Chieftaincy crisis looms at Bimbilla
Fifteen KNUST students dismissed for forgery.
Prisons Director tours Ho prison in wake of jail break
Mrs Asmah urges women to be dedicated at work places
President pledges support to peace in Africa
Witness invokes death if his evidence proves false
Akosa urges doctors to help ensure effective health delivery
Pathologists are endangered species in
Ghana- Wiredu
Ghana needs $2 billion to meet investment in Energy
Vote wisely to unseat NPP for real change - Dan Lartey
Resist overthrow of constitutional government - Tribunal Chairman
Bad financial management killing Golden Age of Business
Government, UNDP signs Agreement
Development partners urge to reduce bureaucracy
Tamale (Northern Region) 03 May 2002 - The choice of the next Bimbilla-Naa, the Paramount Chief of Nanumba Traditional Area in the Northern Region is generating heat as two contestants from the same family vie for the position.
The two, Jua-Naa Andani Dasana and Nkpa-Naa Salifu Dawuni are both from the Gbu-mayili Gate. The Jua-Naa Dasana is a son of a former Bimbilla-Naa while Nakpa-Naa Dawuni is a great grandson.
The Bimbilla kingship rotates between two gates - Gbu-Mayili and Bang-Yili. Bimbilla-Naa Abarika Atta, who died in September 1999, came from the Bang-Yili and the next Bimbilla-Naa is to come from the Gbu-Mayili gate.
At a press conference organised by the Gbu-Mayili Gate in Tamale on Wednesday, Jua-Naa Dasana said in the history of the Nanumbas, it was only sons and grandsons that occupied the Bimbilla skin and, therefore, Nakpa-Naa Dawuni "whose father is a great grandson of a Bimbilla-Naa was not qualified to occupy the skin.
He said the enskinment of Naa-Dawuni as the Nakpa-Naa was being contested at the National House of Chiefs. Jua-Naa Dasana said the Northern Regional Security Committee invited both parties to a meeting in Tamale and asked them to go home and resolve the issue amicably since they were from the same family.
He said he asked the kingmakers to resolve the issue "but when the kingmakers scheduled a meeting for last Tuesday, the security personnel asked them to suspend the meeting". One of the nine kingmakers, who was at the press conference, Kpatihi-Naa Azindow Nantogmah appealed to the government not to politicise and interfere in the choice of the next Bimbilla-Naa but to allow the kingmakers to decide.
He said the government should, however, mediate by bringing the two contenders and the king makers together to resolve the issue. "When that is resolved, the government must ensure that the funeral of Naa Abarika Atta is performed immediately".
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Fifteen KNUST students dismissed for
forgery.
Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 03 May 2002 - Fifteen students of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) have been sacked from the University for presenting forged results of their Senior Secondary School Certificate
Examination (SSSCE) results, for admission for the 2001/2002 academic year.
This was contained in a release issued and signed by the Registrar of KNUST, Mrs. Sophia Quashie-Sam in Kumasi on Thursday. The release stated "In the course of verifying the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination results submitted by students for admission during the 2001/2002 admission exercise, it was detected that the 15 students overstated their grades." The release said further investigations confirmed that the SSSCE results presented by the 15 students were forged.
The affected students were: Omilana Robert, from Tema Secondary School and Vinyo George, Ghana Secondary School, both Mathematics students, Agbotse Richard Kojo, Tema Secondary School, Agyemang Edward, Pempeh College, Asiama Simon, Prempeh College, who were all offering the Building Technology programme.
The others are Agbangiba Victor Aziz, Achimota school, Addo Ernest Osanyoumo, Suhum Sec-Tech, both reading Industrial Art, Barnie Boakye Samuel, Kumasi High School, and Ablordepey Elizabeth Accra Girls Secondary School who were offering Fine Art.
