Awutu-Effutu-Senya benefit from HIPC Fund
Government to institute bursaries and scholarships
NGO train fruit sellers in Cape Coast
Kranka (Brong Ahafo) 19 May 2003 - Peter Owusu-Baffoe, chairman of Nkoranza constituency branch of National Democratic Congress (NDC) has advised members of the party to take a cue from the re-union of ex-President J.J. Rawlings, Dr Kwesi Botchwey and Dr Obed Asamoah and forge ahead in unity to enable the party to win the 2004 elections.
He was addressing a meeting of members of the party at Kranka at the weekend to discuss plans to revamp the party in the constituency. The constituency chairman urged the members to stand firm and not to allow themselves to be deceived by other politicians.
NDC still exists and speculations being peddled by other politicians that the party is in shambles are part of propaganda to throw dust into the eyes of party members to divide their ranks, he said.
Owusu-Baffoe urged he leadership of the party at all levels to bury their differences and unite so other members would follow their example and remain with the party.
Owusu-Baffoe referred to the recent resignation of three leaders of the party in the constituency and asked members not to let the incident to worry them "as politics is a game" and there were other members to carry on with the party's programmes.
The resignation of the three persons will have no effect on the progress of the party, he said. It would be recalled that about a month ago Nana Baffoe-Nti, constituency vice-chairman, Kofi Adu, youth organizing secretary and Bediako Baafour, popularly called 'Asekye Rawlings', propaganda secretary, resigned from the party.
Owusu-Baffoe urged all zonal executives to start registering members in their areas and expressed gratitude to the members for remaining steadfast.
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"We will consolidate the hard won
reputation"-Hackman
Paga (Upper East) 19 May 2003 - The Minister for Interior, Hackman Owusu Agyemang, at the weekend said Ghana would consolidate its hard won reputation in the promotion of peace and good neighbourliness in the Sub-Saharan Africa.
It would therefore not countenance any security flaws that tended to mar the solid foundation laid in the past two years from any of the security agencies, especially, those at the border posts.
Agyemang was addressing security personnel at the Paga border as part of his two-day tour of the Upper East Region. He said the government had gone through major processes to cement ties with its neighbours, adding that, it was therefore intolerable for a few people to derail the process.
He said the Paga Border is a major transit point for the country, and it was essential that security personnel at the post approached other nationals who used the road with courtesy and diplomacy so as to maintain the country's good reputation.
Agyemang commended the security personnel especially the Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) for their revenue mobilisation efforts, adding, "ensure that whatever you get goes to the state because anybody caught pocketing any state funds to derail the development process, will suffer the consequences".
He assured them that government would ensure that everything was done within the confines of national coffers to provide them with logistics and other incentives to enable them operate efficiently.
The Minister earlier visited the Ghana Prisons Service at Navrongo to assess conditions to the inmates to "learn lessons once and for all," adding that, "even though the future may look bleak, you can still lead meaningful lives provided you learn your lessons well".
He also visited the Paramount Chiefs at Navrongo and Paga who appealed to the Minister to help provide the needed logistics for security personnel to operate efficiently.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 19 May 2003 - A new concept known as the Non-Traditional Distribution System, has been evolved by the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG) to replace the current Community-Based Service (CBS) project.
Akwasi Boakye-Yiadom, Zonal Manager of PPAG, who announced this, said the new concept was an interim measure to ensure sustainability of services and awareness of sexual reproductive health issues after the CBS project.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency on the CBS project in Kumasi on Saturday, he re-assured the people of the Atwima district where the project was being implemented that the end of the programme was not an indication that sexual reproductive health activities had come to a halt.
He said under the new concept, supervisors from PPAG clinics would go round communities to sell contraceptives to Agents trained under the CBS project.
"This means that the situation under the project in which quarterly meetings were held with the agents and from where contraceptives were supplied to them will no longer exist".
Boakye-Yiadom observed that already the non-traditional distribution system had taken off on a pilot basis in the Kwahu South district, saying, "as soon as we close the CBS project, we will immediately replace it with the new system to avoid creating any gaps in our services to the people", he added.
