Minority still on the Nigerian Governor's 25,000 dollars
Kufuor disappoints Gambaga and Bimoba people
Kwabenya community sticks to guns - landfill is dangerous
Kufuor calls for joint efforts in National development
Commonwealth lauds new multilateral trade negotiations
Workers of GNPC demonstrate on salary
Repeal of Criminal Libel Law is victory for all - Ampaw
Assemblies urged to help halt child-prostitution at tourist centres
Military training for aviation security guards
Accra (Greater Accra) 17 November 2001 - The Minority Group in Parliament on Friday insisted that their call on the government to act on the 25,000-dollars given to the Ghanaian soccer contingent to Nigeria should be heeded.
It said any tendency to ignore the call could be interpreted as the government's unwillingness to deal with allegations concerning people close to it.
Mr Pele Abuga, the Deputy Minority Spokesman on Youth and Sports, told the GNA that it had taken the government too long to act on the issue.
He said some people were appearing before the Fast Track Courts on alleged bribery charges and Mallam Yussif Issah, the former Youth and Sports Minister, was jailed for the loss of 46,000 dollars.
Mr Abuga, Member of Parliament (MP) for Chaana-Paga, said similar allegations made against some members of the government were treated with contempt.
He said it was wrong for people to refer to the money given out as a gift. "I am surprised that people call such a bribe a gift. If it were a gift why should some members of the contingent refuse the money?"
Mr Abuga said selective justice had never served anybody's interest. "It did not help the previous government and would not help the NPP government either. Justice as the saying goes would soon catch up with everybody sooner or later".
He said for the government's zero tolerance for corruption to materialise it would be better to have collective justice in the interest of the totality of the Ghanaian society.
The Ghanaian contingent that went to Port Harcourt to play the Nigerian National Team, Green Eagles in the last World Cup qualifying match was given 25,000 dollars at a reception organised after the match by the River State Governor.
At the same reception the Governor gave the Green Eagles 75,000 dollars. The Executive Committee of the Ghana Football Association has since come out to dismiss the allegation of bribe taking as unmeritorious.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 17 November 2001 - Miss Elizabeth Ohene, Minister of State at the Office of the President, on Friday explained that President John Agyekum Kufuor had to skip some of the areas he was scheduled to visit in the Northern Region because the helicopter he was using developed a fault when it went to refuel.
She said by the time another helicopter was sent from Accra it became obvious that the President could not visit Nankpanduri and Gambaga if he were to return to Tamale before nightfall- " since those helicopters are not usually flown at night".
Miss Ohene told the Ghana News Agency in Accra following report the Agency received from its correspondents to the effect the chiefs and people of Bimoba and Gambaga in the East Gonja District were highly disappointed because the President did not visit them.
The report said as early as 9am hundreds of people including chiefs from surrounding villages had gathered at Nakpanduri to meet the President on his maiden visit to the area.
The President was to have flown from Karaga to Nakpanduri but the helicopter on which he was travelling developed a fault when it went to Tamale to re-fuel.Another helicopter was called from Accra for the President to continue with the trip.
He was billed to address a durbar at Bimoba at 1200 noon but it was around 1500 hours that rumours started circulating that the President was no longer coming to Nakpanduri and that he was addressing a durbar at Nalerigu.
The people's fears were confirmed when the President's security personnel left Nakpanduri unceremoniously after which the chiefs and people also left the durbar grounds in anger.
Meanwhile another crowd had gathered at Gambaga waiting for the President, who flew over to Walewale.
The failure of the President to meet the people of the two communities has sparked off controversy, arguments and counter-arguments.
The Bimobas at Nakpanduri were of the opinion that they had been snubbed by the President, whilst the people of Gambaga, who are at conflict with the people of Nalerigu, over which of the two towns should be the district capital, are of the view that the President had taken sides.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 17 November 2001 - A total of 482 candidates have filed their nomination papers to contest the December 11 by-elections in 196 electoral areas in the country at close of nominations on November 9.
Ashanti region recorded the highest number of 101 candidates for 33 electoral areas, while Upper West region recorded the lowest of 12 candidates for nine electoral areas.
Mr Henry Okyne, EC Director of Public Affairs, told the media in Accra on Friday that a total of 29 candidates were unopposed while two electoral areas in the Western and Greater Accra regions had no contestants.
