NDC Parliamentary Caucus accuses government
of betrayal
Thirty billion cedis needed to improve
Kumasi streetlights
Journalist Association refers 100 dollar-gift allegation to Ethics Committee
NDC Parliamentary Caucus accuses government
of betrayal
Koforidua (Eastern Region) 08 November 2001 - The Eastern Regional National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary Caucus on Wednesday accused President John Agyekum Kufuor's government of betraying the people's confidence by reneging on their own policies.
Making the accusation at a news conference at Koforidua, the Caucus among other things cited the inability of the Minister of Finance to fulfil his promise to submit a mid-year review budget to Parliament.
They also mentioned the Minister of Energy's refusal to implement the new petroleum pricing formula, which could have brought the prices of petroleum products down.
The Chairman and Spokesman of the Caucus, Mr Samuel Sallas-Mensah said the Caucus, "strongly reject this kind of deception of the people's confidence so soon, as our rounds in the country indicate."
He criticised the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government of compounding the country's external debt and said it had taken 800 million dollars (5.6 trillion cedis) as loans within nine months.
"This works up to over 80 million dollars per month as compared to 20 million dollars per month over the 19 years under Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings", Mr Sallas-Mensah also MP for Upper West Akim, said.
Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, MP for Fanteakwa, criticised the "sidelining of MPs" on the disbursement of the Emergency Social Relief Fund (ESRF) and said, even though, they were the representative of the people: "We do not even know the criteria being used for disbursement."
The Caucus called for an immediate full-scale enquiry into the 25,000 dollars corruption scandal involving the Deputy Minister of Sports, Mr Joe Aggrey and the Chairman of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Mr Ben Koufie in Nigeria after the Black Stars and Green Eagles World Cup qualifying soccer match.
"This is very necessary in order to redeem the hard-won international image of the country which has nose-dived by the scandal", it said.
They condemned the delay in the payment of the end of service benefits of former District Chief Executives and their three months salaries in-lieu of the revocation of their appointment.
They described the non-payment as 'political victimisation' especially of those who were exonerated after the special audit exercise. "If they are being punished just because they served their nation under the previous government, then it is a very bad precedent being set by the NPP administration for our young democratic dispensation."
The MPs present included Mr Kwame Dwamena Bekoe, MP for Asuogyaman, Mr ike
Nyaunu, MP for Lower Manya, Mr Dan Tekpertey, MP for Yilo and Mr Stephen Amoanor Kawo, MP for Upper Manya.
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Thirty billion cedis needed to improve
Kumasi streetlights
Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 08 November 2001 - Thirty billion cedis would be required to improve on the street lighting system of the Kumasi Metropolis to enhance security at night, Mr Charles Ampomah-Mensah, Metropolitan Engineer, has announced.
The lighting system of some major ceremonial streets in the metropolis had already been selected for repairs with funding from the Ministry of Energy, Mr Ampomah-Mensah disclosed at a meeting of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) in Kumasi.
The Metropolitan Engineer said the Energy Ministry had agreed to award on contract, the routine maintenance of Kumasi streetlights to private firms, which periodically repaired those of Accra and Tema.
This arrangement would ensure that Kumasi did not experience unnecessary long spells of darkness. Mr Ampomah-Mensah said nine major roads and drains in the metropolis were to be rehabilitated at a cost of 4.1 billion cedis under the Periodic
Maintenance Works Project of the Department of Urban Roads.
The assembly asked the Department to stop designing open drains for Kumasi since such designs tended to encourage the dumping of refuse in gutters.
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Nsawam (Eastern Region) 08 November 2001 - Kofi Amedumey, a 39-year-old car dealer, who went to assistance of a man who was knocked down by a car at Obredwumah, was hit by another vehicle and died at the Nsawam government Hospital on Sunday.
Mr Amedumey had returned from the US recently to attend his brother's funeral, Police Inspector Emmanuel Kyeremeh of the Nsawam Police, told the media.
He said Mr Amedumey was hit by the vehicle from the opposite direction of the road while he was attending to the victim of the first accident, Mr Paul Kinney.
The two drivers involved in the accidents, Emmanuel Thompson Addo and Kofi Agyei are in police custody pending further investigations.
Meanwhile, the body of the deceased has been deposited at the hospital for post-mortem, while Mr Kinney is reported to be responding to treatment.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 08 November 2001- Residents of Kwabenya on Wednesday stated that the sitting of the landfill in their area was a contravention of the 1992 Constitution and they would not allow it to be located there as the controversy over where to dump refuse from Accra continues.
They said they were not completely against the landfill project, "but against the negative impact it would have on the nearby communities".
"It must be sited far from human habitation," Mr Isaac Amo-Smith, a spokesman for a group of protesters, told a press conference in Accra.
