Cabinet to consider remuneration package of public servants
NDC asks government to reconsider its decision to print more money
Ghana’s envoy urges Ghanaians to consider
bequeathing part of their estates
Trade and Industry Minister proposes revision of Domestic Content Law
CPP pledges to help improve living standards
Litigation over land threatens proposed Kofi Annan project
Accra (Greater Accra) 18 July 2002- President John Agyekum Kufuor on Wednesday asked Ghana's Ambassadors to endeavour to exhibit the dignity expected of them as representatives of Ghana.
"You should discharge your responsibilities fully aware that you act for and on behalf of the President and the country," he said when he presented instruments of Commission and Letters of Credence to Ambassadors to China, Morocco and Mali.
They were: Mr Afare Apeadu Donkor for China, Mr Kobina Annan for Morocco and Mr Kwadwo Afoakwa Sarpong for Mali. They swore the oaths of allegiance, office and secrecy before the President.
President Kufuor said above all issues they should secure the interest, security and better conditions for Ghanaians in the various countries. "Anything less than the expectation as a worthy Ambassador of Ghana, would not be acceptable to the government. You are not free to perform anyhow. Your activities would be monitored at home,'' he added.
To Mr Donkor, President Kufuor said China had a lot of promises to the economic prosperity of Ghana and he should ensure that the relationship between both countries grew and matured to their mutual benefit. On relations between Ghana and Morocco, President Kufuor said missions in both countries were closed down for about 30 years.
He said Morocco re-opened its Mission in Ghana last year and with the re-opening of the Ghana Mission in Rabat, Mr Annan should ensure he developed the necessary connections to establish the right image for Ghana.
President Kufuor disclosed that Ghana had property in Bamako that the new ambassador should restore. He should take good care of the many Ghanaians in Mali in line with the various ECOWAS Protocols. He said "we should always remember that Ghana is re-building itself, therefore, we should do our best to the nation."
Mr Donkor on behalf of his colleagues said they deemed their appointment as a challenge to justify and confirm the trust reposed in them as Ambassadors. He said they would uphold the principles and objectives of the government and also hold-in-high esteem the President's dreams and vision for the country.
Present was Alhaji Aliu Mahama, Vice President, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Mr Jake O. Obetsebi-Lamptey, Minister of Information and Presidential Affairs.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 18 July 2002- A policy framework on public sector pay reforms, which seeks to provide adequate and competitive compensation to attract and retain the requisite human resource to enhance productivity for national development, has been placed before Cabinet.
Vice President Aliu Mahama, who announced this in Accra on Wednesday, said the reforms also aimed at motivating and influencing the attitude and habits of employees toward discipline, transparency and accountability. He was speaking at the inauguration of Human Resource Management (HRM) and the Private Partnership Co-ordinating (PPC) Committees under the National Institutional Renewal Programme (NIRP) at the Castle, Osu.
The HRM Committee, with Mr Emmanuel A. Sai as chairman, would oversee the implementation of a new Comprehensive Human Resource Management System, aimed at turning the public service into a learning organisation capable of meeting changing management demands. Vice President Mahama, therefore, tasked the members to, "run a merit-based national public system," saying, "this necessitates that we all take another look at our recruitment; promotion; appraisal and separation policies."
He said their responsibility required the setting of standards to commit managers to performance targets; training of public servants to equip them with competitive skills and redistributing authority, responsibility and resources to foster decentralisation. The Committee should redefine the role of the public sector manager in the context of accountability, transparency and rendering of customer service, he said.
To the PPC Committee, Vice President Mahama said, they should work toward increasing the participation of the private in the formulation of policies and their implementation and facilitate the co-ordination of the sectors to achieve the Golden Age of Business. Mr Kwamena Bartels, Minister for Private Sector Development, is chairman of the 12-member PPC committee.
Vice President Mahama said: "If one considered the enormous capacity that existed in the private sector and the fact that the public sector required these input for policy formulation, then one should begin to understand the degree of disservice that we were all doing to our dear country." He urged them to use the strategic plans developed by the NIRP to make decisions from private-public dialogue, enforceable, traceable and monitorable and expand public-private partnership at the district level.
Mr Bartels said strengthening public-private sector partnership at the district level would increase the efficiency of district assemblies and improve their revenue. He gave an example of a district assembly that engaged a private company to run its market, saying at the end of the first year, the assembly's revenue from the market increased by 300 per cent.
Mr Bartels said district assemblies should use the private sector in waste management and in the provision of water and roads under the concept of build operate and transfer (BOT). Mr Sai emphasised the training of public servants, saying the performance of the government would be determined by the quality of the human resource in the sector.
