Witness: My father died after an
injection
Suspend
licences to surface mining companies – NGO
Manager
comments on cyanide spillage
Ghana
selected as headquarters of Airworthiness panel centre
Conviction
of Peprah others unconstitutional - Counsel
Don't
encourage ethnic conflicts - Senior Minister
US
War College students visit Ministry of Defence
Decentralization does not mean de-concentration
MP launches 500 million cedis Educational Fund
Chiefs form virgin club in Bechem
Lawyer appeals to women to report cases of violence
Cape Coast Polytechnic lecturers resume work
Accra (Greater Accra) 21 May 2003 - The Chief Executive of
VRA, Charles Wereko-Brobby has decided ''to remove himself from the day to day
administration of the VRA'' until the committee that has been set up to
investigate allegations made against him by workers of the company completes
its work.
Portions of a letter addressed to the Minister of Energy and
copied to the Chief of Staff and the Secretary to the President said:
''I have taken this decision to ensure that the committee
has an absolutely free hand to undertake its work and to remove any doubts
whatsoever as to the placement of any impediments in the way of the committee
or any other witness who may be called to appear before it.
Naturally, I would expect that the committee would offer a
fair opportunity to allow me to put my perspective on the issues that have been
placed before it. All members of VRA staff have also been directed to make
themselves available to assist the committee as and when it deems it
appropriate to see them.
During the period of my absence from office, I have
requested the Deputy Chief Executive (Engineering and Operations), Mr Jabesh
Amissah-Arthur to perform the functions of the Acting Chief Executive of the
Authority and to facilitate the work of the committee and your Ministry to
ensure the speedy conclusion to the process''.
In an interview with JOY FM, the VRA Chief Executive made it
clear that he has not resigned his position. He was confident that he will
resume work after the committee completes its work.
Workers of the Volta River Authority (VRA) started a
nationwide strike action this morning to back their demand for the removal of
Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby. - Myjoyonline
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 21 May 2003 - A witness on Tuesday told the National
Reconciliation Commission that his father, Samuel Kofi Lateef died on 14 July
1987 at the 37 Military Hospital after an injection just after lunch.
According
to Lateef Abdul Gaffer, prior to that an injection wrongly administered at the
left side of his neck had left him paralysed for a year. He said his father was
picked up by the late Warrant Officer Tetteh, former bodyguard of the Chairman
of the erstwhile Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) locked up in the
Castle Guardroom on a false charge by one
Major
Hayford, whom his father had dismissed for financial mismanagement.
He said
Major Hayford, then employed as General Manager of his father's fishing
business, reported his father to General Arnold Quainoo, then Army Commander,
that his father was running an illegal business. According to Gaffer, an
instructor in Information Technology who said he was 15 years when his father
was arrested in 1986, he had snippets of information from his step-mother and a
friend of his father that a Committee headed by one Colonel Osei Wusu to
investigate the charges against his father later dropped the allegations.
However,
his father was jailed in Nsawam Prisons, where his health deteriorated. Gaffer
said the family petitioned the then Head of State, Flt. Lt. Jerry Rawlings,
General Quainoo, and General Mensah-Wood, the late Army Commander without
success.
He said his
father was later transferred to the 37 Military Hospital, where the wrong
injection that paralysed him was administered. He said aside his father's ill
health, their three cars were frozen. He added that he later learned that
General Akafia ordered the released of 22 of their 80 cows.
Gaffer said
they hired the services of one Lawyer Fugah, who informed them that he had been
asked to pay
˘109m before his father would be released. However, his sick father maintained
that he was in no position to raise the money.
They also
approached the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice but it
dismissed their application on the grounds that it had no proper evidence. Commissioner the Most Rev Charles
Palmer-Buckle said Gaffer must make it
a
determination to pursue the truth about his father's death.
He said the
Commission should not be the end of his pursuit for justice, and urged him to
do a lot more investigation to get the medical report on the autopsy of his
late father.
GRi…/
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 21 May 2003 - In 1962, Teiko Tagoe, then 27, became an instant
celebrity when he was arrested, accused and jailed for having thrown a bomb at
a political rally of the then Convention People's Party (CPP) at Bukom in
Accra.
The man Tagoe,
christened Abdul Aziz Teiko Tagoe, who many people thought was dead, appeared
at the National Reconciliation Commission, when it reconvened in Accra after a
two week hearing in Kumasi, preceded by a week's hearing in camera in Accra.