He said should the pilot project at Kwahu South succeed, it would be implemented nation-wide. Boakye-Yiadom appealed to District Assemblies and District Health Management Teams (DHMTs) to use structures of PPAG including trained agents.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 19 May 2003 - About half a billion cedis has so far been spent towards helping to mitigate the sufferings of victims of the recent disturbances in Tamale. The amount comprises the provision of roofing sheets, blankets, sleeping mats, and eating utensils for the victims of the carnage.
A statement singed by Ms Cyndy Yvonne Osei, Private Secretary to the Minister of Interior, Hackman Owusu-Agyeman said the Minister announced this on the third day of his tour of the Northern and Upper regions.
The statement said Owusu-Agyeman, reiterated that without peace there would not be development anywhere in the country hence there was the need to redouble efforts to ensure the maintenance of peace and stability.
The Minister appealed to agencies to continue their good work as the government made efforts to solve their problems to ensure more effective and efficient operations.
At Bawku, the Upper East Regional Minster, Mahami Salifu told Owusu-Agyeman that with the exception of Bawku and Bugri, the security situation in the region was stable adding that, "since August 2002, there has been only one reported armed robbery in the region."
On land encroachment and litigation, the Regional Minister said the necessary consultations were being made to ensure that all problems associated with lands acquired by the government for public use were not affected.
Owusu-Agyeman noted that there was the need to find the root cause of the Bawku and other similar crises so that they could be resolved once and for all, as Government would not be held hostage by the selfish interest of a few individuals.
Government, he said would do all that was constitutionally necessary to ensure the maintenance of peace throughout the country. The Interior Minister paid a courtesy call on the Bawku Naba, Naba Asigri A Azoka II and appealed to him to use his good office to help in smoking the peace pipe in Bawku and other parts of the region.
The Bawku Naba urged the security agencies to be impartial in the way they managed safety measures in the area especially in Bawku where most of the problems emanated from.
He also appealed to Zabugu settlers who had migrated to Bawku Township to return to the village to undertake their farming activities during the farming season adding that he had directed that no settler's farmland should be denied him.
Owusu-Agyeman called on the security personnel to intensify their investigations into a recent disturbance between two transport unions over loading rights at a station, which led to the death of one person and the burning of 29 houses.
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Koforidua (Eastern Region0 19 May 2003 - Labour Inspectors have been asked to intensify their monitoring and to arrest of child labour exploiters to save children from danger.
They should also collaborate with relevant agencies to ensure children were saved from hazardous working situations and other sectors less visible but dangerous.
Ms Stella Dzator of the Child Labour Unit of the Labour Department made the call at a four-day workshop for Labour Inspectors in Child Labour Monitoring at Koforidua.
The 60 participants from District Labour offices in the Greater Accra, Eastern and Volta Regions, were taken through topics including "Causes and implications of child labour" and "Social and macro-economic impacts of child labour".
Other topics were "International Conventions for combating child labour and child trafficking" and "National laws on child labour-Children's Act".
Ms Dzator attributed some of the causes of child labour to poverty, inadequate access and high cost of education, exploitation of unemployment condition, socio-cultural practices leading to broken down traditional family systems and legislation and policies such as inappropriate minimum wage policy.
According to her, about 1.2 million children forming 25 per cent of children between the ages seven and 14 in the country were engaged in child labour with 85 per cent of them in agriculture in rural areas.
The others, she said, were engaged in dangerous industries and occupations such as construction, manufacturing, quarrying, small-scale mining (galamsey) and domestic work.
Ms Dzator mentioned armed robbery, drug production and peddling as well as guides for the blind and beggars as some of the child labour situations contributing to deny them education and good upbringing, which must be checked by the Inspectors.
An Assistant Chief Labour Officer, Seidu S. Yahaya, asked the participants to be conversant with Labour Laws, especially, the Children's Act of 1998, which he said, empowered them to enforce legislations against all forms of child labour whether by the child's own family or not.
He asked them to lay emphasis on the informal sector in their monitoring exercises where, he noted, child labour was more prevalent in order to expose the perpetrators. Yahaya, however, asked the Inspectors to apply tact and maturity in their work and to focus on the elimination all forms of child labour in communities by involving agencies such as District Assemblies, traditional authorities, security services and non-governmental organisations to ensure maximum effect.
Even though poverty of parents was the main factor in the promotion of child labour, he appealed to the Assemblies to identify the poor and needy to benefit from the Poverty Alleviation Fund.
