Tema Fishing harbour to have a face-lift
CPP
calls Freddie Blay to order
Rawlings'
request is strange - Nana Akomea
Immediate
objectives of SRP have not been met - Report
NAGRAT
threatens to take GNAT to court over deductions
Govt
urged to subsidise agricultural inputs
Rice
farmers call for restoration of subsidies
External
degree students protest against new fees
Tema Fishing harbour to have a
face-lift
Tema Manhean (Greater Accra)
Ishmael Ashitey, MP for Tema East and
Deputy Minister of Trade in-charge of President's Special Initiative (PSIs), said this on Thursday at the sod cutting ceremony
for work to begin on the 850 million cedis project
funded by the
Ashitey appealed to people who patronise the beach to
ensure that it was not used for unproductive ventures considering the money
invested in the project.
He said efforts
are being made to source for funding to dredge the Chemu
Lagoon, which is almost "dead" due to the discharge of waste
materials by industries into it. Major Samuel Ntow
(RTD), Fishing Harbour Manager, said the GPHA was developing the beach in line
with its community services programme.
Samuel Evans Ashong Narh, Tema
Municipal Chief Executive, said the stalls would be leased out to the fishermen
who would pay rent on them and the funds accruing would go into the maintenance
of the structures. Nii Adjei
Kraku II, the Tema Mantse, appealed to the people to protect the facilities
that would be put in place.
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CPP calls Freddie Blay to order
The statement
which was reacting to a news item in the Evening News of 14 July, headlined,
"CPP not ready for presidential race," said empirical evidence world
wide shows that the fortunes of parties in elections are enhanced when a
Presidential candidate leads the campaign."
Blay, who is the first Deputy Speaker of Parliament and the Parliamentary
Action Group of the CPP, has called for collaboration with the ruling New
Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Presidential elections as well as contest only
selected parliamentary seats in the next general election.
"The
suggestion is a clear recipe for disaster, if a great party like the CPP would
narrow its scope in a national election to one objective only," the
statement said.
It said Blay and his collaborators have no evidence to show that
the CPP cannot elect a presidential candidate, who can provide an effective
challenge to other presidential candidates for the 2004 presidential and
parliamentary elections.
Meanwhile, the
Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the party, Dr Adolf
Lutterodt in an interview with the GNA described Blay's position as misleading, misplaced and a wrong
priority, which should be ignored. Dr Lutterodt said
the CPP was ready to cooperate with all political parties in the interest of
multi-party democracy but not at the expense of the basic tenets of the
principles of Nkrumaist.
"We have a
time tested tradition, that must be guided with
caution, pride and circumspection to propel the nation forward," he said,
stressing; "the CPP must be guided by past events and attempts by our
detractors to kill it."
The Regional
Chairman cautioned all true Nkrumaists to wake up and
defend the legacy, the struggle that "our forefathers went through."
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Rawlings' request is strange - Nana Akomea
He said
initially government had wanted to ignore the Ex-President "but the danger
is that our restraint might be taken for complicity".
Nana Akomea, who was speaking at a press conference in
He said
Ex-President Rawlings, who ruled
"His
priorities, even at the tail end of the his regime,
included buying a $20m jet plane, yet he now sees the relevance of those
gadgets before exposing those, who committed this crime during his regime.
"For a
person, who has taken this country through the Citizens Vetting Committee,
where faceless people tried accused persons for five minutes and handed down
five years sentences, this new found demand for chemical interrogation is so
strange."
Asked how come
the killings stopped immediately after the NPP government came into office,
Nana Akomea said on assuming office, the government
deepened the security/civil protection, which led to the minimization of the
crime wave in the country.
He said during
former Rawlings' regime, they claimed there were no vehicles for the Police to
work with "but one could count about six Police vehicles following his
convoy and it is likely that the killers took advantage of the situation at the
time".
Ex-President
Rawlings on Tuesday repeated his call for chemical interrogation or a lie
detector before mentioning the names of the alleged NPP functionaries.
He told party
members and Journalists that "the other option that could be available for
the government for me to produce the names is to have a mutual group,
preferably an international body that would mediate and ensure that justice
prevailed when the names are mentioned".
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Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo
Addo, Minister of Foreign Affairs and some officials
from the Ministry accompanied the President.
At the airport
to meet the President were Vice-President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, Nana Owusu Nsiah, Inspector General
Police and some Ministers of State.
