Military
to check cocoa smuggling
We aim
to develop-President Kufuor
Mills
addresses NDC functionaries at Sunyani
It's
time for an African to head Maritime Organisation-Nigeria
Violence
against children on the increase
Kufuor
commissions Sandema Phone Link
First
Lady takes delivery of health items
We're
prepared for returnees-NADMO
Fast
Track Court tries Tsikata
Government
urged to re-constitute refugees board
Kwesi
Botchwey arrives in Accra
Military
to check cocoa smuggling
Accra (Greater Accra)
10 October 2002- Between 50,000 to 60,000 tons of cocoa were smuggled out of
the country during the 2001-2002 cocoa season because of differences in produce
price in Ghana and neighbouring countries, inaccessible roads and lack of
logistics to check such practices.
To control this, the
Ghana COCOBOD has presented 14 vehicles and eight motorbikes to the Ministry of
Defence to support the Armed Forces in its border patrols to check both cocoa
and general smuggling.
The vehicles, valued
about 300,000 dollars included 12 pickups, a saloon car and a cross-country
vehicle. COCOBOD also presented 200 million cedis to the Armed forces to meet
operational costs of the security agencies for the month of October and another
160, million cedis for military intelligence work.
Mr Kwame Sarpong,
Chief Executive of COCOBOD, said the presentation was in response to an earlier
promise made by the Company to assist the security agencies in its patrol
duties.
He said COCOBOD would
be assisting the Armed Forces with 200 million cedis as operational cost in
subsequent months till March 2003 when the assistance would be reviewed.
Dr Kwame-Addo Kufuor,
Minister of Defence, said it was the duty of the security agencies to check
indiscipline, armed robbery on the highways and smuggling. He described the
donation as timely, especially in the face of what was happening in
neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire, which could easily lead to "trouble makers
running into the country.
"The vehicles
and the motorbikes would help us check and control activities of any rebel. The
gesture should be copied by other corporate bodies", he said. Dr
Addo-Kufuor announced after the presentation that the Defence Minister of La
Cote D'Ivoire was expected in the country on Wednesday.
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Paga (Upper East) 10
October 2002- President John Agyekum Kufuor has arrived at Paga in the
Kassena-Nankana District from Wa to begin a three-day official visit of the
Upper East Region.
He paid a courtesy
call on the Paga Pio, Pe Charles Awiah Awampaga the second at his palace. He
also called on the Sandem-Nab, Ayieta Azantilow, Paramount Chief of the Builsa
Traditional Area, at Sandema.
On Thursday, the
President will pay similar courtesy calls on the Bolga-Naba Martin Abilba III,
and the Bawku Naba, Asigri Abugrago Azoka II. He will address two separate
durbars at Bawku and Navrongo, after which he would tour the Tono Irrigation
Project near Navrongo.
On the last lap of
his visit on Friday, President Kufuor is scheduled to undertake familiarisation
tours of the Zuarungu Meat Factory, the Pwalugu Tomato Factory and the Upper
Quarry, before addressing a grand durbar of chiefs and people of the Bolgatanga
Traditional Area.
Among the President's
entourage are Mr Kwadwo Baah Wiredu, Minister for Local Government and Rural
Development, Mr Moses Dani Baa, Deputy Minister of Health, Dr. R.W. Anane,
Minister of Roads and Transport, and Dr. Haroun Majeed, Deputy Minister of Food
and Agriculture.
Others are Professor
Christopher Ameyaw Akumfi, Minister of Education, Dr. Agambilla Agesika, Deputy
Minister of Finance, Mr Kwabena Agyepong, Presidential spokesperson and Ms
Elizabeth Ohene, Minister of State at the Office of the President.
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We
aim to develop-President Kufuor
Paga (Upper East) 10
October 2002- President John Agyekum Kufuor has said that the government would
not be petty, discriminatory, or partisan in the provision of development
projects in the country.
"What is in the
national coffers belongs to all Ghanaians and should be used as such," he
said in a speech during a courtesy call on the Paga Pio, Charles Awiah Awampaga
II, at Paga.
President Kufuor who
is on a three-day official visit of the Upper East Region, assured Ghanaians
that government would not rest on its oars in its efforts to tackle the problem
of poverty among the people.
He announced that a
good senior secondary school (SSS) comparable to the well-endowed ones in the
South would be established for the people of the Paga area, who presently have
to send their children to Navrongo for senior secondary school education.
