I
witnessed two payments to 31st DWM
An 18-point
rejoinder signed by the Ghana’s Ambassador to Germany, His Excellency H.I.
Alhassan, said the Embassy would have ignored the charge of corruption and call
for probe, and treat it with the contempt it deserves as it had done to
previous publications in a local private daily but for the fact that Rau, this
time got prominence in the widely circulated state-own Daily Graphic.
The state
daily in its 26 February 2003 edition, had published Rau’s claim of corruption
and call for a probe of the Embassy at a news conference in Accra, but the
statement wondered why the otherwise credible paper this time failed in its
professional discharge by not contacting the Embassy to ascertain the truth or
otherwise of Mr Rau’s allegations.
Ghanaian-born
Rau, originally, Kwabena Abrebrese but who renounced his country for German
citizenship, has been bandying himself about as a human rights activist only to
distort the operations of the Embassy in the eyes of the Ghanaian residents.
Explaining
its operations, the statement said no Ghanaian national approaching the Embassy
for assistance is made to pay any monies apart from the legitimate charges for
consular services as approved by the Government of Ghana, and in all cases, the
appropriate official receipts are issued for such payments.
It cited
the 35 Euros which Rau accused it of extorting from Ghanaians there as “a
legitimate charge levied for endorsements and attestations, long approved by
the Government of Ghana” and challenged him to prove a single case where a
Ghanaian paid any amount of money and was not issued with an official receipt,
as he claims.
The
rejoinder also denied categorically that people were made to pay before meeting
President John Kufuor during his visit to the
Below is
full text of the rejoinder:
RE: PROBE
The
attention of the Ghana Embassy in
2. The
article by one Michael Donkor purports to report the proceedings of a News Conference during which one Anthony Rau who
renounced his Ghanaian citizenship and is now a German and styles himself as a
Human Rights Activist made allegations of impropriety against the Embassy and its
officials.
3. We wish
to note that this is not the first time that Mr. Rau has launched a tirade
against this Embassy. In the Daily
Guide issue of
September,
2001 issue of the same Daily Guide he narrated a completely distorted account
of an incident at the
These
happened at a time when most of the current Officers and the present Ambassador
were not at post. We would have preferred to ignore his ridiculous comments
with the contempt that it deserves, but for the fact that this time a reputable
newspaper like the Daily Graphic has repeated his libelous statements on its
pages without first cross checking the facts or contacting this Embassy for its
side of the story.
4. We wish
categorically to state that all the allegations of corruption leveled against
the Embassy by Mr. Rau are false, malicious and intended to attack the integrity
of the Embassy and the Government of Ghana that it represents. No Ghanaian
national approaching the Embassy for assistance is made to pay any monies apart
from the legitimate charges for consular services as approved by the Government
of Ghana, and in all cases, the appropriate official receipts are issued for
such payments.
For
example, the ? 35,- that Mr. Rau mentioned is a legitimate charge levied
for endorsements and attestations, long
approved by the Government of Ghana. We
challenge Mr. Rau to prove a single case where a Ghanaian paid any amount of
money at the Embassy and was not issued with an official receipt, as he claims.
5. Even
more serious and malicious are his allegations that Ghanaians were made to pay?
100, - before being allowed to attend a forum organized in honour of his
Excellency President J.A. Kufuor during the latter's state visit to Germany
last year. It may interest readers to note that the palpable falsity of the
allegation has caused so much anger and uproar in
6. During
the President's visit, one public forum each was organised in
7. The only
Officer who went to
8. The
9. Mr.
Rau's allegation that the Embassy issues travel documents for the deportation
of any black person presented to the Embassy flies in the face of the truth and
policy of the Embassy. On the contrary,
some German Authorities are not happy with the Embassy because of our strict
requirements that both the nationality and identity of prospective deportees
must be conclusively established as Ghanaians before consideration can be given
to the issuing of a Travel Document to facilitate deportation. Indeed, the Embassy has not issued a single
deportation document since November, 2002.
One therefore wonders why Mr. Rau should resort to palpable lies and
distortions of the truth in his attempt to malign the Embassy for reasons best
known to himself.
