Akim Swedru (Eastern Region) 10 June 2003 - The Akim Swedru Circuit Court, on Tuesday granted a 100m cedis bail each with one surety to be justified to two cocoa purchasing clerks for allegedly paying farmers with fake 20,000 cedis notes.

Samuel Addo Dankwa and Samuel Amoako, both stationed at Akim Adwafo in the Birim North District in the Eastern Region have pleaded not guilty and are to reappear on 25 June.

Before granting them bail, the Presiding judge, Justice George Kingsley Koomson, expressed displeasure at the manner the police and prosecution were going about the arrest of one Thomas Ahenkora, popularly known as Agyaaku, who was supposed to have given the fake currency notes to Dankwa.

Earlier, counsel for Dankwa, E. A. Oduro, appealed to the court to grant his client bail since he was finding it difficult to get access to him in custody.

Police Inspector A. K. Osei-Nimo had earlier told the court, that about two months ago, Dankwa together with Amoako sought financial assistance from one Baba Mohammed at Kade to buy cocoa.

He said on 29 April, Dankwa went to Kade where Mohammed gave him 16.3m cedis in 2,000 cedis denomination to share with Amoako for the purchase of cocoa.

Dankwa gave Amoako 13.4m cedis out of which 10.2m cedis were in 20,000 cedi notes. Osei-Nimo said when Amoako used the 20,000 cedi notes to pay the farmers the money was found to be fake so he was arrested.

On interrogation, he mentioned Dankwa as the one who gave him the money. When Dankwa was arrested, he mentioned Ahenkora at Akim Aboabo as the one who gave him the 20,000 cedis notes.

The Prosecution said all efforts to arrest Ahenkora have proved futile.

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Education in Ghana is in crisis- Dr Asante

Accra (Greater Accra) 10 June 2003 - Education in Ghana is in crisis because many children who enrol in schools drop out. Even when they graduate they can hardly read, write or speak the English language correctly, Dr K. B. Asante, a retired diplomat, said on Tuesday.

He said many children were being badly educated and there was the need to tackle the issue since education is the key to national development.

Dr Asante was speaking at the launch in Accra of the Jerron-Quarshie Educational Foundation Fund set up by a couple, and Samuel Jerron-Quarshie from La, Accra, to provide funds for the award of scholarships to needy and brilliant children.

The Foundation is in memory of the late Edwin Jerron-Quarshie, a businessman and father of Samuel Jerron-Quarshie. He urged Gas to take up the challenge of educating their children who are roaming the streets of Accra "unkempt, unschooled and untutored".

"The most precious property we have for the children is what we put in their heads," he said. Dr Asante, therefore, urged Ghanaians not to spend huge sums of money on funerals, building of monuments as memorials to their ancestors and parents but invest in education as their contribution to national development.

He paid tribute to the late Edwin, a prison mate of the First President of Ghana, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, who fought for Ghana's independence.

Jerron-Quarshie said his father devoted his time to helping the needy in society and that the Foundation would start with seed money of 80m cedis and a yearly provision of 150 million cedis.

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British High Commission revises "drop Box" visa facility

Accra (Greater Accra) 10 June 2003 - The British High Commission on Tuesday said it was revising its "drop box" facility for certain category of visa applicants as part of its continual efforts to improve the service offered to applicants.

A statement issued in Accra said those who may use the facility are applicants who have travelled to the UK, USA, Canada or Australia within the last five years in "the same category they are applying, for example, as a visitor.

It said those who have travelled to a Schengen country or Switzerland (in the same category) within the last three years, have evidence of this travel and have not been refused a visa since their travel may also use the facility.

Others are those who are aged 60 years and above and are visiting a parent, sister, brother, son/daughter or grandson/daughter in the UK, and a diplomat in the Ghanaian Foreign Service, or in a diplomatic mission in Ghana.

The statement said applications by diplomats, should be accompanied by an official note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and or the appropriate foreign mission.

Students in the UK who have previously studied in the UK on a student visa or have full British Council sponsorship, could also use the facility, but must include full supporting documents.

The statement said those who meet the criteria might use the "Drop Box" facility. It said applications might be submitted during opening hours from 0700 to 1000 hours from Monday to Friday (except public holidays). An applicant may drop off the application(s) in person or send a representative.

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Unit Committee members urged to unite

Sogakope (Volta Region) 10 June 2003 - Unit Committee members under the local government system must bury their political differences and work in harmony for the development of their communities, an assembly member said on Tuesday.

"Poverty, underdevelopment and diseases know no party colours, hence the need for unit committee members to unite in developing their areas," Kwasi Azumah, Assembly member for the Mafi Sasekpe Electoral Area in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region, said.

He was speaking to the GNA in an interview after he addressed a workshop for 32 unit committee members and women leaders in the Sasekpe Area.

