President Kufuor calls for Land Reforms to attract Investors
Volta River Authority sets sail with IT
Reconciliation concentrates on military governments
AIDS Scare in Accra: Girls deliberately
spreading virus
Over million dollar Chinese grant for Ghana
Chief calls for dialogue between TUC and government
Budget would be clear on government's vision - Kufuor
NDC elect new executives in 12 Ashanti constituencies.
Retired policemen petition government on payment of benefits
Nigerian Chief of Naval Staff visits Ghana tomorrow
Juaben (Ashanti Region) 26 November 2001-- President John Agyekum Kufuor has called for reforms in land acquisition to make it attractive for investors.
He said chiefs must assist the government in its land reforms programme so as to reduce the high incidence of land litigation to create a congenial atmosphere for investment.
President Kufuor made the call when he commissioned a 400,000 dollar Shea Nuts processing Factory for the Juaben Oil Mills at Juaben in the Ejisu/Juaben district of Ashanti region on Saturday.
The factory employs about 165 people directly and indirectly supported and sustained about 4500 shea nut pickers, carriers and transporters. The factory is a joint venture between Juaben Oil Mills Limited and OLAM, a leading multi-national in the business of food ingredients, from Singapore.
President Kufuor said chiefs could, in addition to the review of the land tenure system, have long periods of leasehold so that investors could be encouraged to secure more lands for investment.
"It could be done through equity or partnership or as shareholders with the investors in order that the lands could be kept for long periods", he added. He called for an efficient management and cordial labour relations so as to maintain the equipment and machines at the factory for them to realise its their capacity.
President Kufuor commended the Juabenhene for the initiative to diversify the operations of the Oil Mills and appealed to other chiefs to emulate the Juabenhene for establishing such joint ventures to create jobs and employment for their people.
He said his call on chiefs stemmed from the fact that a new crop of chiefs were emerging and that they had realised that the days when chiefs were recognised by their exploits in wars were gone and that the new type of chief emerging was the one who had the welfare of his people at heart.
President Kufuor said he accepted the invitation to commission the project because the project was in line with the NPP's policy of Private Sector Development, Foreign Investment and Joint Ventures.
Nana Otuo Sireboe 11, Juabenhene, who is the Executive Chairman of the company, said the Oil Mills employed about 215 workers, 40 of whom are women and that it had been engaged in the commercial production of palm oil and palm kernel oil since 1984.
Their major customers had been the industrial consumers of palm oil, like Unilever, PZ and Apino Soap Factory and was at the same time servicing the domestic market including almost all second cycle institutions in Ashanti.
He said in 1997, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), in conjunction with the Ghana Investment Promotions Centre, (GIPC), after a national survey, adjudged the mills the most successful and innovative small-scale enterprise in Ghana.
Nana Seriboe said the factory had the capacity to process 50 tones of shea nuts per day and that they were lucky to have received the support and co-operation of many individuals and organisations in the course of planning and executing the project.
He expressed his appreciation to ECOBANK, for not only granting the company a facility but following up with sound financial and management advice, which he noted, led to their making substantial savings on cost.
Nana Siriboe also expressed his sincere thanks to Professor Djokoto of the Department of Agricultural Engineering of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Techonology (KNUST), for designing and building the structure housing the equipment from local materials and supervising the installation of the plant.
Mr. Sridhar Krishanan, International Director of OLAM said the company dealt in cocoa, coffee, cashew, shea nuts, rice and sugar and that their interests were spread over five continents and 30 countries and that they directly employed 5,000 people and indirectly over 20,000 people.
He said since 1994, the company, which had spread rapidly throughout Ghana, had participated in the purchase of cocoa, palm oil and shea nuts and was the first private company to be licensed to buy cocoa and received the gold award for excellence last year.
Mr. Krishnan said the opening of the factory therefore, fulfilled their objective of adding value to their produce and that their partnership with Juaben Oil Mills was the first step towards adding value to shea nuts and therefore, a harbinger of more things to come.
Mr. Sampson Kwaku Boafo, Ashanti Regional Minister announced that early next week, the people of Boankra, whose lands would be affected by the construction of the Inland Port and the Ghana Shippers Council would hold their final meeting to thrash out any problems associated with the payment of compensation for the project to take off.
He warned the Boankra people that if, after the final meeting should anybody litigate over the acquisition of the land, he would remove the project from the town and send it to a place where the people would be accommodating.
