Greater Accra) 09 July 2002- The Government has described the NDC's condemnation of its attempt to secure a one billion dollar loan as a surprise. It said that "the International Finance Consortium (IFC) is a credible and well known institution, recognized by the IMF, World Bank, the UN and various governments of the world".
A statement issued in Accra on Monday by the Ministry of Information and Presidential Affairs in reaction to the NDC's allegation, said that it was difficult to understand why the NDC had resorted to holding a Press conference to create confusion in the minds of the people.
The statement said that if the NDC had any problem with the proposed loan, it could register its disapproval through its representatives in Parliament instead of deliberately creating the impression that the entire arrangement for the loan was a dishonest scheme.
"Clearly, the NDC is in a desperate mood to cause mischief and deceive the people of Ghana, but the government will not be distracted by such means," it said. The statement said that the government would remain focused on its programme of rebuilding the economy.
In another development, Mr. Kwabena Agyepong, Government Spokesman has accused the NDC of playing politics with the loan issue. He said if the NDC had any grievances with the proposed loan agreement it should petition the Finance Committee of Parliament where all issues relating to the loan would be discussed.
Speaking on PEACE FM this morning, monitored by Ghana Review International in Accra, the Government Spokesman said since the government had not come out to announce the loan to the public it was intriguing that the NDC has come out with the entire matter solely to score political point.
He advised the NDC not to cause any disaffection among Ghanaians but to lay their grievances before state institutions instead of organising press conferences. On another radio station, LOVE FM, in Kumasi Mr. Agyepong said that the NDC party should stop the smear campaign calculated to erode public confidence in the government.
An NPP Member of Parliament, Mr. Osei Prempeh, who is a member of the Finance Committee of Parliament also spoke on the same issue on PEACE FM. He debunked the notion held by the NDC that the consortium was not known saying that the World Bank could attest to the genuineness and existence of the consortium.
According to him the Minister of Finance, Hon. Osafo Maafo and the Governor of the Bank of Ghana Dr. Paul Acquah were before the Finance Committee of Parliament to explain salient portions of the loan which some members in the minority, wanted clarification.
He said the Governor of the Bank of Ghana had done due diligence on the loan and the consortium and was satisfied that the loan was not fraudulent. According to him, Dr. Acquah brought a diskette to show the genuineness and existence of the consortium and told the committee that members could verify or access from the Internet.
Ghana Review International also monitored another interview on JOY FM. A Reporter on the station, Kwamena Ato Dadzie called the consortium in the US using the telephone number the NDC had given to journalists at Monday’s press conference.
A male voice, which identified himself as Mr. Horst Schneider, a board member of the consortium responded and said the opposition NDC party did not know what they were talking about.
He claimed that he and his team had fruitful discussions with the Ghanaian Government and had showed documents to the government officials they dealt with and wondered that if their operations were scam how could they have gone that far.
Mr. Schneider said the consortium had dealings with high profile bankers as well as reputable and credible institutions. According to him the consortium had a social responsibility to assist Ghana and was well positioned to carry it out. – Kwasi Nantwi, GRi Correspondent.
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Tema (Greater Accra) 09 July 2002 - Five hundred workers of Nestle Ghana Limited in Tema on Monday withdrew their services following a break down in negotiations over new salary. Mr Christopher A. Nathan, Secretary of the local union told the press that workers were surprised when they reported for work this morning to find that management had pasted new workers' salary on the notice board.
"Negotiations for new workers' salary have not been concluded. Senior staff, who have no bargaining power, have been given 21 per cent increase and this is exactly what is causing the delay in negotiations.'' Mr Nathan said the workers were incensed when they saw the publication; they erected a canopy at the gate, blocked the entrance to the factory with a car and demonstrated.
They wore red bands, beat drums and sang Christian hymns interspersed with war songs. The workers, he said, would not return to work until negotiations resumed and an agreement on a new salary signed.
