GRi in Parliament 11 - 07 - 2002
Parliament adopts report on 12.3 million dollar loan
Parliament discuss Reports on sponsored terrorism
Criminal Procedure Code Amendment goes through second reading
Accra (Greater Accra) 11 July 2002 - The Ghana Prisons Service has embarked on a programme to rid adult prisons of juveniles who were sentenced to imprisonment into adult prisons and to keep babies out of prison.
Currently, there are no known juveniles in adult prisons. Since under a 2000-2002 on-going programme eight juveniles have been transferred from adult prisons to the Ghana Borstal institute while nine others have been released from jail.
Dr. Kwame Addo-Kufuor, Minister for Defence and Acting Minister for the Interior told Parliament on Wednesday, whiles answering a question by Mr. Joseph Tsatsu Agbenu, NDC-Afram Plains North as to whether all juvenile convicts in adult prisons have been transferred to borstal institutes and what plans the ministry had to renovate and expand the existing facilities of the institutes.
The Minister said six babies were in prison because their mothers were serving various prison terms. Two of the mothers were in prison for murder while the other four had been convicted for relatively minor offences such as stealing cloth, necklaces and beads.
Dr Addo-Kufuor said it was the government's determination to keep babies out of prison since they could not be held responsible for crimes committed by their mothers. As an interim measure, the ministry was in contact with the Attorney General's Department to consider recommending the possible granting of amnesty by the President to the four mothers.
Dr Addo-Kufuor said even though the issue of babies in prison was an emotive one, it had legal dimensions which needed to be carefully ironed out by the appropriate authorities. He was hopeful that the unfortunate situation would cease to exist in the society.
He said the various Supervising High Court Judges have also been approached about juveniles being tried in regular courts instead of juvenile courts and from the year 2000 some of the judges have reviewed the sentences imposed upon juveniles by adult courts and ordered their release from prison.
Dr. Addo-Kufuor said the only Borstal Institute located at Roman Ridge in Accra where juvenile offenders between the ages of 14 and 17 years were detained for three years for re-training and re-orientation.
Apart from skill training, which is taught, leading to the award of the National Vocational Training Institute Certificate, juveniles there had Junior and Senior secondary school education. Dr Addo-Kufuor said the Institute was not purposefully built for its roles and it is presently under utilised.
He said the present location was unsuitable for its purpose and mentioned that there were plans to relocate the institute outside the centre of Accra where modern workshops and schools would be constructed and equipped.
Mr Joseph Emmanuel Ackah, NDC-Jomoro asked what interim measures were being adopted to solve the problem since the early childhood years of the juvenile were crucial to his upbringing.
The Minister said his outfit was concerned about the trauma and such babies would be helped to move out of the prisons. Alhaji Amadu Ali, NDC- Atebubu South asked the whether the ministry would consider paying compensation to children who were mistakenly convicted to adult prisons.
Dr Addo-Kufuor said such a possibility has not been considered and it was for the legal authorities to advice on what to do. Mrs Edith Hazel, NDC- Evalue-Gwira asked what measures were being addressed concerning juveniles who were sentenced to imprisonment into adult prisons.
The Minister said the Prisons Council was much concerned about the situation but the reasons for their being sent to prisons were complex since some vary their ages for stiffer sentences for less ones while others are also misadvised to reduce their ages.
Mr J.H. Mensah, Senior Minister and NPP MP-Sunyani East said the government was not liable for juveniles being sent to adult prisons and said it was the duty of the Attorney General to advise on what steps to be taken. Ms Akua Sena Dansua, NDC-North Dayi asked whether the babies were born in prison or outside it.
The Minister said the question was a delicate one since there is no proven answer as to whether conception took place before the sentence or after and said there was presently a six-week old baby with the mother in prison but could not tell when conception took place.
