Influence Japan's policy on Africa - Aliu
Red tapeism must
be a thing of the past - JAK
Two killed in accident at University
The departure commenced the rotation of MONUC to replace Ghanbatt 3, which has completed a six-month duty tour.
The rotation would end by Wednesday 21 May. The contingent is under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Oppong Otchere.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 15 May 2003 - "It is wonderful to have the strength of the giant, but it is tyrannical to use it like a giant, Emile Short, Chairman of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), told Journalists on Wednesday.
He said: "This important advice do I commend to the few newspapers that use the power of the pen to tarnish the image and reputation of public officials and important state intuitions without any justification."
Short was speaking at a press conference to refute
allegations published recently in the Ghana Palaver that he had resigned from
his post. Short said he travelled to
He said the reasons or motive for the publication, were difficult to fathom, adding that he had not been given any international appointment and could not imagine where such information could be coming from.
Short said the fear of the tyranny of the media, whether actual or perceived, made a net negative contribution to national development.
It resulted in self-censorship and subjugation of conscience and thought, produced a culture of silence or at best, a one-sided dialogue, he said. Short said human rights, including freedom of expression, were best promoted by objectivity and sound research and thoughtful reflection.
He said CHRAJ would adopt the now conventional approach of lodging complaint with the National Media Commission about these "offensive and false publications".
He said CHRAJ would, however, have no option but to resort to other appropriate legal remedies if it continued to be maligned in this manner.
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Speaking at a press conference in
He said the reasons or motive for the publication, were difficult to fathom, adding that he had not been given any international appointment and could not imagine where such information could be coming from.
Short said staff of CHRAJ still maintained their stand on the abolition of the criminal libel law and supported the draft freedom of information bill, which would further strengthen the hand of the media.
He said CHRAJ was, however, distressed by the recent spate of malicious and false publications against the CHRAJ by some newspapers without verification or crosschecking of facts, saying this was contrary to the ethics of the profession of journalism.
"I also categorically deny that I have a love hate relationship with the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government and I have also at no time expressed to anyone a desire to be appointed to the Supreme Court, as was stated in the paper."
Short also said that Mrs Angelina Domaakyareh, the former Deputy Commissioner, which the paper claimed was the first high profile official to have resigned did not resign but returned to the Volta River Authority because she was on secondment to the Commission.
Short also described as false and malicious a publication in the 28 February to March 6 issue of the Free Press, which said one Aboagye, a staff of the Commission was sacked for exposing a deal.
He said the employee was dismissed after being found guilty by a committee of enquiry over a series of facts of misconduct. This fact, he said, could easily have been ascertained by contacting any authorised official of the Commission.
Short cautioned media practitioners to be careful not to destroy the stature and creditability of important state institutions and public officials without just cause, probably for immediate advantages of monetary gain and popularity produced by sensational headlines and ill-researched stories.
Short said problems and challenges the Commission was experiencing, at present, particularly was its inability to retain its trained and competent staff because of uncompetitive salary levels and unattractive conditions of service, adding that the situation existed before the present administration took office.
He said the present government had, however, demonstrated a willingness to address them and discussions were going on to resolve them.
Short said the fear of the tyranny of the media, whether actual or perceived, made a net negative contribution to national development.
It resulted in self-censorship and subjugation of conscience and thought, produced a culture of silence or at best, a one-sided dialogue, he said. Short said human rights, including freedom of expression, were best promoted by objectivity and sound research and thoughtful reflection.
He said CHRAJ would adopt the now conventional approach of lodging complaint with the National Media Commission about these "offensive and false publications".
He said CHRAJ would, however, have no option but to resort to other appropriate legal remedies if it continued to be maligned in this manner. "It is wonderful to have the strength of the giant, but it is tyrannical to use it like a giant.
"This important advice do I commend to the few newspapers that use the power of the pen to tarnish the image and reputation of public officials and important state intuitions without any justification."
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Justice Appau gave the warning after Wednesday's proceedings at the court when he referred to a quarrel between members of the Abudu and Andani families immediately after the court adjourned at its previous sitting.
The Accra High Court is trying two persons charged with the murder of Ya-Na Yakubu Andani II, Paramount Chief of the Dagbon Traditional Area.
The chaos started when two women from the two families quarrelled in the courtroom soon after the day's sitting. Two men joined in the fray and held each other while their supporters kept on shouting in Dagbani.