The areas are Asuentaa in the Juabeso-Bia District of the Western Region and Dzorwulu in the Ayawaso Sub-metro in the Ga District of the Greater Accra Region.
Mr Okyne said the Commission was mopping up information on why people in the affected areas failed to file for nominations, especially in the Dzorwulu area, for the former seat of Mr Isaac Amo, MP for Ayawaso West Wogon.
The regional figures are: Western (41 candidates for 16 electoral areas), Central (64 candidates for 28 electoral areas), Greater Accra (14 candidates for eight electoral areas), Volta (39 candidates for 22 electoral areas), Eastern (74 candidates for 30 electoral areas), Brong Ahafo (70 candidates for 23 electoral areas), Northern (36 candidates for 15 electoral areas) and Upper East (31 candidates for 12 electoral areas).
Mr Okyne said the by-elections were to fill vacancies at the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies created as a result of deaths, vacation of post or elevation to higher positions of former assembly members.
He said some of the assembly members have been elected as Members of Parliament, while others have been appointed as ministers of state and District Chief Executives.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 17 November 2001 - The Women of Agyemankata Kwabenya have joined in the chorus of protests against the establishment of a landfill site in the area by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly and petitioned Parliament to reconsider the decision.
In the petition signed by Ms Irene Gyawu, chairperson of the community, copied to the Press on Friday, the women said AMA ignored laid down procedures by the state for land acquisition and also did not follow the State Lands Act.
It said prior to the project's implementation, AMA was to create awareness about the new landfill in the community and its surroundings but it did not bother to do it before work started.
The AMA has had a series of problems in finding a suitable landfill site for rubbish from the city. Various communities at Gbawe, Malam and Kwabenya have been protesting against the location of the landfill site in their areas.
"It is known all over the world that landfills are dangerous because of their hazards," they wrote.
They said the composition of a landfill was a bottom liner, a leach ate collection system, a cover and a natural hydro-geologic setting.
The women said AMA's claim that 70 per cent of work had been done at the site was not true.
"What has been done is a catch water drain to divert clean run off from the flanks of the valley away from the waste mass.
"We are therefore petitioning Honourable Members of Parliament to consider the dangers a landfill poses on the communities and site the landfill far away from human habitation, for peace to prevail in the area than the Police guarding the workers on site which is undemocratic.
"We want to make it clear that we the families staying around the project will not move. Let us save human lives and forget about what have been spent. The money wasted is due to someone's negligence of duty. Kindly bring him to justice to save mother Ghana", the letter said.
Meanwhile, the community has also asked the British Department for International Development (DFID) who are funding the project to stop until a new site was found.
A letter signed by Mr A. Asiedu Amoako, Chairman of the community said this was because the AMA had not satisfied the legal requirements on the negative impact the project would have on them.
It said although sufficient money had been provided, no education had been given to sensitise the communities.
It said the cottages scattered around the project, which rely on a community school had been overlooked, adding: "When the school is relocated, the pupils who already walk long distances to school will drop out of school."
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Accra (Greater Accra) 17 November 2001 - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Friday said differences in opinion over issues should not derail national efforts at development.
He said his recent tour of areas in the Northern Region where the people did not vote for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was to show that Ghanaians are one and the same people who should live together.
President Kufuor told the Council of Muslim Chiefs who called on him at the Castle, Osu that the basis for the government's all-inclusive policy was to achieve unity even in diversity in order that people with the requisite knowledge and ideas from other political parties could participate in solving problems facing the country.
President Kufuor said Ghana had been spared the intolerance and conflicts witnessed in other countries in the sub-region because Ghanaians were reasonable people who did not believe in extreme actions in any form, whether in politics or religion.
He urged Ghanaians to uphold this type of society and use dialogue at all times to solve conflicts and differences in opinion. President Kufuor asked the chiefs and religious leaders to continue to pray for God to be merciful to prevent anything that would tear the country apart.
Alhaji Aliu Mahama, Vice President said the country needed peace, stability and unity to develop and urged Muslims to continue to pray especially in this month of Ramadan and live peacefully together with each other.
He said the government would fulfil its campaign promises to improve the socio-economic conditions in the country. It will also pursue an open-door policy and urged the chiefs to approach the government when in need.
Alhaji Ali Kadri English, Chairman of the Council of Muslim Chiefs, said the chiefs had noticed President Kufuor's actions as a democrat to uphold the rule of law.
