Attorney-General
calls for reforms in Criminal Code
Fallen heroes of
world wars remembered nationwide
Districts to
post newly trained teachers next year
Mutilation of
bank notes costs Ghana ¢3bn a month
Help address the
high drop-out incidence - Jumah
MP to pay
medical bills of students hit by lightning
Heart
Foundation, journalists get donation
SSS student
drowned in the sea
University
Student sacked for falsifying grades
Don’t
exploit the vulnerable - Kufuor
Make
education accessible to every child - Dr Osafo
Government urged to finalise doctors’ remuneration
Participants in Investors' Advisory Council meeting arrive
First black professional footballer a Ghanaian honoured in Doncaster
Attorney-General
calls for reforms in Criminal Code
Accra (Greater Accra)
11 November 2002 - Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Attorney-General and Minister
for Justice, on Monday called for the reform of parts of the Criminal Code of
1960 which criminalise assault and battery, incest, rape and defilement of a
child less than sixteen years.
He said
criminalisation of domestic violence under the Code has its shortcomings that
have manifested themselves in the difficulties inherent in the prosecution,
trial and sentence of perpetrators. "Additionally, modern research has
shown that the existing punitive measures under the Code, such as custodial
sentences after protracted court processes, do not provide the victims with the
redress they should have," he said.
Speaking at a day's
consultative forum in Accra to discuss the draft bill on Domestic Violence Nana
Akufo-Addo said the reform would provide victims with all the redress they
should have in the trial of their cases.
The forum was attended
by stakeholders from the Women and Juvenile Unit (WAJU) of the Ghana Police
Service, Parliamentarians, Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA),
Attorney-General's Department, Legal Research Centre, Ministry of Justice and
the Judicial Service, among others.
The shortcomings such
as customary servitudes, widowhood and female genital mutilation, Nana
Akufo-Addo said, had often manifested in the difficulties inherent in the
prosecution, trial and sentencing of perpetrators.
He noted that drafted
bill is an attempt to approach matters relating to domestic violence stipulated
in the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in
a comprehensive manner. The bill, when enacted into law, would protect the
rights of people as well as the dignity of the society.
Nana Akufo-Addo
explained that victims of domestic violence over the years did not receive
adequate response from the police because of stereotyped notions that such acts
were family matters better settled by the family itself. "The setting up
of WAJU in Accra and other regional capitals clearly shows that the police had
turned over a new leaf and are now fully engaged in this particular
battle," he added.
Mrs Gladys Asmah,
Minister of the Women and Children's Affairs, said women and children are
always the most vulnerable to domestic violence. She said the Ministry had set
up a six-member committee to investigate the case of a 11-year-old girl who was
raped two years ago and is now paralysed. Asmah urged women to report any form
of assault meted to them to WAJU for immediate action.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Hohoe (Volta Region)
11 November 2002 - A five-day training workshop organised by the ‘ABANTU For
Development,’ an African oriented Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) for 25
participants including 20 women began at Hohoe on Monday.
The workshop is aimed
at eradicating the cultural, legal and political obstacles to women, attaining
economic independence and equality before the law and ensures that advancement
of women's interest benefit the entire community.
Topics to be covered
include, the introduction of strategic planning, changing strategic planning
practices to promote gender sensitivity in governance structures, promoting
advocacy and lobbying to influence more equitable planning process. The
participants were drawn from all the 12 districts in the Volta Region.
Daniel Yerenya-Tawiah,
a resource person, told the Ghana News Agency that the workshop was expected to
raise the capacity of the women with skills and tools to enable them to
participate fully and efficiently in the decision- making process.
It is also to
sensitise women about their inequality and the need to address it to enable
them participate in the democratic process. Yerenya-Tawiah said the
organisation has held similar workshops in the Eastern and the three northern
regions.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Fallen
heroes of world wars remembered nationwide
Accra (Greater Accra)
11 November 2002 - Remembrance Services for fallen world war heroes were held
in various parts of the country on Monday.
In Accra, a two-hour
service took place at the Independence Square to remember those who died as a
result of the two world wars. President John Kufuor, Vice president Aliu
Mahama, ministers of state and members of the Diplomatic Corps attended the
service.
Also in attendance
were contingents of the Ghana Armed Forces, the Police and the Veterans
Association of Ghana (VAG). Chief Petty Officer Class One Emmanuel Adjetey read
the Binyon verse, the siren blew, the last post was sounded and two minutes
silence observed in memory of the deceased.
