Ghanaians deserve better - Rawlings
"Be prepared for harder days ahead" - MP
Wuaku commission continues sitting
French, Ghanaian Police to co-operate
Publisher in court for displaying obscene pictures
Ugandan delegation calls on Minister of Local
Government
Assembly Elections, some candidates can’t afford photos
Reconstituted Northern Region Lands Commission
Proper record keeping necessary for good governance – Director
Parliamentary ad-hoc committee on Poverty Reduction soon
Leading NDC Members Boycott June 4 Lectures
Graduate teachers to embark on sit-down strike
Electoral Commission to penalised candidates with party bias
Retain system of Medium of teaching - Atukwei Okai
Accra (Greater Accra) 05 June 2002 - Former President Jerry John Rawlings on Tuesday said gaining power through the vilification of political opponents was a negative trait permeating Ghana's politics.
He said the strategy "is a ploy to divert public attention from failed electoral promises and misadministration” adding that “Ghanaians deserve better. They need a government that directs resources and efforts at solving problems as opposed to orchestrated paranoia."
The former President was speaking at a public lecture held in Accra to mark the 23rd Anniversary of the 1979 June 4 Revolution, under the theme, "The June 4 Spirit Lives On. "He said Ghana needed politicians who were ready to serve the people rather than to be served.
"What our country needs today are politicians who are willing to work for the people and for a sovereign, independent and dignified nation capable of providing viable social and economic welfare for all citizens."
Former President Rawlings said those who honoured the spirit of the June 4 revolution did not do so to glorify violence and unrest but to remind Ghanaians that no government should create conditions that would degrade the people and push them beyond "breaking point."
He said the significance of the revolution laid in the cause of the "spontaneous uprising" and in the way "we endeavoured to channel what would have been a bloody and destructive rage into a re-awakening of the truly democratic spirit of our people
The former President reminded Ghanaians that throughout history, whenever people were in a "hopeless situation and disillusioned and oppressed beyond a certain limit some catalysts sparked off a spontaneous reaction" and that was the mood of the people in 1979.
He noted that it was the principles of June 4 that created for the common people political awareness that elected leaders must serve rather than to be served.
Former President Rawlings said it was this awareness that laid the foundations for the constitutional order that Ghanaians were enjoying and that without June 4 multi-party democracy would have remained rituals by which power circulated among a privileged elite.
He said those who doubted the fact should compare the membership of the district assemblies and parliament with those of the pre-June 4 era. The comparison, the former President said would show that the few rich and educated elite no longer dominated the country's political decision-making process.
He noted that members of Parliament and the district assemblies have vastly different social, economic and educational backgrounds with a rich variety of experience and linkages to all social groups. The former President Rawlings said the propaganda that the June 4 was motivated by individuals in search of power and wealth "is not easily confounded by the fact that we have not only supervised elections but also handed over power to the victorious party."
"History will certainly record the rights and wrongs of the path we followed. But the constructive achievements that have come with June 4 and 31st December need not wait for posterity."
He said the social justice and welfare visions of the June 4 and the 31st December materialised in the expansion of electricity, water, health, education and other social amenities to communities that previously did not enjoy them.
The former President Rawlings also noted that learning from the past was the only way to improve social relations and to ensure the development of the country, saying, "The historical memory of a nation must be kept clean and clear for the sake of its people."
He said: "I am proud of having handed over the government twice without creating obstacles, for the sake of national stability. I am proud of the fact that it was under our administration that the 1992 Constitution was drawn and adopted."
The former President mentioned that the constitution could have been amended to keep him in power but said it would have contradicted the spirit of June 4. The National Democratic Congress, he said, was more interested in the government coming out with socio-economic policies to assist in enhancing the peoples' living standards to prevent what he termed '"boom actions."
The former first Lady Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, former ministers of state, National Democratic Congress functionaries and a cross-section of the public attended the lecture.
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"Be
prepared for harder days ahead" - MP
Accra (Greater Accra) 05 June 2002- Dr Ben Kumbour, Member of Parliament (MP) for Lawra Nandom, on Tuesday stated that the social and political situation in the country would worsen "if pragmatic and humane policies are not implemented immediately."
He also said "the economic hardship, steady depreciation of the cedi, and the general decline in social services and business transactions would worsen as the 2004 general elections draws nearer and the need to retain power would put pressure on government."
Dr Kumbour who made the remarks at the 23rd anniversary public lecture on the June 4 uprising, under the theme, "The June 4 spirit lives on," in Accra, called for reincarnation of the ideals of the event.
Speaking on the topic, "The relevance of the June 4 to Ghana's Democratic Dispensation," The MP for Lawra Nandom said "whether the event is recognise by the state as a public holiday or not, positive change or no positive change, 4 June has come to stay."
Dr Kumbour noted that June 4 in the wider content was not an event but a process that had connection with 15 May, and 31 December and the regime of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in or out of government.
He said June 4 event laid the foundation for a transition into a sound political democratic governance through the painful path of drafting the 1992 Constitution which was rejected by the "so called democrats" but paved the way for the country's democracy
He said the constitution bore the shadows of the Provisional National Defence Council's (PNDC) laws with the gazette notification on the memorable and eventful day of 15 May.
Dr Kwabena Adjei, former Minister of Parliamentary Affairs in the NDC government who spoke on the "Socio-economic situation of Ghana from 4 June, 1979 to date," recounted the bad state of the economy and the political decay of the country.
He, however, said through the selfless leadership of former President Rawlings and other dedicated people, the economy, which was ridiculed by a neighbouring state, "as a country whose people queued for toilet papers," became a model of modern state and good governance.
Dr Adjei noted that it was the responsibility of governments to provide good leadership, create employment opportunities for its citizens, and an enabling environment for socio-economic development. He called for an end to hypocrisy, corruption, nepotism and tribalism in government and the business sector.