Some of the placards they carried read: "Positive Change A Must For Ghana Nestle Management", "Ghanaians Are Not Shit" and "Mr MD, Your People Have Failed You". Mr Nathan said that the union, led by Mr Morgan Ayawine, Regional Officer of the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU), had been negotiating since 25 January.
With regard to salaries, the union proposed 60 per cent while the Management started from 15 per cent. "The union has come down to 30 per cent while the Management has raised theirs to 21 per cent. We are still negotiating because we believe in dialogue."
Mr Nathan said the negotiations team had met 16 times over the past seven months and was to meet again. "The attitude of Management is a stab in the back of workers." Management could not be reach for their comment. Nestle produces Cerelac, Ceravita, Chokomilo, Milo, Magie Cube, Nescafe and Ideal Milk. The last time Nestle workers went on strike was in early 1990.
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Beckley case adjourned to 22 July
Accra (Greater Accra) 09 July 2002 - People who thronged the Adjabeng Community Tribunal on Monday to catch a glimpse of Sri Yogi Ram Beckley, a medical practitioner and occultist, charged for assaulting and kidnapping a class three pupil could not make him out.
People's inability to make him out stemmed from the fact that he had shaved his grey long beard and appeared a bit relieved as he smiled and responded to greetings from his friends and relatives, who had converged at the court.
Beckley, who had pleaded not guilty to the charge, was granted a five million cedis bail by a Regional Tribunal on 25 June after the Adjabeng Community tribunal chaired by Mrs Elizabeth Ankomah refused him bail. At Monday's sitting, defence Counsel Mr Akwasi Bosumpem asked for a date of hearing since a duplicate docket had been sent to the Attorney General's Department for advice.
Superintendent of Police, Mr Patrick Sarpong, the prosecutor said as at now we have not received anything from the AG's office and asked for a long adjournment. The tribunal after hearing from both parties adjourned till 22 July for mention.
On 12 April, Beckley was said to have lured a girl to his house under the pretext of buying some vegetables she was selling. In the house, he allegedly tied the girl to a tree overnight without water and food, until her stepfather was informed and he raised the alarm.
Beckley was arrested on Saturday 13 April after Police received a complaint from a parent that her daughter was abducted by the accused on Friday evening. An angry mob set ablaze his residence and property at New Gbawe in Accra.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 09 July 2002 - Dr Bosomtwe Sam, Former Ghana Ambassador to East Africa under the First Republic, at weekend said ethnicity and coup d'etat were two pertinent factors that have stunted progress in Africa. Ethnicity was nothing but an insane adherence to a tiny group of people in the society, who try to assert themselves over the others, he said.
Dr Sam, who is also a former Director of the Bureau of African Affairs, was speaking at the Afrikan Conscious Lectures organised every Saturday by Afrikan World Reparations and Repatriation Truth Commission at the Du Bois Memorial Centre in Accra.
The lectures were directed at creating the awareness in Africans on the need to be the masters of their own destiny for progress on the continent. Dr Sam noted that since the community was made up of different people of varied ethnic backgrounds, "there is the need for them to interact to appreciate the socio-cultural values of one another so that their claims for privileges and rights should not be abused by others".
He noted that the ready acceptance by Africans of Western ideology and proposals was not the best attitude for progress in Africa. He said proposals from Western Countries to Africans needed to be analysed and should not be swallowed hook, line and sinker.
Dr Sam said since public opinion was the main factor in determining whether a government would stay in power or not during elections, there was the need to formulate the right kind of public opinion among Africans for progress.
He said this could be done through education for Africans to gain the knowledge that would make them to appreciate the wisdom in the logic that leaders on the continent should formulate coherent and achievable policies that were not the appendages of Western decisions.
Mr Sedjro Theophile Houessinon, Former Benin Ambassador to Ghana, said there was the need for Africans to see beyond their immediate problems and envision a strong continent that could give them economic independence.