Dr Appiah Koranteng, National Co-ordinator of NIRP, said the commitment of members of the committees, were required to achieve the goals of the reforms.
He gave the assurance that NIRP would provide them with the technical support and logistics to make them efficient.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 18 July 2002 - The National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Wednesday called on government to reconsider its decision to print and circulate higher denomination currency notes as it would soon be changed when the ECOWAS currency regime materialised.
"What compelling need is there for Ghana to spend a whooping 110 billion cedis to print money when sooner or later, Ghana would be joining other countries in the West African Sub-region in a common ECOWAS currency regime," it queried.
A statement signed by the Brong Ahafo Regional Chairman, Alhaji Kwadwo Maama Adam said the NPP could go ahead and print and circulate the higher denominations and more money only if it did not believe that the second West African Monetary Zonal efforts it had been spearheading with Nigeria would not come to fruition. It said apart from fuelling inflation, it was not safe to carry large sums of money considering the spate of armed robbery in homes and on the highways.
The statement said safer ways of handling money like the "Sika Card" should rather be introduced and encouraged. It said the NPP government should instead use the 110 billion cedis intended for printing the currency notes to provide good drinking water, good roads, school buildings and drugs for the hospitals for especially, for those in the rural areas.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 18 July 2002- The Electoral Commission (EC) has cancelled the nomination of a candidate in the forthcoming district level elections for displaying New Patriotic Party's (NPP) certificate of honour.
Mr Edward Gyimah a candidate for the Kwabenakwa Electoral Area in the Adansi West District of Ashanti allegedly displayed the certificate when he mounted the platform organised by the EC for aspiring assembly members at Kwabenakwa and Mampanhwe on 8 and 9 July.
A statement signed by Mr K. Damoah-Agyeman, Chief Director of the Commission and issued in Kumasi on Wednesday, said Mr Gyimah's conduct violated Section 7 (1) of the Local Government Act, 1993 (Act 462) and sections 3 (1a) and 4 of the District Assemblies Elections Act, 1994 (Act 473).
The statement said despite persistent promptings by the District Officer to Mr Gyimah to desist from such acts, he continued displaying the certificate and claimed that he was being supported by the NPP. It said under such circumstances, the Commission had no option but to cancel his nomination and remove his name from the ballot paper for the Kwabenakwa Electoral Area.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 18 July 2002- Major Joseph R. K. Tandoh (retired), Acting Director-General of the National Communications Authority, (NCA) on Wednesday urged stakeholders of the communications sector to adapt to changes in technology to enhance competition and quality of service.
Speaking at a two-day workshop organised by the Authority in Accra, Major Tandor said it was imperative for Ghanaians to be abreast with time in order not to be left behind. He said most of the new technologies emerged after the promulgation of Act 524 that established the Authority in 1996.
He said: "A typical example is the emergence of voice and data which are now inseparable in a phenomena referred to as convergence which requires that we update our regulations to meet the challenges posed by them."
The workshop was organised by NCA in conjunction with the Ministry of Communications. About 60 participants including members of the Board of Directors and Management of NCA, Members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Communications, Broadcasting and IT industries. It was on the theme: "Towards Enhancing Competition And Quality Of Service In The Communication Sector".
Topics to be treated include how established carriers of telecommunication services could benefit from Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) Systems, the impact of Internet Protocol Telephony on Public Telecommunications Operations, setting broadcasting standards and the need for a national policy.
Major Tandoh said the topics were carefully selected to address, especially, the issue of VOIP and others relating to broadcasting standards that would fit into Ghana's communications network. He noted that, there was the need for a fundamental change in the rules regulating the communications industries, which also implied that there should be new directions in the sector.
"This will help us to meet the challenges of the rapidly increasing competition in the telecom markets, the blurring of the distinction between telecommunication, broadcasting and IT and the progress to liberalisation," he noted.
Major Tandoh said government's announcement of the end of duopoly in the provision of basic telephony service in February this year that ended the exclusivity right given to Ghana Telecom and Westel as part of their licence conditions did not mean anybody could set up its own voice telephony network. He cautioned that one required a licence just as one required authorisation in the liberalised airwaves.
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Akwele-Kasoa (Central Region) 18 July 2002- President John Agyekum Kufuor on Wednesday called on the country's development partners to endeavour to implement holistic programmes.
He said the organisational ability of officials of the Ayensu Starch Company Limited (ASCO) at Awutu-Bawjiase was a masterpiece that should form the cornerstone of the country's development process.