The former first Lady Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, former ministers of state, National Democratic Congress functionaries and a cross-section of the public attended the lecture.
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Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 05 June 2002- The Late Ya-Na Yakubu Andani on the morning of Wednesday 27 March, 2002 sent an SOS instruction through one Abdulai Zibrim to the military detachment for his rescue from his Gbewaa Palace, Mr Mohammed Habib Tijani, Yendi District Chief Executive told the Justice Wuaku Commission on Tuesday.
Mr Tijani was one of three witnesses who gave evidence before the three-member commission, which is probing the circumstances of the Yendi tragedy.
The others are, Captain Abraham Akroffi, Commanding Officer at the Yendi Military detachment at the time of the incident, but now with the Six Battalion in Tamale and Lieutenant David Laga Billa, who was the acting commander of the detachment before the captain assumed duty.
Led in evidence by Mr George Owoo, a retired Chief State Attorney and counsel for the commission, Mr Tijani said the Yendi Divisional Police Commander and the district director of the BNI also came with the same SOS message.
The DCE said, however, that there was no immediate response to the Late Ya-Na's request because, Captain Akroffi had explained that a Mowag (armoured car) that could convey military personnel for the rescue mission had no battery.
When they eventually had a battery and went to the palace it was on fire and the Ya-Na was nowhere to be found, the DCE added.Mr Tijani said 28 dead bodies were found at the palace, excluding that of the Ya-Na.
Recounting the situation in Yendi between 24 to 27 March as well as the circumstances preceding the carnage, Mr Tijani said, it came to the notice of the District Security Committee (DISEC) on 23 March that there was mounting tension in Yendi due to the impending "Fire Festival" that was to be held from 24 to 27 March.
There were accusations and counter - accusations from both Andani and Abudu gates that each of them was preparing to attack the other during the celebration, he said. The DCE added that it was also realised that arms had been distributed to individuals who had hidden them.
He said the meeting, therefore, decided on two alternatives to avoid the escalation of violence during the celebration. The meeting settled on either to beef up the number of security personnel in Yendi and its environs within the period or ban the festival outright and impose a curfew, Mr Tijani said.
The meeting agreed on the banning of the festival and the imposition of curfew but permission had to be sought from the Regional Security Committee (REGSEC) for implementation. Mr Tijani said a letter from his office was drafted to that effect and he accordingly went to Tamale the next day to the second in command of Sixth Battalion and the acting regional police commander to inform them of the volatile situation in Yendi and gave them copies of the letter
In view of the absence of both the regional minister and his deputy, the regional co-ordinating director took the copies of the letter on their behalf, he said. Mr Tijani said the three officers he met assured him that a prompt action would be taken to save the situation, "so, I returned to Yendi to wait for the response".
He said on 24 March, Mr Zibrim, Regional Purchasing Officer, brought a letter to him from the Deputy Regional Minister, Mr Issah Ketekewu that the imposition of the curfew should stand.
A copy of this letter, dated 22 March and signed by Charles Abass, Regional Co-ordinating Director (RCD), for the regional minister and which was addressed to the Minister of Interior, was tendered in evidence.
Mr Tijani said a copy of the letter was also sent to the Yendi Police Station and an immediate meeting, was convened at the office of the divisional police commander for the implementation of the decision.
Mr Tijani said when the Ya-Na was informed about this development he (Ya-Na) despatched a team led by one Razak to ascertain its authenticity. Ya-Na's delegation, however, rejected the decision by the DISEC, saying there was no way the committee could ban the fire festival.
Mr Tijani said when the DISEC meeting asked the delegation to convey the decision to the Ya-Na and wait for further explanation from the DISEC, they said they could not carry that message to the late chief.
Despite citing instances that, for the sake of peace, some festivals at a point in time were postponed in the Yendi and Tamale areas, Ya-Na's delegation did not budge so "we excused them and they left", the DCE said.
Mr Tijani narrated that some leaders of the Abudu Gate understood the DISEC’s decision, and concurred that if it was meant to protect lives and properties, then it could be implemented.
He said, the next day, the DISEC met Ya-Na and his elders at the Gbewaa Palace and explained the imposition of the curfew to them. Later in the day when the DISEC met the Regional Minister, Prince Imoro Andani in Yendi to brief him about the situation, he decided to see the Ya-Na alone, the DCE said.
He added that the minister returned from his meeting with Ya-Na to meet members of the DISEC at his (DCE) residence and announced that the curfew had been cancelled and that the celebration could go on.
Mr Tijani said the minister was told of the fear of members of Abudu Gate that the Ya-Na was planning an attack on them during the festival and that some people had even laid ambush for that operation.
He said the minister also replied that the Ya-Na had also told him that members of the Abudu Gate had planned an imminent attack on members of the
Andani Gate, but both were dismissed as speculations. The minister's decision did not go down well with the Abudu Gate as the emotions and tempers of some of their elders and youth were aroused.
The DCE said, the regional minister later informed the policemen deployed in Yendi, that the decision to impose the curfew had been rescinded and that the ban on the festival had also been lifted. He said on Monday 25 March, he had a telephone call at his office from someone that there was firing of gunshots around the palaces of the Andani and Abudu gates.
‘I therefore, used a bush path to go and informed the army detachment commander and the police divisional commander of the situation, so at around 5.30 pm, when we were trying to get the regional minister for re-enforcement of security personnel from Tamale, the telephone lines went off, he said.
The DCE said on Tuesday 26 March, the DISEC held a meeting in his office to adopt a strategy to control the violence but all efforts proved futile as the police reported that they could not open their armoury whilst the army also said only nine military men were in Yendi at the time.