He said the struggle required a lot of awareness and added that Africans needed to make efforts to unite economically, since increased economic activities among the various African nations could foster unity. Mrs Ramel Moore, a former Director of the Du Bois Centre, noted that those caught up in ethnicity and racism were retarding progress and would have to start everything from a painful scratch. She said tendencies stemming from entrenched attitudes should be done away with so that the old convictions did not become instruments averse to progress.
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Bolgatanga (Upper East) 09 July 2002 - The Upper East Region branch of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) raised about 100 million cedis at a fund-raising dinner dance at the weekend in Bolgatanga.
The First National Vice-Chairman of the party, Nana Ntim, who presided, declared that the retention of the NPP in the next elections was imperative and non-negotiable considering the successes chalked so far in modelling the country's economy.
He noted that apart from its good policies and programmes, the party needed financial support to be sustained and also get its in-house programmes ongoing. He said as part of the party's 10th anniversary programme, new identification cards would be issued to its supporters and would require detailed information and commit members to give financial support to the party.
Mr Mahami Salifu, Upper East Regional Minister, told the people that the party needed their support in order to entrench itself as a party and a government. He said there were indicators of the government's positive performance since it took office and expressed the hope that "the electorate would judge us by our performance and return us to power."
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Gomoa Ankamu (Central Region) 09 July 2002 - The Member of Parliament for Gomoa West, Mrs Ama Benyiwa-Doe has called on her opponents not to take her criticism of the President's Special Cassava Initiative Project to mean inciting people against government policies and programmes.
Mrs Benyiwa-Doe said her position was that cassava production could not be used in Ghana as a new job avenue since it had been an age-old one of the nation. She told the Ghana News Agency at Gomoa Ankamu that it was unfortunate that she was being accused of inciting people to reject the President's Special Initiative Project.
She said the most interesting thing about the project was that the cassava sticks were supplied to farmers already on the job and not to the youth, who were roaming the streets and offices looking for job. "Where in lies the job creation?" she asked. Mrs Benyiwa-Doe said she would support the government on programmes that would really benefit the people "but not on anything which looks like a mere propaganda."
Meanwhile, the MP has supplied building materials worth about 40 million cedis purchased with her share of the District Assemblies' Common Fund to a number of communities to support them on their on-going projects.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 09 July 2002 - Vice President Aliu Mahama on Monday urged churches, mosques and civil society institutions to assist the youth to acquire the requisite moral values that would reduce corruption and anti social behaviour.
Opening the African Regional Conference of the International Society for Human Values at the University of Ghana, Legon, Alhaji Mahama said the efforts of the criminal justice institutions, such as the courts, would yield limited results unless the youth who formed a significant proportion of the population adopted positive social values.
Vice President Mahama expressed concern about the high number of young people in the prisons, saying: "The negative perception of our youth requires that we do all that is necessary to guide them through various ways in order to harness and channel their energies and potentials toward the good of society."
He urged participants, who included philosophers, military officers, public policy makers and young people from 18 countries to re-evaluate cultural value systems in Africa to reflect democracy, respect for human rights and the law for the benefit of society.
"Our aim, therefore, must be the building of good character in our young people. It will not profit us if we develop our young people as intellectual superiors only for them to lose their moral souls on graduating from schools and universities," he said.
Addressing the theme of the conference: "Youth and Human Values," Vice President Mahama emphasised traditional appreciation of concern for the well-being of others and environmental protection, saying the youth must be guided to uphold these values that were being undermined by modernity.
"The community is kept together by a system of a shared life, which involves a shared responsibility for the welfare of others...Even though circumstances of our complex modern life may tend to lead you to turn your back on the community, you must know that it is the community that has offered you the opportunity for your development and fulfilment of life," he said.
Professor Rajagopalam Sampatkumar, Secretary - General of (ISHV), said the Society would promote cross-cultural inter-racial dialogue that would develop universal ideas and exchanges with respect for human dignity, liberty, peace, wealth and other positive values.