President Kufuor made the call after touring the Company's office at Akwele-Kasoa, cassava farm at Gomoa Adzentem and the site for the factory at Awutu-Bawjiase all in the Central Region. ASCO is the pilot of the Cassava Starch Project under the President's Special Initiative (PSI) for Agri-Business, which would be duplicated in the other regions.
President Kufuor said the government was providing assistance to farmers under the Co-operate Village Enterprise (COVE), in which beneficiaries become shareholders in the company managed by professionals. He said the project that includes the provision of basic amenities such as roads, electricity and potable water would provide employment for women and the youth.
The President urged people in the beneficial areas to be more committed to the project to ensure its sustainability. He requested financial institutions to assist the implementation of the PSI to promote export for more foreign exchange to ensure improved living standards for the people.
President Kufuor commended the Chiefs and people of Awutu-Bawjiase, for releasing land and embracing the project, saying it would assist in improving their living standards. He appealed to the people to maintain equipment for the project when they were installed to prolong their lifespan.
Mr Isaac Edumadze, Central Regional Minister appealed to the people to settle land and chieftaincy disputes in the area to ensure the success of the project and to enhance development. Nana Kwao Kosabi III, Akyempimhene of the Awutu Traditional Area appealed to the government to create a new district for Awutu-Senya to facilitate administration.
He said with the population of the area approximately 120,000 and three major markets the district if established could generate enough revenue. Mr Andrew E. Quayson, Managing Director said the Company was established in September last year under the PSI to address rural poverty. He said the Company would assist in the cultivation of cassava within a 25-kilometre radius of Awutu-Bawjiase and process the produce into industrial starch for export.
The Company was expected to cultivate about 5,000 acres of shareholder farms, 5,000 acres of block farms for women and the youth and a 5,000-acre nucleus farm by the end of next year. The Managing Director said the project was estimated at about seven million dollars, adding that equipment would arrive in the country by August this year while installation would be completed by November for production to begin by March next year.
According to him about one billion cedis had been paid to farmers involved in the project to create employment. Mr Quayson said the project would ensure increased crop yield, stable prices for cassava and improved socio-economic infrastructure and increased revenue from non-traditional exports. He said by-products from the plant would be suitable for animal feed especially for pigs while the water residue could be used to irrigate farms in the factory's catchment area.
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London (United Kingdom) 18 July 2002 - Ghana’s High Commissioner in the UK, H.E. Mr Isaac Osei has urged Ghanaians abroad to consider bequeathing part of their estates to schools, health institutions and charities in Ghana.
He said such a gesture would serve as a token of their appreciation for the valuable contributions being rendered by the beneficiary institutions and enable their names to be written in letters of gold. He declared: “I know how reticent some of you are about writing out wills, but if you write one, leave something small as a bequest to your former schools, health institutions, charities, etc”.
Speaking at a meeting with members of the Ghanaian community in Portsmouth as part of the Mission’s outreach programme, Mr Osei praised Ghanaians abroad for their continued contributions towards the development of the country. He said the government appreciated the regular monetary contributions of all Ghanaians which amounted to over US$400 million last year and urged them to increase their remittances in the coming years.
Answering questions after the presentation which touched, among others, on development trends in the country, Mr Osei stated that the modest gains recorded by the government so far, demonstrated its resolve to chart a path of progress and prosperity for all Ghanaians irrespective of their political stance.
He said the restoration of macro economic stability, reduction of inflation and the halt to the free-fall of the cedi, etc within a short space of time were indicative of the brighter future ahead of the nation. The High Commissioner also spoke at length on issues relating to dual citizenship law, Ghana Airways, the energy situation, robberies and water privatisation.
Later at a lecture to a congregation of the Cathedral Church of St. Thomas of Canterbury to mark the consolidation of partnership with the Sunyani Diocese of the Anglican Church, Mr Osei urged them to help interest their compatriots to invest in Ghana.
“Ghana provides a safe haven for investments. It is stable and peaceful and its advantageous position provides an easy access for the West Africa sub-region”, he said. Mr Osei hoped the existing ties between the two churches would grow to the mutual advantage of Portsmouth and Sunyani.
He said the people of Sunyani and other areas appreciated
the level of collaboration with had led to the donation of computers to Yamfo
J.S.S., construction of a bridge at Ayeiso and other assistance to their
communities. - The Ghana High Commission
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Government requires $54 million to solve Accra floods
Accra (Greater Accra) 18 July 2002-The government would need 54 million dollars to solve the perennial flooding in Accra during the raining season, the Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Solomon Offei Darko, has said. The amount excluded the cost of consultancy services.
