GRi Press Review 29 - 07 - 2003
Ghana health service in crisis
Ministry speaks on Tarzan's management style
Night Court in the offing
Ensure transparency - Banking Supervisors told
Govt procures Aircraft recovery equipment
A ¢19bn Lime Factory to be set up
Fight back opposition misinformation - Dwamena
Locals tortured at Ashanti Goldfields Company
Dr. Mahama accuses govt of reckless spending
SDA Church's training college dream shattered
Ghana health service in crisis
Wa (Upper West) 29 July 2003 - Shortage of medical personnel in Ghana has reached a crisis stage and requires radical measures to bring the situation under control. The Ghana Health Service plans to organise a stakeholders' forum on August 4 and 5 to brainstorm on proposals, aimed at increasing training facilities to meet the staffing needs of the Service.
The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Professor Agyemang Badu Akorsah made this known when he paid a four-day working visit to the Upper West Region. The visit took him to all the key health facilities in the Region during which he interacted with the staff to assess their problems and needs.
He expressed regret that at the Lawra Hospital he met a nurse, who reported to work at 0800 hours and had to work late into the night because there was no reliever. Dr Akorsah said there was the need to increase the intake into nursing training institutions by making some students non-residential to create room for more classes.
He suggested that the number of years students spent at the medical school should be decreased from seven to five years as pertained in other countries to turn out more doctors.
During an interaction with staff of the Wa Regional Hospital, they called on the Service to give priority in the distribution of incentives and promotions to personnel serving in deprived communities.
They also spoke against the denial of transfers to staff serving in such areas on the excuse that they would not get anybody to replace them. "This attitude portends that it is punishment serving in deprived areas," Dr Siaw, a Medical Officer at the hospital, said. - Myjoyonline
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Ministry speaks on Tarzan's management style
Accra (Greater Accra) 29 July 2003 - The Ministry of Energy has issued a statement, which seems to confirm suspicion that the attitude of the besieged VRA Chief Executive, Dr Charles Wereko-Brobbey might be a factor in the protracted dispute between him and VRA employees. This is in view of the fact that allegations leveled against him by the workers have been substantially proven to be without merit by both the Special Ministerial Committee and the Auditor-General.
The statement reads: "The Ministry (of Energy) informed the President the conclusion of the committee that it is the management style of the Chief Executive that caused the industrial dispute".
The purpose of the press release signed by S. Q. Barnor, Acting Chief Director at the Ministry "is to ensure that the Ministry of Energy communicates to the public, the current state of review initiated by the Ministry in the industrial dispute between the staff and workers on one hand and the Chief Executive and Board of Directors of the VRA on the other".
Dr Nduom's Ministry has been under some fire for not making public, the full findings of the committee. In defence, the Ministry of Energy writes that it considered the technical and financial matters covered in the report of the committee, which looked into allegations against the CEO "to be significant enough to warrant confirmation and additional work to determine the way forward".
The President granted the request of the Minister to keep the report and perform further analysis and investigation work, given the technical nature of the issues presented and the strategic nature of VRA.
The Ministry however describes as unfortunate that "some members of the public and sections of the media have interpreted this as foot dragging, indecision and at worst, a conspiracy to hide the truth". - Statesman
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Koforidua (Eastern Region) 29 July 2003 - The Justice Minister and the Chief Justice are holding discussions on the possibility of establishing night courts to help address the backlog of cases in the law courts.
The Minister of Justice, Papa Owusu-Ankomah, who gave the hint in Koforidua, also indicated in an interview that the two officers are also drawing up a programme to do away with assizes sessions for indictable offences such as armed robbery and murder in the high courts so that the trial of such cases will become an all-year round affair.
He made this known after he addressed a durbar for state attorneys and legal practitioners from the southern sector of the country in Koforidua yesterday.
The durbar, which was organised to offer the minister firsthand information on the challenges facing the department in the regions, also coincided with the hand over of photocopiers to Eastern, Western, Central and Volta regions.