The participants were taken through the theories and practice of development, advocacy in development, roles and functions of the Unit Committees, Area Councils and Assembly Members and HIV/AIDS prevention.

Azumah said human resources should first be developed if infrastructure development were to be sustained. He, therefore, called on assembly members to organise training workshops for their unit committees and not to wait for the district assemblies to do so.

Azumah thanked International Needs Ghana, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), for assisting young women in the area to acquire skills at its vocational centre and appealed to other NGOs, benevolent associations and individuals to help to develop deprived areas of the country.

The Mafi Sasekpe area is one of the deprived areas in the North Tongu District. All the 13 towns and villages in the area have no source of potable water, electricity and toilets.

Most of the communities have no school, the road network is bad and the only clinic in the area, which is housed in the residence of a citizen, after a rainstorm destroyed the original clinic, is ill equipped.

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Sunyani Prisons appeals for assistance

Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 10 June 2003 - The Brong-Ahafo Regional Commander of the Prisons Service, Ambrose Imoro Salifu on Monday appealed to the government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and churches to help the Sunyani Prisons to pay an accumulated ¢6.1m hospital bill owed to the Sunyani Government Hospital through treatment of some prison inmates.

Salifu told the GNA in an interview that there was massive male over-crowding at the Sunyani Prisons. ''The prison, meant to accommodate 450 inmates, now has 698 men''.

He said 213 of the inmates are on remand with 485 serving sentences. Salifu said due to lack of funds the Sunyani Prisons had for the past four months not been able to provide soap and other detergents for the inmates.

''The problem has resulted in some of the inmates suffering from rashes and other skin diseases.'' Salifu said lack of adequate official accommodation had compelled three officers to share one room. He called on the government to provide tools to enable prisoners to make use of a ¢25.7m workshop.

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Ministry holds fellowship for AIDS patients

Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 10 June 2003 - Mount Horeb Glory Ministry, a Christian Non-Governmental organisation, in collaboration with the Ghana AIDS Commission has organised a fellowship to create awareness on the need to care and support People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), at Sunyani.

The workshop, which is under the theme "Care Giving, Spiritual and Community Development in Relation to HIV/AIDS in the 21st Century", forms part of an eight-month programme by the Ministry to promote human, spiritual, social and economic development and support for all.

Ten people living with HIV/AIDS attended the programme of prayers, interaction, counselling and other activities. The Founder of the Ministry, the Reverend Dr. Kwesi Banie, announced the formation of a 10-member Volunteer Group, which would be visiting AIDS patients.

He said, through the Commission, the Ministry would assist children of AIDS patients to continue their education and urged those with the disease to register with the NGO.

Rev. Banie said the Ministry would form clubs in senior secondary schools in the Sunyani District, including Odomaseman, near Sunyani, Abesim St. James and Nsoatre Sacred Heart, to raise peer educators to assist in the campaign against the spread of HIV/AIDS and the need to avoid stigmatisation.

He advised people living with the disease to be cheerful and not to be too disturbed about their predicament since "death is inevitable and it is there for everybody whether sick or not sick".

Rev. Banie said "the most important question one must ask oneself is 'where do I go after death'?" and urged HIV/AIDS patients to give their lives to God.

"Anybody without God becomes a handicap and won't go to Heaven," he said, adding that, "merely attending Church would not enable one to enjoy eternal life after death".

He called on them to accept and take God as their only Saviour.

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Perform duties without being partisan - Agrah

Hohoe (Volta Region) 10 June 2003 - Albert Agrah, Presiding Member of the Hohoe District Assembly, has advised area and urban councils in the District to be non-partisan when performing their duties.

He made the call at the inauguration of urban and area councils in the Hohoe District at the weekend. They are the Hohoe Urban Council and Gbi-South, Santrokofi-Akpafu, Lolobi, Likpe, Liati, Leklebi, Ve, Logba-Tafi, Have-Nyangbo, Kpeve and Agumatsa Area Councils.

Agrah told the executives to remain loyal and committed to the challenges ahead of them and refrain from acts that might undermine their roles as catalysts for development in their areas.

The Hohoe District Chief Executive, James Dogbe appealed to the committees to forge a united front and educate the people on their civic responsibilities to enhance revenue mobilisation.

Dogbe also inspected six HIPC funded facilities in the district built at a cost of about one billion cedis.

They were water supply systems, school blocks and teachers quarters at Alavanyo-Agoxoe, Logba-Alakpeti, and Tafi-Abuife. Others were nurses' quarters at Liati-Soba, a kindergarten at Hohoe-Gboxome, Gbi-Godenu and Hohoe low-cost estates.

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Evacuate Ghanaians in Liberia – President Kufour

Accra (Greater Accra) 10 June 2003 - President John Kufuor has requested the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to initiate immediate measures to possibly evacuate Ghanaian nationals caught up in the fighting in Liberia.