President Kufuor laid
the first of 12 wreaths at the function. The high commissioners of countries,
which fought alongside Britain and VAG, laid other wreaths. Nii Adote Obour,
Sempe Mantse, laid a wreath on behalf of chiefs.
At Cape Coast, four
wreaths were laid at the cenotaph, near the Cape Coast Castle, to commemorate
the fallen gallant soldiers in the two world wars.
Foster Forson,
Executive Director of the Central Regional Development Commission who represented
the Central Regional Minister, Isaac Adumadze, laid one on behalf of the
President, government and people of Ghana, while
Superintendent of
Police Emmanuel Agyenim Boateng, who represented the Central Regional Police
Commander laid one for the Security Services. Nana Kwamena Anyifa IX,
Adontehene of Oguaa Traditional Area who represented the Oguaahene laid one on
behalf of chiefs.
Daniel Quaye, chairman
of the Central Regional branch of the Veteran Association of Ghana, (VAG) laid
one for the Veterans. Two hundred and fifty personnel from the Police, Fire
Service, Prisons, City Guards, VAG and Cadets from St Augustine and Adisadel
colleges formed the parade.
There was a parade
held to mark the occasion at the cenotaph in Sunyani. In attendance were five
contingents made up of 186 men and eight officers drawn from the Army, Police,
Prisons, Immigration and CEPS and the Veterans Association of Ghana (VAG) under
the command of Captain John Abugri.
The service, which
lasted about 45 minutes, was also attended by Chiefs, Heads of Departments and
a cross-section of the people and conducted by Major Laud Hammond, Chaplain of
3 Garrison, Sunyani.
Lt. Col. Opoku Adusei,
Commander of the Third Battalion read the verse from the Bible after which a
siren was sounded by Ghana the National Fire Service (GNFS). Warrant Officer
class One (WO1) Stephen Diawuo (rtd), Brong Ahafo Region Chairman of the VAG
read the Binyon verse after which five wreaths were laid.
Yaw Adjei-Duffuor,
Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, laid the first one on behalf of the
government and people of Ghana whilst Lt. Col Adusei on behalf of the Ghana
Armed Forces laid the second.
Assistant Commissioner
of Police George Oppong Asante laid the third wreath on behalf of the security
services whilst Nana Kwadwo Nyarko, President of the Regional House of Chiefs
laid one for the chiefs and people of the region. WO1 Diawuo laid the last one
on behalf of ex-service men in the region.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Districts
to post newly trained teachers next year
Begoro (Eastern
Region) 11 November 2002 - Daniel K. Adu, District Director of Education, has
said District Directorates of Education would take the responsibility for
posting newly trained teachers with effect from next academic year.
Speaking at an
orientation course to induct newly trained teachers at Begoro, he said the new
policy would come into effect when the first batch of teachers sponsored by the
District Assemblies
come out.
He said the principle
where national headquarters of the Ghana Education Service (GES) posted newly
trained teachers to the district for the districts to post them to the schools
in the communities would cease from next year.
Adu said District
Assemblies sponsorship beneficiaries would report directly to the District
Offices of the GES for direct posting to their stations. He asked newly trained
teachers to accept postings to the rural areas and contribute their fresh
knowledge and skills to raise the level of education in the district.
Adu warned the
teachers to desist from indulging in local politics in their communities to
jeopardise their future. He said the district was working feverishly to enable
them receive their salaries on time. The Assistant Director for Manpower, Mr
Emmanuel Mensah Adde, said 76 newly trained teachers have been posted to the
district this year, against 54 teachers, last year. He said despite this
number, more teachers were required to fill vacancies in the district.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Mutilation
of bank notes costs Ghana ¢3bn a month
Accra (Greater Accra)
11 November 2002 - The Bank of Ghana (BOG) spends about ¢3bn a month to replace
bank notes that are mutilated by poor handling practices such as tearing, crumpling,
frequent folding, burning and soiling with dirt, oil and other fluids.
From January to August
this year, the bank destroyed ¢128.9m mutilated notes of various denominations,
the equivalent of ¢244.3bn.
In an interview with
the Ghana News Agency (GNA) to throw more light on the issue, Edward
Ofei-Bekoe, Head of the Issue Department of the Central Bank, explained that
about nine million bank notes, which have been in circulation for up to six
months or a year, were withdrawn every month as a result of mutilation.
He said the situation
was of serious concern to the Bank because the three billion cedis spent to put
fresh notes into circulation could have been saved and paid into the
Consolidation Fund for socio-economic development.
