Prof Mills Denies Rumours On His Presidential Bid
President to nominate new Counsel for Wuaku Commission
Jake to assume temporary responsibility of Foreign Affairs Ministry
Don't let talented people shun politics - Obed
Ghana to stop exportation residual fuel
Forestry Ministry to support timber companies
Anaemia prevalence high in Ghana
Parents face suspension from church over blood transfusion on child
Oguaa High Court restrains Edina Omanhene
Central Region Graduate Teachers end strike
Ghanaians urged to develop culture of adoption of homeless kids
Pragmatic policies needed for jewellery industry
Ghana has achieved real democracy - Ex-MP
Boafo urges local governments to change priorities
Accra (Greater Accra) 16 July 2002 - Former Vice President John Atta Mills has denied suggestions that he is being pressurised by his family to withdraw from the race for the Presidential slot of the NDC. The Independent Newspaper reported that family meetings had been held on the subject of Prof. Mills’ political future following which pressure was being put on him to call it quits.
But the former Vice President, who is due to end his lecturing assignment at the Canadian University of British Columbia next month, says the story is untrue and aimed at confusing his supporters worldwide as the NDC prepares to choose a Presidential candidate. – JoyOnline
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Accra (Greater Accra) 16 July 2002- Ms Gloria Afua Akuffo, Deputy Attorney General and Deputy Minister of Justice announced on Monday that President John Agyekum Kufuor would soon nominate a new counsel for the Wuaku Commission, following the death of Mr George Kwartey Owoo, the Counsel, last Friday.
Ms Akuffo told the Ghana News Agency in Accra that the Commission, which is probing the Yendi crisis, should have resumed its public hearing on Monday at the usual venue at Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region after a short break.
Asked how soon the President was likely to do the replacement Ms Akuffo replied she could not speculate on the matter. I do not speculate... I don't work at the Presidency. It is the President who must decide, not my office. The President has been informed about the death and I cannot tell you how soon the announcement would be made about the replacement.
I, however, hope it would be very soon in order not to adversely affect the work of the Commission,“ she explained. Mr Owoo, 67, died at his Mataheko residence in Accra after a sudden illness.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 16 July 2002 - Mr. Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Minister of Information and Presidential Affairs would on Tuesday 23 July 2002, assume temporary responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
A statement issued from the Ministry of Information and Presidential Affairs signed by Mr. Kofi Sekyiamah, Chief Director for the sector Ministry said Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, Minister of Foreign Affairs would be away in Cuba on 23 July, on an official assignment.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 16 July 2002- Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama on Monday urged Japan to identify specific infrastructure projects for massive investment in line with the government's vision to provide the conditions needed for development.
Vice President Mahama, who said this when Japanese Ambassador Kazuko Asai paid a courtesy call on him at the Castle, Osu, noted that such infrastructure would be well appreciated by Ghanaians and become synonymous with the name of Japan. Ambassador Asai started her duty tour of Ghana last month.
Vice President Mahama commended Japan on her assistance to Ghana over the years, particularly for transforming the loan aid to rehabilitate the Mallam-Yamoransa road into a grant. "We are very grateful for your support to education, health, energy and other sectors. Indeed, we appreciate the conversion of the loan aid to grant aid for the road project, which we understand is the first of its kind in your economic cooperation with other countries," he said.
The proposal for the loan was on the table before Ghana joined the Heavily Indebted Countries (HIPC) Initiative. Japan, by policy, does not grant loans to HIPC. She, therefore, adapted the facility to make Ghana enjoyed it.
Vice President Mahama called for support for educational institutions under Japan's Grassroots Assistance Programme, saying schools in rural areas needed help. He briefed the Ambassador about the government's agenda to stabilise the economy, promote democracy and the rule of law.
Ambassador Asai said Ghana's priorities for assistance would be discussed at a Ghana-Japan Economic Forum, scheduled for 21 August, and invited the Vice President to attend. She said Japan believed the goodwill of the government to positively transform the socio-economic conditions of Ghanaians that was why she converted the loan into an aid. Ambassador Asai announced that 11 Japanese Volunteers would soon arrive in Ghana, to serve in various areas, with the majority of them teaching Mathematics and Science in schools.
