Aliu urges Cuba to support Ghana's Sugar Industry
NRC organises public forum on its functions
Odumase-Krobo
(Eastern Region) 29 March 2003- The First Lady, Mrs Theresa Kufuor, has called
on religious bodies and benevolent societies to embark on intervention
programmes towards the upkeep of AIDS orphans in the country.
She also appealed to
queen mothers in other parts of the country to emulate the example of Manya
Krobo queen mothers who have taken up the responsibility to care for AIDS
orphans.
Mrs Kufuor made the
call on Thursday when she visited AIDS orphans at the Manya Krobo Queen mothers
Resource Centre for Orphans at Odumase-Krobo. There are currently 586 AIDS
orphans who have been under the care of 71 queen mothers who are being to
provided employable skills at the Centre with the support of the USAID, the
Family Health International (FHI) the International Finance Corporation (IFC)
the Manya Krobo District Assembly, the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) among other
institutions.
Mrs Kufuor noted that
while there were about 34 million or 12 percent of African children currently
HIV/AIDS orphans, she expressed regret that in Ghana there were no accurate
figures on them.
"As a nurse and
a mother, with specific interest in mothers and children, I cannot, but be
concerned about the situation in Ghana," she explained, adding that that
was the reason for the visit to see for herself what help she could give to
make their lives worth living.
Mrs Kufuor, who urged
women infected with the HIV virus to go and receive treatment at health
institutions instead of sitting at home and "wait for the worse",
also encouraged adults to go for voluntary counselling and testing.
The Director General
of the GAC, Professor Sakyi Awuku Amoah, announced that the Commission was
currently implementing a five-year Strategic Framework on HIV/AIDS to reduce
the transmission of the infection and to mitigate its effect.
He said the objective
was to reduce the current national prevalence rate of 3.6 percent by 30 percent
by 2005, saying there was the need to work hard since statistics available
indicated that the prevalence rate was fast increasing.
Prof. Amoah said that
Koforidua's rate had risen from 6.6 percent to 7.5 percent, Kumasi from 3.6
percent to 4.2 percent, Ho from 2.6 percent to 3.2 percent with Agormanya-Krobo
from 6.6 percent to 7 percent.
He said the
Commission was supporting the Krobo Queen mothers Association's Orphan project
with 200 million cedis and another project with the Klo Drivers Union in the
effort to check the prevalence rate.
Prof. Amoah said the
Commission was also using all Ministries/Departments/Agencies, Community-Based
Organisations and non-governmental organisations to undertake the various
intervention activities.
He commended the
First Lady, who he said, as the Vice President of Organisation of First Ladies
Association Against HIV/AIDS in Africa was showing keen interest and support in
the national campaign against the pandemic.
The Deputy Eastern
Regional Minister, Gustav Narh Dometey, noted that total eradication of the
pandemic in the country could not be achieved if the people failed to
complement the activities of the government and the NGOs involved in educating
and providing humanitarian facilities to the victims.
The Manya Krobo
District Chief Executive, Andrews Teye, announced that six percent of the
people in the district were infected with the disease and noted that the main
cause of the spread of the disease was poverty among the young girls who were
"pressured into sex for money."
To eradicate poverty
in the area, he announced that the District Assembly was pursuing development
plans to create job opportunities including agriculture, tourism development,
as well as the Presidential Initiative on Cassava Starch for which a 50-acre
nursery had been cultivated.
The Project
Co-ordinator of the Krobo Queen mothers Association, Manye Natekie, attributed
the high prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in the area to the construction of the
Volta Dam which, she said, took over their farm lands thereby sending young
women to neighbouring countries for greener pastures to support their families.
According to her,
most of the women returned home with the HIV/AIDS infections as well as
children without fathers adding that, "as they passed away, a generation
of orphans was being created."
Manye Natekie said
the Ghana AIDS Commission was supporting 105 orphans, 50 by the International
Finance Corporation, five by the Scobtimist International Club, while a
proposal had been sent to the UNICEF for the sponsorship of 105 of the orphans.