It is a criminal
offence to mutilate money in Ghana. However, there have hardly been arrests and
prosecutions to deter members the public from the practice. Economists say
three billion cedis can build 10 primary schools for some deprived communities,
a clinic for some villages, a 400-bed hostel for a university or help equip the
Police to protect life and property.
Ofei-Bekoe explained
that mutilated notes cease to be legal tender because they lose their security
features as a result of being badly torn, partially burnt, too soft and light,
dirty or defaced. That is why they are withdrawn from circulation and burnt.
He, therefore, advised
Ghanaians, particularly, cooked food sellers, traders, drivers and mechanics to
cherish their cedi notes and preserve their freshness so as to increase their
lifespan. "We must desist from crumpling our notes and handling them with
wet and dirty fingers," he cautioned.
Ofei-Bekoe said
keeping the bank notes in obscure places, under beds, in dirty environments and
on certain parts of our bodies, such as the private parts, also mutilated them.
On measures being
taken by the Central Bank to educate Ghanaians on the consequence of mutilating
the notes, Ofei-Bekoe said a massive campaign to be embarked on before the
introduction of the 10,000 and 20,000 cedi denominations would address the
issue.
Already, the Ladies
Association of the Bank has a programme, "Keep the Cedi Clean," that
educates, especially traders at various markets, on the proper handling of bank
notes.
Asked why the wide use
of credit and debit cards to minimise cash transaction would not be promoted as
a better option, Ofei-Bekoe said though the banks favoured this choice plus the
use of cheques, they were finding it difficult to have their clients to adopt
them.
"Using cheques
for transactions is much easier and faster for the banks, but the lack of trust
among business partners in dealing with genuine cheques has discouraged the
reliance on cheques," he said.
He added that lack of
technology in monetary transactions mostly in the rural areas also made it
difficult to use card machines and cheques. Ofei-Bekoe, however, expressed
optimism that cards and cheques would gradually replace cash transactions as
socio-economic development progressed with the introduction of new
technologies.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Help
address the high drop-out incidence - Jumah
Kumasi (Ashanti
Region) 11 November 2002 - Maxwell Kofi Jumah, Kumasi Metropolitan Chief
Executive, has asked all operators in the education sector to help address the
high school drop out rate among pupils and students in the country.
He described the
prevailing rate of 20 percent for boys and 30 percent for girls as
"unacceptable" Jumah made the call in an address read for him at the
50th Anniversary and Speech and Prize-Giving Day of the State Experimental
School in Kumasi.
He said the
government's education policy has been skewed to favour accessibility and
promote teacher development. “Everything is being done to ensure parity in the
distribution of teachers to urban and rural deprived schools. The Metropolitan
Assembly will lend a helping hand to support the improvement of infrastructure
of schools in Kumasi.”
Joseph Kwadwo Tadie
Achampong, the Headmaster, said the school would work hard to uphold and
sustain its high level academic performance. He said since the introduction of
the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) the school has always scored
100 percent pass with some of their candidates obtaining grade one in all
subjects.
The Headmaster praised
the Parent/Teacher Association (PTA) and School Management Committee (SMC) for
providing the school with additional classrooms as well as the introduction of
incentive packages for teachers.
He appealed to the
Metropolitan Assembly and the Education Ministry to help them construct a fence
wall to control the movement of pupils, a library complex and a computer
laboratory.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra)
11 November 2002 - The President of the US-Africa Sister Cities
Foundation, Madam
Shirley Rivenns Smith arrived in Accra on Monday from the US at the head of a
five-member delegation in connection with the 12th annual US-Africa
Sister Cities Conference scheduled for Accra from 29 June to 5 July 2003.
The conference is
coordinated by Ghana Sister Cities Foundation and is expected to bring together
about 1,000 participants from sister cities the world over.
In an interview with
newsmen on arrival, Madam Smith said through the US- Africa Sister Cities
Foundation a lot of African-Americans have been exposed to the African
continent, its people and culture.
She said the impact of
the foundation has been significant leading to about 100,000 African-Americans
visiting Africa every year. "We've been able to educate African-Americans
on Africa and reduced the ignorance as well as shedding of the negative image
of the continent over the past 40 years the foundation has been in existence.
"We are also
trying to bridge the gap between Africans on the continent and those in the
Diaspora through one-on-one meetings with the people as well as through the
sister cities ideas.
Madam Smith said
during the conference they would discuss how to move the foundation forward and
create more awareness on HIV/AIDS and how they can mobilise funds for AIDS
patients as well as the benefits of volunteerism. She said the conference would
also discuss educational assistance to rural communities as well as literature
on the African-American.
