Accra (Greater
Accra) 4 July 2003 - Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Minister
of Tourism and Modernisation of the Capital City, on Thursday said the Ministry
and its collaborators are developing a four-year revised strategic plan to
enable the tourism sector earn its full recognition.
He said under
the plan, it is expected that by the year 2007, tourist arrivals would double
from the current 500,000 to one million and receipts would increase to $1.5bn.
Obetsebi-Lamptey, who said this in a speech read for him at a day's
sensitisation workshop for members of the Ghana Tourism Federation (GHATOF),
said that there was no way these targets could be achieved without the private
sector's participation.
It was
organized by GHATOF in collaboration with the Ministry to improve the human
resource position of the members. The workshop under the theme:
"Professionalism in the private sector: A Necessary Tool in Managing Trade"
attracted over 60 participants from various private sector trade associations
in the tourism industry.
Obetsebi-Lamptey pledged the ministry's preparedness to strengthen
the capacity of members to enable them to bring out new initiatives aimed at
moulding and redirecting the tourism sector to assume its proper place in the
national economy.
Nana Asante Frimpong, Chairman of
Parliamentary Select Committee on Tourism, said tourist operators should engage
the services of people with High National Diploma, and other high academic
qualifications who are ready to learn on the job and
train them to move the sector forward.
"Although
we need people with higher qualifications, we also need such middle level
graduates for effective tourism work," he added.
Kofi Baku, Lecturer at the
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Bruks said these were the observations of some of the foreign businessmen in
the country in a government survey conducted by the Bruks
Associates. He was speaking at the closing of a two-day second continuing
professional education programme by the Chartered Institute of Administrators
in
The seminar was
to introduce the types and techniques of privatisation available and the
reasons for the privatisation. Participants discussed
Bruks also spoke on issues covering managing the effects of post-privation,
pitfalls of joint ventures and ideal joint venture situation. Bruks said governments needed to have that political
commitment so that potential investors would not need to read between the lines
before considering investing in a country.
He said
conditions that favoured foreign direct investment included political
stability, improved economic growth, favourable investment climate, low labour
cost and availability of raw material. Bruks also
mentioned access to ECOWAS markets, duty free export trade zones,
macro-economic stability, liberalisation of imports and presidential investment
tours as incentives to foreign direct investment inflows.
He said the
security and protection of foreign direct investment was also a source of worry
and government needed to look at the investment promotion agreement. On
negotiating joint ventures, Bruks said business
negotiations called for a lot of knowledge and skill, which some business professionals lack.
He said joint
ventures involve technology transfer, supply of equipment and transfer of
management skills, adding that background investigation of the joint venture
partner was essential.
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Accra (Greater
Accra) 4 July 2003 - A legal practitioner on Thursday said the failure of
successive governments to continue international agreements signed with
multi-national companies by previous regimes was a major factor scaring
potential investors from the continent
"Most
often than not, where there are sudden interruptions in political governance,
projects began by the previous governments grind to a halt for flimsiest of
excuses," Sam Okudjeto said,
He said this
development had forced poorer countries to spend scarce resources, they could
otherwise have used in financing their developments to put up huge collateral
in order to attract and guarantee the safety of investments that flowed into
their economies.
He was speaking
at a forum on the topic: "Developing joint venture partnership in
The seven-day
conference being attended by about 700 participants from US and other African
countries is on the theme, "Strengthening Sister Cities in
Okudjeto said the negative trend of unstable and uncertain
political environment could be countered through the pursuit of democratic
ideals and the rule of law.
He said all
international business partnerships were associated with risks that were
worsened by lack of knowledge of the country, culture, language and laws.
Okudjeto therefore, asked investors seeking to run
successful joint partnerships to upgrade their knowledge about the workings and
operations of the business they wanted to undertake in the foreign countries.
Since disputes might arise from such transactions, there was the need for
African governments to establish commercial courts in their countries to deal
with any problems that might arise from the execution of such joint ventures.
Ambrose Dery, Deputy Attorney-General, said
Besides the
country's courts were also willing and able to enforce the obligations arising
from these contracts and agreements with a view to ensuring quick dispensation
of justice.
Dr S. K. B. Asante said because of the complex nature of joint
ventures, it was important to unravel the legal implications of international
joint ventures.
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"The
current 49 per cent of the world market price of cocoa offered to farmers by
the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Government is woefully unrealistic," Prof.
Mills told journalists at a press conference in
It was to
outline the party's observation of the state of the economy, the political
terrain under the NPP administration and the general assessment of living
conditions in the country.
