Minister
calls for education on credit facilities
R.R Amponsah gives credit to Danquah/Busia
Tradition
Ghana
Journalists Association to hold elections
NPP to win 96
per cent of votes in Ashanti
Youth urged to
be missionaries of HIV/AIDS
Hundreds take
part in "AIDS Walk"
Tema Hospital appeals to churches to donate blood
Chief appeals to
parents to educate children on dangers of HIV/AIDS
Barclays Bank
donates instruments to school
Minister calls
for more assistance
Express views on
government policies-Minister
Be mindful of
utterances- President
Residents
respond differently to 'Republic Day' holiday
Healing mass for
the aged on Republic Day
Woman gives
birth to four babies at Adansi-Asokwa
Elmina (Central Region)
He, therefore, appealed to
managers of the Emergency Social Relief Fund (EMSRF), Export Development Fund
(EDF) and the Social Investment Fund (SIF) to educate the public about their
existence.
Mr Edumadze
said this in a speech read for him at the opening of a 'Trade and Investment
Fair' mounted by the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem
(KEEA) District Assembly as part of the 15th anniversary celebration of the
creation of the District. Other programmes lined up for the celebration include
a Donors' Conference and an Investors' Forum'.
He said the setting up of the
funds formed part of the policies and programmes of the government to achieve
its 'Golden Age of Business' and advised individuals and groups wishing to set
up their own businesses to take advantage of the facilities.
On development projects for
the area Mr Edumadze said the proposed
He appealed to chiefs to find
solution to chieftaincy disputes in the area because no investor would do
business in an area racked by conflicts.
Mr Edumadze
said the government would remain focused and would continue to keep faith with
the people by pursuing policies and programmes that were geared towards
improving living conditions.
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A veteran politician, Mr R.
R. Amponsah who stated this at the inauguration of
the Akweteman Electoral Executives of the New
Patriotic Party (NPP) appealed to Ghanaians to support policies and programmes
of the ruling government for a sustainable economic recovery.
He said the tradition's
adherence to democratic principles, rule of law, good governance, and respect
for the fundamental human rights of all citizens are the bedrock for constitutionalism.
Mr Amponsah
said; "we abhor dictatorship, military intervention in politics, and
undemocratic tendencies, hence our humane policies and strategies which at
times may seem slow but are necessary ingredients for good governance."
He also urged NPP supporters
to mobilise the masses through public education for a massive electoral victory
in the 2004 elections. Mrs Elizabeth Sackey Assembly
Woman for the area recognises the vibrant role of opposition parties and
appealed to members to tolerate opposing views.
"We should mobilise and
strengthen our supporters base while at the same time
ensuring that opposition political parties are also active, they are our
friends and through their criticism, even though it may be based on falsehood
we need to learn from it."
She appealed to government to
concentrate on the bad road network in the area to ease the traffic congestion
on the main Achimota to Nkrumah circle road. Mrs Sackey
also called for a Presidential Special Initiative on employment for the urban
communities.
Inaugurating the 15-member
executives, Alhaji Fusani Mager, National Chairman of the Nasara
Club of the NPP urged party members to intensify their mobilisation derive to
ensure that the party retains power in 2004.
He said the other opposition
parties, especially the National Democratic Congress are desperate and may
adopt all fraudulent means to discredit the elections if the margin is close. The
only way to avoid such dirty propagandist manoeuvring is to work hard to ensure
a resounding victory.
The Chairman of the Electoral
Area, Mr Peter Boadu urged the government to
strengthen its information dissemination machinery to ensure that the
electorate understands national issues.
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Positions to be contested at
the national level are President, Vice President, General Secretary, Deputy
General Secretary, Treasurer and two Executive Members.
A statement issued on Tuesday
and signed by Mr Bright Blewu, General Secretary of
the GJA, said in line with the GJA Constitution, only full members, who have
paid their dues up date, were qualified to contest and to vote.
It said in conformity with
precedent, all candidates would be required to pay a non-refundable deposit at
the filing of their nomination with the Elections Officer, Mr Mawusi Afele of the Ghana News
Agency (GNA).