President Kufuor said
government was giving serious consideration to the development of tourism
infrastructure in the Paga area, to provide job opportunities for the people.
In response to a request by the Paga Pio for a separate district, the President
said the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development was taking a
critical look at similar requests from various areas and that additional
districts would be created in those areas that met the required criteria.
Other concerns raised
by the Paga Pio in his welcoming address included the upgrading of the Paga
Health Centre to a hospital status, the creation of an additional constituency
for the area, and the opening of an inland port market at Paga to boost trade
with neighbouring countries.
Mr Mahami Salifu,
Upper East Regional Minister, explained that the President's visit was, among
other things, to accord him the opportunity to thank the chiefs and people of
the region for their massive support during the 2000 elections.
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Mills
addresses NDC functionaries at Sunyani
Sunyani (Brong Ahafo)
10 October 2002- Former Vice President, Professor John Evans Atta Mills has
said that dishonesty and greed on the part of some functionaries were some of
the causes for the defeat of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2000
General Election.
Such characters in
the party pursued their personal agenda to satisfy their selfish ends to the
detriment of the party's well-being, he told members of the party in Sunyani.
Professor Mills was in the Regional capital as part of a three-day regional
tour to express appreciation to the chiefs and people for their support during
the 2000 presidential elections.
The tour was also to
solicit the support of delegates at the party's national congress in December
as flag bearer in the 2004 presidential polls. The former Vice President said
such members who outwardly appeared as loyalists and faithful party
functionaries did not keep faith with the party.
Rather, they indulged
in the diversion of resources meant for campaign and other operational and
organisational activities of the party. Professor Mills expressed regret that
monies and other logistics channeled through them for campaign purposes were
misapplied and "that tendency and act of dishonesty caused us dearly to be
in opposition now".
He, therefore,
appealed to the rank and file of the party to rededicate and recommit
themselves to the objectives of the party and expressed the hope that such
unfaithfulness would not be repeated.
"It is hell and
difficult to be in opposition, hence, we must pool resources for effective
organisation to enable the party to recapture power in the 2004
elections". He tasked members to sacrifice their time and other resources
for a resounding success in 2004".
The former Vice
President said he was a more credible and winning candidate to lead the party
because of the immense political experience he had acquired and called on the
delegates to vote for him at the congress.
Mr J. H.
Owusu-Acheampong, a former Member of Parliament for Berekum and the National
Chairman of Mills' campaign team, noted that it would be disastrous to deny
Professor Mills the mandate to lead the party.
He explained that the
unrelenting efforts of President John Agyekum Kufuor after losing to former
President Rawlings in the December 1996 Presidential Elections led to his
victory in the 2000 election. Mr Owusu-Acheampong, therefore, urged NDC members
to rally behind Professor Mills as their flagbearer, "since he is the right
person capable of securing political power for them".
Mr I.K. Adjei-Mensah,
Member of Parliament for Techiman North, who presided, advised the constituency
executives of the party to begin a search for their parliamentary aspirants to
contest the 2004 General Election.
The time is ripe to
identify them and employ campaign tactics such as attending occasions to market
them to the electorate, he said. Professor Mills earlier on Tuesday met and
addressed leaders and a cross section of party members at Techiman on his bid
for the flagbearership.
The former Vice
President also called on parents and relatives of the late Alhaji Kwadwo Maama
Adam, former Regional Chairman of the party at Bamire, his hometown, near
Techiman, to console them. He also paid a visit to Mr. Akumfi Ameyaw Munufie,
former Co-Chairman of NDC to console him on the loss of his wife last year.
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It's
time for an African to head Maritime Organisation-Nigeria
Accra (Greater Accra)
10 October 2002- Nigeria has urged Ghana to support her bid to field a
candidate for the post of Secretary-General of the International Maritime
Organisation (IMO), saying it was time for an African to direct the affairs of
the world body.
Transport Minister
Chief Ojo Maduekwe said this when he delivered a message from Nigerian
President Olusegun Obasanjo to President John Agyekum Kufuor. Vice President
Aliu Mahama received the message at the Castle, Osu.
Chief Maduekwe said
it was just right that an African Secretary-General, after an European and
American had each held the position for 16 years, while Asia had also occupied
the position for 14 years.
He said: "It is
believed that after the September 11 event, the maritime industry would be the
next target for terrorist attacks. Therefore, global security is focusing on
the maritime sector.
"Nigeria will
like Africa to feel ownership of global security. That is why we want our
citizen to take charge and change Africa's position in global security."