The rest were, Amoako Boschi Bernard, St. Aquinas Sec. School, Darko Kwaku Patrick, former school unknown, but also offering Fine Art, Antwi Emmanuel, Technology Secondary School, Integrated Rural Art, Boafo Wilfred, Prempeh
College, Agric. Engineering, Asiedu Yeboah Eric, Prempeh College, Medical Laboratory technology and Longdon-Acquah Bernard, Chemu Sec. School, who offers social science.
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Ho (Volta Region) 03 May 2002 - The structural make-up of the Ho Prisons is being reviewed with the view to correcting any defects that facilitated the 26 April attempted jail break by four remand prisoners.
Intelligence gathering is also being stepped up to pre-empt such attempts. Mr Richard Kuurie, Director of Prisons, told journalists on Thursday after inspecting the prisons. He said in the interim, security had been tightened at the prisons according to regulations governing the management of prisons.
Mr Kuuire said the Prison Service was mindful of the upsurge of criminal activity, particularly armed robbery in the country and would not "want to be the lee way where efforts by the Police to contain the situation would be thwarted.
Mr Kuuire said criminals were being kept too long on remand at the prisons, saying that an early conviction or otherwise would enable the authorities to place them in the various prisons.
The Prisons Director said he would seek audience with Mr Paul Gyeasayor, the Supervising High Court Judge at Ho to forge a partnership between the courts and the prisons on ways to speed up the case of the 91 remand prisoners at the Ho Prisons, 18 of whom are on armed robbery charges.
Speaking on the situation of the four jail breakers, Mr Kuuire said investigations revealed that they had planned the escape over a period of time. He said some of the other inmates were privy to the plan but failed to report.
Asked if there had been other attempted jail breaks through the some point, Mr Kofi Bansa, Deputy Director of Prisons in charge of the Volta Region, said there had been a few but explained that attempted escapes could be expected from incarcerated criminals.
Meanwhile, Kobla Abraham, alias Bright, implicated by Dzifa Abusah, who was jailed three years in hard labour for the escape bid, is to be transferred to the Nsawam Prisons.
Mr Kuuire gave the directive when he was told that Abraham, even though was not one of the four who broke jail on that Friday had once attempted to escape while in hospital. Three of Abusah's accomplices in the jailbreak would re-appear in court on 2 May.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 03 May 2002 - Mrs Gladys Asmah, Minister of Women and Children Affairs, on Thursday urged women to be dedicated and punctual at their work places to make room for the employment of more women.
She said women might be referred to as the weaker sex in most establishments yet they were not weak in intellectual abilities, which made them equal partners to men. Mrs Asmah, who was speaking at the inauguration of the Network of Women Artisans (NEWA) in Accra, said "in most homes, women are the first to wake up and the last to go to bed each day.
"How then are they continuously being referred to as the weaker sex when they do the greater part of the work each day?" she asked. Mrs Asmah said the whole world was now realising that because women had been left out in a number of things for so long, it was lagging behind in its development as was evident in a number of countries.
Those who realised the essence of giving equal opportunity to women were today called developed countries, whilst those who pushed the women behind and were trying to catch up now were now developing, she said.
The women artisans had come together to solicit organisations and individuals for funds to enable them to put up a multipurpose workshop and office complex where girls and women could be trained in skills such as welding, spraying and carpentry amongst other things.
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President pledges support to peace in
Africa
Accra (Greater Accra) 03 May 2002- President John Agyekum Kufuor, on Thursday said Ghana would continue to show her solidarity with her brothers in West and Central Africa where the lack of peace and security continue to threaten their citizens.
He said peace and security were the foundation for development and Ghana would not only pray for it for her neighbours but would also join to make it a reality in those countries through the contributions of her peace keeping forces.
President Kufuor gave the assurance in a speech read for him by Mr. Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Minister of Information and Presidential Affairs at the opening of the 21st annual convention and congress of the Multi -District 403 of the Lions Club International in Accra. Delegates attending the three-day convention, which Ghana is hosting for the first time, are from 24 countries in West and Central Africa as well as the Indian Ocean nation of Madagascar, Mauritius and the Reunion.