On behalf of the participants, Tony Dekpey of the Greater Accra Employment/Research Unit, appealed to the authorities for means of transport, improved service conditions and the recruitment to enable the Department to cope with the volume of work.
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Winneba (Central Region) 19 May 2003 - Awutu-Effutu-Senya District Assembly has so far received more than ˘1.8bn from the HIPC Relief Fund for socio-economic development.
Out of the amount, ˘1bn was from the Central Government, ˘800m from the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs and ˘15m from the Office of the Senior Minister.
Captain Steve Kwamena Armah (Rtd), District Chief Executive (DCE), said these at a workshop organised by the Assembly for stakeholders in the District at the National Sports College, Winneba.
He said one billion cedis had been used to construct toilets in a number of communities while the remaining ˘815m was disbursed to farmers, traders and fishermen to boost their businesses.
The DCE expressed the hope that the beneficiaries would use the money purposefully to improve their living standards. He assured people that the nation would not remain in HIPC regime forever but was using it to adopt right strategies to make the nation economically sound.
What the government required was for Ghanaians, particularly workers to put in their maximum to move the nation forward.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 19 May 2003 - Peter Boateng, the Principal Blood Organiser of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) has appealed to the public to donate blood to enable the hospital to save lives.
He said the health institution has run out of blood and described the situation as "most disturbing." Boateng was speaking after 100 students of the Shiloh Bible Training Centre at Asuoyeboah in Kumasi had donated a pint each of blood to the hospital.
He said as part of measures to help replenish the blood bank, the hospital has embarked on a public campaign, under the theme "Rescue the Perishing."
Boateng called on the public to adopt positive attitude towards blood donation, saying, apart from saving lives during emergencies, it could also assist in the early detection of "hepatitis B" among donors.
Bishop S.R. Addai, the Principal of the Centre, said they were happy to be associated with efforts at preventing avoidable deaths.
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Saltpond (Central Region) 19 May 2003 - Two non-governmental organisations (NGO's) and seven community-based organisations (CBO's) in the Mfantseman District of the Central Region have received grants totalling ˘525m from the Ghana AIDS Commission for AIDS awareness creation initiatives.
The two NGO's received ˘400m while the CBO's were given a total of ˘125m. Jonathan Benefo, the District HIV/AIDS Monitoring and Evaluation Focal Person announced this at a quarterly meeting of the District AIDS Committee at Saltpond on Friday.
Benefo said the DAC had also received ˘100m grant for capacity building of its members and for monitoring activities of the recipient organisations.
He urged the district assemblies not to use grants from the Ghana AIDS Commission as excuse to shirk their responsibility of releasing their share of one per cent of the Common Fund for fighting the disease in their areas.
Benefo cautioned the recipients to use the funds strictly for the purpose they were given adding that he would not hesitate to report anyone who misapplied the money to the Commission.
Nana Baah VII, Chief of Saltpond Lower Town and Chairman of the District AIDS Committee appealed to the Commission to shift attention to providing support for caring for people living with HIV/AIDS and how to prevent new infections.
The Chief said investigations had proved that about 90 per cent of Ghanaians were aware of the existence of the disease and therefore any resources provided for awareness creation could be wasted.
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Cape Coast (Central Region) 19 May 2003 - The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Prof John Atta Mills, on Friday donated food items to the maternity ward of the Cape Coast Regional Hospital.
The donation, which forms part of activities of his 10 days visit to the Central Region, included two bags of rice, sugar and two crates of eggs. Prof Mills said the gesture was his widow's mite to the hospital and commended the workers there, for their good work considering the conditions under which they worked.
He said the efforts of the workers exemplified the ingenuity of the Ghanaian and urged them to discharge the duties assiduously. Dr Martin Morna, Medical Administrator in charge of the hospital, who received the items, thanked Prof Mills for the donations and gave the assurance that they would be put to good use.
The medical Administrator said the hospital had enough wards and the requisite equip but lacked enough accommodation for the staff, particularly the doctors.
Dr Morna said the hospital was not practicing the cash and carry system but was rather operating cost recovery, where patients were treated and discharged and later made to settle their medical bills.
Prof Mills would also meet with party functionaries in the area, students of University of Cape Coast and the Cape Coast polytechnic.