A statement signed and issued by Kwabena Agyapong, Press Secretary to the President on Monday evening said that in response to the President's directives, GAF had dispatched one Navy ship, two Fokker 27 and one Fokker 28 Air Force planes to Liberia.

According to the statement, the government has also appealed to countries that were already evacuating their nationals from Liberia to extend assistance to Ghanaian nationals who were eager to return home.

"In the meantime, every effort is being made to ensure that the on-going ECOWAS sponsored Peace Talks at Akosombo and Akuse in Ghana were not derailed," it added.

In a related development, the Foreign Minster, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the Executive Secretary of ECOWAS, Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas are currently in Conakry, Guinea as part of the efforts to help find speedy resolution to the situation in Liberia.

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Liberian peace process suffer setback

Akosombo (Eastern Region) 10 June 2003 - The Akosombo Peace Talks on Liberia was held back on Monday morning when closed-door proceedings were suspended till Wednesday to enable an ECOWAS fact-finding mission to assess the worsening security situation in the war torn country.

Abou Moussa, Head of the UN Peace-Building Support Office in Liberia (UNOL) who announced this at Akosombo in the Eastern Region, venue for the meeting, said ECOWAS Executive Secretary, Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas and Ghana's Foreign Minister, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo were on their way to Liberia.

He said negotiations could not go on when people were fighting and the two-member delegation would explore the opportunity for cease-fire. In reaction to the turn of events in Liberia, eight political parties attending the Akosombo peace talks organised a press conference to express concern about the renewed fighting.

Dr Charles Clarke, Chairman of the Unity Party of Liberia (UPL) who addressed the hastily arranged press conference, condemned the resumption of hostilities between the Liberian Army and the LURD rebels.

"We therefore call for an immediate and unconditional cease-fire by all belligerents and the pulling back of all fighting forces to their respective original positions prior to the commencement of the Akosombo Peace Talks," he said.

Dr Clarke noted that the renewed fighting represented a blatant disregard for humanity and the sufferings of the Liberian people. He expressed dissatisfaction about the failure of the UN Crimes Tribunal to put in place the right procedure for the indictment and arrest of President Charles Taylor.

Dr Clarke said the indictment of the President had become counter-productive and was being exploited by "the belligerents to unleash terror and mayhem on the already war-wearied people of Liberia."

"These precarious circumstances engendered by this situation squarely place on the shoulders of the UN Security Council the moral obligation to move swiftly and assist the people of Liberia in restoring peace and security."

Dr Clarke asked the UN Security Council to establish an immediate deployment of an international stabilization peace in Liberia. The eight parties called on President Taylor to step aside in the supreme interest of Liberia.

The parties were "the Free Democratic Party of Liberia," "Liberia Action Party", "Liberian Peoples' Party", and the "Liberia Unification Party". The rest were the "National Reformation Party", the "New Deal Movement", the "United Peoples Party", and the "Unity Party".

In a related development, General Boi Bleju Boi, leader of the three-member MODEL delegation to the Akosombo talks announced on Monday that his armed rebel group had declared a three-day unilateral cease-fire to help facilitate the ECOWAS brokered peace initiative.

General Boi dressed in military uniform spoke to the press and acknowledged the efforts being made by Ghana to ensure peace in his country and pledged his fullest commitment to the process.

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PNC Vice-Chairman joins NPP

Wa (Upper West) 10 June 2003 - Alhaji Moro Mahama Sentie, Vice-Chairman of the Sissala constituency branch of the People's National Convention (PNC), has resigned from the party and joined the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

In a letter to the constituency Chairman he said he was leaving the party because of some false allegations made against him by the party. Alhaji Sentie, a businessman, said the party accused him of attempting to sabotage the confirmation of the late District Chief Executive, Miss Florence Bentie Yenyie, in a broadcast on Upper West FM on August 14, 2001.

He was alleged to have asked the assembly members to reject her nomination by voting against her. "These accusations are false and sought to tarnish my hard won reputation and image," he said

Alhaji Sentie said several attempts to get the Member of Parliament (MP), Moses Dani-Baah, to meet the executive of the party to discuss the issue and get the broadcast material retracted failed.

"I have no other choice than to resign from the PNC in principle." Alhaji Sentie said he decided to join the NPP because within the two and half years of its rule the party had proved that it was capable of fulfilling the aspirations of the people considering the numerous development projects that were going on in the communities.

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Liberia peace talks suspended again

Akosombo (Eastern Region) 10 June 2003 - Peace talks on Liberia were again suspended until Wednesday as facilitators continued to work hard to put the agenda back on course.

Diplomatic sources told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the suspension was to enable the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) to have a full team at the talks taking place at Akosombo. MODEL, which said it had decided not to attend the talks because it was not given adequate time to prepare, now has a delegation in Ghana.