The convention and congress, on the theme "Strengthening Lionism in Africa" would review achievements of the club in the last year and plan for the coming year. President Kufuor observed that it was crucial for developing countries to centre their developing agenda on people and not fraught it with arbitrary governance and corruption that would rather result in negative development.
"Our position is that without good governance, represented by the rule of law, zero tolerance for corruption, and buttressed by a vibrant media, the economic and social well-being of the citizenry will be on an unsteady foundation", President Kufuor said.
He pledged the country's support to all social partners who were prepared to identify with the government's people centred agenda of good economic, social and political governance. President Kufuor referred to high poverty levels in developing countries as "deep structured" and "too miserable to allow for anti-democratic forces to hold sway."
President Kufuor said half of the world's population lived on less than two dollars a day and most of the poor in Africa live on less than 50 cents a day; saying this was an unacceptable situation since the African continent was sufficiently well endowed in natural resources to generate comfort and well being for her people.
"What has eluded Africa is good governance, and the peace and security to pursue people centred development," President Kufuor said. He praised the Lions Club International for its involvement in activities that lessen the plight and bring joy and hope to the deprived in the society.
The President urged the club to devote more attention and maximise the delivery of their mission, especially to the menace of HIV/AIDS to check its devastation of the youth who represent the future of developing countries and the majority of the world's population.
Mr. Louis Sagot, President of the Council of Governors of the club, praised the democratic culture existing in the country and described Mr. Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary General's leadership qualities as excellent.
He said the club is an international association, which focuses on the energies of many different people, each bringing their own rich heritage and diversity, towards bringing much appreciated relief to the needy of the world. He charged the delegates to approach debates with dynamism and perseverance to foster union and coherence to live up to its image of being one of the most respected international associations for the needy.
Mr. Nelson Yao Agbesi, Governor of District 403A, urged the conventioneers to renew their commitment to Lionism during the year so that they could face the challenges that poverty and deprivation confront them with.
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Witness invokes death if his evidence
proves false
Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 03 May 2002-Imam Seidu, a 70 year-old defence witness in the murder trial of Professor Agyewodin Adu Gyamfi Ampem II at the Sunyani High Court Two on Thursday, invoked instant death on himself if an affirmative response he had given to prosecution should prove false.
This was after Mr B. Cab-Bayuo, Chief State Attorney, had in a cross-examination suggested that it was not true that Kwasi Sarpong, alleged leader of the Omanhene's opponents had asked him to advise his people not to protect the Omanhene.
"It is true, if not, I should die when I leave the court," the Imam retorted. Seidu, a farmer and Imam of the Zongo community in Achirensua preceded his responses to prosecution questions with the Islamic words "Insha Allahu".
When the prosecution suggested that his evidence that Sarpong told him that, he and the Achirensua youth would use any means to foil efforts by the Zongo boys in protecting the accused was false, the Imam retorted, "it is true", adding that, "I cannot lie".
Replying to another suggestion by prosecution that though he had sworn by the Koran to speak the truth and nothing but the truth, all that he had told the court apart from his name and age were lies, Imam Seidu said, "I don't lie, I was made Imam due to my truth".
The court, presided by Mr Justice Paul Baffoe Bonnie, restrained the Imam when he attempted to pray in the dock to thank Allah for telling the truth, since those in the court belonged to different religious persuasions.
Led in evidence by leading defence counsel, Mr Otu Essel Kwadwo Fodjour, Imam Seidu told the court that three days before the shooting incident, Sarpong came in an angry mood to tell him to advise the Zongo boys to stop going to the Omanhene since they (Zongo people) were strangers and could not interfere in chieftaincy matters.
Imam Seidu said Sarpong told him: "I have told you to tell the Zongo youth not to step in Nana's house because we have installed our chief and we know how to destool him". Witness said Sarpong warned that he and his group would exchange fire for fire and machete for machete if there should be a clash between them and the Zongo youth.