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Cape Coast
(Central Region) 18 July 2003 - The National Organiser of the New Patriotic
Party (NPP), Lord Commey has said President John Agyekum Kufuor was not having a
problem in choosing his running mate for next year's elections.
''Rumours
circulating that the President is having a problem in choosing his running mate
because of wrangling in the party are not true.''
Speaking to the
GNA in an interview Commey said Vice-President Aliu Mahama, was a hard working,
competent and honest man, who deserved to be chosen again for the position and
he would not be surprised if he were chosen.
Commey, who is on a week's tour of the Central Region,
said the good people of
In an interaction
with Journalists earlier, Commey deplored attempts by
the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to discredit the NPP administration and
said the NPP was not afraid of the NDC.
''The NDC has
no moral justification to accuse the NPP of not being able to perform. The NPP
inherited a bankrupt economy from the NDC and it has not been an easy task to
repair the damage.''
Commey said comparatively the two-and- a- half years of
the NPP government had yielded positive results and that Ghanaians were the
best people to judge. He said the numerous development projects and the various
initiatives by the government towards more job creation testified to the fact
that the government had kept faith with the people.
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Immediate objectives of SRP have not been met - Report
"The
result, we may conclude, is that the immediate objectives of the SRP have not
been successfully met," the Auditor-General said in its final report on
investigations into allegation of irregularities against the Chief Executive of
the VRA, Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby.
The
Auditor-General, in the report obtained by GNA on Thursday, said it found that
the VRA's decision to undertake the SRP Project was
consistent with the policy to maintain the country's power supply, rather than
revert to the traditional practice of systematic and sustained load shedding.
"The main
objective was to fill the gap between the demand by its consumers and the
availability generating capacity by leasing an Emergency Power Plant."
The
Auditor-General said in order to address the problem of low inflows into the
The period of
rental is two years in the first instance with an option to extend to three
years. The report said total financial commitments as at
The project has
not commenced operation and the factor holding up the commercial operation is
the non-availability of fuel that meets the specification of the suppliers.
"The fuel
that was to be used seems to have been contaminated in the pipeline of the
plant. Samples of treated fuel were taken from different locations on
The report said
the electricity billing system in the Northern part of the country was
inefficient and needed modernisation and a contract was awarded on sole sourced
basis. The billing system, which has now been completely replaced by a PC-based billing software developed by a local Ghanaian
consultancy, is found to be satisfactory.
The
Auditor-General said it found that the VRA's total
operating expenses have increased astronomically due to high prices of crude
oil, which have increased the cost of thermal generation.
The
Auditor-General said: "There was lack of adequate financial control in the
use of the Authority's resources including abuse of overtime claims and misuse
of official vehicles and mismanagement of fuel." The report noted that VRA
has been making losses since 1997 with the cumulative losses for 1997-2002
being 1,760bn cedis. The expected loss for 2002 is
1,115bn cedis while the projection for 2003 would be another
loss of 1,952bn cedis.
"Cumulative
losses by December 2003 would, therefore, be as high as 4,828bn cedis." The report said during the administration of
Dr Wereko-Brobby (2001-2002), revenue increased while
losses also increased, but at a slower pace.
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NAGRAT threatens to take GNAT to court over deductions
Sunyani (Brong
Ahafo)
Kwame Edjah, National Vice President, said this at
the Brong Ahafo Regional
congress NAGRAT. The theme was: "Reversing the downward trend of education
in Brong Ahafo Region."
''NAGRAT can no longer be patient for our rights to be trampled upon and it is
high time we sought for an injunction to be put on the deductions."
He said the
association had, since its establishment in 1998, had three meetings with the
GNAT and demanded that the deductions should cease.
''If all
efforts to seek the welfare of members have proved futile the association has
no other option than to seek redress at the appropriate quarters,'' Edjah added.
He alleged that
GNAT's action was meant to discourage graduates
teachers from joining NAGRAT "and kill the interest of members but we will
not allow ourselves to be cheated." Edjah called
for better conditions of service for teachers to attract the youth into the
profession.
Samuel Ankama Obuor, acting Secretary of
Sunyani Polytechnic branch of NAGRAT, expressed
concern about the falling standard of education in the region and said efforts
should be made to ensure that children acquired knowledge, values and
attitudes.