A court clerk, who could speak the language, intervened and managed to separate them. Justice Appau said he heard about the incident after it ended, adding that if he had heard or seen them, he would have caused their arrest.
He said he was trying two accused persons in the case and not the whole Yendi community and warned them to be of good behaviour when in court.
The Judge said any fight, apart from boxing, which has been legalised, was considered illegal. Justice Appau warned that should there be any fight again, he would cause their arrest and prosecution.
He called on the youth to ponder over the rampant confusion at Yendi and advised them to allow the issue to be determined amicably by the law court. "In this way the living condition of the people would be improved." He asked Nana Obiri Boahene, Defence Counsel, to try and advise them to desist from such acts.
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Col. Wadhwani, who was the Fifth Prosecution Witness in the case in which two persons are standing trial for the assassination of the Ya-Na, said the striking feature of the body was that it was without head.
He said after closely examining the body, it was found that he died through excessive bleeding at the time that the head was cut off. Yidana Sugri and Iddrisu Gyanfo, both farmers, who are charged with conspiracy to commit murder and murder, have pleaded not guilty. The court presided over by Justice Yaw Appau has refused them bail.
Col. Wadhwani, who was led in evidence by Anthony Gyambiby, Principal State Attorney, said the Ya-Na' body was burnt, decapitated and had the limbs severed, leaving stumps. He said the stumps could be as a result of burning or amputation. Witness stated that part of the burnt body had cuts.
Col. Wadhwani said on 29 March,
last year, he was instructed by the High Command of the Ghana Armed Forces to
proceed to the
He said the bodies were retrieved from the cubicles of a refrigerator at the Yendi Government Hospital Morgue in the presence of Dr Bernard Sakyi, the resident doctor, and two other witnesses.
Col Wadhwani tendered in evidence
an autopsy report dated
When Counsel asked Witness if the body could be identified as someone else's, Witness said that could be possible. Col Wadhwani agreed with Counsel that if a DNA examination were conducted on the body, it could be better identified than the autopsy.
The case was adjourned to Friday 16 May, for continuation.
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Addressing the second batch of Volunteers posted to the country this year at the Castle, Osu, he said they were better placed to appreciate the issues affecting developing countries and advocate for them because of their first hand experiences. The Volunteers would be engaged in teaching mathematics, science and home arts in various institutions in the rural areas.
Among them is a pharmacist, who would serve at the St Francis Xavier Hospital, Assin Fosu. Vice President Mahama commended them for accepting postings to rural areas and their policy to focus on science and mathematics education.
He said those subjects, though very important, were not well-liked by many students because of the unexciting way they were taught, adding that they should make the teaching and learning of those subjects more interesting and acceptable.
The Vice President lauded the contributions of the
Volunteers over the past 25 years to the development of education, agriculture
and rural development and expressed the hope that cordial bilateral relations
between
Alhaji Rashid Bawa, Minister of State at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, said the Ministry would cooperate with them to make their work easier.
He said efforts were underway to get volunteers to teach
baseball and judo at the
Koichi Mizoshima, Charge d'Affaires at the Japan Embassy, said his country acknowledged the importance of rural development and had accordingly trained the volunteers to assist in that area.
He said there were 50 Volunteers on the field at present and
thanked
Takahama Tsuneo, Resident Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, urged the Volunteers to work hard to strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries.
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He said "some of the people living in the structures even dump their domestic waste on compound and indulge in anti-social activities and even smoke wee at night".
Warmann who conducted the Ghana News Agency round the school on Wednesday said, "I am surprised about these containers and the inability of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly to enforce its by-laws".
He said many attempts to get the AMA to stop the squatters
from using the school for their illegal activities failed. Warmann
also expressed concern about noise by the
He said attempts to discourage such Church activities during school hours were always meet with insults from the members on the teachers. The head teacher noted that the situation did not promote teaching and learning and said it had "a bad influence on the children".
Parker Allotey, Public Relation Officer of AMA, expressed surprise about the kiosks, containers and squatters and promised, "I would take it up with the Ablekuma Sub-Metro to ensure their removal as early as possible".
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Ho (Volta Region)
They however, exhorted journalists and the Ghana Journalist
Association (GJA) to enhance quality delivery and professionalism. Justice
Richard Apaloo, a Ho High Court Judge observed that
the
He said that demonstrated the overwhelming influence of the media in changing the course of events in the country. Justice Apaloo said it was, therefore, incumbent on media practitioners to appreciate their power and exercise it responsibly and professionally for the good of the nation, adding, " To whom much is given much is expected".