She presented Vice President Mahama with a lampshade with his name embossed on it, saying, "You must be the light to lead the path of the nation." She also added some chocolates named Ghana. Japan solely relies on cocoa from Ghana for her cocoa-based products.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 16 July 2002- Dr Obed Asamoah, Chairman of National Democratic Congress on Monday said if a tradition was set that the home of a politician after leaving office was the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) cell or prison, then many men of integrity and talent would shun public office.
He said the worst part of it was that a party in power would resist leaving office by recourse to electoral fraud and other means that would sow the seeds of conflict and instability.
Dr Asamoah, who was speaking at a seminar on party philosophy in Accra said, "even if the law allows it, it is unwise to try persons for errors of economic judgement that may occasion economic loss to the state as distinct from fraud and corruption attributable directly to the offender.
The NPP, he said, was missing the opportunity to lead Ghana to a golden age as demonstrated by the harassment, intimidation and political trials taking place adding, that, "we are witnesses to events taking place in Madagascar, which are costing that nation dearly".
Dr Asamoah said the NPP could do this country a great service by saving its nationals from such trauma. He said, "to turn the Supreme Court into a kangaroo court by elevating a trail judge of a Fast Track Court to the Supreme Court in order to achieve the numbers necessary to overturn an earlier decision of the full Bench of the Supreme Court on the unconstitutionality of the Fast Track Court and for that judge to continue sitting as a fast track Court judge is subversive of the integrity of the judiciary."
He said, what the government should have tried to achieve was to have followed the advice of the Supreme Court to establish the Fast Track Court through legislation, which the opposition could not have objected to, since it knew that the primary purpose of the Fast Track was to expedite justice.
"They have instead allowed their pride to stand in the way of advancing true democracy in Ghana to their eternal glory," Dr Asamoah said. Dr Asamoah said "the NDC, with all its fault, real or imagined, never fell to the temptation to pack the Supreme Court in order to achieve the reversal against decision given against the government over the legality of celebrating the anniversary of the 31st December revolution".
He said the NPP could learn from the US how to do things right because "even though criminal motives were attributed to a decision to pardon a tax dodger and a fugitive from justice the Bush administration has not sought to put President Clinton on trial."
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Accra (Greater Accra) 16 July 2002- Dr Josiah Aryeh, General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), on Monday said the party was embarking on a social democratic agenda because it wanted to work within an African contest for equality and egalitarianism. He said: " Africa's political experience is quite a unique cartography of world politics and in the distribution of political, military, and economic power, the African find himself short changed."
Dr Aryeh was explaining the NDC's political philosophy, which according to him was directed towards a social democratic agenda at a day's seminar for leading party members including its organisers and members of parliament.
He said party's work had become more urgent due to the end of stability created by the "bipolar distribution of power between the USSR and US, global environmental deterioration and the collapse of Africa's place in the world trade.
The General Secretary declared "As we stand on the threshold of the 21st century, African social democrats must work to remould the old hierarchies and economic and political asymmetries that define our world and consign us into a continent of poverty." We need to look fresh at the economic hierarchy that divide the rich and the poor and consigns the latter into a hopeless corner."
Dr Aryeh noted that there was the need to review the political hierarchy that confined power in the rulers and separated them from the people and the resistance of the rulers to political accommodation between regions and social classes.
Dr. Aryeh said: "We must address the resource hierarchy as much as possible to ensure an equitable distribution of wealth in a world in which geo-economics is rapidly replacing geo-politics." He said events within the political arena were demonstrating far more than the professed two traditions of which elitism was one of storm and fury and the other working for prosperity and the upliftment of the disadvantaged.
Dr Aryeh said NDC was committed to the transformation of the society in which sufficient and efficient frameworks would be created for the advancement and enlightenment of the citizens. The NDC outdoored a document title, "Social Democratic Agenda for Ghana - the philosophy of the National Democratic Congress" which restated the party's commitment to ensuring free tuition at the public tertiary level of education.
It stated that the party recognised its Constitutional obligation under Article 38(3) of the 1992 Constitution, to provide equal access to university or other form of education, with emphasis on science and technology subject to the availability of resources.
The constitution supports the loan scheme system that is easily accessed by all qualified students and scholarship and bursary schemes for brilliant but needy students as well those pursuing courses of strategic importance to the country.
