Techimanhene re-elected President of GUNA
Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 22 November 2001-Parliament is considering a bill which would enable the government to guarantee loans for small and medium scale enterprises to enhance their operations, Professor Kassim Kasanga, Minister of Lands and Forestry announced on Wednesday.
He said beneficiaries of the scheme would include people engaged in furniture and wood processing who would be able to utilise lesser-used wood and add more value to their products.
Professor Kasanga said this in a speech read on his behalf by Mr Anthony Boachie-Dapaah, Chief Executive of the Forestry Commission to open a 10-day local furniture and wood products exhibition in Kumasi.
The exhibition is jointly organised by the Furniture and Wood Products Association of Ghana and the Small Scale Carpenters Association in conjunction with the Timber Export Development and Forest Products Inspection Divisions of the Forestry Commission.
It is on the theme: "Conserving Ghana's Forests Through More Value Addition With Increased Use of Lesser-known Species" and has brought together 32 exhibitors from the Ashanti Region.
Professor Kasanga said the government would support Furniture and Joinery Manufacturers to achieve the objective of developing Ghana's timber industry, particularly "our value-addition guiding principles".
The Minister commended the planning council of the exhibition for taking the initiative to complement government's efforts at promoting value addition and the use of lesser-known species by small enterprises for job creation and poverty alleviation.
Mr Abu-Bakar Saddique Boniface, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry said his Ministry, in conjunction with the United Nations Industrial Development
Organisation (UNIDO) and the International Network For Bamboo and Rattan was exploring the possibility of using bamboo as an alternative and ideal substitute for timber.
He said at the request of the Ministry UNIDO had adopted the bamboo project under its integrated programme and was creating an awareness of the potentials of the bamboo industry from plantation development to industrial processing.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 22 November 2001-Mr J.G. Amamoo, one time Deputy Minister of Lands and Mineral Resources in the Busia regime, has said the institution of Reconciliation Commission was a good idea.
He said when established it would unify Ghanaians rather than divide them because the exercise would give them the opportunity to, "get off their chest many things worrying them".
Mr Amamoo was speaking in a Joy FM interview monitored by the GNA in Accra on Wednesday. Mr Amamoo, one time Editor of the Ghanaian Times, said if the Commission was not established for the purpose for which it was intended, grievances harboured by aggrieved persons would pass on from generation to generation.
If that happened, he said, Ghanaians would be galloping under hatred and what might happen could be anybody's guess. However, he said, the Commission should cover a period that event could easily be remembered so that allegations could be corroborated.
Mr Amamoo said if it started from the colonial times, there would not be many people living to corroborate the evidence given.
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Oboadaka, (Eastern Region) 22 November 2001-The Leader of the Peoples' National
Convention (PNC), Dr Edward Mahama has appealed to the government, as a matter of urgency, to reintroduce subsidies on agricultural inputs to enable farmers to expand their farms to increase food production.
He said the government's desire to attract more people especially the youth into farming would yield no results if prices of basic farm inputs continued to rise beyond the reach of an average farmer.
Dr Mahama made the appeal at the launching of a food security campaign initiated by the Christian Friends of Democracy (CFD), a local non-governmental organisation (NGO), for the people of Oboadaka and its surrounding villages in the Akuapem South District.
The campaign aimed at encouraging the farmers who mostly grow pineapple for export, to cultivate other food crops such as cassava, maize and plantain to feed themselves and the local market.
Dr Mahama said it was ironical for the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to allow developed nations to give grants to their farmers to produce more for local consumption and export, while at the same time, forcing developing countries to remove subsidies on agricultural inputs.
Dr Mahama accused officials of the Meteorological Service Department and Agricultural Extension Services Division of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture for failing to give accurate and scientific information to farmers and blamed them for poor harvests in the country.
He commended the CFD for the initiative and said it was time all Ghanaians united, irrespective of political affiliations to support the government to improve the well being of the people.
The Personal Assistant to the Minister of Basic and Secondary and Girl- Child Education, Mr Samuel Anim Obiri who inaugurated a 10-member committee, charged them to ensure the success of the campaign.
He urged the farmers to take advantage of the various agricultural financial packages introduced by the government to expand their farms.
