Soldiers forced my
father to drink water and cement
Five NPP candidates
vie for Hohoe North seat
Ghana's water not
available to all
Chief appeals to
Education Ministry
Intensive moves to
eradicate Female Genital Mutilation
About 3,100
Ghanaians return from Liberia
Pepoase
Clinic to be completed by September
Nii Ayiebonte,
who is also the chairman of the National Pre-mix Committee, said this at the
inauguration of 105 pre-mix committee members from 21 landing beaches in the
Central Region at
Elmina and Apam
did not have their committees inaugurated due to chieftaincy disputes in the
two towns, which had made organisation very difficult.
He said the government would
continue to subsidies pre-mix petrol as an incentive to both fishermen and
farmers to enable them increase productivity. Nii Ayiebonte noted that, there is too much suspicion in the
pre-mix business and expressed concern about numerous unanimous letters about
members of the pre-mix committees and urged those involved in that habit to
change their nefarious attitude.
He told members of the
committees, made up of four elected and one government appointee to pay back
stocks supply made to them on credit bases by the oil companies to avoid
collapse of their business.
The Central Regional Minister,
Isaac Edumadze told members of the committees to stop
diverting their supply and ensure open administration to avoid suspicion and
misunderstanding.
The Regional Minister said the
government appreciates the good work done by fishermen and that was why it
awarded them annually and urged them to reciprocate this by supporting it.
He urged them to ensure
environmental cleanliness at the beaches and their homes to avoid outbreak of
diseases. Mustapha Mohamed, Central Regional co-ordinator of pre-mix committees
appealed to communities where there were disputes to resolve them for their
committees to be inaugurated.
He asked members of the
committees to work hard to improve the lot of their people, saying that the
regional coordinating committee had adopted stringent measures to avoid misuse
of funds.
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Soldiers
forced my father to drink water and cement
Tamale (Northern Region)
Ayamga who was testifying before the Commission,
said in
He said soldiers broke into his
father's rooms and found some lorry tyres, cement and paddy rice, which they
(soldiers) cart into a tipper truck.
Ayamga said the soldiers inflated a
tyre and hung it on Bawa Ayamga's
neck and was forced to march through the principal streets of Bolgatanga, with some people following and calling him ''Kalabukle man.''
The Petitioner said his father
was taken to the then Upper Regional Administration Office for interrogation
and later sent to the Bawah Barracks in Tamale and
kept in military custody.
Ayamga said he followed up to Tamale
to see his father but he saw him sitting under the sun with several wounds on
his head and cheeks apparently indicating that he was molested.
He said his father told him that
Lt. Donkor gave him cement and water to drink and
also used a hammer to hit his head several times causing the injuries on his
head and face.
On 3 September the same year, he
was brought back to Bolgatanga to face the
"Peoples Court" then sitting at the Regional House of Chiefs and at
about 12 .00 GMT he was sentenced to three years imprisonment in hard labour
and sent to the Navrongo Prisons.
Ayamga said on
Ayamga, however, told the commission
that the paddy rich that was seized from his father was sent to the Bolgatanga Rice Mills and sold for ’72,000 and the amount
later given to the family.
He said Lt. Donkor,
was wicked and that he was so bitter with him for the atrocities he meted out
to his father. Rev Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, a member of the commission
sympathized with Ayamga.
Gilbert Newton Issifu Awuriri, a former Activist
of the People's National Party (PNP) who appeared before the commission said he
was picked up by a group of soldiers at his house at
He said they asked him whether
he was one Bob Saeed, then a friend staying with him
and when he replied in the negative he was severely beaten. Awuriri
said one of the soldiers cocked his gun and wanted to shoot him but the leader
of the group stopped him from doing so and he (Awuriri)
was whisked away in a vehicle.
He said on their way, he heard
the soldiers communicate with the Castle that they had succeeded in arresting
one of the financiers of coup in the country.
A reply came to the soldiers
that Flt Lt Rawlings, then Head of State was personally interested in seeing
him and that he would visit him at
Awuriri said instructions were given to
the soldiers to put him under serious security guard and also prevent people
from seeing him or hearing about his arrest.
He said he was however sent to
the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) headquarters and later taken to the
Air-Force base in
Awuriri who is also a building contractor, said when he enquired to know the
reasons for his arrest; he was told that it was on the orders of Captain
(Retired) Kojo Tsikata.
The Petitioner said while in
cells, he heard rumours that he was being used as a guinea pig but that the
real person the soldiers were looking for was Jacob Yidana.
Awuriri said Yidana, who
was a good friend of his was at that time investigating the murder of the three
High Court Judges and retired Army officer.