He noted that more than one billion people, mostly from developing countries, faced poverty, diseases, lacked good drinking water, education and proper sanitation, in spite of the significant progress made in technological advancement over the years. The Secretary-General, therefore, called for an integrated global effort to make the world a better place for all people.
Professor Fred T. Sai, President of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, urged the conference to discuss ethics and moral values that challenged technological advancement in the areas of biological and genetic modification of plants and humans for consensus building. He said issues about cloning and genetically modified foods would soon become challenges for the youth and they should be guided to effectively deal with them.
Professor Kwame Gyekye, President of the African Chapter of the Society, said the conference would sensitise the youth to appreciate the values of tolerance, peace, integrity and kindness and help them to develop leadership skills that would respect these. The Society was formed in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1996, to harmonise cultural and human values and advocate their respect and integration into international policies.
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Berekum (Brong Ahafo) 09 July 2002 - The Reverend Dr Kwame Amoah-Kumah, Chairman of the Brong Ahafo Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, on Sunday expressed concern about indiscipline in the society and called on the government to step up law enforcement.
"It looks as if laws do not work in the country as people continue to do things contrary to the norms of the society with impunity,'' Rev Dr Amoah-Kumah said at the 38th annual delegates' conference of the Brong Ahafo Presbyterian Church Choirs' Union.
''Religious indiscipline is entrenched to the extent that activities of some pastors had led to divisions among some families and breakdown of marriages. "The multiplicity of churches today without corresponding change in the attitudes of Christians is due to religious indiscipline," he said.
Rev Dr Amoaah-Kuma said socio-cultural indiscipline had enslaved a section of the society to the extent that "they do not have value for state property and regard for human dignity." He called for a national forum to discuss and review certain aspects of the Ghanaian culture that retarded the development of the country.
Mr Kwabena Kyere-Yeboah, Berekum District Chief Executive, called for the re-introduction of "old time Presbyterian discipline" in schools to help mould the character of pupils towards adulthood.
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Worawora (Volta Region) 09 July 2002 - Robert Mensah, operator of the boat that was involved in an accident on the Volta Lake that claimed the lives of 50 people on 18 April, has been granted 20 million cedis Police inquiry bail.
Mensah is to report to the Worawora Police once every other week. The Police at Worawora told the Ghana News Agency that the docket on the case had been sent to the Attorney General's Department for advice.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Roads and Transport last week constituted a seven-member committee of inquiry to investigate the circumstances that led to the accident. The Committee, under the chairmanship of Mr Justice Paul Gyaesaeyor, Volta Region Supervising High Court Judge, is to present its report within five weeks. The committee among other things would investigate the causes of the accident and the actual number of people who died.
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Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 09 July 2002 - Christ Universal Evangelism Network (CUEN), a Sunyani-based Christian non-governmental organisation (NGO), is to establish a fund to cater for widows and widowers.
Evangelist David Thomas Aboagye-Mensah, Founder and Leader of the NGO, told the Ghana News Agency after a day's prayer retreat at Sunyani at the weekend. It was organised by the network for more than 50 widows and widowers in Brong-Ahafo region.
Evangelist Aboagye-Mensah called on victims of obsolete widowhood rites in the country to form associations to fight for the eradication of such inhuman traditional practices. "It is by coming under one umbrella as a body that you can pool your spiritual and physical resources to attract the needed assistance," he said.
He noted that diabetic and sickle cell patients, as well as the physically disabled, twins and virgins, had all come together and were drawing strength from each other and attracting the assistance of the larger society.
Evangelist Aboagye-Mensah quoted texts from the Bible to support the importance God attached to the plight of widows and widowers. The Evangelist condemned outmoded cultural rites meted out to widows by the families of the spouse and called for the modernisation of such customs.
He appealed to the Christian Council of Ghana, Catholic Secretariat, Pentecostal Council and other religious bodies as well as District Assemblies, multi-national companies and philanthropists to hold themselves in readiness to contribute to the fund.
