Aflao (Volta Region) 20 November 2001 - Charles Owusu Nkansah, a Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) officer at Aflao, was on Sunday arrested by the Aflao Police for escorting a Mazda Mini-Bus loaded with 19 packages of goods suspected to have been smuggled from Togo into Ghana.
He has been placed in custody together with Charlotte Agbolosu, 30, Veronica Amuzu, 22 and Gbeda Kwasi 37, all traders from Viepe, near Aflao, who were on the bus and claimed ownership of the goods.
Also detained were Affizi Mawukwenya, 23, the driver of the bus with registration number AS 2638 R and Dormekpor Dagadu, 37, a carrier, who was also on the bus.
The Police could not immediately assess the cost of the goods, which included wax prints, ladies dresses and basin materials but said they were worth millions of cedis.
A Ghana News Agency item reports Chief Inspector Frimpong Manso, in-charge of the Aflao Police Station as saying that his men on night patrol on Sunday night spotted a BMW Saloon car, No GW 8188 P, at about 5am, which was followed by a minibus at Akporkploe, a border village near Aflao.
He said the two vehicles ignored Police orders to halt and instead, sped off but the Police gave them a chase up to Wudoaba, a village along the Aflao-Ho trunk road where they were intercepted.
Chief Inspector Frimpong said Nkansah, who was driving the BMW told the Police initially that he had intercepted the bus on suspicion of carrying smuggled goods and was escorting it together with the owners of the good to the CEPS, at Aflao.
He said Nkansah, who was not in uniform, could, however, not explain why he was leading them in a different direction from Aflao and why he refused to stop when flagged.
Chief Inspector Frimpong said Nkansah, who said he had to fire eight shots before he could arrest them, also failed to produce the gun.
He said Nkansah later confessed that he had bargained with the smugglers for five million cedis and pleaded for leniency. Both vehicles and goods are in the custody of the Police while investigations continued.
Chief Inspector Frimpong said Nkansah and the other suspects including Charlotte Agbolosu, who has been identified as the wife of a CEPS official at Aflao, would be brought before court soon.
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Alavanyo-Dzogbedze (Volta Region) 20 November 2001 - The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Major Courage Quashigah (rtd) at the weekend tasked the Hohoe and Jasikan District Chief Executives and their Members of Parliament to team up with security agencies to solve the 18 year-old Alavanyo-Nkonya land dispute to enhance development.
The two MPs are Dr Kwabena Adjei for the Biakoye Constituency in the Jasikan District and Mr Nat Aduajoe for Hohoe-North.
The Minister made the call at a durbar to mark the celebration of the 62nd Bolofose Festival of the chiefs and people of Alavanyo.
He urged the chiefs and people of the two traditional areas to cultivate the spirit of oneness to develop their areas, adding, "where there is no peace there is no development".
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Suhum (Eastern Region) 20 November 2001 - The New Patriotic Party (NPP) government has been able to reduce the national debt because it adopted Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, the Member of Parliament for Suhum, Mr Ransford Yaw Agyapong has said.
Mr Agyapong told the second Odwira Festival of the chiefs and people of Suhum at the weekend that what was saved under the HIPC initiative would be used for poverty alleviation.
He said due to the sound economic policies by the government, the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) received 88.6 billion cedis from January to September, as against 77.75 billion cedis paid to the Fund for the whole of 2000.
Mr Agyapong called for a second look at the ban on the importation of over-aged vehicles into the country. "Some people are taking advantage of it to import such vehicles through neighbouring countries or smuggling and selling them to unsuspecting Ghanaians, thus, depriving the nation of a substantial source of revenue for development."
"At the end of the amnesty period of May 31, 2001, 448 of such vehicles had been cleared and a total revenue of 4.1 billion was realised," he said.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 20 November 2001 - Participants at a five-day West African mid-term evaluation of activities aimed at Promoting Women in Education (PWE) projects on Monday called for proper evaluation of existing educational programmes before adopting new ones.
The participants expressed concern about the rush to adopt changes in projects without adequate assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of existing schemes only to realise other shortfalls in their implementation.
The workshop organised by the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) attracted other teachers' association from the sub-region and resource personnel from Canada, Sweden and Norway.
It would evaluate PWE activities throughout the sub-region with the aim of addressing any lapses and refocus for the future.