The party's commitment to non-formal education, adult education and life-long learning must find expression in new programmes designed to ensure that all Ghanaians become literate to an appreciable degree. According to him the Ghana Educational Trust Fund, instituted by the NDC government whilst in power, must be appropriately utilized in pursuit of these educational objectives.
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Tema (Greater Accra) 16 July 2002 - A 250-million dollar plant, Residual Fluid Catalytic Cracker (RFCC) that would process residue of fuel at Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), is expected to be commissioned next September.
When it is in operational, Ghana would no longer export the 30 percent residual fuel at a give-away price as it is, presently, rather, it would be processed into Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) gasoline and other lubricants, Mr Kan Dapaah, Minister for Energy disclosed on Monday at Tema. The building of the plant, which was started in year 2000, by SK Engineering and Construction Firm, a Korean company, is now doing test runs to ensure that everything is in order before commissioning.
He stated this at a press briefing after a tour of the plant, which also afforded him the opportunity to interact with the workers and more especially to congratulate the fire personnel who exhibited a good job to put out the fire during the recent fire outbreak at the near-by premises.
Currently, 45,000 barrels of crude oil is refined daily and 70 percent of TOR's product is used nationwide, while a small portion of the remaining 30 percent residue is used and the rest sold at take away price. He said high value would be added to the re-processing of the residual product and this is expected to earn between 100 and 120 percent and part of it would be exported to generate enough foreign exchange to enable TOR pay back the loan.
On fuel, Mr. Dapaah said that the government has no immediate plans to increase the price of fuel as speculated, however, fuel price in the global market could affect a change in the local price.
Touching on the 2.5 trillion cedis debt incurred by TOR, the Minister said the issue is still under discussion as to whether to pass it on to consumers, write it off, or make TOR handle its own debt. He, however, made it clear that when it is spilled over to consumers the effect would be frightening.
Mr. Robert Forson, Deputy Managing Director Operations, and a member of the Interim Management Committee (IMC), who led the Minister round the Plant, said TOR has increased its liability on the utility system to support emergencies so that they are not overtaken by events.
On the environment, he said, plans are advanced to build a secondary treatment plant to treat its effluent before discharging into the drains, which eventually enters the Chemu Lagoon. TOR and other companies were recently criticised for polluting the lagoon making it dead with their untreated effluent. Dr. Kwabena Richardson, Chairman of the IMC and Dr Ali Abugure, also a member of the IMC were among the Minister's entourage.
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Akim Oda (Eastern Region) 16 July 2002- The Ministry of Lands and Forestry said it would support timber companies that embark on reforestation projects to help to replenish the dwindling forest.
The Sector Minister, Professor Kasim Kasanga gave the assurance when he toured some wood processing companies at Akim Oda in the Birim South District of the eastern Region at the weekend to find out problems they faced. The companies included the Birim Wood Complex, Oda Saw Mills and Copon Wood Processing Company Limited.
Prof. Kasanga commended the management of Birim Wood Complex for establishing a 61-hectare forest plantation at Suponso and also taking steps to minimise waste. The company re-cycles saw dust to generate steam and waste wood into beams for export.
Reacting to a complaint by Mr Majeer Sabbar, Managing Director of Birim Wood, that a timber concession allocated to them was taken back just two months after operation, Professor Kasanga said the matter would be looked into for justice to be done. The General Manager of the company, Mr Joseph Mensah, mentioned the lack of timber concessions as one of the problems facing the company, thereby compelling them to buy logs from the open market.
At the Oda Saw Mills, Mr Seth Fiifi Aboagye, General Manager, who conducted the Minister round their production line, said 50 per cent of products were sold on the local market to assist real estate developers in the housing sector.
He said the company was currently producing at low capacity due to lack of raw materials and appealed to the Ministry to assist them acquire more concessions. At the Copon Wood Procession Company, Mr Charles Oppong, the Managing Director, conducted the Minister round.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 16 July 2002- Anaemia, recognised as the most widespread nutrient deficiency-related Public Health problem was highly prevalent in Ghana, Dr George Amofa, Director of Public Health, said on Monday. He said anaemia, defined as lower than acceptable levels of haemoglobin in the blood, was especially high in children and pregnant women.