He said this
had contributed to the inadequate health personnel in hospitals as well as the
shortage of professionals, especially women for higher positions in the various
departments in the region. Obuor appealed to the
regional administration to take steps to establish the Regional Educational
Fund proposed in 1999 and called on traditional councils, District Educational
Oversight Committees (DEOC) and Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) to mobilize
funds for rehabilitation of schools.
He urged
members to find ways of addressing and improving infrastructure in educational
institutions and educate parents about the importance and benefits of
education. A seven-member new regional executive of NAGRAT was sworn into
office for two years with Raphael Owusu of
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Govt urged to subsidise agricultural inputs
Savelugu (Northern Region)
They attributed
the poverty in the area to the withdrawal of government subsidies on
agricultural inputs, saying that they were not poor during the time such
subsidies were in place.
Speaking at a
"Farmer's Forum" in Savelugu in the Savelugu-Nanton District, the National Secretary of the
Cotton Farmers Association, Mohammed Adam Nashiru
said: "One thing that is clear to the people is that no matter what strategies
the government adopts nothing meaningful would be achieved if there were no
subsidies on agriculture".
The Executive
Members of the seven zones in the district attended the forum to discuss the
management of cotton fields and the group farming programmes and how it could
be implemented to enhance production.
Officials of
the Ghana Cotton Company Limited (GCCL) who are sponsoring the farmers also
discussed issues of indebtedness and diversion of inputs and produce by
farmers.
The zones have
3,500 farmers who cultivated 3,200 units of cotton this year while 100,000
farmers in the region operating under the 11 cotton companies also cultivated
13,000 units of cotton.
Nashiru said cotton production in the country had been
going down on yearly basis and what one company used to produce in a year is
now what all the 11 companies are producing. He said the Agricultural
Development Bank (ADB), which had been sponsoring the cotton companies, had
withdrawn its financial support because of the huge indebtedness incurred by
the companies.
Similarly,
dealers have also withdrawn supply of inputs to the companies resulting in low
levels of production, he said. Mohammed Alhassan Bukari, Producer Organisation Training Officer of the GCCL,
advised the farmers not to do anything that would destroy the cotton industry
since any such action would be detrimental to the companies and urged them to
cooperate to make the industry vibrant.
Bukari said each farmer was expected to produce an
average yield of 600 kilograms of cotton per unit if the weather conditions
were favourable by applying appropriate inputs.
Some of the
farmers complained of delays in the supply of fertilizers and other chemicals
while others spoke of poor germination due to bad seeds supplied to them by the
cotton companies. They said a number of them had, therefore, replanted seeds
but recent drought in some parts of the region had affected germination and
growth.
The farmers
called for education on the group-farming programme to encourage more of their
colleagues to register with the companies.
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Rice farmers call for restoration of subsidies
Gomoa-Okyereko (Central Region) 18 July 2003 - Officers of the Okyereko Irrigation Project in the Central Region have suggested to the government to consider subsidising power supply to irrigation projects to ensure sustainability. They said the policy under which the Irrigation Authority of Ghana (IAG) is compelled to pay commercial rates for electricity it uses to run their projects ''will kill the system''.
The officers
said the authority was finding it difficult to pay its electricity tariffs.
A.N. Ntim, Coordinator, and E.A. Gyadu,
Scheme Manager both of the Okyereko Project, made the
suggestion at an emergency meeting with leaders of the Okyereko
Rice Farmers' Cooperative Society on Wednesday.
The meeting,
which was initiated by chairman of the society, Nana Ababio
II, Okyerekohene, discussed efforts being made by the
people in the town to get the community and the irrigation project hooked to
the national electricity grid.
Ntim said the annual financial returns of members of the society was
''nothing to talk about'' after the various deductions that include power and
fuel cost.
''The best and
the most acceptable means of solving the problem is
for the government to review agricultural subsidies and come out with a policy
that will give a lasting relief to the farmers''.
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External degree students protest against new fees
A statement by the
Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the SRC said as much as the students
lauded the university authorities for turning the External Degree Centre into
an additional campus they unequivocally rejected the full fee-paying policy.
The students
said Bachelor of Arts students would pay 6 million cedis
while those offering Bachelor of Science in Administration are to pay 8 million
cedis.
The statement
said the SRC is seeking the intervention of government and other stakeholders
in education to dispel the impression created that the government is in support
of the policy
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Accra (Greater
Accra) 18 July 2003 - The Auditor-General has said there are no improprieties
in the salary and allowances of the Chief Executive of the Volta River
Authority, Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby.
