Ghana’s track
record in governance is good – Paul Boateng
About 900 youth from all the
parishes in the metropolis participated and were sensitised on the mode of
transmission of the disease, its symptoms and methods of prevention. Mr Antwi reminded the youth that there was the need for them
to lead sex-free lives if they were to realise their God-given talents and
become responsible adults in future. He advocated the formation of more virgin
clubs in the metropolis as a way of reducing the rate of infection that
threatened to soar in the next two years.
Yaw Owusu
Asabre, chairman of the Kumasi
Archdiocesan CYO, observed that the week was also in commemoration of Saint
Maria Goretti who led a holy life in spite of peer
and family pressure and called on the participants to emulate her exemplary
life.
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Takoradi (Western Region)
Papa Ankomah
said the government's action was not out of malice or revenge but was to ensure
that everybody acted according to the constitution. He said nobody, not even
the President was above the constitution, which was the supreme legal document
of the country. Papa Ankomah said people must take
responsibility for their actions and not take solace in political opportunism.
He said the right to information was the best means of safeguarding the
democracy of the country because democracy thrived on information. Papa Ankomah said it was because of this that the government had
decided to enact the right to information bill, which it was hoped would give
journalists access to information.
Papa Ankomah
said a draft of the bill would be made available to the media and other
stakeholders for study and suggestions before it was put before cabinet for
approval. He said some people were attempting to divert the attention of the
government and the public from the findings of the National Reconciliation
Commission (NRC) adding that as bad as this revelations
might be, the country must accept its past, which was characterised by human
rights violations if it was to move forward in peace and unity.
Papa Ankomah
said dictatorial governments perpetuated these violations but the government
believed that conflict and revenge were the goals to progress. He said the NPP
had a democratic tradition which all its members and supporters must recognise
and uphold and the party would at all times defend these principles. Papa Ankomah said the NPP also believed in intellectual
discussion of the country's problems and the use of persuasion in resolving
conflicts.
Joseph Boahene
Aidoo, Western Regional Minister, said the mass
spraying of cocoa farms and the award of bonuses to cocoa farmers were some of
the measures designed by the government to improve the country's cocoa
production. He said the government's support for the cocoa sector was not a
political ploy to win votes in the next general elections as the opposition was
alleging.
Aidoo said the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was
calling on the government to increase the producer price of cocoa by 75 percent
by the year 2004 due to an agreement the previous government signed with the
World Bank to steadily increase the producer price of cocoa by 70 percent by
the year 2004.
Aidoo said the NPP government had so far increased the
producer price of cocoa by 69 percent and hopes to achieve the 70 percent
target next year. He said the country's annual cocoa production was about 280
metric tonnes when the government came to power but this had increased to 430
metric tonnes. Aidoo said this was expected to
further increase to 500 metric tonnes by next year. He said efforts were far advanced
to establish a housing scheme for cocoa farmers and other categories of
farmers.
Aidoo said products and students of building technology of
the Takoradi Polytechnic would be involved in the
mass production of houses especially in the cocoa producing areas. He announced
the Agona-Nkwanta-Tarkwa road had been awarded to Taysec Construction Company and work was expected to begin
at the end of the month after sod cutting ceremony by the President. Other
speakers at the forum included Madam Sophia Horner-Sam, Deputy Regional
Minister, Mustapha Hamid, National Youth Organiser
and Miss Abena Kwallah,
Regional Women Organiser of the NPP.
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Wa (Upper West)
Dr Sangber-Dery made the suggestion when he briefed District
Chief Executives (DCEs) in the Upper West Region on
the Mutual Health Insurance Scheme during their monthly meeting at Wa. The meeting served as a forum
for the DCEs to discuss their development plans and
projects implementation and share ideas in areas of success. Members of the Wa District Assembly and some heads of the decentralised
departments also attended the meeting.
Dr Sangber-Dery said there was the need to remove all forms of
suspicion and mistrust from the minds of the people before the scheme took off.
"Some communities view health insurance programme with suspicion as a
result of past experiences of the mismanagement of contributions for
development projects by people who were entrusted with resources," he
observed.