At the national level,
deposits shall be 200,000 cedis for President,
150,000 cedis for Vice President and 100,000 cedis for the other positions. For regional branch
elections, deposit for the Chairman position shall be 100,000 cedis, Vice Chairman, 80,000 cedis
and 40,000 cedis for the other positions.
Filing of nominations for the
national elections shall last one week, opening at
In the Accra-Tema Metropolitan Area, polling stations would be at the
head offices of the GNA, New Times Corporation, Graphic Communications Group
Limited, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation and Tema
District Office of the GNA and at the Ghana International Press Centre.
The statement said polling
would begin at
The GJA Elections Officer and
the Deputy, Miss Adwoa Asiedu
of Ghanaian Times would conduct the Greater Accra Regional branch and national
polls with the assistance of the Electoral Commission (EC).
It said every regional
branch, except Greater Accra, would appoint its own Regional Elections Officer
to conduct the elections with the assistance of the Commission.
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Kuntanase (Ashanti Region)
He said in 1996 the NPP won
64 per cent of votes in the region, 80 per cent in 2000 and would win more
votes in the next elections looking at the trend of affairs and with the same
strategy in an improved style.
Mr Anto
said these when he addressed the executive of the Bosomtwe
Constituency of the party at Kuntanase as part of the
Regional Executive's tour of the 33 constituencies in
He warned members of the
Party in the area, who were going round canvassing for votes in anticipation of
contesting the primaries to desist from such acts, which, he said, were
contrary to the Party's constitution especially where there was a sitting
Member of Parliament.
Mr Anto
advised all those desirous of contesting the parliamentary election to wait
till June 2004 when nominations would be opened for them to file their
nominations. He gave the assurance that the government would fulfil its
election promises made to the electorate before its term of office ended.
Mr Bright Addai-Mununkum,
Bosomtwe-Atwima-Kwanwoma District Chief Executive,
said looking at the level of development in the district there was no doubt
that the government was capable of relieving Ghanaians of their problems
especially those in the rural areas.
He said the improvement in
infrastructure such as schools; roads; health facilities and the provision of
micro-credit facilities were making life better for the people.
Mr Daniel Asuo-Afram,
Bosomtwe Constituency Secretary of the NPP, urged
Party supporters and functionaries to stand solidly behind the Executive to
enable them to work effectively to help to win more votes for the party in the
next elections.
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Tamale (Northern Region) 2
July 2003- Mr Kwardjo Kwarfo
Apeayeh, Acting Officer In-charge of the Water
Research Institute (WRI), has appealed to Ghanaians to harvest rainwater to
enhance backyard gardening.
He said last year, the
Northern Region stored rainwater in reservoirs with a total surface area of
1,200 hectares for domestic use in rural communities while the Upper East
Region had 222 storage reservoirs with a total surface area of 145 hectares.
Mr Apeayeh
said this as part of ceremonies marking "African Renaissance Day,"
which was sponsored by the Savannah Agricultural Research Institute (SARI), the
Faculty of Applied Sciences of the University for Development Studies (UDS) and
Management of Water Resources in
It was under the theme,
"Science and technology for wealth creation - the role of livestock
research and development". Walter Kpokpi, Dean
of the Faculty of Applied Sciences of UDS, urged the youth to develop their
talents to promote industrialization.
Kpokpi called for the judicious use of environmental
resources to ensure sustainable development, saying, the country had a lot of
natural resources, which could be harnessed to improve the living conditions of
the people.
Dr (Mrs) Joy Bruce of the
Animal Research Institute, said even though there were a lot of livestock in
the Region, the people were selling the animals for
weddings and funerals. She noted that importing chicken was a contributory
factor to the "killing of the livestock industry in the country".
Dr Bruce called for regular
vaccination of animals to protect them from diseases such as rabies and
anthrax. Mr Charles Bintim, Deputy Northern Regional
Minister, said the government was committed to restructuring the educational
system and to make research institutions "centres of excellence and
originators of indigenous technology".