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Elmina (Central Region) 19 May 2003 - A minister of State in charge of Education, Youth and sports, Alhaji Rashid Bawa, on said the government was committed to instituting bursaries and scholarships for students, particularly the poor and needy ones to enable them to complete their education.
Speaking at a two-day workshop on the 'Final report of the students loan scheme company' at Elmina, he hinted that the authorities would assist students in tertiary institutions to enhance quality education in the country.
The workshop, which was being organised by National Union Of Ghana Students (NUGS), was to make vital input for the draft report of the students' loan scheme company.
The minister of state said the government has studied the report and noted that out of the ˘537bn made up of ˘236bn that was disbursed as loans by the Trust, ˘301bn accrued as interest and only ˘3.9bn had been recovered by December 2001.
"Government has therefore come to the conclusion that the loan scheme in this form is unsustainable and can only jeopardize the future of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) pension scheme," he added.
Alhaji Bawa said the government was urgently seeking support of individuals and organisations to establish a sustainable, effective and efficient scheme, to avert the annual problems students faced in acquiring loan.
Kwame Pianim, an economic consultant, said the current students' loan scheme, by which guarantors' social safety network was being used to repay defaulting loans was undermining the network system.
On the GETFund, he said the only way to ensure its sustainability was to 'levy an interest rate' that was abreast with inflation, adding that the sustainability of future schemes should not be made dependent on subsidized interest rates.
Panim suggested that the Fund should be transformed into a venture that would form seed money for operating a national students loan scheme.
Ras Boateng, Deputy Director General of SSNIT, said students who benefited from the scheme since its inception owed a total amount of ˘500bn while the government had an outstanding interest of ˘315.8bn to pay to SSNIT.
He said a total of ˘90.6bn were disbursed to 58,523 students in the 2001/2002 academic year and a projected ˘120bn were earmarked for the next academic year.
Fosuaba Banahene said as at December 2002, a total of ˘500bn have been spent on projects in the universities and pre-tertiary institutions.
Edward Boamah, President of NUGS, commended government for setting up a committee to come up with a more efficient students' loan scheme, and suggested an increase of the current loan from ˘2m to about ˘5m in view of the economic challenges of the country.
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Chiefs urged to help fight against HIV/AIDS
Hohoe (Volta Region) 19 May 2003 - Togbega Gabusu the VI, Paramount Chief of the Gbi Traditional Area has asked his fellow Chiefs in the Hohoe District to take active part in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the area.
Togbega Gabusu, who is also President of the Volta Region House of Chiefs and member of the Ghana AIDS Commission, made the call at a sensitisation workshop for 20 Paramount Chiefs in the district, under the auspices of the Regional House of Chiefs.
He said it was incumbent on Chiefs to educate the people on the need to be wary of lifestyles, to avoid contracting the disease. “We are losing all the able bodied men and women in our communities and if care is not taken a time will come when we will have nobody to carry us in our palanquins", Togbega Gabusu said.
Meanwhile, Augustine Lemboe, Acting Hohoe District Director of Education, on Friday urged HIV/AIDS educators to emphasise abstinence and morality among the people, particularly the youth.
In a speech read for him at the inauguration at Gbi-Wegbe of the Women Institute for Development Studies (WIDS), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) on HIV/AIDS, Lemboe expressed alarm at the reported cases of the disease among the youth in the district.
He said the fight against the disease required attitudinal and behavioural changes among the people. Lemboe pledged the support of the district Directorate of Education to organisations working for better reproductive health and HIV/AIDS prevention in educational institutions.
James Dogbe, Hohoe District Chief Executive, asked the organisation to focus its attention on the rural communities whose inhabitants were most vulnerable to the disease.
He said the Ghana AIDS Commission was supporting eight community based organisations and NGOs in creating awareness about the disease in the district.
Patrick Ntim, Executive Director of WIDS, said the youth were the organisation's focus in the anti-HIV/AIDS campaign because they faced the greatest risk of contacting the disease. He, therefore, called on all and sundry to join the anti-HIV/AIDS campaign to reduce the rate of infection and stigmatisation.
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Peki-Blengo (Volta Region) 19 May 2003 - Kwasi Owusu-Yeboa, Volta Regional Minister, on Saturday said government's quest to build a model Senior Secondary School (SSS) in each district was to correct the disparity between rural and urban schools and ease pressure on parents and well-established and endowed schools during admissions.