A Lecturer at the Department of Agricultural Business Management at the Central University College, Mr Kwasi Sefa Afari observed that the lucrative nature of the pineapple farming in the area was preventing farmers from cultivating other food crops for local consumption. He said if care was not taken, a severe famine could hit the area.
The President of CFD, the Reverend Samuel Adjei said it was time Ghanaians came together to find ways of moving the nation forward.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 22 November 2001- The Zimbabwean High Commissioner in Ghana, Dr Machievenyika Tobias Mapuranga, on Wednesday paid a courtesy call on Sheik I.C. Quaye, Greater Accra Regional Minister, to inform him of their newly opened high commission in Ghana.
Dr Mapuranga, Zimbabwe's first High Commissioner resident in Ghana, ''the opening will further strengthen the excellent relationship between Zimbabwe and Ghana who were both colonised by the British".
He also apologised to the government and the people of Ghana for not "coming here early enough even though Zimbabwe's late former first lady was a Ghanaian."
He called for increased economic cooperation between the two countries. Dr. Mapuranga briefed the Minister on topical issues in his country, saying the topmost one is land reforms. He said his country is doing everything possible to reclaim its land, over 70 per cent of which is owned by whites.
Sheik Quaye was happy that Zimbabwe has finally opened its High Commission in Accra, saying, "I will give you the key to Accra for you to explore all avenues and opportunities that exist in Ghana."
He said Ghana's physical support to Zimbabwe during its war of liberation showed its interest in the country. "We will be willing to deal and trade with you". He said if African countries could come together and trade among ourselves, "we could achieve a lot for ourselves".
The High Commissioner presented a copy of Zimbabwe's land reform programme to the Minister.
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Denu (Volta Region) 22 November 2001-Mr Wilfred Losutse Akortia, the immediate past Chairman of Ketu South Constituency of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has asked the leaders of the party to listen to the electorate and not attempt to undermine the party's constitution with impunity.
Mr Akortia gave the advice at the Party's Constituency delegates' conference at Denu at the weekend at which new executives and delegates to the Regional Conference and National Congress were elected.
He said becoming sensitive to the plight of the people and listening to the voice of the common man was the only way to re-group solidly to recapture political power in 2004. He called on the constituency members to stand solidly behind the new executives to rebuild the party.
In the election supervised by officials of the Ketu District Electoral Commission, Mr Raymond Avevor was elected the new Constituency Chairman with Mr Marcel Adotevi Atopley, as Vice-Chairman and Mr Kwablavi-Amewuga as Secretary. Four other persons were elected to various positions.
Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Agbenaza (rtd), Member of Parliament for Ketu-South, asked supporters of the party not to be discouraged by current events but pluck courage to re-unite the party into a solid family.
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Bunso (Eastern Region) 22 November 2001- The Paramount Chief of the Techiman Traditional Area, Nana Takyi Ameyaw II has been re-elected unopposed as the National President of the Ghana United Nations Association (GUNA) for another two-year term.
He was elected at the end of the three-day Millennium Congress of GUNA held at the Bunso Cocoa College on Sunday. More than 1,160 members from Ghana with observers from the United Kingdom, Togo and Benin attended.
Nana Amankwah Assim was elected First Vice-President, Mrs Mary Senaya, Second Vice-President and Alhaji Abu-Bakar Ibn Tuahir as third Vice-President.
Mr E.N. Amua Sekyi-Amoah, was also elected unopposed as Secretary General to replace Mr Mike Awua Asamoah, who had held the position for 19 years.
On behalf of his colleagues, Nana Takyi Ameyaw, known in private life as Colonel Joseph Y. Frimpong pledged to work hard with his team to promote the image of GUNA. He also pledged to "to neutralise the recent schemes by detractors aimed at destroying the association."
The President, who was also Director of Research and Development of the Ghana Armed Forces Staff College, announced the offer of about 64 hectares at Techiman in the Brong Ahafo Region to GUNA. This was to offer employment for members and raise funds to make the association self-supporting, he said.
The out-going Secretary General, Mr Asamoah, who is also the Director of the Africa Office of the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA), assured them that his Office would co-operate with the GUNA to promote peace and development in Ghana and Africa.