Vice President Aliu Mahama last Thursday appealed to residents of Kwabenya to allow the resumption of work on the Land Fill Sanitary Site Project, while the issues of compensation, environmental and other socio-economic problems were being addressed.
Alhaji Mahama, who met demonstrators at the project site, appealed for calm and tolerance, saying compensation would be paid to those who deserved it, while those who needed resettlement would be catered for.
However, Mr Smith said on Wednesday: "We want to make it clear to government that we will not accept any compensation or relocation."
He said Article 20 (2a) of the Constitution made it mandatory that compulsory acquisition of land by the state be accompanied by prompt payment of fair and adequate compensation to expropriated owners.
Mr Smith said it was in line with that provision that the Ministry of Lands and Forestry notified the Lands Commission that no executive instrument in respect of compulsory acquisition be signed if the Accra Metropolitan Assembly had not satisfied the requirement.
"Although the instrument to that effect has still not been published, the AMA and its contractor are working. "Mr Smith said procedures of the State Lands Act 1962 (125) on land acquisition by government was also not followed.
"Regulation 7 (2) makes it mandatory that prior notification be given to the owners or occupiers of the land before any entry for inspection, survey or valuation is carried out, yet no such notices were given and work has commenced."
Mr Smith said if the laid down procedures had been followed, the nation would not have been losing 37 million cedis daily for the past four weeks to the contractor for breach of contract.
Mr Smith said at the last meeting with the AMA and the Ministry of Local Government, it was agreed that a seven-member committee was to be set-up to supervise the project.
"Since we object to the project, we are not going to be part of that committee because this should have been done before the project's implementation as specified in the impact assessment," he stressed.
Referring to an Environmental Protection Agency letter dated July 12, 2001, Mr Smith said that the permit given to the AMA for the project was a provisional one and asked why it was becoming a permanent one without a project contract signpost being erected there.
"There is no sign board indicating who the client was, the contractor, the consultant and the nature of work being undertaken. "Madam Mary Dwamena, a resident, questioned the rational behind AMA's promise to compensate only persons whose lands had been affected since the whole community was affected.
"The whole community would have to live with the stench that would emanate from the site," she said. "We promise the AMA that we would neither release our inheritance today nor tomorrow," she said. "They should re locate the site instead of relocating the people," she said, and asked, "What comes first, people or rubbish."
Another resident Eno Ataa said those who were affected had also realised that the AMA was only "trying to throw dust into their eyes" by talking about compensation.
"If they had anything to offer us they would have done so before beginning the project as was done when the Akosombo Dam was being constructed.
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Sunyani (Eastern Region) 08 November 2001-Nana Sakyame Sen-Apem II, Paramount Chief of Banda Traditional Area on Wednesday appealed to the media to help increase public awareness of the ill effects of female circumcision.
He said female circumcision was still practised in his area because of inadequate public education. The chief made the appeal at a meeting with the Brong Ahafo Regional Operations Officer of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Mr Kwabena Adjei Arhin, four of the five girls who were victims of the recent genital mutilation at Gbao village and relatives.
The Odikro of Gbao, Nana Sie Yaw Dwarah II, The Reverend Emmanuel Kwame Amponsah, Acting Pastor of the local Presbyterian Church and some representatives of Banda Youth Association in Accra were also present.
A Ghana News Agency report about the genital mutilation of five teenage girls at Gbao sparked off a furore following the arrest of the Odikro, the circumciser and others suspected to be involved. As a result Nana Sakyame appealed to CHRAJ to allow him to withdraw the case from the police for an amicable settlement.
The chief told the meeting that the practice, which he said had been in existence since time immemorial as a puberty rite for girls, "has been modernised". He said he would, however, support all effort to eradicate it.
Nana Yaa Breh, the circumciser, said she had so far performed circumcision rites on eight girls this year, adding that they were forced to undergo the ordeal.
"Their mothers bring them to me each with her own blade". The victims said it was not a painful experience. However they initially ran away because their Pastor had told them that they could die if they were circumcised.
Rev Amponsah denied a "Ghanaian Times" publication that the Pastor who informed the press about the incident had been chased out of the village by irate youth, saying the Pastor was on leave and had left town.
Meanwhile the representatives of the Banda Youth Association have called on the Brong Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs to expedite action on the gazetting of Nana Sakyame as the Paramount Chief of Banda.
The delay, in spite of the Supreme Court judgement in his favour, the youth said, has rendered the chief ineffective.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 08 November 2001-The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) on Wednesday said it has referred the case involving journalists who allegedly received 100 dollars each from their Nigerian hosts to the GJA Ethics Committee for action.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mrs Gifty Affenyi-Dadzie, President of GJA said, "the Ethics Committee is the most appropriate authority to deal with the matter and it will soon begin dealing with it."