He said it is the wish of government to upgrade all SSS in the country to the level of the endowed schools in the cities but the present economic constraints militated against this goal.
Owusu-Yeboa said this at the 46th Speech and Prize giving day celebration of the Peki Secondary School (PESCO) under the theme, "Infrastructure- A Tool for Quality Education," at Peki-Blengo.
A total of 118 prizes were given out to students, teachers and non-teaching staff for their commitment and sterling performances in their various disciplines. The Regional Minister said government had embarked on a massive programme of construction and reconstruction of educational infrastructure from the basic to the tertiary levels to ensure quality education.
"With the HIPC and GETfund, many new school structures have been either completed or were under construction throughout the country", he said. Owusu-Yeboa said he was, therefore, glad that PESCO had been selected in the Kpando district to be upgraded and to have 12 Masters' bungalows, students' dormitories, kitchen, dining and assembly halls, classrooms, library and a playing field constructed for it.
He said though educational infrastructure was vital for high academic performance, " ideals such as discipline, dedication, commitment, hard work, are required for academic work."
Owusu-Yeboa asked the students to exercise self-control in all circumstances so as to help build a disciplined society. Samuel D. Gyang, Volta Regional Director of Education, exhorted the students to reciprocate the sacrifices of their parents towards their education by being disciplined and taking their academic work seriously.
Samuel Bortsi, President of the Peki Secondary School Old Students Association (PESCOSA), said it had instituted a scholarship scheme, to assist students from the school who would gain admission into the tertiary institution.
He suggested to the school authorities to make French compulsory for science students to enable them take advantage of the integration of ECOWAS to enhance their market values in the sub-region.
David Afudegoh, Headmaster of the School, said its student population had increased from 36 in 1957 to 626 at the moment, 335 of which are girls with a teaching staff of 34.
He said the School had made strides in academic work and sporting activities and was adjudged the best second-cycle institution in Agriculture in the Kpando District during the 2002 Farmers day celebrations.
Afudegoh said the lack of teachers' accommodation, student dormitories and science equipment, were problems affecting teaching and learning. Master Selassie Agradi, the School Prefect, pledged the students' support for measures that would ensure discipline in the school. On exhibition were handiworks of artefacts, dishes, arts and craft.
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Peki-Blengo (Volta Region) 19 May 2003 - Kwasi Owusu-Yeboa, Volta Regional Minister, on Saturday warned that government would not countenance any acts of vandalism and indiscipline among students.
He said: ""As a government, we believe in democracy, rule of law and discipline. I, therefore, take the opportunity to caution all students of the region to be disciplined and law abiding, else they would face the wrath of the law."
Owusu-Yeboa was addressing the 46th Speech and Prize Giving Day celebration of the Peki Senior Secondary School (PESCO) under the theme, "Infrastructure - A Tool for Quality Education," at Peki-Blengo.
He reminded the students that there were laid down procedures for seeking redress to infringement on the fundamental human rights of the citizenry. Owusu-Yeboa observed that most economically buoyant countries were built on discipline and adherence to democratic practice and principles, which must be emulated by Ghanaians.
“We must not engage ourselves in any acts of lawlessness that may detract government's attention from its developmental goals, knowing that the times are hard", he said. David Afudegoh, Headmaster of PESCO, entreated parents and guardians to provide their wards with their basic needs to enable to learn hard.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 19 May 2003 - Prof Alex T Quarmyne, a communications and media expert, on Saturday called for a quick action to adopt a National Broadcasting policy to effectively monitor and enforce regulations in the industry.
He said there was much indiscipline on the Ghanaian communication highway 10 years after the adoption of a national constitution and nearly eight years of deregulation of broadcasting.
"The lack of a broadcasting policy is even more disturbing when we consider that communication highways are pathways to our minds", Prof. Quarmyne said at the outdooring of the studio complex and offices of TV Africa, performed by President John Kufuor in Accra.
He said there were over 60 radio stations nationwide and six television stations, but Ghana still did not have a national broadcasting policy.
"When we speak of a broadcasting policy, we are not talking so much of a list of do's and dont's, but a vision of our society to which we all subscribe, a consensus, on the values that need to be articulated and promoted, and agreement on the basic ingredients of broadcasting for these to be realised," Prof Quarmyne said.