He said it was in this
direction that the government had set a target to make
Mr Bintim
said the government was determined to make the country a pacesetter in the
sub-region in the area of poverty reduction and to create wealth through the
application of science and technology.
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He said HIV/AIDS was a
devastating pandemic, which was destroying the future of the economy and the
youth whom "we always describe as the future leaders. "If
the future of the youth is being destroyed by the dreadful pandemic then, what
would be fate of this dear nation of ours in some few years to come?"
Dr Agyeman-Duah
said this when he chaired the opening of a four-day training of trainers’
workshop on HIV/AIDS in
The workshop, which was
organized by the African Team of the International Movement of Catholic
Students, has the theme: "Formation of Student Animators in HIV/AIDS
Campaign; No To Stigma related to HIV/AIDS".
Dr Agyeman-Duah
said there was the need to find ways of fighting the disease to reduce the rate
of infection to the barest minimum, "if we really want to change the fate
of the nation and the youth for the better".
He said there was the need to
take critical measures to fight the menace and stop dilly-dallying about the
prevalence rate which some put at 3.4 per cent and others at 3.6 per cent.
"If even the figure is
one per cent it should mean something to us and bear in mind this could double
at anytime. We should, therefore, be serious about it."
Mr Kakra
Ankobiah, Programmes Manager of the West Africa AIDS
Foundation, said the impact of HIV/AIDS related stigma had affected the
capacity of societies and People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) have been denied
access to services like education, health and care in the community in which
they lived on the grounds of their status.
He urged the public to learn
more about HIV/AIDS issues and relate to both infected and affected by
accepting them and showing them love, care and support.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 2 July
2003- Hundreds of Ghanaians on Tuesday joined participants attending the 12th
annual US-Africa Sister Cities Conference in Accra in a health walk through
some major streets of the Metropolis to draw attention to the devastating
effects of the HIV/AIDS menace.
The march dubbed: "AIDS
Walk", took the marchers from the
She said there was the need
for those, who were already aware of the menace to change their strategies in
the preaching and shaping of AIDS messages. "Poor people are the same
everywhere, whether in
"Their basic needs in
life are food and sex. We cannot make them rich neither can we stop them from
having sex, but we can reach out to them in a way that would make them listen
to us. Let us get closer through interpersonal interaction to get the message
through," she explained.
Ms Smith said one other way
to stop the spread of the disease was for each person already aware of the
disease to make a personal resolution to lead a virtuous life in order not to
be infected in any way.
"In this way we may
succeed in curbing the pandemic somehow." Ms Smith said during the walk,
she noticed that most hawkers were more interested in selling their wares than
listening to the message.
"But the only way we can
get such people is to show interest in their wares through which we would be
spreading the message." The seven-day US-Africa Sister Cities conference,
the third to be held in
The conference aims at
promoting local community initiatives in line with decentralization as well as promoting
international peaceful co-existence as a prelude to improving international
trade and investment.
The Ghana Sister Cities
Foundation and the Metropolitan City of Accra are hosting the conference under
the auspices of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.
Participants from 14 cities
from the
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Tema (Greater Accra) 2 July 2003- Mr John Atter Ahadjie, Principal Donor
Organiser of Tema General Hospital on Tuesday appealed
to churches to donate blood to the hospital. He said averagely the hospital
uses 25 units of blood daily, which is needed mostly at the female, maternity,
children and the surgical.
He made the appeal when 100
members of the Tema District of the Christian Youth
Builders (CYB), the youth wing of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC),
Mr Ahadjie
noted that of late only students have been responding to the hospital's appeal
to donate blood and since churches form the majority of the populace it was
expedient for them to donate.
He declined to give the
number of people suspected to be HIV positive to him it normally scares the
public from responding to the appeal. Mr Christian Ababio,
president of the CYB said the programme would be sustained to support other
patients.