Mr Darko said part of the funding for the project had been secured from various multi-lateral and bilateral sources, grants and concessionary loans leaving a balance of 22.2 million dollars.
He said the first drainage master plan for the city was prepared by the National Engineering Company (NEDECO), in 1962, revised in 1991 and further upgraded in 1995 after the capital experienced its worse floods. The MCE said 25 drains should be constructed or expanded to carry the large volume of rain water and expressed concern about unauthorised structures blocking waterways.
About 1,926 structures including residential buildings, kiosks, containers and walls obstructing the free flow of water had been identified in the Ablekuma, Okaikoi, Ayawaso and Osu sub-metropolitan areas.
Mr Darko said out of the number, about 1,433 did not have building permits from either the Works Department of AMA or the Town and Country Planning Department. Some of the structures could be salvaged if the owners could, "meet the cost of engineering" the MCE said.
Six areas, Matheko-Abossey Okai-Korle Lagoon, Dansoman-Mpoase-South Odorkor, Dansoman-Sahara-Chokor, Odaw-Dzorwulu-Awudome- Industrial Area, Nima and Teshie had been identified as the worse flood prone places. He stressed the need for a holistic approach to the problem involving the Tema Municipal, Ga and Akwapim South District Assemblies to deal with drainage development and management.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 18 July 2002- Trade and Industry Minister, Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku on Wednesday proposed a revision of the Domestic Content Law to increase the use of raw materials in the manufacturing industry from 10 per cent to at least 20 per cent.
Speaking at a national symposium for research scientists in Accra, Dr Apraku said this strategy would add more value to local raw materials, create more employment opportunities and an overall national industrial growth and development.
The Research Staff Association of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) organised the symposium under the theme: "Propelling Ghana's Scientific, Technological and Industrial Growth" to discuss ways on improving the application of science and technology to industrial development.
Dr Apraku expressed the regret that breweries imported 6.5 million dollars worth of malt for their operations when they could rely on local sorghum. He said industries massively imported clinker, starch, leather and eggs when they could be produced locally and called for the reversal of the practice to create ready market for such materials.
The minister identified finance as a major problem in industrial technology development and urged small and medium scale industries to access funds from financial support institutions like the Export Development and Investment Fund
(EDIF), Business Assistance Fund and the Trade and Investment Project Fund (TIP) that had a lesser interest rate of 15 per cent as compared to the traditional banks. He expressed the hope that those funds would ultimately lead to an establishment of an Industrial Bank.
Dr Apraku said government had created 24 more business advisory centres within the past 18 months and would ensure that all the district capitals had the centres before the end of 2004.
Mrs Anna Nyamekye, Deputy Minister of Environment and Science, said science and technology were major weapons in the fight against poverty and underdevelopment. She, however, said serious attention had not been paid to investment in scientific infrastructure and research. She said that had worsened by the marked decrease in scientific manpower development and training and corresponding decrease in scientific research activities and stressed the need for more funds to be allocated to scientific training.
Professor Akwasi Ayensu, Deputy Director General of the CSIR, said there was the need to establish a Presidential Commission on science and technology to give maximum attention to the development of those disciplines and called for an improvement in the teaching and learning of the hard sciences including Mathematics, Biology and Engineering. He said there was the need for the nation to move into the high-tech research areas to bring innovations to bear on the nation's industries.
Mr Yaw Owusu Addo, Vice President of the Ghana Journalists Association, called on the media to increase their reportage on science and technology and move away from over-concentrating on politics. He called for frequent interactions between the scientific community and the media and emphasised the need for well-organised public relations outfits to popularise scientific applications to industry.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 18 July 2002- The Government on Wednesday, started disbursing the May 9 Accra Sports Stadium Disaster Fund at the premises of the Ministry of Information to the families of the victims. At least 126 soccer fans were killed after a premier league match between archrivals Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Almost all the relatives and families of the 114-screened families thronged the ministry to collect their cheques. However, some families registered their misgivings about the whole process and said the money was too small. Each family was given a cheque for 10 million cedis.
Mr John Saka Addo, Chairman of the Committee in charge of the disaster fund said, however, that screening of another batch of six families have not been completed while seven others did not report at all for screening. He said the total amount was 3.6 billion cedis made up of 2.1 billion cedis being the actual money donated plus an interest of 1.5 billion cedis accruing from treasury bills.