He reminded broadcasters that the airwaves belonged to the citizens of the country and broadcast frequencies were given out in trust to be used in the interest of society's cultural, social and economic benefit.
Prof Quarmyne said twenty years after a number of African countries, including Ghana, resolved to produce more of the television programmes they consumed, and launched various projects to enhance programme production capacities, the only change was that with the deregulation and more television stations, a lot more foreign films were being imported.
He said at the time of the launching of Ghana Television 38 years ago, President Kwame Nkrumah called for television to be used 'for education in the broadest sense of the word.' He however wondered if the "unending parade of culturally irrelevant foreign language programmes dubbed into English" was reaching that objective.
Kwaw Ansah, Founder and Executive Producer of TV Africa, said the station complex had the objective of using the state-of-the-art equipment and in-house programmes to enhance the soul and image of the African, both on the continent and in the Diaspora.
He said there would be more sacrifices in the days and called for support to build democracy, good governance and socio-economic development of the African continent.
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Saltpond (Central Region) 19 May 2003 - Female teachers have been cautioned against carrying babies into the classroom, a practice, which is against their code of ethics.
Joe Denteh, Mfantseman District Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), who gave the warning said the practice, which was becoming common in public primary junior and senior secondary schools did not promote effective teaching and learning.
Denteh urged nursing mothers to leave their babies with attendants before entering the classroom. He was addressing a meeting of circuit supervisors, head teachers and teachers at Saltpond in the Central Region.
The meeting was convened jointly by the Mfantseman District Directorate of Education and the District Assembly to find solutions to problems, which inhibit the delivery of quality education in the district.
Some of the problems identified were teaching without prepared lesson notes and without teaching and learning materials wasting contact hours on private issues and ineffective supervision.
Denteh urged teachers to be conversant with the GES conditions of service adding any teacher who either out of ignorance or deliberately flouted the law would not receive the support of the association.
Miss Vivian Etroo, Assistant Director in charge of Supervision at the District Directorate reminded teachers that lesson notes were the important working tools of the teacher, which should not be left at home while classes were being held.
Miss Etroo cautioned that any teacher who failed to prepare lesson notes would be sanctioned. Kobena Essah Donkoh, Chairman of the Assembly's Education Sub-Committee urged teachers, headteachers and circuit supervisors to work hard to raise the level of education in the district.
Henry Nyamiah, Chairman of the district education planning team attributed the falling standard of education in the district to indiscipline on the part of some teachers and pupils and called for a concerted effort to address it.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 19 May 2003 - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied newspaper reports that Samuel Odoi-Sykes, Ghana's High Commissioner to Canada, has suffered partial stroke.
A statement issued in Accra signed by Ken Kanda, Acting Chief Director of the Ministry said, "Odoi-Sykes has not suffered a partial stroke, neither has he been admitted or detained in any hospital or health institution for treatment of stroke or any stroke related sickness".
It described the report by the Ghanaian Palaver as "completely false and ill-motivated" and said Odoi-Sykes was performing his diplomatic functions regularly.
The High Commissioner even addressed a group of Executives of Canadian companies and businessmen on investments prospects in Ghana, in Toronto on 15 May this year.
The statement said the doors of the Ministry were open to the paper to cross check its facts instead of what it described as "poorly researched and perhaps to peddled as a result of mischief".
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Cape Coast (Central Region) 19 May 2003 - The University of Cape Coast branch of Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE), an international students' NGO, spent more than ˘2m over the past two years in the training of 61 small-scale fruit sellers in the Cape Coast municipality.
The beneficiaries who were coconut and pineapple sellers were educated on innovative ways to package the fruits and to prepare pineapples juice to curtail waste and maximise profit.
Charles Asmah, President of the branch, speaking to the GNA on Friday at Cape Coast, said SIFE had been developing projects to help solve the problems of small-scale businesses.
He said fresh coconut and pineapple sellers could improve their incomes with good and attractive packaging. Asmah said the UCC branch of SIFE, which was established two years ago, had among other projects undertaken floral design, waste management, trade and commence.
He said the organization would organise a workshop on Value Added Tax, Social Security and book keeping for commercial drivers and small-scale entrepreneurs in Cape Coast.
An Investment Club would soon be established at the University to serve as an avenue for students to purchase treasury bills and shares. Asmah said SIFE was committed to helping people to improve their lives through free enterprise education and appealed for support.
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