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Kpando (Volta Region)
He made the call at the first
Cadet Corp Week celebration of the
He advised parents to
cautiously answer questions on the disease from the children for them to know
the dangers of it. Mr Francis Korwu, Kpando District Director of Education, reminded the Cadet
Corps of indiscipline, which was gaining ground in some schools in the country
and asked them to lead lives worthy of emulation.
Evangelist John Gayibor, Director of the School, appealed to the public to
help the school raise 40 million cedis to purchase
uniforms for the Cadets. Two hundred seedlings of different species of trees
were planted along the
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Akropong-Akuapem (Eastern Region)
Mr Chris Lendum,
a Director of the Bank in the United Kingdom (UK) who presented the
instruments, said the gift was in fulfilment of a promise he made to the school
about two years ago during a visit to
''After listening to the
melodious voices of the students that day I realised that despite their
impairment they are determined to enjoy life to its fullest", he said,
adding "I heard in your voices your determination not to be stifled by
your impairment."
Mr Lendum,
who declared himself as a "Friend of the
Headmaster of the School, Mr
Henry Ahiable, said assistance from the German
government in the supply of Braille sheets to the school had ceased and the
He appealed for a printer
Braille machine and a computer laboratory.
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He said these supplies were being
sent directly to the schools through the Regional Education Offices and that no
school would be left out in the distribution of the books.
Mr Boafo
was speaking at the 40th anniversary, speech and prize-giving day and the
inauguration of the Cadet Corps of
The Regional Minister
stressed that, "it is the policy of the government to ensure that all
Senior Secondary Schools in the country are provided with adequate and equal
facilities, teaching and learning materials so that all students can pursue
holistic education fully."
He announced that the
government had released 1.6 billion cedis for
construction to begin at a new site for the school to replace the old
dilapidated asbestos classrooms. He congratulated the school for its moral and
academic excellence exhibited throughout the years and stressed the need for it
to keep up this identity and good image in the years ahead.
Mr James Akurang
Boamah, Headmaster of the school, announced that the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) has released 23.6 hectares of its land on along the Kumasi-Boadi road to the school to develop into an
ultra-modern secondary school.
Mr Boamah
said the total enrolment of 1,633 was made up of 928 boys and 705 girls and
that out of the 378 candidates that sat for the 2002 Senior Secondary School
Certificate Examination (SSSCE), only four failed in all subjects.
Professor Armstrong Donkoh, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the School,
said the training of children was a co-operative venture between government,
parents, teachers and the community, adding that it was the collaborative
efforts of these parties that would ensure a meaningful education for the
child.
Professor Kwesi
Andam, Vice Chancellor of KNUST, who presided,
expressed the hope that the relocation of the school would usher in a new era
for the school and stressed that the KNUST, which set up the school, would
continue to contribute generously towards enhancing the facilities of the school.
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Primate S.K. Adofo, Head of the
About 600 delegates from
Primate Adofo
advised Ghanaians to refuse to be used as "scapegoats and also resist any
monetary offers by perpetrators of atrocities just to influence them against
appearing before the Commission to testify.
It is against natural and
divine justice for anyone to be an impediment to the works of the NRC and
posterity shall never pardon such a fellow", he cautioned.
Primate Adofo
also appealed to Pastors to avail themselves of the opportunities offered by
the health insurance scheme at all levels by being part of it and contributing
more meaningfully towards it.
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Eunice Menka,
GNA Special Correspondent,
She, has, therefore, urged
African women Journalists to raise their standards in reporting, to ensure that
they held their own against their male counterparts while giving a proper
interpretation to issues on the continent.
Ms Oriang,
who is also the Managing Editor of Kenya's Daily Nation, was speaking to the
GNA in
The project, supported by the
British Council and
The project provides for the
training of these women to enable them to write stories about the continent
from their own perspective. It uses the African Woman, newspaper managed by the
female Journalists, to focus on women and children's issues while serving as a
mouthpiece for women on the continent.
Ms Oriang
said African women Journalists needed to get away from reporting on issues such
as World Bank reports to reporting on issues that affected ordinary market
mummies, vegetable sellers and the woman on the street.