He said he was later used as a
witness against Yidana by the authorities and after
his release from prison, he was warned not to say anything to anybody about the
secret agenda against Yidana.
Awuriri said the authorities also told
him that he was being closely monitored and that his life was in danger and
should not dare to disclose any information to anybody. He said the soldiers
took away all the valuable items in his house and ’500,000.
Other seven petitioners from Bolgatanga also appeared before the commission whose cases
ranges from disappearances of husbands, mainly soldiers, and seizure of
properties and shooting of persons by soldiers.
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"Let us remove the
bewilderment to the litigant, let the litigant have the assurance that no more
shall cases be adjourned on account of neglect of court officials.''
Tetteh, who is also a Senior Advocate
at the Swanzy Arcade was speaking at the on-going
public lecture in Accra under the general theme; "The Judiciary in the
Fourth Republic."
The lecture, which was organised
by Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS) and the British Council, was to
throw a searchlight on the institution of the Judiciary and the judicial
process under the fourth republic.
Tetteh said: "The litigant
deserves explanation for the long and frequent adjournments and the assurance
that delays would not be countenanced anymore,"
Speaking on "Modernising
the Machinery of Justice," Tetteh called for
elimination of unnecessary advocacy from the rules of the court to ensure
judicious time management.
He also suggested the creation
of a department within the judicial system for the processing of appeal records
to fast track justice delivery whilst the appellant furnishes or pay a deposit
for the required photocopies.
Tetteh said there was the urgent need
to establish or maintain commercial, tax and land divisions of the High Court
with fast track rules to facilitate the justice system.
Filling fees in such divisions
must reflect a fair cost-sharing contribution by the litigant for the
maintenance of the infrastructure in those courts, he said.
Tetteh requested the High Court and
the Circuit Court to stop the current practice whereby 'stay execution of
judgement' was generally issued and orders instalment payment of the judgement
debt.
He said by this practice the
judges declares the plaintiff's right to recover his debt from the defendant
but turns round to prevent him from recovering the debt and imposes instalment
repayment terms against the wishes of the plaintiff.
He said a judgement creditor to
such an order is at liberty to resort to any other legitimate process of
execution to enforce his judgement. Tetteh said the
rule smacks of abuse of judicial powers, as a court of law must not declare the
right of a creditor to recover his debt and then turn round to deny him the
fruits of his judgement because alleged circumstances have rendered it
inexpedient.
"The rule promotes bad
business and I appealed to the Rules of Court Committee to delete it from the
Draft Rules but if the committee would not, then I appealed to Parliament, when
the Rules are laid before it to disallow it," Tetteh
stated.
Nana Kobina
Nketsia V, Omanhene of Essikadu and Lecturer at the Department of History University
of Cape Coast spoke on "The Judiciary in the Delivery of Justice, whilst
Professor J. O. M. Pobee, Fellow of the Academy
chaired the section.
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The document also enjoined the
three belligerent groups - the government and two rebel groups - to refrain
from committing any act that might constitute or facilitate a violation of the
ceasefire.
An ECOWAS Mediation Team
clinched the deal after nine days of closed-door negotiations with
representatives of the Liberian Executive, Liberians United For
Reconciliation And Democracy (LURD) and The Movement For Democracy In
Liberia (MODEL).
The Peace Talks started on 4
June with five Heads of State from
The Talks was overshadowed by
the indictment of President Charles Taylor of
The agreement said a Joint
Verification Team (JVT) of ECOWAS would move to
"Each party shall identify
the locations of its units including combat equipment and communicate this
information to the JVT in writing within 72 hours of signing the agreement.
"The parties shall provide
security guarantees for safe and unhindered access by humanitarian agencies to
vulnerable groups, free movement of persons and goods as well as for the return
and resettlement of refugees and internally displaced persons."
The parties agreed to the
formation of a Joint Monitoring Committee (JMC) to supervise and monitor the
ceasefire. The JMC would be chaired by a representative of ECOWAS and would
include equal representation from the warring parties, the UN, African Union
and the International Contact Group On Liberia.
The ceasefire agreement would be
followed by a political reconciliation that would include political parties in
These would include disarmament,
demobilisation and re-integration of the armed combatants, restructuring of the
security forces, humanitarian and human rights issues.
A transitional government would
be formed within this period excluding President Charles Taylor following his
declaration at the opening of the Peace Talks that he would not be part of the
process.
The Agreement defined ceasefire
violations to include attacks by any of the parties against each other; acts of
sabotage; laying of mines, hostage-taking and seizure
of materials.