However, their political Leaders based in the US are expected to arrive on Tuesday for the talks. The talks were suspended on Friday after facilitators met the delegates.

Meanwhile, a two-member delegation, made up of the Executive Secretary of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Mohamed Ibn Chambas and Foreign Minster Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, is expected to fly to Monrovia on Monday to meet President Charles Taylor to discuss a ceasefire.

The delegation expected to arrive back on Tuesday would also try and make contact with the leaders of the main rebel group, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), to stop fighting in line with their unilateral declaration of a ceasefire on Friday.

Kabineh Janeh, who is leading the LURD delegation at the Akosombo Talks, said the 10-day ceasefire was to allow the peace talks to go on uninterrupted. He told the GNA that the concession was in the interest of peace. Janeh was apparently responding to concerns expressed about renewed fighting in Liberia.

General Abdulsalami Abubakar, former Nigerian Head of State, who is the facilitator, Dr Chambas and Nana Akufo Addo, had expressed the concern in separate statements they made at the meeting on Friday. Janeh said the renewed fighting was provoked by an attack on LURD positions by government forces.

He repeated that LURD would not have anything to do with President Taylor. "He is an indicted war criminal and has no legitimate voice for Liberians. "We are prepared to deal with all those at the peace talks as Liberians but not Taylor."

The programme for the peace talks, scheduled to travel for two weeks, was thrown into confusion last Wednesday when the UN War Crimes Tribunal in Sierra Leone made open an indictment of President Taylor.

The Tribunal also issued an arrest warrant for President Taylor and said it had asked the Ghanaian authorities to carry it out. However, the Ghana government said it had not officially received the warrant and President Taylor was allowed to fly back home. Since then, facilitators have been struggling to get the talks going.

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Kufuor to undertake State visit to Libya from Friday

Accra (Greater Accra) 10 June 2003 - President John Kufuor would undertake a five-day State visit to the Libyan Arab Jamariyyah from Friday 13 June.

The Libyan Ambassador in Ghana, Mohammed Al Gamudi announced this on Monday when he paid a courtesy call on President Kufuor at the Castle, Osu, to discuss the visit.

He said the visit was important to strengthen the bilateral relations and relationship between the two African countries. Al Gamudi said most African leaders had acknowledged the tremendous contribution of President Kufuor, the Chairman of ECOWAS, was making to bring peace and stability to the Sub-Region.

President Kufuor said the visit to Libya was in line with the long-standing relationship between the two countries. "I hope the visit would lift the relationship between the two countries to a new level for our mutual benefit."

President Kufuor is expected to return on Monday 17 June.

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President Kabbah bids farewell to President Kufuor

Accra (Greater Accra) 10 June 2003 - Sierra Leonean President Ahmed Tejan Kabbah on Monday bid farewell to President John Agyekum Kufuor at the Castle, Osu after a week's visit.

He expressed appreciation to the generous and kind hospitality of Ghanaians and the vital role, played by Ghanaian soldiers to bring peace and stability to Sierra Leone.

President Kabbah said the few days he stayed in Ghana had further strengthened the existing relations between the two countries, adding; " I have benefited a lot from the experience of your governance and government after my short stay".

President Kufuor said it was an opportune time for President Kabbah to relax, visit some parts of the country and have a feel of the Ghanaian hospitality.

President Kabbah arrived in Accra last Tuesday to participate in the opening of the two-week Peace Conference on Liberia. He also joined Muslims at the Central Mosque, Abbossey Okai to worship last Friday and on Sunday, joined Asanteman to celebrate Akwasidae.

Earlier on Monday morning, President Kabbah visited the Ministry of Defence at Burma camp to express his appreciation to the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) for the vital role they played in the peace process in Sierra Leone. He is expected to leave Accra for Freetown, Sierra Leone this afternoon.

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CPP is open for negotiations - Official

Bolgatanga (Upper East) 10 June 2003 - Albert Atutiga, Northern Ghana Re-organization Secretary of the Convention People's Party (CPP), at the weekend said negotiations were not closed to the People's National Convention (PNC) to co-operate to make the CPP family a formidable force to reckon with.

"Our doors are still open for our brothers in the PNC to join the CPP family so that we shall make the required impact in the country." Atutiga was briefing newsmen at the commencement of a tour of the 12 constituencies in the Upper East Region.

His tour is to enable him to re-orient party members on how to conduct constituency elections and submission of names of officers-elect to the party headquarters in Accra for the national congress slated for September.

He urged CPP followers, who for various reasons joined the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to come back. The Secretary expressed optimism that the CPP would make impact in the next election. "With the vigorous grassroots re-organization, we will capture not less than 13 of the 43 seats in the three northern regions."

Commenting on who to carry the flag of the party, he said it was too early to come out with names adding that some members, including those in the Diaspora have shown interest to contest the position but declined to mention names.

