Minority Leader to resign if...
Elmina (Central Region) 04 October 2002- Mrs
Georgina Theodora Wood, an Appeal Court Judge, has called on lawyers to support
the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) concept to help curb prolonged
litigation.
She told the 2002-2003 annual general
conference of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) at Elmina that emerging trends in
the justice delivery system made it imperative for them to keep in mind
"strategic roles as peacemakers."
The theme for the conference is
"Sustaining good governance: the role of the legal profession". Mrs
Justice Wood, who spoke on "emerging trends in the justice delivery system
- ADR history, meaning and segments,” traced the history of ADR, and said it is
quicker and less expensive.
She said ADR is not intended to supplant
litigation and that worldwide it is only seen as being complementary to the
litigation process and helps it to function more efficiently. "Thus, where
the potential litigation costs are relatively higher than the amount in dispute
ADR is obviously the preferred dispute resolution mechanism,'' she said.
Mrs Justice Wood, nominated by the President
as a Supreme Court Judge and vetted by Parliament, said she would not recommend
certain cases to be handled by the ADR. These are constitutional, civil and
human rights cases or matters of "substantial public importance",
emotional, physical or verbal abuse is alleged and civil disputes in which
crime such as theft, fraud, or forgery or is alleged.
She told members of the GBA: ''this long list
of cases identified as unsuitable for ADR shows that there will still be work
for the professional litigant who loves his day in Court." "The
general criticism that ADR would threaten the pocket of lawyers remains largely
a fear only and would rather in my view, work to their advantage.'' ''Using ADR
does help to resolve appropriate cases leaving the lawyer free to handle
disputes that must be litigated.''
She said the views she had expressed:
"should open the door to further deliberation on what ADR has to offer our
justice system as we undertake those reforms so critical to our existence as
the third arm of government."
Dr S.K.B. Asante, a legal consultant and
Asokorehene, said there could be no viable legal or judicial system where the
main arbiters of the system, that is lawyers and judges, are themselves
corrupt.
''Confronting and curbing corruption
constitutes a key component of any serious attempt at instituting good
governance.'' ''Democracy, per se, is no insurance against corruption. However,
democratic institutions such as a free press, civil society, especially the Bar
Association and parliament can create an appropriate environment for curbing
it.''
Dr Asante spoke about the President's
declaration of zero tolerance for corruption and said what remains to be done
is ensuring the appropriate machinery and modalities to address it. In his
view, corruption could be reduced by state funding of political campaigns
during elections, streamlining award of government contracts and negotiation of
public agreements.
There should be active Parliamentary scrutiny
of international agreements and reform of the public service. ''The legal
profession can play a major role by at least refusing to participate in any
scheme to bribe a judge.''
Dr Asante said the bar is already vigilant in
deploring lapses in constitutionalism but made it clear, that occasional
declarations or exhortations were not enough. In the GBA's annual election, the
national executive with Mr. Paul Adu-Gyamfi as its President was returned
unopposed.
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Minority Leader to resign
if...
Accra (Greater Accra) 04 October 2002- Mr
Alban Bagbin, Minority Leader of Parliament, has said that he would resign his
position if all current Ministers and District Chief Executives (DCEs) passed
the test on 'Zero Tolerance for Corruption' on their stewardship over the past
18 months in government.
He challenged the New Patriotic Party (NPP)
government to institute an independent forensic audit into the administration
of all such officials to determine whether they were without blemish.
Mr Bagbin said these at the handing over and
swearing in ceremony of executives of the Tertiary Education Institutional
Network of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) branch of the Institute of
Professional Studies (IPS) in
He was reacting to a front-page story of
Thursday, October 3, edition of the Ghanaian Times, a state-owned daily which
reported that Captain Nkrabea Effah-Dartey (rtd), Deputy Minister of Local
Government and Rural Development, said 28 former DCEs have been cited for
prosecution for financial malfeasance during their tenure of office.