The DCE said because he wanted to remain neutral, he took Mr Mustapha Imoru and Mr Hamid Abubakar Usiff from the Andani and Abudu gates respectively as witnesses to inform a meeting of the REGSEC, chaired by the regional minister about the situation in Yendi.
Mr Tijani said back to Tamale at 6.15 pm on the 26 March the safest place they could go was the police station as there were sporadic shootings from the Gbewaa (Andani) and Mohammed Abudulai's (Abudu) palaces, which are about 200 metres apart.
He said at 8.30 pm the divisional police commander and the district BNI director accompanied him to Captain Akroffi to see if the army could intervene in the situation. Captain Akroffi said there were only 11 soldiers whilst the armoured vehicle was not in good condition, the DCE added.
"On the morning of Wednesday 27 March, three army officers in a pick up vehicle came to escort my family and I to the barracks where I saw Zibrim from the Ya-Na's palace with the rescue message," Mr Tijani said.
The DCE said on Tuesday 26 March, the DISEC held a meeting in his office to adopt a strategy to control the violence but all efforts proved futile as the police reported that they could not open their armoury whilst the army also said only nine military men were in Yendi at the time.
The DCE said because he wanted to remain neutral, he took Mr Mustapha Imoru and Mr Hamid Abubakar Usiff from the Andani and Abudu gates respectively as witnesses to inform a meeting of the REGSEC, chaired by the regional minister about the situation in Yendi.
Mr Tijani said back to Tamale at 6.15 pm on the 26 March, the safest place they could go was the police station as there were sporadic shootings from the
Gbewaa (Andani) and Mohammed Abudulai's (Abudu) palaces, which are about 200 metres apart.
He said at 8.30 pm the divisional police commander and the district BNI director accompanied him to Captain Akroffi to see if the army could intervene in the situation. Captain Akroffi said there were only 11 soldiers whilst the armoured vehicle was not in good condition, the DCE added.
"On the morning of Wednesday 27 March, three army officers in a pick up vehicle came to escort my family and I to the barracks where I saw Zibrim from the Ya-Na's palace with the rescue message," Mr Tijani said.
Lieutenant Billa confirmed that the information to the DISEC meeting on the 23 March about the looming tension and the possibility of a clash between the two gates over the celebration of the fire festival was a BNI report. He corroborated all that transpired at that meeting, adding that, the next day, 24 March, he sent a situational report to his superiors at the Sixth Battalion in Tamale.
Lieutenant Billa added that since there were only 14 soldiers at the detachment, he requested for re-enforcement but the response came in the evening of March 26 with the arrival of an officer and 41 men at the camp.
He said on Monday 25 March, there was intermittent firing of gunshots in the Yenditownship, so, the Mowag was despatched to the town to scare people away and to prevent further firing. Asked by the commission's counsel if the Mowag was in good condition, Lt. Billa answered in the affirmative.He, however, explained that the Mowag was using a borrowed battery because its battery was being re-charged.
When questioned by Professor Kwesi Yankah, a member of the commission, if the military had its own facility to charge its batteries, Lt. Billa replied in the affirmative, but added that, that was in Tamale but not in Yendi.
When asked by Mr Owoo if Lt. Billa briefed him on the situation at Yendi, on assuming duty on 26 March, Captain Akroffi said both the Lieutenant and the divisional police commander gave him up to date security information about the place.
He explained that, sometime after the celebration of the Muslim El Dul Adhar festival this year, security men were deployed to provide security to the Ya-Na at the palace and its precincts.
Captain Akroffi said, however, that the Ya-Na rejected the idea and sent the securitymen away, saying that he did not need any protection and that if the need for their services arose, he would call for them. The captain said the Ya-Na had in the process summoned the police commander and accused him that he was a sympathiser of the Abudu Gate.
Asked by counsel about the number of men when he took over the command, the captain replied that they were one officer and 11 men. When Mr Justice Wuaku posed the question if he was given any hand over notes, the captain responded in the negative. He, however, explained that it was the practice so he did not ask for it and more so there was no time to prepare it.
When the commission's counsel asked about the steps he took to control the situation at the time he took over, Captain Akroffi replied that firing was on-going so they intensified mobile patrols with the Mowag. When asked if he called for re-enforcement, the captain explained that one officer and 41 men arrived in the evening of 26 March but the situation had degenerated to a level that service providers could not even attend to duty.
We intensified the patrols by deploying some men to protect personalities in the district, including the DCE's residence, the hospital and other places. Mr Justice Wuaku, chairman of the commission, announced that, sitting would continue tomorrow, Wednesday. He explained that excluding Monday, sitting would be continuous from every Tuesday to Friday till the end of its proceedings.
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French,
Ghanaian Police to co-operate
Accra (Greater Accra) 05 June 2002- A French Police delegation has expressed the willingness of the European country to assist the Ghana Police Service in several areas, especially in scientific investigations carried out by the Criminal Investigations Department.
A three-man delegation that met the Inspector General of Police, Mr Ernest Owusu-Poku on Monday said the assistance would enable Ghana to effectively combat human and drug trafficking and armed robbery.
Briefing the GNA in Accra on Tuesday, a source at the Police Headquarters said France would also assist to improve the capacity of the Police officers through training programmes.
Members of the delegation are Mr Billa Frarak, Commissioner of Police and Chief of Brigade responsible for investigations in Paris, Mr Gaillardon Dominique, Chief of Scientific and Technical Policing and Mr Claude Dupont, Commissioner of Police at the French Embassy in Lome, Togo. The source said this would be the first co-operation between the French Police and the Police of a non-French-speaking country.
The French offer follows the President John Agyekum Kufuor's appeal for assistance for the Police service during his visit to France last year. The delegation would also hold talks with the Police Administration, schedule officers and the National Security Co-ordinator.