Madam Smith said
mayors from all over the US would be attending the conference and would meet
with their Ghanaian counterparts to share ideas.
The delegation was met
on arrival by Prince Kludjeson, President of the Ghana Sister Cities Foundation.
The delegation would pay a courtesy call on the vice President, Alhaji Aliu
Mahama, who at one time served as the chairman of Tamale-Louisville Sister
Cities Relationship and would act as the Honorary Patron for the Ghana 2003
Conference.
The delegation would
also call on some ministers as well as mayors of various cities in the country.
Currently, nine registered Ghanaian cities and communities are in relationship
with sister cities in the US.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
MP to
pay medical bills of students hit by lightning
Bekwai (Ashanti
Region) 11 November 2002 - Kofi Poku-Adusei, Member of Parliament for Bekwai,
has offered to pay the medical bills of the four students of Bekwai Seventh-Day
Adventist Secondary School hospitalised for injuries they sustained when
lighting struck the school recently.
They are Anita
Aboagye, 15, Ernestina Ataa Kwartemaa, 16, Sara Manu 15, all first year
students and Beatrice Afoakwa, a second year student. The lighting that
accompanied a torrential rainfall killed Linda Okyere, a student of the school
and Miss Akua Sara, a seamstress.
Poku-Adusei's offer
came during a visit to the school to express his sympathy to the authorities of
the school and the victims. The MP appealed to the teachers and students to put
the tragic incident behind them and carry on with their academic work.
Madam Mercy Adu
Tiwaah, the Headmistress, said they were becoming apprehensive at the way
lighting continues to strike the school. The recent incident was the third in
three years, she said, adding that they wished there could be a technological
device to protect the school.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Heart
Foundation, journalists get donation
Accra (Greater Accra)
11 November 2002 - The Ghana Chamber of Mines (GCM) has donated ¢641m to
various institutions and organisations since 2001.
This does not include
donations that individual companies make to their respective host communities,
James Anaman, President of the GCM, said on Monday when he presented cheques
amounting to ¢30m to the Ghana Heart Foundation (GHF) and the Ghana Journalists
Association (GJA) in Accra.
Dr Lawrence Agyeman
Sereboe of the National Cardiothoracic Centre of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital
received the ¢20m cheque on behalf of the GHF whilst Mrs Gifty Affenyi- Dadzie,
President of the Journalists Association received the ¢10m for GJA.
Annan said the GCM
would in addition provide the GJA with five million cedis every year. He said
the media was the only institution that could ensure true democratic practice
in the country and therefore needed the support of not only corporate society but
also individuals.
Annan said the
donation to the GHF was separate from the Chamber's support for medical
elective programmes of the two medical schools. He said in fulfilment of a
pledge made earlier to the Foundation, the Chamber would provide with 50
million cedis which would spread over three years.
He said Ghanaians
needed to realise the importance of health issues and rally behind the Korle-Bu
Teaching Hospital. He said institutions assisted by the chamber included the
police, the National Disaster Fund, Ghana Prisons Service and AIDS Commission.
Dr Sereboe said 50 per
cent of the cost of treatment of cardiovascular disease is taken up the
hospital, adding that despite that the GHF still has to cater for patients who
are unable to stay. He said a recent exercise organised recently showed an
increase in cardiovascular diseases especially among the chief executives.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Tema (Greater Accra)
11 November 2002 - The Tema Circuit Tribunal at the week-end imposed a fine of
¢20m or 12 months imprisonment on an unemployed man for stealing a number of
items from a house.
A carpenter who was
engaged to help in removing louver blades from the building also had a 100,000
cedi fine and bonded to be of good behaviour for 12 months. Ernest Ofori and
Francis Nortey, the carpenter, pleaded guilty with explanation.
Prosecuting, Police
Inspector Ben Agbedanu told the tribunal chaired by Seth Teye that on 16
October 2002, Ofori engaged Nortey in his aunt's house at community 18 to
remove 162 louver blades and a number of frames. Ofori also took along 15 used
video decks, three ceiling fans, three plastic chairs and a number of dinning
plates from the house and sold them in Kumasi.