He, therefore, advised journalists to be guided by the dictates of their consciences and should not give the impression that they were doing somebody else's "dirty work". Justice Apaloo also commended the role of the National Media Commission (NMC) and the self-regulatory role of the GJA in improving media accountability in the country.
He said in other jurisdictions where such media regulatory mechanisms did not exist, those who felt offended by Journalists adopted their own methods of seeking justice as means of muzzling the media to the detriment of society.
Justice Apaloo said the constitution expects the media to " fiercely and resolutely hold government accountable". This, he said, requires the exercise of conscience in the determination of public interest and public good rather than resorting to personal vendetta as the motivation for performance.
Simon Amegashie-Viglo, Vice-Principal of Ho Polytechnic said while it is gratifying to say that the media has, for the past 10 years performed creditably, the resort to abusive and sensational headlines tended to blur the excellence of the media at times.
" Despite the imperfections that are the lot of the media industry in the developing world, the media in Ghana, in my opinion has performed creditably on the whole and have had a positive impact on society", he said.
Amegashie-Viglo said the challenges facing the media must be confronted with a collective resolve, " if the holding of government responsible and accountable to the people is to be realised".
"Journalists and other principal stakeholders in the struggle for press freedom should, therefore, never fear to write.... out of fear", he exhorted.
Mrs Gifty Afenyi-Dadzie, President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) urged Journalists to accord respect to the National Media Commission and the GJA Ethics Committee to facilitate the growth of the profession.
She said the era of journalism in the country could no longer accommodate one-sided presentation of news and views and sensational headlines, which do not reflect the content of news stories.
Mrs Afenyi-Dadzie said it is incumbent on the citizenry to let the media know whether it was acting professionally in conformity with its constitutional mandate. The forum was organised by the GJA and sponsored by the National Governance Programme and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
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He said the Acts 462, 479 and 480 of 1945, which were unaccompanied by subsidiary regulations to give effect on the ground, create serious omissions opening them to bitter complaints from the public.
Prof. Kasanga said this at the
opening of a two-day national durbar for staff of TCPD in
The durbar would enable staff to assess the effectiveness of the local planning system as regards the organisational relationship between the department and the district assemblies. They would also discuss and examine the problems and performance lapses of the department and come out with a resolution on the way forward.
Prof. Kasanga said: "These laws, operating side by side with the obsolete Ordinance, create operational conflicts and weaken capability of the department to respond adequately to the current challenges associated with urban growth".
Planners have recently been criticised for alleged negligence of duty, poor performance and various unprofessional practices by the general public creating confusion and lack of appreciation of the complexity of the development management process of the department and various stakeholders.
He said re-zoning of sites by some officers of the department without the due statutory process in some regions and districts also evokes negative comments and generates into inter-departmental conflicts as well as public suspicion and outcry.
The minister noted that the green spaces and other amenity spaces were not adequately provided for in the planning schemes of most cities and towns to ensure the sustainable development of settlements through harmonising development efforts with environmental elements.
He called for the restructuring of the department to enable it to gain respectable recognition and perform effectively for the development of the nation. Prof. Kasanga urged them to come out with recommendations that would call for the removal of all obstacles impeding the progress of work.
Edward P. Karbo, Director of TCPD, said poor logistics resource, inadequate staffing and weak legislative environment, had affected the capability of the department to perform to the satisfaction of their clients.
He said as part its efforts to restructure the department an attitudinal change process has been initiated for staff and the general public. He called for the support of the ministry in its programmes to restructure the department.
Solomon Ofei Darko, Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, who presided, assured the department of his support in all their activities, adding, "we will back any recommendations that would seek to the amendment of the old laws for the development of the nations."
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He said developers had built on waterways, state-owned
undeveloped lands and utility service lines reservations. However, there is
stiff resistance in attempts to demolish them, as in most cases these people
attract public sympathy, he said when he cut a sod to launch the commencement
of the construction of two roads estimated at ’3.2bn at Madina,
near
The project, which is expected to be completed in October this year, is under the auspices of Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD) with counterpart funding by Government of Ghana.
He urged chiefs, unit committee members, assembly members and opinion leaders in the area to form community associations to prevent unauthorized builders from encroaching on land reserved for community project.
