Vice
President apologizes to the people of Yilo Krobo
Upper Manya
NPP elects new officers
Bank to commit funds to Rural Banks
Media urged to review in-house style guides
Forestry Ministry commended for policy guidelines
Institute to go into cement production
Africa needs 20 billion
dollars for water sector
Vice
President apologizes to the people of Yilo Krobo
Accra (Greater Accra) 25
November 2002 - Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama on Sunday apologized to the
people of Yilo Krobo Traditional Area for his inability to honour their
invitations to both the World Population Day and the Kloyosikplemi festival
celebrations.
A statement signed by
Andrews A. Awuni, of the Vice President's Office, said Alhaji Mahama could not
honour the invitations because of circumstances beyond his control. It said Mrs
Gladys Asmah, Minister for Women and Children Affairs and Dr Francis
Osafo-Mensah, Eastern Regional Minister, were asked to represent him, which
they did.
The statement,
therefore, asked the concerned citizens of Yilo Krobo to discard the notion
that the Vice President refused to honour the invitation because the area was a
stronghold of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
"I have even
visited the World Bank of the NDC and made many friends there. As far as I am
concerned, there is no area in Ghana that is no go area for me," the
statement quoted Alhaji Mahama. It said: "The Vice President looks forward
for an opportunity in the future to visit the Yilo Krobo Traditional Area to
interact with the people."
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Upper
Manya NPP elects new officers
Akatamiah (Eastern
Region) 25 November 2002 - The Assemblyman for Anyaboni, Joe
Sam, was elected
unopposed as the Chairman of the Upper Manya Constituency branch of the New
Patriotic Party (NPP), at its delegates congress at Akatamiah near Asesewa in
the Eastern Region on Saturday.
Other officers elected
unopposed include John Tetteh, first-Vice Chairman, Mercy Batsa, second Vice
Chairperson, Ben Kwaku Seth, Organiser and Patience Asare, Women's Organiser. Eric
Madjitey was elected Secretary, George Afro Duanor, Treasurer and Nti Foster
Nartey, Youth Organiser.
The Deputy Eastern
Regional Minister, Gustav Narh Dometey, called on party members to close their
ranks and to unite to ensure victory in the 2004 elections. He called on them
to eschew all negative tendencies and tackle the task ahead to win supporters
for the party.
Dometey, who made his
intention to contest the seat warned the party members against bike-biting,
rumour mongering, undermining and petty squabbles, which he said would not
augur well for the NPP. He said the NPP would continue all on projects in the
country and initiate new ones to improve the living conditions of the people.
Nana Adi Ankamah, Eastern
Regional NPP Chairman who swore them into office advised the executives to work
as a team and desist from divide and rule tactics to ensure that the party
captured the seat from the NDC.
He stressed the need
for them to co-operate with the District Chief Executive and other ranks of the
party in the area, which is considered to be an NDC stronghold. Nana Ankamah
asked the new executive to set up committees to manage its finances, ensure
disciplinary and to oversee mobilisation in the area.
The District Chief
Executive, Andrews Tei, said the party needed committed and dedicated people to
ensure victory in the next elections. The DCE appealed to the people who are
mostly farmers to embrace the President's Special Cassava initiative.
Joe Sam thanked the
delegates for the trust and confidence reposed in the new executive and pledged
that with their co-operation they would wrestle the seat from the opposition
NDC. The District Chief Executives for Yilo Krobo, Sub-Lt. (Rtd) Christian
Tettey, West Akim, Mr Umar Amoah and Madam Grace Attafuah, Regional Women's
Organiser attended congress.
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Kumasi (Ashanti
Region) 25 November 2002 - The African Development Bank (ADB), is to commit five
million US Dollars under the Rural Financial Project (RFSP) to rural banks for
capacity building.
Mr. Emmanuel K.
Kwapong, Managing Director of the APEX Bank, said under the programme
investment in communication and technology needs of rural banks would be
catered.
A human resource
development scheme for staff and a programme for the improvement of internal
control systems would be catered for.
Mr. Kwapong announced
this when he spoke on the topic "Update on the APEX Bank limited-problems
and the way forward" at the 12th Biennial Meeting of the Association of
Rural Banks (ARB) in Kumasi, on Saturday.
The meeting was under
the theme "Positive change towards accelerated and sustainable rural
development - the role of rural and community banks".
Mr. Kwapong said
Messrs Investek Consultancy Services had been contracted to conduct an in-depth
assessment for the capacity building programme.
He said the APEX Bank
was collaborating with the Metropolitan and Allied Banks to channel the cedi
equivalent of foreign transfers to beneficiaries through more rural banks.
Currently only the
Atwima, Kwanwoma, Nsoatreman and Nwabiagya rural banks were in the transfer
business on pilot basis. He said that the computerisation of rural banks would
begin next year.
The project would take
three years to complete with a "Wide Area network installed to network the
computerized system," he said.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 25 November 2002- The media have been urged to review their in-house style guides in respect of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Code of Ethics and guidelines that were adopted for the coverage of the National Reconciliation process.
The call was made by participants at the end of a two-day workshop on news coverage on the National Reconciliation process for journalists from Volta and Eastern Regions in Ho at the weekend.
These were contained in a statement signed by Mrs Gifty Affenyi-Dadzie, President of the GJA after the adoption of a communiqué at the workshop.