He told the
poorly attended hearing that there was no bomb throwing at the said rally
grounds and added that he was made a victim of circumstances. He said he did
not know that a parcel one Quaye Mensah had asked him to deliver to one Antwi
at Bukom was a bomb, for which he was arrested.
The
unemployed former farmer resident at Adjen Kotoku, near Nsawam, appealed to the
Commission to help clear his name of being a bomb thrower, saying he knew
nothing about what he was accused of. Tagoe also prayed for compensation for
the physical injuries he suffered including the loss of his front teeth, the
sight problem he has from exposing his eyes to strong lights and becoming
rheumatic as a result of sleeping on the bare floor when he was incarcerated in
Nsawam Prisons.
Tagoe said he
was an activist of the then opposition United Party. He was also a painter in
the employment of Quaye Mensah at Alajo, an uncle, whom he claimed he did not
know his political leanings. Antwi used to visit Mensah frequently. Tagoe said
then 27 years, his Uncle sent him to deliver a parcel to Antwi at Bukom where
the CPP was holding a rally.
Antwi,
however, refused to collect the parcel and he (Tagoe) was arrested while
returning the parcel to Mensah. He said he was handcuffed, chained and taken to
the Headquarters of the Criminal Investigations Department where he was
subjected to severe beatings for a number of days.
"Every
morning, Samuel Danso Amaning, the then Inspector ordered for my beatings and
ordered that I was not given any food, but the Police secretly fed me."
Tagoe said after some days a document was prepared and he was made to sign and
declared the source of the parcel after which Mensah was also arrested.
Mensah
later said Ministers and Functionaries of Dr Kwame Nkrumah's CPP government, including
Tawiah Adamafio, Ako Adjei, Kofi Crabbe, Kofi Asante Ofori-Atta and Krobo
Edusei prepared the parcel. Tagoe said he and Mensah were arraigned but was
denied legal representation and sentenced to death. The sentence was later
changed to 20 years' imprisonment but was denied the right of appeal.
Tagoe said
at the Nsawam Prisons, he was kept in solitary confinement, given a blanket
infested with lice and made to sleep on the bare floor. He was also exposed
constantly to beams of light and not allowed to use the Prisons toilet.
Tagoe said
Mensah apologised to him when they were released for putting him into trouble.
General Emmanuel Alexander Erskine, a member of the Commission advised other
activists in Ghana's politics to learn from Tagoe's experience and be extremely
careful when handling such matters saying it was always possible that innocent
people became victims of such circumstances.
The Most
Reverend Charles Palmer-Buckle, another member of the Commission, who said he
was then 12 years old when Tagoe's name flashed, expressed delight at the
appearance of Tagoe, saying: " I didn't know your were alive. Definitely,
when the history of Ghana is written, your name would certainly be
mentioned."
Commission
Chairman Justice Kweku Etrew Amua-Sekyi said the Commission would look into
Tagoe's case and see what it could do for him. Benedict Kwabena Ankoye, a
resident at Mataheko in Accra, said in 1982, one military officer, Anak and
Warrant Officer Mary Teye brought a fleet of military vehicles into his store,
"Paramus Enterprise" at the Kwame Nkrumah
Circle and
accused him of selling his wares at exorbitant prices.
They gave
him some slaps, loaded their vehicles with woollen carpets then valued at ˘8m,
arrested him and together with the goods drove off to the Gondar Barracks.
Anokye said he did not find his goods again and when he attempted to retrieve
them after they had released him from a nine-day's detention he was prevented
from entering the Barracks. He prayed the Commission for the return of his
wares or their price.
GRi…/
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 21 May 2003 - Friends of the Earth - Ghana (FOE), a
non-governmental organisation (NGO) that deals with environmental issues, on
Tuesday called for the suspension of the license of companies carrying out
surface mining following another cyanide spillage in the country.
Programme
Coordinator of FOE, George Awudi said the licences of those companies should
only be restored when satisfactory measures and spillage programme had been put
in place to avert disasters.
He was
speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on the organisation's reaction to
Sunday's cyanide spillage at the concession of Goldfields at Tarkwa in the
Western Region. Awudi noted that this was the fourth major spillage in seven
years: the first was in June 1996 at Teberibe in the Tarkwa District, the
second was in October 2001by Tarkwa Goldfields at Abekwasi, the third was in
November 2001 by Satellite Goldfields at Akyempem and the last one by Tarkwa
Goldfields last Sunday.