He suggested that day should be set aside as widow/widower day, to create public awareness about the plight of victims of widowhood rites. The Reverend Kwabena Asare Ayeh, Sunyani District Minister of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, advised widows and widowers not to regard the death of their spouses as the end of their lives.
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Osubonpanyin (Central Region) 09 July 2002 - The District Chief Executive for Awutu-Effutu-Senya, Captain Kwamina Armah (rtd) at the weekend cut the sod at
Effutu Osubonpanyin, near Winneba, to mark the commencement of work on a Women's University of Ghana.
The project, tertiary institution solely for women, is being funded by a coalition of religious groups and philanthropists in the United States through Nana Obrafo Owam X, Chief of Gomoa Mprumem and a lecturer at the University of Akron, Ohio.
Capt. Armah commended Nana Owam for his patriotism with which he initiated the project and solicited funds for it and urged other Ghanaians living abroad to emulate him. The DCE said the university would complement government's efforts to promote the education of the girls.
Capt. Armah also spoke on the impending local government elections, urging that only people who have the welfare of their communities at heart should be elected. Nana Owam expressed gratitude to the First Cayohoga Falls United Methodist Church, North Decatur United Methodist Church, Kent Unitarian Universal Church, all based in the United States as well as others who had contributed towards the project.
Neenyi Ackon Agyeefi VI, Chief of Osubonpayin, pledged the commitment of his people to the successful execution of the project promising that the community would provide land for future expansion of the project.
The Chief appealed to the contractor working on the project to employ his labour force from the village and those nearby. He also appealed to the Electricity Company of Ghana to upgrade electricity supply to the community to cope with the growing needs of the community.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 09 July 2002 - Mr. Yaw Barimah, Minister of Works and Housing on Monday urged governments of West African States to place premium on sub-regional co-operation and economic integration.
This, he noted, would be an effective mechanism for facilitating efficient and integrated management of its shared resources such as water. "Shared water basins are vital instruments for regional cooperation, integration and development, but they are also sources for potential conflict unless appropriate mechanisms are put in place for co-operative utilisation,"
Mr Barimah was addressing about 50 participants drawn from West Africa, who are attending a four-day workshop on "Integrated Water Resources Management and Conflicts Prevention" in Accra. The workshop is aimed at assuring the population of the West African sub- region of a sustainable availability of water resources in sufficient quantity and adequate quality.
Mr Barimah said it was unfortunate that the region generally lacked a cooperative arrangement in the shared water basins leading to a situation where inherent opportunities could not be harnessed. He said although about 70 per cent of the total area of Ghana was covered by the Volta River basin, which was shared with Burkina Faso, Cote D'Ivoire, Togo, Benin and Mali, no firm co-operation mechanism in the use of the water resources have been fully established yet.
The impact and potential conflict points of this basin was of great concern to Ghana, in its use of the Volta, and its other shared river basins and aquifers, including trans boundary pollution, accidental flooding, spills from upstream reservoirs and protection of local communities as well as existing and future investments, he said.
Mr. Barimah said the window of opportunity provided by the water sector reforms in Ghana and Burkina Faso and the call by the Ghana-Burkina Faso Permanent Joint Commission for Co-operation for support was a step in the right direction.
"A lot more needs to be done to promote mutual cooperation among other riparian countries sharing common water resources in the West African sub-region," he said, adding that Ghana government has taken due cognisance of the importance of its Tran boundary water issues, as reflected in a draft national water policy that has been prepared for the effective management and development of the country's water resources.
"In order to ensure efficient basin-wide planning and rational use of water resources as well as promote mutually beneficial economic co-operation with riparian countries, the government will, among others, jointly initiate and conclude protocols and agreements between Ghana and other riparian countries," he said.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 09 July 2002- Professor Fred T. Sai, President of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences on Monday urged African governments to critically analyse new technologies in reproductive biology before applying them. He said some of the technologies had the capacity for undermining "the values which make us human," when they are not properly applied.