He said he promptly summoned the Zongo community and informed them of Sarpong's warning. The Imam said Sarpong and his group blamed the Zongo youth for their inability to attack the Omanhene as he alleged that the youth were protecting the Omanhene.
Replying to a question by the foreman of the jury, Seidu said the Zongo community did not provide any organised security for the Omanhene, "but as strangers in the town, we used to go to him to hold discussions on issues bordering on the town's progress".
Mr Kwabena Antwi, second defence witness and an uncle of the deceased, Nii Atoquaye Quansah, in his evidence said the destoolment of the Omanhene was the issue at stake before the shooting incident. The youth had conspired to destool Nana, as they accused him of being the cause of their assault and molestation by the military in the run up to the 2000 general election, he added.
He said the youth alleged that one Collins Dauda who was also aspiring to be the parliamentarian area connived with the Omanhene to cause the sudden death of Professor Kofi Amoah, the NPP parliamentary candidate for Asutifi South constituency early in December 2000.
The witness who is an assemblyman and chairman of the local branch of the NPP said before the shooting incident on 17 April last year, the town was calm, but whenever the accused appeared in the town the youth engaged in violent acts and rained insults on the Omanhene.
He corroborated an earlier assertion that the youth removed the cover of culverts to prevent the accused from driving into his house and to trap him from fleeing in the event of an attack. "Once I caught a nephew of Sarpong in the act and warned him to desist from that to avoid arrest by the police," Antwi said.
Police Inspector John Narh Tetteh, Station Officer at Achirensua and the third defence witness told the court that he was aware the accused was subjected to insults and threats anytime he came to the town since March 2000.
He said the accused on four occasions reported harassment by the youth to the police but because of their strength asked him to apply for security protection from the District Headquarters but the accused never did.
In response to a question by prosecution, Inspector Tetteh said at about 6.30 p.m. on the day of the incident he could not visit the scene "because the youth were more than our relatively small number". "I therefore rushed to the District Commander at Kenyase, since visiting the scene was not easy because the youth were very wild and it would have been disastrous for us," he added.
Mariama Bukari, a housekeeper of the accused and fourth defence witness also appeared to answer questions and to respond to suggestions by the prosecution The defence closed its case and the court adjourned to Tuesday, 7 May for addresses and replies by both the prosecution and the defence.
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Akosa urges doctors to help ensure
effective health delivery
Elmina (Central Region) 03 May 2002- Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, on Wednesday warned doctors, who "liberally issue" excuse duties to workers to desist from the practice, stressing that the maximum number of days given for this should be just two days.
He said patients, who needed to stay away from work for longer periods, ought to be admitted and expressed concern that some doctors even give excuse duties for as long as six months without setting eyes on the supposed patient. "We have taken so much liberties and time is running out .The Dental and Medical Council will not forgive such mistakes."
Prof Akosa gave the advice at a 'Continuing Education Programme' Central Region Division of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) organised at Elmina. He urged medical practitioners to help enhance the country's health delivery system by accurately filling in 'cause of death certification forms'.
He said this would enable health planners to have information about the type of diseases killing the people most and evolve remedial measures. The programme was on the theme: "Forensic Medicine in Clinical Practice: Medico-Legal Implications" and brought together about 100 doctors and other health personnel from Central and Western Regions.
The Director-General said he was unhappy about the fact that due to monetary considerations or merely as a favour, some doctors signed such forms without ensuring that the actual cause of death of a patient had been stated.
He warned that this practice, apart from "skewing up" health statistics with grave consequences on health delivery also had legal implications. Prof Akosa told the doctors to be more circumspect in the discharge of their duties to avoid legal tussles, especially when the proposed national health insurance scheme becomes operational.
''Let us not fall victims so readily. Let us not just sign anything without reading it," he said. Dr Yao Tettey, Senior Lecturer in Pathology at the University of Ghana Medical School (UGMS), urged his colleagues to be abreast with current developments in medicine and to consult with other colleagues when they faced problems while treating a patient.