He noted
that the cyanide spillage had continued because none of the mining companies
had been sanctioned. Awudi said the government could come out with guidelines
for surface mining to help forestall disasters or update the laws on
environmental protection to serve as deterrent to mining companies.
He
expressed concern about surface mining saying not much was being done to
protect the environment. According to Awudi, the importance government has
attached to investing in surface mining was not the same for protecting the
environment and warned that this attitude could lead to the destruction of the
eco-system.
He said the
country should brace itself for more environmental disasters in as far as
government did not take environmental protection seriously.
Awudi
appealed to the government to assess the impact of Sunday's recent incident on
the public and the eco-system. He said cyanide was very toxic to life and could
affect the nervous system, cause cardio vascular diseases, rashes and boils.
Awudi said
the communities were at the mercy of mining companies as large farmlands were
being destroyed and their water polluted adding that communities affected by
spillage should be compensated. He suggested the establishment of permanent
health posts in those mining areas to monitor the health of the people since
sometimes the people died from the effects of cyanide but attributed the deaths
to superstition.
Awudi said
the officers from FOE would visit the area to assess the damage, interview
people in the affected communities and find remedial measures.
Meanwhile,
D.S. Amlalo, Director of Operations of the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), told the GNA in another interview that the spillage was in the premises
of Goldfields. He said initial reports indicate that the spillage was contained
before it could enter the communities.
Amlalo said
he did not have details of damage done to environment and this would be
available when EPA field officers sent to investigate the incident presented a
full report.
GRi…/
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Tarkwa
(Central Region) 21 May 2003 - The cyanide spillage, which occurred at Gold
Fields Ghana Limited (GFGL), Tarkwa Mine last Sunday morning was contained at
the mine site and could not enter any external water body.
Johan
Botha, General Manager of GFGL, Tarkwa Mine said this at a meeting this
afternoon at the mine site. He said there were three newly constructed
pipelines, which are supposed to carry cyanide in the recover of gold.
Botha said
there was one of the pipelines, which had no plank plate, and during testing,
cyanide spilled, adding, "this was a mistake". He said there is about
one point five kilometre stretch of land where silt traps are constructed to
control the rainwater flow before it moves out of the mine or into the external
environment.
Again, he
said, there are excess solution ponds into which the detoxified solution is
pumped to prevent its flow into the external environment. In short, the
situation was well contained, Botha added. Among those present at the meeting
were Isaac Otu, Principal Mines Inspector, Mines Department, Michael Sandow
Ali, Environmental Protection Agency, District Programme Officer, Tim Scott,
Metallurgical Manager, GFGL, Tarkwa Mine and Stephen Yirenkyi, Community
Affairs and Public Relations Manager.
GRi…/
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 21 May 2003 - Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) of
the Trades Union Congress (TUC) on Tuesday served notice that unionised staff
of the Ghana Education Service (GES) would take steps necessary to seek redress
to their grievances if government failed to address them at the end of this
month.
A
resolution the Union adopted at the end of its Regional Delegates Conference in
Accra urged the government to correct the anomalies in the GES salary scales
and that the debate on the National Wage Policy should be started without
delay.
The
resolution dated 14 May, this year and signed by Fred Amasagba and Edward
Essel, Chairman and Secretary respectively of the union said the government
should bear the full medical expenses of the workers of GES instead of the
25,000 cedis annual medical refund and should as well institute a Living Wage
in the country.
It urged
government to find "every means possible to settle the dispute in Dagbon
without further delay because it was affecting the lives of the people in
Agriculture, Education and Sports sectors. The resolution empowered the union
to increase its membership welfare fund of ˘1,000 per member to ˘5,000 to
enable more contributors to borrow from it.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 21 May 2003 - Ghana has been selected as the headquarters of
the airworthiness panel centre that will co-ordinate the promotion and the
implementation of aviation safety oversight on the African continent.
Asare
Buotu, former Director of Safety Regulations at the Ghana Civil Aviation
Authority (GCAA), will head the centre as an interim secretary. This forms part
of a 14-point resolution adopted at the end of a one-week International Civil
Aviation Organisation (ICAO) regional seminar on aircraft safety in Accra.
The
seminar, which was attended by 69 participants from over 10 Western and Central
African countries, included stakeholders in the aviation industry as well as
officials from ICAO and the US Federal Aviation Authority.