Government has already spent 1.6 billion cedis on funeral and upkeep of the children of the victims. Each family was given 2.5 million cedis for the burial of their deceased and a million cedis for each of the 130 children of the victims.
Mr Saka Addo said those injured would be given up to 10 million cedis each, depending on the degree of injuries sustained based on the recommendations by medical officers. He said an amount of two billion cedis would be put in a special scholarship scheme at the Ministry of Education to cater for the educational needs of the children from nursery to the tertiary level plus a million cedis each for their upkeep.
Mr. Saka Addo said out of the 250 injured, the committee has received medical reports of just 152, but stated that provisions would also be made for the rest. Some families and relatives of victims of last year's Accra Sports Stadium 9 May disaster on Wednesday lashed out at the government and refused to take their ex-gratia award of 10 million cedis each being disburse to affected families.
They described the amount as meagre and doubted the total amount of 3.5 billion cedis being declared by government. The government was billed to give out the monies to some 114 screened families whose relatives were killed during a mid week premier league match between archrival Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.
However, those who thronged the Information Ministry to collect their monies were more than the 114 resulting in a commotion. Mr Kofi Amposah Bediako, Assistant Government Spokesman, said on Tuesday that some six families were yet to complete the screening process while seven others had not turned out at all.
A middle age woman Sakena, who claimed to have lost five brothers through the disaster, told the GNA Sports in an interview that the whole process had been shrouded in secrecy. "We have lost bread winners and very important members of our families; obviously the 10 million cedis is too small," she said.
Alhaji Musah, of New Town, said but for the donation, the government would not have given any thing to the families. On the contrary, Mrs Regina Lamptey, a mother of one, who lost his husband, said she saw nothing wrong with the government's support for the families. She said she was dismayed about people's reaction toward the disbursement adding that the government was under no obligation, whatsoever, to make such generous gesture to the people.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 18 July 2002- The Convention Peoples Party (CPP) on Wednesday said it would capture political power through democratic means to improve the living standards of Ghanaians.
Dr Abubakar Alhassan, National Chairman, told a meeting of the Greater Accra Regional Executive Council of the party, a statement issued by Mr Kwesi Pratt Junior, Chairman of the Party's Publicity Committee on Wednesday said.
Dr Alhassan said the party's ideological direction would not be determined by the convenience of distressed political parties, adding; "we were socialist from the beginning and we are still socialist and nobody can take that away from us".
He said the rise of social democratic parties in Europe was an indication that more and more people were accepting that the state could not abandon its responsibility of promoting the welfare of the people to the private sector.
The National Chairman said no honest and informed person could deny the fact that development in the industrialised world was only possible through strong state interventions in their economies. He said the achievement of socialist and social democratic parties across the world belied the claim that only the unfettered free market system could bring about development.
He said Cuba had managed to develop the best health delivery system in the world within 40 years and the standard of living in the Scandinavian countries was very high. "The irony of our situation is that the ideology of the free marketers in the third world is that they try too hard to be more Catholic than the Pope. Whiles every country in Europe and North America is subsidising its agriculture, we have accepted the 'doctrinaire' position that subsides for agriculture is evil", Dr Alhassan said.
He warned that if Ghana refused to subsidise agriculture, the nation would lose its comparative advantage and become totally dependent on the importation of food and other needs. "The dependence on imported items would create a situation in which what donors brought through the front door would go back to them through the back door," the CPP national chairman noted.
Dr Alhassan said: "We should know that whenever we import food we help other countries to improve their economy to solve their employment problems and to strengthen their currencies."
Dr Nii Noi Dowuona, General Secretary of party said the leadership of the party had embarked on tour of the country after which the National Executive Council would be called it session. He said the re-organisation of party was meant to ensure that it was owned and run by the people of Ghana and not a few rich people and fully committed to the mobilisation of the masses against poverty and underdevelopment.
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Accra Metropolitan Assembly to spread the
tax net
Accra (Greater Accra) 18 July 2002- The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) would bring more people into the tax net after undertaking digital mapping of all houses in the Metropolis, Mr Solomon Ofei Darko, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), said on Wednesday. He said the programme was in line with the AMA's decision to improve revenue collection through property identification and re-valuation.
Addressing the second ordinary meeting of the fourth session of the assembly, the Chief Executive said AMA had received various proposals for digital mapping of Accra from relevant companies and were being evaluated for submission to the tender board for consideration as soon as possible.
The meeting, the last of the Assembly was to in accordance with Article 246 (1) of the 1992 Constitution, which states that the assembly must be dissolved after its four-year life span. It is also to pave way for the new district assembly elections to be held on 30 July.