A joint communiqué issued by the GUNA, the Togo United Nations Association (ANUT) and the Benin United Nations Association (ANUB) at the end of the
Congress pledged their determination to create an African Federation of the United Nations Association (AFUNA).
8AFUNA would mobilise civil society towards the realisation of the objectives of the African Union.
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Agriculture is key to development -
Professor Andam
Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 22 November 2001- Professor K.A. Andam, Dean of the School of Engineering of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), on Wednesday warned that if the country did not get its agriculture on the right footing, it would be very difficult to reach the heights it had set itself.
Speaking at the opening of the Faculty of Agriculture Week celebration and exhibition as part of the Golden Jubilee of KNUST in Kumasi, he said there was no country that had not been governed by the land since creation.
The theme for the celebration is "KNUST- Its Impact and Challenges For National Development". Activities marking the faculty week celebrations include a clean-up exercise, visits to farms, a forum and inter-faculty lecture.
Professor Andam said the land had always sustained civilization and would continue to do so pointing out that countries that had succeeded in agriculture subsidised their farmers.
He said the country's land was being under utilised, adding that the first observation visitors made was that the vast stretch of land was not being utilised for agriculture.
Professor Andam therefore challenged the agriculture students to go out and make proper use of the land, saying: "You must capture the land. If you are going to depend on government employment, then you are going to be poor all your lives".
Professor D.B. Okai, Dean of the Faculty, said the Universities had often been falsely accused of conducting research not relevant to the needs of the country. Describing such criticisms as unfair he said: "If the acclaimed ‘Tech-Bankye’, came from research at the University, then how can it be said not to be relevant to the country"?
Professor Okai said the Faculty had played and continued to play a leading role in agriculture and food production in the country, adding that the exhibition was therefore to offer the public the opportunity to see what it could do.
He appealed to all stakeholders, including companies, NGOs and individuals for assistance to rehabilitate the faculty's infrastructure, especially its computers.
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Antwikrom (Brong Ahafo) 22 November 2001- Mr Ignatius Baffour Awuah, District Chief Executive for Sunyani on Tuesday commissioned a multi-million cedi gari processing factory at Antwikrom, near Sunyani, and called on cassava farmers to take advantage to increase production of the crop.
The establishment of the factory has come at an opportune time, in view of the President's special initiative for increased cassava production, he said.
The ¢247,963 million factory was built by Franciscan Minor Conventunals of Spain known as Pax et Bonum Company Limited. It obtains raw materials from more than nine farming villages around Antwikrom.
Originally built to process gari, palm oil and palm kernel oil, the project now also processes some Ghanaian staple food including fermented Corn Flour, Akpele Powder, Tuo Zaafe (TZ) powder, Konkonte, Nkontomire and Aleefu powder, as well as nails and prekese.
Mr Awuah pledged the district assembly's financial assistance to the company under the government's emergency social relief programme scheduled to take off in May, next year.
Dr Matthew K. Antwi, Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture announced that the government had set aside 15.2 billion cedis to purchase maize for storage to feed the nation during the lean season.
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Koforidua (Eastern Region) 22 November 2001- The Acting Deputy Director of the Ghana Tourists Board (GTB) Mr Edwin Owusu-Mensah has stated that the Board, in collaboration with the United States Peace Corps, would establish pilot Community-based Eco-Tourism Management Projects in the Eastern Region next year.
Mr Owusu-Mensah said the Aburi Botanical Gardens, the Klowem Mountains and Bunso, are areas that would be considered under the project and said the local people would be offered technical assistance in the management of tourist sites.
Mr Owusu-Mensah announcing this at a meeting with hoteliers at Koforidua said the Board would ensure that the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development assist District Assemblies in establishing tourism desks.
This, he said, would facilitate the identification and development of tourism attractions as well as the registration and licensing of informal partners in the tourist industry, such as drinking and chop bars operators. It will also help stakeholder improve their service delivery, pay taxes regularly and enable them to obtain technical and financial support.
He announced that the USAID has granted three million dollars to the Board for training programmes for operators in the industry and said a technical committee was working with the Attorney-General's Department to review and harmonise the legislation regarding the tourism industry.
To this end, Mr Owusu-Mensah said a Business Development Planning Unit had been set up by the Board to guide new entrants, train and offer extension services to operators in areas of service, maintenance and marketing.