Prof Mills, who
was supported by The National Chairman of the Party, Dr Obed
Yao Asamoah, General
Secretary, Dr Nii Josia Aryeh, Director of Communications, John Mahama
explained that out of the current world market price of ¢17.6m per tonne, the
Government pays farmers only ¢8.8m, which includes a bonus of ¢256,000 per
tonne.
"This is a
mere pittance compared to the NDC era when the producer price as a percentage
of the export price reached 75 per cent," he said.
Prof. Mills,
who is the flag bearer of the NDC for Elections 2004, also reiterated his call
for the reduction of prices of petroleum products. "As the world market
price of crude oil falls, the prices of petroleum products in
The NDC flag
bearer also accused the government of increasing the debt stock of the country
from ¢41trillion to ¢63 trillion, an increase of over 50 per cent, in only
two-and-a-half years in the country's 46 years post-independence history.
Prof. Mills
explained: "In simple language, the NPP Government has borrowed ¢22
trillion in two-and-half years." Answering questions from journalists,
Squadron Leader Clend Sowu,
former MP for Anlo, said statistics made available to
Parliament by the Bank of Ghana indicates that the NDC contracted $1,456m
long-term loans, $984m medium term loans and $80m short-term loans between 1993
and 1996.
He said the
average for the year was $629.96m whilst the payment was $946. Squadron Leader Sowu said during the second term of the NDC rule from 1997
to 2000, figures indicate that it contracted $923.5m long-term loans, $568.9m
medium term loans and $316m short-term loan.
Squadron Leader
Sowu said yearly average figure is $468m, whilst
payment is $1,562m. He said yearly average figure for the 19 years of the PNDC
and NDC governments is $494m.
Squadron Leader
Sowu said NPP in 2001 alone contracted a total $591m
loan, $516m in 2002 and 108 for the first half of this year. The total external
debt for the two-year period of the NPP administration is $1,216m. He said this
is unprecedented in the country's history.
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Osino(Eastern Region)
According to
him, about 40 persons from the town have been killed in motor accidents due to
the over-speeding of vehicles on the highway with 10 of such deaths recorded
within a year now.
Osabarima Osampanin made the
appeal during a courtesy call on him on Wednesday by the Member of Parliament
(MP) for Fanteakwa, Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo,
as part of his tour of the constituents who are celebrating their annual "Ohum
He complained
that the frequent motor accidents had prevented his people, especially women,
from engaging in trade activities near the road, which had been their source of
livelihood.
Ofosu-Ampofo, who also visited Juaso,
Samang and Petepong, urged
the chiefs and people of the constituency to eschew petty differences and
litigation in order to help develop their communities and the nation.
He urged
parents not to shirk their responsibility towards their children's education
but rather encourage and support them with their needs to enable them to
benefit from the government's policy of equal education in the country.
The MP told
them that the government had asked scholarship funds for brilliant but needy
students especially girl-child. Ofosu-Ampofo promised
the community a donation of cement and sand to help them construct new school
buildings and teachers bungalows and three million cedis towards the construction of their primary and JSS
projects under the Quality Improvement of Primary School (QUIPS).
At Akim-Juaso, the chief, Barima
Nana Osei, appealed to the MP to help the community provide educational
infrastructure to promote quality education in the area. At Samang,
the Kontihene, Baafour Opoku Gyamena, appealed to the MP
to promote the rehabilitation of their streets and provision of market and KVIP
toilet.
At Petepong, Ofosu-Ampofo donated a
bale of secondhand clothing and a napsack
sprayer worth ¢1.2m to the community. The Odikro of Petepong, Siipim Tawiah Nartey, who received the
donation commended the MP and appealed for solar panels, bore-holes and the
construction of a bridge over a nearby river, which he said, over-flows its
banks during rainy seasons, thus preventing children from attending school.
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He said proper
definition of the role of district chief executives, size of the district
assemblies and the establishment of the local political sub-structures were some
of the major problems that would need to be addressed to make local government
effective.
Capt Effah-Dartey was speaking on: "Decentralisation of
Cities and Democratic Governance: A Comparative Analysis of the African and
American Systems" at a forum organized as part of the on-going 12th Annual
US-Africa Sister Cities Conference. The seven-day conference being attended by
about 300 participants from US and other African countries is on the theme:
"Strengthening Sister Cities in
The Deputy
Minister said years of military intervention in the country had so deeply
affected the development of the local government system that it had led to
dependency of communities on central government to facilitate development. But
there can be no true democracy without local governance and without people
being involved in shaping decisions that affected their lives, he stressed.