Mr Bagbin said if only 25 per cent of the
numerous DCEs who served the nation since the inception of the local government
concept had been cited for financial malpractices after a politically motivated
forensic audit, "then the NDC need to be commended for standing tall on
the probity and accountability yard stick."
He said the party had never opposed the
auditing of former ministers, DCEs or NDC activists but it would fight against
the use of 'so called forensic auditing' as a political tool to intimidate, frustrate
and cripple NDC members, who have faithfully served the country.
"We stand against politics of defaming
political opponents and giving the dog a bad name to hang it, as it would be a
very bad precedence for our evolving democracy." On the contribution of
the minority to the socio-economic and political development of the country, Mr
Bagbin said the 1992 Constitution imposed oversight responsibility of
government on the opposition.
"We have been there for the past eight
years and we know the terrain and have been offering constructive criticism,
suggestions and inputs on national issues but the onus lies with the government
to openly accept them."
He said Former President Jerry John Rawlings
advised former ministers to share their experiences with the new
administration. The Minority Leader, however, expressed disappointment that the
government had not learnt lessons from mistakes of the NDC government and
continued to repeat or commit elementary administrative errors.
The Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the
NDC, Mr Joshua Alabi called for civility and circumspection if the party's
campaign for a flagbearership commenced.
He said: "We need to come out of the
last December Special Delegates' Congress united to enable us to wrestle power
from the NPP." Other party functionaries who spoke on varied topics
included: the National Youth Organiser, Iddrisu Haruna, "the role of the
youth in politics, the challenges and prospects," Minority Chief Whip, Mr
Doe Adjaho, "the practice of democracy and the rule of law under the
current government" and Mr Kosi Kedem, "the Ghana Education Trust
Fund, the challenges and prospects."
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Accra (Greater Accra) 04 October 2002- The
National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) has stated that it has not yet set any
deadline for victims of human rights violations under unconstitutional regimes
to file complaints to the Commission and asked victims to reject such rumours
and come forward with their complaints.
Briefing the media in
Ms Anipa said the Commission would still take
complaints for record purposes even if a deadline was declared and could not
deal with the complaints. She said the NRC Act enjoined the Commission to
protect witnesses from harm and gave an assurance that the Commission had the
capacity to protect petitioners who suspected harm from alleged offenders.
She asked alleged victims not to entertain
any fears and urged them to file their petitions, adding that they could do so
in confidence if they so desired. Ms Anipa said as at Wednesday, October 2, the
Commission had received 1440 complaints nationwide on killings, seizure of
property, torture and ill treatment with
The figures for the Zonal Offices were
Similarly, skeletal staff from the Tamale
office has moved to Sunyani to receive statements from Brong Ahafo Region,
while the Takoradi office would do the same for
She said as part of the mandated education
campaigns, the Commission would as from next Monday start seminars for the
Police, the Prisons and the Military Services. She said currently, each
investigator of the Commission was handling 16 cases and added that the
Commission had plans to engage at least one investigator for each of the five
zonal offices to investigate statements peculiar to the respective zones.
The NRC Public Affairs Director said the
Counselling Department of the Commission had counselled 142 alleged victims of
human rights abuse. They were business people and traders who had emotional
problems of grief, revengeful and suicidal thoughts flashbacks, sleeplessness
and low self-esteem.
Ms Anipa said funding had been a problem and
it was affecting the supply of logistics for the Commission; and the Chairman
of the Commission and Attorney General had held discussions with some bodies to
source funds from outside.
She said all the staff of the Commission,
except the Commissioners had been paid the September salaries. She said the
contractor working on the renovation of the Old Parliament House, the permanent
national office of the Commission, had given the assurance that it would be
completed by the end of October.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 04 October 2002-
President John Agyekum Kufuor has said that he would have gone to any length to
protect the late Ya-Na Yakubu Andani, whom he described as an old personal
friend; if he had known that his life was threatened.
Reacting to claims that he had promised to
protect the assassinated Ya-Na if he was elected Head of State, President
Kufuor said though he did not make any pledge to that effect, it was the
responsibility of the state to protect the life of every Ghanaian and the Ya-Na
was no exception.