Inspector Agbedanu
said on October 17, the two accused persons were seen in the house, trying to
remove more items and the police, who rushed to the house to find them in a
room. He said the police managed to get access to the house and after combing
the rooms arrested Ofori who had locked himself up in the toilet, while Nortey
was found in another room. According to police investigations, Ofori was sent
to Britain by his aunt, but was brought back to Ghana because of his criminal
activities.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
SSS
student drowned in the sea
Cape Coast (Central
Region) 11 November 2002 - Master Prince Quansah, a 17-year-old
student of the
Mfantsipim Secondary School in Cape Coast on Saturday drowned in the sea while
swimming.
The police at Cape
told the GNA on Sunday that the Quansah and other students, Kakrabah Arthur,
Charles Hooper and Kweku Tweneboah-Kodua, who stayed at a hostel near the
school went to the beach near the Cape Coast castle. His colleagues decided not
to swim but Quansah joined some boys already in the sea and he later drowned.
According to the
police his body, which was later retrieved by Kofi Kawassa, a fisherman, had
been deposited at the Cape Coast Hospital for autopsy while the other three
students were helping in investigations.
The deceased and his
colleagues were expected to participate in the school's 126th speech
and prize giving day celebrations activities that took place on the day of the
incident.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
University
Student sacked for falsifying grades
Accra (Greater Accra)
11 November 2002 - The University of Ghana, Legon, has dismissed Jonas Ofori
Danquah, a student, for falsifying examination grades.
The decision was taken
after the committee established by the Vice-Chancellor to investigate the
matter found Danquah guilty. A letter signed by the Vice Chancellor, of the
University, Professor Kwadwo Asensro Okyere to this effect said, the student
falsified a grade "C" he obtained in Introduction to Information
Technology examination taken in the Second Semester of 2000/2001 academic year,
to grade "B".
According to the
statement, Danquah used a duplicate Mark Sheet, which was supposed to be under
lock at the office of the Head of Department of Information Studies. The letter
instructed Danquah to handover his student's identification card and other
property belonging to the university to the senior tutor of Commonwealth Hall,
and to vacate the campus immediately.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Don’t
exploit the vulnerable - Kufuor
Tema (Greater Accra)
11 November 2002 - President John Kufuor on Sunday asked Churches not to
exploit the weak and vulnerable in the society by feeding on their prejudices.
He said "to lead
people to believe that witches caused their difficulties in life is cruel and
it is unforgivable to pick on poor, old and frail women and accuse them of
witchcraft."
President Kufuor made
the call when he addressed the congregation of the Central Assemblies of God
Church at Tema Community Four during the induction into office of Reverend
William Warabeh Dontoh, as the third General Superintendent of the Church.
He succeeded Reverend
Dr Simon Bamanong Asore who held the position for 16 years. Reverend David
Charles Vespa, Chairman of the Missionaries for Assemblies of God of West
Africa, inducted Rev Dontoh, who joined the church in 1976, into office.
Before his election at
the General Council Meeting of the church held at Takoradi, on August 15, this
year, Rev. Dontoh was the Greater Accra Regional Superintendent of the church
since 1994.
President Kufuor said
the church should not play on such weaknesses but live above reproach to enjoy
the co-operation and respect of government. He said government had responsibility
towards all the citizens and would extend the protection of the law to cover
everybody including the poor, old, frail and the voiceless.
"I will urge the
churches especially the newly established ones in particular to accept these
people as well and not sound as though only the rich matter in the
society", he added. President
Kufuor said the moral and religious education embarked upon by the church was
important but should not be seen in a narrow denominational sense.
He said it should rather
be the basis for a realistic and practical education when the church became
part of modernising schools by embracing Information, Communication Technology
(ICT) in addition to educating the head, heart and mind.
President Kufuor
called on the church to educate their congregations on some aspects of
discipline in the society such as littering the environment with used iced
water sachets, punctuality at work and functions and prompt payment of taxes.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Make
education accessible to every child - Dr Osafo
Adanwomase (Ashanti
Region) 11 November 2002 - Dr Kwaku Osafo, Programme Manager of the European
Union (EU) Micro-Projects, has stressed the need for government to make
education accessible to every child of school-going age so as to realise the
full human resource potential of the nation.
"It is the
importance the EU attaches to education that is why about 90 percent of its 650
micro-projects nationwide under the fifth phase of the programme are geared
towards the education sector," he said. Dr Osafo was speaking at the
inauguration of a 10-seater place of convenience at Adanwomase in the Kwabre
District of Ashanti at the weekend.
The EU in
collaboration with the Kwabre District Assembly and the government built the
facility at the cost of 60 million cedis. He said in this era of technological
advancement, brainpower was what was needed most to facilitate the socio-economic
development of every country.