Opening an international youth conference at the University of Ghana, Legon, Prof. Sai observed that, "technological advances have mainly made life more comfortable for us today and will continue to do so."
He however pointed out that " in the field of reproductive biology, the new technologies of assisted reproduction, including genetic manipulation, sex selection, therapeutic and reproductive cloning, are posing major challenges that should engage the attention of youth groups whilst they are not yet widely available in many parts of Africa."
Over 600 youth groups from Ghana, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Benin, Mali, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo Brazzaville, Kenya, the United
Kingdom and Switzerland are attending the four- day conference. The conference is to help the youth of Africa appreciate the importance and relevance of human value and allow them to have impact on their thought and actions.
Prof. Sai, who is a former chairman of the National Population Council charged the youth to get involved in the study of human values and not reject established ideals and codes for human interactions simply because they were inconvenient in this present era.
Prof. Rajagopalam Sampatkumar, Secretary General of the International Society for Human Values, Geneva Switzerland said the Pan- African youth faced a lot of challenges including coming to terms with the post colonial era and helping build a cohesive, violence -free and prosperous society.
The best way to prepare them for the task will be to involve them in analysing the issues that confront them, he said, adding that making choices would be difficult because of the complex world they live in and because of an uncertain future they will inherit.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 09 July 2002- Mr Andrew Akuoko, Acting Director of Secondary Education on Monday urged science teachers and students engaged in the implementation of an international and science programme on the environment to ensure that the nation derived maximum benefit from their studies.
He said environmental science and education programmes have "come to fill a vital gap between environmental degradation and preservation".
Mr Akuoko was speaking at the third annual teacher-training workshop for science teachers organised by Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) for 50 participants from 36 Senior Secondary Schools in the country who were selected to run the programme.
The GLOBE programme involved the collection of data on variety of atmospheric science related issues including, temperature, rainfall, Relative Humidity and gravimetric soil moisture measurements with instruments provided by the GLOBE to the Ghana Education Service (GES).
Mr. Akuoko said, "the GLOBE programme as a tool for generating new knowledge about our environment is indeed a necessary intervention in our time when most of our people, do not seem to have respect for the environment". "The use of scientific method in the GLOBE Programme as a basic practice in the measurement protocols is a phenomenon that produces scientific and technological literacy and that is a challenge to science educationists, teachers and environmentalists".
He said the scientifically illiterate could not get along well in understanding the nature and relationship between global air movements and fertility of the soil. Science and Technological information was now relevant in decision-making for basic well being and also enhanced communication with people worldwide.
He said as Science developed, "its growth dynamics constantly bring to the fore the need for an effective interface among scientific concepts and practical experiences within the context of socio-cultural or environmental issues".
Mr. Akuoko noted that with GLOBE as a potent force for attitudinal change, respect for truth and diversity, knowledge acquisition about the environment, GLOBE could also be an essential tool for an improvement in scientific and technological literacy levels.
It was in this context that he urged schools, community organisations and non-governmental organisations, teacher unions, universities and the media to support the development of the GLOBE programme initiative.
The Reverend Emmanuel Dadebo, GLOBE Country Coordinator, Ghana, said the GLOBE Programme is an international science research programme being implemented by the Ghana Education Service (GES) to enhance scientific knowledge among students.
He said the programme also involved the analysis of data about the earth's dynamic land, air, water and biology system from around the world and making the studies available on the Internet for scientists. The programme, with its international office in Washington started in 1994, with Ghana becoming a partner and a member in 1998 and has since initiated systematic plans to get the programme introduced into all schools.
Rev. Dadebo said the main objective of the programme was to contribute to scientific understanding of the earth, help students reach higher levels of achievement in science and mathematics and enhance environmental awareness of individuals throughout the country. He said GLOBE would be integrated into educational plans for pre-university schools and would also be extended to Junior Secondary schools in Ghana to help in general education.
