Accra (Greater Accra) 20 March 2002 - Mr Justice Dixon Kwame Afreh, 68, an Appeal Court Judge with 31 years of legal practice was on Tuesday sworn in as a member of the Supreme Court by President John Agyekum Kufuor. Justice Afreh was born in Kumasi on March 25, 1933 and was admitted to the Ghana Bar in September 1961.
He had his second cycle education from 1949 to 1954 at Achimota School. He then left for the University of Birmingham, England for his LL.B between October 1955 and July 1958 and continued to the University of London, England between October 1958 and October 1960 for his Master's in Law.
He was called to the English Bar in February 1960 at the Lincoln's Inn, London. Between 1962 and 1975, he lectured at the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, Legon, rising to the positions of Senior lecturer, Acting Dean of Law Faculty and Acting Hall Master of Commonwealth Hall in 1974.
Justice Afreh worked at the Attorney -General's Office as Chief State Attorney between 1975 and 1978. In April 1973 to June, 1980 he worked with the General Legal Council as Director of Legal Education. He later joined the Pan African News Agency (PANA), in Dakar, Senegal between June 1981 and October 1992 as Head of Administration and later becoming the Financial Controller from 1989 to 1992.
Between September 1978 and June, 1979 he became Commissioner for Information and Cocoa Affairs under the AFRC regime. He was also a Deputy Commissioner for the Electoral Commission between 1992 and 1994 and was appointed a Justice of the Court of Appeal of Ghana in June 1994.
Members of the Minority National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Parliament opposed the nomination of Mr Justice Afreh contending that the timing was inauspicious since the state was seeking a review of the Supreme Court's decision that the Fast Track Courts were unconstitutional.
They went ahead and boycotted the vetting and did not cast their vote when the full House met to consider the report of the committee but Justice Afreh obtained 104 votes with two abstentions in a secret ballot. He thus obtained more than 98 per cent of the votes, even though; he needed only 60 per cent.
The NDC members of the Parliamentary Appointments Committee walked into the meeting halfway during the vetting to say that their boycott was not against the person of Mr Justice Afreh and walked out.
Mr Alban Bagbin, the Minority Leader, accompanied by four other members took their seats that were earlier occupied by other non-members of the committee. Mr Bagbin after obtaining permission from the Chairman, Mr Freddie Blay, congratulated Mr Afreh on his nomination and possible appointment to the Supreme Court.
Mr Bagbin said the Minority was not against the nomination of Mr Afreh as a person. "We don't have any grudge or a case against Mr Afreh. We were in the same chambers together." Mr Afreh retorted; "you are one of the younger lawyers. I regard you as my son," (Laughter).
Mr Bagbin replied; "I definitely regard you as a father and congratulate you on your nomination. “It is important to put on record that the Minority is not directing the boycott against you in person. We are protesting against a bad precedent that the government is setting that will affect the development of democracy.
"In the letter of your nomination it was stated that you were being elevated to enlarge the Supreme Court panel in view of the impending review of the review of the decision of the Supreme Court on the Fast Track Courts."
He said that if the practice were allowed to continue then it would open the gates to add to the number of Supreme Court judges anytime a review was needed. "We want to let the people know that we are not part of that process. Our intention to boycott is to raise the issue and not that we are not happy about you in person but that we are sorry it is happening to you at this time."
Immediately Mr Bagbin finished his statement he walked out together with the four other Minority members of the Appointment Committee. Mr Justice Afreh in an answer to a question before the Minority walked in expressed regret about the boycott of his vetting by the Minority saying; "I would have been happier it they were here to listen to me."
Mr Justice Afreh told the Parliamentary Appointment Committee that except the Chief Justice, Mr Edward K. Wiredu and a few others, the rest of the justices of the Supreme Court, Appeal Court and High Courts were his students.
"Most of those who were not were too young to be," he said with laughter. The former Vice President, Professor John Evans Atta Mills, Kwamena Ahwoi and a host of current and former ministers and MPs including Alhaji Mohammad Mumuni, MP for Kumbungu, who was very vocal in the boycott by the Minority against his nomination, had all been his law students, he told the committee.
Mr Justice Afreh said he was told that he was nominated for Supreme Court membership in 1995, 1997 and 1999 adding; "I do not know why my nomination was shelved. It was best known to whoever did that. It is now my time."
Referring to the timing of his nomination when there were indications that he would be sitting on a review of an earlier decision of the Supreme Court, Mr Justice Afreh said the critics were not challenging his qualification and merit to that office.