Capt Effah-Dartey, therefore, underscored government's
determination to pursue pragmatic ways of devolution of power and
decision-making to the lower rungs since it was unrealistic to decide on
programmes from a central point. "While the needs are basically the same
in the communities, priorities might be quite different and the people must
have a say in what they want," he said.
On the District
Assemblies' Common Fund, Capt Effah-Dartey said the
government was also reviewing the prospects of increasing the percentage of the
country's annual revenue distributed among the assemblies from the current five
per cent to seven per cent as promised in the manifesto of the New Patriotic
Party (NPP).
Plans were also
advanced to inaugurate new urban councils by the end of August, he said, adding
that a legislative instrument had already been passed by Parliament.
Phillip
Nkrumah, Municipal Chief Executive of
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"It is not
too late for President John Kufuor and his NPP
Administration to take immediate steps along the line of dialogue and
brainstorming to tackle the economic crisis to reduce the hardships facing our
people," Prof John Atta Mills, NDC flag bearer
for the 2004 elections, told Journalists at a press conference in Accra on
Thursday.
The National
Chairman of the party, Dr Obed Yao
Asamoah, the General Secretary, Dr Nii Josiah Aryeh, the Director of
Communications, John Mahama and other leading members
of the party attended the packed press conference.
It was to
outline the party's position on the state of the economy, the political terrain
under the NPP Administration and the general assessment of living conditions in
the country. Prof. Mills offered an eight-point suggestion to the government
that, according to the NDC, would give Ghanaians "the needed respite"
from the economic hardships.
The suggestions
included measures to ensure a reduction in the inflation and interest rates and
taxes that are "crippling the economy and the private sector in
particular". Prof. Mills said the Government must freeze the diversion of
resources into the HIPC Relief Fund and pay in full the amount owed the
District Assemblies' Common Fund, the GETFund and the
Road Fund.
It should also
ensure that contractors and suppliers are paid in full. "If this is done
the problems associated with the payment of only 30 per cent
Prof. Mills
also suggested that the government re-prioritised the HIPC Relief Fund and
channelled the resources into key social sector projects such as the
rehabilitation of the Tamale Regional/Teaching Hospital and the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. It also urged government to
watch the country's debt portfolio, make health and education accessible and
affordable to all through the adoption and implementation of pragmatic and
self-reliant economic policies.
Prof. Mills
appealed to the media to "join forces with the people, sympathise with
them and articulate their needs. "Once, too
often, our people are diverted from the problems of their existence."
"I call on you, my brothers and sisters of the media, not to be afraid to
talk about the economic hardships and the corruption of today. You did it when
the NDC was the ruling Government. You owe it to the people of this country to
do it whilst the NPP is the ruling Government."
Prof. Mills
said this call might not have been necessary, if the corruption of the NPP was
not hurting the people of this country.
The NDC Flag bearer, who was the former Vice President, said:
"Governments are elected to respond to the needs of the people, not to
attend to perceived sins of yesteryear.
"Two-and-a-half
years have been wasted by the NPP administration looking for evidence of
yesteryear's corruption that does not exist, whilst they have closed their eyes
to the corruption of today."
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Aflao (Volta Region)
Dr Mensah, President of Complete Woman Vision 2010 Project,
said out of 1,000 women tested for vagina diseases this year 900 had candidiasis. He said the use of such cleaning agents were
unnecessary, warning that such practices could destroy antibodies and allow
germs to have easy access to the vagina.
Dr Mensah said many people were dying prematurely because of
bad eating habits such as excessive intake of oil, fat and heavy meals late in
the day, which exposed them to diseases such as diabetes and bone problems.
He said
excessive intake of blood tonics could destroy the liver. Dr Mensah expressed regret at the lack of awareness among
women including the educated ones on breast and cervical cancer. Dr Mensah said out of every 10 women two were likely to get
breast cancer while science had also proved that some men could also suffer
from the disease.
He said the
probability of having breast cancer was higher in women who started
menstruating early, have late menopause, commenced childbirth late or had none
at all. Dr Mensah said some of the symptoms of breast
cancer were pain in the breast, itching, nipple retraction, swollen breast when
not menstruating, some changes in breast size and discharging breasts when not
lactating.
On cervical
cancer, Dr Mensah said, women who began sex early and
also had multiple partners stood higher risks of contracting the disease.
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He said there
were about 60,000 land cases pending at the courts, adding that the persistence
of the problems would impact negatively on the President's Special Initiatives
and retard Government's efforts to increase production of goods and services.
Prof Fobih was speaking in
Prof Fobih said the Government was vigorously pursuing policy
actions recommended in the National Land Policy because of the problems in the
sector. The recommendations include facilitating access to land by all
stakeholders and ensuring security of tenure and protection of land rights.
