Asokore ends boycott of census
Kombat
says enumeration areas have nothing to do with administrative boundaries.
NDC propaganda machinery should go on the offensive – DCE
WTO valuation to come into operation on 1 April
Environmental sanitation essential for healthy welfare
Asokore ends boycott of census
Koforidua,
{Eastern Region} 30 March 2000.
The
people of Asokore, near Koforidua, on Wednesday ended their boycott of the
National Population and Housing Census (NPHC) following an intervention by the
New Juaben Traditional Council.
They
had been boycotting the three-day old census because of a dispute with
Effiduase over the demarcation of enumeration areas.
The
President of the Council, Daasebre Dr. Oti Boateng announced at a press
briefing, after an emergency meeting with the two factions on Wednesday, that
the people of Asokore had agreed to end their boycott.
The
meeting was attended by the New Juaben Municipal Chief Executive, Mr. Emmanuel
Adu-Boateng and officials from the Eastern Regional Co-ordination Council, Land
Valuation Board (LVB) and Town and Country Planning Department.
He
said the meeting unanimously resolved that enumeration areas demarcated for the
1984 census should be used for the current exercise in the disputed areas,
while any "updated segmentation" should be credited to either Asokore
or Effiduase where applicable.
It
was also resolved that the LVB should immediately rewrite the "ASK"
house numbers for Asokore, which it rubbed off and replaced with "N"
for "Neutral", a few weeks to the census.
Daasebre
Oti Boateng said the meeting further decided that the Acting Government
Statistician should conduct the census in the disputed area in accordance with
the agreement reached at the meeting, adding that the so-called boundary
dispute would be resolved later.
Nana
Kwadwo Gyimah, Gyasehene and Regent, Nana Kwabena Obeng, Nkosuohene and
Assemblyman and Okyeame Antwi Panyin led the Asokore team while the
Effiduasehene Nana Omane Acheamfour and Abakomahene Nana Owusu Akyeaw led that
of Effiduase.
GRi…./
Kombat says enumeration areas have nothing to do with administrative
boundaries.
Cape
Coast{Central Region}30 March 2000.
Mr. David
Kombat, Central Regional Statistician, has emphasised that the creation of
enumeration areas are solely for the purposes of the population and housing
census and has nothing to do with administrative or traditional boundaries.
Mr. Kombat
said this in apparent reference to the refusal of the people of Kasoa in the
Awutu-Effutu-Senya District and New Winneba in the Gomoa District to allow
themselves to be counted by enumerators from the Ga and Gomoa Districts
respectively.
The people
of Kasoa objected to being counted by enumerators from the Ga District because
Kasoa is not part of that District, while the people of New Winneba preferred
to be counted by enumerators from Winneba and not the Gomoa District when the
exercise took off on Monday.
Mr. Kombat
told the GNA at Cape Coast on Wednesday that the issue has since been resolved.
He,
however, advised enumerators and supervisors to diligently study maps of
enumeration areas supplied them to facilitate the effectiveness of the
exercise.
He
cautioned them against doing things contrary to instructions given them and not
succumb to attempts to manipulate them.
Mr. Kombat
appealed to the public, most of whom are complaining that the questionnaires
are long and time wasting, to co-operate to ensure the success of the two-week
exercise.
He gave the
assurance that the Region has ample supply of materials for distribution to
facilitate the success of the exercise.
GRi…./
NDC propaganda machinery should go on the offensive – DCE
Nyinahin
(Ashanti Region), 30 March 2000.
Mr. Francis
Asante-Mensah, District Chief Executive for Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai, has asked
the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to put the party's propaganda machinery
at all levels on the offensive to counter the machinations of the opposition.
He said the
time has come for all activists and members of the party to adopt a more
aggressive posture to defend government's policies and programmes against
attacks and misinformation.
Mr.
Asante-Mensah was addressing separate NDC constituency conferences of Atwima
Mponua and Atwima-Nwabiagya at Nyinahin and Nkawie respectively.
He said he
was unhappy with what he saw as the unbridled use of some FM radio stations by
NDC's opponents to incite hatred and anger against the Government. The District
Chief Executive said it should be the responsibility of all members of the
party to make use of the radio phone-in programmes to fight that unhealthy
situation.
Mr. Baba
Gariba, Ashanti Regional Treasurer of NDC, expressed confidence that the party
would win the 2000 elections by a much wider vote margin than it did in 1996.
He urged
the members to show seriousness towards the voters' revision exercise by
ensuring that all qualified voters are registered.
Mr. Peter
Yaw Mensah, Atwima District Chief Executive, told the delegates to ensure that
all structures of the party are functional and go on house-to-house political
education campaign to win more supporters to enable the party win the
elections. The delegates from the two
constituencies in separate resolutions, expressed support for Vice President Professor
John Evans Atta Mills as the NDC's presidential candidate for the 2000
elections.
GRi../
WTO valuation to come into operation on 1 April
Kumasi,{Ashanti
Region}30 March 2000.
The Customs
Valuation System of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) would be introduced in
the country as from 1 April, Mr. Emmanuel Martey, Freight Manager of the Ghana
Shippers Council, said on Wednesday.
He said the
new valuation system would address the problem of delays in the clearance of
goods from the ports as well as ensuring that true values of goods are declared
by importers and exporters in furtherance of government's objective of making
Ghana the gateway to the West African Sub-Region.
Mr. Martey
said this at a day's seminar on WTO, organised by Ghana Shippers Council (GSC)
in collaboration with the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), and
Gateway Secretariat for businessmen and businesswomen, security officers,
shippers, trading companies and financial institutions in Kumasi. Similar
seminars have been held in Accra and Takoradi.