The
seminar, aimed at developing within the civil aviation authority
administrations and air carrier operations in Africa, capabilities in the
fundamental and technical specialties of airworthiness of safety of aircraft.
It also recommended that the centre, which is to be located in Accra should be
made up of a panel of experts in aircraft worthiness who would be responsible
for the setting up of a forum for the continuous information related to airworthiness
and maintenance of aircraft through a web page, providing a list of aircraft
maintenance organisations.
The centre
will also develop a common aircraft register for the African continent as well
as establishing a mode of handling aging aircraft within the region,
particularly the economic interest associated with it. In his closing remarks,
Captain Joe Boachie, the Director General of the GCAA expressed his
appreciation for the selection of Ghana as the secretariat of the proposed
airworthy panel.
He said the
setting up of the panel would help promote the driving force needed by African
countries if they should want to catch up with the rest of the world in safety
and specialized areas in the aviation industry. Mostafa Hoummady, ICAO
representative on universal safety oversight audit programme, expressed the
hope that information received by participants will sensitise states as well as
aircraft operators on the functions and duties in relation to international air
transport.
He noted
that the seminar had given them guidelines on how the system for keeping
aircraft airworthy is expected to be implemented technically.
GRi…/
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Conviction of Peprah others unconstitutional - Counsel
Accra
(Greater Accra) 21 May 2003 - The defence team for the convicted officials in
the Quality Grain case on Tuesday described the conviction of its clients as
illegal and unconstitutional, saying their incarceration constitutes a
violation of their fundamental human rights.
The lawyers
made the submissions at an Accra High Court presided over by Justice Yaw Appau.
The lawyers are Tony Lithur for Dr George Simpa-Yankey, former Director, Legal
Section, Private Financial Institution's Division of the Ministry of
Finance,
Samuel Cudjoe and David Kuduodzi for Ibrahim Adam, former Minister for Food and
Agriculture and Kwame Peprah, former minister for Finance respectively.
On 28 April
Peprah was convicted and sentenced to four years imprisonment, while Adam and
Yankey were each convicted and sentenced to two years imprisonment for
conspiring and wilfully causing financial loss of $20m to the state. In their
statement of claim, the defence team led by Lithur stated that the trial judge
acted in contravention of the Constitution.
It said the
offence for which the applicants were charged was not an offence f contempt and
therefore, it was mandatory that the strict requirement of Article 19 (11) be
complied with. However, the judge did not do so. The statement said the judge
acted wholly outside his legal and Constitutional authority and by so doing the
fundamental human rights of the applicants, as provided under Article 19 (11
and 12) were breached without any jurisdiction whatsoever.
According
to the lawyers, the trial judge, having substituted his own definition, which
he sought from textbooks and dictionaries, proceeded to sentence their clients
to the various jail terms.
They
contended that the purported conviction by Justice Dixon Kwame Afreh, a Supreme
Court judge who sat on the Quality Grain as an additional High Court judge, was
a void act, which could not be a foundation for depriving the applicants of
their Constitutional rights.
Therefore,
they argued, their detention in the circumstances was a denial of their
personal liberty protected in Article 14 of the Constitution. In an affidavit
in support of their claim, Counsel prayed the court to grant them leave to
issue a writ of Habeas Corpus to compel the Director of Prisons to produce the
convicts in court and to explain why he is keeping them in detention.
They argued
that Justice Afreh in passing his sentence on the convicts, resorted to the use
of the Common Law sources, including the precedent in England and definition in
books and dictionaries to find the meaning of words "wilful" and
"Financial loss," words which were used in section 179A (a) of Act
29.
"Though
the charge sheet under which the convicts were charged referred to section 179A
(3) (a) of the Criminal Code, the actual terms of the charge did not even
reflect the provision of the said section," they added. The court after
hearing the submissions adjourned the case to 27 May, for court decide on the
matter.
GRi…/
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Gomoa
Potsin, (Central Region) 21 May 2003 - The Senior Minister, Joseph H. Mensah
has cautioned Paramount Chiefs and their subjects not to encourage ethnic
conflicts so as to ensure peace and tranquillity in the country. He said the
Yendi carnage, apart from the loss of precious lives had resulted in a serious
socio-economic and political setback to the nation and this must not be allowed
to reoccur.
The Senior
Minister said the government had spent huge sums of money on the ethnic
conflicts that erupted in the Northern part of the country, adding that these resources
could have been used to improve the living conditions of the people.