10. Our
attention has also been drawn to another article captioned "Ghanaians
Levied To See President Kufuor" published in the Wednesday, 26 February to
Tuesday, 4 March, 2003 issue of the Voice, reported by one Owusu Tawiah and
again attributed to Anthony Rau. The said article, apart from repeating the
above spurious allegations, went on to add that
11. Another
article in the 27 February - 2 March issue of the Voice by one George Azirigo
and also citing Mr. Rau, alleged further that the supporting staff of the
Embassy are staying in hotels in
12.
Ridiculous as these allegations are, we are compelled to explain that the Ghana
Embassy in
13. One
wonders whether Mr. Rau expects the Ambassador to continue to live in
14. It may
interest readers to know that prior to the relocation to
15. There
is nothing like the "Bonn Complex" in existence in
16. Mr.
Rau's calculation with respect to the cost associated with staff commuting by
air from
17.
Besides, it would be most unwise, all other circumstances considered, for such
an insane arrangement to be even seriously considered. We are most mindful of
the need to judiciously use the hard- earned resources of the country, and
would accordingly advise the likes of Rau to refrain from offering views
purporting to save money but intended to do the reverse and make
18.
Finally, in the spirit of equity and fairness, we wish to appeal to the Daily
Graphic, the Ghanaian Voice and indeed all press houses in
We will
like to suggest that his lies be now exposed.
To give credence to his lies and distortions will only detract from the
good name and image of the government and its agencies like this Embassy, and
we hope the press will not encourage such conduct by its failure to cross-check
such allegations. Sgd (R.I. ALHASSAN) AMBASSADOR
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Accra (Greater Accra) 14
March 2003- President John Agyekum Kufuor on Thursday lauded Professor Akua
Kuenyehia, Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, saying Ghanaians
were proud of her for her appointment as a judge of the 18-member International
Criminal Court in The Hague.
"
President Kufuor said:
"The attributes of your new office are high moral standing and
intellectual powers that cannot be in doubt. I hope you will work hard and I
also trust that your work would portray that an African can hold such a
position. You deserve it that is why we gave it to you."
Nana Addo Dankwa
Akufo-Addo, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, said the election to the
Court was keenly contested but Prof. Kuenyehia succeeded to make the country
proud.
Prof. Kuenyehia
expressed appreciation for the gesture to her, her family and country and
pledged to offer her best at the Court. She thanked the government for
nominating her. Among those present was her husband, Nutifafa Kuenyehia, a
legal practitioner and Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC).
Professor Kuenyehia
would serve on the Court, which was inaugurated on Tuesday, by Queen Beatrix of
The Netherlands, for three years and could be re-elected for nine more years.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 14
March 2003- After almost three hours narration of his ordeal at the hands of
military men after the June 4 1979 Uprising, Col Kofi Abaka Jackson (Rtd), a
former Commissioner for Works and Housing, on Thursday prayed the National Reconciliation
Commission (NRC) for proper retirement.
He said he wanted his
pension and de-confiscation of his assets. The Commission and the audience sat
through with rapt attention as the former pilot instructor told his chilling
story, punctuated with tears and humour, which he partially read from a book he
had written, "When the Gun Rules".
Col. Jackson answered
questions on human rights abuse that traversed politics, military relations,
physics and engineering, law and media issues. The former Works and Housing
Commissioner, who served from October 1975 to November 1976, in the then
Supreme Military Council (SMC1) said, he had become diabetic as result of being
fed on gari and sugar almost everyday during his four-and-a-half years
incarceration at the Nsawam Prisons.
Col. Jackson said he was
suffering a leakage of the retina of his eyes and had become emotionally weak
breaking down in tears more often, which was not the case. He attributed his
wife's current weakness making her unable to walk a little distance, even to
pick the telephone handset, to overwork and the penury the family went through
during and after his incarceration. The education of his children also
suffered, he said.
Col. Jackson said he was
among a number of SMC I office holders that were made a target of military
torture after the 1979 Uprising. Jackson, now resident at Dansoman in
After a brief attempt to
escape and then securing his family, he reported to the Airport Station and was
escorted to the
"Shortly, four
soldiers drove us to the guardroom and shaved us. General Afari protested, but
this young corporal insisted on shaving us and said they had instructions from
above," Col Jackson said.
Col. Jackson said:
"This young boy of 20 insisted on continuing to shave us until the
Commanding Officer drove him away. He said later a young Pilot Officer came
with a Corporal and both of them were holding guns. The Corporal removed his
shoes and ordered him to double up and took him to the guardroom, where they
met the Station Administrator, who later left him in the care of one private
soldier.
