Three sentenced to death in Ablekuma Murder
Trial
Four students of Legon dismissed for forging
results
Steve Akorlie ordered to retract statement
made against Veep
Media Watchdog directs Despatch to apologise
to Selormey
Isaac Osei urges Ghanaians to break barriers
of ethnicity
MP for York in the UK visits Fanteakwa
Military/Police drill students under the
scorching sun
Senior Minister calls for improved IT in
Africa
Presidential security Guard to be buried at
Nkroful on Saturday
International year of the mountain Launched
Foreign Minister leaves for Addis Ababa
Commonwealth Foundation to issue guidelines
on governance
Three sentenced to death in Ablekuma Murder
Trial
Accra (Greater Accra) 13 March 2002- An Accra High Court on Tuesday sentenced three of the nine persons in the Ablekuma Murder Trial to death by hanging for the murder of two policemen at Ablekuma in 1998.
The three, Joseph Telewu, alias Terminator, Seth Ababio Kissergbi, alias Rasta and Daniel Mills, alias Fussy, were convicted on two charges of conspiracy and murder by the seven-member jury.
It acquitted and discharged the rest after finding them not guilty of the same charges. They are Nii Amo Dodoo, William Nii Muetteh Addo, Newland Awayevu, Okyeame Darko Dodoo, Wisdom Awayevu, alias Kwasi Luga and Yemo Odue, alias Joe Shanton. William Nii Muetteh Addo was also acquitted and discharged on an additional charge of murder.
After the jury, including two females, had returned an unanimous verdict of guilty on the three accused persons, Mrs Justice Beatrice Agyemang Bempah, the trial judge, did not hesitate to pronounce a sentence of death by hanging on them.
The accused persons tortured and murdered Constables Richard Owusu-Sekyere of the Police Striking Force Unit and Constable Jerry Wornoo stationed at the National Police Academy and Training School on November 24,
1998.
The case for the prosecution was that the two policemen went to Ayigbe Town, near Ablekuma, to arrest one Semakor, alleged to have trespassed on a piece of land belonging to Owusu-Sekyere, when they met their untimely death.
Before passing sentence, Mrs Justice Bempah asked the three accused persons whether they had anything to say. All of them told the court that they had never conspired to kill and knew nothing about the death of the two policemen.
Soon after the verdict, the three accused persons were escorted by security personnel into a waiting vehicle and whisked away. During the trial, which lasted for more than one year, the prosecution team led by Mr Anthony Gyambiby, Principal State Attorney, called 13 witnesses.
Five of the witnesses were Police Officers, including Dr S.B. Maale Adjei, the specialist pathologist, who performed the post-mortem examinations on the two constables at the Police Hospital Mortuary.
One witness, Samuel Nii Oku, was a relative of Wornoo, who on December 30, 1998, identified Wornoo's body before the pathologist could perform the autopsy on him. The rest, two school children, two farmers, a trader and a carpenter were all resident at Ablekuma.
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Four students of Legon dismissed for
forging results
Accra (Greater Accra) 13 March 2002- Four level 100 studentsof the University of Ghana, Legon, have been dismissed from the University for presenting forged results of the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSSCE) to gain unfair advantage in the admissions process in August 2001. The affected students are: Emma Ankamah, Lamie Sulley, Benjamin Effah-Boachie and Cynthia Bright-Fasintei, all of whom were reading for a Bachelor of Arts.
A letter dated February 22 circulated by Mr. T. Tabi, Deputy Registrar of Academic Affairs, to heads of departments, the results of the students did not exist in the records from the West African Examinations Council. Mr Tabi advised all public universities in the country not to allow the students to gain unfair advantage in future admissions.
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Steve Akorlie ordered to retract statement
made against Veep
Accra (Greater Accra) 13 March 2002- The National Media Commission (NMC) has directed Mr. Steve Akorlie (NDC Ho East) to retract a statement he recently made against the Vice President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama at a forum at Ho.
The NMC has also asked the MP to apologise unconditionally to the Vice President and advertise the apology once in the Ghanaian Chronicle. This follows a complaint lodged by the Vice President to the NMC against Mr. Steve Akorlie and the Ghanaian Chronicle, a release issued on Tuesday by the NMC said in Accra.