He
called for a greater sensitisation of the people on the insurance programme at
all levels to attract a larger number of people to make the premium lower and
affordable to the people. Sahanun Mogtari,
Upper West Regional Minister advised the DCEs not to
shy away from enforcing regulations and bye-laws without fear or favour. He
observed that their reluctance to punish wrong doers had led to widespread
indiscipline with people depositing solid waste at unauthorised places and
erecting unauthorised structures all over the town.
Mogtari urged the assembly members to organise their electoral areas towards the implementation of the health insurance scheme. He expressed regret that most Ghanaians often looked more to what they could gain from new programmes than what they could offer to make it succeed. The Regional Minister told the people to remain united and focused instead of quarrelling over the location of new district capitals. Wa and Sissala districts are among the 45 districts in the region, which had been selected nationwide for the implementation of the pilot insurance scheme.
Godfred Bayong Tangu, Wa District Chief Executive in a welcoming address said the Assembly had exceeded its revenue target by 29 per cent last year. Out of a targeted ¢753,843,000, it collected ¢969,797,000. He said as at April this year, however, only ¢336,679,000 had been realised out of a projected ¢1.5bn.
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He
said the example set by the Government in relation to its adherence to the
principles of good governance and transparency was appreciated by Her Majesty’s
Government.
He
said through
“This
is a lesson that needs to be learnt in
Replying
Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin stated that
traditional authorities were assisting the Government in the development of the
country; thus giving concrete expression to the concept of decentralisation. He
explained that the objective of the visit was to build bridges with development
agencies, the Government and the private sector and expressed the hope that the
outcome of his deliberations would enhance relations with the Okyenman Traditional area and the aforementioned.
H.E.
Isaac Osei,
Present
at the discussions included Adolphus Arthur,
Minister/Head of Chancery, Nana Asante Bediatuo, Apagyahene of Akyem Abuakwa and the Managing
Director of City Savings Bank, E.C. Asihene, District
Chief Executive of the East Akyem
District,
Ken Ofori Attah, Executive
Chairman of Databank Financial Services Ltd. and Frank Adu
Jnr, Managing Director of CAL Merchant Bank Ltd,
Accra.
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He
outlined the work being done by the Okyeman
Environmental Foundation whose main focus centred on bio-diversity and how to
improve the livelihoods at the rural community levels. He made the remarks at a
meeting with Lord Williams, President of the House of Lords in
Accompanying
Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin were Kwabena Baah-Duodu, Deputy High
Commissioner, Okyenhene's wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Ofori Attah, Nana Poku Ofori Attah,
Chief Executive of Africa Media Core, Ken Ofori Attah, Executive
Chairman
of Databank Financial Services, Nana Asante Bediatuo, Apagyahene of Akyem Abuakwa and Managing
Director of City Savings Bank and Frank Adu Jnr, Managing Director of CAL Merchant Bank.
He
explained that the aim of his visit was to "try to build bridges"
with developmental agencies, the British Government and the private sector.
Osagyefuo Ofori Panin stated
that he was keen to improve upon the performance of the traditional authorities
for he believed that it was by the involvement of the central government, the
district assemblies and the traditional authorities in development that we
would have holistic approach to development.
He
stressed the need for Akyem Abuakwa
to reconnect with
Lord
Williams commended Osagyefuo Ofori
Panin for his initiative and drive aimed at finding
solutions to the problems confronting the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional area.
He said it was interesting to have diversity in a unitary system of
Government and added that the British Government was devolving power to the
various regions in the
Lord Williams said the
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 7 July 2003 - The Secretary-General of the Trades Union
Congress (TUC), Kwasi Adu-Amankwah
has called on union leaders in the sub-region to unite and kick against the
proposed World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other multilateral trade
agreements, which he described as "unfair".
"The
current proposed investment rules, which is likely to be adopted at the Mexico
Ministerial Conference in September this year and the African Caribbean Pacific-
European Union (ACP/EU)
Adu-Amankwah said the agreements as they stood made it impossible for the growth of
African domestic capital, adding, "they have
removed the capacity of African economies to manage their imports and reinforce
their inability to manage their exports through the mechanism of trade
liberalisation". He therefore urged Union leaders to influence their
governments not to adopt the agreements.
