Don't
use marital status to judge me - Botchwey
National
policy on Information, Communication and Technology necessary
Authorities
won’t compromise on discipline – Vice Chancellor
Development
projects for Volta Region
University
to introduce courses in swimming and tennis
Don't
use marital status to judge me - Botchwey
Tamale (Northern
Region) 04 November 2002- Dr Kwesi Botchwey, aspiring presidential candidate of
the NDC has stated that people should not judge him by his marital status.
"My being
responsible or irresponsible should not be judge on my marital status, he said
adding what matters most is I am capable of delivering the goods". Dr
Botchwey was answering questions from newsmen in a short interview in Tamale on
Friday.
He said he was married
for 18 years and had been blessed with a son and a daughter who have also given
him two grandchildren. "There is somebody in my life and at the right
time, people will know her and she will be a "first lady" he added.
Dr Botchwey said he
resigned from the Ministry of Finance and not the NDC and cautioned those
saying he had come to "sow seed of confusion" in the party to
disabuse their minds because he had played an active role in the development of
the NDC.
He said at the time he
took office as Finance Minister, Ghana's economy was at its lowest level,
adding that, he worked hard to bring it back to real economy growth. The former
Finance Minister called for a new NDC where grassroots structures would be
revised and made strong to enable the party to win elections in 2004.
On selection of
parliamentary candidates, he said that the people would decide candidates of
their choice and that no one would be imposed on them as was done by the old
NDC in the 2000 elections.
"We need a new
NDC with a new vision to champion the course of the party to victory" he
said. "If we do not win the 2004 elections, the party will be in trouble,
he noted, saying, "People are in disillusion and are calling on the NDC to
lead them"
GRi…/
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Hohoe (Volta Region)
04 November 2002- Professor John Atta Mills, seeking to be the Presidential
candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2004 elections, has
called on party supporters to be steadfast and work hard for victory in the
elections.
He was addressing the
Executive members of the Hohoe North and South Constituencies of the party at
Hohoe in the run-up to the party's Congress to elect its flagbearer in December
this year.
He earlier addressed a
similar meeting of Executives of the Buem and Biakoye constituencies of the
party at Jasikan. Prof. Mills, who cautioned against divisive tendencies within
the party apologised for the party's mistakes during the last elections.
"We have learnt
our lessons, let us now forge ahead to win the 2004 elections", he said.
Prof. Mills gave the assurance that the development of the Volta region would
be his priority if given the mandate to be the Presidential candidate of the
party and eventually elected as President during the 2004 elections.
Dr Kwabena Adjei, MP
for Biakoye called for the election of Professor Mills as the party's
flagbearer, saying having won 45 percent of the votes in the last Presidential
elections his chances in the 2004 elections are bright.
Kwasivi Bansah,
Chairman of the Hohoe North Constituency branch of the party was hopeful that
the campaign for the flagbearership of the party would not degenerate into
division and acrimony at the grassroots. He called for unity and support for
whoever wins the party's primary to lead the party in the election.
GRi…/
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National
policy on Information, Communication and Technology necessary
Cape Coast (Central
Region) 04 November 2002- The Reverend Professor Adow Obeng, Vice Chancellor of
the University of Cape Coast (UCC), has stated that there was the need for a
national policy on Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) to enable
the nation to benefit.
Reverend Prof Obeng
made the call at a matriculation of 3,763 freshmen and women as part of
activities marking the 40th anniversary of the University. Twenty-two of the
new students, including four females, have been admitted to read the newly
introduced programmes of Computer Science, Computer Science Education and
Optometry.
Reverend Prof Obeng
noted that the programmes, together with others yet to be introduced were to
address the needs of the nation. According to him, the Computer Science
programme marked the beginning of a conscious effort to train professional
Computer Science teachers for second cycle institutions.
The University Council
had approved the establishment of an ICT centre on campus at a total cost of
2.3bn cedis with a view to providing students and staff access to information
technology through a multi-faceted and reliable network infrastructure to
enhance teaching, learning and research work.
He disclosed that an
additional amount of 790m cedis would be required each year to run the centre
when completed. The Vice Chancellor said the project was financed with a loan
from the Barclays Bank to be repaid over a three-year period.
GRi…/
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Authorities
won’t compromise on discipline – Vice Chancellor
Cape Coast (Central
Region) 04 November 2002- The Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast
(UCC), the Reverend Professor Emmanuel Adow Obeng has said that the authorities
of the University would not compromise on discipline.
He said impersonation;
admission malpractices, identity card fraud and issuing of illegal letters of
introduction for passports and visas involving some staff as well as outsiders
were assuming an alarming proportion.
Prof. Obeng speaking
at the matriculation of fresh students to highlight the 40th anniversary
celebration of the UCC at Cape Coast said some of the students and staff
involved had been dismissed.
In all 3,763 students
out of more than 12,000 candidates who applied took the matriculation oath to
read various courses including computer science, computer science education and
optometry, which were introduced recently.
Some pioneer students
were also re-matriculated as part of the 40th Anniversary
celebration. The Vice Chancellor expressed concern about some parents and
guardians who followed their wards who had flouted university regulations to
plead for them.
He advised them to
desist from the practice to allow the authorities to inculcate a sense of
decorum and sanity in the students to stem indiscipline on the campus. Prof.
