GRi
in Parliament 20 – 06 - 2003
He said the Ghana Armed Forces
had therefore no immediate plans to establish a permanent detachment of command
in the Kete Krachi District
and its adjoining areas in the North in view of the volatile situation in the
area.
The Minister said the case of Kete Krachi was a combination of
chieftaincy and ethnic disputes that were issues the Police Service was capable
of dealing with.
Dr Addo-Kufuor
said this in Parliament when Francis Yaw Osei-Sarfo,
NDC- Krachi asked what plans the Ministry had to
establish a permanent Army detachment at Kete Krachi and about equipping the present military staff in
view of the volatile situation in the area.
The Minister explained that the
units of the Ghana Army were strategically located around the country to be
able to support the Police service to maintain law and order internally.
The major Army units with the
support of the Navy and Air Force had been assigned regions as their internal
security areas of responsibility for ease of command and administration. Sub-units
within the major Army units had also been assigned Districts in the regions as
their security areas of responsibility.
"The Army is the second
line of support in dealing with internal security issues that threaten the
peace of an area. The established Standing Operating Procedure among the
Security agencies was for the Police to deal with such internal security
matters and request the military to assist when the Police was
overwhelmed," he added.
Dr Addo-Kufuor
said it was the conviction of the Ministry of Defence that any time the police
was overwhelmed and called the army, support was readily available and in the
case that a conflict was resolved, the Army personnel
would have to return to their unit locations.
He said a permanent presence
there would render the unit irrelevant and might create unnecessary panic among
the inhabitants.
The Ministry of Defence
therefore maintained that the appropriate agency, the Police Service should be
adequately resourced and made to deal with internal security issues. The
Minister said the financial implications of a permanent Army detachment in Kete Krachi were huge and could
not be supported by the current defence budget.
A permanent detachment would
imply a new barracks that would include living and office accommodation,
schools, medical facilities, shooting range, religious edifices, parade grounds
and recreational facilities.
Dr Addo-Kufuor
said there would also be the requirement for military hardware to support the
force deployed and gave the assurance that the Army was focused and doing
everything within the present limitations to assist the police service carry
out its responsibilities in the Kete Krachi area.
GRi…/
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The National Reconstruction Levy
Bill seeks to amend the NRL Act 2001 (Act 597) to apply the act by imposing a
levy of five per cent on Non-Banking Financial Institutions.
A report of the Committee of
Finance said it was informed that the amendment was necessary in view of the
need for the various companies, especially Non-Banking Financial Institutions
to respond to the national call for their contribution, apart from their
corporate responsibilities.
The Electoral Commission
(Amendment) Bill also seeks to amend sections 2 (d) and 12 (c) of the Electoral
Commission Act, 1993 (Act 451) by the insertion of the word "Voter"
to clarify that the function of the Commission in respect of the issue of
identity cards relates to the issuing of voter identity cards.
It further seeks to repeal the
Identity Cards Decree, 1972 (NRCD) 129) in view of the fact that the Decree
does not deal comprehensively with the issuing of national all purpose identity
cards.
The two bills await presidential
assent.
GRi…/
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This, he said would check fuel
stations from selling low quality fuel to unsuspecting consumers thereby
damaging their vehicles and machines.
Karikari made these suggestions in a
statement on fuel adulteration in Parliament on Thursday. He said one common
anomaly in the petroleum business was the adjustment of petrol pumps at the
filling stations with the connivance of managers and attendants to dispense
less fuel to motorist at fixed prices in a bid to make illegal profit.
"When one buys four gallons
of petrol at these stations one might get two and a half gallons instead due to
the adjustment to the pumps." The MP said the lack of monitoring had
contributed to the appalling situation at hand and urged that the distribution
network should be vigorously monitored to ensure that defaulters were arrested
and prosecuted.
Karikari said foreigners usually called
"gaogao" in the petroleum business
sacrificed the interest of the consumer for personal gains by not complying
with regulations in the petroleum industry leading to the sale of low quality
and adulterated fuel.
"Many of the engine
problems of cars such as the damaging of gaskets, bearings, lining, pumps and
others were mainly due to low quality or adulterated fuel being used."
Karikari who produced three samples of
petroleum products purchased at different fuel stations said the samples were
of different qualities, smell and colours and wondered which one was the ideal
product.
"Issues concerning fuel
have been the centre of discussions among Ghanaian individuals and stakeholders
who suspect that fuel quality and quantity are not up to the required or
accepted standards," adding that "many motorists share the view that
some fuel stations dispense adulterated and low quality fuel to the
unsuspecting consuming public."
This situation had led to the
nation losing substantial amount of revenue and also consumer's vehicles being
destroyed from the use of substandard fuel, he said.
GRi…/
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Accra (Greater Accra) 20 June
2003 - A Rural Technology Service Centre has been established at Ashanti Mampong under the Rural Enterprises Project to cater for
the services not being provided at the Suame
Intermediate Technology Transfer Unit in Kumasi.
The Centre funded by the
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has a rural orientation
that is filling the gap in the Ashanti Region.
Prof. Kassim
Kasanga, Minister of Environment and Science said
this on Thursday in Parliament when Nana Asante Frempong, NPP- Kwabre asked why
there was no Intermediate Technology Transfer Unit (ITTU) Centre in the Ashanti
Region that had the single largest concentration of mechanics in the country.
The Minister said it was Government's
policy that ITTU Centres should be set up in every region to accelerate the
pace of industrialization. The Technology Consultancy Centre of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
established the first ITTU in the Ashanti Region in the heart of the Suame Industrial Estate,
Prof. Kasanga
said following the establishment of the Unit in Ashanti Region, the GRATIS
Foundation set up nine others in the other Regions modelled after the
He said while the Technology
Consultancy Centre was managing the Suame ITTU the
other nine ITTU's were being managed by the GRATIS
foundation as Regional Technology Transfer Centres and for this reason the Suame ITTU did not feature in the activities and reports of
the GRATIS Foundation.
GRi…/
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Accra (Greater Accra) 20 June
2003 - The Ghana Atomic Energy Commission has revisited the idea for the establishment
of another radio-therapy centre at Tamale to serve the Northern part of the
country and neighbouring West African countries following the completion of the
Centre at Kumasi in 2002.
The Commission is presently
liaising with the Ministry of Health for the provision of the funds and also
with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Prof. Kassim
Kasanga, Minister of Environment and Science said
this on Thursday in Parliament when Yaw Effah-Baafi,
NDC- Kintampo asked what plans the Ministry had for
the establishment of a Radiotherapy Centre in Tamale.
The Minister said the idea of
building Radiotherapy centres in
Unfortunately, he said the
mission could not visit Tamale because of the 1994 Konkomba-Nanumba
conflict at that time. Work started at the Accra centre in 1994 and completed
in 1997 while constructional work started in Kumasi
in 1996 and was completed in 2002 and awaiting commissioning when the Director
General visits Ghana before the end of this year.
Prof. Kasanga
said the Agency's willingness to support the Tamale project would depend upon
the usage of the two centres in
He said it must be emphasized
that there were only two radiotherapists and two radiographers in the country,
while each centre required a minimum of two radiotherapists and three
radiographers in order to offer acceptable services to patients.
Prof. Kasanga
said even though the IAEA trained Ghanaians in these fields, it was unfortunate
that some had failed to return to post. He said in spite of these problems the
Ghana Atomic Energy Commission had realised the need for the centre at Tamale
and was in constant consultation with the IAEA for its support.
GRi…/
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