Speaking
at the opening of a three-day sub-regional workshop on trade and development in
The
workshop being organised by the TUC and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation is aimed
at a consensus to face labour issues. Adu-Amankwah
explained that the ACP/EU agreement would gradually integrate ACP economies
into the global one and deny their governments revenue from tariffs on imports
from the EU, which would create balance of payments problems.
In
addition, he said, it would create a problem for organised labour in fulfilling
their obligations to their members and the society, adding, "the benefits of trade are not given but can become evident
as a result of good governance and sound domestic policies.
Trade
unions are thus challenged to contribute to providing the needed pressure for
our governments to promote and champion trade policies that reflect on the
social contracts they have with the citizenry to promote their welfare at all
cost," he added.
Michael
Besha, Assistant Secretary General of the
Organisation of the African Unions Unity (OATUU), said the workshop must
address what he termed "unjust and oppressive multilateral trade system
embodied in the WTO and other trade agreements to reverse the destructive trend
and effects of the international economic order".
He
said since the inception of WTO, it had been an instrument of manipulation by
the industrialised countries to secure and protect their interest at the
expense of developing economies.
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The
police picked up Cheapoo, who has not been accredited
for the peace talks that resumed on Friday after a week's break, when he
insisted that he wanted to be part of the back-door political negotiations to
carve an interim government for his country.
A
source at the ECOWAS Secretariat told the Ghana News Agency at the M-Plaza
hotel, the venue for the talks that had travelled for three weeks,
that Cheapoo was later released, following the
intervention of the Chief Mediator, General Abdulsalami
Abubakar.
Meanwhile,
General Abubakar is holding a series of meetings with
the stakeholders of the Liberian crisis between Friday and Saturday to discuss
their various memoranda for a comprehensive peace plan to end 12 years of
bloody conflict.
The
stakeholders include the International Contact Group on
The
rest are, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) and Liberians United
for Reconciliation and Development (LURD) rebels, as well as the Liberian
Government representatives.
Placard-bearing
Liberian women groups have extended their three weeks of demonstration for
peace in their country to the
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President Kufuor was speaking at the swearing in of Justice George Kinglsey Acquah as the new Chief
Justice at the Castle,
Osu in
Acquah defending the
integrity of the Judiciary in a radio discussion.
Mr Acquah, 61, has been on the Bench since 1989. He became a
Supreme Court Judge in 1995. Before his appointment as Chief Justice, Justice Acquah served as chairman of a number of committees of the Judicial
Service and the Judicial Council.
These include
the Budget Committee of the Judicial Service, Judicial Service Reform and
Automation Committee, Board of
Trustees of the Institute of Continuing Judicial Education and
Disciplinary Committee of the Judicial Council.
Parliament on Thursday approved by consensus, the appointment of Justice
Acquah, as the Chief Justice of Ghana. The President
nominated Justice Acquah for the position on June 19,
following the voluntary retirement of the incumbent, Mr Justice E.K. Wiredu due to health reasons.
President Kufuor said the first call on the Chief Justice is how to
protect the sovereignty and integrity of the state above all things. He said
when the Chief Justice is able to do that then the cornerstone of the evolution
of the state is protected and assured.
President Kufuor told the Chief Justice to ensure that all judges are
well served and equally too. He advised him to also eschew parochialism and be
even handed in the empanelling of judges on the Supreme Court.
While
congratulating the Chief Justice, President Kufuor
reminded him that there are difficult times ahead. In his acceptance speech, Mr
Acquah said his vision in the face of the present
unfavourable public perception of the service, is to work closely with
colleagues, the Judicial Council and other committees to continue other
projects aimed at repositioning the judiciary in such a way as to redeem its
sinking image and integrity.
He said such
efforts should also help promote the rule of law, transparency, speedy
administration of justice, and uphold fundamental human rights and thereby
promote good governance to encourage free enterprise, attract private investors
and instil confidence in the public.