According to her, women
usually paid a big price for corruption, wars, and conflicts and they needed to
get their stories told from their perspective. Miss Florence Macio, Co-ordinator of the Project, said African Woman was
committed to reporting from the grassroots to enhance development in the
communities.
Mrs Charity Binka, Ghana Co-ordinator of the Project, urged Ghanaian
Journalists, especially women, to develop analytical skills in reporting and to
go beyond news reporting to get the attention of policymakers.
She said Journalists
sometimes needed to play the roles of activists and advocates to bring about
changes in the society.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 2 July
2003- Old students of the Commonwealth Hall of the University of Ghana, the Old
Vandals Association (OVA), on Tuesday honoured nine distinguished members and a
lady for their meritorious service to the Hall and the country.
Each of them received a
plaque with a citation at the ceremony attended by the Vice Chancellor of the
University, Professor Kwadwo Asenso-Okyere and the
Inspector General of Police, Nana Owusu Nsiah, both Old Vandals.
The nine honoured were Mr
Edwin Barnes, a scientist and Chief Director of the Ministry of the Interior,
Nana Akuoko Sarpong,
Paramount Chief of Agogo Traditional Area and Mr Annan Cato, Secretary to the Cabinet and one time Director
of State Protocol.
Prof Kofi
Kumado, Law Professor and Director of the Legon Centre for International Affairs, Mr Ibrahim Kwaku Gyasi,
former Headmaster of T I Ahmadiya Secondary School, Kumasi and Mr William Fugar,
Legal Practitioner. Mr Paul Kumahor,
Managing Partner of Ernst and Young, Mr Justice Anin Yeboah, High Court Judge and Mr Dan Owusu-Afari,
Chairman of Afariwaa Farms and Nkosouhene
of Worawora Traditional Area.
Nana Osei Boakye
Yiadom II, Apemsamkahene of
Akuapem South and Amanonehene,
known in private life as Mrs Elizabeth Apeadu, was
honoured for establishing an Endowment in 1989 in the name of her late husband,
Mr K K Apeadu to assist
students of the Hall. Mr Apeadu, a former UNDP
Resident Representative, was not an Old Vandal but showed keen interest and
contributed financially to the improvement of facilities in the Hall.
The Guest of Honour, Mr Olu Luther King, Co-ordinator of Thorpe Road Group of
Enterprises, praised the late K K and Mrs Apeadu for their generosity.
Following the example of the
two, Mr King said he and his family as well as workers and management of his
companies had established the El Alawa Foundation and
pledged 3,000 dollars into the fund in support of the Commonwealth Hall.
Mr Mike Adjei,
a veteran journalist an Old Vandal presented five
copies of his book, "Death and Pain in Rawlings
He said the Hall had not
received any subvention from Government for the past 20 years, adding that, the
Library had had to rely on the Ghana Book Trust and donations from OVA.
Students and lecturers had to
rely on other sources of information for their courses, which was expensive and
hard to come by, thus affecting effective teaching and learning, he said. The
Hall Master also appealed for funds, furniture and computers to facilitate an
Internet interconnectivity programme for the Library.
Alhaji El Razak El Awal, Greater Accra Regional President of OVA, expressed
concern about deteriorating facilities in the University and said "Old
Vandals must be the first point of call".
"Let's continue to meet
as members of the same family and see what we can give back to the Hall. This
is the Hall that laid the foundation of what we are today. She is in dire need
of assistance and support from us all," he said.
Mr Kwesi
Essel Koomson, National
President OVA, gave the assurance that any Old Vandal who "has something
for this country and has shown commitment to the Hall after his student days will
be honoured in due course". Initiated by Prof Asenso-Okyere,
the jamboree was the second to be held on Republic Day.
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He said Information
Technology and Communication was the nerve centre of the development process in
the world today and
"Our naturally endowed
cities in the
Mr. Baah-Wiredu
was speaking on the topic: "Sister Cities Relations: A Model of
International Municipal Co-operation", at the 12 annual
The Seven-day conference
being attended by over 700 participants from US and other African countries is
on the theme, "Strengthening Sister Cities in Africa- A focus on HIV/ AIDS
Crises, Business, Trade Investment and Democratic Governance."