"There has not been reference to my achievements, which could have addressed the fears of those MPs, who have declined to participate in my vetting. I have not been comfortable for a week now since my nomination." He said he qualified to be a member of the Supreme Court long ago "and if today I am to go there then I console myself that this is the time for me to go."
Mr Justice Afreh said; "my nomination and if I am appointed would be a matter for the future. I don't believe in crossing the bridge before coming to it. My going to the Supreme Court will not be whether it is appropriate for me to sit there or not." He dismissed the claim that he was going to be at the court to be a judge in his own court saying; "I am not an accused in the Fast Track Court case nor a party to any suit.
"Even though, I was sitting at the Fast Track Court I don't think that constitute grounds for me to be labelled as a judge in my own case. To be a judge in your own case means that you cannot arbitrate in a particular case where you have interest."
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Accra (Greater Accra) 20 March 2002 - Police on Tuesday sent re-enforcement to the village of Giberug in the Mamprusi District of the Northern Region where clashes between two clans led to the death of at least two people.
Reliable sources with the Police administration told the Ghana News Agency that the re-enforcements had been drawn from Gambaga to contain the situation which had spilled over to a nearby village.
The source confirmed that the dispute was between the Japaak/Tamon and Tulis clans over who should be the clan head. The clash was reported to have displaced 1,200 at Dunglaar-Gberuk, near Bimbagu in the Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo constituency of the Northern Region.
An old lady received severe burns and a large stock of foodstuffs, 36 compound houses and two corn mills were burnt to ashes while over 60 cattle were lost in the ethnic violence which occurred in the area at the weekend. Mr Berrik Namburr, Member of Parliament for the area, who was speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Tuesday, said most of the people had fled the area.
He, therefore, called on the Government as a matter of urgency to go to the aid of the people by holding discussions with the opinion leaders and elders of the two clans to arrive at a suitable solution. Mr Namburr appealed to the Minister of the Interior and the Northern Regional Security Council to take steps to beef up security in the area to stop the carnage.
He said a source from the area named the two deceased persons as Pokper Laar Kombat, 75, and Dung Dubik, 55, adding that the unidentified woman was on admission at a clinic at Bindi.
He said whatever measure, that was taken to resolve the land and chieftaincy problems between the clans in 2000 had failed since the Tulis returned and started rebuilding their houses in the disputed area.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 20 March 2002 - The British High Commission has introduced the "drop box" visa application facility for applicants visiting the United Kingdom. The facility, which is for previous travellers to the United Kingdom, takes effect from Monday, March 25, a statement from the High Commission said on Tuesday.
This facility is available for applicants, who have previously travelled to the United Kingdom as visitors or for business at least twice in the past year. Applicants, who are regular travellers to the United Kingdom and are applying to renew an existing or recently expired two-year or five-year visit visa are also entitled to the facility
All applications should be completed in the normal way according to the guidance notes enclosed with the visa application form and must make sure photocopies, passport, and bank draft should be put into an envelope, sealed and addressed to the British High Commission, Visa Application, Visa Section, Drop Box Facility, Accra.
The applications according to the statement should be dropped at the visa section between 1100 hours and 1200 noon from Monday to Friday and collected the next day between 1330 hours and 1400 hours. Applicants do not need to deliver their own applications but must collect their own passports.
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Wa (Upper West) 20 March 2002 - Mr Jacob Bagonluuri, Upper West Regional Director of Education in consultation with the board of governors and executive members of Wa Secondary School Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), has closed down the school indefinitely. The closure followed the refusal of the teaching staff of the school to teach, citing insecurity as a major factor.
Briefing newsmen at Wa on Tuesday, Mr Bagonluuri said the staff claimed that similar skirmishes began slowly in the early eighties in the school and ended up with a member of staff losing his life and until an amicable settlement was instituted they would continue to withdraw their services.
He said a committee has however, been set up to delve deep into the case to enable the school re-open in the shortest possible time. On March 11, last week, the police went to the school to arrest three boys Amin Salifu, Ibrahim Seidu and Hakeem Umar leaders of a rioting syndicate for allegedly burning down a tutor's bungalow, including all his personal belongings.
In the process of arresting the three leaders, a group of Muslim students believed to be part of the syndicate went out on rampage vandalising school property amidst shouts of "Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar" (God is Great).
The police at the end of the day arrested about 14 of them and placed them in cells, which incensed about 300 others to boycott classes and leave the school in solidarity with their colleagues.