President Kufuor, who was answering a
question on the Dagbon crisis at a news conference, his second since he assumed
office, dismissed speculations that he betrayed the Ya-Na, saying such rumours
should cease. The King of the second largest traditional area, after
Some members of the Andani Gate have accused
certain government officials as members of a group that masterminded the murder
of the Dagbon King. The Andanis who boycotted the Wuaku Commission set up to
investigate the crisis, after the 105th witness was called, have also accused
the government of having sympathies for the Abudus and supporting their cause.
President Kufuor said Ya-Na Yakubu Andani
welcomed him to his private quarters for his wives to greet him on his visits
to his palace, adding, "such was the nature of relationship between
us."
He described the murder of the King as a
dastardly act, "which came to me as a shock. It is a matter of regret to
me that some people have sought to take undue advantage of the tragedy to
promote their personal and narrow sectional interests." On why he had not
visited Yendi since the events, President Kufuor said:" I will choose to
go to Yendi, and when I do, it will be to bring people together and restore
harmony to Dagbon.
"It will not be for public relations
reason. The report of the Commission of Enquiry is expected soon and hopefully
it will provide requisite leads to actions that would help establish the truth
to form the basis for justice and reconciliation in Dagbon land."
Shedding some light on why he had not visited
Yendi, the President said: "I am well aware that one faction in the
dispute has had to literally abandon the town. The question is should I go
simply to see members of the other faction? What sort of healer of wounds would
I be?
Asked whether he would accept the
recommendations of the Wuaku Commission for implementation, in view of the
reservations of the Andanis on the Commission's work, President Kufuor said the
government's consideration would be to seek the truth for justice to prevail.
"We do not have the report yet and the
deadline for submission is 31 October. But when we receive it we would consider
its merits and our action would not satisfy individual and partisan interests
but ensure that true justice is administered." President Kufuor said other
steps, such as sending of numerous delegations and emissaries to Dagbon to get
all sides in the conflict to relent in their postures, were geared towards
reconciliation and restoring peace in the area.
Answering a question on why he had not
visited the Upper East and West Regions since his election, President Kufuor
said his heavy workload contributed to his delayed trip to those areas.
"I have not marginalized any area
because every part of the nation is important to us. I would certainly visit
those areas soon," he said. The two-hour news conference, held at the
Castle was attended by a number of journalists from both the state-owned and
private media. Vice President Mahama and more than 25 Ministers of State and
public officials attended the event, which according to President Kufuor, would
be held every quarter.
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"I would like to repeat what I said
about President Rawlings and my retirement. I said I would treat Rawlings the
way I would like to be treated when I leave office, provided he lives within
the law," he said.
President Kufuor made the call in reaction to
a question on his relationship with the former President at the second in the
series of news conferences at the Castle, Osu. He said though he did not feel
that he was on contest with former President Rawlings, the latter's conduct often
created unnecessary tension and gave the impression both internally and to our
friends outside that two factions were in conflict.
President Kufuor said President Rawlings was
expected to display qualities of a true Statesman for national interest. He
said, "it has been my wish to have a better relationship with Former
President Rawlings. We have only been obliged to operate within the Green
Street Report in terms of his resettlement, but I would not mind stretching the
terms to make life more comfortable for him so long as he is within the
law."
President Kufuor who insisted on referring to
Mr Rawlings as President, when his attention was drawn to it that he was
calling the former President, President Kufuor said, "I am not above the
law and I do not expect anybody to be treated as if he were above the law, but
Mr Rawlings is not being mistreated by the government."
Supporters of Mr Rawlings have often
expressed concern about what they termed as "mistreatment of the man who
ruled Ghana for about 20 years, but critics have said the ex President's
provocative statements, now referred to as "Boom Speeches" attracted
that kind of reaction, often published in the media.
The main thrust of President Kufuor's 40
minute address was, however, on the State of the economy, agriculture, social
services, infrastructure, governance and foreign relations.