This is found in 84 per cent of pre-school and 71 per cent of school-age children as well as 64.5 per cent of pregnant women, according to a study in 1995. Dr. Amofa said anaemia is not only due to iron deficiency, but also occurs as a result of malaria, hookworm and other parasitic infections, hence the need for those interventions.
The Director of Public Health was speaking at a two-day workshop organised by the Ministry of Health (MOH) to develop strategies and a comprehensive framework for the control of anaemia in Ghana. It forms part of efforts by the MOH to control micro nutrient deficiencies particularly iron, vitamin A and iodine. Strategies have already been developed for Vitamin A and Iodine.
Interventions, to be drawn by participants, would be implemented along side current control measures that include the roll back malaria, safe motherhood and de-worming programmes. Participants were drawn from the MOH, Ministry of Agriculture, Nutrition and Food Science Department of the University Of Ghana, the Medical School, some advertising agencies and the media.
Mrs Rosanna Agble, Head of Nutrition Unit of the MOH, said iron deficiency anaemia, occurs due to low consumption of iron rich foods and absorption enhancers and the high consumption of absorption inhibitors. Foods rich in iron, she said, included meat products, cereals and fruits, while the inhibitors were found in tea and beans.
Mrs Agble said anaemia results in permanent impairment in mental development in children inhibiting rapid early childhood and adolescent growth and affects the child’s ability to learn. In pregnant women, anaemia is the major cause of maternal mortality, risk of pre-term delivery, inadequate gestational weight gain and increased prenatal mortality.
Mrs Agble said a varied array of interventions including dietary improvement, fortification of foods with iron, iron supplementation and other public health measures like malaria control and obstetric interventions were being undertaken by the MOH to control the disease and advised the public to eat more fruits and cereals to enrich their iron and to avoid taking iron fortified drugs with tea.
Ms Rejoice Nutakor, Programme Officer of the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) Unit, who presented a paper on: "Safe Motherhood Programmes For Control Of Anaemia, said anaemia levels were categorised as moderate, severe and very severe. Moderate anaemia is the range of haemoglobin level between seven and 10 grams, severe as less than or equal to seven grams and very severe as below 4.4 grams.
She said the percentage of pregnant women, who were anaemic, had declined significantly from 66.7 per cent in 1997 to 39.9 per cent in 2001. Ms Nutakor said a complete on-going revision of the National Reproductive Health Service Protocol was being undertaken by the Unit to enable health workers to benefit from the updated methods of managing anaemia in pregnancy.
The Programme Officer said it was also undertaking a support research and innovative programme to minimise low haemoglobin levels in pregnancy as well as the institution of an intensive pre-natal education and care for women.
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Goaso (Brong Ahafo) 16 July 2002- Intervention by Asunafo District office of the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) saved the life of a six-month old anaemic patient, whose parents denied him blood transfusion on the ground of their faith.
The medical officer in-charge of the Goaso Government Hospital directed that Harrifat Yaw Ababio be given blood transfusion. But the little boy's parents, Kwabena Adu-Gyamfi and Akosua Nsiah, who belong to the Saviour Church (Gyidi) in Kwapong, said they would not allow it.
Mr Oman Mprah, Asunafo District Director of the Commission, told the Ghana News Agency that Mr Seth Boadu, the hospital's administrator, brought the child and his parents to his office last Wednesday to make a formal complaint. He said after a quick investigation, the commission ordered the hospital to give the child blood transfusion against the wish of his parents.
He added that an accompanying elder of the church however, stated that the parents would be suspended for allowing their child to receive blood transfusion. According to him in spite of the threat, the parents, who were educated about the rights of the child, later on donated their own blood for their boy. He said Ababio is responding well to treatment after the blood transfusion and warned parents not to trample on the rights of their children.
Parents who cause the death of their innocent children through such wilful decisions would be made to face the full rigours of the law, he warned. Mr. Mprah commended the Goaso hospital administrator for his right judgement by reporting the issue to CHRAJ
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Cape Coast (Central Region) 16 July 2002-The premises of the court complex at Cape Coast, was on Monday morning turned into an arena for jubilation by opponents of the Omanhene of the Edina Traditional Area, Nana Kodwo Conduah VI following a High Court ruling restraining him from holding himself as such, "until his status as Omanhene had been fully and finally determined". The court in this regard, ordered Nana Conduah, to within 48 hours, file and serve an undertaking not to perform any public functions.