The staff, in collaboration with the board of governors asked them to report by Saturday or consider themselves sacked. They obliged and reported, accompanied by their leaders. The return of the leaders of the students without any punishment, the Director said, forced the teachers to boycott classes, saying they could not ensure their safety in the school.
Mr Bagonluuri said the last straw that broke the camel's back was molestation being meted out to Muslim students by their colleague Muslim students saying "they refused to join them in their jihad and fight for freedom."
He said in the interest of the staff, students, parents and board of governors of the school it was convenient to close down the school to find amicable solutions to the problem.
Meanwhile the Wa District branch of the school’s old students' association has condemned the recent unrest, which destabilised academic work at the school. In a statement issued at Wa on Monday and signed by its secretary, Mr. Adam Abdul-Fataw, the association described the violent disturbances of March 12, as gross display of indiscipline by the students concerned.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 20 March 2002 - Defence Minister Dr Kwame Addo Kufuor on Tuesday ordered a thorough investigation into the causes of the crash of the Ghana Air Force helicopter and instructed that all others in the service be grounded and thoroughly checked to prevent a similar incidence.
The manufacturers of the Agusta Bell helicopter that crashed and their local agents have been requested to assist the Ghana Armed Forces in reviewing the current state of the helicopters, Dr Addo Kufuor said when he briefed the media at Burma Camp in Accra.
He said all other aircrafts of the GAF were also to undergo stringent examinations to ensure their airworthiness and to forestall future accidents. The Minister denied that the move was an indication that the GAF's aircrafts were obsolete and said, "when such incidents happen, the standard procedure is to thoroughly examine other aircrafts for defects".
He commended the Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Seth Obeng, the Air Force Commander, Air Vice Marshall Edward Mantey, other service Commanders, the Police, Ghana National Fire Service, Forestry Commission, members of the search and rescue team as well as the chiefs and people of Bomaa, Sagyimase and Asiakwa for their efforts in locating the crash site and to retrieve the bodies of the deceased.
The Minister advised the media to be more circumspect in their reportage of such tragedies, saying; "Some of the photographs on the front pages of some of the dailies would only serve to aggravate the suffering of the families of the deceased".
He said at a later date, a decent burial would be accorded the deceased in recognition of their "sacrifice". Air Vice Marshall Mantey said at no point would an aircraft take off without going through a set of chronological checks and that the pilots of the crashed helicopter went through all these checks before the flight, adding that this had been documented.
Asked why the helicopter could not be found on radar, he said the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority's radar covers the whole country but the helicopter was flying rather low making it impossible to detect its whereabouts.
He said there was no black box - flight and cockpit data recorder- on the aircraft because helicopters normally did not have them adding that as a result it would be difficult to determine the cause of the crash. The Air Force Commander said other aircrafts particularly the Fokker 27 and 28 in service were all equipped with flight and cockpit data recorders.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 20 March 2002 - Occupants of the ill-fated Ghana Air force helicopter that crashed on Saturday March 16 at Atiwa Range near Sagyimasi in the Eastern Region have been identified.
They ere Wing Commander Ben Acheampong, the pilot, Flight Lieutenant Seth Lartey, co-pilot, Corporals Joseph Bosomefi and Yao Akoensi, both technicians,
Corporal Adu Buxton, a patient, Mr Debrah George, a patient and a civilian employee of the Ministry of Defence and Mr Victor Nyarko, a nurse from the Holy Family Hospital at Nkawkaw, the Ghana Armed Forces announced at Burma Camp in Accra on Tuesday.
The Agusta Bell 412 helicopter, which was on a medical evacuation mission at Nkawkaw in the Eastern Region, took off from the Air Force Base at Burma Camp at about 7am with an estimated flight time of between 45 minutes to 50 minutes.
Military sources said the Aircraft with a crew of two pilots and two technicians got airborne from Nkawkaw at 8:50am with the two patients and a nurse. When at 10am the same day there was no contact with the aircraft, a Search and Rescue mission was launched.
The Northern Command of the GAF on Friday, March 15 requested a medical evacuation of two patients from the Holy Family Hospital at Nkawkaw to Accra. The patients were involved in a motor accident on the Kumasi-Accra road. The wreckage of the Agusta Bell 412 helicopter was finally discovered after about 72 hours of intensive search. The Ghana Air force had two of such helicopters. They were acquired in 1996.