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Publisher in
court for displaying obscene pictures
Accra (Greater Accra) 05 June 2002- A 28-year-old publisher of an Accra weekly, "Weekend News" on Tuesday appeared before a Circuit Tribunal for publishing and selling obscene photographs and stories. Frank Awuah, who was arrested with assorted pornographic magazines, pleaded not guilty to publishing and sale of obscene materials.
The tribunal, chaired by Mr Imoru Ziblim, granted Awuah 10 million cedis bail to be justified to reappear on 27 June. Prosecuting, Inspector Bennett Sarfo said last April, the National Media Commission petitioned the Director of the Criminal Investigations Department of the Police Service to investigate a publication of obscene and explicit pornographic pictures published by Awuah, which the commission thought was unethical and criminal.
The prosecution said based on the petition, the police arrested Awuah on 30 May and when he was searched, foreign pornographic materials some of which he had been developing for publication were found in his room.
During investigations it came to light that accused fabricates fictions and relate them to the pornographic pictures to make the public believe that such stories were true and real. The prosecution said the accused admitted under interrogation that the stories he published were fabricated.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 June 2002 - Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, on Tuesday said the ministry was working on a programme under which district assemblies would have to set aside at least 20 million cedis to cater for disaster victims.
The Minister said part of the monies to be paid into the fund would be raised from the assemblies' resources while the rest came from contributions from property owners.
Mr Baah-Wiredu said this when a five-member Ugandan Delegation called on him at his office. The delegation, which is on a six-day visit to Ghana, would exchange ideas and study the country's Local Government System.
He said one of the major objectives of the ministry was to assist the assemblies to formulate byelaws and oversee the disbursement of the District Assemblies' Common Fund (DACF).
He noted that Accra was plagued with sanitation and drainage problems and saidplans were far advanced on the demarcation of 17 Sub-metros in Accra to complement the existing six sub metros.
The Leader of delegation Mr Ben Wacha said Uganda and Ghana operated under the same decentralised system of Local Government administration and it would be beneficial for Uganda to tap its rich experience especially in the area of revenue mobilisation.
Mr Wacha is the Chairperson of Standing Committee on Rules, Privileges and Discipline and Sessional and Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs in the
Ugandan Parliament
He said under Uganda's local government system, revenue collection at market centres were vested in privates companies and added that the system was contributing immensely to revenue mobilisation. The delegation had already visited Singapore on a similar mission.
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Wa Circuit
Court grants opinion leaders bail
Wa (Upper West) 05 June 2002 - A Wa circuit court on Tuesday granted bail to 22 elders and opinion leaders from the two factions in the Wa chieftaincy dispute who were arrested during their recent clash.
They were each put on five million cedis' bail with one surety and are to report to the regional police commander daily. The case was adjourned to 6 June. The accused persons who have been in prison custody since 30 May were charged with breach of the peace when they were put before the court on that day.
They had pleaded not guilty to the charge and were to make their second appearance on Monday 03 June but the prosecutor failed to bring the accused persons to court and the judge, Mr Gibson Adzagli, struck off the case. They were brought to court on Tuesday on the same charge.
The prosecutor, Inspector Joseph Mantey, told the court that the Nakpaha
Gate, the fourth of the Wa royal gates, was celebrating a Supreme Court ruling of 28 May that they said went in their favour. In the process some of the accused persons were alleged to have attacked them He said there was a clash and a junior secondary school girl lost her life.
Among the accused persons was Naa Seidu Braimah, a former Wa District Chief Executive and a prince of the Nakpaha Gate.Also included is Mr Alhassan Alhaji Issah, a student of the University of Ghana and a prince of the Yijisi Gate.
Two lawyers, Kuoro Luriwie Buktie Liman and Mr. Felix Naa Sabie, who appeared for the accused persons as friends of the court, appealed to the court to grant them bail because most of them were frail and infirm.
Kuoro Liman said they had documents to prove that the Regional Security Council invited them to a meeting and instead of a meeting they were put before court and remanded in custody.
He said they were of the firm belief that the accused persons would not interfere with investigations if they were released. Mr Sabie said the police had misused the law to hold the accused persons hostage since they only obeyed an invitation by the REGSEC.
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Ho (Volta Region) 05 June 2002 - The competitiveness of the impending district level elections risk being undermined by the inability of many potential candidates to provide photographs because of poverty.
Mr. Mohammed Adoquaye, Volta Regional Director of the Electoral Commission (EC) told newsmen that the pictures were vital for the printing of ballot papers and posting notice of poll for public information. He said feedback from his district officers indicated that most interested candidates in the rural areas were unable to raise 15,000 cedis for the printing of photographs.
Mr Adoquaye said this could undermine the conduct of the election, noting that candidates without pictures would be disqualified. "If potential candidates cannot compete just because of poverty, then it is really bad".
Mr Adoquaye blamed some organisations for compounding the problem by their late declaration to support especially female candidates. ''Their intentions are laudable but the support is late in arriving.''
He said it could have been easier for the EC if these organisations had joined the exercise from the on-set. "We started public education one month ahead of the exercise". Mr James Arthur-Yeboah, deputy Regional Director of EC, called on traditional and religious leaders, youth associations and other NGOs to maintain the peace when candidates mounted the platforms.
He said the public was at liberty to ask the candidates any questions but they should refrain from acts that would ridicule contestants and mar the beauty of the elections.
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Tamale (Northern Region) 05 June 2002 - Professor Kassim Kassanga, Minister of Lands and Forestry has noted that there is a serious crisis of confidence in the entire land administration system of the country.
He said, "to date, the country has still to settle the questions of ownership, management and title registration," adding, "these borders on ownership conflicts, legal contradictions and institutional/human failures.