It also
includes the development of capacity in the public, customary, educational,
research and private sectors to sustain an efficient and cost effective land
administration system. He said the three-targeted areas had led to the birth of
the Land Administration Project (LAP), which was anticipated to provide the
framework for ensuring better land administration in
Prof Fobih said the inability of customary authorities in
The Document
also captures the multiple sale of land by different parties claiming
ownership, the poor use of compulsory acquisition powers by government agencies
and their inability to pay compensation.
Other points
are the weak management capacity of both public and customary institutions and
the threat of land guards.
Prof Fobih said he had selected four key land administrators to
oversee each component of the LAP.
These are the
harmonisation of policy and legislative framework for sustainable land administration,
institutional reform and development, improving land titling, registration,
valuation and information systems and project management, monitoring and
evaluation.
Prof Fobih cautioned against restricting the implementation of
the project within the confines of the Ministry. "The actual
implementation of the activities of the project will be undertaken by the
public land sector institutions, customary authorities, academia and
NGOs."
He said that
civic society was expected to be the key watchdog and to bring their grassroots
experience to enrich the implementation of the project. He reminded heads of
land sector agencies that they were enjoined to have hands-on approach to
managing the project.
Prof. Fobih cautioned that he would hold them accountable for any
lapses that occurred in the implementation of the project. Dr Brigitte Heuel-Rolf, Director of the German Agency, GTZ, Accra
Office and Mr Douglas Clements, Senior Policy Adviser of
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Dodowa (Greater Accra)
"In our
quest to do that, however, we need to ensure that whatever effort we put in do
not become fruitless, simply because we have ended up compromising on the
environment that ensures sustainable development," he said.
Sheikh Quaye said this in a speech read on his behalf by Kenneth
Johnny Jemfia, Chief Economic Planning Officer at the
Regional Coordinating Council, at Dodowa at the
opening of a two-day workshop on: Strategic Environmental Assessment of
District Medium Term Plan (SEADMT), which is based on the Ghana Poverty
Reduction Strategy (GPRS).
The Minister
said he was personally delighted to observe that the Strategic Environmental
Assessment (SEA) did not end at the national level but was being extended to
the district level.
He said this
would ensure that the opportunities inherent in the SEA principles would be
maximized to positively improve the programmes and projects that had been
proposed in the SEADMT for the benefit of the poor while preserving the
environment.
"It is my
fervent hope that today's workshop will expose you to the principles of the
SEA, which will facilitate in identifying and applying appropriate mitigation
measures should our proposed activities lead to environmental
consequences."
Prof G. Gyan Baffuor, Director General of NDPC, whose keynote address
was read by Eric Nortey, Chief Director of Administration
of the NDPC, noted that the government had embarked on a comprehensive agenda
in the form of the GPRS, covering policies, strategies, programmes and
projects.
He said the
agenda was expected to improve the living conditions of the people by creating wealth
through the transformation of the nature of the economy. Prof Gyan Baffuor said the transformation of the economy would in
turn lead to accelerated growth and poverty reduction and as such provide
safety nets for the vulnerable excluded in the democratic setting.
He said it had
become necessary to conduct SEA of the GPRS to ensure that the policies,
programmes and projects were pro-poor and pro-environment. The workshop
organized by the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) in
collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency is aimed at assessing
the environmental risks and opportunities associated with the implementation of
district development plans.
It is also to
train and guide district planning and budget officers to review their plans and
programmes. Participants were selected from the NDPC, EPA and the Dangme East and Dangme West
Districts.
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Kade (Eastern
Region)
Barima Gyakorang Adutwum,
was speaking at the celebration of "
He urged the
people to support the government in its efforts at revamping the economy and
advised parents to invest in the education of their children. Nana Adutwum asked the people to take good care of the aged
adding that they contributed much to national
development and deserved to be treated properly.
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A Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) released in
The MOU was signed
by the sector Minister, Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, the
Deputy Director General of GES, Ms Lydia Osei and the General Secretary of
TEWU, Mr Dan Ayim Antwi.
It said a
four-man committee from the Ministry, GES, TEWU and the Ministry of Finance and
Economic Planning would liaise with the Ministry of Finance and Economic
Planning to expedite the release of funds for the payment of outstanding salary
distortions and disparities and responsibility allowance.
"The
management of GES shall expedite action on the payment of other outstanding
allowances and refund of medical expenses." The MOU said a meeting of the
Joint Standing Negotiating Committee has been scheduled for 18 July by which
date, it is hoped that fund would have been made available for meeting the financial
commitments.
