Funeral
celebrations banned in Asanteman
President
commends women's role in development
Late
Berekumhene laid in state
Accra
(Greater Accra) 10 March 2000
About 800
communities are to be connected to the national electricity grid as soon as
possible, Mr Thomas Yeboah, Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on
Mines and Energy, said on Thursday.
He said 400 communities would be
connected this year under phase two of the National Electrification Programme
while the other 400 communities would also enjoy electricity under phase three
of the programme which is to be implemented in the near future.
Mr Yeboah said this at a meeting of the
Parliamentary Select Committees on Mines and Energy, Trade and Industry and
Finance with board members of the Energy Foundation in Accra.
The meeting, under the theme
"Towards energy efficient economy," afforded the MPs and the board
members the opportunity to discuss policy issues relating to the development of
the energy, economy, trade and energy conservation measures and assess the work
of the Energy Foundation.
Mr Yeboah said the government could not
continue to regularly invest in the energy sector.
He
explained that the passage of the Energy Commission Act and the private
investment drive by the government have given room for private sector
participation in the energy sector.
Mr Yeboah
said Parliament attaches importance to energy issues and gave the assurance
that Parliament would not hesitate to approve budgetary allocations to the
sector.
Mr Andrews Quayson Chairman of the Energy
Foundation Governing Council, said studies conducted by the Foundation in
collaboration with two US agencies indicate that Ghana could save about 280
billion cedis in 10 years if the country adopts minimum energy efficiency
standards.
Mr Quayson,
who is also the Executive Director of the Association of Ghana Industries,
named the agencies as the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID) and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories of USA.
Ghana would become the dumping ground or
obsolete and inefficient equipment if pragmatic steps are not taken to prevent
their importation, he warned.
Mr Quayson noted that there is an influx
of high energy consuming appliances like used refrigerators and televisions on
the market.
He called for the enactment of
legislation and a code of standards to regulate the importation of energy
consuming appliances.
Dr Alfred
Ofosu-Ahenkorah, Executive Director of the Energy Foundation, stressed the need
to develop small power plants (mini hydros) to serve communities instead of
extending electricity to distant communities at a high cost.
He also called for the adoption of other
alternative sources of energy like wind and solar.
Mr Cleveland Thomas, a representative of
USAID, said about 580 Ghanaians have been trained locally and in the United
States in energy development and techniques.
He said a strategic energy programme is
being developed to support the West African Gas Pipeline Project which is to
tap the huge gas reserved of Nigeria to serve that country, Ghana, Togo and
Benin.
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Tamale (Northern Region) 10 March 2000
The
four-member committee appointed to investigate the recent riots at Zabzugu in
the Zabzugu-Tatale District on Tuesday presented its report to the Regional
Co-ordinating Council (RCC) at Tamale.
The contents of the l61-page document
were not disclosed to the press but the chairman of the committee, Dr.
Naaminong Karbo, expressed the hope that the recommendations would help the RCC
to make an informed decision to avoid recurrence of the incident.
The committee was formed last year
following demonstrations and rioting by the youth of the town against the
District Chief Executive, Alhaji Shamrock Mahama, over alleged improprieties,
mismanagement and corruption.
Alhaji
Seidu Iddi, Regional Minister, who received the report, commended the committee
for their effort.
He promised
that the RCC would take a critical look at the report and take the appropriate
action.
Other members of the committee were Mr
Peter Bitie Bayubie, Principal Auditor, Tamale, Chief F.Y. Wari, Chief Local
Government Inspector, and Mr Issaka Sagito, Regional Economic Planning Officer,
who was also Secretary to the committee.
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Kumasi
(Ashanti Region) 10 March 2000
Inspector
General of Police (IGP) Peter Nanfuri on Wednesday warned police officers to
desist from identifying themselves with any political party.
He said the government is committed to
ensuring free, fair and peaceful elections and they, as peace officers, must
help to achieve this objective.
"A
peaceful transition is a legacy we must strive to live for in this new
millennium," he added.
These were
contained in a speech read for him by Mr Yaw Adu-Gyimah, Ashanti Regional
Police Commander, at the opening of a six-week refresher course in Kumasi for
50 police inspectors drawn from various stations and units throughout the
country.
It is meant to refresh and broaden their
knowledge, skills and experiences in policing to enable them to handle the
challenging responsibilities before them.
The IGP advised the officers to read
constantly to improve their professional skills and called on them to ensure
discipline and efficient organisation of their stations and units.