Harassment, attacks and hostage
taking and arrest of combatants, civilians and personnel of humanitarian
agencies as well as seizure of properties of individuals and corporations are
forbidden.
Daniel
General Abdulsalami
Abubakar, Former Nigerian Head of State and ECOWAS
Mediator at the Peace Talks and Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas, ECOWAS Executive Secretary witnessed it.
Other signatories included
Members of the International Contact Group on
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Five NPP
candidates vie for Hohoe North seat
Hohoe (Volta Region)
They are Emmanuel Kofi Kumi, 60, Western Regional
Economic Planning Officer, George Hayford, 45, a Hohoe based businessman, Reginald Appaloh
Kota, 41, a tutor at the Hohoe Evangelical
Presbyterian Secondary School, Marlon Anipa, 45, a
United Kingdom-based director of a mental organisation and John-Peter Amewu, 35, a road and building consultant.
Speaking at
the conference the Hohoe District Chief Executive
(DCE), James Komla Dogbe,
called on members of the party to step up their membership drive to enable the
NPP to win the 2004 elections.
"Learn to be abreast with
government policies to enable you to educate the people for more support",
he said. Dogbe told the 103 polling station chairmen
in the constituency who would vote in the primaries to vote for a dedicated
person who has the development of the constituency and the party at heart.
Kwame Attah,
the Regional Secretary of the party, urged the people of the region to rally
behind the NPP for the development of the region.
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"French does not intend to
intervene directly or in isolation to impose an external solution but she wants
to act constantly in support of the effort of the regional community", he
said. Villepin was speaking at the Forth Forum on
A statement by the French
Embassy in
Villepin talked about immediate steps
that were being taken to redirect civilian and military cooperation to support
crisis-exit processes.
" Priority need would not
focus on the restructuring of the armed forces but support for financial
administration, reintegration of the rebel elements, refugees and restoration
of government machinery and communication networks" he said.
"We are deeply committed to
He said steps were being taken
to resume dialogue with international financial institutions to jerk up
Villepin said
He said
Villepin said
"We want to concentrate our
efforts on the objectives defined by the African countries in the NEPAD
framework to move from assistance-based system to one of partnership".
He said while others saw NEPAD
as incantation,
Villepin commended the Inter-African
forces for the substantial progress made in restoring peace to some war ravaged
countries on the continent.
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He said the worst aspect to the
water issue was that of sanitation, which evaded an even greater percentage of
the population.
Prof. Dorm-Adzobu,
who was speaking at the launch of this year's "International Year of
Freshwater in
The natural threats include
"extreme spatial and temporal variability of climate and rainfall, climate
change, growing water scarcity and shrinking of some water bodies.
The human factors he said
included the pursuit of inappropriate governance of trans-national water basins
and depletion of water resources through pollution,
The year is being celebrated
under a global theme: "Water - Two Billion People Are Dying For It" and a local theme:" Freshwater
Indispensable for Human Survival".
Prof. Dorm-Adzobu
said over 300 million people on the continent did not have access to safe water
and more than 500 million were without adequate sanitation.
"An equal number of people
are food in-secured and malnourished in spite of the availability of large
under-utilized agricultural lands and irrigation potentials," he said.
Prof Dorm-Adzobu
called for policies, strategies and commitment to implement policies to meet
the challenges that the unavailability of water posed to many.
Nana Dwomoh
Sarpong, President of Friend of Rivers and Water
Bodies a non-governmental organisation (NGO) said though the world might be
surrounded by an abundance of water; much was not consumable and, therefore,
could not be classified as freshwater.
He called for the creation of a
Ministry of Water to co-ordinate activities to ensure the sustainable use of
water sources to make them available to generations yet unborn.
He also called for the
enforcement of laws regarding rain harvesting so that rainwater would not
continue to cause havoc in certain areas while others would be in dire need of
it.
Nana Dwomoh
Sarpong called for the privatisation of water saying
it was only through that, that a lot of people would attach importance to water
conservation.
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They said the removal of the
Accra Zoo to the Shai Hills was in contravention of
the UN Convention on Illegal Trade in Endangered Species and had the potential
of killing interest in the Zoo.
The officials, who were
participating on the fringes of the Meet-The-Press Series in
They noted that the Zoo formed
part of the Green Belt designated by the Ministry of Lands and Forestry and
Town and Country Planning Department.
Government plans to expand the
Presidency at the Flagstaff House, which used to be the residence and offices
of President Osagyefo Dr Kwame
Nkrumah. Officials of the Accra Zoo told the GNA that zoos were urban entities
and should not be moved to rural settings.