Similar to the first Press conference held on
April 18, last year, President Kufuor, was flanked by Vice President Aliu Mahama,
Ministers of State, Parliamentarians and some executive members of the New
Patriotic Party (NPP).
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It is also a part of series of press
conferences lined up for ministers to give accounts of their stewardship with
which the Volta Regional Minister, Mr Kwasi Yeboa, has had his turn. The main
context of the 40-minute address was on the economy, agriculture, social services,
infrastructure, good governance and foreign relations. It also centred on
politics and social issues.
Like at the first Press conference held on 18
April, last year, Vice President Aliu Mahama, Ministers of State,
Parliamentarians and some executive members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP)
flanked President Kufuor.
President Kufuor said the economy continued
to pose the greatest challenge to the country and the government. He said
although there had been substantial gains and general stabilization at the
macro economic level, inflation and bank interest rates continued to fall and
the currency had had a measure of stability.
President Kufuor said to stimulate growth,
government has taken series of measures to strengthen the banking system and
increase supply of long term capital that was available to agriculture and
industry.
He said at the micro economic level,
small-scale farmers and traders had been given credit and they borrowed at an
annual interest rate of 20 per cent instead of the 100 to 200 per cent annually
for short season from moneylenders.
President Kufuor said government expected
about 75 million dollars in revenue from the divestiture programme this year
and hoped it would increase within the next two years and substantial portions
of the proceeds would be devoted to build up supply of capital available for
industry.
He said government intended to continue to
take measures to boost the supply of capital to the private sector, especially
those involved in adding value to farm produce and natural resources and
selling made-in
President Kufuor said the Ministry of Private
Sector Development had sourced for a 40 million-dollar facility to support the
President's Special Initiatives (PSI) on Salt and Palm Oil production for
export, while those in the citrus, pineapple and tomato-processing industry
could access the facility.
He announced that about 326 billion cedis in
arrears in the road sector had been paid to contractors, as well as arrears owed
to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and electricity
bills owed by the government.
President Kufuor said there had been much
improvement in the agriculture sector with increased food production but the
problem was with the marketing, processing and storage to ensure that farmers
had good prices for their produce.
He said abandoned silos were being repaired
and rented out for food storage in addition to the provision of credit
facilities to private sector operators to modernise the marketing system to buy
up and store against the lean season.
President Kufuor said work had begun on 20 of
the secondary schools the districts chose for upgrading to the standard of the
well-endowed schools. He said the supply of core textbooks to secondary schools
had been achieved and by the end of December, this year, the ratio of core
textbooks to students would be one-to-one.
On infrastructure for schools, President
Kufuor said 20,000 out of the 50,000 basic schools that needed furniture had been
supplied and the rest would be catered for by next June.
"About 3,000 classrooms had been
rehabilitated and 500 units for teacher accommodation had been completed,"
he added. On Health, President Kufuor reiterated his appeal to health
professionals to stay and help in the development of the country the stem the
disheartening brain drain.
He said "it has never been the case that
some people have come from outside to develop any country. Ghanaians must
therefore resolve to stay and develop their country, no matter the
sacrifice." President Kufuor said 42 out of the 110 districts had adopted
health insurance schemes and that government would learn from the experiences
in the districts to choose the most suitable models for implementation in the country.
He said the Efasu Barge had set sail from
President Kufuor said there was renewed
investor interest in
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He said the cost of the 100 vehicles was 1.3
million dollars and not 13 million dollars. President Kufuor who was addressing
the second Press Conferences at the Castle, Osu since he assumed office, said
during the time of high crime rate in
He said so far 50 out of the 100 cars had
arrived in
President Kufuor said co-operation between
the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) and the Police has helped to overcome the spate of
armed robberies that threatened the nation's stability last year. On Ghana's
foreign relations, he said Ghana could now claim to have excellent relations
with all countries within ECOWAS and being recognised as a key player in
bringing stability and good governance to the Sub-Region.
President Kufuor said his frequent travels
had made remarkable progress in getting for
He said "You cannot put monetary value
on these travels, but I know they have contributed immeasurably towards
strengthening the economic and social foundation for the development of the
nation. This is very much in line with the vision and mission of my
government."