The Minister's concerns were contained in an address read for him by the Deputy Northern Regional Minister, Mr. Issah Ketekewu, at the inauguration of an 18-member reconstituted Northern Region Lands Commission in Tamale on Tuesday.
Prof Kassanga said the challenge to the government was therefore, to restore confidence in land administration through both short and long term programmes. In the long-term, he said the Land Administration Project (LAP) had been prepared and would be consistently pursued for the next 15 years.
Prof Kassanga said the programme would among other things, result in a clear, coherent and consistent set of land administration policies and laws. There would also be a clear hierarchy of customary land holdings and capacity to dispose of land, which would lead to a formal recognition of the rights of all categories of land holders and facilitation of recording of these rights in an enhanced and decentralised land administration system.
The Minister said while the government was keeping faith with landowners it expected traditional authorities would also keep faith with their people and ensure that good governance in land administration prevailed.
"It is anticipated that traditional authorities in their administration, will be guarded by transparent allocations, respect for customary rights, use of land administration professionals and accountability for revenues generated for the communities."
Prof. Kassanga charged the Northern Region Lands Commission, among other things, to help drastically reduce the levels of land disputes in the courts, foster the use of alternative dispute resolution in land matters and provide land advisory services to the traditional landowners who he said, constituted the bulk of private land suppliers to the market.
He called on members of the Commission to design effective interventions to ensure a peaceful and liveable environment for the socio-economic development of the region.
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Ho (Volta Region) 05 June 2002 - Mr. Cletus Azangweo, Director Public Records and Archives Administration Department (PRAAD) on Tuesday, said good governance, efficient public administration, development and accountability depended on quality records keeping and management.
"The capacity of government to formulate, implement and sustain effective policies, manage resources, deliver services and protect the rights of citizens - all depend upon maintaining and having access to adequate, accurate, reliable and relevant information," he said.
Opening a three-day workshop on records management improvement for District Co-ordinating Directors, heads of department and staff of PRAAD in the Volta Region at Ho, he said that the problems such as corruption and ghost names on the pay roll in the public sector were facilitated by lack of reliable and efficiently managed public records.
"If there were a good culture of effective and efficient records management in the country since independence in 1957, the situation of the country would have been unimaginably different from what it is today".
Quoting Mr. K.B. Asante, a retired diplomat, Mr. Azangweo said, "The problems of Africa today were not as most people thought, the frequent coups d'état but rather the result of bad records keeping".
Mr Azangweo said good records keeping and maintenance culture enabled generations to bequeath their knowledge, skill and expertise for the advancement of society and appealed to Heads of Departments to co-operate with their records keeping staff to ensure that their talents, knowledge and experiences were utilised.
The Volta Regional Minister, Mr Kwasi Owusu-Yeboa said computers could not improve records keeping and management unless "pieces of information" were properly packaged.
He said while adopting modern technologies in records keeping, care should be taken to ensure that the country does not lose its written records since it would be disastrous for the public administration.
The Regional Minister said the public sector records must be managed as a strategic resource. The participants would be taken through topics including filing and causes of misfiling, classification and indexing, keyword system, functional analysis, determination of series protection and security of records, functions of a registry, interview skills and collection and analysis of data.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 June 2002 - The Leadership of Parliament on Tuesday agreed to form an ad-hoc committee to study, evaluate, review and monitor the implementation of the government's document on the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS).
It followed a consensus arrived at between the Majority and the Minority when Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, Minister of Economic Planning and Regional Co-operation made a statement in Parliament on the document, which is already in the domain of the legislature.
Dr Nduom said; "the main goal of the GPRS is the creation of wealth by transforming the nature of the economy to achieve growth, accelerated poverty reduction and the protection of the vulnerable and excluded within a decentralised, democratic environment ...; the emphasis will be on stabilising the economy, and laying a foundation for a sustainable, accelerated and job creating agro-based industrial growth that will focus on providing the enabling environment that will empower all Ghanaians to participate in wealth creation" and its distribution.
Dr Nduom said Ghanaians irrespective of their economic status or where they resided, "will have access to basic social services such as health care, quality education, potable water, decent housing, security from crime and violence, and the ability to participate in decisions that affect their own life".
He said the document, which was prepared by the previous government, was broadened and sharpened by the vision of President John Agyekum Kufuor and the core values of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
Urging Parliament to feel free to comment, evaluate and review it, Dr Nduom said; "the poverty reduction strategy is a genuine Ghanaian product and it is a living document. "As good ideas are obtained; as our national conditions change; government intends to make the necessary changes to the strategy to ensure its continued relevance to our national challenges and aspirations."
Dr Nduom said; "five of 10 regions in Ghana have more than 40 per cent of their population living in poverty. The worst affected being the three northern savannah regions - Upper East, Upper West and Northern Regions."
"Nine out of 10 people in the Upper East; eight out of 10 in the Upper West, seven out of 10 in the Northern Region and five out of 10 in the Central and Eastern Regions were classified as poor."
He said of the 10 regions the Upper East, Northern and Central Regions experienced increases in poverty and extreme poverty in the 1990s while areas in the Northern savannah experienced significant increases in poverty.
"Unfortunately food crop areas in the country have the highest incidence of poverty. Fifty-nine per cent of people in these areas fall within the definition of the poor in Ghana. This has been due to several factors including lack of access to markets, high cost of inputs and low levels of economic infrastructure," Dr Nduom said.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 June 2002 - Former President Rawlings has accused the NPP administration of deliberately recruiting party supporters into the military. In an address to mark the 23rd anniversary of the June Four uprising, the ex-President alleged that there is an orchestrated attempt to fill up vacancies in the military with supporters of the NPP. Mr. Rawlings challenged Defense Minister, Kwame Addo-Kufuor to refute the allegations.