It said the complaint was in respect of a publication in the Ghanaian Chronicle on Monday, September 17, 2001 with the headline, "Ho MP lambasts Vice Prez, His road construction company is most inefficient".
The newspaper quoted Mr Akorlie as allegedly calling the Vice President "a notorious and stubborn liar" at the forum in reaction to comments the Vice President was alleged to have made at a meeting with chiefs at Ho.Mr Akorlie was also alleged to have deliberately confused or associated Lidra Company with the Vice President. The letter of complaint stated that the statement made by the MP had "a malicious intent."
It said being the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana apart, "His Excellency Aliu Mahama is a very highly esteemed and responsible citizen of the nation for which reason to describe him as a notorious and stubborn liar without justification whatsoever, is not only unacceptable but despicable and makes substantial danger to his hard earned reputation apparent".
The statement said the compliant therefore, sought a retraction of the statement and an unqualified apology for unjustifiably calling the Vice President "a notorious and stubborn lair".
In his response, Mr Akorlie stated that he reacted to specific allegations said to have been made by the Vice President of the Ho township roads projects, which were initiated during his tenure as the acting Minister of Roads and Highways.
He admitted saying in direct reply to the statements attributed to the Vice President concerning the project that they were lies. "However, he categorically denied qualifying it with the words stubborn and notorious", the statement said.
It said Mr Akorlie stated that he spoke Ewe and, therefore, found it difficult to appreciate how words he used could be interpreted to mean "stubborn and notorious".
In evidence, Mr Frank Muzzu, the Volta Regional correspondent of the Ghanaian Chronicle in Ho, maintained that Mr Akorlie, who is his friend of over 20 years and who spoke Ewe at the forum, was fuming and referred to the Vice President in a very disparaging and uncomplimentary language, which he translated as "notorious and stubborn lair".
Mr Muzzu concluded that the newspaper published exactly what the MP said in reference to the Vice President at the forum. The statement said the Commission found as a fact that, "the words used by Hon. Akorlie, in reference to the Vice President could be translated as 'a stubborn and notorious liar'".
The NMC said the words were disparaging of the Vice President and brought his personality into disrepute. "The reporter and the Ghanaian Chronicle could not be faulted as the publication represented accurately what transpired at the forum and it is inappropriate to repeat in this statement the words attributed to Hon. Akorlie in Ewe as related by the Reporter to the Commission."
The Commission has appealed to all in headship positions to be circumspect in their publication, tolerant and moderate in their public pronouncements as their pronouncements as captured by the media were bound to make tremendous impact on readers and listeners.
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Media Watchdog directs Despatch to
apologise to Selormey
Accra (Greater Accra) 13 March 2002- The National Media Commission (NMC) on Tuesday directed Mr Ben Ephson, Editor of the Dispatch, to apologise to Mr Victor Selormey, former Deputy Minister of Finance, in respect of two publications of July 6-15 with headline: "Selormey in another 2.8 billion-cedi deal" and "Ex-NDC Minister arrested with $I.5 million cash."
According to a statement issued by the NMC in Accra the said publication stated among others that security agents on the tarmac of the Kotoka International Airport arrested Mr. Selormey on his return trip to the US on Sunday, April 15, 2001 to retrieve 1.5 million dollars cash, which he had carried from Ghana to deposit in a US bank, but could not succeed, owing to the stringent banking regulation of that country.
The statement noted that in his evidence before the Commission, Mr. Ephson conceded that the allegations as contained in the publications were not true, and it had since then retracted the story. The commission therefore, directed that he re-published the said retraction, rendered an unqualified apology to Mr. Selormey within 14 days.
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Isaac Osei urges Ghanaians to break barriers
of ethnicity
Accra (Greater Accra) 13 March 2002- Mr Isaac Osei, Ghana's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom has urged Ghanaians to help break the barriers of ethnicity and political divisiveness and move forward together as one great nation.
A release from the High Commission made available to the Ghana News Agency on Tuesday said the High Commissioner made the remarks at a reception held for a cross-section of Ghanaians, the Diplomatic corps as well as friends of Ghana to mark the nation's 45th Independence anniversary in London.
He said the history of the world was replete with tales of countries that had developed through the contribution and ingenuity of their own people and called on Ghanaians to prepare themselves for the task of nation-building and wealth creation.