Mrs Esi Sutherland-Addy, Senior Research Fellow of the University of Ghana, Legon, urged participants to concentrate more on projects that would enhance the conditions of the underprivileged rather than holding workshops and seminars.
She said funds should be used for strategic investment and development of basic infrastructure at the grassroots levels, where most unfortunate women lived under deprived conditions.
Mrs Sutherland-Addy urged women groups and non-governmental organisations to promote young and talented women to attain higher educational qualification as without these women would find it difficult to compete with men at the top.
She urged PWE project co-ordinators to ensure that the projects embarked upon were sustained with local funding. She said most projects with donor supports died after the withdrawal of such support.
Mrs Sutherland-Addy urged the participants to adopt appropriate evaluation methods that would enhance projects execution throughout the sub-region and encourage women into productive ventures.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 20 November 2001 - Mr Musa Gassama, Coordinator of the West African Human Rights Defenders (WAHRD), on Monday expressed regret that most African countries had still not ratified a UN resolution to protect human rights defenders.
"It is sad that after almost three years that the United Nations adopted the declaration on the protection of Human Rights Defenders, only South Africa has openly endorsed its adoption in Africa," he told the GNA in an interview in Accra after addressing a students forum at Accra High School on human rights.
He said Cameroon, for example, had registered its resentment and rejection of the ratification of the declaration. Speaking at the forum, he said the UN adopted this protection mechanism because it recognised and knew the unfortunate situations that faced human rights defenders in the world.
Mr Gassama noted that human rights defenders over the years had been subjected to persecution, intimidation, torture and assassination simply because they promoted and defended the rights of others. He told the students that they should educate themselves on human rights issues in order to defend themselves and others.
"Defending and promoting human rights should not be limited to people working only in human rights organisations but it should include everyone irrespective of age, nationality, colour, class, profession or religion."
Mrs Sylvia Asempa, Headmistress, made a commitment to maintain a torture-free zone at the school. She pledged the authority's support to ensure that the school remained true to the torture-free zone declaration saying, "all forms of abuse would be phased out."
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Akosombo (Eastern Region) 20 November 2001-The Deputy Chairman of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Madam Doris Ocansey has called for a concerted effort among the law enforcement agencies and transport unions to erase Ghana's unenviable record of being one of the most motor-accident-prone countries in the world.
She said situation should be of an outmost concern to all fair-minded Ghanaians, especially, with the backdrop of strenuous effort being made to promote the nation as a major tourist destination in the West African sub-region.
The Deputy Chairman of the NCCE, who made the call at a Driver unions' forum organised by the Commission at Akosombo, therefore stressed the need for a more effective harmonisation of the activities of agencies concerned with ensuring safety on the roads so that their activities could be more effective.
She said general indiscipline, laxity, disregard and non-enforcement of road regulations had also contributed to the current state of affairs and urged the Motor Transport and Traffic Unit (MTTU) of the Ghana Police Service to strengthen its monitoring activities and rigorously enforce traffic regulations to bring sanity into the system.
Madam Ocansey disagreed with the notion that the phenomenal increase in good roads was responsible for the increase motor traffic accidents insisting: "Good roads should not be a licence for careless driving."
Assigning reasons for her conviction that drivers were responsible for most of the accidents, Madam Ocansey said random checks the NCCE conducted revealed disturbing instances of alcoholism, speeding and overloading on the nations highways.
She stressed that if the roads were to be safe, most drivers should be retrained and equipped with the requisite skills that would enable them to engage in defensive driving that did predispose passengers and other road users to harm.
She advocated the establishment of HIV Officers amongst the Driver Unions to offer them counselling, noting that in addition to motor accidents, studies have revealed that if care was not taken, HIV/AIDS would start claiming the lives of most professional drivers.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 20 November 2001 - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Monday said Ghana and India would co-operate for improved Information Technology (IT) transfer in the country.
He said with the advancement of India in that field, it would be appropriate for such co-operation to enable Ghana to benefit immensely from the long bond of friendship between both countries.
President Kufuor said this when the out-going Indian High Commissioner in Ghana, Mr Arun Kumar Banerjee paid a farewell call on him at the Castle, Osu. Mr Banerjee has been in the country since December 1998.