GRi../
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Accra (Greater Accra) 26 November 2001 - The Volta River
Authority (VRA) says it has 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. VRA says it receives only 194 cedis for every kilowatt it supplies at 432 cedis. Besides, the Authority needs resources to expand existing facilities especially thermal power and also explore alternatives to facilitate business and investment.
Dr Wereko-Brobby disagreed with views that VRA should not charge economic tariffs
because workers did not earn real wages and salaries. He 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.
Dr Wereko-Brobby said the country currently stood on the
precipice of a third energy crisis after those of 1993 and 1998. "The
level of the Volta Lake is low and we cannot even get it to contribute more
than 45 per cent of our power needs from next year." However, the
Authority is optimistic of securing the future if it was able to recover cost
and made some profit.
Dr Wereko-Brobby mentioned the proposed West African Gas
Pipeline Project as one such areas it would use to provide reliable and cheaper
power through thermal plants.
He said the proposed Bui Hydro dam would be built only if the Authority was convinced that it was economically viable, adding that currently, government had terminated the existing Memorandum of Understanding signed by the former government to make way for fresh investigations into the viability of the project.
GRi../
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Reconciliation concentrates
on military governments
Accra (Greater Accra) 26 November 2001 - The Member of Parliament for Ho
West, Francis Agbotse, has warned of a possible coup d’etat if the proposed National
Reconciliation Commission is given mandate to investigate only military
regimes.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP claims that if the commission
were tasked to only investigate human rights violations committed under
unconstitutional governments, some elements within the Armed Forces would
consider it as a persecution of the military.
This, he said, could create some discontent in the army with a possible military take over in protest of the persecutions. Mr. Agbotse, urged Ghanaians to disabuse their minds of the notion that coup d’etats are a thing of the past saying that they can happen at anytime and should therefore be prevented.
The proposed reconciliation bill grants immunity against
criminal prosecution. Mr. Agbotse however says civil action can be taken
against witnesses. He believes that clear parameters should be defined to
protect witnesses who testify before the commission.
The majority NPP has contended that the reconciliation
should focus on only military regimes but the Minority NDC wants it to focus on
all human rights abuses committed from 1957 when the country attained
independence and 1993 when the country returned to constitutional rule. The
debate enters its third day on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the MP for Ho Central, Kofi Attor has warned that
the reconciliation commission could be an expensive exercise. According to him,
that as much as $20,000 could be spent on the commission, adding it is
imperative that commission’s mandate is clearly spelt out to achieve its primary
aim.
According to the provisions of the reconciliation bill, the Commission should complete its work one year after it has been established but Mr. Attor contends that one year it too short a time. - JOY FM
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Unconfirmed and conflicting reports indicate at least one girl, has been deliberating spreading HIV/AIDs among the elite in the country.
Earlier reports pointed to a University of Ghana, Legon student confessing on an FM station to have intentionally infected 27 "big men" with the deadly virus. According to her, the list includes a priest, minister(s) and some very prominent radio presenters. According to sources, she was a beauty pageant, when she got infected by a banker, who was apparently sponsoring her.
The names of her victims have been compiled, but instead of making them public, letters would be posted to those affected.
The girl protected her regular boy friend by insisting he uses a condoms. The boy did not understand until after the announcement on the interview. Some listeners suggested she be executed.
However, another report, points to two ladies, aged 25 years, claiming to have acquired the virus and spreading it amongst 27 men. The interview - by Fiifi Banson - took place this morning on an FM station. One of the ladies wanted to mention the names of the men who have slept with her, only to be restrained by the radio presenters.
Housewives and married women in Accra are desperately investigating if their husbands have not got in touch with these ladies confessing.
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Over million dollar Chinese grant for Ghana
Accra (Greater Accra) 26 November 2001 - Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Minister of Finance on Monday said collaborative efforts between the governments of Ghana and China were underway to establish a pulp and paper mill at Daboase in the Western Region.
He said as part of these efforts the Chinese government had successfully completed a feasibility study into the use of tropical hard wood for the manufacture of pulp and paper in Ghana.
Mr Osafo-Maafo made the announcement at a signing ceremony for a 3.5 million-dollar (25.6 billion cedis) Chinese grant to Ghana. Mr Lu Yongshou, Chinese Ambassador, who signed on behalf of his country, also presented the result of the feasibility studies to the Minister.
Mr Osafo-Maafo said unlike other grants from donors that come with predetermined purposes the government was yet to determine what the money would be used for.
He, however, hinted that some of the money would be given to the ministry of defence to undertake some of its numerous development programs.
Mr Osafo-Maafo said over the past 50 years Ghana had benefited from Chinese loans and grants for several projects including the National Theatre, Drama Studio, Afife and Nobewan Irrigation projects and the Dangbe East District Hospital.