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Elubo (Western Region)
Mr Divine Norlobie, Deputy Superintendent of
Immigration in charge of arrivals at the Elubo border, said so far, most of the
persons returning from Cote D'Ivoire, are Nigerians, Beninnoise and Burkinabe
students. He said both sides of the border had remained open since the crisis
started on 19 September.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 04 October 2002- Mr.
Emile Short, Commissioner for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ),
has asked for prisoners to be allowed to enjoy conjugal rights to prevent
increasing incidence of sodomy and lesbianism in the prisons.
He said these practices were rampant there
because of pent-up feelings prisoners went through because of the denial of
such rights. Mr Short was speaking at a round-table discussion organised by the
Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) on the theme: "
The meeting discussed and sought solutions to
problems facing law enforcement agencies, who at times jeopardised the rights
and liberties of innocent persons of innocent. Mr Short said: "our routine
visits to the prisons have revealed that most prisoners do not get into these
vicious activities willingly. They are usually forced by their colleagues who
are under pressure and sometime violently so."
He, therefore, requested authorities to
create private visiting rooms, where prisoners could meet their wives or
husbands to enable them to engage in matrimonial activities, thereby reducing
their pent-up feelings.
Mr. Short said: "The 1992 constitution
of
Mr. Short said it was widely perceived that
the gravity of crime determined whether the due process of law should be up
held in dealing with suspects or not and the enormity of an offence only became
relevant when one was convicted and charged.
Mr. Short advised security agents to
investigate case before affecting arrest. The meeting expressed regret that
Article 14 section one of the 1992 Constitution denied prisoners civil
liberties but guaranteed them basic rights and called on the Parliament to
amend the legal document to reverse the trend.
Dr. Kwesi Prempeh, Director of Legal Policy
and Governance at the CDD, reminded Ghanaians that Article 42 of the 1992
Constitution gave every citizen the right to vote and to contest for elections,
stressing that it did not exclude prisoners.
He said: "No part of our law denies
prisoners their voting rights and yet in practice prisoners are not allowed to
vote in this country." Dr. Prempeh noted that recent efforts at crime
prevention had resulted in human rights violation, which raised serious
concerns about the country's democratic development.
He said: " Suspected criminals live
among good people and the security agencies should not violate the rights of
these people in attempts to arrest the criminals." He urged the police
authorities to improve crime prevention measures to avoid repressive methods in
so called "war against crime."
"Once the State begins to introduce the
imagery of war in the fight against crime, it sends out a clear message that
the enemy out there must be flushed out at all cost, even if it meant trampling
on the rights and liberties of other citizens in the process," he said.
Dr. Prempeh called for the rehabilitation of
the police service in terms of infrastructure, personnel and training to enable
them to work efficiently. He said CDD was in the process of organising training
courses for the police to update their knowledge and skills to enable them to
ensure human rights.
Dr. Prempeh appealed to town planners to
designate sites for police stations in their plans, adding that very few,
poorly resourced police stations served very large communities.
Dr. Kofi Quashigah, a Senior Lecturer, at the
Law Faculty,
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Ho (Volta Region)
Mr Kofi Asamoah, Deputy General Secretary
(Operations) stated this during an interaction with representatives of District
Councils of Labour (DCL) in the Volta Region at Ho as part of his countrywide
tour to explain the Congress' stand on the Bill.
He said the phrase "unless with her
consent", undermined that section of the bill which seeks to protect
pregnant women from work, as "dangerous." Mr Asamoah said a pregnant
woman might be compelled by financial pressure to work to the detriment of her
own health or that of the unborn baby.
The TUC Deputy General Secretary said he was
aware that the Congress' stand on the provision in the Bill had been cited as
paternalistic and did not recognise the autonomy of pregnant women.
"It seems to us, however, that society
has a vested interest in each one of us and has the right to make provision
reasonably required for our protection independent of us..." he said.
Parliament is expected to pass the labour Bill into law when it resumes sitting
this month.
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