Mr Osei urged Ghanaians to continue to work towards the ever-yearning desire of the founding fathers to build a buoyant economy and prosperous country in freedom, justice and tranquillity.
In conveying the greetings of President J. A. Kufour to the gathering, he paid tribute to the nation's forebears through whose efforts independence was won and urged Ghanaians to emulate the national heroes and contribute their quota to the socio-economic development of the country.
Mr Isaac Osei said the government was committed to the noble ideas of independence as manifested by the radical measures that it had taken to entrench democratic government and the enjoyment of the fundamental human rights and freedoms. The reception was interspersed with classical Ghanaian highlife music and cultural performances by the RMI Dance Band and Adidzo cultural troupe.
The High Commissioner, speaking at a reception after a church service and dinner dance organised, respectively by the Catholic Community and the Ghana Union to mark the anniversary, called on Ghanaians to join hands in the battle for the socio-economic development of the country.
He urged them to transfer their skills to work back home so that "we can together build our country on a solid foundation". Mr Osei described the decision of IMF/World Bank to cancel 3.7 billion dollars debt of Ghana as an ample demonstration of their faith and confidence in the restoration of macro-economic stability in the country.
He pledged that the government would utilise the, savings to be derived in education, health and productive sector of the economy. On the recent Supreme Court ruling on the legality of fast tract court, the High Commissioner said the decision would not undermine the government's total commitment to the rule of law, which he described as an essential ingredient for democratic governance in the country's infant democracy.
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Govt to take critical look at Information
Technology - Agyepong
Accra (Greater Accra) 13 March 2002- Mr Felix Owusu Agyepong, Minister of Transport and Communications, on Tuesday pledged government's determination to train more people, especially the youth, on Information Technology (IT) for its development and to prevent brain drain in that sector.
He said for the country to make a positive impact on IT, government had to take a critical look at value added services on the internet to be able to train more people, especially the youth to prevent them from leaving the country with their human resources.
Mr Agyepong was briefing newsmen after he accompanied a three-man delegation from the Internet Co-operation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to pay a courtesy call on President John Agyekum Kufuor at the Castle, Osu, behind closed doors.
The call was part of the quarterly meeting of the Board of ICANN currently underway in Accra. Mr Vinton G. Cerf (Ed. Correct), Chairman of the Board, led the delegation. Mr Agyepong said government had to set the guidelines and the political direction to create the enabling environment for the private sector to participate in the sector.
That is why the government has a policy that, within the next three years every second cycle institution should be linked to the internet for the students to have access and develop the interest.
Mr Cerf said IT had an important role to play in the country's drive for investment promotion and growth and was happy that government had made available the avenue for such a development in the country. He said there were indications that government had made partnership with the private sector possible for joint ventures in the sector.
Dr Nii Darku Quaynor, Executive Chairman of Network Computer Systems, said a major challenge facing the country in the development of IT was the non-availability of the required people with technical knowledge to boost the sector. He said government's support was needed to develop good human capacity to provide human-based solutions to designs for basic infrastructure for development.
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Wa (Upper West) 13 March 2002- Naa Seidu Yakubu Soaliah II was on Monday enskinned Paramount Chief of the Wala Traditional Area amidst tight security provided by the police and a detachment of Airborne Force from Tamale.
His enskinnment has thus filled the vacancy that was created after the death of Naa Momori Bondiri II in 1998. Before the ceremony the huge crowd drummed and danced, giving security personnel a hectic time as they found it difficult to control the thousands of people that thronged the ceremony grounds to see their new chief.
Mr Godfred Bayong Tangu, Wa District Chief Executive, decorated the chief with his medallion and staff as a sign of recognition by the government.
In a speech read on behalf of Mr Sahanun Mogtari, Upper West Regional Minister, he called on the new paramount chief to unite the people of Wa and draw up mechanisms that would spell out a smooth way of succession in the event of a Wa-Naa's death.
"Open up and embrace everybody as a brother and sister irrespective of their political, tribal and traditional lineage" he said. Mr Mogtari said the clock of development in the Wala Traditional Area was drawn back because of litigation and urged every royal in the traditional area to exhibit good behaviour and understanding to avoid disputes with their resultant negative repercussions.