President Kufuor commended India for her tremendous role in South-South co-operation, which had benefited most African countries. Mr Banerjee said the cordial relationship between India and African countries had been revived and improved for the past years.
He said this had culminated in the scheduling of a conference on South Saharan Africa and Indian relations in Johannesburg, South Africa from November 27-28, this year.
The out-going Indian High Commissioner said the dignity and respect that had existed between Indian and African countries would be upheld and further strengthened.
He said much political will was required from governments to review the economic and social challenges facing them for the private sector in both countries to succeed.
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Akim Awisa (Eastern Region) 20 November 2001 - The Divisional Chiefs of Akyem Kotoku Traditional area, at the weekend called on the Minister of Finance Yaw Osafo Maafo at his residence at Akyem Awisah to render an apology and to pledge their full support for him.
The apology followed a media report, which accused the Minister of meddling in the Akyem Kotoku chieftaincy affairs.
The Divisional chiefs were led by the Adontenhene and Acting President of the Traditional Council Obrempon Affum Afronten, 1V. Members of the delegation included Obrempong Asare Antwi Peasa I, Gyaasehene, Obrempong Sintim Poku III, Benkumhene, Obrempon Durakye Akoto II, Kyidomhene, Obrempon Gyabire Agyekum, II, Nifahene and Nana Dwamena Akenten, II, Acting Krontihene.
The chiefs disassociated themselves from the publication and pleaded with Mr Osafo-Maafo, who is also MP for Akyem Oda to ignore it with the contempt it deserved.
They said they were not privy to any of the allegation made against the Minister and expressed the hope that the incident would not mar the cordial relationship that existed between the government and the people of the area.
The Divisional chiefs pledged their total support for the government in its efforts at salvaging the economy and spoke of plans to call on President John Agyekum Kufuor at the Castle soon.
Mr Osafo-Marfo in accepting the apology said he did not bear anybody a grudge and called for a closer co-operation from all irrespective of their political affiliations to help develop the area.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 20 November 2001 - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Monday called for a transparent system to monitor funds received by political parties from outside in the running of their activities.
Funding for political parties has been a very difficult element and in countries with small economies, the situation was precarious leaving the opposition parties to cope as best as they could, he said in a speech read for him in Accra at the opening of a three-day international conference on "Globalisation and political parties, the future of the Euro-African inter party dialogue".
The conference organised by Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAF), in commemoration of its 125th anniversary would among other things discuss globalisation and politics, development of democracy in Africa, the role of political parties in democracy and Euro- African Co-operation as the answer to the challenges of globalisation.
The conference is to enable political parties to establish new relations with each other. President Kufuor said political parties had a responsibility of assisting one another and learning from each other's experiences.
He said participation was very crucial in a multi-party system of government, "but we can say the winning of power is even more important".
President Kufuor said the country's shared values of belief in individual liberty, free market economy and property and multi- party democracy had been successful and "there does not seem to be any ideological arguments to challenge these beliefs".
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Koforidua, (Eastern Region) 20 November 2001 - A total of 74 candidates in the Eastern Region have filed nominations to contest for the 30 vacant district assembly seats during the forth-coming district assembly by-elections scheduled for December 11.
The Eastern Regional Director of the Electoral Commission (EC), Mr Samuel Ntow, who disclosed this in Koforidua on Monday, said the candidates came from 13 districts in the region where vacant positions existed with three of them unopposed.
No by-elections will be conducted at Birim North and Kwaebibirem Districts. Mr Ntow said Birim South District had the highest number of five electoral areas where 14 candidates would be contesting with 11 candidates for four vacancies in the East Akyem and 10 for four seats in the West Akyem Districts.
Nine candidates were contesting for three seats in the Manya Krobo District and five for the three electoral areas in the Fanteakwa District. Three candidates each were also contesting for seats in the Suhum-Kraboa-Coaltar, Kwahu South and Akwapim South Districts.
In the New Juaben Municipality, three candidates, with one unopposed, were contesting for two seats, five for two seats in Yilo Krobo and two each for seats in the Afram Plains and Akwapim North districts.
Mr Ntow said only eight of the candidates were women with the oldest being a 77-year-old farmer and the youngest 28 years.
He explained that the by-elections become necessary following the death or resignation of assembly members elected in the last district assemblies elections in 1999.