Papa Owusu-Ankomah made a particular reference to the lower courts where a huge number of cases are piled up and said judges of those courts will run shift when the programme becomes functional to help address the problem.
On indictable offences, the minister noted that the current situation where a limited time is set within a year for the trial of such cases has contributed immensely to the congestion in the prisons, since most of the cases are not fully disposed of within the short period, leaving the suspects in custody till the following year.
Earlier in an address, Papa Owusu-Ankomah, who was accompanied by his deputy, Ms Gloria Akuffo, expressed concern about delays in law adjudication owing to legal vacations and called for a second look at the system to enable an all-year law adjudicating system in the country.
According to him, the system can be made to operate as in other departments where some staff go on leave while others stay and work. He said the government will ensure that the laws of the land are made to work effectively, adding that anyone who undermines the smooth application of the rule of law will not be spared.
Presenting a statement from the police, the Deputy Eastern Regional Police
Commander, Alhaji Hamidu Mahama, observed some lapses in some of the laws of the
land, which he described as obsolete and impeding the work of the police.
He made reference to fines, which are not relevant to current realities.
He also mentioned the lack of facilities to test narcotic substances like cocaine, marijuana and heroin to use as evidence and said cases involving such subtances are sometimes left to die for lack of such facilities. There were presentations from traditional rulers. - Graphic
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Ensure transparency - Banking Supervisors told
Accra (Greater Accra) 29 July 2003 - The Director-General of the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), Dr Chris O. Itsede, has called on banking supervisory agencies to ensure transparency in their relationship with banks and other financial institutions. He said the agencies must be both operationally independent and sufficiently funded to carry out their duties.
Dr Itsede was speaking at the opening of a five-day advanced course on banking supervision organised by WAIFEM for banking supervisors in member states of WAIFEM in Accra yesterday. He said efficient banking supervision requirs the sanctity and enforceability of contracts and minimises moral hazard in the supervisory outcomes.
According to Dr Itsede, a poorly functioning banking system impedes economic progress, adds to poverty and destabilises economies.
Consequently, he stressed the need for the enactment of legislation, systems and procedures and called for appropriate assessment mechanisms to be put in place to contain the complexity of risk inherent in the tremendous changes being witnessed in the banking industry.
"As the transmitter of monetary policy impulses, operator of the payment and clearing system and catalyst for domestic and external resource mobilisation, the banking system is an important factor that affects overall efficiency of the economy," he explained.
Dr Itsede said despite the beneficial effects of the banking industry on economic growth and development, many countries have experienced banking crises of varying degrees in the recent past. He said it is as a result of the destabilising impact of such crises on economic growth that calls have been made for the strengthening of the regulatory framework.
"To ensure a stable and efficient banking system, there is the need to internalise the typology of the roles of banking supervisors, which include preventive, curative and, ultimately, if need be, closure measures," he stressed.
According to Dr Itsede, West African banks are increasingly going global in their operations, with the opening of offshore branches or establishing foreign affiliates.
He said as the sub-region approaches the dawn of integration of the regional financial system, supervisory agencies must come up with measures to "minimise regulatory arbitrage, mindful that the failure of regional affiliates may spell contagion and imperil the entire banking system in the sub-region".
To ensure a stable and safe banking environment in the sub-region, Dr Itsede suggested the establishment of explicit deposit insurance schemes in member states to mitigate the deleterious consequences associated with bank failures.
He further suggested the harmonisation of the existing banking regulatory environments of member countries of the West African Monetary Zone and the application of risk-focused banking supervision.
The Principal of the National Banking College, Mrs Adelaide Benneh, who chaired the function, said ensuring effective banking supervision and crisis prevention plays an enormous role in preserving financial stability. - Graphic
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Govt procures Aircraft recovery equipment
Accra (Greater Accra) 29 July 2003 - The government has procured an aircraft recovery equipment capable of lifting a disabled Boeing 747 from the country's airports during emergency.