"Addo Kufuor is bent on planning to retire some of our most experienced security personnel either by age or through frustration with the design to replace them with about 1,044 civilians who are to be recruited through the recommendation of the NPP appointed District Chief Executives".
He noted that the ultimate aim of the NPP government is to have an Army, which owe allegiance to the Kufuor government and thereby deprive the Army of its neutrality. The former President who described the plan as dangerous urged Commanders of the Army to resist the planned move.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 June 2002 - Leading members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) were absent from a public lecture held to mark activities of the June Four uprising. The party's Chairman Obed Asamoah; former Communication Director, Ekwow Spio-Gabrah; Minority Leader, Alban Bagbin; Minority Spokesperson on Legal and Constitutional Affairs Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni and many others did not show up at the lecture addressed by Ex-President Rawlings. Critics of the party are interpreting the absence of prominent party members as a veiled attempt to shy away from celebrating June 4.
It is also being suggested that the rancor that preceded the recent delegates congress of the NDC culminating in the election of an executive split along pro-Rawlings and pro-Obed Asamoah lines is translating into a radical shift from ideologies that hitherto formed the backbone of the NDC.
But NDC vice Chairman Alhaji Huudu Yahaya says the NDC chairman Dr. Obed Asamoah could not have been present because he has travelled. He did not say where. JOY FM gathered that the party's Chairman of Communications John Mahama is up North touring with a Japanese delegation. Party officials are also hinting that Minority Leader Alban Bagbin was meeting with the Speaker of Parliament.
Minority Chief Whip Doe Adjaho, who was also absent told JOY FM that he could not be present at the lectures due to ill-health and maintained that he still supports June 4. Party supporters including Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu, Tony Aidoo, Kwamena Ahwoi, Sherry Aryeetey, some Parliamentarians as well as former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings attended the congress. JoyOnline
Accra (Greater Accra) 05 June 2002 - Minority Leader, Alban Bagbin says having realised belatedly that the "Sahara" contract was not in the national interest, the
NPP government has abrogated it. Speaking in an interview with The Evening News newspaper in Accra, Mr Bagbin further disclosed that the government which denounced the expertise of Vitol Oil Company to cart bulk oil from Nigeria to Ghana in the wake of the "Sahara" affair has "clandestinely" gone back to re-engage the company.
He said "Sahara" company was being paid huge sums of moneys by the Ghana government for only facilitating administrative procedures involving oil shipments, which were actually done by vessels of the Tema Oil Refinery. He said the Minority advised at the time that Vitol offered a better deal since it uses its own money to deliver the oil to Ghana and got paid later but the NPP did not appreciate that viewpoint.
Mr Bagbin said Vitol was also committed to establishing oil depots at various places in the country for bulk oil storage, which could for instance provide the petroleum needs of the country during shortages. He said the NPP, which flatly rejected the suggestions made in favour of the Vitol contract had now realised its usefulness but had failed to publicly acknowledge that fact.
The Minority NDC last year raised the alarm bells charging that the NPP government awarded the contract to Sahara Energy Resources Limited to lift oil from Nigeria to Ghana without competitive bidding. The NDC said at the time that the contract was not transparent enough and that there were Ghanaian shareholders in the "Sahara" Company.
The Minister of Energy, Albert Kan-Dapaah, at the time dismissed the charges saying government was saving $7.4 million a year as a result of awarding the contract to Sahara Energy Resources Limited of Nigeria. He said under the terms of the agreement, which last for one year in the first instance,
Ghana was offered 90 days credit before paying for each consignment of crude oil delivered to TOR.
Mr Dapaah said that the Vitol Contract was signed on 20 December1 2000 to enable it to lift the Nigeria allocation at a fee of 0.95/bbk/dollars for Brass River, and was signed at the time when there was no allocation contract between Ghana and Nigeria.
In his reply to the Minority Leader's recent assertion, the Honourable Minister said nothing has changed as far as the Sahara contract is concerned. "It is totally untrue for anybody to claim that the contract has been abrogated," he told The Evening News in Accra.
The Minster insisted that, no special arrangement has been entered into with Vitol to ship either crude or refined oil Ghana. Mr Kan Dapaah said that, as a policy, the government does not discriminate in the award of contracts. He explained, that Vitol was one of about 20 registered oil traders in Ghana who do business with the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR). Vitol never left the scene and from February this year, they have won bid to supply oil, just like any of those registered companies," the Minister disclosed.
He said, apart from the 30,000 barrels of oil the country takes from Nigeria, additional 15,000 barrels is needed to meet the country's demand in oil and it is this additional demand the oil trading companies go on tender to supply.
The Minister said even though the NDC government signed contract for the construction of SBM, which will allow bigger vessels to bring in oil, it has been realized that the current facilities would not permit that. Mr Kan-Dapaah also disclosed that current a committee was examining the contract, which was not even conclusive, to find out how feasible it was. "This government is committed in achieving the best for Ghanaians and would therefore, not be moved by cheap propaganda," he said.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 June 2002 - Mr Justice George Lamptey, Supreme Court Judge who has reached the retiring age can still sit on the review application on the Fast Track High Court case slated for 26 June, George Afflah Aryeetey, Judicial Secretary (JS) said on Tuesday.
The Ghana News Agency reports him as saying in reaction to a front-page story carried by the "Ghana Palaver" in its 31May – 3 June issue, that "even though Justice Lamptey has reached the retiring age of 70 years, the Constitution makes provision for him to sit on the review."
The JS quoted Article 145 (4) of the Constitution, which he said, gives Mr Justice Lamptey a maximum of six months to dispose of cases he started or was involved in before attaining the retiring age.