TEWU members of
the GES have been on strike, complaining about payment of outstanding
allowances and refund of medical expenses, among other things.
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The Minister of
Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Kwadwo Adjei
Darko, at the ending of the 12th annual US-Africa
Sister Cities conference in Accra on Thursday, said government would not shirk
its responsibility to improve the well-being of the people.
He said the
government took considerable interest in the conference although the Sister
Cities programmes were generally non-governmental because
"We must
indeed return from this with a draft Memoranda of Understanding on partnership
for discussion and endorsement of our respective local authorities," Adjei Darko said.
The Minister
called on the participants to apply the Sister Cities' concept at the local
authority level to promote peace, good governance and balanced development. Darko expressed the hope that the relationship forged at
the conference would not be a one-way traffic of donations and gifts from US to
"Our
tourism potentials need to be exploited and investors encouraged to invest on the continent". Solomon Ofei Darko, Accra Metropolitan
Chief Executive, said the conference afforded an opportunity for mutual
exchange of ideas that would go a long way to improve the conditions of the
poor and promote good governance.
He appealed to
the participants to network and share ideas to eradicate diseases and poverty
since no meaningful progress could be made without resolving the issue of the
poor.
The conference
brought together about 700 participants from US and
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Ho (Volta
Region) 4 July 2003 - Francis Afeavo, Volta Regional
Director of the Legal Aid Board (LAB) on Thursday advised guarantors of
students loan scheme of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT)
to thoroughly satisfy themselves of the trustworthiness of the recipients
before appending their signatures to the agreement.
He told the
Ghana News Agency in an interview that a disturbing trend of recipient's
refusal to pay the loans was emerging and that between January and June, this
year, the LAB had settled nine applications between aggrieved guarantors and
the students in the region.
He said in all,
56 applications were received between January and June, this year, as against
141 and 178 applications honoured in 2002 and 2001 respectively.
Afeavo intimated that several cases were terminated due
to the disinterest exhibited by applicants in pursuing the cases in Courts. He
said intestate, inheritance and child maintenance applications topped the lists
of cases while child custody, tenancy, divorce and minor land disputes also
feature for resolution, adding that about 70 per cent of these cases were
settled out of court.
The Regional
Director said the 10-member Board, being chaired by Mr Justice Paul Gyaesayor,
a Supervising High Court Judge of the Volta Region had excluded Chieftaincy and
stool land disputes, embezzlement, smuggling and narcotics cases out of their
consideration.
He explained
that the Board was not in a position to extend its free services to cover these
areas because of time constraints and the criminality associated with some of
them.
Afeavo urged the public to take advantage of the
activities of the Board, which was promulgated by ACT 542 of 1997 to grant
legal aid and justice to first-degree offenders, and people whose earnings were
below the daily minimum wage and could not engage the services of a lawyer.
He said
under-staffing, lack of equipment and logistics militated against their
operations.
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It would also
provide for young offenders in accordance with international standards in the
convention on the rights of the child and the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the
Administration of Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Rules).
In the report
presented to the House by the Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional,
Legal and Parliament Affairs, Mr Kwame Osei-Prempeh said the legislation completed the package of laws
by the Child Law Reform Advisory Committee established in 1995.
It was set up
by the Ghana National Commission on Children to review, revise and update the
laws on children's rights, justice and the welfare of children.
The report
stated that although the Criminal Procedure Code 1960 (Act 30) provided that a
juvenile or young offender was to be dealt with in a manner different from an
adult, it was inadequate in many respects hence the Bill.
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Jonace Tetteh Harvie an Information Technology Consultant at the Budget
Development Unit of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, said on
Thursday. He said BPEMS, was initiated in 1993 to replace the old system after
identifying weakness in the areas of budget formulation and expenditure
monitoring and control.
Other
deficiencies were lack of proper accounting and monitoring system, and quality
and timely data on government resources. He said the new system would improve
the planning, budgeting and implementation at the MDAs.
Harvie said this when he addressed Accountants and
Storekeepers of the department of Town and Country Planning
at a day's workshop in
The workshop
was to enable them to discharge their duties effectively and to promote
effective utilisation of financial resources in the MDAs.
The participants, drawn from all the regions, would be taken through draft
expenditure and cash plan, preparation of vouchers, stores management, preparation of warrants, BPEMS business processes and chart
of accounts.
Harvie said the weakness in the activities under the old
system had cost the country huge sums of money. Samuel Quarcoopome,
Director of the Ministry of Environment and Science, said the audit reports of
many departments and organisations had told sad stories of discrepancies and
irregularities.