"We found
that the monthly salary and allowances paid to Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby
were in accordance with the terms and conditions of his employment," the Auditor-General
said in its final report on investigations into alleged irregularities against
the VRA Chief Executive.
The report
obtained by the GNA on Thursday said all accountable imprest granted to the Chief Executive for his foreign
travels were accounted for and retired in full. "The allegation that he
took 14,000 dollars as accountable imprest
on his foreign trip but did not account for it was false," it said.
The
Auditor-General said the President requested an investigation in response to
the increasing levels of complaint and considerable public interest in the
affairs of VRA following allegations of impropriety, fraudulent conduct and
mismanagement against Dr Wereko-Brobby, and in
pursuance of the Constitution.
The
Auditor-General's investigations covered six areas:
- Unauthorised
drawing of salary and allowances by the Chief Executive.
- Unauthorised
allowances and other expenses paid to the members of the Board of Directors.
- Impropriety
in the award of contracts for the procurement of motor vehicles and electronic
computers.
- Impropriety
in the award of contracts for consultancy services.
- Mismanagement
of the Authority's resources leading to reduction in revenue and financial
loss.
- Impropriety
in the award of contract for the Strategic Reserve Power (SRP) Project.
The
Auditor-General said it found that amounts of over 10,300 dollars, 2,000 pounds
and 38.8 million cedis standing in the names of some
senior staff had not been accounted for.
Notable among
them, it said, were 10,396.52 dollars and 2,078 pounds that had remained
outstanding since 1999 in the name of Andrews Addy,
Director, Legal Services, which was subject of a Committee of Enquiry set up by
the VRA in the early part of 2003.
The Report said
the Board did not follow the provisions of the Volta River Development Act 1961
(Act 46) with respect to the conditions of their appointment and payment of
allowances.
"The
current Board, which was appointed in November 2001 followed the precedent set
by the previous Boards and approved for its members a number of allowances
without reference to the Office of the President."
The
Auditor-General said the allegation that the VRA paid the medical bills of the
Chairman of the Board, Dr Jones Ofori-Atta, for
overseas treatment was false.
"The
Authority rather paid the medical bill of the former Chairman, Ato Ahwoi amounting to $57,259.32
and E.A.K. Kalitsi's short course fee at Harvard
amounting to $18,858.25."
On procurement
of motor vehicles and computers, the Auditor-General said it found that the
decision to purchase motor vehicles and computers was a collective one that was
taken by the Chief Executive and the entire Management to meet the critical
need of the Directors and other users.
"The
allegation that Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby obtained
financial gain through the purchase of 74 Terrano
Mark II vehicles for his personal benefit was totally false.
"We found
that Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby is using a Volvo saloon
car, which cost $38,000. We were informed that his immediate predecessor was
using a BMW top range saloon car which cost $95,000 four years earlier."
On allegations
that the Chief Executive awarded consultancy contracts mainly by sole sourcing,
the report said: "We found that the Chief Executive followed the precedent
set by the previous administration."
It said it
found that since 1997, out of 18 contracts that were awarded by the previous
chief executives, 16 were sole sourced and only two were put on competitive
tender. In 1977, for example, a contract valued at almost £3m was awarded on
sole source basis.
It said it
found the profile of Ben Sackey, who was appointed by
the Chief Executive on contract, as competent for the contract.
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It cited the
World Bank's Partnership with Traditional Authorities Project, for which the
Bank had given a grant of $5m and said discussions in the media had been based
on complete falsehood.
AYA made
reference to publications and discussions in the Palaver and the Searchlight
newspapers, Joy FM Radio and Metro TV and said they were calculated to tarnish
the image of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene.
Anthony Atta-Poku, Chairman and Charles Kwadwo Appiah,
Secretary, jointly signed the protest letter. It said, "it is a very sad
commentary for journalism in Ghana, to stoop so low as to criticise such an
innovative concept which the World Bank wants to initiate as a pilot project
and to be replicated not only in other regions of Ghana but also in other parts
of the world".
The Association
noted that Asanteman was part of
It said there
were numerous examples of loans and grants the government had contracted for
projects specific to regions and communities in the country.
"When
people, who are expected to inform, educate and direct society to know better
decide to peddle lies, we fear that they are fomenting trouble for the
society".