He urged them to always take steps to
check some of the unprofessional activities by men under them, which in most
cases drag the name of the service into disrepute.
"The police administration is
determined to eradicate all acts of indiscipline and other negative attitudes
that persist among some of our colleagues, which tend to smear the good name of
the service.
"Police personnel who cannot live by
our professional code and ethics should advise themselves since no compromises
will be made on rules of discipline," he said.
GRi../
Accra
(Greater Accra) 10 March 2000
Ten African
ministers are expected to take part in a roundtable conference that will round
up the Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition in Accra.
The roundtable conference is normally an
opportunity for ministers of mines, energy and petroleum to discuss and collate
information on the latest trends, policies and technologies as well as new
exploration and findings on the continent.
According to the Ghana National Petroleum
Corporation (GNPC), organisers of the event, countries expected to attend are
Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, the Gambia, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia and Mali.
The rest are Mozambique, Nigeria, South
Africa and Togo. Conspicuously missing are Angola and the Democratic Republic
of Congo, two oil-producing countries.
It is expected that the conference would
evolve a new direction for African oil and gas production, which for many
years, has been dominated by foreign companies.
Ms Esther Cobbah, Public Relations
Affairs Manager of GNPC, told the Ghana News Agency that ministers are invited
to the conference because they are expected to review certain policies or take
them to their governments to take action on them.
She said it is important that at the end
of the day, they know that their leaders will take steps that will help move
the industry forward.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 10 March 2000
President
Jerry Rawlings will on March 17 confer honours and awards on individuals who
have rendered distinguished service to the nation.
A statement issued in Accra on Thursday by
Nana Ato Dadzie, Chief of Staff and Chairman of the National Celebrations
Committee, said the function will take place at the Banquet Hall at 1000 hours.
The statement urged individuals who have
already been notified of the government's intention to take note of the date.
It said invitations already issued for
the occasion remain valid.
GRi../
Kumasi (Ashanti), 10 March 2000
Manhyia Palace has directed that there will
be no funeral celebrations within Asanteman with effect from Monday, March 13
until Friday, March 31.
This is in preparation towards the
two-week final funeral rites of Otumfuo Opoku Ware II, Asantehene, who went to
the village on February 25, 1999 and all the royalty of the Golden Stool of
Asante.
This was announced by Mr Yaw Atta-Poku,
Member of the seven-man Funeral Rites Planning Committee at a press conference
to release the programme in Kumasi on Thursday.
Mr. Atta-Poku said the funeral celebrations
(Ayikesie) would be for all royalty, including Barima Kofi Adu II, Kokofuhene,
Osagyefo Adwoa Serwah II, Kokofuhemaa and Nana Yaa Assinna Ababio,
Kenyasehemaa.
It is also for those, who passed away
after the last Ayikesie of the late Asantehemaa, Nana Ama Serwah Nyarko II in
1978, which was celebrated by Otumfuo Opoku Ware.
The Ayikesie begins on Saturday, March 18,
which is a "Memmeneda Dapaa" with traditional drumming and dancing by
all traditional priests in Asanteman led by Baffour Domfeh Gyeabour II,
Nsumankwaahene and Chief Priest of the Asantehene.
The following day, which is Akwasidae,
the 40th-day celebration on the Akan Calendar will be observed as
"Kuntunkunidae", when all Asantes would be expected to put on
"Kuntunkuni" (black mourning cloth).
The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II will
sit in state at Dwaberem, Manhyia in the morning and the funeral celebrations
will formally begin in the evening with a wake keeping at Manhyia for the
public.
On Monday, March 20, the Asantehene
wearing the "Batakarikese" (war attire) will lead chiefs in Kumasi in musketry at Manhyia
to be followed by that of the Paramount chiefs the next day.
Within the period, Otumfuo Osei Tutu will
sit in state daily to distribute drinks
to those who would be paying him homage and receive sympathisers including
paramount chiefs and other chiefs from the 10 Regional Houses of Chiefs and the
National House of Chiefs.
Other dignitaries expected are the
diplomatic corps and a government delegation.
The celebration will reach its climax on
Saturday, March 25, when the Asantehene sitting in state, will receive the
"Black Stool", a permanent memorial of Otumfuo Opoku Ware, from the
Werempehene, escorted by the Bantamahene and Denyasehene.
This would be followed by a ceremony at
the Royal Mausoleum at Breman, near Kumasi.