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EU to funds bi-medical research in Africa

Accra (Greater Accra) 10 June 2003 - Dr. Ebrahim Malik Samba, World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, on Monday said the European Union would make available to Africa 600 million Euro to undertake bi-medical research.

He therefore urged the Ministry of Health to liaise with Noguchi Institute of Medical Research (NMIMR) to come out with projects and access assistance from the fund.

Dr Samba said this when he called on the Minister of H0ealth, Dr Kweku Afriyie in Accra. Dr Samba who was in the country for a three-day visit at the request of the University of Ghana's College of Health Science, would leave Accra on Monday night.

He expressed concern about the slow utilization of funds allocated to fight malaria and urged the Health Ministry to decentralize and move into the districts and the communities with projects and activities to speed up their activities.

"Health is far too serious to be left in the hands of the doctors alone and there is therefore the need to integrate and join partnership to roll back not only malaria but other diseases that have plagued Africa". On the issue of eradicating polio from the continent, Dr Samba said, "with dedication and goodwill, we would be able achieve it".

Dr Afriyie commended Dr. Samba for the interest he had shown in addressing the health needs of Ghana and called on Ghanaians to work hard to make the country free of diseases.

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Ghana celebrates first food safety week

Accra (Greater Accra) 10 June 2003 - Vice President Aliu Mahama on Monday said it was unacceptable that Ghanaians continually strived to meet standards of consumers abroad while they paid little attention to the products they produced for consumption in the country.

He, therefore, tasked the relevant ministries, district assemblies and agencies responsible for ensuring safe food to collaborate and devise acceptable standards to improve the production, haulage, processing, packaging and marketing of food to ensure that Ghanaians did not suffer from food-borne diseases.

Vice President Mahama, who was launching the first National Food Safety Week in Accra, noted that about 70 per cent of the economic cost of health problems in Ghana had been attributed to environmentally-related diseases because of the circumstances under which "we store, market, prepare and consume our food".

He said the Ministry of Health recently reported that there had been 17,499 cases of diarrhoea, 1,781 cases of typhoid fever and 3,000 cases of cholera in Accra alone in 1999.

The World Health Organization (WHO) also said unsafe food, a source of food borne diseases, had an annual fatality rate of 2.2 million people; 1.8 million of which were children, Vice President Mahama said.

He said "there was a direct relationship between the food we ate, our health and the economy," and it was, therefore, government's responsibility to ensure food security by making it available, affordable, sufficient and safe.

The government, he noted, would equip and strengthen the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) and the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) to play their roles of protecting the people from the production and sale of unwholesome food.

Vice President Mahama said the existing laws governing food production and processing should be enforced to protect the citizens from deliberate and reckless acts, which endangered their lives and cost the nation dearly.

He also called for the education and exhortation of food producers and sellers to provide safe food for good health. The week is being observed under the theme: "Safe Food For Good Health, A Responsibility Of All." It is under the auspices of the Food and Drugs Board, UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and other partners.

Vice President Mahama said all Ghanaian as consumers should show active interest and concern in food safety matters, be it local or imported. He said government was encouraging the private sector to invest in haulage, processing, storage and marketing to improve the quality of food and the places for marketing them.

Ghana as a signatory to international conventions and treaties of organisations such as the World Trade Organization, WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organisation, was obliged to upgrade her national food safety programmes, he said.

"This will enable us to offer wholesome food to consumers domestically and to improve confidence in our food products exported to other parts of the world."

Prof Agyemang Badu Akosa, Director- General of the Ghana Health Service, called on metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies to ban all vegetable sellers, who displayed their produce on the ground.

He also urged the assemblies to concentrate on environmental sanitation in the market places since most foods were contaminated from the markets because of the environment in which they were sold. "Food vendors also need to be monitored to ensure that they did not produce unwholesome foods for their customers," he said.

Major Courage Quashigah, Minister of Food and Agriculture, said the country could not attain its desired food security unless food was properly handled devoid of all forms of contamination. "Our market places are the main sources of contaminations due to the filth in which the sellers sell their produce".

Kyeremanteng Agyarko, Chief Executive of the FDB, in a welcoming address said a recent study in Ghana had demonstrated that up to 60,000 individuals sold an estimated ¢48m worth of food on the streets of Accra alone. The study found that serious food security risks existed in food offered for sale in the market place, he said

"The risks include contamination of raw materials with pathogenic bacteria pesticide residues, myco-toxins and heavy metals." Agyarko said the effect of consuming unsafe food was not only implicated in health conditions but also had a spillover effect on economic performance.

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Minister proposes replacement of mercury with cyanide

Accra (Greater Accra) 10 June 2003 - Health Minister, Dr Kweku Afriyie on Monday suggested that small-scale miners be trained to use cyanide for their activities instead of mercury to minimise the health effect of the latter on the health of Ghanaians.