Attoh appealed to the Minister of Roads and Highways to adequately resource the Department of Urban Roads in the community to enable the Assembly repair roads in the district.
Sampson Darko, Member of Parliament for Ga North, noted that the construction of the road in the area was significant since it would help ease traffic congestion.
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He said most conflicts are political in nature and media organisations tend to report the issues in line with their ideological stance or political interests, which often exacerbated the situation, citing the 1994 Rwandan genocide as an example.
He was speaking at a seminar on "Public Relations and the Media in Internal Crisis", organized for the media by the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff (GAFCSC) at Teshie near Accra.
The seminar, which is part of the course structure of the on-going three-week Internal Crisis Management Course for the security agencies and civil organisations started on 5 May, this year.
It was aimed at exposing media personnel to how negative reportage affects crisis management and how journalists could collaborate with the security agencies to prevent conflicts.
The Course, organised in partnership with the Cranfield University Disaster Management Centre of the
Baako said the problem facing most media organisations in the country was logistics and infrastructure that would enable them to have the capacity to handle issues.
He said since some media organisations have limited resources and did not have correspondents around conflict areas, they mostly depended on sources and second-hand information, which, most of the time, were not accurate, thereby worsening the situation.
He called on the media to develop the capacity to handle such issues and also asked the security agencies to show some level of openness when dealing with the media to facilitate easy flow of information that would stem the problem of speculation.
Egbert Faibille Jnr, Editor of the "Independent", a private newspaper noted that until the security organisations orientated the media on how to report on its activities in times of crisis, it would always be making clarifications after the "harm had been done".
"If you manage the media well, you can also get it to tell your story, except that you must be truthful yourself to get that co-operation", he told the participants. He stressed the need for specialization in security reporting by media personnel to make informed decisions when reporting.
Some participants were, however, concerned about abusive language by people they termed "senior journalists", particularly those in the private media organisations, on radio programmes.
They argued that some utterances have the propensity to inflame passions, which could lead to crisis and called on them to refine their language to reflect the professional side of their work.
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Red tapeism
must be a thing of the past - JAK
"Red tapeism must be a thing of the past with us. The go-come go-come attitude will not be tolerated," he said, when he administered the oaths of allegiance, office and secrecy and presented instruments of appointments to two Ministers and 10 Deputy Minister at the Castle, Osu.
They were Nana Akomea, Minister of Information and Alan Kyerematen, Minister of Trade, Industry and President's Special Initiatives (PSI). The rest were Andrew Abambile Awuni, Deputy Minister of Information, Dr Anthony Akoto Osei Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Patrick Ambrose Dery, Deputy Minister of Justice and Attorney General, and Dr Charles Yaw Brempong-Yeboah, MP Atiwa, Deputy Minister of Works and Housing.
The others were, Ignatius Kofi Poku-Adusei, Deputy Minister of Women and Children's Affairs, Dr. (Mrs) Angela Ofori-Atta, Deputy Minister of Manpower Development and Employment, Emmanuel Adjei Boye, Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways, David Gyewu, Deputy Minister of Communications and Technology, Mrs Mercy Bampo Addo, Deputy Minister, Office of the President and Charles Bintin Binipom, Deputy Northern Regional Minister.
President Kufuor said it was to eliminate red tapeism that these institutions must have political leadership because the professional civil servants tend to be passive on the implementation of government policies and programmes.
He said political leaders come in to set targets and also drive the machinery to attain these targets. President Kufuor said from the sufferings Ghanaians had been subjected to over the decades, they had become rather cynical and tend not to trust the politician.
"You are politicians, so please we must work with all the talents at our disposal to assure Ghanaians that there could be good politicians. "After all we come from the people and we mean to serve our country with diligence and with some sincerity."
President Kufuor asked the Ministers to resolve and be determined to give of their best with the belief that the society was being built for the people and future generations.
"This is the test before us; we want to make a clean break from the chequered development of the country so far, as after 45 years of independence, we do not have much to show as a country.
"We should resolve to bring out all the good attributes people say about Ghanaians; let us use government to bring these good things out for the benefit of our people in order to continue to attract the good things of the world to our land." President Kufuor said, being part of the government's team, the challenge ahead of them was to ensure democracy and good governance succeeded and Ghanaians felt proud of their own country.