On the award of workman's compensation, Dr Fred Asiedu, Director in charge of Medical Service of the State Insurance Company, advised doctors to record actual injuries sustained by a worker on a job to stem litigation in such cases. He, however, said in Ghana, payment of compensation for occupational diseases was very negligible since not much study had been conducted in that area.
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Pathologists are endangered species in
Ghana- Wiredu
Elmina (Central Region) 03 May 2002- Dr Edwin Wiredu, a Pathologist and Dean of the School of Allied Sciences of the University of Ghana, Legon, on Wednesday said pathologists were an "endangered species" in the country and that there were only nine currently serving.
He said of the number, six serve at the Korle Bu and Police hospitals and have to travel to other areas of the country to offer their services, while the remaining three are stationed at the Military Hospital and in the Ashanti and Central Regions.
Dr Wiredu, who made this known at a 'Continuing Education' Programme Central Region Division of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) organised at Elmina, said the last time a pathologist was turned out was in 1995 but said there were eight currently in training.
The theme for the programme was: "Forensic Medicine in Clinical Practice: Medico-Legal Implications'' and brought together about 100 doctors and other health personnel from the Central and Western Regions.
The Pathologist told the forum the type of deaths that needed the involvement of a coroner and cautioned them of legal implications of certain actions such as not immediately informing the next of kin of patients, who die during operations or before recovering from anaesthesia.
He hinted that Pathology Department, in conjunction with the Attorney General's Department and the Ministry of the Interior through the Inspector-General of Police, was working towards the establishment of a 'Forensic Pathology Team' to help enhance pathology service delivery in the country.
When established the team would ensure that the appropriate things were done to stem the rate of exhumation of bodies and legal battles in suspected homicide cases. On the performance of autopsies, the Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, debunked the notion that autopsies could not be conducted on Muslims since they were to be buried within 24 hours of their death.
He pointed out that apart from that fact that there was no "fact of law" to support it, the Koran even stipulates that the period of burial should be "as soon as practicable" and not within 24 hours as was being propagated. Prof Akosa, therefore, urged doctors to refrain from yielding to pressure into signing cause of death certificates without examining the bodies.
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Ghana needs $2 billion to meet investment
in Energy
Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 03 May 2002- Mr. Albert Kan Dapaah, Minister of Energy, has observed that Ghana would need about 2 billion dollars in the next three to five years to meet investment requirements in the energy sector. The Minister, however, made it clear that the amount involved could not be borne by the government alone.
Mr. Kan-Dapaa who was addressing a Conference on Energy sector policy framework and programmes, organised jointly by the Ministry of Energy and the School of Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), in Kumasi on Thursday urged members of the public not to waste energy.
The one-day conference was to create a platform for energy experts to interact with the sector Minister and make constructive contributions and comments on the strategic national energy plan.
125 energy experts including lecturers from the KNUST, personnel from the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, the Volta River Authority (VRA), the Energy Commission and the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), are attending.
Mr. Kan-Dapaah stressed the need for the adoption of more pragmatic mechanisms at helping to reduce the scandalous waste in the distribution and use of electric powers. "Losses in the ECG distribution network alone are estimated at 25 percent, and is made up of about 10 percent technical and 15 percent non-technical losses," the Minister said.
Mr. Kan-Dapaah stated that what was more worrying was the wastage at the point of consumer end-use, saying "It has been estimated that at the consumer end-use level, wastage in electricity in Ghana may be in the range of 30 percent."
The Minister, however, gave the assurance that the Ministry of Energy in conjunction with the Utility Companies, will this year implement a comprehensive programme to help reduce commercial losses. Professor Kwasi Andam, Dean of the School of Engineering, KNUST, who presided, urged the participants to take the workshop seriously and come out with strategies that could help in the effective development of energy in the country.
Professor E.Y. Sarfo, Pro Vice-Chancellor of KNUST, in a welcoming addressed, called on all stakeholders in the energy sector to contribute their quota in a positive manner to complement government efforts at making energy more affordable and accessible to all.
