Ghana
throws out former Congolese president
Greater
Accra Regional House of Chiefs meeting aborted
Accra
(Greater Accra), 3 March 2000
The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday
that it did not allow a scheduled meeting in Accra by exiled Congolese
opposition, led by ex-President Pascal Lissouba, due to its partisan nature.
Besides, the organisers of the Accra
meeting had failed to obtain the prior consent of the Government of Ghana, a
statement from the Ministry said in Accra.
The Ministry, therefore, described a
communiqué purported to have been adopted and issued in Accra by ex-President
Lissouba and his compatriots to confirm the holding of the meeting as
"calculated to mislead."
It said the government's concern
regarding the holding of such a partisan meeting on its territory without prior
clearance and the negative image it was likely to create for the country were
brought forcefully to the attention of ex-President Lissouba.
"He and his colleagues were
accordingly denied assembly for the meeting and requested to leave Ghana forthwith,"
the statement said, adding that a few hours later, the ex-President and his
colleagues were assisted to leave the country.
The statement recalled that the
government received information on February 16 that former President Lissouba
and a group of opposition in exile intended to hold "a clandestine
political meeting" in Accra on Saturday, February 19.
Ex-President Lissouba subsequently
arrived in the evening of Thursday, February 17. Although he failed to declare
the real purpose of his visit, he was admitted into the country for the night
because of his status as a former head of state.
According to the statement, the following
day, Friday, February 18, he was informed categorically by the Minister of
Foreign Affairs that the scheduled meeting would not be allowed because of its
partisan nature.
The Ministry reiterated that Ghana enjoys
the friendship and confidence of all citizens of Congo-Brazaville and is
therefore disappointed at the unnecessary attempt by former President Lissouba
to involve Ghana in the internal differences of that country.
It added that the government stands ready
to contribute towards the restoration of peace, security and reconciliation in
the sister Congo Brazaville but insists that such a role must be
"transparent, non-partisan and at the express request of the government
and people of that country."
Ex-President Lissouba was ousted after a
bitter war with President Demis Sassou-Ngueso.
GRi
Dodowa (Greater Accra), 3 March 2000
A general
meeting of the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs (GARHC) scheduled to take
place at Dodowa on Thursday, March two, has been cancelled following a court
injunction sought by one of the factions in the Ningo chieftaincy dispute.
The meeting was to have admitted
Nene Osroagbo Djangmah, Paramount Chief of the Ningo Traditional Area, as a
member of the house.
However, his opponent, Nene Okofrobour
Agyeman III, filed a petition against the Supreme Court ruling resulting in the
interim injunction.
A source close to the GARHC told the
GNA that the Supreme Court, presided over by Mr. Justice P. K Owusu-Sekyere,
ruled on January 24, that Nene Djangmah was the rightful occupant of the stool
and the house planned toward his admission as a full member.
However, on February 29, the GARHC
was slapped with an interim injunction granted by an Accra High Court
restraining the house from admitting Nene Djangmah.
The source said the situation was
confusing and so the GARHC had postponed the meeting indefinitely and sent the
injunction to the Attorney-General's Department for advice.
The GARHC has 22 members but only 15
of them now attend meetings.
The Teshie, Nungua and the Senior
Divisional Stool of Osudoku positions are currently vacant at the house because
they have no chiefs.
The disputed stools are Osu, Tema,
Ningo and Prampram.
The Shai Mantse, Ga Mantse and Ningo
Divisional Chiefs do not attend meetings because they are indisposed.
GRi
Accra (Greater Accra), 3 March 2000
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has
extended pre-paid meters to the Ashanti Region.
So far, four communities, including
Asuoyeboa, Patasi and Danyame, have benefited from a pilot project embarked on
by the ECG on the product in the region.
A source at the ECG stand at the on-going
Ghana International Trade Fair told the Ghana News Agency on Wednesday that the
prepaid meter project is capital intensive.
It said the company would have extended
the prepaid meters, which costs 150 dollars a unit, nation-wide but cannot do
so now because of the capital involved.
The source explained that ECG has not
been able to cover the whole of Accra with the meters but added that the
programme has made an impressive impact, and urged all electricity consumers to
join the crusade for energy conservation.
GRi
Accra (Greater Accra) 3 March 2000
The British
Government, through the Department for International Development (DFID), is
supporting the Electoral Commission with 550,000 pounds (3.3 billion cedis)
worth of equipment and materials for this year's presidential and parliamentary
elections.
In 1996
similar package of assistance was given.
A statement
from the British High Commission in Accra on Thursday said the main items of
expenditure are four Optical Marker Readers to scan voter registration and
elections data and 400 Instant Cameras for the photo ID exercise.
Britain
will also provide 1.5 million new voter registration forms, one million
amendment of voter details forms, one million voter deletion forms for the
removal of deceased and unqualified voters from register database and 12 photocopiers
for the Head Office and ten regional offices.