The move is part of the government's plan to improve the Rescue Fire Fighting Services (RFFS) at all regional airports as well as improve the emergency management system of the entire airport in Ghana.
The Minister of Roads and Highways, Dr Richard Anane, announced this in a speech read on his behalf by his deputy, Emmanuel Adjei-Boye, when he opened the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) workshop and an exhibition on rescue and fire fighting in Accra yesterday.
The five-day workshop, which is under the auspices of the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) is to among other things increase awareness about the importance of rescue and fire fighting services, foster discussion and exchange of views and experience on the level of protection in case of fire.
Dr Anane said the services of the equipment will be extended to other airports in the sub-region. He said the heavy volume of air traffic, which includes anything from small, single-passenger planes to jumbo passenger and cargo jets, means that the probability of an aircraft accident occurring anywhere is real.
The minister said aircraft accident studies have shown that a large proportion of accidents that occur on the runways produce the most serious consequences in terms of fire situations and casualties.
Dr Anane called on the relevant authorities to have a well-prepared and rehearsed contingency plan, which should be simple and flexible in nature and capable of a speedy implementation. He said the government is seriously considering the procurement of a rapid intervention vehicle (RIV) and a mobile command post and the construction of a new fire station at the Kotoka International Airport.
The Regional Director of ICAO, Amadou Cheiffou, said with the creation of more autonomous entities for the management of airports, significant progress has been achieved in the implementation of Annex 14 provisions, with regard to rescue and fire-fighting vehicles. He noted, however, that there is still more to be done at a number of internal airports, mostly at secondary aerodromes.
In a welcoming address, the Director-General of GCAA, Capt Joe Boachie, said as airport terminals are increasing in size, there is the need to put in place sufficient measures to ensure the safety of the people and the protection of goods within those buildings.
He announced that the GCAA will soon construct a modern fire station at a site central to the runway at the KIA to enhance the response time of RFFS. - Graphic
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A ¢19bn Lime Factory to be set up
Battor (Volta Region) 29 July 2003 - A Lime and chemical factory is to be established at Battor in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region.
The project, which is estimated to cost ¢19 billion, is to be undertaken by the Crown Image Group, Ghana, and will be known as Monat Chemical Industries. It has yearly planned production capacity of approximately 52,000 tonnes of lime and will employ about 500 people.
The factory has the potential of saving the country the huge foreign exchange that is used to import hydrated lime for gold refinery and production of paint.
In a speech read on his behalf by an official of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Raphael Roger Beckley, at the sod-cutting ceremony in Battor to signify the start of the project, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Yaw Osafo-Maafo, reiterated the fact that the government views the private sector as the main engine of economic growth.
Osafo-Maafo stated that it is in this respect that the construction of the project is considered as an immense contribution to the socio-economic transformation of the economy.
He said one particular important mark of the factory is its location, where employment can be generated for the youth to reduce the rural-urban drift, as well as to take "our youth off the streets."
Osafo-Maafo expressed his satisfaction that the factory is going to be located in a rural setting, which is in line with the poverty reduction strategy policy and therefore, commended the Crown Image Group for its foresight, innovation and drive.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Crown Image Group, Barima Obuor Asamani, disclosed that the project involves two phases, which include clamshell mining and processing into hydrated lime, saying " the whole lime processing plant is being built locally by Gbekli Industrial Machines Ltd, while mining equipment is being imported."
Barima Asamani noted that clamshells, which are the raw materials for the production of lime, abound in Battor and surrounding communities such as Dofor and Volivo, adding that " the indigenes of the area will derive maximum benefits in the form of jobs, provision of social amenities and scholarship schemes for needy brilliant students".
He appealed to the government to extend power supply, which is quite a distance from the main line, to the factory site to enhance the speedy construction of the factory.