Col. Jackson said the
private soldier subjected those in the guardroom to a 10-minute drill after
every hour. On 8 June at about 1630 hours a group of drunken soldiers marched
in Air Marshall Yaw Boakye and others, shaved them, left some strands and they told
them the strands were their new ranks.
Col. Jackson Jackson
said at about 1700 hours on the Saturday after the Uprising, they had a brief
prayer for protection when they were asked to prepare for interrogation. A
number of serious looking soldiers came for them and led them into a room
where, after a file was brought, Captain Sammy Michelle, Captain Korda, Captain
Okaikoi and Pilot Officer Odoi, who sat behind what looked like a dining table
interrogated them.
They asked him to
explain why he removed an officer's wife from a bungalow and why he borrowed a
military forklift. He said after explaining that the officer's wife did not
move into the house through the proper channel, his interrogators told him it
was morally wrong to have sent military equipment to his house.
He said as the
interrogation went on other ranks stood behind him and slapped him and the
slaps intensified as he gave his answers. Col. Jackson said Captain Okaikoi
then mounted the table and used a needle to punch holes in his chest, but he
did not bleed.
Okaikoi then asked him
why he was not bleeding and followed it up with more slaps. He then brought out
a pistol, and used it to hammer his skull. After the interrogation,
He met Nana Bantamahene
and a man from Tema. They were later taken to Peduase Lodge, given a pen and a
paper to write their last messages to their wives.
They were then sent to
face the Peoples' Court at the Peduase Lodge. The court was held in a large
hall, with green screens on the sidewalls, with a number of soldiers in the
rooms.
"A voice ordered me
to sit down, which I did. The soldiers asked me to plead guilty or not guilty
to the questions they would ask me. I decided to plead guilty with explanation,
for if one pleaded not guilty, he was beaten mercilessly until he pleaded
guilty."
Col. Jackson said Odoi
took the lead in the three-minute trial, based on AFRC Decree 3C, accusing him
of using his position to acquire a loan and property, which was eventually
confiscated to the state. He was then ordered outside and after waiting for 20
minutes, he was handed a 60-year jail term.
Col. Jackson said later
one Lieutenant Kusi emerged and asked him how he got himself into trouble, to
which he replied he never understood all that was happening to him.
Back in
Col. Jackson said he was
later sent to the Ussher Fort Prison and kept in the Akuse Cells. He stayed
there till
Col. Jackson described
conditions in the prison as terrible, saying, "in fact, you have to assume
that you are an animal". He said while in prison he heard of the
executions of political leaders of the SMC I and SMC II including General
Ignatius Kutu Acheampong; General Akwasi Amankwaa Afrifa, Air Marshall Yaw
Boakye and Emmanuel Utuka.
Col. Jackson said while
in prison, he came out with and developed a technology that could run a car on
air. He said at one time he was picked up from prison by a helicopter on the
orders of Flt. Lt. Jerry Rawlings to advise on some military equipment. He was finally
released in January 1984 made the Managing Director of the Ghana Airways in
1991, but dismissed in 1993. Hearing continues next Tuesday.
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Alfred Adjetey Tetteh,
brother of Harrison Mensah Teye, who alleged that his brother was killed on
orders of Yaw Nkwantabisa, a former commander of the Militia in Tema, was
giving evidence at the National Reconciliation Commission.
He said he was surprised
that though the family did not still know the person who shot Teye, not even
the militia nor members of the PNDC had expressed their sympathy to the family.
Tetteh said the family
gave his brother a fitting burial according to custom, but the body had
deteriorated since the mortuary attendants would not release it to the family
until Nkwantabisa ordered them.
He said he did not see
his brother's face before he was buried adding that his parents died out of
sadness. The Witness said the militia were not performing the duties but rather
harassed the communities they were to protect, especially with their guns.
Tetteh said he did not
know Nkawntabisa and when he attempted to contact him at the
Nkwantabisa on Wednesday
admitted that a militiaman shot Teye on
According to Tetteh,
Teiko Tagoe with whom his brother worked at Oldman Stevedoring Company to
offload tuna at the port reported to them that a militiaman had shot Teye.