It further ordered him to pay a fine of five million cedis and a cost 2.5 million cedis to the applicant, Supi Mark Aaba, spokesman for the kingmakers of the area. Monday's ruling, followed a contempt suit filed against Nana Conduah by the kingmakers of the area on 21 June, after he had disregarded the court's earlier ruling restraining him from performing those functions, pending the determination of a case against him at the Central Region House of Chiefs, after it had granted an interim injunction filed against him on 4 January, 1999.
The ruling, written by Mrs Iris Heward-Mills and delivered by her successor, Mr Justice K. K. Acquaye, observed that Nana Conduah's action would have attracted instant custodial sentence, but it took into consideration that "at the heart of the matter lies a chieftaincy dispute whose resolution had been inordinately delayed". It, therefore, said that in order to facilitate an amicable and diligent resolution, it was making those orders in place of a custodial sentence.
In the earlier ruling on 27 June, 2001, the then sitting judge, Mrs Iris Heward-Mills, had asked the disputing factions to meet with the representatives of the Central Region House of Chiefs to draw a programme for the celebration of the 'Bakatue' Festival, but Nana Conduah, disregarded it and went ahead to celebrate the festival.
His opponents, clad in black and white attires signifying victory and waving white handkerchiefs, could not contain their joy and shouted and sang in front of the court premises, with some of them particularly, the women smearing their faces with white clay. Meanwhile, counsel for Nana Conduah, Mr Joseph Dawson, has filed a notice of appeal against the ruling, among other things, describing it as harsh and "against every concept on the law of punishment".
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Cape Coast (Central Region) 16 July 2002- Graduate teachers (NAGRAT) in the Central Region on Monday called off the indefinite strike action they embarked on two weeks ago to back their demand for salary adjustment. Mr Kwami Alorvi, Regional Chairman of the association, told the Ghana News Agency that members took the decision to call off the strike in the interest of students, particularly those in the final year.
He said members of the association also considered the assurance given them by the Ghana Education Service (GES) at a meeting with NAGRAT's National Executive last Friday that all graduates teachers would be paid new salaries by the end of next month.
Mr Alorvi said most of his colleagues were, however, unhappy about the decision to call off the strike because they were sceptical of GES fulfilling its promise, since it had failed to fulfil an earlier promise it made on the same issue.
He expressed concern about the fact that during the meeting between the NAGRAT National Executive and the GES Financial Controller last Friday, it was detected that names of members of the association in the country, were missing from the pay vouchers for July and described the situation as a "disaster".
Mr.Alorvi said that in the Central Region, only about 10 of the 56 senior secondary schools had the names of their teachers on the vouchers, while only 11 names were found for teachers in the Northern Region. There were also some disparities in the adjusted salaries, with some teachers on the same grade receiving different salaries.
According to him the situation had made some of his colleagues more reluctant to go back to work but he urged them to exercise restraint for the authorities to rectify the anomalies. During a visit to some Senior Secondary Schools, the GNA saw teachers busy at work in the classrooms. Some of the students expressed appreciation to the teachers for calling off the strike and appealed to the GES to address the association's grievances once and for all.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 16 July 2002- Ghanaians have been reminded that the only way they could demonstrate their affection and sympathy for orphans and homeless children was to adopt some of them and not making donations to the homes.
Alhaji Issah Kwame, Ashanti Regional Co-ordinator of the Gaskia Club, an affiliate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), advised the affluent to go beyond donations and commit themselves to adopting some of the children into their families and giving them the needed parental care.
Alhaji Kwame gave the reminder when the club presented various items worth about 800,000 cedis to the children of the Kumasi Children's Home at the weekend. The items, which included five cartons of bar soap, quantity of edible oil, biscuits and loaves of bread, formed part of activities marking first anniversary of the club.
The Regional Co-ordinator said cumbersome formalities and procedures associated with the adoption of homeless children and orphans should not deter people who want to adopt such kids.