Mrs. Sophia Awortwi, Head Science Education Unit, said science institutions should be given the necessary attention to turn the tide against scientific illiteracy. She added that there was the need for appreciable scientific knowledge on AIDS in order to stop the virus from spreading.
Mrs. Awortwi called on the government to allocate adequate resources and investments made in scientific fields to promote more scientific innovations in to move the country forward.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 09 July 2002- An Agriculturist on Monday appealed to the government to support and commercialise the unit for the development of high yielding and disease resistant crop varieties to ensure food security.
D.r Elizabeth Acheampong, officer in-charge of the Plant Tissue Culture Unit of the Botany Department, University of Ghana said the country was losing many plant varieties and stressed that it was necessary for all botany students to be trained in biotechnology and plant tissue culture to equip them with skills that would preserve such disappearing varieties.
Dr. Acheampong made the remark after taking the 12 participants attending the fourth international training course in plant tissue culture at Legon to tour the laboratory facilities at the unit.
The 21-day training course, which began on Monday, is being organised by the Botany Department of the University of Ghana and sponsored by the United
Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU/INRA). Participants, made of plant technologists, researchers and lecturers are from Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia, Togo, Cote d'Ivoire, Tanzania and South Africa.
The course would equip them with modern plant culture techniques skills to conserve plants outside their natural environments. Plant hybrids under breeding at the centre, which was started in 1990, include varieties of yam, pineapple, cassava, plantain and cocoyam.
Dr. Acheampong said pineapple, yam, cocoyam, and potato farmers, for example, have asked the Centre to develop stronger varieties for production on commercial scale, but limited and delayed financial support from the government through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) have prevented the Centre from fully serving farmers who place orders with the Centre. She said the Centre has a great potential, but lack of resources has prevented it from fully operating.
Opening the course, Professor William Asumaning, Dean of the Faculty of Science stressed that genetically modified plants, although presently controversial, may in the future be useful to enhance food security in Sub-Saharan-Africa.
He stressed the need to use tissue culture techniques to prevent plant diseases, and also conserve plants being lost to bushfires and over-exploitation. Professor Asumaning stressed that it was an urgent duty to educate the populace of the dangers of deforestation and uncontrolled game hunting.
"Future generations after us must have some flora and fauna to live on. They should not have course to castigate us for our careless use and destruction of our heritage," Prof Asumaning said.
Dr Konadu Acheampong, Programme Officer of UNU/INRA, said as Africa entered the 21st century, it was faced with the daunting task of reversing the degradation of natural resources of the continent. He said the degradation of the natural resources had manifested itself in the disappearance of precious plant species, including medicinal plants, critical to rural livelihoods. Dr Acheampong called for accurate determination of indigenous African crops and useful plants to be tapped for the people of Africa through the application of science and technology.
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Wa (Upper West) 09 July 2002- Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, Minister of Education, on Monday urged polytechnic-governing councils to help correct the public view that polytechnic education could be equated with that of the university. He said polytechnics should be seen as tertiary educational institutions with well-defined missions focused on equipping its products with technical and vocational skills.
Prof Ameyaw-Akumfi said this when he inaugurated a nine-member Interim Governing Council of the Wa Polytechnic, at Wa. The Council, which has Professor Jacob Sonsore, a lecturer at the University of Ghana, as Chairman, also includes Mr Paul Effah, Executive Secretary of the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE).
The Minister advised members not to serve sectional interests but rather work towards achieving its set goals. As council members, he said, they should also understand the unique features of polytechnics to be able to effectively educate the public on them. He announced that following agitation by members of the Ghana National Union of Polytechnic Students (GNUPS), a committee on the grading system, had completed its work and its recommendations would be implemented soon.
Mr Sahanun Mogtari, Upper West Regional Minister, said the establishment of the Polytechnic and the Wa Campus of the University for Development Studies was a big relief, because more persons would have access to tertiary education in the region.