Tagoe told them that
Teye was shot when he refused to surrender some pieces of leftover tuna the
company had rejected and he was bringing home. Tetteh said after Teye's death
the family approached the then Tema District Secretary, Adjei Annan, who handed
them to an officer at the Police Headquarters to attend to them.
Tetteh said the officer
treated them with contempt when they approached him to help with the burial of
Teye. He asked them "to send the case to heaven if they were not satisfied
with his action."
They left disappointed
and though they wanted to seek the services of a counsel to pursue the case, they
abandoned it because they could not afford it. Tetteh said Nkwantabisa was part
of the team that observed the autopsy but did not show any interest in the
organisation of the funeral. He added that Mr Ahia, the Director of his
brother's workplace, decided to bear the expenses of the funeral.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 14
March 2003- The Most Reverend Charles Palmer Buckle, Member of the National
Reconciliation Commission (NRC), on Thursday called on members of the public
not to discriminate in showing compassion to the suffering of witnesses who
appeared before the Commission.
He said the Commission
was instituted to lessen, if not entirely erase, the pain of people, who had
suffered torture in one way or another. "It should not entertain issues
like the least or most important people in society," he said.
The Most Rev. Buckle
made these comments when members in the public gallery became agitated as Kofi
Agyepong, a witness, was unable to express himself and was inconsistent in his
testimony because he was apparently over emotional.
The Most Rev. Buckle
called on the public to share the sorrows of those, who were afflicted, as that
would go a long way to heal the wounds of the majority of people in the
society.
He advised Agyepong to
see members of the Commission's counselling unit to help him come out of his
pain. He had said his uncle, who was taking care of him was executed during the
Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) era thus crippling his life.
According to Agyepong in
1985, his uncle, Yaw Brefo Beeko, who was working with the State Insurance
Corporation (SIC), was arrested and executed by the PNDC for making derogatory
remarks about that regime.
He said he had been
under the care of his uncle from 1984 when he was 11 years old due to the death
of his mother. He said that her mother being a cocoa farmer left all her
property to Beeko to take care of her seven children.
Agyepong, who is now 29
years old, said a few days after his uncle was arrested, three men who claimed
to be lawyers came on different occasions to collect money from his grandfather
with the promise that they would help secure the release of Beeko, but to no
avail.
He said on
He said his uncle's
house was confiscated to the state, but the family filed a suit at the court
and it was returned to his children. Agyepong said his uncle's death prevented
him from having any formal education. That had led to his unemployment and as
such, he could not fend for himself.
He asked the Commission
for compensation him to enable him to look after himself. General Emmanuel
Erskine, a member of the Commission advised him to forget the past, forge ahead
and build a bright future for himself, instead of dwelling on the pain. He
invited Mr Beeko's children to contact the Commission to help them ascertain
the truth.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 14
March 2003- ECOWAS Chairman, President John Agyekum Kufuor is expected to leave
Accra on Friday for Niamey, Niger, to attend the two-day Fifth Session of the
Conference of Heads of State of the Sahelo-Saharan States.
The Community of
Sahelo-Sharan States (CEN-SAD) is an inter-governmental organisation with 16
African member countries that meet yearly. Member states are
CEN-SAD was established
on
The Community, which has
been granted the status of a regional economic grouping by the African Union
(AU), was established to satisfy the wish for economic, cultural, political and
social integration in accordance with the Charter of the UN, AU and the
Organisation of the Islamic Conference.
The main objective of
the Community is the establishment of an overall economic union based on the
implementation of a strategy by means of development plans that are
complementary to the national development plans of member states.
These include investment
in the agricultural, industrial, social and cultural fields and energy. All
obstacles to unity among member states are to be eliminated by facilitating the
free movement of persons and capital and promoting the interests of the
citizens of member states.
It would also ensure
freedom of residence, employment, ownership and economic activity, ensuring
free movement of goods and commodities of local origin as well as of services.
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Sunyani (Brong Ahafo)
"As brothers and
sisters of a common political heritage, there is the need to chart a common
cause, which could extricate the nation from the shackles of frustration as a
result of unemployment, high cost of living, unbearable and unaffordable
tariffs, selective justice and lack of political direction", it said in a
solidarity message.