The statement said in addition to the
above package, DFID is funding the employment of an experienced Ghanaian
finance and election logistics specialist on a part-time basis for 11 months to
assist the Electoral Commission in the financial planning and procurement
exercises.
It quoted the British High Commissioner,
Mr I. W. Mackley as saying: "this is an important package of measures that
the British government is today announcing".
Britain, he said, is committed to
supporting the electoral process as Ghana's democracy goes from strength to
strength.
"Nobody doubts the importance of
this year's elections and we are joining the Government of Ghana, the Electoral
Commission and fellow donors in partnership to ensure that these elections are
a model of fairness and transparency."
The British Government provided £500,000
of assistance towards the staging of the 1996 elections.
The High Commission said this is new money
from DFID over and above the annual 40 million pounds UK/Ghana bilateral
assistance programme.
GRi../
Essienkyem (Ashanti Region) 3 March 2000
Nana Konadu
Agyeman Rawlings, the First Lady, on Wednesday commissioned a number of social
and income-generation projects in four rural communities in the Ahafo-Ano South
District as part of her five-day tour of the Ashanti Region.
The projects include a 70 million-cedi
electrification project at Nsuta, a rural clinic and nurses quarters
constructed at the cost of 60 million cedis at Essienkyem and an electricity
generating plant donated by the 31st December Women's Movement (DWM) for use at
the clinic.
The rest are a 15 million-cedi day-care
centre for the DWM at Mankranso and a 10.2 million-cedi palm oil extraction
mill together with a power tiller for the inhabitants of Abasua Number One.
The electrification project at Nsuta was
implemented under the Self-help Electrification Project (SHEP) through the
initiative of the local people, the clinic and the quarters at Essienkyem were
under the European Union (EU) micro projects programme.
The day-care centre at Mankranso was built
by the Ahafo-Ano South District Assembly while the oil extraction mill and
power tiller at Abasua Number One were provided with assistance from
Technoserve of USA and the Self-Help Foundation.
GRi../
Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 3 March 2000
The chiefs,
queen mothers, elders and members of the Voltarian Community in the Ashanti
Region, have conferred on Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings the title "Mama
Gables", meaning a woman of virtue.
She was decorated with the most precious
beads and a kente cloth woven from Agotime Kpetoe in the Volta Region at a
durbar held in her honour in Kumasi.
Mrs
Ernestina Naadu-Mills, wife of the Vice President, who accompanied the First
Lady, was also decorated with a similar kente cloth.
Mama Akoe II, Queenmother of Ewes in Ashanti, who decorated them, said
the honour was in recognition of their immense support for their husbands,
exemplary
motherhood
and selfless dedication to the upliftment of women and children in Ghana and
Africa as a whole.
Mama Akoe expressed admiration of people
for the bond of friendship and sisterhood that exists between Nana Konadu and
Mrs Naadu Mills and urged them to further strengthen the cordiality between
them and work collectively to bring respect and honour to Ghanaian and African
womanhood.
Mr Sylvester Akakpovie read a citation by
Voltarian Co-ordinating Council (VCC) which described Nana Konadu "as the
pearl and total embodiment of what womanhood stood for".
The citation stated "today, the
women and children of Ghana and indeed Africa, owe you a debt of gratitude for
your selfless commitment to their welfare".
GRi../
Sogakope (Volta Region) 3 March 2000
The
depressed agro-ecological conditions of the Lower Volta Basin which resulted
from the building of the Akosombo and Kpong hydro dams, could be turned into a
vibrant agricultural zone.
Prof. E. A.
Gyasi of the Geography Department of the University of Ghana, Legon said in a
presentation at a workshop to discuss findings of the Lower Volta Environmental
Impact Study conducted by the Volta Basin Research Project (VBRP).
The workshop under the Volta River
Authority (VRA) sponsored project was under the theme: The universities, public
agencies and local communities as partners in the development of the Lower
Volta Basin.
It was also to ensure the involvement of
chiefs and opinion leaders in the South and North Tongu areas in discussions on
the findings.
He said the study area, which stretched
from Akuse in the Eastern Region to Anyanui in the Volta Region showed high
potential for small-scale irrigation development.
The numerous creeks and indentations in
the area could also be developed into a vibrant fish farming industry while
some local environmental and socio economic conditions favour small-scale
livestock projects.
Prof Gyasi called for large-scale
individual and school agro-forestry initiatives for fuel-wood production and
said the projects should be pursued alongside off farm productive activities to
ease pressure on the land.
Mr Ohene Dokyi, Chief Executive of VRA,
said the Authority spent nearly 2.8 billion cedis on the first two phase of the
project adding that the workshop, which is the final stage is also aimed at
attracting funding and the development of appropriate management methods.
He said VRA spends an average of 360
million cedis a year on public health in the Basin and would dredge the Ada
estuary at a cost of over 350 million cedis a year.
GRi../