Mensah was
reacting to a threat made by the Paramount Chief of Gomoa Assie, Nana Obirifo
Arhor Ahunako-Ankobea to attack neighbouring chiefs, who had encroached on
their lands.
The
Minister made these remarks during a thanksgiving service held at Winneba
Diocese of the Methodist Church in honour of new Member of Parliament (MP) for
Gomoa East Mr Sam Quarm at Potsin.
He said
there was no need to use threats, and other illegal means to solve land
disputes and urged chiefs to send such cases to the law courts. The Senior
Minister stressed that the government would move fast to ensure the peaceful
settlement of all land disputes pending before courts to promote peace and
stability.
He said the
Chiefs of Gomoa should allow the government to settle land disputes in the area
peacefully, instead of resorting to threats, wars and other means.
Nana
Obirifo Arhor Ahunako-Ankobea had earlier threatened that the chiefs in Gomoa
would not sit down unconcerned for people to take their land from them. Felix
Owusu-Agyapong, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and the Majority Leader,
called on the electorate in Gomoa East to rally behind the MP to implement
policies to improve their lives.
He urged
the chiefs; opinion leaders; assembly members and financial institutions in the
area to contribute towards the Educational Trust Fund the MP had launched to
improve education. Owusu-Agyapong said Parliament and the government would
continue to provide assistance to the area to improve living conditions.
Richmond
Sam Quarm, the new MP, who replaced the late Emmanuel Acheampong in a recent
bye-election, expressed appreciation to the people for electing him and pledged
to work hard to solve most of the problems facing the constituency. Among those
present were Paapa Owusu-Ankomah, Minister of Justice and Attorney -General, Mr
Kwadwo Agyei Darko, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Chiefs
and MPs.
GRi…/
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 21 May 2003 - Defence Minister Kwame Addo Kufuor on Tuesday
appealed to the United States to help the 37 Military Hospital with specialists
to work and train doctors locally to curb the brain-drain. He said the
Hospital, currently undergoing major renovation and expansion works, was to
become part of the National Post-Graduate Medical College and would need
specialists to improve the quality of health delivery and the training of
students. The expansion works would be commissioned in September.
Dr Addo
Kufuor made the appeal when an eight-man team made up of seven students and a
lecturer from the United States National War College called on him at his
office at Burma Camp in Accra.
The Team is
on a three-day visit to Ghana as part of a regional tour to study security
strategies in West Africa and consolidate areas of interest between the US and
the countries they are visiting. The team has been to Nigeria and Senegal.
Dr Addo
Kufuor told the Team that Ghana had an extensive experience in peacekeeping,
which other countries could learn from. He stressed that Ghana had cordial and
beneficial relationship with the US, saying that the Armed Forces of both
countries had learnt and benefited a lot from joint training exercises.
Colonel
Gary Wilson, Leader of the Team, said it was in Ghana to learn more about the
nation, adding that their interaction with the MOD would also shape the outlook
of a strategic policy to be implemented in the US.
The Team
had earlier held a closed-door meeting with the Chief of Defence Staff,
Lieutenant General Seth Obeng. It also visited the Kofi Annan International
Peacekeeping and Training Centre, under construction at Teshie, near Accra.
GRi…/
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Decentralization does not mean de-concentration
Ho (Volta
Region) 21 May 2003-Kwadwo Adjei Darko, Minister of Local Government and Rural
Development, on Monday said the manipulation of Unit Committees to work
efficiently had affected the effectiveness of the decentralized administration
and development.
He said
this at the opening of a three-day stakeholders workshop on Mountainous Regions
at Ho under the auspices of the Ghana Wildlife Society and the UN Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
The
workshop was a follow up to the celebration of International Year of Mountains
(IYM) held last year at Akropong-Akwapim in the Akuapem North District and
which sought to draw attention to the abuse of resources and the effects on
mountainous communities.
Darko said
under the decentralization programme, unit committees were expected to take
initiatives in a disciplined manner without being prompted. For example, unit
committees could compile registers of deaths and births and submit them to the
district assemblies.
This, he
explained, would ensure that all births and deaths in communities were captured
for planning and other purposes. Darko said it appeared that the
decentralization was misconstrued to mean "de-concentration of
authority" in which the local governing structures were waiting for
instructions on what to do to resolve local issues.
He said
district assemblies could set up funds into which tolls on wood products such
as firewood and charcoal could be lodged for financing reforestation and
related programs. This and other measures could be adopted to resolve problems
at the local level, without any promptings from the central government, he
said.