Dr Afriyie, who acknowledged that his proposal might be deemed controversial, stressed that cyanide was better than mercury because it was degradable, while mercury was not.

Speaking at a ceremony in Accra at which Vice President Aliu Mahama launched the first National Food Safety Week, Dr Afriyie said mercury deposits, which flowed into rivers in mining areas, entered fishes and remained in them, thereby passing them to humans on consumption.

"When mercury also gets into the soil it ends up in food through the food chain processes, with its devastating health effects and this is the story that has not been told," he said.

However, Dr Afriyie said, although cyanide caused acute poisoning of aquatic organisms when it contaminated water bodies it was the better of two evils because it was degradable. He said the safety of food should not be compromised because food provided the basic energy for the normal functioning of the organs of the body.

The elimination of chemical residue in food and improper preservation of certain foods like cassava and maize, which produced aflatoxins, the cancer causing agents, should be well addressed.

Dr Afriyie said pupils and students should be educated on food safety issues by the Health Education Unit. He said it was unfortunate that Ghanaians had accepted unhygienic conditions under which food was produced, marketed, processed and consumed as normal, adding that food must be seen as one of the greatest determinant of one's health.

He described a documentary presentation that portrayed scenes at the markets, chop bars, streets and other places where food was prepared, sold and consumed in the midst of filth and flies, as a shocking therapy that should awaken Ghanaians to do the right thing.

The week's celebration, jointly organised by the Food and Drugs Board and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, with the support of other partners, is aimed at sensitising Ghanaians to consume only safe food.

Meanwhile, a study conducted by the United States Environmental Agency (USEA) and made available to the GNA, revealed that fish containing harmful levels of the pollutant mercury could harm the developing brain and nervous system when consumed by a pregnant or nursing woman or by a young child.

Contamination of the fish takes place when mercury pollution is released into the air and falls down into water bodies or is deposited on land from where it could be washed into water.

The survey said bacteria in water caused chemical changes that transformed mercury into a highly toxic form - methylmercury. Methylmercury accumulates in fish, with larger fish generally accumulating higher levels of it.

It said the EPA and USEA were working to reduce mercury pollution in the environment but because methylmercury was very persistent, it would take many years before methylmercury levels in fish were reduced.

Another study on cyanide, however, states that most cyanide in surface water would form hydrogen cyanide and evaporate; adding that cyanide in water did not build up in the bodies of fish.

Nevertheless, it warned that in high concentrations, cyanide becomes toxic to soil microorganisms and could pass through soil into underground water.

Cyanide enters the environment from both natural processes and human industrial activities. In the air, cyanide is mainly found as gaseous hydrogen cyanide; a small amount is present as fine dust particles.

It takes about 1-3 years for half of the hydrogen cyanide to disappear from the air. Human beings, it said, could be exposed to cyanide by breathing air, drinking water, touching soil, or eating foods containing cyanide.

Smoking cigarettes and breathing smoke-filled air during fires are major sources of cyanide exposure. Working in an industry where cyanide is used or produced, such as electroplating, metallurgy, metal cleaning, and photography also exposed people to the chemical.

In large amounts, the study said, cyanide was very harmful to people. Exposure to high levels of cyanide in the air for a short time harmed the brain and heart, and might cause coma and death.

However, exposure to lower levels of cyanide for a long time may result in breathing difficulties, heart pains, vomiting, headaches and enlargement of the thyroid gland. People who eat large amounts of cyanide may have symptoms including deep breathing and shortness of breath, convulsions and loss of consciousness and may die.

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Personnel commended for efficient immunisation exercise

Yendi (Northern Region) 10 June 2003 - Personnel of the Ministry of Health in the Yendi District have been commended for making it possible for children between zero and five years to be immunised under the first phase of the sub-national polio immunisation exercise.

The Ministry engaged the services of zonal micro-planning maps to coordinators, volunteers, supervisors and senior health personnel and made sure that every qualified child was immunized.

Dr Kane Ibrahima, World Health Polio Eradication Focal Person who made the commendation, said he was satisfied with the way the immunization teams marked houses and fingers of children they immunized.

He said the cold chain system was also kept at the appropriate level to maintain the potency of the polio vaccine. Dr Ibrahima appealed to the teams to adopt the same strategy during the second phase of the exercise scheduled for July 11.

George Alhassan, Yendi District Disease Control Officer, who assisted in the zoning of the district, said the teams were not provided with sufficient carriers for vaccines and this made the exercise difficult.

Mohammed Asibi Azonko, the District Co-ordinating Director, commended heads of departments and NGOs for releasing their vehicles for the teams to perform their duties.