Dr Osafo charged
district assemblies to make education their priority and also advised parents
not to waste money on unprofitable ventures but invest in the education of
their children. He suggested to the assemblies to put in place monitoring teams
to visit EU micro-projects regularly and prescribe the appropriate sections
against communities and individuals who destroyed such projects since the EU
would support only communities with good maintenance culture.
Alhaji Kwasi Yeboah,
Kwabre District Chief Executive, called on towns and villages in the district
to provide information to health workers who would go round to collect such
information for the health insurance scheme. He urged the youth to be
disciplined and refrain from immoral acts since HIV/AIDS was prevalent in the
district.
Nana Agyei Ababio,
Kyidomhene of Adanwomase, expressed gratitude to the EU for providing the town
with the facility and called for more assistance from the EU.
Eric Boakye, assemblyman
for the town, said the community would embark on regular communal labour to
clean the town and also sensitise the people on the need to keep a healthy
environment and lead healthy life-styles.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Peace
Corps hands over ward to Sampa Hospital
Sampa (Brong Ahafo) 11
November 2002 - Felix Aboagye Nyarko, Peace Corps Programme Director, has
commended the chiefs and people of Sampa in the Jaman District of Brong-Ahafo
Region for their collective efforts in constructing a surgical ward for a new
government hospital.
He made the
commendation at a durbar of chiefs to hand over the ¢150.8m ward funded by
Peace Corps at Sampa, on Friday. The Sampa project, he said was the biggest of
all projects so far sponsored by the Peace Corps, under its programme of
assisting community-initiated projects in Ghana, and praised the people for
their hard work, dedication and commitment.
Dr Emmanuel Achab,
Jaman District Director of Health Services advised the people to rally behind
the staff of the hospital to enable them deliver quality health services.
The community must
also liaise with the staff of the hospital to ensure the maintenance of the
building.
Ibrahim Issah, Acting
Brong-Ahafo Regional Hospital Administrator said the hospital would soon be
provided with an ambulance and a four-wheeled vehicle to enhance is operation.
He deplored the high rate of referral cases from district hospitals to the
regional level and said the secretariat would do everything to equip district
hospitals with such facilities to save lives.
Pascal Essie, Chairman
of Sampa Town Council said the community's decision to construct the ward
formed part of their contribution to assist the government to ease congestion
at the old hospital.
He said after putting
up a mortuary at the site earmarked for the construction of the new hospital
about two years ago, the people decided to undertake the surgical ward project.
Having reached a stage
where our financial capacity could not help continue, we decided to seek the
help from the Peace Corps.
Essie said Mrs Mercy
Davis Obo, former Peace Corps personnel in-charge of primary processing of
cashew, obviously convinced about the self-help initiative of the community
volunteered assistance. The Peace Corps contributed 75 percent for the total
cost of the project while the community contributed 25 percent, in addition to
communal labour.
Obo's stay in Ghana,
however, was short, but before she left she had detailed Ms. Irene Drennan,
another Peace Corps volunteer and Science Tutor at the Sampa Secondary School
to take over the supervision of the project on behalf of Peace Corps
Administration in Ghana.
Essie said even though
the project was still on-going, it had become necessary to do the handing over
ceremony as Ms Drennan was expected to leave by next week. He said the Peace
Corps Administration had released the necessary materials and money for the
continuation of the project.
In an address Ms
Drennan appealed to the Ministry of Health to fulfil its part of the agreement,
being the provision of furniture for the ward and nurses' waiting room for the
speedy completion of the project, which was started in August this year.
Nana Yeboah Sanagya,
Akwamuhene, expressed the gratitude of people of Sampa to the County Director
of Peace Corps for the assistance. Nana Kofi Agyaro, Krontihene of Sampa who
presided urged the health administration to continue to work hard to sustain
the local hospital.
Ms Hanna Mensah,
Acting Sampa Hospital Administrator, who received the keys to the ward, thanked
Ms Drennan and Mrs Davis Obo for their role in making the dream of the
community a reality.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Ve-Golokuati (Volta Region)
11 November 2002 - Hayford Kugblenu, a teacher, was on Saturday elected
chairman of the Hohoe-South constituency of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) with Messrs Kwaku Aboldey and Joseph
Awuni Blottey as his first and second vice-chairmen respectively.
John Edward Anku, a
tutor at the Ve-Secondary school and Seth Biaku were elected secretary and
assistant secretary respectively.
The post of organiser
went to Michael Komla Hettor, a farmer with Margaret Honyenugah as the women's
organiser and Edith Egbedzor as the treasurer while Rachos Kwame was also
elected the youth organiser.