"We wish to register that zoos can be set up in rural settings taking into
cognisance the natural habitat of the animals there. But when the animals are moved from their
usual place where they have been for years, the possibility is that they might
not survive."
They said the Zoo attracted
about 100,000 visitors a year of which 70,000 were children, who live in
They said that the huge sums of
foreign exchange from embassies and individuals at home and abroad have gone
into regenerating endangered species at the Zoo.
"This will all come to naught
if government goes ahead with the relocation. Government must keep the Zoo and
rather make the expected expansion around it," one official said.
The official proposed the
He expressed regret that
developers of estates had taken over some of the areas designated as Green
Belt. "We are in a dilemma since some of these things have to be addressed
carefully because of the social dimensions that have developed."
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Accra (Greater Accra) 18 June
2003 - The Ministry of Works and Housing (MWH) and the Accra Metropolitan
Assembly (AMA) have resorted to dialogue with squatters of Sodom and Gomorrah
to get them to agree to vacate the premises for the second phase of work to
begin on the Korle Lagoon Ecological Project in
November this year.
To give a human face to the
problem, dialoguing was considered a better alternative compared to chasing out
the people with guns though their presence was stalling work on the project
leading to the payment of millions of cedis each day.
A meeting between the MWH, AMA
and leaders of the various groups of squatters would soon be held to convince
the people to relocate as soon as possible since time was far spent, Alhaji Idris Mustapha Ali,
Minister of Works and Housing, told the press on Tuesday.
The dredging of the Korle Lagoon that started two years ago by the AMA and the
Ministry of Works and Housing is to restore the area to a beautiful tourist
site and eliminate the health hazards it poses to people living around its precincts.
The AMA and the Attorney -
General were taken to court in their attempt to relocate the squatters and the
court gave them time to move. Alhaji Ali said sites
had been identified for "our own compatriots" to relocate for work to
continue.
He said government was currently
paying $30,000 a month to the contractors while the squatters continued to stay
there, adding that their relocation would save the country from paying that
huge sum of money and facilitate the completion of the project that would be to
the benefit of the entire nation.
"The time has come for us
not to flex our muscles but to reason with our compatriots to accept to
relocate," Alhaji Ali said. The Minister said
the project was at a critical stage and there was a need for the people to move
before November to allow work to continue adding that government had spent so
much and it would be a waste of resources if it were stopped midway.
Samuel Offei-Darko,
Chief Executive of the AMA, said the Tuesday Market; Osu Market area, Zongo
Junction and Amasaman were the sites where sheds had
been completed to accommodate the squatters.
He said the people in the area
were grouped into three, namely the Salvation Market Union, the bulk-breakers,
including the charcoal, yam and onion sellers and those who had illegally
settled there and had been harassing workers going about their day-to-day
activities.
Offei-Darko said the population of people
at
He said a committee made up of
the Women and Children's Ministry, Department of Social Welfare, Ministry of
Employment and Manpower Development and the Regional Coordinating Council to
assist and equip these people, especially the women and children, with skills
as well as to support them financially to start small businesses, had been set
up.
He said the training programme
was being funded by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and urged the
people there to avail themselves of it.
Nathaniel A. Armah,
Chairman of the Project Implementation Unit, noted that the people were
occupying a vital area where waste materials dredged from the lagoon would be
dumped. He said they had continued to throw solid and liquid waste into the
lagoon making their work difficult.
Armah said $33m had already been
spent on the first phase of the project. He said concrete slabs over the drains
at Kaneshie and Agbogbloshie
were being removed by the squatters to erect structures and pleaded with them
to stop the practice.
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Sekondi (Western Region)
Lt Col Nii
Tackie (rtd) National
President of the Association read the order at a meeting with the fishermen and
fishmongers in Sekondi on Tuesday. He said most of
the fish caught through this method of fishing are juvenile and therefore
results in depleting large amount of fish stock.
Col. Tackie
said the measure was to conserve fish stock and protect the fishing industry.
He said the Association was working hand-in-hand with the fisheries department
and Fisheries Research Institute to find alternative methods of fishing.
Col. Teckie
advised fishermen to acquaint themselves with the provisions of the fisheries
law because it would be strictly enforced. He said an arbitration committee had
been formed to look into accident at sea and settle misunderstandings in
industrial and local fishing.
Nana Kondua
IV, Chief fisherman of the Abuesi who presided over
the meeting called the various fishing groups to impress upon government to
fashion out a social security scheme for the local fishermen.
He said fishing groups should
turn their attention to sustainability of their livelihood and sanitation
programmes at landing sites. Nana Kondua asked the
Association to bring all splinter fishing associations under one umbrella to
enable fishermen to play useful role in the socio-economic development of the
country.