"Recently the government sent a 10-member delegation to China to learn the Chinese experience in the industrial use of bamboo and its product," he said.
"This is part of efforts to import Chinese expertise in the use of bamboo for construction and other purposes in Ghana."
Mr Osafo-Maafo said there was a great potential for bamboo exports from Ghana to China, adding that the government intended to take advantage of that market.
He told the Chinese that the grant would be used judiciously and expressed the hope that Ghana-China co-operation that dated back to 1961, would grow from strength to strength under the Kufuor administration.
Mr Yongshou said the grant was an expression of China's goodwill and friendship with Ghana, adding that it was to support the development programmes that the Ghanaian government was undertaking to raise the living standards of the people.
He said talks between the Chinese and Ghanaian governments were underway for the cancellation of more than 77 billion cedis debt Ghana owed China.
Mr Kwame Addo Kufuor, Minister of Defence, who witnessed the ceremony, said the ministry has designed health, agricultural and socio-economic projects. "We have an agro-based project to convert the Accra plains into one of the food baskets of the country," he said. "We have so far received a total of 410 million cedis from local businessmen for this project."
He said the ministry had designed a facelift project for the 37 Military Hospital to make the hospital, the second largest in the country and a knowledge centre in the health sector.
Mr Addo Kufuor said the project would include a first class maternity department, accident centre and emergency centre among other facilities. He acknowledged Chinese support for the Ghanaian military and appealed for more support.
GRi../
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Toase (Ashanti Region) 26 November 2001 - Nana Asiama Poku Afrifa, chief of Toase at the weekend called for dialogue between the leadership of the trades Union Congress (TUC) and the government on all labour issues to ensure industrial peace and increased productivity.
Nana Afrifa, who was the National Chairman of Local Government Workers Union of the TUC, said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency.
He advised workers to co-operate with the government in its efforts at revamping the economy and creating jobs for the youth, to give meaning to the positive change Ghanaians were yearning for.
The TUC should initiate concrete measures to avoid arbitrary dismissals and cheating at work places, since such tendencies affected productivity. He also called on workers to support the government in improving the transport sector to facilitate socio-economic activities, adding that the agricultural sector needed overhauling.
Nana Afrifa advised members of TUC not to limit their activities to labour issues but to participate actively in the current democratic process to ensure peace and stability.
GRi../
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Accra (Greater Accra) 26 November 2001 - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Monday said the government's budget for next year would come out with clear indicators on its vision for all sectors of the economy.
He said being a government with a vision to help the people unleash the wealth that abounds in the country, the basic foundation for socio-economic development had been laid in terms of legal framework, liberalised economy and stable currency that had made it possible for the private sector to have access to credit.
President Kufuor said this when Ms Eveline Herfkens, Dutch Minister for Development Co-operation, paid a courtesy call on him at the Castle, Osu. He said: "Coming out with a budget clear on its vision, we want our international partners to appreciate what we have done with their support."
President Kufuor said the government was looking for heightened relations between Ghana and the Netherlands in the fields of health, education and agriculture as well as infrastructure, especially in the road sector.
He said both governments would celebrate 300 years of relations between them and the event could be well celebrated when Netherlands assisted with the rehabilitation of any of the three major road networks in the country. These were the Accra-Kumasi road, Accra-Cape Coast road and the Accra-Aflao road.
President Kufuor said the decentralisation programme was being pursued to get the people deeply involved in the implementation of government policies and programmes.
Ms Herfkens said the Netherlands new partnership for Africa was to support credible policies that fight poverty. Therefore, Netherlands now preferred to assist transparent budgets and policies that could translate into poverty reduction.
Ms Herfkens expressed her appreciation to Ghanaians for their commitment and consensus building that had found a common ground for nation building. "It is necessary to have the political will to implement decentralisation programmes in both developed and developing countries."
She said future development in Africa depended on dealing with conflicts and Ghana's role in peace mission both in Africa and in other parts of the world was commendable and pledged the Netherlands assistance when the need arose.
Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, Minister of Foreign Affairs, appealed to the Netherlands government to pass the necessary legislation to enable the over 40,000 Ghanaians, who live there to invite their relatives to stay with them.
GRi../
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NDC elect new executives in 12 Ashanti constituencies.
Ejisu (Ashanti Region) 26 November 2001 - The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has held delegates conferences in 12 out of the 33 constituencies in Ashanti as part of its re-organisation exercise to prepare the party for the 2004 general elections.