"Let us really become the true gateway to the
President Kufuor said the Ministers should be efficient in their performance of their duties and the Deputy Ministers should have respect for the Ministers of their various sectors.
He said there was no favouritism in the appointment of
Ministers and their deputies, adding that the suspicion among a section of the
people that because the President is an
"I assure you there is no favouritism, people suspect
because somebody comes from
On the relationships between the Ministers, Minister of State and Deputy Ministers, President Kufuor said the Deputy Minister was a step lower than the Minister and the rank of a Minister of State is typically a British tradition they left with the people and not a creation of the government.
"We inherited it and that is a mark to show progress even among the Ministers". President Kufuor urged the Ministers and Deputy Ministers to respect one another, work as a team driven by a common vision of lifting the country up as a team with a common purpose that would motivate the nation to move ahead in unity, tolerance and fairplay.
He warned that any Minister or Deputy Minister who might step out of bounds with the current campaign on discipline, would not be spared. "We are talking about discipline these days, if you are the leaders and you are not disciplined, then of course an example should be made of you. So let us live within the laws of the country so that we can in turn ask the people to follow the example", he stressed.
President Kufuor said the country was taking a close look at the Ministers and the rest of the government and it should not take much of an effort or any objective observer to appreciate the sort of government being put in place to serve the country.
He said the Ministers were coming from all corners of the country, therefore, any suspicions or fears of some group that anyone was trying to impose "hegemony" over the country should be dispelled.
President Kufuor said government was bridging the generation gap and should not be described as a government of old men and women, adding, " we are trying to use some of the best people Mother Ghana could boast of and put them in the service of the country".
He said those appointed to serve in the government had distinguished themselves in their various calling and government was proud to have them to serve the people. President Kufuor said they should not, however, feel that they were the only few pebbles at the beach of the country adding that there were so many Ghanaians of similar achievements in their category, but because the number of Ministers and Deputies must be limited they were lucky to be appointed.
He advised them to show modesty and never allow themselves to fall into the complexity that they were so special that everybody should stand aside for them in their activities.
"I want us to be humble in this position. I want us to be imbued with the spirit of service; we are not in government as a business. I believe you all readily accepted to come and serve so we should not seek or expect the people to show any special gratitude towards us", He added.
President Kufuor said there was a lot of work to do and Ghanaians gave the government the opportunity to serve because of what they told the people, "we said we stood for good governance, democracy, respect for human rights and human beings, respected property rights. We are open minded, tolerant and these are the attributes we were going in to usher in the Golden Age of Business".
He said some people had misunderstood what he meant by the Golden Age of Business that it would exclude labour but that was never true.
President Kufuor said there could be no successful business without a blend of the entrepreneur and the worker; it was when both of them combine with a common vision, single purpose that there could be a successful business.
He said the Golden Age of Business had been the central focus of the government because it wanted to unleash the wealth of the country to provide the social services that would uplift the standard of living of the people and also put meaning to the choice of equal opportunity needed for the people.
He said that could be done with government facilitating the framework and pushing the creators to create the much-needed wealth for the country. "This is the central to our government so wherever you are put to serve, you should always be mindful of facilitating the citizens or anyone who would come to you with the mind of genuine investment in this economy, so we create the wealth to grow our economy in our society", He added.
Kyerematen on behalf of his colleagues said government had laid the foundation of a true democratic, free and just society and the platform for the transformation of the economy into a vibrant and prosperous one.
He said the Ministers and their deputies were also aware that there were a lot more to be done in translating the dividends of democracy and economic revival for the majority of the rural dwellers.
Kyerematen said the oaths sworn were an expression of their unqualified commitment to support the government to realise the objectives set. "On behalf of my colleagues, we wish to express our appreciation for the confidence reposed in us and to assure you and Ghanaians that we will serve the people with dedication, honour and integrity", he added.
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She said the area that lies within the tropical rain forest was one of the major producing cocoa area, timber and other foodstuffs but lacks good road network or efficient electric supply.
Mrs Sonful made the appeal in her maiden statement in Parliament to press home problem facing Wassa Amenfi and Aowin Suaman Districts. She said electricity was extended to the two districts just before the 1996 parliamentary and presidential elections but unfortunately, the people have not enjoyed the supply since they experienced frequent power outages.
Mrs Sonful said there had been persistent low voltage making them not to enjoy power for twenty-four hours and sometimes have blackouts for several days.