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Vote wisely to unseat NPP for real change -
Dan Lartey
Accra (Greater Accra) 03 May 2002- Mr Dan Lartey, Leader of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) on Thursday urged the government to draw up proper economic plans and execute good governance to improve the life of Ghanaians.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra, he said; "the people were thirsty for development, proper economic planning and execution of good governance to maintain law, order and justice in the country for the betterment of their life and hence voted to kick NDC out".
He criticised the government for bowing to the dictates of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank and declaring the country a Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) adding; "the other parties including the People's National Convention (PNC) are duplicates of the NDC that could not steer the affairs of the country.
He said the crucial economic problems facing the country of late would only be eliminated if the current government were voted out of power saying; "the people of this country have already decided against NPP and there is no need for me to convince them". Mr Lartey said the GCPP was the only party in the country that had the vision of steering the nation to a first class country with its concept of "Domestication".
He criticised President John Agyekum Kufuor for his frequent travels, which he said was a waste of the taxpayers money and had brought very little results. GCPP Leader disagreed with the assertion that it was too early for the government to bring about far reaching improvement in the economy and said, "it takes only one day to effect change in governance".
He called on other political parties to stop thinking of the foreign policies and think of pragmatic measures that would develop the country internally to offer jobs to the teaming youth in this country.
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Resist overthrow of constitutional
government - Tribunal Chairman
Agona Swedru (Central Region) 03 May 2002- Mr Abudul Fatawo Yakubu, Chairman of the Swedru Community Tribunal has said it was the civic responsibility of every citizen not only to resist the overthrow of constitutional government but should also refuse to co-operate with the perpetrators. He said that citizens, especially public servants should stay away from work in protest in the event of an overthrow.
Launching the Constitution Week celebration organised by the Agona District office of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) at Agona Swedru on the theme "The Constitution, Culture Values and Good Governance," he said this was the only way to ensure constitutionalism, good governance and the rule of law.
Mr Yakubu urged institutions charged with educating the people on their rights and responsibilities to work hard to ensure that citizens studied and understood the constitution. Ms Margaret Sackey, District Director of NCCE noted the celebration was significant since the 1992 constitution was 10 years old.
She said the constitution was the fundamental law of the land and stated that it was the duty of every citizen to defend it against all forms of violation and abuse to promote a democratic culture. Ms Sackey appealed to Ghanaians to assist the commission in the efforts to modify cultural values, which were inconsistent with the constitution.
Mr Kizito Ballanse, Agona District Co-ordinating Director on behalf of the District Chief Executive, Mr John Kwesi Agyabeng, urged Ghanaians not to pay lip service to the constitution but to defend it to enhance democracy. He suggested to the Ministry of Education to incorporate the study of the constitution into the school curriculum to enable the youth to understand it.
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Ankasa (Western Region) 03 May 2002- Western Region branch of the Ghana Hoteliers Association (GHA) and the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB) have built a website to display the region's numerous tourism potential.
The website is expected to promote hotels that offer the best services in the region. Mrs Francisca Addison, Regional Chairperson of the association, said this when members paid a day's familiarisation trip to the Ankasa Forest Reserve.
She said the trip was aimed at educating members of the association on the several tourist and entertainment centres in the region. Mrs Addison urged hoteliers to improve upon their services to attract more customers.
She hinted that similar trips would be organised quarterly to other tourist sites in the region and beyond. Mr Kent Frank Eshun, a guide at the reserve, said it was established in 1931 and covers 509 square kilometres.
He said every hectare of the reserve has 300 plant species and it is the only evergreen reserve in the country. ''The reserve has a large biodiversity and can provide medicinal plants for the treatment of several ailments''. Mr Eshun said a training school had been established in the reserve to train students as well as tourists interested in nature conservation and plant studies.