On Sunday, April two, the celebration
would end with a non-denominational thanksgiving service at the Manhyia Palace.
GRi
Accra
(Greater Accra), 10 March 2000
President
Jerry Rawlings on Thursday said activities by women to mark International
Women's Day has enabled Ghanaians to have a better appreciation of the unique
roles they have been playing in national development.
A statement released by the Ministry
of Communications in Accra on Thursday, quoted the President as saying that
"the capabilities of Ghanaian women should gain better recognition for
being creative, hard-working and conscientious".
The President noted the advances
following the intervention of the 31st December Women's Movement (DWM) and
other women groups to improve the situation of women.
He said more needs to be done and
expressed the hope that the National Council on Women and Development (NCWD)
will continue to collaborate with the DWM and other groups to create and
explore more avenues for the advancement of Ghanaian women.
The attention women's issues have
attracted over the past few days should serve as a momentum to create greater
awareness on violence against women, girl-child education, the fight against
HIV/AIDS as well as issues concerning the environment.
The statement said President
Rawlings has asked the Attorney General and the Inspector-General of Police to
ensure prompt justice in the case of domestic violence against a woman carried
in the March four edition of the Weekly Spectator.
The action is an "unpardonable
cruelty" to the woman by her husband.
"Her life has literally been
taken away from her by that dastardly act," he added.
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Late
Berekumhene laid in state
Berekum (Brong Ahafo), 10 March 2000
The Omanhene of the Berekum Traditional Area,
Nana Yiadom Boakye Owusu was laid in state at the Berekum palace on Thursday
amid musketry, drumming and singing of funeral dirges.
The 88-year old chief died in October
last year after a short illness. The body would be laid in state till Monday
March 13 before burial.
Hundreds of mourners clad in rich
traditional red and black clothes started filing past the body as early as 0900
hours and the traditional bodyguards of the chief had a hectic time controlling
them.
Both men and women were seen wailing uncontrollably in an
expression of sorrow at the loss of their great chief.
Virtually every economic activity within
the Berekum Municipality has come to a halt as stores, shops and private and
public schools have been closed down.
The two main political parties NPP and
NDC have also taken advantage of the funeral to hoist their flags along the
major streets of the town in anticipation of the arrival of their leaders.
Delegations of the various Regional Houses
of Chiefs, Members of Parliament, Diplomatic Corps and the government are
expected to pay their last respects to the late Omanhene before his burial.
Present at the ceremony on Thursday were
the Minister for Food and Agriculture and MP for Berekum, Hon. J. H.
Owusu-Acheampong, Nana Bosea Gyinatwi and Nana Dwuma Ankoanna, Amanhene of
Drobo and Seikwa Traditional areas respectively.
GRi
Wa (Upper West), 10 March 2000
Women have once again been advised against
the use of radical and violent methods to assert their freedoms and equality
with men.
Instead, they should adopt systematic and
diplomatic methods that would be acceptable at all levels of society towards
their advancement.
Mr David Osei-Wusu, out-going Upper West
Regional Minister, gave this advice at Wa on Wednesday when he addressed a
seminar organised by the National Council on Women and Development (NCWD) as
part of activities marking International Women's Day.
The seminar, which has the theme
"Political Tolerance for year 2000 elections", attracted about 100
women participants made up of political and religious leaders, leaders of
market women associations and heads of other women's groups in the region.
Mr Osei-Wusu said the government would
create an enabling environment for donors and other supporting agents to
empower women through the provision of information training and credit
facilities to maximise their potentials.
He said the government would also break
the socio-economic barriers that impede the orderly advancement of women in
society, and urged them to step up their girl-child education, which is the
only way of bringing them at par with their men counterparts.
The Minister called on women not to
incite political bitterness since they and children suffer during conflicts and
political violence.
Mrs. Kate Bob-Milliar, Regional
Co-ordinator of the National Council on Women and Development, urged parliament
to pass laws against dehumanising norms and customs, which tend to humiliate
women in society.
She said men have over the years
dominated the political ladder in the country because of the negative attitude
towards the education of girls, adding: "until such negative perceptions
on girl-child education are removed, we shall continue to be at the
periphery".
Mrs Bob-Milliar called on politicians to
desist from derogatory remarks, which tend to see political opponents as
enemies.
The Reverend John Bagonluri of the
Baptist Church called on women to come together as a unified force to fight for
their rights.
GRi