She appealed for a means of transport and a permanent building to promote the
activities of the Association in its skill training of the orphans.
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Accra (Greater Accra)
29 March 2003- An Accra Fast Track Court presided over by Mrs Justice Henrietta
Abban on Friday overruled the submission of "no case" made by counsel
for Tsatsu Tsikata, former Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum
Corporation (GNPC), who is standing trial for causing financial loss to the
State.
Mrs Justice Abban, an
Appeal Court Judge with additional responsibility as a High Court Judge, said
she was not obliged to give reasons. She noted that after the close of the
Prosecution's case, the Defence made a submission of "no case".
Mrs Justice Abban
stated that at the close of the evidence in support of the charge, the court
found that a case was made out against the accused sufficiently to require him
to make a defence.
She, therefore, asked
the accused to open his defence. However, his team of lawyers led by Professor
Emmanuel Victor Oware Dankwa, said it would appeal against the ruling next
week.
The Prosecution led
by Ms Gloria Akuffo, Deputy Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, reminded
the court that the defence should not verbally appeal against the ruling and
prayed the court that this should be put into writing for record purposes.
Tsikata is alleged to
have caused the loss of 2.3 billion cedis to the state during his term of
office. Tsikata is charged with four counts of wilfully causing financial loss
to the state and intentionally misapplying public property. He has denied the
charges and the court has admitted him to a 700 million-cedi self-recognisance
bail. The case was adjourned to Monday, 7 April.
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Bimbilla (Northern
Region) 29 March 2003- The final funeral rites for the late paramount chief of
Bimbilla, Naa Abarika Attah II, was performed at Bimbilla on Thursday. The Late
Naa Abarika Attah was born at Bimbilla in 1910 and ruled as a divisional chief
of Dakpon for 30 years and later moved to Sakpe to occupy the Sakpe skin for
six years.
He became the
paramount chief of the Nanumba Traditional Area in 1983 and ruled for another
six years before his death in August 1998 at the age of 89. He had 14 wives, 45
children and 120 grand children.
Alhaji Ben Bukari
Salifu, a Minister at the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), led
a government delegation to the funeral. Other members of the delegation were
Kwaku Agyeman Manu, Deputy Minister of Roads and Transport, Mr Joe Aggrey,
Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, as well as NPP functionaries and Members
of Parliament from the area.
Alhaji Salifu paid
tribute to the late chief describing him as a peacemaker who stood for the
unity of his people. He appealed to the chiefs and Kingmakers of Nanumba to
exercise caution and select the right candidate to the skin.
He said government realised
the importance of the Nanumba traditional area, especially in agricultural
production but added that the area would not see any development if there was
no peace.
Mohammed Attah, a
family member of Naa Abarika Attah, said the late chief was an honest and
tolerant man who provided great leadership for his people. He commended the
security personnel for maintaining peace in the area but asked them to tighten
security to ensure a smooth succession to the skin.
Representatives of
the Asantehene and the Krachi-Wura also attended the funeral. The Government
donated four bags of rice, four bags of maize, four bottles schnapps, and two
million cedis to the bereaved family while the Nanumba District Assembly
donated one bull, four bottles of schnapps and five million cedis.
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Wa (Upper West) 29
March 2003- Dr Charles Wereko-Brobbey, Chief Executive of Volta River Authority
(VRA), on Thursday announced that the Authority had procured 50,000 pre-paid
metres and 15,000 load limiters.
He said the pre-paid
metres were convenient, reliable, most refined in the checking of the
consumption rate of customers and could ensure the payment of realistic bills.
Dr Wereko-Brobbey, who said this when he had a meeting with politicians and the
media at Wa explained that with the load limiters, customers would be provided
with power according to their consumption rate while the pre-paid metres would
also solve the perennial problems the Authority encountered with its customers.
The Chief Executive
said the VRA was working around the clock to bring the loop system of
electricity to the Northern sector of the country instead of the single line
system with which power could easily trip off many times.