He said some members of the club had initiated the necessary formalities to adopt some of the children. Alhaji Kwame explained that the club should not be wrongly perceived as a body championing the cause of only the NDC, but that it "goes beyond that to institute programmes designed for assisting the needy and vulnerable in society".
Madam Beatrice Osei Assibey, Child Care Officer at the Home, who received the items, commended the club for their sensitivity to the plight of the children and urged other clubs to emulate them.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 16 July 2002- Mr Kwadwo Affram Asiedu, Deputy Minister of the Interior on Monday lauded an informant at Kwahu Tafo for assisting the Police to arrest armed robbers.
A statement from the Ministry of the Interior said the informant’s role was worthy of emulation by Ghanaians and emphasised the fact that Ghanaians could play their role by furnishing the Police with intelligent information on the movements of suspicious persons in their vicinities.
According to the minister the informant hinted the Police about three men, who came into a drinking bar looking suspicious and one of them on reaching out to take money from his pocket mistakenly exposed a pistol tucked in his pocket.
The statement said the informant on seeing the pistol, sneaked out to the Kwahu Tafo Police and informed them about the suspicious behaviour of the three men, who were arrested. The armed robbers were later identified by victims of previous armed robberies and were currently being processed for trial.
The Minister has directed the Police at Kwahu Tafo and Nkwatia to give the informant special protection since his shop at Kwahu Nkawtia had been burgled after the incident and his life had been threatened.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 16 July 2002- The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has denied rumours that it had sold the Kejetia Lorry Terminal to a private company. "The terminal has not been sold to any woman as is being speculated in certain quarters," a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer of the assembly, Mr Kwame Frimpong stated.
It said what the assembly had rather done was to cede the day-to-day management of the terminal to a private transport management company through a competitive and open bidding process.
The statement said the privatisation of the terminal to Freko FD Limited, which had a renewable two-year mandate to run Kejetia, was to ensure that it generated adequate but reasonable returns. It would also ensure that the terminal was maintained in its present pristine condition in the years ahead.
The Assembly gave the assurance that ownership of the terminal still remained in its hands adding that it was its general assembly that determined tolls and levies collected at the park.
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Koforidua (Eastern Region) 16 July 2002- The Eastern Regional Goldsmiths Association has called on the government to pursue pragmatic policies towards making the jewellery industry more competitive on the world market to earn more foreign exchange.
In a memorandum submitted to the Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, who was on a day's familiarisation tour of industries, in Koforidua, the goldsmiths suggested to the government to put, at least, 0.01 per cent of gold produced by the gold mines in the Bank of Ghana for local goldsmiths to purchase for their work.
This would also guarantee quality of material and karat standardisation if the country should achieve the export target set for the industry. In the memorandum, signed by Mr Atta Dogoe, Regional President of the Association, the goldsmiths said the official price at which they were buying gold was high and above that on the world market. This, they said, was making their products more expensive, thereby stifling their entry into the foreign market.
For example, the association said while the price for 18 karat gold in Ghana was 16 dollars the same quality was being sold at 12 dollars per gram in the United States and noted that that was pushing Ghana out of the international jewellery trade.
The Association further called on the government to import silver for sale to the local goldsmiths, who currently buy an ounce of silver at over 50,000 cedis whilst the metal is sold around 6 US dollars an ounce.
To enable the local handicraft adopt improved technology for enhanced output, the association appealed to the government to assist it to purchase some of the machinery such as casting, electroplating, chain weaving and tumblers.
On skill development, the association called on the National Board for Small-Scale Industries (NBSSI) to institute skill training for its members to enable them to attain high levels of expertise in areas such as casting and gemstones setting using the "adinkra" symbols so as to make their products more attractive on the international market.
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Wenchi (Brong Ahafo) 16 July 2002- Mr I. L. K. Mensah, a former Member of Parliament in the Second Republic now resident in the United Kingdom (UK) has expressed satisfaction that Ghana had achieved true democracy under the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration.
The economy was picking up as inflation had gone down drastically and the cedi was now stable as compared to the situation under the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Mr Mensah, who was the MP for Bibiani-Ahwiaso-Sefwi-Bekwai in the Western Region was speaking to Ghana News Agency after laying a wreath on the tomb of Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia, Prime Minister in the Second Republic. The ex-MP, who described himself as a very good friend of the Prime Minister, commended the government for its efforts in road construction and electricity supply.