"The
extent to which these audit reports highlight the irregularities indicates that
there is something fundamentally wrong with our store management." He
urged the Accountants and Storekeepers to be circumspect and meticulous in
their work to avoid adverse audit reports, over-invoicing and other financial
malpractices.
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Koforidua (Eastern Region)
They threatened
to go on demonstration if the 50 per cent increment announced by the government
was not paid to them. The pensioners made the call at a luncheon held for them
by the Eastern Regional Minister, Dr Francis Osafo-Mensah
to mark Republic Day.
A retired
educationist, Ms Rosemond Tete
suggested that the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) should
come out with a scheme that would enable public servants to take part of their
pension contributions to put up houses, at least, 10 years before their
retirement
This, she said,
would help check corruption in the public service. One of the pensioners
suggested to the government to go beyond the spraying of cocoa farms and to
include the planting of the hybrid cocoa for ageing farmers. Dr Osafo-Mensah commended them for their dedicated services to
the country and pledged to take up the pension increment issue with appropriate
authorities.
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A statement on
Monday signed by Ms Annie Anipa, Director of Public
Affairs, said the Commission would sit for one month before moving to Takoradi. It said 94 persons appeared before the Commission
at Tamale, with 92 of them testifying as petitioners while two persons
testified on behalf of two others.
The statement
said all cases heard were filed at Tamale and Bolgatanga
Zonal offices and were drawn from the Northern, Upper
East and Upper West Regions.
It said the
hearings at Tamale covered violations including disappearances, killings,
detentions, torture, ill-treatment, loss of property and wrongful dismissal.
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Koforidua (Eastern Region)
They said an
independent regulatory body be set up to disburse the fund based on the
strengths of the parties. Spokesmen for all the parties except the New
Patriotic Party (NPP) presented a common view in support of the proposal while
the Eastern Regional Chairman of the NPP, Nana Adi Ankamah, opposed the idea.
However, a
member of the NPP Regional Finance Committee, Ike Appaw-Gyasi
supported the proposal saying the party made the proposal while in opposition
and President John Kufuor also called for a re-visit
to the issue.
The Eastern
Regional Secretary of National Democratic Congress (NDC), Anthony Gyampoh, cautioned that the "the day we allow political
parties to be run as business entities will be the end of democracy as it will
be the survival of the fittest contest."
He said state
funding was necessary to enable the parties to shape the political will of the
people and empower them to exercise their franchise wisely.
The General
Secretary of the Great Consolidated Popular Party, John Ameka,
said public funding of the parties would promote peace and tranquillity, as it
would assure the politicians that their parties could win power through the ballot
box rather than war.
He suggested
that a law should be passed to make it mandatory for both local and foreign
companies in the country to contribute to the fund. The Eastern Regional
Secretary of the Conventions Peoples' Party (CPP), Kwabena
Apea, expressed the hope that the proposal would be
implemented before the 2004 elections.
The Koforidua constituency chairman of the National Reform
Party, Alta Wogbe Dogoe
said his party incurred a debt of ¢4.6bn during the 2000 elections and called
for equal share of the money when set up.
Those who
opposed the idea said those who formed political parties should be prepared to
fund it or fold up.
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The two-day
meeting being attended by 11 Chiefs of Defence Staff within the West Africa
Sub-Region excluding those of
The proposals
envisage a force of 5,000 troops to which the
The meeting on
the theme: "Promoting Sub-Regional Peace and Security" is being held
behind closed doors. ECOWAS Executive Secretary, Dr Mohamed Ibn
Chambas in his opening address suggested an
"arrow-necked" stabilization force similar to that of
He said the
protracted
Dr Chambas said a stabilization force would end the carnage in
"
He gave an
overview of the carnage in the West African country and warned the Liberian
Government and the two rebel groups, Liberians United for Reconciliation and
Development (LURD) and Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) that it was
not possible for any of them to win militarily.
Lt Gen Seth Obeng,
"It is,
however, heartening to note that the Verification team left
The Chief
Mediator of the ECOWAS brokered Peace Talks on
He said the
indictment of President Charles Taylor by the UN War Crimes Tribunal in
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Accra (Greater
Accra) 4 July 2003 - Foreign Minister Nana Addo dankwa Akufo-Addo on Thursday
gave the assurance that the Liberian Peace Talks re-convening in Accra on
Friday would aim at firming the conditions set out in the June 17 Accra
Ceasefire Agreement.
He expressed
confidence in the Talks saying, "at the end of
the day, we hope that President Charles Taylor would stick to his offer of
stepping down and not be part in
Nana Akufo-Addo was answering questions on the effects of
President Taylor's decision not to step down. The Agreement stipulates the
demobilization of the three warring factions, disarmament and reintegration of
the combatants, reconstruction of the Liberian army and the holding of general
election.