The Ethics Committee of the GJA is charged with investigating cases of improper behaviour of journalists. Some senior journalists the GNA spoke to said the journalists had no case to answer as the money was given to a group and that the journalists were just beneficiaries of Nigerian "hospitality."
The governor of Rivers State gave 25,000 dollars to the Black Stars and the delegation that were in Port Harcourt after the final World Cup qualifying match against Nigeria that the Stars lost 0-3. It was a crucial decider that gave the Super Eagles the ticket for the 2002 Japan/Korea World Cup qualifier.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 08 November 2001-Speakers at the launch of this year's World
Population Report on Wednesday called for an integrated approach to population development, saying it was the best means of ensuring sustainable development.
They urged donor partners to stop dictating what and how funds they provided were used or could be used, since this had over the years contributed to parallel development patterns that did not bring the desired impact to beneficiary societies.
Titled: "Footprints and Milestones, Population and Environmental Change," the report advocates balanced and integrated population policies where successful population and development policy starts with simple interventions as was agreed at the Cairo International Conference on Population and Development in 1994.
The speakers were Dr Richard Turkson, Executive Director of the National Population Council, Mr Jonathan Allotey, Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency and Mr Moses Mukasa, UNFPA Representative in Ghana.
The speakers said environmentalists, population, economic and social partners should meet to agree and decide the best means of utilising donor funds for population related concerns.
They were not happy that even though population matters often involved environmental, economic and other stakeholders, decisions were taken in an isolated way to the detriment of the very people they were meant for.
Dr Turkson said, "the practice is stalling the smooth implementation of an integrated approach to address population issues within an environmentally sustainable fashion, taking into cognisance economic and social needs."
Mr Allotey said EPA had included in its programmes opportunities for public participation in creating awareness as an overall programme to involve stakeholders in the development process.
Mr Mukasa promised to lead the crusade to bring the subject onto the donor's table. The report said food production would have to double by 2025 to accommodate the nearly eight billion people expected on earth by then.
It emphasized the burden on the environment from rapid population growth especially in the 49 least-developed countries, where the number of people would triple in the next 50 years.
World population is now 6.1 billion, double the figure of 1960, and this is expected to reach 9.3 billion by 2050. The report said that expanding women's opportunities and ensuring their reproductive health and rights were critical to protecting the environment.
It noted the disparity between the world's richest countries, which have 20 per cent of Earth's population but account for 86 per cent of private consumption, and the poorest 20 per cent that accounts for 1.3 per cent of consumption.
About 60 per cent of people in developing countries lack basic sanitation, the report said.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 08 November 2001-President J.A.Kufuor returned home last night from Canada after a five-day official visit at the invitation of the Governor- General, Madame Adrienne Clarkson.
The president was accompanied by his wife Theresa, Ms Elisabeth Ohene, Minister at the President's Office, Dr. Adombila Agambila and Deputy Minister Finance. President Kufuor described the visit as historic, since it was the maiden visit by a Ghanaian Head of State.
Speaking to journalist at the Kotoka International Airport, he said Canada was surprised that it has taken such a long time for such a visit and that the Governor-General, Clarkson praised Ghana for her smooth transition of government and acknowledged the sound economic policies of the government as well as efforts at reconciling the country, rule of law and good governance.
He said Canada has been a consistent donor to Ghana in terms of finance and technical support, especially in the development of the water sector in the northern part of Ghana.
The President said he used the opportunity to ask for more assistance in developing Ghana's infrastructure, adding that the Canadian officials readily assured him of their support in the social services as well as economic investment.
The Canadian government gave the assurance that it would give Africa priority in the forthcoming Group of Eight Summit to be hosted by Canada next year, President Kufuor said.
A meeting between Ghana and Canada has been scheduled for early next year to review the relationship between the two countries.
The President visited the Ghanaian community in Ottawa and Toronto, where he briefed them on the developmental efforts of the government and the dual citizenship bill.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 08 November 2001- Nigeria on Wednesday commended Ghana for initiating District Assemblies' Common Fund policy and declared its intention to adopt it for her accelerated development.
Senator Haruna Zego Aziz of Kaduna sub-state made the commendation when he met the leadership of the Ghanaian Parliament on Tuesday.
Senator Aziz is leading a 12-member delegation on a visit. The delegation, comprising Senators, members of the House of Representatives and NGOs working on reproductive health, are to study Ghana's political and population issues.
Senator Aziz said: "the disbursement of five per cent of total national revenue for development in the districts is worth adopting by Nigeria."
He said it is a good policy Ghana has adopted. The Speaker, Mr Peter Ala Adjetey, said he was happy that Ghana's policy would prove useful to Nigeria.
"We feel good that we have generated some idea for adoption by our neighbours", he said.
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