On the AMA's properties, Mr Darko observed that the Assembly had lost about 50 per cent of its properties to encroachers because of poor documentation, adding that a committee charged with the identification and documentation of all landed properties had submitted a preliminary report to it.
He said the committee recommended among other things that the Metro Town and Country Planning Department should assist the Sub-Metros to produce immediately; site plans on all public user sites and demarcate boundaries covering their properties.
While action is being taken to document all identified lands, such sites should be protected by erection of keep-off signboards to keep off future encroachers, he said. On floods in Accra, the CEO noted that though there had been heavy rains that lasted long hours, their effect on life and property had been minimal because of some precautionary measures that were taken.
"Last year, culverts and bridges on the Spintex road and the Secaps hotel, near Legon were totally washed off, but this year the situation was different. No bridges were washed off in these areas. It would interest you to note that, last year flooding was heavy at the Odaw, Onyasi, Mateheko, Chemu and Osu areas whereas this year it was less severe in these areas", he said.
The AMA Boss, however, said that floods couldn't be eliminated in some low-lying areas in the city. Mr Darko announced that AMA's Technical Team was embarking on public education to help sensitise the people to observe simple practices of not throwing refuse into gutters and drains adding that the programme of de-silting drains was still on course and that AMA would needs more than 3.5 billion cedis to complete the programme this year.
AMA had also intensified its programme to remove unauthorised and temporary structures especially on waterways and flood prone areas to help mitigate the effect of floods. To help solve the environmental problem in the city, he said the Assembly would soon introduce Environmental Health Officers (Saman Saman or Tancas) to arrest the appalling sanitation situations in Accra.
He added that his outfit in collaboration with the Ghana Private Road Transportation Union (GPRTU) and other transport unions had launched the use of bins by passengers in their vehicles. It is an offence for a driver to fail to provide litterbins in his vehicles. Offenders stand the risk of being fined 200,000 or in default of payment to a term of imprisonment not exceeding six month or both according to AMA byelaws. The use of advertising bins is being encouraged to enhance the programme.
Already, Vekta Limited, an advertising company would be providing 500 litterbins to be installed at vantage points in the city free of charge. On the relocation of squatters around the Korle Lagoon Ecological Project (KLERP) site popularly known as Sodom and Gomorrah, the AMA CEO informed the assembly that this was to enable the work to be completed on schedule.
Meanwhile, the squatters have filed a writ at an Accra High Court seeking an injunction to restrain AMA from carrying out its intended plan to evict them from the area. Ruling for on the case was yet to be given. Mr Darko said the taskforce formed to monitor the imposition of the ban on drumming and noisemaking in the metropolis h did a satisfactory work. Churches co-perated very well and no serious breaches were recorded.
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Fumesua (Ashanti Region) 18 July 2002- The Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI) has manufactured a cement production plant known as "Pozzolana" after 30 years of experimentation. The plant that cost 130 million cedis was designed, fabricated and assembled with BRRI's own technology.
Mr Kwaku Amoa-Mensah, Director of the BRRI, who led newsmen to inspect the plant at Fumesua, near Kumasi, said it took the institute so long to come out with the plant because of difficulty in finding investor support. He said the plant makes use of clay and palm kernel shells as its raw materials and transforms it to the Pozzolana cement. ''This cement can be used for all purposes in the construction industry including structural developments.''
Mr Amoa-Mensah said the Pozzolana cement could be developed from bauxite and clay but at the moment the concentration is on the use of clay. Ten clay deposits have been identified in various locations in the country that could be used as the bases for the establishment of the cement plants. "The pozzolana cement can be used to replace about 30 per cent of the 80 million dollars spent annually on cement in non-structural masonry elements," he said.
Mr Amoa-Mensah said since the plant was manufactured based on local technology of the BRRI and with simple materials, it was easy to maintain without having to go through the ordeal of importing spare parts.
He appealed to the government and various investors to assist the BRRI to expand the technology to enable them to assist the various districts and communities to establish the plant for the production of cheap and affordable cement.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 18 July 2002- The National Accreditation Board is working out a criteria that would ensure equity on the job market for graduates of the polytechnics with Higher National Diploma (HND) and their counterparts with degrees or diploma from the universities.
The Presidential Review Commission tasked to address the long -standing agitation by students of the Polytechnics for a policy on academic and job placements would soon come out with a full report, Dr William Boakye Akoto, Member of Parliament for Birim North, announced this in Accra on Wednesday.