He called for the strengthening of the various sub-unit operators in the industry towards the re-organisation of the defunct Ghana Federation of Tourism Operators (GHAFTOS) to enable them to solicit government's support and to ensure effective service delivery.
He said a number of hoteliers in the Central Region who have defaulted in the repayment of special loans for the preparations for PANAFEST '96 would be made to face prosecution as from January next year.
The Head of Research/Statistics/Information of the GTB, Mr Enoch Yaw Sarpong-Kumankumah, called on the operators to keep proper records to facilitate information gathering for planning and support services.
The National President of the Ghana Hoteliers Association (GHA), Nana Adjei Twinin, asked them to maintain efficiency in their services by employing trained personnel.
Some of the operators decried the many taxes being levied on them by the District Assemblies while others complained about their having to travel to the regional capital to purchase and file their VAT receipts and returns.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 22 November 2001- The Volta River Authority (VRA) said on Tuesday that it had plans to use its fibre optic infrastructure as a backbone to extend Information Technology (IT) to the 110 districts in the next five years.
Known as the E-Ghana Initiative, the project would serve mainly as a resource for manpower development in the fast changing IT age, Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby, Chief Executive, said in a lecture to mark VRA's 40th anniversary. The lecture was the first in a series on the attainment of 40 years of successful powering of the nation, notwithstanding some operational hiccups.
Dr Wereko-Brobby said VRA also had plans to launch an environmental initiative - The Greening of Ghana Initiative - to encourage massive tree planting throughout the country through NGOs, schools, homes and other institutions.
Speaking on the topic: "From Scientific Socialism to the Golden Age of Business: The VRA and Ghana's Development," the Chief Executive gave an overview spanning the Authority's establishment by Ghana's first President Dr Kwame Nkrumah, its mission, operations, successes and difficulties, as well as its future.
The operations of some partner agencies especially the Electricity Company of Ghana and its huge indebtedness were also discussed.
He said a major challenge for the VRA was to ensure that never again would Ghana be plunged into darkness, adding that such a situation would paralyse the President's vision of a "Golden Age of Business."
A second challenge is to be able to deliver power at the lowest possible cost, which must be fully recovered through economic tariffs.
Dr Wereko-Brobby disagreed with views that VRA should not charge economic tariffs because workers did not earn real wages and salaries and drew murmurs when he suggested that most consumers owned expensive home appliances and should be in a position to pay economic tariffs for the electricity they used to power them.
During the exchanges some contributors expressed concern about what they termed low tariffs being paid by VALCO, the Authority's bulk power consumer.
They called for a review of the agreement between VRA and VALCO so as to raise the existing tariffs and other related conditions in consonance with current economic trends and save the Authority from economic difficulties.
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Suyhen/Mpeam (Eastern Region) 22 November 2001-The Ghana National Commission on Children (GNCC) has reiterated its call on parents not to settle rape or defilement cases at home since it constituted a criminal offence.
The Eastern Regional Coordinator of GNCC, Mr Seth Oduro-Boateng made this known at a seminar for parents at Suyhen/Mpaem, in the New Juaben Municipality on Tuesday.
"People do not have the right to settle such cases outside the courts", he stressed. He said sexual abuse on children should not be covered since such incidents had long-term effects on the children and, therefore, offenders should be made to face the full rigours of the law.
Mr Oduro-Boateng also called on parents to make it mandatory to send their children to school to at least junior secondary school level to enable them to have the rudiment in basic literacy. He said children like adults, had the right to life, develop and participate in matters that concerned them and of protection.
He called on the parents in the community to form a broad-based committee to monitor other parents to make sure that they sent their children to school.
The Eastern Regional Court Officer of the Social Welfare, Mr Joseph Adu cautioned parents against the use of abusive words on their wards since such acts dampened their spirit. He also called on parents to talk to their children in a corrective manner when they are wrong rather than abuse.
The New Juaben Municipal Chief Executive, Nana Adjei Boateng called on parents not to compare their wards to others when they themselves had not done anything to cater for their up-bringing.
He further called on parents to train their children to have good morals to make them abstain from pre-marital sex in order not to contract the HIV/AIDS disease.
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