Dr. Mustapha Ahmed, NDC- Ayawaso East asked the minister whether since the Borstal Institute was under-utilised, the ministry would consider admitting delinquent children to benefit from the various training programmes there, to which the Minister said the Institute was penal one and would not encourage innocent children to be admitted there.
GRi../
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Accra (Greater Accra) 11 July 2002- Parliament on Wednesday adopted a report for a loan agreement of 12.3 million dollars from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to support the implementation of the Northern Region Poverty Reduction Programme (NORPRED).
The loan, which would be used to support the programme for six years, has a repayment period of 30 years including a grace period of 10 years with an interest rate of 0.75 per cent per annum. Apart from the actual loan, the Government of Ghana is expected to contribute 5.7 million dollars of which four million dollars would be for foregone duties and taxes.
A beneficiary community's contribution mainly in-kind, is estimated at 3.3 million dollars while the beneficiary District Assembly would support through the District Assemblies Common Fund with other resources to be provided by other external donors.
In its report, the joint Committee on Finance and Local Government and Rural Development said the NORPRED programme was a follow-up to the success of the Small Holder Rehabilitation Programme (SRDP) and IFAD's commitment to assist the Northern Region as spelt out in its 1998 country strategy.
The Committee said the facility would be utilised to improve the living conditions of poor rural communities by broadening rural development services as well as enhancing community and individual self-help capacity.
It said it would be done through the building of capacity of decentralised local government structures, civil society and community-based organisations to better respond to the needs of the poor communities of the region.
It also aims at improving access of poor communities, especially women to resources and services and put into operation on-going changes and efforts to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of institutions and community service providers in the Northern Region.
In their contributions to the report, members lauded the loan facility and urged the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to ensure that it was utilised for the intended purpose to alleviate the problems faced by the poor and marginalised people of the Northern Region.
GRi…/
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Accra (Greater Accra) 11 July 2002 - Dr. Benjamin Kumbuor, National Democratic Convention (NDC) Member of Parliament for Lawra Nandom, on Wednesday called for an end to state sponsored terrorism that are normally visited on poor nations or perceived enemies of powerful states.
"What is worse than blocking the delivery of food and medicine for innocent people to die. What meaning would the World give to a person who in pursuit of a terrorist bombs an orphanage killing so many poor orphans," he declared.
The member was contributing to a motion for the adoption on various reports of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Foreign and Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs. The reports include the International convention for the suppression of terrorist bombings, Ratification of the AU convention on the prevention and combating of terrorism,
The rest are the Protocol for the suppression of unlawful acts against the safety of fixed platforms located on the continental shelf and the International convention for the physical protection of nuclear material.
Dr Kumbuor quizzed, "why is it that a particular group or groups of persons are always labelled as terrorist." He said government would unconsciously be pursuing the agenda of powerful nations if care, was not taken in the implementation of the various conventions on terrorism.
The member asked that issues that create passion for terrorism, such as suppression of man by man should be addressed by such conventions. Mr Kosi Kedem,NDC-Hohoe South, said potentially rich African countries like Angola and Congo have been destabilised by powerful nations and yet the World does not see it as terrorism. He said, "are we still to believe that might is right?"
Nana Akufo-Addo, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, said the conventions do not classify liberation struggle as terrorism. He called for the strengthening of the law enforcement agencies on the continent to contain crime, which is becoming more sophisticated.
GRi…/
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Accra (Greater Accra) 11 July 2002- The Criminal Procedure Code Amendment which, seeks among other legal innovations to add rape and defilement to the list of offences where the court is to refuse bail went through the second reading in Parliament. After this the bill will go through a third reading.
According to a memorandum accompanying the bill signed by Nana Akufo Addo, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, it also seeks to empower the Attorney General to appoint public prosecutors in any particular criminal case in any court or tribunal.
An amendment proposal on the treatment of convicted pregnant woman and the definition of juveniles are also included in the bill. Female members of Parliament described the amendment proposal on sexual offences as positive and timely to deal with the high incidence of rape and defilement in the country.
GRi…/
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