The NDC said:
"There is the tendency to agree and disagree since no human institution
has ever been perfect", adding that the events that necessitated the
coalition of political forces to effect a change in the political direction of
the country in the year 2000 nevertheless existed and even growing worse.
"Let us, therefore,
come together to fight for victory in the year 2004 elections and redirect our
energies on issues that will unite us firmly other than issues that separate
us," it said.
The Regional NDC said;
"the price that we are all paying for political indecision is the
experiences we have come to grapple with now" and that there was the need
for the two parties to remember that "we are one people with a common
political background and that either together we sink or go afloat".
It noted that the NRP in
the year 2000 engaged in a political flirtation with a regime whose vision,
identity and political direction was diametrically opposed to its vision as
social democrats, a move that was initiated with the sole objective to effect a
change in the political direction of the country.
"Arguably, change
is at times very necessary, nonetheless, we need not to lose sight of the fact
that every change for whatever reason must be a change for the better. "It
should be a change that is inspiring and reassuring and not a change that
brings in its wake frustration, depression and hopelessness," the NDC
said. "The price we are paying today for this unwarranted political
indecision should strengthen us not to repeat the mistakes of the past".
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Abokobi (Greater
He said the 1992
Constitution needed a fundamental shake-up to ensure the actualisation of the
concept of separation of powers in the body politic, which the Constitution
itself guaranteed.
Dr Ashong was
contributing to a discussion at a seminar organised by the World Association
for Christian Communication, Africa Region at Abokobi, near
He deplored the
situation where the American and British systems of government had been merged
and was being operated in
Article 78, Section 1
states: "Ministers of State shall be appointed by the President with prior
approval of Parliament from among members of Parliament or persons qualified to
be elected as members of Parliament, except that the majority of Ministers of
State shall be appointed from among members of Parliament."
Dr Ashong said the
Executive, to be very effective and responsible, must come into office with his
own team of ministers outside of Parliament. "The Legislature must be
allowed to concentrate on the job of legislating laws, while the Executive also
aimed at executing their elected roles."
Dr Ashong explained to
the Ghana News Agency that it was extremely difficult for a Minister, who
doubles as a Member of Parliament (MP) to come to Parliament and criticise or
offer objective criticism on a policy he or his colleagues had introduced.
"This is the
difficulty that many Ministers from Parliament face today, juggling between two
or more jobs." He suggested that an MP appointed to be part of a
President's governing team must first resign from Parliament, making way for
another person to fill that office.
The situation is that
Parliament has suffered from the lack of quorum to take major decisions and its
leadership has repeatedly appealed to the members to do away with absenteeism
and the seeming lack of their commitment to the work of the House.
Dr Ashong said such a
situation had arisen because most of the MPs were Ministers and Deputy
Ministers and they either had to serve Parliament well and neglect their
ministerial duties or vice-versa.
Some political analysts
the GNA spoke to, endorsed the suggestion, saying it would enable lawmakers to
have enough time on their hands for the job they were elected to undertake.
Besides, MP's would have time to interact more with their constituencies on a
more regular basis.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 14
March 2003- Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, Minister of Education, on
Thursday called for the promotion of documentary and educational programme that
would promote fertile ground for the required behavioural change among
Ghanaians.
He said the media should
stop immoral programmes and obscene language that encouraged the spread of
HIV/AIDS. Professor Ameyaw Ekumfi said this when he closed the three-day
training workshop for the media on HIV/AIDS organised by UNESCO in
collaboration with the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA).
The workshop for over 40
participants drawn from all over the country was under the theme:
"Coverage Of The HIV/AIDS Menace; Challenges Of The Media." Professor
Ameyaw-Akumfi said media practitioners should have the needed information,
research, and preventive skills to educate the public on the enormity of the
menace.
The Minister called on
the media to be recommitted to the fight against the spread of the devastating
disease and strive to make headway. He also urged the media to strengthen the
network of Journalists engaged in the coverage of HV/AIDS.
Bright Blewu, General
Secretary of the GJA, commended UNESCO for the collaboration and called for
more support to organise such training workshops.
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He said this was because
all the tertiary and secondary drains in major townships within
Baah-Wiredu said this at
the inauguration of a 13-member Anti-Flood Committee in
It consists of
representatives from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development,
Accra Metropolitan Assembly, a representative of the Greater Accra Regional
Minister and a representative from the National Disaster Management
Organization (NADMO).