He appealed to the government to bridge the gap between Islamic Educational Institutions and their counterparts under the Ghana Education Service (GES) through the strengthening of infrastructure and facilities at these schools.
Alhaji English said corpses of Muslims should be released for burial because of their religious beliefs, especially when the death does not involve a coroner or does not require a post-mortem.
He said when members of the Council were given due recognition by the government and assigned roles on national initiatives and programmes, they could be of immense help to the country.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 17 November 2001 - Mr Don McKinnon, Commonwealth Secretary-General, has welcomed the 'development round' of multilateral trade negotiations reached by Commonwealth Trade Ministers at Doha.
"The breakthrough achieved at Doha is good news for developing countries and good news for the world economy. The task now is to ensure that Doha delivers actual results for those marginalized by the global trading system."
In a statement issued by the Information and Public Affairs Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat in London and made available to the media in Accra on Friday, he said the agreement should be a genuine development round.
Mr McKinnon acknowledged the disappointment still felt by many developing countries about the Uruguay Round, saying: "we cannot allow the same thing to happen this time.
"International Trade has great potential to combat poverty and we must work towards a multilateral trading system that shares its benefits more equitably.
"The Commonwealth, therefore, endorses the priority ministers placed on technical assistance and capacity building for developing countries as well as the need to ensure adequate representation in Geneva for all World Trade Organisation (WTO) members."
The statement said it would help create the conditions for a level playing field in the forthcoming negotiations.
Mr McKinnon expressed satisfaction about the agreements reached on agriculture, clarification of the anti-dumping agreement and the out come of Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) which, he said, would lead to a complete phasing out of export subsidies.
He explained that, "Increased access to industrial country markets for the agricultural exports of developing countries was crucial for any sustained attack on global poverty.
Many of these developing countries were worried that the imminent expansion of the European Union could result in even higher agricultural subsidies."
He said the TRIPS agreement was a breakthrough that would give developing countries the flexibility to buy essential drugs at more affordable prices when they faced public health crises.
The Commonwealth Secretary-General said, "if the willingness to compromise shown by both industrial and developing countries is brought to the table at the next round of negotiations, a fairer distribution of wealth could become an achievable goal."
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Accra (Greater Accra) 17 November 2001 - Workers of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) on Friday held a demonstration at the Ministry of Energy and Ministry of Employment and Manpower Development to demand their October salary and speedy resolution of the redundancy negotiation package.
The angry group, numbering about 200, wore red headbands and carried placards with various inscriptions, amidst singing of songs. The group arrived at the Ministry of Energy at 1230 hours to meet Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, the Minister, to whom most of their complaints on the placards were directed.
Some of them read, "Positive or Negative Change, Kan-Dapaah?" Kan-Dapaah where is our October salary?" "Mr President our wives and children are dying of hunger, why?" "Respect the rule of law, use Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) to pay us our redundancy package."
When they did not meet the Minister, the group proceeded to the Ministry of Employment and Manpower Development where they channeled their grievances through Mr Joe Donkor, the Deputy Minister. They accused Mr Kan-Dapaah of neglecting the CBA.
Mr. Donkor, after having a closed-door meeting with the leaders of the demonstrators, came to thank those outside for demonstrating peacefully.
He assured them that his Ministry would meet with the various bodies involved on Monday, November 19 to resolve the matter.
Meanwhile, Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, Minister of Energy, on Friday said the government would continue with the arbitration process on the severance awards to workers of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) to ensure that the nation was protected in the restructuring of the corporation.
Speaking to newsmen in Accra, Mr Kan-Dapaah said he was surprised that workers of the GNPC embarked upon a demonstration on Friday morning, saying that their union had not properly briefed them about the restructuring exercise being embarked upon by the government.
"We really want to go ahead with the restructuring of GNPC and want early settlement of the issue. It is the Union, which has made it impossible for the restructuring process to go on."
He said GNPC was a bankrupt company that had to pay severance awards that ran into millions of cedis.
The Energy Minister said government was committed to restructuring GNPC to stick to its core business. Various steps had been taken and the workers had pledged their support to the government's decision that the restructuring was necessary.
He said discussions on severance awards for those to be laid off were going on and at their last meeting about four days ago, there was a deadlock and the Union wanted arbitration. A letter was therefore written to the Ministry of Manpower Development and Employment with a copy to the Ministry of Energy.
Mr Kan-Dapaah said: "It was a surprise to me that the workers embarked upon the demonstration at the Ministry this morning since the matter is now before an arbitration."