On his part, the Managing Director of Gbekli Industrial Machines, Joseph Gbekli, who is to design machines for the factory, observed that the siting of the project in Battor was his "dream come true" as he has been planning to be part of the rural industrialisation goal of decongesting the cities.
Gbekli, who had designed similar machines in Nigeria, however, appealed to the government and the Industrial Research Institute to support Ghanaian machine designers for them to in turn support the growth of the economy.
The Paramount Chief of Battor Traditional Area, Togbega Patamia Dzekley VII, expressed concern about the inability of earlier projects like the Tannery factory, the Aveyime Quality Grains Company and the Irrigation Development Authority to make any impact on the lives of the people.
Togbega Patamia, however, expressed the hope that the project will be successful and viable for the development of the area. - Graphic
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Fight back opposition misinformation - Dwamena
Agona Swedru (Central Region) 29 July 2003 - The Agona West Constituency Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Adofo Dwamena, has called on functionaries of the party to arm themselves with real knowledge and facts about government policies and programmes to enable the party to neutralise what he termed the peddling of misinformation among the broad masses of the people by the opposition.
"We functionaries of the NPP must act now to nip this canker of misinformation by our political opponents in the bud and launch an offensive campaign to capture their seats at the next parliamentary election or else we will be overtaken by events," he said.
Dwamena said this when he addressed activists and supporters of the party in Agona Swedru at the weekend. The meeting was also intended to address issues militating against the development of the party and to assess the branch's preparation towards the next general elections.
According to the NPP chairman, the opposition has devised vile stories about the Kufuor administration, which are being circulated among unsuspecting people especially those in the rural communities.
The strategy, Dwamena said, is designed to create disaffection for the government and win sympathy for its cause, which is to reclaim, political power at next year's polls.
"Looking at the period during which the opposition is carrying out this harmful propaganda, the NPP must not lose its guard but instead switch into high gear to ensure that the confidence that the electorate has in the party is sustained and translated into massive votes at the 2004 polls," Dwamena said.
He said the opposition, especially the NDC, is capitalising on the economic situation in the country to distort issues in order to score cheap and undeserved political points and win public sympathy.
The Member of Parliament for the area, Samuel Obodai, called on the people, exercise restraint since the government is correcting the wrongs in the Ghanaian economy created by the immediate past government.
Obodai talked at length about the cash-and-carry system and noted that Parliament will soon discuss and pass the National Health Insurance Scheme Bill to facilitate its implementation. - Graphic
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Locals tortured at Ashanti Goldfields Company
Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 29 July 2003 - A report of alleged human rights abuses by Ashanti Goldfields Company (AGC) Obuasi mines, at Sansu in the Ashanti region highlights horrifying eyewitness accounts of how a team of security personnel comprising the police, military and AGC mine securities tortured locals to death.
The six-page fact finding mission (FFM) undertaken by the Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM), an NGO, covers the period 1994 to 2002. It gives details of how the AGC, Obuasi mine security guards used guard dogs to feed on galamsey (small scale mining) suspects.
But the AGC has denied the report saying that the allegations are unsubstantiated and were intended to damage the company's image.
Even though the company admits that some bodies were found in old pits in the mining concession, the police and medical reports on them did not establish that they died through manhandling, severe beating or dog bites as portrayed by the report.
However the report which was released at a press conference in Accra on Thursday by the National Coalition of Civil Society Groups against mining in the forest reserve, recalled an eyewitness account of one Isaac Ofori of how a team of security personnel comprising the police, military and AGC mine security, beat up one Kwame Opoku to death in February 1994.
The FFM's report further quoted Ofori as saying that they were engaged in 'galamsey' when a team of security personnel gave them a hot chase.
"Kwame could not run fast and was arrested by the team because they heard him Kwame shouting for help as the security team kept beating him up. He was later found dead in the bush with blood oozing from his nostrils and a broken arm," the report said.