The constituencies are Adansi-Asokwa, Fomena, Bosome-Freho, Bantama, Kwabre, Odotobri, Asokwa East and Ahafo-Ano North. The remaining 21 are expected to conduct elections to pick new officers by November 27.
Addressing the constituency conference of Ejisu-Juaben, Mr Emmanuel Nti-Fordjour, Regional Vice-Chairman, asked members and supporters to ensure that they maintain the unity and cohesion of the party at all levels.
He advised them to guard against acts likely to create, confusion, division and intra-party feuding, pointing out that, the party needed "absolute internal peace and harmony to stand up against the challenges the party now faces."
Mr Nti-Fordjour reminded them that it was time all genuine members contributed and made the necessary sacrifices to inject dynamism into the organisational machinery of the party at the ward, branch and constituency levels.
He noted that through steadfastness, hard work, discipline and dedication, the NDC would regain the political power it lost to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in 2004.
The delegates elected Mr Appiah Twumasi, a retired Educationist, as the new constituency chairman. Meanwhile, the Ashanti Regional Secretariat of the party has sent a message of good wishes to Muslims in Ghana on the occasion of the Islamic Holy Month of Ramadan.
GRi../
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Retired policemen petition government on
payment of benefits
Bolgatanga (Upper East) 26 November 2001 - A group of retired policemen in the Upper East Region have petitioned the government to investigate the cause of the delay in the payment of entitlements due them following their compulsory retirement.
A release issued in Bolgatanga on Friday and signed by their spokesman, Sgt. Adamu Afoyam, stated that they were compulsorily retired five years earlier than the normal retirement age of 60.
The release said the affected servicemen found the action unconstitutional and a violation of their rights. It said although the Appeals Court in 1994 ruled in their favour and ordered that they should be paid various sums of monies as gratuity, the Ghana Police Service is yet to pay them.
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Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 26 November 2001 - The Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) administration has set up a committee to review all wholesale and dubious promotions of personnel to streamline its operations.
Mr. I. Kofi Opoku-Ntiamoah, Commissioner of CEPS, announced this at a staff durbar at Sunyani on Friday to begin a four-day official visit to the Brong Ahafo Region.
The visit would enable him to interact with personnel of the service, to identify operational problems and find solutions to enable them to work efficiently to maximise revenue collection.
Commenting on a complaint by a staff member over stalled promotions for some personnel, Mr. Opoku-Ntiamoah blamed previous administrations for the situation, saying that while some personnel were not promoted for 10 years, others received accelerated promotions twice within a year.
Noting that the Sunyani Regional office was not making any significant headway in revenue collection, he urged the staff to redouble their efforts to meet set targets.
Mr Opoku-Ntiamoah, the first career customs officer to head the service, cautioned that all regional sectional and frontier heads who did not perform to expectation would be replaced by more competent, dynamic and efficient officers.
He emphasised that with six more weeks to the end of the year, smuggling activities would be intensified and called on the service's anti-smuggling task force to be resolute in their operations to clamp down on the "nation wreckers."
On accommodation for personnel vehicles for operations and other logistics to motivate staff, the commissioner gave the assurance that everything possible would be done to improve their performance.
Mr. Alex Okunor, Assistant Commissioner in-charge of Brong Ahafo in a welcoming address announced that though the over-all revenue collection in the region had declined over the past three months, more than 8.6 billion cedis had
been realised exceeding the sector's target of 7.5 billion cedis.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 26 November 2001- The Nigerian Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral S Afolayan, would begin a five-day visit to Ghana from Tuesday.
A statement from the Public Relations Directorate of the Ghana Armed Forces said Vice Admiral Afolayan would pay a courtesy call on the Minister of Defence and the Chief of the Defence Staff on Wednesday at Burma Camp.
He would pay courtesy calls on the Ashanti Region Minister and the Asantehene and visit Ashanti Goldfields, Obuasi on Thursday.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 26 November 2001 - Vice President Aliu Mahama is to begina four-day official visit to the Ashanti Region from next Monday, during which he would visit a number of districts and inspect some projects.
A statement issued from his office said Alhaji Mahama would present computers to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, his Alma Mater.
Projects he would inspect include abandoned structures of ABU Construction Company at Yawkwei in the Asante Akim District, the Urban Five Oyonso Road
Project at Agogo, the Chirapatre Computer Centre and the Kejetia Rehabilitation Project.
The statement said he would also cut the sod for the OPEC Hospital Project, commission the Abore Gold Project and meet some Muslim and Zongo chiefs.
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