Kwame Attah, Volta
Regional Secretary of the party advised the executives to eschew jealousy,
acrimony and petty squabbles and instead work hard to uplift the image of the
party.
Joshua Baku, an Elder
of the party, urged the executives to be abreast with government policies to
enable them to educate the people well.
In another election held at Koforidua, Nana Adi Ankamah was re-elected as the Eastern
Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the third consecutive
term at a regional congress at on Saturday.
He polled 80 votes to
defeat his opponent, Kwabena Bimpong, Akim Oda constituency chairman, who had
61 while the District Chief Executive for Yilo Krobo, Christian Kofi Tetteh
also retained his post as First Vice Chairman.
The incumbent Regional
Secretary, Seth Ahyia, who occupied the post for ten years, lost to Alecs
Agobo, the Regional Organiser by 93 votes to 40 votes while George Owusu Gyasi
became the Assistant Secretary.
Others elected to the
regional executive were George Osei Ameyaw, Second Vice Chairman, S.D. Okyere,
Organiser, Edward Dickson Brantuo, Treasurer, Miss Grace Attafuah, Women's
Organiser with Richard Anofa becoming Youth Organiser unopposed.
Addressing the
congress earlier, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Nana Akufo-Addo
said under the able leadership of President John Kufuor the government was
laying a strong foundation to enable the country to move forward.
He reminded supporters
that since they contributed to the party's victory in the last general
elections, they should maintain the unity enable the NPP to win 2004 polls.
Nana Akufo-Addo said
under the NPP administration, the country was reaping from its bold decision to
access the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative.
He said Ghanaians were
also enjoying the rule of law and upholding human rights while "no citizen
needed the possession of a party identity card before getting what is due to
him or her."
The Foreign Minister,
Hackman Owusu-Agyeman said the country had more favourable international image
adding that the government would rehabilitate roads to facilitate national
development.
The General Secretary
of the party, Dan Botwe, asked members to be conversant with the constitution
of NPP and warned that anyone who took the party to court without exhausting
the laid down process would be suspended.
He said many people
had sacrificed to bring the NPP to its current state and called for absolute
loyalty and dedication to ensure victory for the party in 2004.
Nana Adi Ankamah on
behalf of the executives thanked the members for reposing their confidence in
them and gave the assurance that in 2004, they would work hard to win the six
seats the NPP lost in the region.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra)
11 November 2002 - The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) on Sunday urged the
government to take immediate steps to conclude negotiations on remuneration and
conditions of service for health professionals before the end of the year.
"We have been
negotiating with the government on our remuneration for the past 14 months and
nothing much has yet been achieved. We believe if it were addressed early, the
high exodus of the health professionals from the country would greatly be
reduced.''
Dr Jacob Plange-Rhule,
President of the GMA said this when he read a 10-point communiqué adopted by
the members at the end of the Association's 44th annual general conference held
in Accra.
The annual general
conference, started from 6 to 10 November under the theme: "Continuous Quality
Improvement in Health Care".
The members identified
and expressed concern in the communiqué about the effect the exodus of doctors
and other health professionals was creating on the health of the people as well
as on the wealth creation by the nation, noting that, the country now had fewer
doctors per capita than it had 40 years ago.
The communiqué
however, acknowledged the progress made by government towards the establishment
of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ghana and noted the importance of
professional development and career progression as one of the vital strategies
needed to arrest the brain drain in the health sector.
It also expressed
concern about the fact that the Health Service had yet not been declared an
"Essential Service" and that the Ghana Health Service (GHS) and
Teaching Hospitals Board Act 525 of 1996 were still not backed by a Legislative
Instrument (LI).
The communiqué
therefore, among others, urged the government to pass the necessary LI on the
GHS and Teaching Hospital Boards without further delay and to declare health an
"Essential Service".
Parliament was also
called upon to pass the Bill establishing the College of Physicians and
Surgeons of Ghana before it goes on recess for this Christmas.
The communiqué announced
that GMA had developed and adopted a document on guiding ethical principles to
guide its members in their practice and also announced the theme for the
Association's Annual Public lecture for next year as "Carnage on our
Roads-Effects on Health of Ghanaians".
The President of the
Association explained that, it had became necessary to address road traffic
accidents because its effect on the health sector was very devastating and
there was therefore, the need for periodic maintenance, provision of good roads
and road signs and routine Police checks on undisciplined drivers.