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Chief
appeals to Education Ministry
Nsawam (Greater Accra)
Addressing a durbar of chiefs
and people during their annual Akwasidae festival, Abusuapaying Koranteng, who is
also chairman of the town's school management committee expressed regret that
since the construction of the six classroom block some 30 years ago, there had
not been any major maintenance work on it.
He said anytime there was a
downpour, pupils and their teachers had to abandon their classes and seek
shelter elsewhere. Nana Obuba Okyere,
Kyidomhene of the town said that land had been
released for the construction of a new school block.
He pledged the determination of
the people to support the project with communal work as well as voluntary
contributions in other to help complete the project on time. Nana Okyere urged NGOs, in the area to complement efforts by
assisting financially towards the early completion of the project.
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Koforidua (Greater Accra)
It has, therefore, recommended a
maximum penalty of ’50m or five years jail term instead of the ’2m or six
months contained in the Bill, noting that as a result of new digital
technologies, it was becoming easier, cheaper and more profitable for pirates
to operate.
The president of MUSIGA, Alhaji Sidiku Buari,
made the appeal when briefing the congress of the Eastern Regional branch of
the union on the Copyright Bill at Koforidua on
Tuesday.
He pointed out that the time had
come for the country to join other countries to counter the menace of pirates
with stiffer penalties, considering the huge investment necessary for the
production of master copies of musical works which the pirates cheaply exploit
to advantage, due to the current state of the law.
Alhaji Buari,
who regretted the wretched financial conditions of some musicians due to the
piracy of their works, asked all members to register with the Copyright
Administrator to enable them to earn enough royalty to compensate for their
works.
He announced that a nation-wide
talent hunt to unearth artistes would soon be launched as part of efforts to
develop the music industry. Alhaji Buari called on those engaged in the hip-life music to back
it with local instruments in order to make it attract international appeal and
earn foreign exchange for the country.
He also decried the craze for
profane lyrics by some musicians, which he noted, was corrupting the countrys
cultural norms. Sam Cooper, who chaired the function, asked the newly-elected
executive to exhibit transparency and accountability during their tenure of
office to move the branch forward.
In an election of new branch
executives conducted by the Electoral Commission, Justice Ofosu
Okyere was returned as regional chairman with Yeboah Johnson as vice chairman, Albert Owusu
Sarpong, secretary and Miss Comfort Owusuaa as treasurer.
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Intensive
moves to eradicate Female Genital Mutilation
Wa (Upper West) 18 June 2003 - Ghanaian Association for the Welfare of Women (GAWW) a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), has started an intensive education and training programme to educate people against female genital mutilation (FGM).
A weeklong training of trainers'
workshop had, therefore, been organised to sensitise and train focal persons to
undertake education programmes in the communities.
Speaking at the closing
ceremony, Mrs Florence Ali, National Co-ordinator of GAWW, said the
organization was liasing with both governmental and
NGOs to ensure that the practice was completely stopped.
Mrs Ali commended the
Netherlands Embassy for its sponsorship of the programmes and promised that
they would make judicious use of available resources to ensure that the
practice was stopped.
Sahanun Mogtari,
Upper West Regional Minister, expressed regret that despite the passing of law
on female genital mutilation in the country most people were still in the
practice.
"The importance of law lies
in its implementation and, therefore, if the law on female genital mutilation
is to become meaningful then we must seek the best way by which we can
implement it."
Mogtari appealed to women groups in the
country to spearhead the crusade against FGM as the rural women would listen
more to their colleague than men.
Madam Georgina Osman, a Deputy Director of Nursing Services (DDNS) called
on nurses at sub-districts to be vigilant and report people engaged in FGM in
their areas to the authorities for redress.
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He said children and some adults
have been diagnosed for bilharzia and water related
diseases in recent times since they resorted to various unhygienic sources of
water.
Abuga said this in an urgent
statement in the House on Tuesday on the water situation in his constituency,
which he said threatens the very basis of the Paga
community and should be of great national concern.
The MP said the main water pump,
which used to serve about 50,000 people in the area broke down in March 2002
resulting in severe and acute shortage of drinking water.
He said the problem has been
compounded by the pouring in of refugees from Cote d'Ivoire and Liberia and the
use of Paga as the main entry point of all Ghana's
neighbouring countries such as Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso who hitherto used the
Ivorian route.
Abuga said the whole population rely
on one borehole, which often breaks down resulting in the sale of sachet water
at between ’1,000 to ’2,000 instead of ’300.
"The trend is growing in
complexity while the assembly looks on unconcerned even though the chiefs and
people in the area had made several appeals to the District Chief Executive to
have the pump repaired without success."