She said the situation become worse when it rains and explained that the reasons for the frequent power cuts was that electricity was extended to the area from Prestea, a distance of about 160 kilometres to Enchi through Asankragwa.
The electric cable pass through forests and bamboo groves in one circuit without any protection and anytime there was fluctuation, it goes straight to the Volta River Authority (VRA) sub-station at Prestea resulting in constant light-offs.
Mrs Sonful said the outages that are caused mainly by tree branches and bamboo are so rampant that potential investors are not encouraged to set up businesses there. She, therefore, appealed to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to address the problems and clear the lines off trees.
Mrs Sonful said some of the roads are impassable for greater part of the year and drivers have taken advantage to charge exorbitant fares adding that few trucks and taxis ply the roads.
She said all the bridges on the rivers in the area are
wooden and too dangerous for vehicles to ply on while many of the logs used for
the bridges are rotten. Mrs Sonful said it is
apparent that it was the frustration of cocoa farmers that compel some of them
to smuggle cocoa to nearby
Mrs Gifty Eugene Kusi, NPP-Tarkwa-Nsuaem and Second Deputy Majority Whip regretted that most of the electric lines in the Western Region were one phase that needs to be changed to a three-phase system to stop the power outages.
Boniface Abu-Bakar Saddique Boniface, Ind. Salaga said it was high time the Ministry of Roads and Highway paid particular attention to the road network in the Western Region since a lot of cash crops and foodstuffs continue to go bad due to the poor road network.
He said if the roads were improved it would greatly improve development and attract a lot investors to harness the potentials in the area. Edward Salia, NDC-Jirapa said a lot more efforts was needed to be put in place to repair the roads in the Western Region adding that due to the weather and poor terrain in the area, construction works are very difficult to be undertaken.
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Dr Joseph Asare, Chief Psychiatric Officer of the GHS, and personnel of Basic Needs, a non-governmental organisation, prepared the document, which aims at doing away with institutional care for mental patients and the expansion of community mental service.
Policymakers, health partners and other stakeholders would discuss the proposals before approval. It touches on the training of volunteers for community work.
The forum, on the theme: "Community Mental Health, A Shift In Mental Health Care In Ghana", was organised by the MOH, GHS and Basic Needs. Prof Agyeman Badu Akosa, Director-General of the GHS, said proceeds from the sale of the prime lands of the APH could help in the development of a community-based mental health service and expansion of the Pantang and Ankaful hospitals.
The Director-General touched on the need to educate the public to stop associating mental health problems with retribution and witchcraft. Dr Asare said a community-based care would help to decongest the psychiatric hospitals, stop stigmatisation, empower families to take care of patients and lessen the burden on health workers while promoting mental health seeking behaviour in the communities.
Touching on some of the constraints in service delivery, Dr Asare mentioned inadequate funding, high attrition rate of health workers and the current shortage of specialised mental health workers.
He said most of the wards at APH were congested with some taking up to 300 patients instead of 50 leading to patients having to stand throughout without having enough room to sleep.
Dr Asare said the congestion and inadequate staffing had in some cases made patients to attack staffs leaving them with broken limbs and injuries.
He said depression alone would by 2020 disable more people than traffic accidents, heart disease and HIV/AIDS.
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It was their first face-to-face meeting since the incident happened at a military barrier mounted near the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Junction in 1982.
Ex-Lance Corporal Hammond Moses Enyan told the Commission that he was working on his weapon as a safety precaution when a bullet flew out of it, hit Madam Hannah Abena Kyerewaah in the hand and grazed her breasts.
He said after the incident, he was detained in a military
guardroom for three months before a directive came from
The soldiers, according to him, were at the barrier to
search for arms and ammunition in vehicles travelling to and from
"Your apology had come a bit too late", he added. The Commissioner said the incident demonstrated the risk posed to the public by "bad gun management and bad gun maintenance".
Testifying earlier before the Commission, Madam Kyerewaah said she was a trader and had gone to
She said she showed the receipt covering her goods but they insisted she climbed to the top of the bus to bring them down. Madam Kyerewaah said, "as I stood there with my hand on my chest, I was suddenly hit on the hand by a bullet. It also grazed my breast and blood started oozing".
She said two soldiers and two policemen rushed her first to
the
She said a quantity of the infusion were later flown in a military helicopter to the hospital. Madam Kyerewaah said she was on admission at the same ward with the policewoman, Joana who was executed by soldiers at the hospital and gave a vivid account to the NRC of how she was killed.