Other victims the report mentioned were Justice Opong, alias Papa Yaw, alleged to have been beaten to death in December 1996, by a similar combined team. Kofi Sarpong died on the way to hospital after a severe beating by security men of about 70 people.
Kofi was arrested along with 16 other colleagues, including the narrator with the help of 13 guard dogs, the WACAM findings alleged. Kofi Ampomah fell from the top of a pit and crashed on a rock after being chased by the Obuasi mine security with the help of guard dogs. The incident was said to have occurred in 1997.
The rest are Kwaku Bio, alias Kwaku Firi of Old Anyiman and Kwaku Addae who died in separate incidents on 27 April 2001 and April 1995 respectively. The report alleged that the AGC Obuasi mine, used guard dogs to feed on the victims.
It also named one Amos Abu allegedly arrested on 25 March 2002 for picking stones that had fallen from trucks on the haulage road as one of the victims. But information obtained from the AGC's corporate affairs office indicated that Amos was found loitering on the haulage road at about 1:00am when the incident occurred. Even though the report claimed that Amos was a resident of Sansu, his statement to the police indicated that he was rather visiting his uncle at Sansu but lived at Kyekyewere.
The rest of the victims of guard dog attacks include Kwabena Nti, Kwame Kankam, Kwame Sakoah, Kwabena Antwi and Yaw Oduro.
Debunking the report, the AGC maintained that police and medical reports on some of the deceased show that the causes of the death were neither through AGC's securities, police/military brutality or security dog attacks. The company said it is also true that the bodies were found in old pits where mining activities had ceased but security guards are not detailed to duty at those locations.
It also stated that in almost all the cases, records indicate that the people cited in the FFM's report died whilst indulging in illegal mining activities on AGC mining concession, either through natural causes or self-inflicted injuries resulting from slips on rough terrains at the pits.
In a related development, David Renner, Managing Director of Ghana Australia Goldfields Limited, has described as one-sided a report purported to be a response to an inquiry by a team from Sweden, following the filming of alleged human rights abuses on Swedish television dated 26 February, this year.
The document featured human rights abuses by AGC. Renner's reaction contained in a report copied to the chief executive of AGC, Sir Sam Jonah, and the managing director for Strategic Planning and New Business, Kweku Awotwi, said the journalists had all the opportunity to get all sides involved to comment but failed to do so.
Meanwhile the press conference was used by the NGO to register their protest and condemned the continued harassment and intimidation of some of their activists.
Addressing journalists in Accra, Daniel Owusu Koranteng, executive director of WACAM, lamented over the harassment of some of their colleagues by the mining industries, especially Ashanti Goldfields Company, allegedly backed by the district chief executive (DCE) for Adansi West, Kwadwo Boampong, and some traditional rulers in the Obuasi area.
He said among the victims of this harassment were the assemblyman for Sansu electoral area, Benjamin Annan, and Clement Kofi Scott, a community volunteer. According to him, the both men who later narrated their ordeals at the press conference were victimized separately for their advocacy role in their communities.
Annan was alleged to have been victimized for writing a petition to President J. A. Kufuor, asking him to investigate the circumstances leading to the death of the named victims, while Scott was victimized for filing a petition to the company on behalf of his community. Both men were said to have suffered these inhuman treatments only recently (July 2003.) - Chronicle
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Dr. Mahama accuses govt of reckless spending
Accra (Greater Accra) 29 July 2003 Dr. Edward Mahama, leader of the People's National Convention (PNC) has accused government of spending public funds unnecessarily. One such source of waste of funds is the establishment of the new office for accountability at the president's office which, he said, does not add anything to the anti corruption efforts.
He said the constitution has mandated institutions such as CHRAJ and enacted laws such as 1993 Serious Fraud Office (SFO) acts which give responsibility for curbing corruption and finding causes of losses to government finances to these bodies.