"I have personally engaged
in discussions with the assembly officials, and was even prepared to commit
’10m out of my common fund to assist the assembly repair the system but this
has not moved the assembly and the DCE to act."
Abuga said the Paga
water system must be expanded to meet the growing population and appealed to
the central government to intervene and make water supply reliable by at least
repairing the water pump immediately to avert a disaster while looking forward
to a long-term solution.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 18 June
2003 - The Volta River Authority is in the process of securing funds to upgrade
the single-phase electric supply system to a three-phase scheme to cater for
increased load demand in Kintampo and its immediate
environs.
At present electricity consumers
in the
Dr Paa
Kwesi Nduom, Minister of
Energy, said this in Parliament on Tuesday when Yaw Effah
Baafi, NDC-Kintampo asked
what measures the Ministry was putting in place to address the problem of low
electricity voltage in the Kintampo.
The Minister said the
shield-wire supply scheme in Kintampo was delivered
through three-phase four-wire supply to mechanised water boreholes, sawmills
and institutions such as the hospital and hotels and single-phase three wire
supply for domestic loads.
Effah-Baafi in another question asked what
special assistance the Ministry could offer in order to complete the Nante Community Self-Help Electrification Project (SHEP) in
the Kintampo Constituency.
Dr Nduom
said the Nante community formed part of the on-going
SHEP-Three Phase Three Project under which installation works for the high and
low voltage poles have been completed in the community.
The major outstanding work to be
done was the connection of the VRA high- voltage shied-wire system and the
installation of transformers. Dr Nduom said the
Ministry had requested the VRA to implement the shied-wire connection to allow
for the completion of the project before the end of this year.
Dr Kwame
Ampofo, NDC- South Dayi, on
behalf of Joe Gidisu, NDC-North Tongu,
in a related question asked when the SHEP-Three Project in the North Tongu District would be completed.
Dr Nduom
said under the SHEP-Three Phase-Three Project, six communities were earmarked
for connection to the national electricity grid in the District. He said main
installation works for high and low voltage and substation works have been
completed at Mafi Devime, Mafi Dove and Tsetsekpo with
customer service connection currently on-going at Mafi
Devime and Mafi Dove.
Works in the remaining three
communities of Afoade Gbokpo,
Duffor Adidome and Volo were scheduled for completion by the middle of this
year.
John Mahama,
NDC- Bole, asked what plans the Ministry had for communities such as Bamboi and Tinga that were put
under the emergency SHEP programme and the Minister said the projects would be
implemented when funds were available.
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In line with this policy, the
Ministry embarked on an Off-Grid Electrification Project in Kparekpare,
Dormabin, Kpelema and Adumadum in the Krachi District
as well as Dedeso and Dominase
in the Fanteakwa Districts in 1998.
Dr Paa
Kwesi Nduom, Minister of
Energy, said this in Parliament on Tuesday when Francis Yaw Osei-Sarfo,
NDC- Krachi asked what plans the Ministry had for the
transfer or relocation of the solar lights at Kparekpare,
Dormabin, Kpelema and Adumadum areas to the islands on the Volta Lake in the Krachi District.
The Minister said the national
grid had, however, been subsequently extended to some of the communities under
the recently completed Electrification of the Volta Lake Resettlement
Townships.
Dr Nduom
said the Ministry was currently liaising with the affected District assemblies
to relocate the systems to other remote communities within the Districts or
elsewhere as would be deemed appropriate.
He said the proposal by the
District Assemblies to have the solar systems relocated on the island
communities was, therefore, being given serious consideration.
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About 3,100
Ghanaians return from
Sekondi (Western Region)
The returnees who looked tired
included some Liberians who lived close to the
Commander Anim
said food and other basic amenities were scarce in
Joseph B. Aidoo,
Western Regional Minister who received the returnees, told them that government
spent ’700,000 to bring them back adding, "You used your strength to
develop
A baby girl delivered on board
the ship on June four was presented to Aidoo and
Commander Anim named her Ama
Bonsu after the ship. A nurse who helped in the delivery
of the baby said the mother, Cecilia Mensah, was nine
months pregnant when she boarded the ship and that special attention was given
to her.
Padmore K Nyankopa
Arthur, Western Regional Coordinator for NADMO, said buses had been acquired to
convey the returnees to the Esipon reception centre
near Sekondi for screening, documentation and onward
transfer to their hometowns.
Arthur said the Ghanaians were
likely to reach their hometowns by the end of Tuesday while Liberians and other
nationals would be assisted by the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to
either go to the Budumburan or Krisan
refugee camps.