The Freight
Manager said WTO is the main organ of governance and management of global
trade. He called on the shipping and trading community to endeavour to present
genuine documents to the CEPS for valuation and then expect speedy clearance of
their goods from the port.
Mr. Martey
said the new system has benefited tremendously from the practical
implementation of earlier valuation systems notably the Brussels Definition of
Value as it has duly taken cognisance of its explanatory notes, which sought to
facilitate its implementation.
Commander
Pius M. G. Griffiths (rtd), a Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, said
following the modest achievements in infrastructure expansion and
macro-economic reforms, the government is focussing on tackling the practical
problems faced by operators to enhance competitive trade flows.
He said
high trade transaction costs, including the high cost of processing documents
has been recognised as a major limiting factor to competitiveness.
The Deputy
Minister urged business houses to move away from the old ways of doing
business, adding, "you must subject operations to review and
re-engineering programmes to enhance your productivity and
competitiveness".
He said the
government on its part is providing a new orientation, which seeks to make the
private sector a partner and whose wellbeing would reflect the strength of the
government itself.
Nii Adjei
Okine, Commissioner of CEPS, urged the business community to learn the WTO
valuation system so that they do not face any difficulties as in the past.
Nana Akwasi
Agyeman, Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive, in a welcoming address, noted
that the success of the WTO system would depend on the genuineness of invoices
traders present to CEPS officers.
He urged CEPS
and other security agencies to check smuggling and other negative activities,
which impede the economic development of the country.
GRi…./
Environmental sanitation essential for healthy welfare
Accra,{Greater
Accra}30 March 2000.
Mr. Peter
Hawkins, Environmental Consultant of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural
Development, on Wednesday said environmental sanitation is essential for
promoting the healthy and productive welfare of Ghanaians.
At the
beginning of a three-day workshop for Environmental Journalists under the theme
"Communication for Urban Environmental Sanitation", Mr. Hawkins said
many diseases are related to poor environmental sanitation, especially in urban
areas, as the high concentration of people provides more opportunities for
infections to spread from one individual to another.
He said
diarrhoea, dysentery, intestinal parasites, typhoid and cholera are all due to
contamination by excreta, adding that these can be controlled by the use of
safe and hygienic toilets with adequate treatment and disposal of toilet waste.
Mr. Hawkins
said diseases such as malaria, elephantiasis and yellow fever are spread by
different types of mosquitoes but explained that all these could be controlled
by environmental sanitation measures.
Another
aspect of environmental sanitation is the management of solid and liquid waste,
he said, adding that every man, woman and child produces about half a kilogram
of solid waste daily, which is equivalent to one or two tonnes by an average
family in a year.
The total
solid waste produced in urban areas comes to over one million tonnes per year
and is expected to rise to almost three million tonnes by 2020.
Mr. Hawkins
explained that the central government had demonstrated its commitment to
environmental sanitation through the launching of a national environmental
sanitation policy in 1999.
The policy
is aimed at developing and maintaining a clean, safe and pleasant physical
environment in all human settlements to promote the social, economic and
physical well being of all sections of the population.
It also
comprises a number of complementary actions such as the construction and
maintenance of sanitary infrastructure, provision of services, public education,
community and individual action, regulation and legislation.
He said
improper waste disposal by one individual affects all community members.
Therefore, ensuring good sanitation is the responsibility of all citizens,
communities, private sector and all stakeholders.
Mr. Hawkins
said the establishment of community environmental sanitation norms, and
hygienic education to create awareness as enshrined in the government
environmental sanitation policy was laudable.
GRi…/
Koforidua (Eastern Region) 30 March 2000
The New Juaben Municipal Chief Executive
(MCE), Mr Emmanuel Adu-Boateng, has denied any involvement in the boundary
dispute raging between the Effiduase and Asokore people of the New Juaben
Traditional Area.
He has,
therefore, appealed to the Asokore people, who are boycotting the on-going
national housing and population census, to participate in the exercise.
Speaking at
the New Juaben North constituency conference of the National Democratic
Congress (NDC) at Koforidua on Tuesday, the MCE said: "I have no intention
of taking sides in the issue".
He observed
that the Effiduase and Asokore people belong to the same lineage and have
traditionally been brothers with inter-marriages among them, and called for a
peaceful resolution of the dispute.
GRi../
Cape Coast
(Central Region) 30 March 2000
The Central Region branch of the June Four Movement (JFM) has accepted Professor John Evans Atta Mills' decision to contest this year's presidential election on the ticket of the NDC and the Progressive Alliance.
In a
statement issued at Cape Coast on Wednesday and signed by Nana Akomea, Regional
Co-ordinator, members of the movement said they see Prof. Mills as the
"most politically marketable candidate within and among the NDC and the
Progressive Alliance".
They
commended him for demonstrating exemplary qualities of humility and
accountability and for his commitment to service to the state.
The
statement, therefore, called on members of the NDC to endorse Prof. Mills'
candidature at the party's congress scheduled to take place in Ho next month.
GRi../
Winneba (Central Region) 30 March 2000
Two
children died instantly and three others, including two girls, were seriously
injured when they were trapped by a falling wall during a rainstorm at Winneba
on Monday.
Master Kow
Armah, four, and Master Kwesi Osabaako, 10, have since been buried.
Ekua
Kweikumah, 13, Kobina Oyame, six, and Aba Yaaba have been admitted at the
Winneba Government Hospital.
The Deputy
Minister of Roads and Transport and MP for Effutu, Mr Mike Allen Hammah, has
visited the bereaved families to express his condolences.
GRi../