Dr Akoto, who is also the Vice-Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education, was addressing students of Accra Polytechnic during the inauguration of a six-member executive of a civic education club. He was speaking on: "The Role, Views And Future Plan For Polytechnic Education In Ghana."
He said as part of the programme, a Bachelor's Degree Course in Technology, would be introduced in the Polytechnics. Dr Akoto said polytechnic students should view their education as specially designed to respond to the specific needs of the economy.
For instance whereas a student in the university may take a degree in the broad discipline of mechanical engineering, an engineering student at the polytechnic may study for a higher national diploma in the specific area of auto engineering or production engineering. Thus the graduate from the polytechnic is more focused.
"Furthermore, in the country, only the polytechnics offer accredited programmes at the tertiary level in career specific areas like catering and hotel management, fashion design and modelling, purchasing and construction or dispensing technology," the MP pointed out.
Dr Akoto said a major challenge of the polytechnics was to create a pool of quality skilled force that would make the country's industries, products and services more competitive. He said the polytechnics were being challenged to join in the national exercise of economic revival under the government's "Golden Age Of Business".
He called on the students to take advantage of the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) and New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) to exploit their professional competence.
Dr Akoto said for the past nine years, government's expenditure for the education sector had dwindled by 60 per cent in real terms and asked the Polytechnics to market themselves and be more pro-active in sourcing funds from the private sector through research works as alternative source of funding.
Mr Dominic Bede Donnir, Deputy Director of Public Education at the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), who inaugurated the Civic Club, said it was the moral responsibility of the citizenry to know their rights and responsibilities under the Constitution to promote the best interest of the nation. He said an in-depth knowledge of one's civic responsibilities could check the violent confrontation by a section of the public with authority any time they exercised their right to protest against possible violations of their rights.
Mr Donnir said the NCCE had establish offices in all the 110 districts to show the seriousness of the Commission in carrying out its mandate to create public awareness on the Constitution to enhance the democratic process.
Mr Felix Famiyeh, President of the Polytechnic's Civic Education Club, said it was important for the youth to be educated on their rights and responsibilities to equip them to play their role as future leaders. He appealed to the government to improve on the logistics and academic staff of the polytechnics to enable the schools to realise their mandate of providing the manpower needs of the country.
Professor Ralph Asabere, Principal of the Polytechnic, who chaired the function asked the students to be assertive on the job market to dispel public notion that they were not up to the task. Prof. Asabere was reacting to suggestions by the students during an open forum about the long neglect and discrimination polytechnic graduates faced from employers.
"With time the image problem of the polytechnic will be overcome but that depends on how much poly students excelled. Pioneers are almost always sacrificed but if they proved themselves, their predecessors enjoyed," he said attracting cheers from the students.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 18 July 2002- Mr Alfred Sallia Fawundu, Resident Representative of the UNDP, on Wednesday stressed the need to adopt measures to encourage and promote voluntarism in Ghana. This, he said, would make an important economic contribution to society, as well as add to the overall economic output by reducing government spending.
Mr Fawundu said this in Accra at a media briefing and re-launch of the United Nations Volunteer Programme (UNV) in Ghana aimed at creating awareness on the benefits of voluntarism and the programmes' areas of activities. The UNV is the UN organisation that supports human development globally by promoting voluntarism and by mobilising volunteers. It is administered by the UNDP.
He said, "there is no doubt that voluntarism brings benefits to both society at large and the individual volunteer. It makes important contributions, economically as well as socially. It contributes to more cohesive societies by building trust and solidarity among citizens."
Mr Fawundu noted that with Ghana's Human Development Index of 0.544, and a mortality rate of 108 per 100,000 people, there was the need for a collective effort to build on the country's development gains because the process of national development was expensive and could not be borne by government spending alone, hence the viability of voluntarism.
According to him the UNV was adopting a practical grassroots approach in Ghana and would carry out activities in poverty reduction, gender, community empowerment, governance, health, education and environment and information communication technology.
Mr Fawundu said the programme would strive to introduce as many qualified Ghanaians to the scheme as possible, to enable them to go to other countries to impart their expertise and learn from them also.
He said statistics on Ghana and the UNV programme indicated that as at 19 April 2002, 59 Ghanaians were placed on the UNV candidate's roster and out of these, 42 of them were active UN volunteers, 24 serving in Africa, two in Arab states, 13 in Asia and the Pacific, two in Europe and one in the Americas and the Caribbean.
Out of the 42 serving Ghanaian UN Volunteers 37 of were males and five females and were engaged in agriculture, education, mass media, engineering, natural and social sciences, commerce and industry, preventive and curative development and administration.