He said the workers demanded that a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed between the management and the Union in July this year should prevail but the government could not allow that CBA to be used because there was no Board of Directors in existence or representative of the Ministry of Energy involved when it was signed.
Mr Kan-Dapaah said under the CBA, severance awards for junior workers should be based on six months salary for each year they had worked while those for senior staff should be based on eight months salary for every year they had worked.
"The laws of the land demand that severance awards should be negotiated. We question the validity of the new CBA signed in July without due regard to the Board of Directors of the Ministry of Energy," he added.
The Minister said GNPC was in a very serious financial condition with many liabilities which government should discharge. It was therefore not appropriate for the workers to demand such monies with the debts facing the company.
He said as part of the restructuring exercise, government agreed to pay the salaries of the workers for July, August and September this year and consider September as the cut-off period but the workers demanded it should be negotiated. This was going on until the deadlock and they demanded arbitration.
Mr Kan-Dapaah said the restructuring being undertaken by GIMPA stipulated that the current workforce of 600 should be reduced to 150.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 17 November 2001 - Mr Akoto Ampaw, a human rights activist, on Thursday said that repeal of laws that criminalized free expression in the country could not be claimed as a victory for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government alone but for all Ghanaians.
"Writers and journalists do no physical harm to anybody but put across views which stand for freedom and emancipation", Mr Ampaw, a legal practitioner, said at this year's International PEN's Day of the Imprisoned Writer organised by the Ghanaian Centre of International PEN in Accra.
The day was set in 1981 by the literary community to draw the world's attention to the plight of hundreds of writers and journalists, who were imprisoned and suffered other forms of duress for exercising their right to freedom of expression.
He said writers played a visionary role in society but unfortunately they were subjected to all forms of harassment, threat and even death by forces of authority the world over.
Mr Ampaw said African writers, in spite of their contributions to the development of the continent, had failed to write in their own languages but continually wrote in foreign ones that might lead to the loss of identity.
"The biggest and dangerous contradiction on the African continent is the writing in languages our people do not comprehend. It is about time we began to write in languages our people understood."
He said language was the vehicle of every culture and this should not be denigrated to the background if the African society were to be freed from the present cultural and ideological imprisonment.
He deplored the lack of vision of African leaders who still lacked the conscience to seek the continent's interest first in every endeavour.
Mr Ampaw noted that since the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, African leaders had only re-echoed what the Western leaders had said instead of the impact of the incident on the continent.
"This exposes the slavery of our leaders to the other world. We in Africa must begin to think from the viewpoint of our interest."
Mr Yaw Boadu Ayeboafo, Executive Secretary of the National Media Commission, said it was important to tolerate ideas of others even when there was disagreement.
"When you shut people out they develop some baseless animosity which could be avoided if they had been given the chance to express their views."
He said with the repeal of laws that limited free expression writers and broadcasters would have to behave more responsibly.
Mr Ayeboafo said broadcasters should examine their pronouncements to ascertain whether words they used on air were doing justice or vilified people because they did not agree with them.
"It is wrong to think that because you have access to the studios you should use it with impunity to the detriment of others." Mr Ayeboafo urged media personnel to investigate their stories carefully because when they were perceived as bias they would not impact on society.
Mr Frank Mackay Anim-Appiah, President of the Ghanaian centre of International PEN, said free expression was linked to the promotion of peace. "Without voices to challenge dictatorships and warmongers, peace would be an even more rear commodity than it is. But we must bear in mind that with imagination one may envision the bridge to peace."
He said there were indications that some governments might deliberately link people with dissenting views to Osama bin Laden's network in order to silence their opponents, thus abusing their human rights.
Mr Atukwei Okai, Secretary-General of the Pan African Writers Association (PAWA), who chaired the function, said it was important that Africans became alert about the machinations of the other world and not to swallow anything they proposed.
"Let us read about our world to know what is going on. Let us think about our condition before looking for solutions."
He said without writers the world would be a jungle and urged all to show solidarity with people who were fighting to keep the world safe.
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Elmina (Central Region) 17 November 2001 - An official of the Ghana Coalition on the Rights of the Child, (CRC), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has urged district and municipal assemblies to enact bylaws that could assist in curbing child-prostitution and other negative practices in tourist centres.