GRi…/

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Criminal Summons against soldier

Accra (Greater Accra) 10 June 2003 - An Accra Circuit Court on Monday ordered the police to issue criminal summons to the Ghana Armed Forces Legal Directorate for the release of a junior army officer to stand trial at the court for his alleged involvement in a chieftaincy dispute.

The order followed an application made to the court by the prosecution in a case in which the soldier, Staff Sergeant Emmanuel Annor, has been jointly charged with 20 others, for causing harm to members of the other faction in the dispute, and damage to their property, at Oshiyie, a village near Bortianor.

The 20, all fishermen, and believed to be supporters of S/Sgt Annor, have pleaded not guilty to various charges, and are currently on bail.

The case for the prosecution was that as a result of a protracted chieftaincy dispute at Oshiyie, the accused persons, on July 19 of last year, allegedly assaulted Nii Kofi Akrashie, chief of the village, and his followers.

S/Sgt Annor allegedly engaged policemen who had been detailed to the village to restore peace and order, in a shoot-out, and managed to escape thereafter.

The prosecution stated that the police, however, arrested the 20 accused persons, believed to be his supporters. Justice Peter Aggrey, High Court Judge, with an additional responsibility on the case as a Circuit Court Judge, has adjourned it to Monday 30 June.

GRi…/

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Court automation is judicial service's major project - C.J.

Accra (Greater Accra) 10 June 2003 - Chief Justice Edward Kwame Wiredu said on Monday that the automation of the courts was a major project in the Judicial Service's reform programme, aimed at modernising the process of the administration of justice.

It is the aim of the service eventually to have all the courts automated," he said, in an address read on his behalf by Justice G. K. Acquah, a Supreme Court Judge, at the opening a seven-day Capacity Development Workshop for 21 judges of (Automated) High Courts of Justice, at the Judicial Service Training School in Accra.

Chief Justice Wiredu stressed that apart from the automation of the Regional High Courts, DANIDA had undertaken to automate six district courts in the North, adding USAID had also offered to automate five more district courts.

The course is to enable each of the participating judges drawn from the Southern Sector to gain sufficient knowledge to help them to make the automation process of the courts successful.

It was organised by the Institute of Continuing Judicial Education of Ghana (ICJEG) and sponsored by UNDP/National Governance Programme with funding from the Japanese Human Resource Development (HRD) assistance.

Chief Justice Wiredu, who is also the Chairman of the General Legal Council, said the automation was, among other things, meant to relieve the judges from taking down the proceedings in long hand, so as to enable them to listen more attentively to the evidence.

"It is further meant to facilitate speedy processing of the entire trial, guarantee transparency and fairness in the adjudication of cases, and thereby create the necessary confidence and respect in the administration of justice."

He noted that in the courts where proceeding were carried out manually, it was not uncommon to receive complaints from litigants and their lawyers about a particular judge's refusal or failure to record part of the evidence or submission, saying such complaints could not arise in an automated court.

Chief Justice Wiredu reminded the judges that the equipment was expensive and delicate and said it costs about $50,000 to get a court semi-automated, while it costs about $200,000 to fully automate one court.

The Chief Justice urged them to take personal responsibility for the proper care and safety of the equipment. They should also monitor the performance of their staff in order to avoid breakdowns and delays.

Chief Justice Wiredu said the "court computerisation project", popularly referred to as the "Fast Track High Court", had turned out to be a huge success, after some initial set backs.

The Chief Justice said due to the limited resources at the Judicial Service's disposal from its benevolent donors, the automation would be in phases in the regions.

The first phase would cover 10 high courts in the Regional Capitals. The second phase would cover the 10 high courts sited in some districts and other selected towns. He said completed fully automated high courts in the first phase, were in Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi with semi-automation in Tema, Ho, Koforidua, Cape Coast, Sunyani, Wa, Bolgatanga and Tamale.

He explained that in the full-automated courts, "the court room is linked to the cashier, registrar, bailiff, data entry clerk, judge chambers and the quality controller or IT administrator.

The Minister of Justice and Attorney -General, Papa Owusu Ankomah, who was the Special Guest, said it was proper for the Judiciary to be abreast with time, especially in this era of Information Technology.

He said the NPP Government had ushered the country into a golden age of business and that the Judiciary would complement this effort by ensuring effective dispensation of justice.

He announced that plans were far advanced to introduce Commercial Courts in the country. The Minister noted that offering Information Technology to the Judges was in the right direction, but the human element was very important.

He said the course would become meaningless if the participating judges did not change their habits and stamped their authorities at their respective courts.

Ankomah, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sekondi, urged the participants to let their works have a "moral message" and to show that there was a "new wind blowing in the Judiciary."

The Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, Mrs Kazuko Asai, said during the visit of President John Kufuor, to Japan in October 2002, the Government of Japan decided to extend $417,000 to Ghana, to support the project for the Institutional Management System for the Judiciary of Ghana.