He said even though Justice Lamptey did not sit on the panel that heard the substantive case, since he was among the panel that started hearing the review on Tuesday, 28 May "the Constitution empowers him to continue to sit on the review panel".
He, however, explained that Mr Justice Lamptey had up to six months after which he would have to give way if the review application was still pending before the Supreme Court.
Article 145 (4) states: "Notwithstanding that he has attained the age at which he is required by this article to vacate his office, a person holding office as a Justice of the Supreme Court or Chairman of the Regional Tribunal may continue in office for a period not exceeding six months after attaining that age, as may be necessary to enable him to deliver judgment or do any other thing in relation to proceedings that were commenced before him previous to his attaining that age."
In the headline of its story, Palaver stated: "Justice Lamptey Retires On Monday... He Can't Sit on Fast Track High Court (FTHC) Review Case." The paper's argument was that since Justice Lamptey did not participate in the historic five-four decision that declared the FTHC unconstitutional and illegal he was ineligible to sit on the review application.
Quoting Article 145 (2) (c) of the Constitution to buttress its argument, Palaver stated: "A Justice of the Supreme Court or a Chairman of the Regional Tribunal shall vacate his office -in the case of a Justice of the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeal, on attaining the age of 70 years."
By a five-four majority, the Supreme Court last March declared the FTHC unconstitutional and illegal, following an application filed at the court by Mr Tsatsu Tsikata, former Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 June 2002 - Mr David Apasere, PNC-Bolgatanga,on Tuesday said the majority New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Parliament has betrayed the trust of the PNC caucus by avoiding them in the selection of members for the ECOWAS Parliament. He said he would consult with his party's hierarchy for direction on the People's National Congress' relationship with the NPP in Parliament.
In an interview with the GNA, he said: "We were not consulted, we were ignored. Even when we heard of it and protested, nobody listened to us. "I thought we had a special relationship with the NPP. I thought that after giving them our all, we would be involved in everything."
Mr Apasera said in spite of the PNC's three seats in the house, it has helped the majority party through difficult moments when they needed votes to carry crucial motions. Papa Owusu Ankoma, Majority Leader, said the decision taken on the ECOWAS Parliament members was a compromise reached between the NPP and NDC. "I thought it had the blessing of the whole house. Nothing was done in secret. We have nothing to hide."
The other two members of the PNC caucus hold ministerial appointments. Earlier, Mr Apasera's protest on the floor of the house was met with catcalls from the Minority NDC who had condemned the NPP/PNC alliance. Mr Peter Ala Adjetey, Speaker, said sometimes it is practically impossible to give representations to small minority parties on strict count of numbers.
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Tamale (Northern Region) 05 June 2002 - The Northern Region branch of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) is to embark on a sit-down strike from Monday, 10 June to press for the implementation of the new salary levels and other allowances negotiated on 1 August 2001.
Speaking at a news conference in Tamale on Tuesday, the Regional Vice-Chairman of the Association, Mr Munkayila King Zakari, expressed dissatisfaction at the downward review of the approved salary levels and appealed for the presentation of the new salary levels to the Controller and Accountant-General's Department without delay.
"We did not understand why the GES should go ahead to implement data on graduate teachers submitted much later by district directors instead of what we presented", the NAGRAT said.
The Regional Vice-Chairman urged the government to implement the new salary structure for graduate teachers with the proposed classification for its members, since the present salary structure, whereby both graduate and non-graduate teachers were lumped together was "a disincentive to the graduate teacher".
Mr Zakari urged the government to act promptly, especially in the implementation of new salary scales of senior superintendents and superintendents, which should have started on 1 August 2001. The association also called on the government to appoint a member to serve on the GES Council and all other educational bodies in the GES.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 June 2002 - Any candidate contesting any of the district level elections that associates with a political party would be disqualified, the
Electoral Commission (EC) said on Tuesday.
"Any aspiring unit committee or district assembly aspirant, who uses a political party paraphernalia commits an offence and upon conviction shall have his nomination cancelled by the Commission."
An official of the Commission told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that the Local Government Act 1993 directs that a candidate seeking election to a District Assembly or to any lower local government unit shall present himself to the electorate as an individual and shall not use any symbol associated with a political party.
The Act also indicates that political parties are debarred from endorsing, sponsoring, offering a platform to or in any way campaign for or against a candidate seeking election to a district assembly or any lower local government unit.
It also prohibits the mounting of platform by individuals for the purpose of promoting or canvassing for the election of a candidate without the authorisation of the Commission.
The EC official said any political party, which contravenes the Act commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five million cedis. Any person who contravenes the law is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding one million cedis or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding six months or both.
On the qualification of a candidate to contest the elections at the unit levels, the law requires that a candidate must be a Ghanaian and not less than 18 years; a registered voter and ordinarily resident in the particular unit for which he/she seeks for elections. The candidate must also have paid all taxes and rates or made satisfactory arrangements to the appropriate authority for the payment of the taxes and rates.
The EC official said the Commission was consulting the appropriate authorities on the problems encountered during the filling of nominations. He said reports from the districts indicated that some candidates filed their nominations without the two photographs required by law, which made the filing incomplete.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 June 2002 - Recently the Ministry of Education announced that instruction in schools would still be strictly carried out in English. Not surprisingly, the reactions have been swift and condemnatory. Cultural matters, of which language ranks tops, are usually very emotive, hence the reactions calling for the ministry to rescind its decision.
We cannot talk for the ministry, but we are aware that the cultural policy developed by the National Commission on Culture and currently under consideration makes a strong recommendation for the promotion of Ghanaian languages.
What perhaps, we think the ministry is trying to say is that it has not developed a coherent and credible approach to the use of local languages as a medium of instruction in schools. This can be seen in the poor quality teaching of Ghanaian languages and abysmal results obtained at first and second cycle rungs of the educational system and the paucity of students taking Ghanaian languages at the university level.