Miss Cecilia Adu, an official of the NGO, made the appeal at the launch of a "programme of action to eliminate child labour in tourist areas" in the Central Region on Thursday.
It was aimed at assisting in curtailing negative practices such as prostitution, begging and truancy among children, who visited tourist sites.
She said child-prostitution was on the increase in the region because the people came in contact with many tourists.
Miss Adu, therefore, called on the Cape Coast Municipal Assembly and the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem (KEEA) District Assembly, whose areas many tourists centres were situated to initiate measures to halt the practice.
She also called on the assemblies to ensure that tourists, who visit tourist attractions, dressed well and conducted themselves properly, in order not to corrupt the residents, particularly children.
Mrs Adu, expressed concern about the negative impact tourism was having on the people particularly children in the Elimina and Cape Coast and appealed to all and sundry to co-operate with the assemblies in reversing the situation.
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Shai Hills (Greater Accra) 17 November 2001 - The Ghana Civil Aviation Authority
(GCAA) is to offer military training for its security personnel to strengthen security at the country's airports.
To this end, 57 security guards are undergoing a six-week Basic Military Orientation Training for Civil Organisations at the Army Recruit Training School (ARTS) at the Shai-Hills, near Afienya.
Mr Derek Obuobi, Director of Human Resources of the GCAA, on Friday said this when he visited the guards at the training school. He said recent events especially in the United States (US), have necessitated the need to strengthen its security.
He said the objective of the training was to produce well-trained and highly motivated aviation security guards, capable of promoting safe, efficient and sustainable air transportation.
Mr Obuobi said he was impressed by the standard of fitness and enthusiasm displayed by the guards and advised them to maintain and improve on discipline and professional competence.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 17 November 2001 - The government's nominee for the post of Executive Secretary of ECOWAS Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas was on Saturday honoured as African Worthy Ambassador with 14 other personalities and institutions in Accra.
The award, instituted by the All African Students Union (AASU) coincided with this year's celebration of the International Student's Day, established in November 17, 1939 in recognition of students' resistance in the streets of Prague against Nazi occupation.
The other award winners are Mr. Kofi Totobi Quakyi, former Minister of National Security, who had the Testimonial of Commendation, Brigadier-General Mohammed B. Marwa, former Military Administrator of Lagos State of Nigeria, African International Worthy Ambassador.
The rest who are all Nigerians are, Dr. Sam Ominyi Egwu, Governor of Ebonyi State, Higher Order of African Youth, Chief Adebisi Bamdele Akande, Higher Order of African Youth and Dr. Ojo Kolade Russel Olufemi, of Nigeria as Order of African Students, Prince Chibudom Nwuche of Nigeria, Worthy Ambassador of African Youth
The following received Testimonial of Commendations are, Professor Shaibu Oba Abdul Raheem, Dr Mary Maboreke, Ms Elizabeth Calyle and Hajia Laila Dongoyaro for African Woman Advancement award.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ghana and Association of African University were also given Testimonial of Commendation.
Dr. Chambas in his acceptance remarks noted that the first phase of African liberation ended with political independence and apartheid.
The second phase, he said, emanates with the struggle to build a stable democratic governments across the continent and the socio-economic emancipation of Africans from poverty, illiteracy and diseases.
He said, "African people today yearn for an end to civil strife and conflict, while desiring for peace and stability, economic growth and improvement of their incomes, education and affordable health services.
"They loathe the lack of transparency and corruption resulting in loss of resources, which could otherwise have been utilized to provide much needed infrastructure and social services."
The ECOWAS Executive Secretary nominee emphasis that "Africans are just plain sick and tired of being trapped by a debilitating debt burden and crushing poverty."
Dr. Chambas stated that if Africans can demonstrate the required sense of purpose, commitment, courage and determination to reduce the level of rhetoric and rather places emphasis on taking the necessary follow up to implement plans, programmes and protocols, the 21st century would be the African Renaissance.
He urged African Youth to concentrate on the campaign against ignorance and education for all, the fight against HIV/AIDS pandemic and the sensitisation on the African Union and sub-regional integration.
He also encouraged African students to insist that educational training institutions provides and prepares them for the highly competitive job market and skills to make students builders of a prosperous Africa.
"All this can not be provided unless budgetary allocations in real terms, devote substantial amount to education. This you must fight for without compromise."
All the award winners expressed their gratitude to AASU for the recognition and pledged to work more towards the development and enhancing of the African student.
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