Nana Akufo-Addo told the weekly press conferences instituted by
the Ministry of Information that he hoped that within 10 days, the talks would
reach a consensus and "we can move forward with the programme".
The Minister
admitted that the comments by President Taylor gave the whole arrangement in
Nana Akufo Addo noted that the
situation in
He said it was
sad that because of the unstable situation in Liberia, people found it
convenient to rather be fighters involved in the destabilization in Sierra
Leone, fighting on both sides of the Ivorian conflict and even as far as the
civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Nana Akufo Addo said the security
agencies in the country were alert and vigilant and were monitoring the
activities of the over 60,000 refugees. He said that in view of the dangers of
the huge number of refugees, it was important to keep the Liberian situation on
the international political agenda.
He described
arguments that government was spending too much on the Liberian situation as
misplaced, saying it had the potential of destabilizing
Nana Akufo-Addo said they were confident that the rebel leaders
they were dealing with represented their groups. "We thus take their words
and believe that they would be capable at all times of controlling their men on
the ground."
He said the
Defence Chiefs of ECOWAS would in the next two days come out with a defined
composition of an International Stabilization Force, which would have troops
from ECOWAS forming the heart of it. "When this is done, the Heads of
State of ECOWAS would meet to endorse their deployment in
Nana Akufo Addo said ECOWAS was trying
to persuade South Africa, Morocco and the US to play active roles in the force
to be sent to Liberia, adding: "We trust that we would receive favourable
response from them. "I believe that if we have the
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Kyebi (Eastern Region) 4 July 2003 - The First Lady, Mrs Theresa Kufuor has expressed her determination to establish a
phone-in AIDS Counselling Centre to offer assistance to AIDS patients to help
check stigmatisation by their families.
She called on
all to show love, care and affection towards HIV/AIDS patients. This was
contained in a speech read on her behalf at the launch of AIDS awareness
campaign organised by the Queen mother of the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Area under the theme: "Economic
Empowerment of Women in Akyem Abuakwa
Traditional Area."
"Up till
now there are people in the country, who do not appreciate the gravity of the
AIDS pandemic let alone join in the fight to curb the spread of the
disease."
Mrs Kufour said about 30 to 40 per cent of babies of HIV
positive mothers were infected and they died before their fifth birthday.
"Innocent as they are and through no fault of theirs children born with
AIDS are condemned to death at the time they are born."
Mrs Kufuor said as the mother of the nation her greatest
concern was to see to it that measures were taken to stop the AIDS pandemic.
The Director General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Prof Sakyi
Awuku Amoah called on
schools and organisations to form Abstinence Clubs instead of Virgins Clubs
since the latter gave the impression that the boys were being left out.
Prof Amoah called on parents to support the campaign of
promoting abstinence to protect the young men and women from the spread of the
HIV/AIDS and not to leave that to the teachers alone.
He called on
opinion leaders, traditional authorities and religious organisations to join
the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS. The Okyenhemaa,
Nana Adutwumwaa Dokuaa, the
initiator of the project, said she had been an armchair supporter of AIDS
programmes initiated by the Okyenhene but she decided
to join the campaign when she got to know that eight districts in the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Area
had recorded over 50 AIDS cases with East Akim
District recording more than 127 cases.
She said most
people infected were the young, strong and beautiful women, who for financial
difficulties tended to depend on men who were not their husbands.
Nana Dokua said it was for that reason that she decided to
tackle the AIDS pandemic through the empowering of women to help reduce their
dependence on the incomes of men. She appealed to all Akyem
Abuakwa citizens staying outside the traditional area
to support the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS.
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Koforidua (Eastern Region)
He appealed to
parents to understand the factors that created communication barriers to enable
them to educate their children on reproductive health and to enhance their
proper growth and development into responsible adulthood.
"It is
imperative to create a very conducive atmosphere at home where parents and
children will share their views and sentiments on sex related issues freely.''
The Deputy
Minister was speaking at the opening of a four-day training of trainers'
workshop on HIV/AIDS for some district assembly members from the Eastern Region.
The Families
Together Ghana (FTG), a non-governmental organisation, organised the workshop
to impart information and communication skills to parents on the disease.
Dometey appealed to the participants to build the capacity
of parents and children in their districts to enable them to break the cultural
barriers to sex related issues. This, he said, would "help children build
their self-confidence and the capacity to withstand negative peer pressures and
inimical social influences."
The National Chairman
for FTG, Ernest Appenteng stressed the need for
parents to sensitise their children on the dangers of the disease.