GRi…/
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MP launches 500 million cedis Educational Fund
Gomoa
Potsin (Central Region) 21 May 2003- The Member of Parliament (MP) for Gomoa
East, Mr Richmond Sam Quarm has launched a 500-million-cedi Education Trust
Fund for Gomoa East, to support needy but brilliant pupils and students in the
constituency.
The
launching of the fund coincided with a thanksgiving service organised by the
Winneba Diocese of the Methodist Church in honour of Quarm. Felix Owusu
Agyapong, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, commended the MP for the
initiative to support education in the area.
Owusu
Agyapong, who is also Majority leader in Parliament, appealed to opinion
leaders, assembly members and Churches to contribute to the fund to enable it
to achieve its objectives. He said the government alone could not support
education in the country and appealed to communities to institute education
funds.
Owusu-Agyapong
appealed to the people to rally behind their MP towards the development of the
area. Quarm called on parents to invest in the education of their children and
to assist rehabilitate street children. The launching yielded 42.7 million
cedi.
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Chiefs form virgin club in Bechem
Bechem
(Brong Ahafo) 21 May 2003- Nicholas Anane-Adjei, Tano District Chief Executive
(DCE), has called on beneficiaries of government interventions on the campaign
against HIV/AIDS to utilize such monies judiciously.
He made the
call at the inauguration of the Tano District Virgin and Abstinence clubs
initiated by the Coalition of Life Preservers, a Non-Governmental Organization
(NGO) formed by the Bechem Traditional Council.
The DCE
said some organizations sprang up, collected monies from the government and
fizzled out after initial activities on the AIDS campaign. ''Such unscrupulous
organizations would be found out one day and face prosecution,'' he said.
Anane-Adjei
said the formation of the Virgin Club was not a problem but how to monitor its
activities and appealed to the
traditional
authorities to check the moral activities of their citizens to sustain the
growth of the club.
Nana
Opanwomoaso Boampong Bekoe, Akwamuhene of Bechem Traditional Council said the
observance of puberty rites would have to be revisited to help reduce
immorality among girls. He said the council would institute a scholarship
scheme for members of the club to pursue their studies.
GRi…/
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Lawyer
appeals to women to report cases of violence
Ho (Volta
Region) 21 May 2003- Mrs Hilary Gbedemah, Senior Legal Officer of Women in Law
and Development in Africa (WILDAF), on Tuesday appealed to women to break the
culture of silence on abuses perpetuated by men against them.
Mrs
Gbedemah was opening a three-day workshop aimed at enhancing skills of Legal
Literacy Volunteers and raising the awareness of traditional leaders in the
Volta Region at Ho.
The
workshop would also look at the settlement of intra-family disputes pertaining
to violence against women and the distribution of property, and dissolution of
marriages at the traditional level.
It is
organized by the Legal Awareness Programme (LAP) of WILDAF and the Commonwealth
Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), Africa Office, with the British Council as
sponsors. The theme for the workshop is: "Violence Against Women and
Children; And Poverty Rights and Women".
Mrs
Gbedemah said most of the injuries and batteries suffered by women did not
tally with explanation they give for such atrocities. There was the need,
therefore, to give women a platform where they could air their views without
fear or favour.
She said a
study carried out by the National Council on Women and Development (NCWD) and
the Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre indicated that one
third of women in the country suffered psychological and physical violence as
well as sexual coercion and harassment. ''More than 56 percent of women have
been threatened while about 95 percent of the perpetrators were men'', Mrs
Gbedemah said.
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Cape Coast Polytechnic lecturers resume work
Cape Coast
(Central Region) 21 May 2003- Lecturers at the Cape Coast Polytechnic have
resumed work following an agreement by the Standing Joint Negotiation Committee
(SJNC) to address the salary distortions of the Polytechnic Teachers
Association of Ghana (POTAG).
POTAG has
accepted the 17.5 percent salary increment the government offered pending a
special committee to be set up to work out a new salary structure for the
polytechnics.
Dr John
Kofi Borsah, Principal of Cape Coast Polytechnic, told the Ghana News Agency
(GNA) on Tuesday that lectures have resumed ''but most students who went home
during the strike action are yet to report back on campus''.
Most
lecture halls were locked up with students waiting for their lecturers when the
GNA visited the school. A few were opened with some lecturers teaching. Dr Borsah
said classes would return to normal by Thursday.
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