The rest are
representatives from the Meteorological Services Department, Ministry of the
Interior, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Roads and Transport, Ministry of
Environment and the Ministry of Works and Housing.
The remaining members
are from the Ghana Journalists Association,
It was, therefore
important to take the necessary precautions to minimise any negative effects
that the project might have on nearby inhabitants during the construction
process.
Sheikh I.C. Quaye,
Greater Accra Regional Minister, urged the inhabitants to support the project.
He said the inhabitants had to bear with any inconvenience they might have to
suffer in the course of the project, as it would be a little price that they
had to pay for a lasting solution to the problem of flooding.
Sheikh Quaye said the
government, through the newly formed Committee, would lessen the effects of the
construction on the inhabitants in case of flooding. The second phase of the
Odaw Drainage Works, which is in progress commenced in August last year and is
expected to be completed in February next year.
It followed the signing
of a new agreement last year between the government and Messrs Sonitra. It
comprises the reconstruction of the Avenor and Alajo bridges and the
reconstruction of 1.25 kilometres of the Odaw Channel between the two bridges.
The project is receiving
financial assistance form the Agence Francaise de Developpement of
Messrs China
International Water and Electric Corporation undertook the first phase, under
the supervision of Messrs SNC Lavalin International of Canada. It comprised the
reconstruction of 3.25 kilometres of the channel from the
It cost 12 million US
dollars and was funded by the World Bank under the Urban Environmental
Sanitation Project being executed by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural
Development.
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Sunyani (Brong Ahafo)
Pastor J.K. Badu,
President of Mid-West Ghana Conference, Pastor Adjei Baah, Secretary and Alfred
Owusu Ansah, Treasurer, are being tried on various charges ranging from
conspiracy to steal and stealing.
This is contained in a
letter from a group of solicitors on behalf of the branch churches to the
President of the Ghana Union Conference of the Church, copied to the Mid-West
Ghana Conference in Sunyani.
The letter stated that
it was the contention of the churches that since the accused were on trial,
"it is unacceptable, unfair, ungodly and unjust to have the same persons
continuing with their pastoral duties."
The solicitors said
their clients expressed the hope to take the necessary legal action to protect
the image and dignity of the
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He said apart from the
French language that was very essential for
Bawa, who was presenting
the keynote address at the first ever four-day Regional Conference of African
Teachers of German in
The conference was held
under the auspices of the International Association of Teachers of German of
which the Ghana Association of Teachers of German and many other African
Associations of Teachers of German are members.
The seventy participants
are from
Topics to be discussed
included; "Why Learn German In Africa And What Demands Does It Impose On
The German Class"; "The Position Of The German Language In The
Educational System Of Various Countries"; and "Networking For
Teachers Of German As A Foreign Language".
He said all the
countries surrounding
The Deputy Minister
recalled other prominent Ghanaian German scholars, who achieved fame because
they were great exponents of the German language. He said German was taught in
several secondary schools in this country, even though the space for the
language had been reduced since the school reforms of 1987.
He commended the Ghana
Institute of Languages,
Dr Bemile, who is also
the President of the Ghana Association of Teachers of German, said the
conference would help those with a negative attitude towards German to rethink
their views and help promote the language, especially in secondary schools.
Dr Harald Loeschner,
German Ambassador, said
He said
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He said an effective
communication network within the Ministry and its various research institutions
would ensure a swift flow of information and also make research easier
Prof. Fobih made the
appeal during a courtesy call on him by the
He noted that a sound
communication footing was paramount to ensure efficiency, easy flow of
information and the prompt release of scientific research results. The Minister
said though the Ministry had been receiving numerous financial support from the
Prof. Fobih further
explained that the Biogas plant when fully completed would help provide quality
seedlings and other technological support to farmers to increase crop yield. Ms
Yates pledged to collaborate with the Ministry to ensure that agriculture was
made the number one priority of government.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 14
March 2003- The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday by a four to one majority
decision, granted leave for Frank Bo Amissah of Accra to withdraw a writ he
brought before it that sought to challenge the constitutionality of the charge
"causing financial loss to the State".