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He explained
that if parents do not spend the right amount of time and focus during the
foundation period, whatever they would try to accomplish later would be a waste
of time.
Prof. Andam said this at the eighth speech and prize-giving day
of KNUST Junior Secondary School (JSS) in
He expressed
concern about indiscipline in schools and in the society and stressed the need
for all Ghanaians to help examine areas of indiscipline that are critical to
the growth of the nation and bring the situation under control.
Prof. Andam advised the students to "stay pure" and
keep to their books to avoid contracting the HIV/AIDS virus, saying, "no
one has studied the infection rate in schools in
He stressed the
need for the government to introduce double stream programmes in the tertiary
institutions to enable those who qualify and do not get admissions to be
absorbed.
Aidoo suggested that parents be allowed to be part of the policy-making
process for education to eliminate the situation where students have to bargain
with government in finding solutions to problems, which at times results in
strikes and demonstrations. Mrs Theodosia Jackson, Headteacher
of the school, said the school authorities will not compromise with students
and do not take their academic work serious.
She expressed
her appreciation to the university authorities for their efforts to enhance the
development of the school and urged them to complete construction of the
school's assembly hall, which has been suspended for 10 years now.
Mrs Gladys Kwapong, Kumasi Metropolitan
Director of Education, congratulated the school authorities in ensuring
discipline and maintaining excellent academic performance of the children.
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Tamale
(Northern Region) 4 July 2003 - The Government has been asked to reconsider its
directive to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to renew their registration
with the Ministry of Manpower Development and Employment every year.
Samuel Zan, Director of Send Foundation, a Tamale-based NGO made
the call at the Launch of a forum on: "Participatory, Monitoring and
Evaluation Manual of the Ghana HIPC Watch Project" in Tamale on Thursday.
He appealed to
the authorities to create an enabling environment for Civil Society to assist
NGOs to function effectively and said a three-day workshop on: "Good
governance and accountability" would be organised after the launch.
Zan said the forum was expected to bring together 24 NGOs participating in
the Ghana HIPC Watch Project from the Northern, Upper East and Upper West
Regions.
Siapha Kamara, Chief Executive
Officer of SEND Foundation, said the organisation had established 21 District
HIPC Monitoring Committees to monitor the project. He said the Foundation would
introduce an award scheme for district assemblies that would ensure good
governance, accountability and equity in development in their areas.
Charles Bintim, Deputy Northern Regional Minister, urged NGOs to
assist people in the rural area to contribute to the development of their
communities. He commended the Foundation for initiating programmes to ensure
food security and self-employment for the youth in the rural areas, which
according to him were in conformity with the government's Poverty Reduction
Strategy.
Bintim appealed to the people of the region to work
towards peace and stability adding that development would be retarded if the
people continued to engage in conflicts.
He cautioned
the youth against, drug abuse, prostitution, violence and indiscipline. The
Deputy Regional Minister said the government was convinced that poverty
reduction was the surest way to improve the livelihood, security and general
welfare of the people.
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Speaking to
Journalists at the weekly press briefings in
Nana Akufo-Addo said it was important to have an accurate number
of refugees in the country as a means of ensuring that the security of the
country was not compromised.
He said the
efforts being put in by the government should not be considered as waste since,
"it is in our own national interest". "We need tremendous
vigilance by all to ensure that we are not overtaken by events, especially in
ascertaining and monitoring the status of refugees in the country."
Nana Akufo-Addo said the election of President John Agyekum Kufuor as Chairman of
ECOWAS early this year put a great responsibility on all to develop and
implement a comprehensive peace initiative for
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Tema (Greater Accra)
The 24 weeks
course consisted of a 12-week standard military training, followed by 12 weeks
of basic naval training. Cdre Nuno
said despite numerous challenges, the Ghana Armed Forces had excelled in
whatever operations they had been involved in both locally and internationally.
"You
passing-out sailors will have the opportunity to exploit your talents, acquire
new skills, advance your education and serve your motherland." Cdre Nuno noted that having been
given the basic training for a naval career in the appropriate trade groups
they should maintain the level of physical fitness that they had attained.
''Since your
eventual progress will depend on your own efforts and drive I entreat you to
aim at achieving excellence in whatever you do.''
He told them
that their career was not a moneymaking venture and "if this is your
objective of joining, then you are in the wrong place." "The uniform
you are wearing would not protect you from the long arm of the law if you
engage in any anti-social or indiscipline act."
The best all
round award went to Kingsley Baffor,
best female steeplechase went to Rejoice Ablode, best
weapon training, Kingsley Baffor, best in drill, Kwabena Tangwani and best in
academics, P.K. Damale.
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