The AYA pointed
out that press freedom was not a licence to vilify authorities and leaders in
the society, adding, "we want them to be reminded
that their liberty is not a licence for them to ride roughshod on the liberty
of others".
It said it was
unfortunate that "newspapers and social commentators completely distorted
facts and figures of the project to suit their own wicked and blatant lies
against the
"We want
to assure such propagandists that their scheme will fail, for Asanteman is bigger than any political party and the
position of our King is sacrosanct and does not depend nor need any political
party to survive."
The AYA
demanded complete retraction of all malicious statements and mischievous
comments made in the media and unqualified apology to the Asantehene
by the offending media houses. It warned that it would not accept the peddling
of lies and falsehood against the Asantehene and the Asanteman for political expediency.
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The Vice-
Chancellor of the UCC, Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Adow Obeng, who disclosed this on Wednesday, explained that this
situation has come about because of lack of adequate lecture halls and
accommodation.
Rev. Prof. Obeng,
was inaugurating the reconstituted 12-member board for the Centre for
Continuing Education, headed by the Pro-Vice Chancellor, Professor Kobina Yankson, at the UCC.
Last year, the
University, was also able to admit 3,700 out 12,000 applicants. The board is
to, among others, give general guidelines and directions towards the operation
of the Centre, as well as advise the Academic Board on issues pertaining to its
academic, physical, financial and human resource development.
The
Vice-Chancellor, underscored the important role higher education by distance
learning, played in national development, as well as in the economic well-being
of its beneficiaries, hence its inclusion in the UCC's
strategic plan.
He said that
the Centre was established in 1997 to primarily, among others, provide
opportunities for workers in general, to upgrade their academic and
professional competencies through the district learning at their workplaces.
He said from an
initial intake of 750 basic school teachers in 2001,more
than 2,500 teachers were admitted last year, adding that the Centre hopes to
increase its intake for the 2003/04 academic year. According to him, by the
year 2005, after all modules have been written, Centre would move into
intensive use of ICT, including radio broadcasts, tele,
audio-video and computer conferencing.
He urged the
board, to initiate linkage and collaboration with local and foreign
institutions, and take advantage of Government's emphasis on, and public demand
for distance education, develop and mount appropriate programmes.
The
Vice-Chancellor, however, cautioned that increasing enrolment without a
corresponding increase in infrastructure and other resources,
could overburden the centre and collapse it.
"We are
also in competition. We cannot therefore allow the quality of our programmes to
decline. So the temptation and trap of large enrolment must be avoided",
he declared.
On behalf of
the board, Prof Yankson expressed gratitude for the
confidence reposed in them, and pledged to work hard to enable the Centre to
achieve its aims and objectives.
Prof Victor Gadzekpo, Dean of Faulty of Science, who presided, appealed
to the centre to include science disciplines in its programmes. Prof Yankson, later presented a "Resograh"
high speed printer and photocopier with accessories, valued at about 43.5
million cedis, to the central administration of the
UCC.
Prof Obeng, who received the equipment, thanked the Centre for
the gesture and hoped that it would enhance administrative work at the
University.
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Ho (Volta
Region) 18 July 2003 - The Chief Justice, Justice George Kingsley Acquah has reminisce about his days as a High Court Judge
in Ho from 1984 until his elevation to the Appeal Court in 1994. "I regard
Ho as my judicial home. My judicial roots are from Ho and I would continue to
cherish the cordial relations I enjoyed with everybody," he said.
"I am
happy to see my Sister Klinogo (Principal State
Attorney) and many old friends here", he said. Chief Justice Acquah, who was in Ho on his first official assignment to
inaugurate the Accra Fast Track High Courts and the 10 Regional Automation High
Courts, said the event was a homecoming.
"Indeed
the opportunity was coincidental and I did not have any hand in the choice of
Ho for the inauguration, lest I be accused of bias in the choice of venue. The
choice was done by an independent committee."
Justice Acquah affirmed that he would carry out the automation of
the courts to its logical conclusion. "Thus I shall continue to chair the
Reform and Automation Committee"; the Service needs dedicated,
hardworking, honest and discipline personnel on both the bench and in the
administration to realize these objectives," he stated.
"I must
here emphasise that my immediate preoccupation as Chief Justice is not only to
tackle the Service's cancerous vices like inefficiency, incompetence,
indiscipline, corruption, laziness and others, but also to pursue vigorously
the ongoing reforms and modernisation process," he said.
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