Mr. Baah-Wiredu
said the growing globalisation and its capacity to transform systems of
governance demanded closer and greater bilateral and multi-lateral cooperation
to ensure world peace and stability.
"We in
Touching on HIV/AIDS Mr Baah-Wiredu said the cities that Africans were striving to
develop could become ghost cities if the spread of the pandemic was not checked
fast.
"About 70 per cent of
all HIV/AIDS cases are found in Sub-Saharan Africa, while the prime age of
infection is between 15-49 years, which means that we are living dangerously
with a phenomenon that has the potential of wiping the majority of sub-Saharan
He said
Mr Solomon Ofei Darko, Metropolitan Chief
Executive of AMA said to enjoy the benefit of the sister cities relations, all
assemblies should mount websites, establish desk officers and have in place
committees, interested in local governance.
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Sunyani (Brong Ahafo
Region)
The Regional Minister, who
was speaking at a party organized by the Regional Coordinating Council for
senior citizens on Republic Day in Sunyani, also
asked retired workers to put their knowledge and experience at the disposal of
the authorities and the country in general.
Nana Seinti
said President John Agyekum Kufour
had given assurance that the government would seek the welfare of the aged
since they deserved such gratitude for their role in nation building.
He appealed to senior
citizens to join the crusade against indiscipline, which he said resulted '' in
low morals and crimes such as armed robbery and drug abuse and profane language
portrayed in songs and indecent dressing, which are consuming the youth of the
country."
The Regional Minister
appealed to senior citizens to ensure that the youth refrained from attitudes
and behaviours that could destroy their lives and tarnish the image of their
families.
Nana Seinti
stated that government was aware of the plight of the aged in the country,
especially public civil servants and security personnel and gave the assurance
that government would seek their welfare in due time adding that '' a country that does not honour and seek
the welfare of its senior citizens is not worth working for.''
He said senior citizens have
played an effective role in the nation's development and deserved to be given better
treatment, honoured and accorded the needed respect.
The Regional Minister
expressed regret that the extended family system, which gave protection and
comfort to the aged "is gradually dying away" partly due to the
migration of the youth from the rural to the urban centres in search of greener
pastures.
He said: '' the migration of
the youth has deprived the aged in our rural communities of the needed care
from their relations.'' Nana Seinti said the
situation was no better in the cities and urban centres where pressures of life
keep people away from home for hours leaving the aged to care for themselves.
He regretted that the state
had not been able build enough Homes for the aged as compared to some advanced
countries. Nana Seinti, however, commended
non-governmental organizations that had shown concern for the aged and
expressed the hope that their welfare policies adopted by the government would
include construction of Homes in the regional capitals.
Some of the senior citizens
appealed to the government to ensure that the free medical care as promised
them would be implemented in government hospitals. They also called for peace
and amicable solution to land and chieftaincy disputes some parts of the
country.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 2 July
2003- President John Agyekum Kufuor
on Tuesday urged Ghanaians to be mindful of their utterances, especially
political utterances as well as their social and cultural conduct in order not
to give cause for tension and instability in the society.
"I call on all citizens,
including our media practitioners, party functionaries, social commentators,
chiefs and religious leaders to be mindful of their utterances, especially
political utterances, as well as their social and cultural conduct so as not to
give cause for tension and instability in the society".
President Kufuor
was speaking at a Republic Day Luncheon for Senior Citizens at the Banquet Hall
in
President Kufuor
said it was important that all Ghanaians enjoy peace in the society especially
the Senior Citizens who should be assured of peaceful and harmonious retirement
life.
"Food, clothing, shelter
and good health are very important but these alone would not automatically
grant any of us let alone our Senior Citizens the needed peace. The threat of
looming danger creates emotional tension, which undermines national peace and
security", he said.
President Kufuor
said government had endeavoured to ensure peace and restore public confidence
through democratic governance, rule of law, transparency and accountability
while various institutions of governance were being resourced to function
effectively.