The five-member panel
presided over by Mrs Justice Joyce Bamford Addo, awarded a cost of ¢15 million
against the Amissah. Amissah had filed the writ, challenging the
constitutionality of the charge; "causing financial loss to state" in
the Quality Grain Trial involving two former Ministers of State and three
former government officials at an Accra Fast Track High Court.
The majority said it
took into consideration, that if the matter before the SC was not determined,
it could halt other pending cases in the High Courts, which have similar charges
preferred against accused persons.
It also noted that the
writ was a determining factor in the Quality Grains trial at the
The Majority noted that
the plaintiff had once accused the Registrar of the SC, for delaying to hear
the writ filed sometime last year. The Minority stated that the Plaintiff
needed to be offered the opportunity to argue his case and, therefore, the writ
should not be struck off.
Those who ruled in
favour of the Plaintiff to discontinue the case were: Mrs Justice Addo; Justice
S.A. Brobbey; Mrs Justice Georgina T. Wood and Mr Justice S.G. Baddoo while Dr
Justice Seth Twum, dissented.
The accused persons in
the Quality Grains Company case, have been charged with conspiracy and causing
financial loss of 20 million dollars to the state in a rice project at Aveyime
in the Volta Region. They have denied the charges.
The accused persons are:
Ibrahim Adam, former Minister of Food and Agriculture; Samuel Dapaah, former
Chief Director of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture; and Kwame Peprah,
former Minister of Finance.
The others are George
Yankey, a former Director of Legal Sector, Private and Financial Institutions
of the Ministry of Finance and Ato Dadzie, former Chief of Staff.
In a brief submission,
Nana Adjei Ampofo, Counsel for the plaintiff said his client sought to do a
noble duty by questioning the basis of the constitutionality of the charges
preferred against the accused persons.
However, he received
instructions from his client to discontinue the case, for personal reasons, he
said. He said if the Plaintiff had explained the reasons for discontinuing the
case, he might have elicited the sympathy of the court.
He prayed the court not
to exercise its discretional powers arbitrary when awarding cost against them
and, therefore, suggested ¢1 million cost. Earlier in a motion, the plaintiff
stated that the legality of the Quality Grains charges was unconstitutional and
should, therefore, not be entertained by the FTC trying the five former public
officials during the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Administration.
The Prosecution team
comprised Ms Gloria Akuffo, Deputy Attorney-General and Minister of Justice
(Leading), Osafo Sampong, Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and Mr
Augustine Obuor, Assistant State Attorney.
GRi.../
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Accra (Greater Accra) 14
March 2003- Madam Georgina Okaiteye, member of the 31st December
Women's Movement (DWM) told an Accra Fast Track Court (FTC) on Thursday that
she was an eyewitness to two payments which Ghana Rubber Estates Limited (GREL)
made to the Movement.
Testifying at the court
under cross-examination, Madam Okaiteye told the court that she witnessed those
two payments totalling 200,000 dollars made to the Movement through its
Treasurer at her residence.
Hanny Sherry Ayittey,
Treasurer of the Movement, is standing trial with three others at the FTC for
their alleged involvement in bribery and corruption involving the privatisation
of GREL.
The three are Emmanuel
Amuzu Agbodo, former Executive Secretary of the Divestiture Implementation
Committee (DIC), Ralph Casely-Hayford, Businessman, and Sati Dorcas Ocran,
Housewife.
The four are alleged to
have played various roles to influence the DIC Board to enable Societe
Industrielle Plantation Hevea (SIPH), a French company to acquire the majority
shares in GREL.
They have denied their
various charges, and are currently on bail in their own recognisance.
Continuing with her evidence under further cross-examination by David Lamptey,
counsel for Ayittey, Witness told the court that on two occasions she went to
the residence of Ayittey in the company of Dr Albert Owusu-Barnafo, consultant
of GREL, to deliver those monies.
Madam Okaiteye said on
one occasion they gave $180,000 to Ayittey, and at another time, they handed
over to her an amount of $20,000. Answering questions on a trip to
Madam Okaitey disagreed
with a suggestion by counsel that she did not see with her naked eyes a ticket
for his client to accompany them to
Witness, however, said
she made the trip together with Dr Owusu-Barnafo to
Witness told the court
that invoices were prepared by GREL with her company's letterheads to enable
monies to be withdrawn to honour a promise SIPH made to 31st DWM. The case has
been adjourned to Tuesday, 18 March for continuation.
GRi.../
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