She said the policewoman after identifying herself to the soldiers who had then invaded the ward looking for her was taken out. When she was brought back she had been shot in the hand and the doctors rushed her to the theatre to amputate the hand.
Witness said the doctors held consultations among themselves for sometime and agreed to put her back at the ward after the surgical operation with an infusion and blood transfusion bags on her.
"All of a sudden, we saw a soldier enter and on seeing her lying on the bed shot her first in one thigh." That awakened her from her sleep and the soldier went to the other side of the bed and shot her again in the other thigh".
Joseph Archibold Appau, a former employee of the Posts and Telecommunications, who mounted the witness box, said he lost consciousness for one and a half months after being hit by a bullet fired by a soldier in 1982.
He said he became paralysed in half of his body and that affected his manhood.
Appau told the Commission that he had been given a drugs prescription after attending hospital and had decided to take some rest at his brother's shop at the Kumasi Central Market before looking for the drugs to buy.
"Immediately I took my seat there was a gun shot and I fell prostrate on the floor". The witness said he was first taken to KATH and later flown in a military helicopter to Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital where he regained consciousness after one and a half months.
Robert Akuamoah-Boateng, an uncle of the late General Akwasi Amankwah Afrifa, one of the three former Heads of State executed in the heady days of the 1979 military uprising, when he took his turn narrated how soldiers brutally tortured him and his friend, one Kwaku Abunyewah.
He said he had gone to the drinking bar with his friend who
had then just returned from
He said one soldier, Abu who was also at the bar and was eavesdropping called Abunyewah after his narration and ordered him to repeat what he "told me". The witness said at that point the bar operator intervened and asked Abunyewah to leave the place and he obliged.
He said the soldier later called him and asked that "I should go and call back my friend and I did as he told me". On his return with Abunyewah, soldier Abu had gone to bring a policemen and "we were taken to the Old Tafo police station where we spent the night in cells".
Akuamoah-Boateng said the next morning they were taken to the Four Battalion of Infantry (4BN) where they were severely beaten. He said the torture had left him with chronic pains in the ear, chest and waist.
"We were made to say the Lord's prayer whilst jumping and been lashed with canes". Witness said the opportunity to tell his story has soothed his pain and assuaged his anger.
He praised the Kufuor administration for setting up the Commission and advised the country's youth never to go along with any military adventurer. Kwaku Manu, a farmer, told the commission of how he was tortured by soldiers at the 4BN in 1982.
He said they used blade to inflict deep cuts on his back and chest, adding, "they kicked, slapped, punched and used their guns to hit me". His offence, he said, was that he was a member of the 'Lord Is My Shepherd Church' founded by the late Odifo Samuel Asare who was executed by soldiers at Kejetia. Sitting continues on Thursday.
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Anthony Edusah, Operation Officer of the UCC Fire Station, said on Wednesday that items destroyed included printing papers and wrappers. He said this brings to four, the number of fire outbreaks recorded at the University since the beginning of this year.
There had been fire outbreaks at the Oguaa Hall, the Atlantic Hall and a branch of the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) at the UCC. Edusah said it took firemen on the campus with support of the Municipal and the Regional Firemen about one hour to bring the fire under control.
He said the cause of the fire was under investigation and appealed to the University authorities to be cautious on the use of electrical gadgets in the offices. The acting Manager of the University Press, Joseph de Graft, commended the firemen for their quick response to the call and urged them to maintain the spirit.
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Two killed in accident at University
The deceased are Gamel Sewovi, a 59-year-old washman at the Vice Chancellor's Residence and Kweku Laryea, a 25-year-old staff of the University Library.
An eyewitness said the driver was from the Science Faculty to the Old Site to pick some students and in an attempt to make an overtaking the vehicle skidded off the road and hit Sewovi.
It somersaulted and fell into a ditch, killing Laryea who was on the vehicle.
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Through the programme, computer centres would be provided for selected rural schools to bridge the information gap between the rural poor and urban communities.
Mrs Frema Osei-Opare,
Country Director of ActionAid, announced this at the
inauguration of a modern resources centre, called the Resource Centre for
Development Advocacy (RECDA) in
Ms Christine Churcher, Minister of State in charge of Basic, Secondary and Girl-Child Education, inaugurated the Centre, which was established with an initial capital of ’143m provided by ActionAid.