It was organised by the GJA and sponsored by the National Governance Programme and the United Nation Development Programme.
The statement said participants asked journalists to guard against inducement in any form from both victims and perpetrators or any other person or group of persons.
They said any such development could seriously undermine the process of national reconciliation and the professional integrity of journalists.
The participants also called for a positive partnership with the National Reconciliation Commission in which the media must cooperate as much as possible but be prepared to play their watchdog role when required.
They appealed to reviewers of news items on radio and television stations to limit their comments and opinions to areas of their competence, since uninformed comments could seriously undermine, if not derail the reconciliation process.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 25 November 2002- The Ministry of Lands and Forestry and the Board of the Forestry Commission, have been commended for approving policy guidelines for the development of a sustainable teak wood industry for Ghanaian companies.
Mr. Richard Asante Bediako, Vice President of the Ghana Association of Teak Wood Millers and Exporters (GATEX), said the guidelines would encourage "a more workable and pragmatic policy framework".
Mr. Bediako made the commendation at a general meeting of the GATEX in Kumasi under the theme "Let’s participate in the campaign to sustainable manage our forest plantation resources".
"Except for the auction system, all other inconveniences in the policy, which hampered development of the teak wood milling industry, resulting in huge loss of revenue and resources, have been eliminated," he said.
This notwithstanding, the GATEX Vice President expressed the hope that the new guidelines would be acceptable to all stakeholders and "stand the test of time".
Nana Kiered Kumah, President of GATEX, advised members not to focus solely on the exploitation of teak, but to commit a substantial percentage of their profit for socio-economic development.
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Fumesua (Ashanti Region) 25 November 2002- The Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI) would turnout 100 bags of cement daily when it goes into commercial production using a locally designed "pozzolana" plant.
Mr. Eugene Atiemo, a Senior Research Scientist, said the Institute would go into commercial production by the first quarter of next year.
He was briefing the GNA after a display of the plant, raw materials, process of manufacturing and the end product, known as "Pozzo cement," at Fumesua near Kumasi.
The pozzolana plant was designed, developed and assembled by the BRRI for the manufacture of cement using clay as the main raw material.
Mr. Atiemo said the development of plant took about 30 years, adding that, "it has been producing 120 bags of cement on trial basis since March". The Government financed the research while BRRI took care of the design and building of the plant.
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Agona Swedru (Central Region) 25 November 2002 - Mr Yaw Barima Minister of Works and Housing, on Saturday said African governments required 20 billion dollars for the provision of infrastructure that would help solve the continent's water problem.
The minister, who was speaking at a three day-workshop organised by the Parliamentary select Committee on Works and Housing to discuss the private sector participation on water at Agona Swedru, said the sector was capital intensive and governments alone could not finance it.
He stated that about 59 per cent of Ghanaians in the urban areas had access to potable water.
Mr. Barima cited that people in towns such as Sunyani, Cape Coast and Yendi experienced perennial water shortage hence there was the need to involve private persons in its supply and said Ghanaians should discard the notion that the commodity should be provided free of charge.
Mr Barima said there was the need for government to ensure that the private persons assisted in improving the water sector.
Mr. S. O .Darko, Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Works and Housing, said Africa's water problem was not as a result of unavailability of resources but rather with the lack of investments and inefficient management of inputs in that sector.
He said people contracted diseases because they used untreated water from ponds, streams and other water bodies. Mr. Darko said the government saw wisdom in the previous government's initiative aimed at involving the private sector in finding solutions to the water problem.
He asked the Committee to find lasting solutions to the water problem facing the country. Mr. Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu, the Majority Chief Whip, urged the members of the committee to critical assess the water problem to come out with pragmatic solutions.
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Koforidua (Eastern Region) 25 November 2002- The Papal Pro-Nuncio to Ghana and Togo, His Grace George Kocherry, on Saturday inaugurated two facilities of the Diocesan Pastoral/Training Centre at Koforidua estimated at three billion cedis at Koforidua.
The administrative block and a 120-bed youth hostel estimated at 120,000 and 250,000 dollars respectively, is the first phase of the project being financed by the Church and foreign donors. The inauguration also marked the tenth anniversary of the Koforidua diocese.
His Lordship Charles Palmer-Buckle, Bishop of Koforidua said the project, which was launched in April 1999, also include a conference hall, a dining hall/kitchen complex, a senior hostel, a chapel and prayer gardens.
He said when completed, the centre would promote leadership training in the pastoral life and social teachings of the Church.
Bishop Palmer-Buckle paid tribute to foreign donors including the Diocese of St Poelten in Austria, Misereor and Missio Dioceses of Rottenburg-Stuttgart, Munster and Cologne in Germany respectively, the architects, engineers and the contractors, Messrs Antartic Construction for completing the facilities within two years.
Most Rev Kocherry commended members of the Church for embarking on the project, which he said was an appreciation of Pope John Paul's decision to create the diocese.
He expressed his admiration to Ghanaians for the continued attachment to their cultural and traditional values, especially towards maintaining strong family bonds, despite the invasion of foreign influence.
He asked Catholics to strive to build their families as the "family of God" by upholding the moral teachings of the Church and to ensure that their children entered its vocations.
Over 83 million cedis and 200 dollars was realised in an appeal for funds for the continuation of the project.
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