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Koforidua (Eastern region) 20 March 2002 - A Legal Practitioner, Nana Addo Aikins on Tuesday cautioned the government against rushed actions in Tsatsu Tsikata's case, since any such act would open the government up for criticisms of persecution and harassment. The government, he said, should allow the case to take its normal course within the circles of usual and appropriate investigation and judicial authorities.
In a statement issued in Koforidua in reaction to public concerns raised after the Supreme Court's and High Court's ruling in the Tsatsu Tsikata's case, Nana Addo-Aikins, who was a former Tribunal Chairman, stressed that the "government should not be led to repeat the mistakes of past governments on court rulings to avoid self-induced crisis and agitation".
"Comments and actions from the Executive must of necessity be such as would not arouse public suspicion of government's hidden intention to use state power to advantage over the Supreme Court's ruling in Tsatsu Tsikata's case as has been the case with Ghana's past governments in relation to court rulings"
The statement said the rulings of both the Supreme Court and High Court in the case has seriously put the independence of the judiciary, the rule of law, the nation's stability and the credibility of the NPP government at stake.
"Reactions from, especially the government to the rulings of Tsatsu Tsikata's case must, therefore, be one that should not offend the due process of law, the national interest and government's own avowed commitment to the rule of law and good democratic governance", the statement said.
The Government's appointing authority in the judiciary, the statement noted, must be exercised with utmost care especially, with regards to appointment of justices of the Supreme Court for the impending review of Tsatsu Tsikata's case.
Appointing new justices at, "this nick of time from the justices of Fast Track Courts for the review of Tsatsu Tsikata's case whose main issue for determination is the constitutionality or otherwise of the Fast Track courts, will surely cause a serious national concern whose solution would lie in government giving any such idea a second thought." the statement said. "There is always a price to pay for commitment to the rule of law and good democratic governance." the statement added.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 20 March 2002 - Dr S. K. B. Asante, Vice President of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, on Tuesday, said recent legislation and regulations affecting timber exploitation constituted expropriation of stool property and were a grave violation of the Constitution.
He said "government's assumption of the power to grant timber rights have no constitutional basis and the analogy with government's power to grant mineral rights is flawed by the fundamental constitutional difference that mineral are vested in state while forestry is not, notwithstanding the government power to manage forests and create forests reserves".
Dr Asante, who was Chairman of the Committee of Experts who drafted the 1992 Constitution, delivering the second of the 35th J. B. Danquah Memorial Lectures in Accra, stated that, "management is not divestiture of ownership."
The lectures under the theme, "Reflections of the Constitution, Law and Development" had "The Constitution: Some Social and Economic Development," as the topic for the second day, which was chaired by Professor Akilagpa Sawyerr, former Vice-Chancellor of University of Ghana.
He said that even if the right to grant timber rights were conceded as a necessary incident of management, it is clearly unconstitutional for the Forestry Commission or any governmental authority to appropriate the bulk of royalties accruing from timber exploited from forest on stool lands.
No provision of the constitution empowered the Lands Commission or the responsible Minister to appropriate a substantial part of the forest revenues of the stool, he said. The Constitutional and Legal Expert stated that the breach of the constitution was not in the interest of the public but only favoured the Forestry Commission.
Dr Asante questioned the propriety of the Commission charged with the responsibility of managing forestry property, appropriating the revenue for its own purpose without any prior agreement with the appropriate stools, saying, "it constitutes a flagrant violation of the basic principles of fiduciary responsibility or the duty of loyalty in the law of trusts".
He said royalties from the utilisation of timber previously constituted the bulk of stool lands revenue but recent statutes and regulations governing the utilisation and management of forest resources on stool lands had expropriated the bulk of these revenues.
Dr Asante said under the new legislation and regulations, as much as 60 per cent of these royalties were charged as management fees by the Forestry Commission, 10 per cent as administrative fees to the Administrator of Stool lands and the mandatory 55 per cent of the remaining allocated to the district assemblies.
He questioned the rational for the exploitation of timber resources by state institutions to the detriment of traditional authority explaining that the constitution defines stool lands "as any land or interest in, or right over any land controlled by stool or skin, head of a particular community or the captain of a company for the benefit of the subjects of that stool or the members that community".
Dr Asante who is also the Paramount Chief of Asante Asokore Traditional Area, said forest on stool lands form part of the landed resources of the stool, while stool revenues includes royalties derived from timber exploitation.