He said the World Food Programme
(WFP) had made large quantities of high-energy biscuits available to revitalize
the refugees. The Ministry of Health, Ghana Red Cross, NADMO, Immigration and
the Navy are working together to ensure safety and provide the needs of the
returnees.
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Wa (Upper West)
Kuoro Buktie
Liman, Paramount Chief of Gwollu
Traditional Area, said the situation was worse in Tumu,
the Sissala District capital, where only five
telephone lines were functioning.
"Even these lines
frequently go off for days without being attended to," he told the Ghana
News Agency (GNA) at Wa. Kuoro Liman said they had information
that ALCATEL Primary Multiplex was to be installed at Tumu
to enable the facility take 500 lines.
"However after sending
somebody there to do the groundwork he fell sick and the management of GT
withdrew him and the project has since not taken off."
On radio reception, Kuoro Liman said the district had
been cut-off from the rest of the country for the past nine months due to the
breakdown of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) transmitter at Han in the
Jirapa/Lambussie District.
He appealed to the management of
GBC to ''repair the transmitter so that we will also listen to news and radio
programmes and feel like Ghanaians".
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A statement issued by the
University said most of the students who were involved in the malpractice have
had their papers cancelled and were to go on various terms of suspension.
They are Ms Phyllis Odoi, a level 300 student; Julius Caesar Abutiate, a level 400 student; and Owusu
Poku, a level 400 student.
The others were; Yakubu Mahama Seidu,
a level 400 student; Theophilus Mensah,
a Diploma Two student and John Awarekarliya Akolgo, a level 400 student. The statement noted that the
sanctions were part of measures instituted by the authorities to protect the
integrity of examinations in the University.
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The Executive Director of the
PANAFEST Foundation, Kohain Halevi
Rabbi, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview at Cape Coast that the
"pillage, plunder and exploitation meted out to Africans by their colonial
masters are evidence of the injustices that the continent suffered."
PANAFEST 2003, slated for July
23 to August 5, is under the theme: "Uniting the African family-Dialogue
on African Tradition and Culture in the 21st century globalization".
He said
''The structure that suffered
most during the colonial era was
Kohain Rabbi said to strengthen the
bid for reparation the Foundation had invited various groups with similar
sentiments in the United Kingdom (UK), United States (US) and the
"The time has come for
Kohain Rabbi called on all Ghanaians,
particularly those resident in
On sponsorship, he said a number
of organizations and companies including Ghana Breweries Limited (GBL), GHACEM,
Ministry of Tourism and the
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Pepoase Clinic to be completed by September
Pepoase (Eastern Region)
The Odikro
of Pepoase, Baffour Kwabena Addei, said this when the
Member of Parliament (MP) for Ayensuano, Godfried Okyere, inspected work
on the clinic at the weekend.
He said the people have spent
’5m out of ’10m estimated on the project. He said four of the six rooms that
included an Out Patients' Department (OPD), Dispensary, Consulting Room, Labour
Ward, Injection Room and Aids Counselling Department have been renovated.
He said the project would serve
16 villages and save the people from travelling long distances to attend
hospital at Adeiso and Nsawam.
He said several appeals made to
the District Assembly to assist the people with building materials to complete
the project had proved futile and appealed to Non-Government Organisations
(NGOs) and benevolent societies to assist them to complete the project.
Odikro Addei
commended Opaning Sampson Opon,
a 62-year-old farmer, for donating his house to be used as the clinic. Okyere commended the people of Pepoase
for their initiative, adding that the government alone could not solve the
health problems in the country without the involvement of other stakeholders.
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Briefing Journalists on Tuesday,
Professor Dominic Fobih, Minister of Lands and
Forestry noted that only two mining companies have been granted the rights to
operate in the forest zones.
Prof Fobih
said this when he took his turn at the Meet-The-Press Series in
He did not mention the companies
but said the areas are in Bibiani and Akyerem. He explained that the area was not a large one,
"its just about 100 meters." Prof Fobih
said the third company was suspended since its claims were not clear.
He said the Ministry in
collaboration with others undertake in-depth verification of all requests and
claims and responds on the merit of each case.
Prof Fobih
said it was important as a nation, "for us to determine if we want to mine
for minerals or not. If we do, then we should be able to set rules and
regulations and ensure that they are fully complied with." Mining companies
are enjoined to reforest twice the areas where they have undertaken mining
operations.
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The survey which involves maps
and map substitutes would be for the exploration and exploitation of natural
resources to alleviate poverty and support socio-economic development.