In his maiden speech read for him, Naa Soaliah II promised to unite all the gates and to draw up a smooth succession plan that would completely remove litigation and disputes. He called on the government to increase accommodation facilities in the region to make the place attractive to visiting workers.
Naa Soaliah II said as part of his long-term plans, he would collaborate with all chiefs and elders of the traditional area to revise some outmoded cultural practices such as female genital mutilation and widow inheritance.
He said he would also seek to solve the problems of child delinquency, school dropouts and lack of teachers in the rural areas by collaborating effectively with the appropriate authorities.
Soon after his enskinnment, his supporters took over the streets in area drumming and dancing. Meanwhile the organisers said enskinnment could not take place in the Central Palace because it was in poor condition since it was abandoned for more than four years.
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Begoro (Eastern Region) 13 March 2002- The Member of Parliament (MP) for the City of York in the United Kingdom (UK), Mr Hugh Bailey, who is also the Patron of the Fanteakwa and the City of York Link, said his constituents have high regard for their relationship with Fanteakwa.
He said the people of the City of York have a lot to learn from the Fanteakwa community and pledged that a group of youth from the City would be visiting Fanteakwa later in the year. He expressed the hope that the youth would have the opportunity to learn more about the culture of the people of Fanteakwa.
Mr Bailey, who is a member of a British delegation touring the country, said this when he paid a two-day visit to Begoro at the weekend. He said he had held a series of meetings with the executive members of the Fanteakwa and the City of York Link. He said he would meet with his constituents on his return to U. K. to see how best they could support the various decisions initiated during his visit.
Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, MP for Fanteakwa, called for the support of the people of York to bring the educational standard of the children of Fanteakwa close to that of the City of York for the benefit of the children in both communities. He called for technology transfer that could help facilitate the interaction between the people of Fanteakwa and their counterparts in York City through the Internet.
Mr Ebenezer Ofoe Ceaser, Fanteakwa District Chief Executive, explained that the membership of the executive members of the Link in Fanteakwa had to be enlarged to cover the whole of the District, hence the presence of new executive members.
He said the branch of the link in Fanteakwa had also established a lot of sub-committees to enable all sectors of the society to have an impact on the performance of the executives.
The local Salvation Army School Cultural Troupe entertained Mr Bailey at a mini-durbar at the palace of Begorohene, Osabarimah Awuah Kotoko, who had travelled abroad.
Later, Mr Bailey and his entourage visited the Begoro Presbyterian Vocational Institute and the multi-purpose Begoro Community Library Complex, which is under construction.
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Military/Police drill students under the
scorching sun
Wa (Upper West) 13 March 2002- The Military and Police in Wa on Tuesday subjected students of Wa Secondary School to over 30 minutes drill under the scorching sun for burning down a school bungalow and resisting arrest.
The students, who were alleged to have burn down a staff bungalow, a Yamaha motorbike and vandalised the school's administration block, resisted arrest and resorted to stone throwing when confronted by the Military and Police personnel called in to restore order.
Inspector Daniel Dorkpoh, Regional Police Public Relations Officer, told the GNA that 14 students have been arrested for interrogation while three female students, who collapsed at the sight of the vandalism had been taken to hospital.
Mr Moses Donndyong, Headmaster of the school told the GNA that a group of students, believed to be leaders of a syndicate on campus, burnt down the staff bungalow on Saturday night amidst the shout of "Alahu Akbar, Alahu Akbar" (God is Great).
He said the Police were invited to arrest the suspects and this infuriated their colleagues. They rushed out of their classrooms and rained stones on the Police, the administration block and set any vehicle on sight ablaze.
Mr Donndyong said some members of staff were injured and were taken to hospital.
He said all the personal belongings of the occupants of the bungalow and school furniture were completely burnt.
Mr Donndyong said over 1,140 other students had intended to wage a counter-attack on their colleagues, who were misbehaving, but the Military/Police team prevented them.
Mr Callistus Haruna, whose belongings were burnt, said he earlier had a problem with some students, who refused to go for the early morning sporting activities and pretended to be praying when they saw him approaching.
He said he allowed them to finish before he confronted them. "Some of the students started running away and were shouting: "Anti Muslim" and threatened to teach me a lesson".