The Traditional Ruler said "unless the constitution explicitly authorises some institutions to deal with forestry and stool lands in a manner inconsistent with stool ownership of the forest, there is no constitutional basis for the exercise of ownership rights by any authority other than the stools in respect of stool lands." Dr Asante explained that the establishment of a Forestry Commission under the constitution was for management and regulation and did not have ownership rights.
It was significant to note that unlike minerals, which were formally vested in the state, forestry was not. Dr Asante said "the managerial and regulatory powers conferred upon the Forestry Commission do not strictly speaking imply the rights of the Commission or the responsible Minister to grant timber rights or any rights in respect of the exploitation of the forestry resources without the concurrence of the owners".
He stressed the need to re-examine State involvement in Land Administration in view of evidence that it had proved inefficient and unproductive. Degradation of forest and the environment, indiscriminate exploitation of timber without a corresponding re-afforestation and the wanton destruction of crops or other agricultural products by timber operators had been the hallmark of state control of forest resources, Dr Asante stated.
He said state agencies should not only desist from depriving stools and landowners of their legitimate revenues but should consult them for appropriate inputs in the management of these natural resources.
Dr Asante explained that what traditional authorities needed from state agencies in respect of stool lands administration was not deprivation but sound technical advice and support in harnessing the resources for the benefit of the community. "The deprivation of stool resources diminishes the capacity of chiefs to deliver social and economic services expected of them," he emphasised.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 20 March 2002 - Dr S. K. B. Asante, Chairman of the Committee of Experts, who drafted the 1992 Constitution, on Monday declared unequivocally that he had no role in the drafting of the Transitional Provisions of the Constitution.
"I actually returned to my post at the United Nations before the drafting of the Transitional Provisions and that my committee does not claim authorship of all provisions of the Constitution," he said.
Dr Asante, who is also the Vice President of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, said this at the first of a series of three lectures of the 35th J. B. Danquah Memorial Lectures in Accra. The series is under the theme: "Reflections of the Constitution, Law and Development". The lectures commemorate the outstanding contributions of Dr J. B. Danquah to the political, social and economic development and independence of the country.
The constitutional expert, who has been occasionally criticised for some provisions of the Constitution, especially the Transitional Provisions, explained that the authorship of the 1992 Constitution was a complex phenomenon.
It encompassed the legacies, contributions and inputs of many people including authorities and persons other than those formally charged with the formulation of the current document, Dr Asante said, adding that the Consultative Assembly did not endorse all the recommendations of the Committee of Experts.
Dr Asante explained that the criteria for evaluating the executive arrangements under the Constitution must necessarily be informed by lessons of Africa's experience of governance in the post-independence era and the dismal record of executive excesses and its destabilising and stifling impact.
Citing recent incidents of state collapse or disintegration of authority in several African countries to support the argument, Dr Asante said these demonstrated the critical importance of devising structures that would ensure the effectiveness of the state machinery and the presence of national authority throughout the body politics.
Dr Asante emphasised that the efficacy of statehood or national authority must be strictly distinguished from authoritarianism, which according to him, connoted abuse of executive powers.
He also noted that the Constitution did not impose any impediments on the effective exercise of executive power at the national, regional or district levels. "Executive power is fully complemented by a national judicial system which operates in all regions and districts." Dr Asante explained that the occasional lapses in the maintenance of law and order were not traceable to any inherent deficiencies of the Constitution.
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Koforidua (Eastern Region) 20 March 2002 - A group of Koforidua Polytechnic students, known as the "Hundred Concerned Students," have appealed to the executive of the Ghana National Union of Polytechnic Students (GNUPS), to call-off the boycott of lectures embarked upon several weeks ago.
In a statement issued in Koforidua on Tuesday, the group rather called for dialogue with the stakeholders including the Ministry of Education and the Public Service Commission since "any delay in calling off the boycott will fuel speculations that some GNUPS executives are prolonging the boycott for their personal interests".
The statement signed by the spokesman, Mr Annor Boakyere, the group was of the view that, "having brought to the public attention the problems confronting the polytechnics, we are absolutely convinced that the time to call-off the boycott of lectures is now".
It expressed regret that GNUPS had not heeded calls to end the boycott reminding it of the huge cost involved and pleaded with Principals of Polytechnics to open the institutions for those who "genuinely" want to go back to lectures to do so while negotiations go on, adding that, "stakeholders should fast track the grievances presented by the union.