Mr Fawundu announced that a study carried out in 1995 indicated that on using the minimum wage as the "charity wage", the highest contributions to Gross -National Product was made by volunteers in Ghana followed by those in the Netherlands. "This statistics make it even more imperative to promote, facilitate, network and enhance the recognition of voluntarism in Ghana," he observed.
To this effect, he proposed that possible avenues be explored in order to revitalise the country's collective spirit of voluntarism. Mr Joseph Oji, UNV Programme Officer, said the UN believed in the participatory approach to developmental issues.
He said with that guiding principle, the UNV during the next two years intended to collaborate with UN agencies, governments, non-governmental organisations and other development partners to carry out a number of innovative activities to revive voluntarism in Ghana.
To be a volunteer, one needs to have the requisite academic credentials or a technical diploma, have five years of relevant work experience, be fluent in one or more languages and be, at least, 25 years old. The UN established UNV programme in 1970 to promote the ideals of voluntarism around the world.
Every year, some 5,000 UN volunteers from more than 150 different countries undertake programmes of the UN itself as well as the activities of almost all UN specialised agencies. UN Volunteers work in 140 nations and countries in economic transitions. They mobilize communities to help find jobs and improve living conditions and assist those living with HIV/AIDS.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 18 July 2002- Mrs Gladys Asmah, Minister for Women and Children's Affairs, (MOWAC) on Wednesday said the call for the recognition of the rights of women in the society does not mean that they want to "lord" over men.
She said women form about 52 per cent of the population and contributed immensely to both the socio-economic and political development of the country, thus their efforts needed to be brought to the fore, to ensure a total protection of their rights and interests.
Mrs Asmah said this when Mrs Oracene Williams, Mother of the World's rated number one and two tennis champions, Serena and Venus Williams, called on her at her office in Accra.
Mrs Williams is on a five-day visit to the country at the head of a four- member delegation to explore possible areas that needed assistance. Mrs. Asmah said the ministry was doing all it could to ensure that the rights and interests of women and children were protected and that all children of school going age on the street due to poverty were assisted to get some form of education.
She said she was worried about the rising spate of domestic violence in the country, adding that offenders should be punished severely to deter others. "Women are very important partners in the development of every nation and the world as a whole and must be recognised as such," she said.
Mrs Williams said she supported the industrious efforts of African women in ensuring that their children got the best in life. She applauded the effort of the ministry in helping women to solicit funds for their various economic projects and also ensure that children were given the needed attention, in terms of education and health. She presented an autographed tennis ball and a towel by her daughters to the Minister.
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Ho (Volta Region) 18 July 2002- The Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Training Centre Project at Akoefe, near Ho, risked being aborted due to threats in a letter addressed to President John Agyekum Kufuor by a claimant to the land earmarked for the project.
The letter read by Mr Kwasi Owusu-Yeboa, Volta Regional Minister to bemused members of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs at a meeting on Wednesday warned of bloodshed. The Minister, however, withheld the name of the author of the letter.
He said the region was the potential first choice among other locations in the country where the project was to be sited until the letter was addressed to the President without passing through his office. Mr Owusu-Yeboa pointed out that such reactionary behaviour should not be tolerated.
The Regional minister appealed to chiefs in the region to use their influence to avert such unfortunate tendencies, which tend to obstruct and sabotage projects meant to improve upon the life of the people in the region. Mr Owusu-Yeboa appealed to landlords in the region to contact the Regional Lands commission for advice before taking action on any land issue.
Reacting to an appeal by Togbega Gabusu VI, President of the House for legislation empowering chiefs to arbitrate in land disputes, Mr Owusu-Yeboa explained that the success of such arbitrations depended on the freewill of the litigants to submit to such arbitration other than being compelled by legislation to do so. He said the courts have the powers to make the decisions of such arbitration legally binding on the litigants.
Togbega Gabusu called on the government to appoint legal counsels to the Regional Houses of Chiefs as a matter of urgency to enable the judicial committees to function. He also appealed for an increase in the allowances paid to chiefs by the district assemblies.
The president of the House of chiefs pledged the unflinching support of the chiefs in the region to President Kufuor and his administration and wished him well in his efforts to lay a firm foundation for the country's development. He commended the Regional Minister for the open manner in which he has been dealing with chiefs in the region towards realising the goal of rapid development of the region.
Meanwhile, the House has called for a delegation of chiefs, opinion leaders and government officials to pursue the amicable settlement of all problems associated with the Kofi Annan Training Centre Project as a matter of urgency.
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