The Regional Minister noted that a large number of students from the region often dropped out of school due to the inability of their parents to bear the cost of educating them in institutions outside the region. He assured management of the two institutions that the Regional Co-ordinating Council would assist to get them well established.
The two Ministers jointly commissioned a 250 million cedi computer laboratory for the polytechnic as part of the ceremony. The Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) funded the establishment of the laboratory, which has 20 computers and eight printers.
Prof Ameyaw-Akumfi, the Regional Minister and officials of GETFund, NCTE, the polytechnic and other stakeholders also inspected the permanent site of the polytechnic at Kpongu near Wa.
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London (United Kingdom) 09 July 2002 - “The future
prosperity of Ghana depends on agriculture.
The government of the New Patriotic Party would therefore work
assiduously towards the development of agriculture as the base upon which other
sectors of the economy can develop and grow for the benefit of the nation”,
Major Courage Quashigah (Rtd), Minister of Food and Agriculture has said in London.
Major Quashigah made the assertion in an interview at the
Ghana stand after touring various pavilions at the just-ended Royal Agricultural
Show held in Stoneleigh, Coventry, from July 1st – 4th, 2002.
The show, organised by the Royal Agricultural Society of
England was officially opened by the H.R.H. The Prince of Wales – Prince
Charles, who among other things, called for “new priorities to help farmers add
value to their produce by focussing on quality and differentiation, rather than
the relentless pursuit of quantity”.
Ghana’s stand featured a spectacular display of agro-based products
including fresh fruits, vegetables, sea-foods, a range of quality processed tuna,
fresh juices, cashew nuts, spices, handicrafts and garments.
Ghana’s delegation to the show led by the Minister of Food
and Agriculture Major Courage Quashigah (Rtd) included; H.E. Mr Isaac Osei –
Ghana High Commissioner in the UK; Daasebre Akwamoah Boateng II - Chairman of the
Board of Directors of Ghana Cocoa Board; Mr Frank Apeagyei – Special Adviser to
the Minister of Food and Agriculture; Mr Eric Amenuvor – Minister-Counsellor/Trade;
and some senior officials of the High Commission and the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
Also present at the show were the National Best Farmer for
the year 2000, Mr Stephen Baba Kumase who was sponsored by the Government as
part of his award-winning price and the two best cocoa farmers for the years
2000 and 2001 – Nana Yaw Kusi and Mr Nelson Aborgah.
Major Quashigah stressed the determination of the Government
of the New Patriotic Party to make farming play its proper role as a business
concern than a vocation. Towards this
end, Major Quashigah said his Ministry was laying the necessary infrastructure
for the youth to be encouraged into the sector in order to create wealth for
themselves. He said it was only through
a sustained commitment that the Ghanaian youth will shake themselves from the
apathy and embrace farming as a source of livelihood, ultimately providing them
respectable incomes and decent standards of living.
On his impression about the show, Major Quashigah said he
was overwhelmed by the giant strides Britain has made in the agricultural
sector, particularly in the aftermath of the foot and mouth outbreak of 2001
and added that with dedication, hard work and commitment by our farming
communities, Ghana could also ascend to that level.
“We will need to do more by stepping up production, adding
value to our produce, examining our packaging techniques, and move seriously
towards mechanised agriculture instead of depending on the vagaries of the
weather”, he said.
In his contribution, H.E. Mr Isaac Osei said there had been
major changes in the direction of the economy which had resulted in the
restoration of macro-economic stability and expressed the hope that with the
take-off of the agricultural sector, the nation would be charting the path for
the creation of wealth for all Ghanaians. He described the show as highly
educative and informative and added that it had helped to expose the nation’s
material and agricultural resources to the British market.
While in London, Major Quashigah held meetings with high
profile officials in the agricultural sector and visited a number of
agricultural institutions. - The Ghana High Commission
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