She said the assistance was extended under Japan's Human Resource Development Fund, which was established in 1986 in the UNDP, for the purpose of helping efforts of developing countries towards human resources development.

The Ambassador was delighted that the automation of some of the high courts in the country were being extended to all the 10 regional capitals, and noted that the reform process in the Judiciary was making progress for the smooth take off in the regions as well.

Ambassador Asai, who is a lawyer by profession, was confident that the success of the project would further strengthen the emphasis placed on the realisation of good governance through "Zero Tolerance for Corruption" under the slogan of "Positive Change" by the Government of Ghana.

Earlier in a welcoming address, Mr Owusu Ansah, Judicial Secretary appealed to the Japanese Ambassador to assist the Judiciary to expand its training school.

He also mentioned a conference centre and a hostel facility of between 30 and 50 rooms to house judges in training as some of the problems facing the Judiciary.

In a closing remark, Justice Acquah, also the Chairman of the ICJEG Board of Trustees told the participants; "the achievement of the objective would depend on how they fared in their automated courts".

He said if they performed well and succeeded in disposing of cases speedily, their efforts would urge the Judiciary to pursue the automation of the remaining courts.

GRi…/

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Mamprusis in Kumasi call for peace in Bawku

Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 10 June 2003 - Mamprusis in the Kumasi Metropolis have called on all citizens of Bawku to disregard the propaganda of deceit, unite and pray for peaceful atmosphere in the Bawku traditional area.

In a statement signed by Saley Batecima, secretary of the Concerned Mamprusis Association (CMA) in Kumasi said recent Supreme Court's decision on the Bawku chieftaincy dispute should not be seen as a victory for any faction in the dispute.

The statement said the Supreme Court's ruling followed the decision of the plaintiff, Alhaji Ibrahim Adam Zangbeogo, to discontinue with the case.

The statement called on all citizens of Bawku to stop peddling lies and unnecessary comments to ensure lasting peace and speedy development of Bawku.

GRi…/

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Rawlings would talk to the Police at his convenience

Accra (Greater Accra) 10 June 2003 - Former President Jerry John Rawlings would be available for an interview with the Police at his own convenience, Victor Smith, an Aide to the Former President, told the Ghana News Agency on Monday.

"We have received the request for an interview and we are looking into our schedule." Smith was speaking to the GNA in a telephone interview in reaction to an invitation letter the Police sent to the Former President requesting him to share his knowledge about the killing of women that bedevilled the country a few years ago.

Smith said the Office of the Former President would assess whether the time fixed by the Police was convenient and if not it would be rescheduled.

The Police Administration in a statement signed by Assistant Superintendent of Police David Eklu, Director Public Relations, on Monday said, the Police had requested for an interview with Former President Rawlings to assist in the on going investigations into the serial murders.

The statement said: "As a Senior Citizen and Statesman, it is hoped that the former Head of State will live up to his civic responsibilities and readily provide the necessary clues to lead the Police to delve into any other unexplored aspects of the investigations into the Serial Murders."

The statement recalled that; "at public forum in Accra recently, on the occasion marking the 24th Anniversary of June 4th, the former Head of State intimated that he had evidence to prove that fifteen (15) politicians allied to the present Government were in some way implicated in the Serial Murders of women in the country between 1994 - 2000".

The statement asked members of the public, who may have relevant information in connection with the murders to come forward to assist in the on going investigations, adding: "Murder is a very serious felony and the Police have never and will not treat any information relevant to murder investigations lightly."

GRi…/

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African-American found dead after fire outbreak

Nsawam (Greater Accra) 10 June 2003 - The charred body of a 49-year-old African-American, Francis Cooper, has been deposited at the Police Hospital in Accra following fire that gutted his house at Kwakyekrom near Nsawam in the Eastern Region.

Police Superintendent Otchere Boapea, Nsawam District Police Commander told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Nsawam on Monday, that the charred body of Cooper, a computer engineer and farmer was found when the police had information that a house at Kwakyekrom was on fire.

He said some policemen and personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) rushed to the scene and when the fire was put off the body was found.

Supt. Boapea said the body has been deposited at the Hospital for autopsy while investigations into the cause of the fire continued.

GRi…/

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Police mounts search for driver

Nsawam (Greater Accra) 10 June 2003 - The Nsawam Police have mounted a search for the arrest of a hit-and-ran driver who knocked and killed a motorbike rider at Otoase near Nsawam on the Kraboa Coaltar road.

Supt Otchere Boapea, Police Commander in-charge of Nsawam told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that on Saturday 7 June, the driver knocked down Kwame Panti, 30, a businessman who died instantly while riding on his motorbike to Dokorochiwa.

He said the body of the deceased has been deposited at the Nsawam Government Hospital for post mortem, while the search of the driver continued.

GRi…/

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