He said the government
would spend a chunk of the HIPC fund on the provision of electricity, water and
sanitary facilities. "Most people refuse to accept postings to certain
rural areas due mainly to the lack of electricity, potable water and other
amenities and I think that if these are provided life would be bearable for
everybody," Dr Wereko-Brobbey added.
Sahanun Mogtari,
Upper West Regional Minister appealed to the VRA to solve the problem of
frequent power outages to facilitate economic activities. He also appealed to
the Authority to explore other sources of energy to complement
hydro-electricity, which was the major source of power in the country. The
Regional Minister called on them to take up measures that would being
electricity cheats to book.
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Accra (Greater Accra)
29 March 2003- Nutifafa Kuenyehia, Chairman of the National Media Commission
(NMC) on Friday said the establishment of the new Ghana International Press
Centre (GIPC) should serve as an opportunity for Journalists to reflect on
their role in the country's democratic dispensation.
He said it should
also serve as an avenue where there would be no intimidation for the media to
operate. Kuenyehia was speaking at the inauguration of the first phase of the
five billion cedis Ghana International Press Centre, built by the Ghana
Journalists Association (GJA) in Accra.
President John
Agyekum Kufuor inaugurated the Centre, which comprised of five offices, a
meeting room, a 50-seater hall for press conferences and seminars, an Internet
café and a resource room/library.
It was built at a
cost of 881 million cedis. Kuenyehia said though there was an improvement in
the level of media reportage in the country, there was room for improvement.
He, therefore, asked
media practitioners to be mindful of the laws that regulate their activities
and the rights of citizens. Alfred Salia Fawundu, UNDP Resident Representative
in Ghana, commended the Association for the Centre that would enable Journalist
to play their meaningful role in society.
He said UN
organisations in Ghana, regarded the GJA as partner in development because of
the major role it played in terms of shaping the views of society and holding
governments and institutions accountable to the people.
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Kumasi (Ashanti
Region) 29 March 2003- Kwasi Adu-Amankwaah, Secretary-General of the Trades
Union Congress (TUC), has called on the Labour Inspectorate Division of the
Ministry of Manpower Development and Employment to ensure that all employers
abide by the new national daily minimum wage.
The call comes amidst
reports that some employers particularly, Communication Centre Operators, pay
as low as 2,000 cedis a day to their employees. Adu-Amankwaah, who was
addressing a meeting of the Kumasi District Council of Labour, noted that the
TUC lacked the legal authority to champion the course of such workers since
they were outside the protection of the trades union.
The meeting was to
provide a forum for the leadership of the TUC to brief the Council on reasons
that informed the arrival at the new minimum daily wage by the Tripartite
Committee and their position on the 2003 budget.
He stated that the
minimum wage of 9,200 cedis though inadequate, represented a real value
increase over that of the previous years. The Secretary-General said it went
beyond just "restoration of what had been lost through inflation as always
had been the case in the past".
Adu-Amankwaah told
the council that this was achieved mainly because they put the issue in the
public domain and said, "we should not only sit down and complain but make
our voices heard".
He spoke of the need
for government to fully consult labour to enable it have input into all
important issues that affect the worker. Touching on the government's budget,
he repeated the TUC's opposition to the new Petroleum Tax, insisting that,
taking more taxes from petroleum could create problems.
Adu-Amankwaah said
although many countries derive a lot of income from petroleum tax, care must be
taken so that Ghanaians do not become over-burdened. The TUC Secretary General
asked the government and employers to support workers to acquire credit for
household items.
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Atua-Krobo (Eastern
Region) 29 March 2003- The Atua Government Hospital has been selected as one of
the health institutions in the country to administer anti-retroviral drugs to
full-blown AIDS patients as from May, this year.
The drug is expected
to boost the health of AIDS patients to ensure prolonged life-span. The
hospital is also the only one, which had been selected for the pilot project on
the administration of Nevirapine, the drug for the prevention of
Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS positive women during labour as well
as the newly born baby.
The Project Director
of the Family Health International (FHI) in Ghana, Dr Phylis Antwi, disclosed
this to First Lady Mrs Theresa Kufuor when she visited the hospital on Thursday
to acquaint herself with the Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) service as
part of her visit to the Manya Krobo District.