Obeng expressed concern about media comments about the residential policy of
the University and said the programme to provide 50 per cent of beds to fresh men
and women, was on course.
He denied that the
authorities were not concerned about the welfare of students and said SSNIT and
VALCO Trust had promised to provide more residential accommodation. "We
shall continue to explore all avenues through, which we ensure an improvement
in the facilities both academic and residential that are necessary for
effective teaching and leaning".
He said increase in
admissions had not been marched by a corresponding expansion of residential,
academic and other facilities required for the efficient operations of the
University.
The Vice Chancellor
appealed to the government, financial institutions, churches and private estate
developers to assist the University. Prof. Obeng commended GETFund for
releasing 12.1bn cedis to the University for the development of infrastructure,
equipment, vehicles and other services.
On the funding of
tertiary education, the Vice Chancellor said it was time to take "a bold
and final decision on the issue" since stakeholders had agreed on cost sharing.
What is needed now is decision on who should pay what, he said.
He urged the fresh men
and women to conduct themselves well and to use dialogue to address their
grievances. The 40th Anniversary cloth was launched and auctioned for between
250 and 5m cedis.
GRi…/
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Development
projects for Volta Region
Ho (Volta Region) 04
November 2002-A total of 64 community-based projects worth 6.9bn cedis are to
be executed in five districts in the Volta Region under the Social Investment
Fund between now and next year.
The projects, to be
jointly funded, by the government, the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) and the Africa Development Fund (ADF) would benefit 46,000 poor people
in the Ho, Kpando, Keta, Nkwanta and Kadjebi districts.
Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom,
Minister of Economic Planning and Regional Co-operation presented the cheque
for the amount to Kofi Dzamesi, Deputy Volta Regional Minister at the launching
of the projects at Ho.
Dr. Nduom also
presented another cheque of 9m cedis to the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) of
Volta Barracks, School, Ho, for the purchase of equipment for its Kindergarten
stream.
He said the government
is committed to an equitable share of its scarce financial resources for the
development of all parts of the country without any parochial considerations.
Dr Nduom, who was
accompanied by Dr Ben Issa Salifu, Minister of State at the National
Development Planning Commission (NDPC) said the Ghana Poverty Reduction
Strategy (GPRS), aims at helping the poor in the country to achieve financial
independence.
He said the Strategy's
focus and vision are to progressively reduce the number of poor people in the
country from the current 90 percent of the population so that by the year 2010
the average Ghanaian would be able to earn 8m cedis a year.
Dr. Nduom said the
government was determined to put an end to its dependence on external
assistance in funding its development programmes for which reason it would
monitor all social and economic investments to ensure their profitability and
sustainability.
He said investments in
small-scale productive activities such as poultry have started yielding
encouraging results where the repayment schedules were being met at a rate of
92 percent with good prospects for further support for expansion.
Dr. Nduom however,
expressed disappointment at the performance of women in fishing and called on
District Assemblies to ensure that beneficiaries did their best to pay back and
justify future support.
He called on the
Regional Co-ordinating Councils (RCCs) and District Assembles to ensure that
projects, which have great prospects for sustainability, profitability and
capable of making the greatest positive impact on the lives of communities are
selected to benefit from the SIF.
Dr. Nduom called on
rice farmers in the Volta Region to step up their production to enable them to
reap the financial benefits which would accrue from the government's directive
to subvented organisations to purchase only locally produced rice.
Dr. Salifu said the
task of reducing the present level of poverty in the country was not going to
be easy. He said the magnitude of the problem was challenging and that the determination
and commitment by the citizenry in support of government's efforts were vital
in overcoming the problem.
Miss Ama Serwaa Dapaa,
Executive Director of SIF explained that the selection of the beneficiary
districts was based on various poverty assessment studies in the country. She
said the basic criteria for selecting the beneficiary communities were based on
the impact of the projects, prospects for sustainability, their direct income
generating and capacity building content and activities on the poor.
Miss Dapaa said the
SIF would expand its activities from the present 45 districts in the 10 regions
to 80 districts by June 2003. She said the projects approved under the Fund
have increased steadily from 64, in December 2001 to 123 in March 2002 and by
the end of September, it would have increased to 459.
GRi…/
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University
to introduce courses in swimming and tennis
Kumasi (Ashanti Region)
04 November 2002- The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
(KNUST) will from the 2003/2005 academic year introduce courses in swimming and
tennis.
This is to encourage
the development of the lesser known sports in the country and re-position the
university to produce talented athletes who would be counted among the best in
the world.
Professor Kwesi Andam,
Vice-Chancellor, announced this at this year's matriculation ceremony of the
university in Kumasi on Saturday. 4,515
out of 11,650 qualified candidates gained admission.
Professor Andam said
subjects such as music and law would also be introduced to enable interested
students to earn credit and add to their cumulative weighted average (CWA). He
cautioned against the continued fleeing of African graduates to Europe and the
Americas to seek greener pastures.
Professor Andam warned
that if the situation was not stopped, eradication of poverty and disease would
continue to elude Ghana and Africa in general. He said it was not sufficient to
flee Ghana into USA and remit few dollars occasionally to parents, adding that,
"nations are built with active resident brains and not with absentee
technocrats." Professor Andam advised the new students to study hard and
abide by all regulations of the university to make their stay enjoyable.
GRi…/
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