Prof Dominic Fobih,
Minister of Lands and Forestry, speaking at the Meet-The-Press in
He said aerial photography and
the provision of ground controls have been done for
"Aerial photographs and
ground controls have been completed for
Prof Fobih
said maps are useful tools for development planning and management of
infrastructure services such as water, roads, electricity and telephone.
It is also for settlement
planning and management, as base maps for Deeds and Title Registration,
settlement of land boundary disputes and the production of guide and tourist
maps.
He said the Ministry had
provided some updated valuation lists to some district assemblies for the
administration of poverty rates. They included the AMA, TMA and Ejisu-Juabeng District Assembly.
A total of ’10.7bn were
collected last year as stamp-duty tax revenue. On the administration of stool
lands, Prof Fobih said four regional offices have
been opened in order to increase stool and skin land revenue, adding that
’41.8bn was collected last year.
He said the Land Sector was
facing serious constraints, which created lack of confidence in the Sector's
agencies such as inadequate policy and legal framework and fragmented
institutional arrangements.
Prof Fobih
said the Sector was facing the problem of land guards, massive encroachment on
public lands and the inability of government to pay for land compulsorily
acquired.
"However, the relevant
ministries and agencies are collaborating to bring the situation under
control," he said.
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Prof Dominic Fobih,
Minister of Lands and Forestry, said private plantations, which also accounted
for 18,000 hectares, were also capable of supplying timber for just three
years.
He was speaking at the
Meet-The-Press Series in
Prof Fobih
noted that the deforestation rate was estimated at 65,000 hectares per annum,
adding, "if the situation persists, the country
would be without a forest cover in less than five years".
He attributed the current
situation to chainsaw operations, which he said, had a negative impact on
sustainable forest management. The situation, he noted, had resulted in a steep
drop in foreign exchange earnings from timber from over $250m in the 1980s to
less than $170m in 2000.
Total fees for Forestry
Commission, traditional authorities, communities and district assemblies by
timber companies also dropped from 12 per cent to less than three per cent of
the total market value of timber in 2000.
He said recent studies showed
that out of 3.7 million cubic metres of timber harvested annually from the
forests, illegal chainsaw operators' alone accounted for 50 per cent of the
harvests.
It was estimated that about
50,000 people were engaged in chainsaw activity in 2001. Prof Fobih said the efficiency of the timber industry, which had
an installed capacity of 5.7 million cubic metres as against the annual
allowable cut of one million cubic metres, dropped from almost 70 per cent in
the 1970s to less than 40 per cent in 2000 due to outdated equipment.
The Minister said the Ministry
planted 19,000 hectares of trees at the end of December last year, adding that
over 72,000 persons including farmers were actively engaged or employed in
planting trees.
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The districts, which received
between ’100m and ’500m are Abura-Asebu, Kwaebibrem, Juabeso-Bia, Hohoe, Builsa,
The others are Ketu, Shama Ahanta,
Bosomtwi-Atwima, Dangme
East, Tano, Manhyia
Sub-Metropolitan and Afigya Sekyere.
All the districts have fulfilled the requirements for the HIPC Funds.
The Minister of Health, Dr Kwaku Afriyie announced this on
Tuesday when he received equipment worth ’1.749bn from the World Health
Organisation (WHO) on behalf of the Ministry.
The equipment included 1,200
bales of untreated bed nets, two each of multi media desktop and laptop
computers and accessories, three laser printers, a projector and a digital
camera.
Dr Melville George, WHO's
Country Representative, said the equipment was to assist the MoH in the area of capacity building and information
gathering on health issues at the district level.
He said the equipment formed
part of WHO's assistance to
The Minister commended WHO for
its constant assistance and said the government was determined to lessen health
related burdens on the people.
He said the Health Insurance
Bill would be presented to Parliament by the close of the week or early next
week. He expressed the hope that the Bill would help to address lapses in
health care delivery in the country.
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He said desertification and
drought, which result from human activities such as over cultivation,
overgrazing, deforestation and poor irrigation practices, posed an
ever-increasing global threat and were turning once fertile soils into
unproductive and barren patches of land.
This was contained in a
statement issued in
The day, which falls on Tuesday,
highlights the issue of water scarcity and the need for better water conservation
and management. Annan said: "Arable land per
person is shrinking throughout the world, threatening food security,
particularly in poor rural areas and triggering humanitarian and economic
crises.
"But nowhere is the problem
of desertification more acute than in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the number of
environmental refugees was expected to rise to 25 million in the next 20
years."
He described last year's drought
in
"Every year in
"Some 70 per cent of all
land in
The Secretary General said
fighting desertification must, therefore, be an integral part of the wider
efforts to eradicate poverty and ensure long-term food security.
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