The Family Health
International, she said, is supporting the VCT service as part of the crusade
to check the spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the district. Dr. Antwi
appealed to the government to consider introducing free child delivery for the
poor and Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT), in view of the poverty facing
many rural women, some of who happen to be HIV positive.
According to her, due
to poverty, some pregnant women found it difficult to pay for ante-natal and
child delivery, thereby forcing some of them escape to from hospitals after
delivery, leaving debts for the institutions.
Mrs Kufuor, who was
conducted round wards of the hospital commended the personnel of the hospital
for their dedicated services and later presented various food items to the
hospital.
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Accra (Greater Accra)
29 March 2003- Vice President Aliu Mahama on Friday asked the Government of
Cuba to share its expertise in the production of sugar to enable Ghana to
revamp her own industry.
At a meeting with the
Cuban Ambassador to Ghana, Lucas Domingo Hernandez Polledo at the Castle, Osu,
Vice President Mahama said some interventions were being made to create a
vibrant sugar industry and the support of Cuba, which had a vast experience in
that area, would help a great deal.
He also called for
Cuban investments and technical support to improve the Tourism Sector. Vice
President Mahama lauded the long-standing cordial relations between the two
countries, saying these should be further strengthened in the spirit of
South-South Cooperation.
"I am aware of
your support to our Health Sector through your posting of doctors in our
deprived and rural areas, the training of our students in various fields in
your institutions and several of such assistance programmes and we appreciate
them, "he said.
He said the
arrangement to assign 12 Cuban professors to the Medical School of University
of Development Studies, Tamale, was very important because doctors who graduate
from the school would increase the number of doctors who serve the three
Northern regions.
The Vice President
welcomed an invitation extended to him to visit Cuba, saying, "It would be
interesting to see that great country." Polledo said he was committed to
expand the areas of cooperation between the two countries, adding that he had
held discussions with the Minister of Education, Agriculture, Economic Planning
and Regional Cooperation and Youth and Sports in furtherance of that.
He said the 200 Cuban
doctors had so far attended to 675 cases and performed many surgical
operations. The Ambassador expressed the hope that the historical bilateral
relations would flourish during his duty tour.
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Malaria
awareness programme launched.
Nsawam (Eastern
Region) 29 March 2003- As part of efforts to minimise causes of malaria in the
Akuapem South District, four organisations have jointly launched a clean-up
campaign at Nsawam in the District to rid the area of filth and dirt and help
reduce the high incidence of malaria.
The organisations
included the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the Nsawam
branch of the Liberty Baptist Church the Akuapim South District Assembly and
Meadowlake Baptist Church of Conway, Arkansas in the United States (US).
The team will from
time to time give public talk on health, organise the public for clean-up
exercise to clear weeds in and around their places of abode and desilt drains
and choked gutters.
Ebenezer Akotua the
District Co-ordinator of NADMO told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Nsawam that a survey conducted in
the District showed that about 60 percent of deaths at the Nsawam Hospital were
caused by malaria and said all efforts must be made to minimise it if not eradicated.
He said as part of
the program the team has started disilting Mateta streams and hoped the
exercise would be extended to other parts of the District. Akotua said a
medical team from the Meadowlake Baptist Church of USA would offer free medical
treatment of the disease and other illnesses at Nsawam and Dago also in the
District. He appealed to voluntary and other identifiable groups to assist
members of the team during the exercise to ensure its success.
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Kumasi (Ashanti
Region) 29 March 2003- Muslims in Kumasi on Friday staged a two-hour
demonstration in condemnation of the United States-led coalition forces attack
on Iraq. The demonstrators made up mostly of the youth and numbering about
5,000 converged at the Jackson Park just after the Friday prayers and marched
through some principal streets of Kumasi in protest against the invasion.
They carried placards
some of which read "Bush why are you killing innocent people",
"America, is this democracy?", "Why do you preach peace and
manufacture weapons", "The world is fed up with war and "Save
Iraqi children".