Justice Acquah expressed his gratitude to the President for
nominating him. He also thanked Parliament and Council of
State for their
fruitful support and endorsement and gave the assurance that he will not
disappoint them.
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Accra (Greater
Accra) 07 July 2003 - The National Chairman of the National Democratic Congress
(NDC), Dr Obed Yao Asamoah has explained that the erstwhile Provisional
National Defence Council (PNDC) that the Kufuor
administration often accuses of plunging the country into an economic mess was
confronted with worse conditions than what the NPP inherited in 2001.
“The PNDC came to
meet a complete breakdown of the country’s agriculture, manufacturing and
industrial sectors, therefore, the government’s premise that both the PNDC and
NDC government destroyed the economy is baseless and without foundation,” Dr Asamoah said.
He said the Kufuor administration inherited a country with a fairly
developed infrastructural base, which it can enhance to facilitate
Dr Asamoah who said this in an interview with the Graphic
described as ironical, the government’s attribution to the present ugly
economic situation in the country to the doings of the NDC government. He added
that the plight of the ordinary Ghanaian has witnessed massive depreciation
under the Kufuor administration.
“The conditions
of life of the vast majority of the people have worsened under the Kufuor administration than under the immediate past
government,” he said.
Dr Asamoah said the government, upon assumption of political
power increased utility tariffs, which has thoroughly eroded the real incomes
of the people, especially those in the rural communities.
According to
him, the government wants to divert people’s attention from its failure to
fulfil its campaign promises by blaming every economic and social mishap to its
predecessor.
He called on
the electorate to vote back into political office the NDC to address the
distortions in the economy created by the administration, which has led to
untold hardships among the people.
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Accra (Greater
Accra) 07 July 2003 - Former employees of Sabat
Motors say they are disappointed that two-and-a -half years after the NPP
administration assumed office, it has not been able to find a satisfactory
solution to the company’s problems. Sabat Motors was
closed down fours years ago due to allegations of misappropriation of the
company’s finances by management.
An Interim
Management Team (IMT) was set up by government to find a solution to the
company’s problems, but the workers say the Team has not lived up to
expectation.
But members of
the IMT are accusing government of siding with the company’s directors to
frustrate and delay their work. They contend that the company’s directors,
currently using the premises of Sabat Motors have
clearly violated a Cabinet decision passed in November last year, which
directed them to vacate the company’s premises to enable the IMT to pursue its
mission.
A member of the
Team, Harry Addo told JOY FM that the team has not
been to carry out its mandate because it does not have access to all the
company’s resources and properties.
Mr. Addo said the government’s refusal to release an amount of
5 billion cedis proposed as start up capital to
revive Sabat
Motors shows
that government is not interested in the company’s welfare. He does not
understand why the government should look on unconcerned while the directors
use the company’s facilities for illegal purposes.
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He said the
university would continue to train high-level human resource through quality
education and pursue diligent research and effective dissemination of the
results to reduce poverty, increase prosperity and improve human livelihood.
To achieve the
university’s goals, there was the need to expand its infrastructure to reach
out to many of the qualified applicants who want to study there. “It is
important to empower the university to do more to accelerate
He therefore
appealed to the government and entrepreneurs to invest in student residential
accommodation to ease pressure on accommodation facilities in the country’s
universities.
The Vice
Chancellor said the
The over ¢2
billion hostel facility, which can house close to 200 international students,
was funded from the Medical School’s own internally generated resources, with
support from the Income Generating Consultancy Centre (IGCC) , a body that
co-ordinates income-generating activities of the departments of the school.
It has a
38-room facility for 76 students, with four of the rooms being self-contained
with fully-fitted kitchens, a large furnished lounge, a reading room and a
fully-equipped launderette at the ground floor which is friendly to the
physically challenged.
International
students who will live in the hostel will be expected to pay $35 a week from
the next academic year. The vice-chancellor said that the hostel at Korle-Bu is the second one in the
The Dean of the
UGMS, Prof C.N. B Tagoe, said the medical school has
given approval for an increase up student intake from the present 85 to 120 per
annum and it is envisaged that 20- 25 per cent of the intake will be foreign
students.
He said the school
and the
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