He said the security agencies
were grappling successfully with the menace of violent crime and general social
disorder, which were becoming rampant in society not too long ago.
President Kufuor
said law enforcement that suffered neglect in the past was being attended to
with the modernization of the courts and plans were afoot to improve on the inhuman
conditions in the prisons and penitentiary institutions in the country.
"The campaign for
greater discipline is also being stepped up to anchor the general drive to
better the economic and social development of the country", he added.
To the Senior Citizens,
President Kufuor said government was committed to
stabilise whatever positive developments that had taken place in the country so
far and build on them to sustain continued normalcy.
He said government want to
realise a solid social foundation that could support a rapidly growing economy
to yield quality education, health delivery service, good governance and a
democratic and open society that would take care of all its citizens from the
cradle to the grave.
"This society which we
are trying to build, should be one that would continue to care for its senior
citizens and accord them the respect and honour that they deserve", he
added.
Reverend Professor Emeritus Kwesi Dickson, President of the All African Conference of
Churches (AACC) on behalf of the Senior Citizens thanked the government for
recognizing the contribution made by the Senior Citizens for the socio-economic
development of the country.
He said, "we need to live in such a way to have the aged to be able to
live reasonably comfortable and without much stress because they were young or
aged, they were Ghanaians". Rev.Dickson appealed
to government to continue to care for the aged in society.
President Kufuor
on arrival at the hall accompanied by the Vice President, Aliu
Mahama shook hands with the guests who after their
meals were entertained to music and dancing by the Ghana Dance Ensemble, C.K.
Mann and the Ghana Police Service Band.
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It was for them, business as
usual, as they opened their shops and stalls in anticipation of doing brisk
business while some people visited the
The atmosphere in the town in
general, was however a little subdued, as the usual rush of crowds and
vehicular traffic, associated with the normal working days, was absent.
At
Some residents, particularly
workers, might have taken advantage of the holiday, to go to Elmina to witness the lifting of the ban on fishing in the
'Benya lagoon', as part of activities marking the
annual 'bakatue' festival of the chiefs and people of
the Edina Traditional Area.
The highlight of the day's
celebration, was however the hosting of more than 100 senior citizens including
retired educationists and civil. Servants, accompanied by their spouses, to a
luncheon at the residency of the Central Regional Minister, as the day has been
set aside for them in honour of their contribution to country's development.
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President John Agyekum Kufuor, who announced
this on Tuesday, said this was to enable SSNIT pay pensions within a month
after claim had been duly lodged.
"I would entreat the
management of SSNIT to pursue this goal with dispatch. Ideally, retired persons
should not have to borrow money to start their new lives", he added. President
Kufuor was speaking at a Republic Day Luncheon for
Senior Citizens at the Banquet Hall in
It was organised by the
National Celebrations Planning Committee (NCPC) as part of activities marking
the 43rd anniversary celebrations of Republic Day.
President Kufuor
said in
He said partly because of the
very low salaries and wages paid in the country now, Ghana ranked among the
lowest in the world in terms of savings rates and was therefore, very vital
that the economy was revitalized to support the payment of realistic salaries
and wages.
"This would enable the
worker to meet his or her living expenses and leave a margin for savings
towards a rainy day and retirement", he added. President Kufuor appealed to the self-employed in the informal sector
of the economy to begin contributing to the SSNIT pension scheme, while owners
of small-scale businesses keep faith with their employees and register them
with the scheme.
He said this would be an
ideal way to ensure a secured and peaceful retirement for all workers and not
only those in the formal sector employment. President Kufuor
said a pensioner with limited income and ill health was a constantly
threatening menace and the government's proposed health insurance scheme would
assist the aged to access health care.
He gave the assurance that
government recognized the vulnerability of the aged and by extension;
government was taking their special circumstances into consideration in
designing the scheme.
President Kufuor
said it was important for health officials, chiefs, religious leaders,
officials of district assemblies and the public to show keen interest in the
scheme when it becomes operational and learn to understand it thoroughly
because it would cover, not only people in the urban areas but the rural areas
as well.