Speaking in an interview with The Chronicle in Accra yesterday, he said setting up an accountability office would cover up rather than expose corruption. He said the SFO needs a legislative instrument to make it fully operational, yet after two and a half years in office, the NPP government has not given that legislature instrument.
"They are making things worse by creating new bureaucracy to spend money" he said, reminding the government that the country is HIPC and therefore must stop spending money unnecessarily.
The PNC leader said the money to be used to provide logistics for the new office could be used to strengthen the SFO, because they have three functions to perform - monitoring, evaluating government expenditure and investigating. Dr. Mahama also spoke about the need for government to finance political parties in order for democracy to survive.
He said government should ensure that political parties submit their manifestoes and show that they have offices to run their operations.
A regulatory body should also be set up to ensure that each party has offices in all the districts, has audited accounts on how it is operating and how it is being supported and taking the party to congress, which shows the responsibility of the party. Dr. Mahama urged Ghanaians to vote the NPP out because they have not fulfilled the promise of creating jobs. - Chronicle
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SDA Church's training college dream shattered
Wenchi (Brong Ahafo) 29 July 2003 - The dream of the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church of the Mid-West (Gh) Conference to set up a private teacher training college at Wenchi in the Brong Ahafo region has been dashed.
This came as a result of the government announcement that it would not allow any individual or group of persons to establish a private teacher training college in the country.
The president of the conference, Pastor James Kwaku Badu, disclosed this when the first lady, Mrs. Theresa Kufuor visited the executives of the women's ministry of the church at Sunyani, during her official working visit to the Brong Ahafo region last weekend. Mrs. Kufuor was at the church to explain why she could not attend the women's, conference when she was invited to grace the occasion about three months ago.
Pastor Badu told the first lady that the SDA church in the region had conducted a research and found out that in each school in the region, out of three to four teachers, only one may be a trained teacher and that was why the church had decided to establish the college to supplement the government in the training of professional teachers for the region.
He therefore appealed to the government to re-think the decision of banning private individuals from setting up teacher training colleges. The director of the Women's Ministry, Mrs. Cecilia Anane, told the first lady that the ministry had taken upon themselves to train the youth, both physically and spiritually, for them to be able to fit into the society.
Mrs. Anane disclosed that currently the ministry is setting up an early child development centre and said that so far, about 75 children have been registered. The director appealed to the first lady to extend her foundation's support to them to be able to get the structures of the centre built.
Mrs. Anane said the women's ministry had set up a vocational training centre to train both youth from the church and other religious organizations in the region in courses like tie-and-dye, pastry making and others.
The centre, according to Mrs. Anane, would also cater for school school drop-outs. At Sunyanihene's palace, the paramount chief of the Sunyani traditional area, Nana Asor Nkrawiri, lauded President Kufuor for fulfilling the promise he made to construct the Sunyani-Atronie road.
The Sunyanihene called on his colleague chiefs to support the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Nana Kwadwo Seinti to develop the region. The paramount chief appealed to the first lady to build a day care centre at Sunyani to ease the suffering of the market women from carrying their babies to the market.
Earlier in the day, Mrs. Kufuor addressed chiefs and people of Odumase No 1 and Awua-Dumase at a joint durbar organized by the two traditional areas.
The presence of the first lady in Odumaseman made the whole township go gay by singing "Mmame-o- dede! Mmame-o-dede!" indicating that the first lady comes from the place and have therefore seen her coming as homecoming.
Her coming has also further brought more peace to the two traditional areas, as everything, such as pouring of libation and gifts to the first lady were jointly done. Mrs. Kufuor later inaugurated two markets valued at ¢800m.
The first lady addressed teachers, staff and students of the Notre Dam Senior Secondary school at Fiapre near Sunyani and also visited the chief of Fiapre and the Catholic Bishop of Sunyani, Rev. Gyamfi who was recently consecrated as the second bishop of diocese. - Chronicle
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