Sheik Ahmed Nasir,
who led the demonstration, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that this was just
a beginning of demonstrations to be staged by the youth in protest against the
war.
Sheik Nasir said it
was unfair for the United States and its allies to march to Iraq to fight when
even the United Nations (UN) had restrained them. He called on all peace-loving
nations not to support the attack since the US and her allies had set a very
dangerous precedence in the history of the UN, pointing out that the war was
neither against terrorism nor the destruction of weapons of mass destruction.
Sheik Nasir said the
United States should not assume the position of the world's judge since that
would be tantamount to creating chaos in the world. He explained that the
demonstration was non-partisan neither was it religious inclined and it was
only against an illegality.
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Accra (Greater Accra)
29 March 203-Edward Dua Agyeman, the Auditor-General has said that the Audit Service
has an arduous task in eliminating fraud as well as misappropriation and
misapplication of funds in the public sector.
"As the
Auditor-General, I have a singular onerous duty of setting the pace for
efficiency, probity and accountability in the public sector in support of the
government's promotion of Zero Tolerance for corruption."
He was speaking at a
ceremony by the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants (ACCA) United
Kingdom and the Ghana branch to honour Agyeman on his confirmation as the
substantive Auditor-General in Accra.
He noted that the
government's target of a single digit inflation figure could be achieved if accountants
and auditors played their roles effectively and efficiently, by scrutinizing
vouchers and other financial documents properly.
Agyeman said " A
lot of the on-going forensic audits and investigations in the public sector
would have been avoided and saved the tax payer huge sums of money if
accountants and auditors have been efficient and circumspect, if only they did
not compromise their position to collude with others to inflate prices and
consultancy fees in governmental projects."
He urged accountants
in the country to update themselves by attending continuing professional
development programmes so as not to reduce themselves to what he termed
"mere cheque-signing officers, but professionals, who understand and
appreciate the work they do.
"Updating our
knowledge will enhance efficiency, accountability and transparency in public
financial management and assist to perform our functions as true consultants
and advisors."
Ignatius Asare,
President of the ACCA, Ghana, urged the Auditor-General to stamp out the high
level corruption in the public sector without fear or favour. He noted that
Agyeman background as an accountant means that his approach to work would be
professional and asked for God's guidance for him.
He pledged the
support of ACCA, Ghana to the Auditor-General to enable him to chalk success in
his endeavours. Present at the function included Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey,
Minister of Tourism and Beautification of the City designate.
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Suhum (Eastern
Region) 29 March 2003- Dr. Araba Sefa-Dede of the Counselling and Support
department of the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) has said people
whose human rights have been abused are often traumatised and needed help to
get out of the stress.
She said retelling of
traumatic events though may generate a lot of pain and anguish, the perpetrators
of human right abuses may also be traumatised as result of their own
dehumanising behaviours, which also needed help as part of the reconciliation
process.
Dr. Sefa -Dede was
speaking at a public educational forum on the National Reconciliation Commission
at Suhum on Friday. The program co-organised by the Ghana Center for Democratic
Development (GCDD) and the Ghana Committee on Human and Peoples' Right in
collaboration with the Suhum-Kraboa-Coaltar District Assembly, and was attended
by Assembly members, heads of departments, market women and identifiable
groups.
Dr. Sefa-Dede said
the public must consider National Reconciliation as an exercise aimed at
amending what went wrong in the past and ensure that such incident did not
happen again. Miss Annie Anipa of the Public Affairs Department of the NRC said
the commission seeks to promote reconciliation among Ghanaian by establishing
accurate and complete historical record of human rights violations and abuses
on persons by public institution and holders of public office.
She said the
commission is determined to educate the public and give sufficient publicity to
its work so as to encourage public contributions for the commission to achieve
its objectives.
Michael Kofi Mensah
the Suhum-Kraboa-Coaltar District Chief Executive lauded the government for
establishing the NRC, which he described as 'a solution to the past
atrocities'. He was confident that at the end of the program, the public would
be provided with the needed information about the work of the commission.
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