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Navrongo (Upper East) 20 November 2001 - A section of the people of Navrongo have called for the immediate removal of the Kassena-Nankana District Chief Executive, Mr George D. Kolira from office citing lack of foresight and insensitivity to the plight of the people as reasons.
They threatened they would not compromise on their stance and vowed to disassociate themselves from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) if their demands were not met.
The agitations came at an open forum during a rally organised by the Navrongo Central MP, Mr John Achuliwor to formally thank the people for electing him as their representative and to explain government policies and programmes to them.
Mr William Appwah, a trader, who called for the removal of the DCE, said the DCE had demonstrated gross incompetence on several occasions and has refused to attend to people, who called on him.
The DCE, who was also at the meeting, realising that there was anger mounting against him attempted leaving the rally grounds but shouts of: "Where is he? Where is he?" brought him back to formally take an excuse from the MP before leaving.
Mr Appwah said about two months ago an National Deomcratic Congress (NDC)- backed Association of Millers in Navrongo, decided to increase the milling prices for cereals from 300 cedis per bowl to 1,000 cedis.
He said women traders, who mostly patronised the mills, approached the DCE to negotiate on their behalf to bring the price down. He added that after the DCE had severally postponed meetings with the women, they pleaded with him to speed up the negotiations because they could not mill at those prices and their children were starving.
He said the DCE gave the women a cheeky answer by telling them to go into the rice fields at the Tono Dam to transplant rice for farmers and in return get money to feed their children.
The people further contended that the DCE had awarded six of nine contracts from the European Union (EU) micro projects to NDC supporters and none to NPP sympathisers.
These actions they said had raised doubts in the minds of the people as to whether the DCE sympathises with the party and whether he was not the wrong choice.
Mr Achuliwor told the people about the on-going registration of the unemployed and under-employed persons and said the exercise might not give jobs to all the people immediately.
The data gathered would guide the government to draw up effective policies regarding employment in the country and urged the people to register.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 20 November 2001 - Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, Minister of Economic Planning and Regional Co-operation, on Monday warned directors and staff of the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) that the government would not tolerate laxity from them.
He noted that the reason why Vision 2020, the previous government's blueprint for socio-economic development, became a dormant development agenda was because the GSS and its collaborators failed to provide the necessary good quality and timely statistics to ensure its effective implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
"Unfortunately that which allowed that condition to exist is still present. My ministry will not tolerate such laxity from the GSS," he said.
"If you want to continue working with me then you must be prepared to provide what I need to perform my duty to the President and the nation."
Dr Nduom was speaking at a workshop organised by the National Advisory Committee of Producers and Users of Statistics (NACPUS) to mark Africa Statistics Day, which fell on November 18, under the theme: "Statistical Data as Input for Development Planning."
The Day was instituted by the ECOWAS Secretariat in 1988 and adopted by the OAU in 1990 to bring the relevance of statistical data to the doorstep, homes, offices and corridors of African peoples.
Dr Nduom noted that within the first year of the government, "I have observed that laxity in the GSS and National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) has not changed. But we have considered this year as a learning period for all of us.
"Next year, serious business begins and no such attitude will be countenanced, especially not in my ministry, which is currently being looked up to become the centre of knowledge to inform government and its partners at various stages of our national development."
Dr Nduom said NDPC and the GSS would undergo vigorous restructuring to ensure that they played their role effectively. The restructuring process would seek to strengthen their human and technical capacities, especially at the district levels.
This was to ensure that statistics were generated in the districts and effectively applied to districts and regional level development programmes, which would go a long way to have an impact on the national development agenda.
"If you came to the NDPC six months ago, you could not find even two computers that could be used to gather meaningful statistics for internal analysis. There was no network that could be used to share information. There was no data-base containing information on critical indicators of performance at the national or local level."
Dr Nduom said this situation, among other things, such as the politicisation of the NDPC left much to be desired, adding that the ministry had initiated moves to correct the existing anomaly.
He noted that good quality, adequate, relevant, reliable and timely statistical data to were important to national development planning, saying, "good statistical data is the link between good planning and good results".
Dr Joe Abbey, Executive Director of Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA), who presided, said much as African governments were within their rights to demand freedom from donor conditionalities, "we cannot just tell the donors to give us money for our development and shut up".
He said donor funding amounted to 70 to 80 per cent of development spending in most Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC), adding that Ghana was not different.
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