President Kufuor,
on arrival at the hall and accompanied by the Vice President, Aliu Mahama shook hands with the
guests who after their meals were entertained to music and dancing by the Ghana
Dance Ensemble, C.K. Mann and the Ghana Police Service Band.
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Takoradi (Western Region) 2 July 2003-Mrs. Dawson Amoah, a 70-year old member of the Star of the Sea Catholic
Church at Takoradi on Tuesday called on churches,
leaders of the various religious organisations and the society as a whole to
regularly visit and interact with the aged.
She noted that old age is
lonely, boring, and spiritually unfulfilling and therefore, said people in such
state need regular counselling, friendship and love to overcome their boredom.
Mrs. Amoah
made these remarks in an interview with the GNA at Takoradi
after attending a healing mass for 150 sick and aged members at the Star of the
Sea Cathedral to mark the Republic Day.
"It has been eight long
years since I entered a church and I feel rejuvenated and proud that once again
I can sing, dance and praise God together with other members of my
congregation."
Mr Amoah
called on the society not to brand the elderly as witches, adding that "in
old age, every thing beautiful about the person changes and this should not
been seen negatively.
Delivering the sermon
earlier, Rev Father Joseph Armah, Assistant priest of
the Cathedral said Christ had time for the elderly, the sick and the needy and
challenged all Christians to live likewise.
He said sharing with the
elderly makes them feel wanted and it also reminds
them of their services towards mankind and the church during their active
years.
Mr. Joseph Mensah co-ordinator of the programme said the healing mass
for the sick and the elderly is meant to bring together all former members of
the church who, due to old age, could no longer attend church service.
"Most of the elderly are
also likely to meet their peers and interact among themselves and thereby
reduce boredom and their isolation from the larger society," he added. He
said the mass would also give the Rev. Fathers enough time with each elderly
person and share the gospel of Christ with them.
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The items included clothes
sewn by the association, two bags of rice, sugar, two gallons of edible oil and
key soap. The association also undertook a two-hour clean-up exercise at the
Home and its environs.
Making the presentation, Alhaji Hussein Mohammed, chairman of the association,
stressed the need for regular interaction between members of the public and
inmates of the Home to ensure their development.
Mrs Grace Agyemang-Duah,
Women Counsellor of the association, said it would soon donate drugs to the
Home to serve as first aid to the inmates. Mrs Evelyn Opoku,
a staff of the Home, who received the items, thanked the association for the
donation.
She said recent media reports
that items intended for the inmates were diverted for the staff's personal use
were unfounded and asked individuals and organisation to assist the Home in
kind and cash.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 2 July
2003-The National Association of Charismatic and Christian Churches (NACCC) on
Tuesday congratulated the government and Ghanaians for the hard work and vital
contributions they have made in nation building in the past 43 years when it
attained Republican status.
It also asked Ghanaians to
let the Republic Day and all subsequent anniversaries be days of re-dedication
to selfless service to
"
A statement issued by the
Public Affairs and Community Relations Directorate of the Association in
It said the fervent prayer
and hope of the Association, as it pondered over the nation's aspirations and
dreams, "is that Ghanaians would earnestly and
sincerely acknowledge the ultimate sovereignty and dominion of the Lord over
the affairs of men".
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Adansi-Asokwa (Ashanti Region)
Briefing the Ghana News
Agency (GNA) at Adansi-Asokwa, the Medical Assistant,
Miss Faustina Afari-Mintah said the woman was a regular client at the
centre's antenatal clinic.
During the visits, the
woman's belly was unusually bulky and that suspecting the woman might give
birth to more than one baby advised her to go for scanning.
Ms Afari-Mintah
said the scanning test's report revealed that Konadu
would give birth to twins but after giving birth to twins on the day of
delivery the woman's stomach was still protruding and "we detected that
there were still more babies left".
She said the woman and the
babies have been referred to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital "where they are sure of
receiving intensive care from more qualified personnel".
The woman already has six
children.
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