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Bad financial management killing Golden Age
of Business
Accra (Greater Accra) 03 May 2002- Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, Minister of Trade and Industry on Thursday said poor planning and bad financial management by most local businesses was having a crippling effect on the government's golden age of business dream.
"More local business enterprises are in distress and are failing than those succeeding because they lack the ability to plan in order to maximise their productivity and profits.
"Even those succeeding are foreign investors or multi-national corporations," the Minister said, adding, "the situation where people acquire government and private loans and acquire a house or car instead of putting the money into the business must be stopped."
Dr Apraku was speaking at the opening of a three-day orientation workshop for 34 trainees recruited by the National Board for Small-Scale Industries (NBSSI) to manage 25 newly established Business Advisory Centres (BACs) in the districts of nine regions.
The Minister said government was prepared to provide all the essential ingredients for the individual businessman's success adding, "individuals work well when they work for themselves and government would not be an impediment but a facilitator for individuals to succeed."
He said the NBSSI had a critical role of ensuring the transformation into reality the dream of the golden age of business. Dr Apraku said the government sought to address the constraints through the easing of access to credit and the vigorous promotion of entrepreneurial and tailor-made managerial and skills training programmes to enhance the capacities of medium scale enterprises.
He said the Export Development Investment Fund had set aside money to assist the production of textile and garments, the President's Cassava/Starch Project, salt mining and agro-processing.
He said anyone into the production of any of these products qualified to receive assistance from the fund. He charged the NBSSI to assist in identifying enterprises with the potential to participate and provide training to enhance their managerial and entrepreneurial capacities.
The Minister further called on the NBSSI to help small-scale businesses to understand the mechanisms of business saying, "work with the local communities to identify products that qualify under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and help them into it with proper planning mechanisms.
"This opportunity is unique, because while some countries are spending about 20 and 40 per cent on tariff for their exports products to enter into the American markets, we can enter free of duty and quota."
Nana Dr Baah Boakye, Executive Director of NBSSI, said the BACs had been established in all the regions to maintain close and permanent contact with entrepreneurs. He announced that the Board had mobilised one billion cedis through pledges made by the district assemblies that would be used to enhance the achievement of the goals of the districts in the area of poverty reduction and income and employment generation.
Nana Dr Boakye said the NBSSI was currently implementing an Entrepreneurship Development Programme by facilitating the creation of new businesses and also sustaining the growth of existing ones.
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Government, UNDP signs Agreement
Accra (Greater Accra) 03 May 2002- The Government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on Thursday signed a 15 million-dollar agreement for support in five programme areas for the next four years.
The agreement under the new Country Co-operation Framework covering 2002 to 2005 are intended to assist the country to consolidate democratic governance, promote the activities of the private sector to create wealth and economic growth, reduce poverty, address the issues of energy and the environment and to promote gender equality.
The United Nations Resident Representative, Mr Alfred Salia Fawundu and the respective government Ministries that would implement the programmes signed the agreement.
Mr Fawundu said under the programme for governance, institutions like the Judiciary, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, National Media Commission among other organisations would be strengthened and their capacities enhanced to ensure that they effectively contributed to democratic practices in the country.
On poverty reduction, Mr Fawundu said the government would through the programme be assisted to implement successfully the Ghana Poverty Reduction
Strategy (GPRS) through improvements in the analytical and policy formulation capabilities of key policy divisions of Ministries, Departments and Agencies to internalise the GPRS in their planning and budgeting processes. Also to be executed is the translation of the GPRS into local languages so that it could be easily understood and used in planning and budgeting at the local level.
The UN Resident Representative said to promote the private sector to play its role effectively the programme would provide support for selected private and public institutions to facilitate advocacy, develop policies and undertake legal and regulatory reforms.
"A major expected outcome of the programme is an enhanced capacity of the new Ministry of Private Sector Development, to effectively perform its role of co-ordinating and harmonising all sectoral efforts aimed at fostering a competitive and rewarding business environment in Ghana," he said.