Mr Jacob Bagonluuri, Regional Director of Education, told the GNA that a School Disciplinary Committee would be set-up to investigate the incident and recommend appropriate sanctions. He, however, said normal school work would not be interrupted as adequate security measures would be put in place to ensure the safety of life and property.
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Senior Minister calls for improved IT in
Africa
Accra (Greater Accra) 13 March 2002- Senior Minister Joseph Henry Mensah on Tuesday reiterated the need for African countries to improve on their Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) infrastructure to bridge the information gap and solve their economic difficulties.
He said the countries on the continent could surmount the numerous economic problems they faced once they were able to break the barriers of the digital divide and improve communications among themselves in a fast and efficient manner.
"African countries simply need to talk to each other in a fast and efficient manner," he told delegates attending the Fourth African Telecom Summit in Accra.
The Summit is a forum for ministers, policy makers and ICT experts on the continent and their counterparts from Europe and America to deliberate on contemporary issues facing Africa's ICT development.
Over 70 delegates are attending the three-day summit on the theme: "Bridging the Digital Divide: Investment Opportunities in New Information and Communication Technologies and Applications in Africa."
Mr Mensah said it would require a massive injection of both technology and capital investment to be able to bridge the gap between African countries and their counterparts in the developed world. He asked investors interested in the continent's information revolution efforts to explore the potential growth opportunities that exist in the field of ICT.
The Minister of Communication and Technology, Mr Felix Owusu-Adjapong said there was the urgent need to develop the necessary information infrastructure to meet the needs of the people.
Dr Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, Communication Minister South Africa, asked countries to pay attention to outdated technology in the desire to leapfrog ICT and bridge the gap.
She called for a legislative instrument that would encourage the private sector to meet the needs of the poor and also strategies that would stimulate growth in the communication sector.
Mr Jan Mutai, Secretary-General of African Telecommunication Union, stressed the need for the continent to find innovative ways to invest in the capacity building for ICT practitioners to enhance their capability to enable them to blend local, regional and global perspectives.
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Presidential security Guard to be buried at
Nkroful on Saturday
Accra (Greater Accra) 13 March 2002- Burial takes place at Nkroful in the Western Region on Saturday, March 16, of the late Constable Samuel Kingsley Kwaw, one of the President's Security Guards, who died in a motor accident on the Accra-Aflao road on February 2.
A family spokesman told newsmen in Accra on Tuesday that there would be a wake-keeping on Friday, March 15 before the burial. Constable Kwaw, 29, popularly known as "Possible", died shortly on admission at the Tema General Hospital.
Security sources told newsmen that another Presidential Security Guard, who died during the accident, Constable Maurice Afranie from Apatrapa in the Ashanti Region would be buried a week later on Saturday, March 23.
Three other occupants of the Toyota Landcruiser, which was involved in the accident, sustained injuries and were admitted to the 37 Military and Police hospitals in Accra.
They were Corporal Kingsford Fofie, Mr George Amoafo, the driver of the vehicle and Detective Corporal Samuel Dwamena. The accident occurred when the President's convoy was on its way to Accra after an official assignment at Agbozume in the Volta Region.
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International year of the mountain Launched
Accra (Greater Accra) 13 March 2002 - The Ghana Wildlife Society, an NGO, on Tuesday launched Ghana's celebration of the 'International Year of the Mountain' with a call on Ghanaians to protect mountainous areas since such areas are most sensitive to climatic changes.
Dr. Erasmus Owusu, acting Executive Director, said mountains are highly vulnerable to human and natural ecological imbalance and are areas most sensitive to all climatic changes in the atmosphere.
"Specific information on ecology, natural resource potential and socio-economic activities are essential in such areas since they hold a rich variety of ecological systems," he said.
The celebration of the "Year of the Mountain" was instituted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1998 for this year as a way of focusing on the role that mountain, which supposedly covers a quarter of the world's land surface play in the lives of the millions of people, who depend on it for sustenance.
The UN instituted the celebration under the overall goal of ensuring the well being of mountain populations by promoting sustainable development of mountain regions.
The global celebration is being co-ordinated by a special Commission created by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The climax of the celebration which, would be in July in Ghana would focus on Mount Afadjato.