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Nkawkaw (Eastern Region) 20 March 2002 - The state of anxiety which griped the staff and patients of the Holy Family Hospital at Nkawkaw since Saturday, following the reported crash of the Air Force helicopter conveying two injured soldiers on the way to Accra, burst into uncontrollable wailing when it was confirmed that Mr Victor Du Nark, the nurse of the hospital, who accompanied the patients died in the crash in the Atiwa Range near Key.
The wailing and sobbing began when a delegation of the staff, who went to Sagyimase, to verify the situation returned to confirm the death of Adu Nyarko, on Monday night.
The late Adu Nyarko was a 35-year-old graduate nurse who joined the hospital after graduation five years ago. He hailed from Apirade-Akuapem but born and bred at New Tafo-Akyem. He won the 2001 Best Male Nurse award of the hospital.
A GNA report reports Mrs Florence Lotsu, Assistant Matron of the hospital who led the delegation as describing Adu Nyarko as hardworking, respectful and jovial towards colleagues, saying, "patients in his ward had been crying ever since they heard of the crash on Saturday."
According to many of the staff and patients, they were anxiously waiting to give the late Adu Nyarko a fitting burial when the body is released by the military authorities.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 20 March 2002 - Mr Yaw Boadu Ayeboafoh, Executive Secretary of the National Media Commission (NMC) on Tuesday said many Ghanaian saw the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration as offering them better prospects to enjoy their human rights than that of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The NPP had been able to disentangle party activities from national programmes. "Since the tables turned, the Executive has always attempted to be civil to the leaders of all other parties and even where the President, Mr J. A. Kufuor has criticised the NDC, his language has been measured" he said.
Mr Ayeboafoh was giving "A Civil Society Assessment Of The Role Of Political Parties After The Reversal Of Roles of the Governing and Opposition Parties" at a day's seminar on the assessment of multi-party democracy in Ghana.
Organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) and sponsored by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the seminar brought together Ministers of State, Diplomats, Lawyers and Parliamentarians among others to deliberate on the issue.
He said the Executive was now opened to all segments of the media and above all, President Kufuor has at least addressed one press conference with the local media, which was missing during the eight-year democratic rule of the NDC. " The NPP has repealed the Criminal Libel Law, which was denounced by the media and which the NDC, through the Attorney-General swore never to repeal."
With regard to relations between existing political parties, Mr Ayeboafoh noted that the NPP was as comfortable relating healthily to the PNC and CPP as a majority party the same way it did as a minority party.
"What has not changed is the feeling within the majority and minority parties on the influence that they must exert on each other", he said adding, the majority erroneously felt that any criticism of their programmes or policies was aimed at undermining their legitimacy instead of looking at these as alternatives.
Mr Ayeboafoh said democracy was a political system that supplied regular constitutional opportunities for changing government officials and as a social mechanism, which permitted the largest possible part of the population to choose among contenders for political office.
This was a feat for both the exited leader, former President Jerry John Rawlings, who did not attempt to subvert the Constitution, as it often happened on the continent and the new leader who had pledged to respect his predecessor.
Mr Ayeboafoh said, even though, it might not be fair to compare the NDC which ruled for eight years to the NPP which had ruled for only 15 months, one of the major criticisms levelled against the NDC was that it did not respect public opinion neither did it distinguish between party activities and government functions.
Apart from the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) and EGLE Party that were in alliance with the NDC, the leadership of the other parties - NPP, Peoples' National Convention (PNC) and Convention Peoples' Party (CPP)- were treated with contempt and described in very derogatory words.
Turning to Parliament, he said because of numbers, the majority often discounted the contributions of the minority, earning the epitaph: "The minority would have their say and the majority their way."
Squadron Leader Clend Sowu, Former Member of Parliament for Anlo, who presented a paper on: "The Relationship between the different political parties in and out of Parliament during 2001," said the political parties related very well with one another though the relationship started on a frosty note.
The number of parliamentary seats for the parties is: NPP 101, NDC 91 seats, PNC three, CPP one and four independent members to complete the 200 seats. He said the election of the past chairman of the NPP, Mr Peter Ala Adjetey as speaker of Parliament influenced the relationship between parties because trust could not be immediately established as members entertained fears of partisanship.
The media, Sq. Leader Sowu said, shaped the relationship between parties with some headlines and phone-ins some of which were inflammatory that attitudes of members tended to harden to the detriment of good relationship among the political parties.
He said every one had the mandate to help keep the relationship between parties on a cordial and healthy footing as democracy in the nation was still on a journey and need to be made strong. "We should try and take responsibility for our actions and inactions. Finding scapegoats just muddles the water. Let's give credit where it is due," he said.
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