The communiqué called
on companies and the general public to be conscious and sensitive to the
economic and health implications of environmental degradation and resolved to
continue to collaborate with all stakeholders to fight the menace of HIV/AIDS.
It called on the media
to be circumspect in their reportage on health issues and endeavour to
ascertain the veracity of their sources of information to avoid misinforming
and creating undue panic among the populace.
"We strongly
associate ourselves with the campaign against indiscipline in the Ghanaian
society initiated by the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana", Dr
Plange-Rhule said, adding that indiscipline had now become a national problem
and needed support of all to curtail this canker from society.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra)
11 November 2002 - Participants in the Second Ghana Investors' Advisory Council
Meeting have started arriving for the event scheduled for Monday.
A statement signed by Kwamena
Bartels, Minister for Private Sector Development on Sunday said those who had
arrived include the Chief Executive Officers and Presidents of some of the
world's leading multinational companies such as H.J. Heinz, HSBC/Equator Bank,
CMS Generation Company, BHI Holding Limited and Hewlett Packard ABR
International.
The statement said the
Chairman of Tata International, the Regional Director of Heineken and the
President of Affiliated Computer Services were expected on Sunday.
It said they would be
joined by their Ghanaian counterparts including Dr Sam Jonah of AGC, Ishmael
Yamson of Unilever, Nick Amarteifio of African Selection Mining, Said Fakhry of
Interplast and Ken Ofori-Atta of Databank Financial Services Limited.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Doncaster (UK) 11 November 2002 - The people of Doncaster in the UK have honoured one of Ghana’s most outstanding sons, Arthur Wharton, who has been almost forgotten in the modern era.
At the Doncaster’s Museum and Art Gallery, an impressive exhibition entitled “In A league of His Own” was held in his memory.
The exhibition organised by the Education, Culture, Museum and Art Gallery of the Doncaster Metropolitan Borough, was attended by a large number of people in and outside Doncaster. Vividly displayed were a collection of sporting gadgets used by Arthur Wharton.
Born in 1635 in the Gold Coast, Arthur Wharton was the world’s first black professional footballer, and played for a number of football clubs, namely, Sheffield United, Preston North End, Darlington, Rotherham Town, Stockport County and Stalybridge Rovers. He was also the 100 yards world record holder and probably the first African to play professional cricket in the Yorkshire and Lancashire leagues.
The tall Ghanaian was an extreme irritation to many white supremacists because his education and sporting triumphs refuted their theories. In the late Victorian era, when Britain’s economic and political power reached its zenith and when the dominant ideas of the age labelled all blacks as inferior, it was simply not expedient to proclaim the exploits of an African sportsman. This shaped the way Wharton was forgotten.
As his sporting powers waned, so did his fame and earning power. He died a penniless coal-miner, and his grave remained unmarked until 1997 when a campaign launched by Football Unites, Racism Divides of the UK raised enough money for a fitting memorial.
Opening the exhibition in Arthur Wharton’s honour, Ghana’s Deputy High Commissioner to the UK, Mr Kwabena Baah-Duodu, thanked all those who have helped to keep the Arthur Wharton message alive-that with “hardwork, dedication and perseverance every human being can achieve his objective, no matter the obstacles placed in his way”. He said the message also underscored the need for every human being to be judged according to his worth or abilities and not by skin pigmentation.
Mr Baah-Duodu pointed out that Arthur could have led a comfortable life if he had decided to parasite on his uncle, the late F.C. Grant, one of the leading lights of the Gold Coast, - a newspaper owner who had helped found the Fante Confederacy. He added that, Ghana and Wharton’s adopted town, Doncaster, are now all trail-blazers.
He said the celebration of the achievement of Arthur Wharton, who had his initial upbringing in Ghana, should encourage the youth of today to learn from his strive for excellence.
He declared: “Let the people of today learn to kick racism out not only from sports but from our entire lives. Let us appreciate excellence and grant every man or woman his/her due”.
Mr Martin Winter, First Executive Mayor of Doncaster said the exploits of Arthur Wharton during that difficult era should encourage the present generation to help kick out racism from sports.
He said “if racism is kicked out of football and society and when people of any colour and creed from around the world live together in harmony, the contribution of Arthur Wharton would be regarded as having been completed.”
Ms Sheila Leeson, the oldest surviving relation of Arthur Wharton, described the exhibition as a ‘tribute to memory’ and thanked all the sponsors for helping to bring into the forefront the immense contribution of a dedicated black footballer for breaking into a field which hitherto was white dominated. - Ghana High Commission
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com