Mr Fawundu pledged UNDP assistance in providing technical support for the production and export of garments/textiles and cassava starch for the American and European countries, saying the initiative would reinforce existing small and medium enterprises towards developing a sustainable export business.
The programme would include the objective of mainstreaming gender concerns through capacity building and advocacy in support of government's efforts. Mr Fawundu said also of concern was the education of girls with emphasis on gender balance in education by 2005.
Under the programme for energy and environment, local and national capacity for poverty reduction through sound environmental management and practices would be enhanced in line with the goals of the GPRS in improving environment and natural resource management.
The Minister of Finance, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo said the overriding concern of the programmes was to help reduce both the level and incidence of poverty in the country.
He said the programmes had been tailored to meet critical national priorities adding that government's co-operation with the UNDP was based on the realisation that no external assistance could make any sustainable impact if the national government did not own the programmes. "I am happy to note that the various programmes have been formulated through a consultative process involving a wide range of stakeholders," he said.
Osafo-Maafo said he was happy with the continuous assistance from the development partners at a time many recipient countries of aid were being asked to justify their continuous demands for it. He said it was imperative for the country to show results of the effective use of such assistance in improving the well being of the people.
Mr Osafo-Maafo asked the various ministries that would implement the programmes to ensure that the activities were on track at all times, saying the extent to which a meaningful impact was made on the country's socio-economic landscape in the next four years depended to a large extent on the implementation process.
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Development partners urge to reduce
bureaucracy
Accra (Greater Accra) 03 May 2002- Finance Minister, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo on Thursday urged the country's development partners to minimise the bureaucracies in the disbursement of funds so as not to stall the implementation of projects.
He said most projects were sometimes delayed unduly after take off because of the failure of the partners to make available the necessary funding on time to enable the implementing agencies to carry out the expected activities.
Mr Osafo-Maafo was speaking at the signing of a 15 million-dollar agreement between the government and the United Nation's Development Programme in support for five programme areas in the next four years.
The agreement under the new Country Co-operation Framework covering 2002 to 2005 are intended to assist the country to consolidate democratic governance, promote the activities of the private sector to create wealth and economic growth, reduce poverty, address the issues of energy and the environment and to promote gender equality.
The United Nations Resident Representative, Mr Alfred Salia Fawundu and the respective government Ministries that would implement the programmes signed the agreement.
Mr Osafo-Maafo asked the development partners to consider eliminating some of the processes involved in the disbursement of funds, once they did not compromise transparency or bothered on corruption. He asked the UNDP to be timely in the release of funds so that the programmes envisaged under the agreements could be carried out without hitches.
Mr Kojo Mpianim, Chief of Staff, said there was the need for the development partners to help build and develop the necessary capacity for the utilisation of the aid. He said although the country could get all the support it needed from partners, the critical issue was how to use the assistance given.
Mr Mpianim said it was lack of capacity to use these resources that had made it possible for some assistance given four or five years back to still lie dormant in the vault of banks. Mr Fawundu said the initial amount of 15 million dollars represented seed money for mobilising additional resources in support of the country's development.
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Tema (Greater Accra) 03 May 2002 - Mr. Isaac Tetteh, Managing Director of T.T. Brothers on Thursday paid 28 million cedis to the Tema Government Hospital to defray outstanding bills of 48 in-patients who could not settle their bills.
In addition, Mr. Tetteh donated 50 single mattresses to the hospital to ease accommodation problems of patients. Presenting the cheque, the Managing Director said he was moved by the plight of the patients most of whom had been discharged but could not leave the hospital because they could not settle their bills.
Mr. Tetteh whose company is the sole agent of South West Distillers and Firmenich Flavours, Distributors of Maracuja Cream said he went to the hospital to meet the charges of a relative and was approached by a woman who had delivered successfully and had been discharged but had no money to settle her bill. Dr Mrs Charity Brako, Medical Superintendent of the hospital thanked the donors and assured them that their gesture would go along to help the hospital.
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