He, therefore, urged Ghanaians to support and co-operate with the government to put the economy in good shape to improve the living conditions of the people. Mr Mensah noted that under the leadership of President John Agyekum Kufuor, prices of goods "are stable". He called on Ghanaians abroad to visit home regularly to assist in the re-construction of the country.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 16 July 2002- A group of medical students from the University of Utah, USA, who were on study tour at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) School of Medical Sciences (SMS) in Kumasi on Monday presented books and other teaching aids worth 10,000 dollars to the school.
The teaching aids included slide projectors, stethoscope, audio-scope, compact disks and drugs. The leader of the group, Professor Devon C. Hale, who presented the items, said the group were in the country as part of a programme to study tropical medicine.
He said the students have had a considerable experience from their interaction and medical activities in a number of hospitals and clinics they visited in the Ashanti Region and expressed the hope that it would help the students in their carrier as doctors.
Professor Hale commended the staff of the school for the good work they were doing to improve the health of the people. He said there had been a significant improvement in medical care given to Ghanaians as compared to last year when the group came to Ghana on a similar mission. The leader of the group disclosed that the University of Utah and SMS were negotiating to secure exchange programmes for their students.
Professor Ernestine Akosua Addy, through whose initiative the programme was introduced, received the items. She thanked the group for the items and said the teaching aids had come at a time when the school was in need of such facilities to improve academic work. Professor Addy expressed the hope that an opportunity would be unveiled for Ghanaian medical students to also visit Utah Medical School to exchange ideas and share experiences.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 16 July 2002- Mr Sampson Kwaku Boafo, Ashanti Regional Minister, has called on district assemblies to concentrate on programmes and activities that would affect structural changes in the quality of life of the people.
Mr Boafo said income generation, enhanced productivity in agriculture and industry and development of the private sector were the areas that would complement government's efforts and spearhead growth in other sectors such as health, sanitation and education.
The Regional Minister made the call at the opening of a three-day orientation workshop on District Medium Term Development Plan for District Chief
Executives, District Co-ordinating Directors, District Directors of Education, District Planning Officers and District Directors of Health Services drawn from some selected districts in Ashanti in Kumasi on Monday.
The workshop, sponsored by the government and the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) was aimed at integrating District Development Plans and the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS).
Mr Boafo noted that one major weakness in the implementation of the first medium term plan was that, officials of the district assemblies did not fully participate in the preparation of the plan, prepared by consultants.
He expressed the hope that the new guidelines would address this problem. The Regional Minister cautioned, however, that no matter how beautiful their Medium Term Development Plans might look, it would never see the light of day without financial discipline in its execution.
In a speech read on behalf of Mr Ben Bukari Salifu, Minister of State responsible for the National Development Planning Commission, he emphasised that a plan provided the development path for a people to chart in a given period. Without it, development would not only be ad-hoc but also lopsided. "We also need to work hard and do so urgently to reduce poverty and restore smiles on the gloomy faces of many of our citizens."
Mr Salifu said the aim of the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) economic and social development policy was to improve upon the standard of living of all Ghanaians in a free environment. The minister of state said this must be done in an environment that guaranteed basic human rights, created a healthy economy and education, adding that they as heads of the districts should translate this dream into reality with their District Development Plans (DDP).
He told them that the DDPs were expected to dovetail into the National Development Framework, reminding them that the President was required by the Constitution to present to Parliament a development framework in the first two years on assumption of office. "As far as I am concerned, the reasons enumerated are compelling enough for us to attach a sense of urgency to our plan preparation without sacrificing the content of these plans."
As much as possible, he said, they must have joint district programmes and projects that would act as catalysts in their drive to forge unity among the people, who tended to see themselves as different just because of the demarcations necessitated by administrative convenience.
Mr Salifu expressed regrets that across the length and breadth of the country were areas of conflicts, some of which were perennial whilst others were new and a worrisome development. "No meaningful development can take place in an environment of turmoil. The clarion call for peace in our abodes, hamlets, villages, towns and districts must go out loud and clear," he observed.
Mr Salifu warned that to compromise on peace and unity was to do so at the risk of the resolve to ensure a progressive and sustained development.
GRi…/
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