The theme for the celebration is: "we are all mountain people." Dr. Owusu said the vertical dimension of mountains creates different temperatures and precipitation, giving rise to several climates systems such as tropical, sub-tropical, temperate and alpine on the same slope.
"This system is however, rapidly changing due to accelerated soil erosion, landslides and rapid loss of habitat and genetic diversity," he said, adding that the human side is also being affected by widespread poverty.
Mr Sampson Adjei, Acting Chief Director Ministry of Lands and Forestry Said, in spite of the significant contributions made by mountains towards environmental conservation and improvement of rural livelihood their importance has not been recognised and articulated.
He said in Ghana, many mountains have been degraded through bad practices such as indiscriminate logging, bushfires, deforestation, agriculture expansion, stone quarry and sand winning.
Mr Adjei said the celebrations would provide a platform for raising awareness of the need to protect mountains, and mountain environment. He said it is a year set aside to create awareness of the importance of mountains and rally support for their conservation and development.
Mr Anatolio Ndong Mba, deputy regional representative of the FAO said mountains are unique for the rich bio-diversity they harbour as well as the support they lend to the world's poorest people in terms of food security. "Mountains have acted as a reserve of genetic diversity and insurance for the future ecosystems," he said.
The celebration of the International Year of the Mountain was inspired by the Rio Declaration on the contributions of mountain conservation to food security and sustainable development of rural mountainous communities.
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Foreign Minister leaves for Addis Ababa
Accra (Greater Accra) 13 March 2002- The Foreign Minister, Mr Hackman Owusu Agyeman, left Accra on Monday, for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to attend the 75th Session of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Council of Ministers Meeting.
The meeting, which opens tomorrow, would discuss a wide range of issues including the budget of the OAU for the year 2002 and the statutory contributions of members. On the agenda would also be a review of the process of operationalizing the African Union, as well as issues affecting the political and economic development of Africa.
Already in Addis Ababa for the meeting are Mr Kingsley Karimu, Deputy Director, Africa and OAU Desk of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Mr Robert Afriyie, Assistant Director at the Office of the Foreign Minister.
Mr Owusu-Agyeman, who would be away for five-days was seen off by Mr. Mustapha Iddris, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and some officials of the Ministry.
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Commonwealth Foundation to issue guidelines
on governance
Accra (Greater Accra) 13 March 2002- The Citizens and Governance Unit of the Commonwealth Foundation (CF) is to issue guidelines on governance to assist the 2003 Commonwealth Heads of Governments Meeting (CHOGM) delegates formulate policies that would ensure good governance in their respective countries.
Mr Collin Ball, CF Director, said this in a feature on The Commonwealth's Civil Society contained in a special edition of the Commonwealth of Nations magazine designed to highlight events marking the golden jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II of England, as head of the commonwealth. The magazine was launched at the just ended CHOGM in Coolum, Queensland, Australia.
Mr Ball noted that research conducted by the CF on the importance of civil society on 10,000 respondents from 47 commonwealth states between 1997 and 1999, revealed that civil society was not just voluntary or non-governmental organisations, but a collection of civil actions, which directly and indirectly tended to promote the common good of the commonwealth.
He said the CF presented the findings to CHOGM in 1999, adding that though the heads of government found it discomforting, it informed the Fancourt Declaration of the Heads of Government at the time and they urged the CF on to continue with such research activities.
"The Foundation's Citizens and Governance has, therefore, taken over from where the civil society left off. It aims, by the time of the 2003 CHOGM, to produce a toolkit, including a set of guidelines, on what governance should look like in practice and more importantly how citizens and civil society should play their part," Mr Ball said.
Mr Ball noted that the CF research also revealed that the peoples of the Commonwealth felt dis-empowered and cut off from political and decision-making process, saying that most people felt too remote from governance and even the activities of non-governmental organisation.
"I have no doubt in mind that the result of our study on governance would challenge governments and even non-governmental organisations."
Mr Ball said over the years the CF had forged co-operation between governments and civil society and among civil society organisations themselves, through the annual "NGO Study Visit", which usually took selected NGO operators of common concern to a particular country to study a particular situation of concern to the Commonwealth countries. "It is time to forge closer relations between governments and civil society on one hand and the peoples of the Commonwealth on the other hand."
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