Language development is not an issue to be trifled with. We must first distinguish between instruction in Ghanaian languages and the learning of Ghanaian languages. These are two different things that must not be confused.
If we are going to adopt instruction in a local language, say in Akan-dominated areas by using Twi, what it means is that ALL the teachers must have good enough Twi to be able to impart knowledge through that medium. We all know that teachers from different ethnic backgrounds are spread throughout the country and do not speak the same language.
Tell a teacher from Savelugu to go to say Aveyime and instruct pupils in his native Dagbane or an someone from Kikam to go and instruct Kokomba speaking pupils in Saboba in his local Nzema dialect. It just won't work! Let us be dispassionate about this and see what would work and what would not. We will advise caution here and plead that we await the adoption of the cultural policy, which we hope would be soon.
Once that is done, as a matter of policy, the state would be obliged to put together a high-powered group of experts to workout how we can promote the many languages our little republic has been blessed with" or cursed with. If all Ghanaians spoke the same language, or different dialects of it, this debate would not have arisen, for that language would automatically take precedence over English as our national language. Now we are faced with the daunting task of how to "unify" our numerous languages to be in step with the demands of a modern and fast paced world.
We are talking for example about a new look at the alphabet and teacher education in teaching local languages. We are also talking about developing teaching aids similar to what we have in modern language labs etc. We must start designing computer keyboards with alphabets compatible with our common vernacular alphabet, etc. In this way, though we may still be giving instruction in English, we would also be so developed in teaching our different local languages that it would be possible for school-leavers to have good English as well as fluency and literacy in a learnt local language.
It is not something we can rush. It is something we must do and do well, not the current half-hearted mediocrity we've been passing off as "teaching vernacular" in primary, junior and senior secondary schools..
We must also not deceive ourselves, for no matter how much we may want to promote our local languages; we are stuck with English for a very long time to come. Sometimes accepting certain realities can also clear the way for progress! – Accra Mail
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 June 2002 - Mr Atukwei Okai, Secretary-General of the Pan-African Writers Association, has said that the directive to schools to use English as the medium of teaching at the early stage of schooling will not be in the interest of the child.
"The old system of teaching in Ghanaian languages is better", he said in comments on the directive in an interview with the Ghana News agency in Accra at the weekend.
"The age-long system and practice whereby the child studies the local language of the area he finds himself or herself should not be only maintained but must be seriously promoted in the context of reaching out, as a people, to the modern world".
Mr Okai said using the local language was the surest guarantee for getting rooted in the country's cultural heritage and "it is non-negotiable". "Before we take a flight to the unknown, into the unfamiliar, we must first have our feet firmly planted in our linguistically psycho-cultural foundation".
He said the child has greater chances of getting to know, getting to understand, and contain the world at large when he or she was given a "healing grounding in knowledge in his or her culture and primary world". "We must value our own, we should never turn our back on ourselves; that amounts to danger and psychic tragedy," he added. – Accra Mail
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 June 2002 - According to the Network Herald, Ghanaians may be called upon to surrender their current passports for new ones soon. This is because a new procedure for the acquisition of Ghanaian passports will be unveiled by the middle of July this year.
The rationale is to demystify the "all important " status of passports in Ghana by streamlining the process of acquisition while withdrawing all the documents that have fallen into the hands of suspicious foreigners. Sources at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hinted the Network Herald that already, all is in place to revert to the old order of purchasing the forms from any
Post Office in the country, processing everything there at the post office including the fifty thousand cedis deposit and then that is it. The prospective applicant then goes to the Immigration Service only for the collection of the passport. That is the only time a prospective passport applicant interacts with officials at the Immigration Office.
To that effect, authorities are therefore working frantically at designating three out of the five days for the collection and processing of the documents from the post offices and two days for issuing out ready passports at the offices of the Immigration Service.
This has become necessary as a result of the apparent trauma Ghanaians are made to go through before acquiring passports. Even though the Ministry of Foreign Affairs promised early this year that procedures have been put in place for a prospective applicant to secure a passport within four weeks, it still takes over six months for an applicant to secure the travel document. And that sometimes depend on how lucky the applicant is.
Currently the passport office is grappling with an unseen "Mafia" whose age-old livelihood seem to hinge on creating artificial bottle-necks in order to survive, but sources at the passport secretariat who themselves are diplomats assured our reporter that their backs will be broken soon.
To address the issue of non-Ghanaians securing Ghanaian passports with ease, a top government official indicated that the new procedure may coincide with the issuance of national identity cards which will officially designate the nationality of the applicant.
Also, only one uniform birth certificate will be entertained to cut out all the many dubious certificates that different shades of "contractors" give out to accomplices at high fees. – NCS
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 June 2002 - President John Agyekum Kufuor arrived in Berlin yesterday to begin a three-day official visit to Germany. Accompanied by the First Lady, Theresa Kufuor, Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, Minister of Foreign Affairs and other officials President Kufuor was met on arrival by officials of the Federal Foreign Affairs office and Alhaji R.I. Alhassan, Ghana's Ambassador to Germany and staff of the embassy.
The Ghanaian community in Berlin converged at his hotel where Okraba Mensah Abrampah a Ghanaian resident in Germany poured libation for the safe arrival of the delegation. President Kufour addressed the Ghanaian community in the evening.
He would today hold talks with Mrs Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul Federal Minister of Economic Co-operation and Development. In the afternoon he would have a meeting with Chancellor Gerhard Schroder at the Federal Chancellery and President Johannes Rau.
Development assistance constitutes the centre-piece of Ghana's relations with Germany. Economic Relations between Ghana and Germany have existed since 1961. – Accra Mail
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