The Centre combines electronic materials, internet connection, video, audio and traditional books and would serve as a reference point for researchers, policy makers, students, civil society organisations, donor agencies and people interested in development advocacy.
It would also serve as information centre for effective advocacy programmes and policies for social development partners. The Minister also launched a book on: "Local Governance Performance A Case Study Of Five Districts Of Ghana".
The book uncovers how good governance was being actualised in the districts in terms of the types of relationship among the development actors and links between policy formulation and implementation.
Ms Churcher commended ActionAid for setting up such a centre and for its numerous programmes, which were directed primarily at the rural poor and the marginalized in society.
She said it was the poor and the marginalized in society, who needed to be more educated rather than "the rich" so they could rise to greater heights and contribute their quota to national development.
She, therefore, urged the NGO to consider the physically challenged in society in their programmes and also continue to feature the girl prominently for her to reach her highest status.
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Mampong (Ashanti Region)
She noted that because auditing was not conducted in a sustained manner, some recalcitrant police personnel sometime capitalise on it to pilfer arms to armed robbers.
Mrs Mills-Robertson made the call when she addressed a
durbar of the Asante-Mampong police command on
Tuesday as part of a one-day working visit to
The DIGP was not happy the way some people are handled by police personnel when they come to the stations to report cases or seek information on issues. She made it clear that it is mandatory on the police to treat people who come to the stations with all civility, saying, "every caller at the police station is a potential ally".
Mrs Mills-Robertson assured the police at Mampong that the police administration was aware of their problems and that the government was working relentlessly to address the problems.
She said efforts were already being made by the police administration to post more personnel to Mampong to beef up strength of the service there. Most of the concerns raised by personnel at the durbar centred on delayed promotions and low motivation.
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The statement signed by E.P.D. Barnes, Chief Director of the Ministry, said the curfew hours are from 2100 hours to 0500 hours.
"The curfew is to be in place until suspended or revoked by the Task Force Commander," the statement said.
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Ho (Volta Region)
He said, notwithstanding, the intention of the Evangelical
Presbyterian Church,
Kedem made the suggestion when he spoke on: 'Education In The Volta Region In Perspective" at a day's workshop to fashion out a regional policy toward raising education standards in the region.
It was organised by the Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC) and sponsored by the Commonwealth Education Fund (CEF) as a follow up to a forum on quality education standards held under the auspices of the Volta Regional Co-ordinating Council in 2001.
He appealed to citizens of the Region to act in concert to ensure that the goal was achieved.
''Tertiary education is the apex of the education ladder and no senior secondary schools or training colleges can replace that level of education. Access is as important as quality and the situation is worse in the Volta Region", Kedem said.
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Nkoranza (Brong Ahafo) 15 May 2003 - Contributions from a number of generous donors at the Nkoranza Lorry Station on Wednesday helped to save the life of an 11-year-old rape victim as the parents could not afford the initial deposit of ’200,000.00 demanded by the authorities at the St. Theresa's Hospital at Nkoranza.
The victim, a primary class three dropout from a broken home at Fiema in he Nkoranza District of Brong-Ahafo was allegedly raped by Kwadwo Amofa, 30, a palm wine tapper from Nyinase, a farming community also in the Nkoranza District.
Madam Abena Nsiah, the victim's grandmother told the Ghana News Agency at the hospital that the girl lived at Nyinase where the father was farming after the parents' marriage broke up.
Madam Nsiah said the victim had alleged that about four days earlier when her father and all other family members were away Amofa entered their house, forced her into one of the rooms and sexually assaulted her on two occasions.
The victim revealed the matter to her father only after she fell ill and bled from the private part she said, adding that a report was made to the police who arrested the suspect for interrogation.
Police at Nkoranza have confirmed the story and said they were awaiting a medical report from the St. Theresa's Hospital for further action on the case.
Meanwhile, Kwame Baffo, a supervisor at the Nkoranza-Dromankese GPRTU Lorry Station has expressed his appreciation to the "Good Samaritans" who voluntarily offered some financial assistance towards the medical expenses of the victim.
They included Yaw Ntim-Ankra a businessman who doled out ’130,000.00, Nana Kofi Sarpong also a businessman who donated ’50,000.00 and others who gave out between two and five thousand cedis to make up the initial deposit.
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