The IMO election would be held next June.
Chief Maduekwe said
since President Obasanjo assumed office, he had prioritised the transportation
sector to become the catalyst for regional integration, adding that without
making movement within Africa, it would be difficult for Africans to reap the benefit
of integration. "For us transportation has become an ideology for the
success of the African Union," he said.
He praised Ghana's
contribution and sacrifices towards Pan Africanism, saying, "coming to
Ghana is refreshing spiritually, politically and psychological for Nigerians,
who have often shared Ghana's vision at the local and the international
level."
Chief Maduekwe
expressed the hope that Ghana would be a beacon for others on the continent in
her efforts to stabilise democracy. Lauding the relations between the two
countries, Vice President Mahama said entrenching democracy in Ghana was a
priority because it was the key to sustainable economic growth.
"Our democracy
is young but we want the rule of law to guide all our actions. We appreciate the
relations between us and your country, which we consider as both our friend and
big brother," he said.
On the request to
back Nigeria's candidature of the IMO, Vice President Mahama said the
government would consider the issue and respond appropriately when the
President returns from his trip to the Upper regions.
Foreign Minster
Hackman Owusu-Agyemang said it was high time Africa made a strong presence in
the IMO and put its concerns, which included high freight charges, across. He
said like airfares, maritime charges to Africa were about three times higher
than what pertained elsewhere for the same distance and services, adding that
these inflated the prices of goods.
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Violence
against children on the increase
Accra (Greater Accra)
10 October 2002- The Acting Executive Secretary of the Ghana National
Commission on Children (GNCC), Mrs Marilyn Amposah Annan has said that child
abuse had assumed an alarming rate in the country leading to a higher number of
children being emotionally and mentally traumatised.
She said from 1998 to
2000, statistics from the Women and Juvenile Unit (WAJU) of the Ghana Police
Service indicated that 329 children were defiled, 235 assaulted and battered,
44 threatened, 76 raped and 911 lacked maintenance and care.
Mrs Amponsah Annan
who was addressing a press conference as part of activities to mark Mental
Health Day, said even though Ghana was among the first countries to ratify the
Convention on the rights of the child, laws for their protection were not being
properly enforced.
She said it had been
confirmed that sexual abuses that children suffer were most of the time
perpetrated by their loved ones, people they are familiar with and trust
resulting in most cases not being reported because of the stigma and shame.
Mrs Amponsah Annan
said though every child was at risk of abuse, the most vulnerable were those
staying with stepparents, those who lacked parental care and those deemed less
intelligent and most often left to their fate.
She said the trauma
these children went through after being abused was enormous, adding that there
was the need to set up centres and programmes all over the country to address
their physical and psychological rehabilitation.
Mrs Amponsah Annan
said it was important to establish WAJU in all the regions to make it
accessible to many people since it had only two offices in the country at the
moment. Dr Joseph Bediako Asare, Chief Psychiatrist, said mental health workers
were worried about the trauma and the long-term effect the abuses had on
children hence the need for parents to ensure that their children were given
the love and care to make them grow into responsible adults.
He said the state had
a major role to play by ensuring that structural abuse where the state imprisoned
mothers carrying children were avoided otherwise these children may end up
becoming liabilities rather than assets to the nation.
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Kufuor
commissions Sandema Phone Link
Sandema (Upper East)
10 October 2002- President John Agyekum Kufuor has commissioned a newly
installed telephone link at Sandema in the Builsa District. The ceremony took
place at the forecourt of the chief's palace, and formally marked the arrival
of radiotelephone communication in the Builsa area.
President Kufuor said
the development of the country's rural communities was one of government's
priority concerns and expressed the hope that the extension of telephone
facilities would provide a catalyst for socio-economic development in the
district.
The President, who
arrived at Sandema as part of a three-day official tour of the Upper East
Region, also announced government's intention to exploit the full agricultural
potential of the Fumbisi Valleys and to make the area the nation's granary.
He announced that the
Sandema-Fumbisi road had already been given out on contract and that when
completed; it could open up the Builsa District for further development. Mr
M.J. Awudu, Regional Head of the Ghana Telecom, explained that the Sandema
telephone project entailed the extension of 60 lines from Bolgatanga to the
area.
"So far, 30
lines have been provided and we aim at completing the whole exercise by the end
of this year," he added. He was, however, not able to give the cost of the
project. Earlier in a welcoming speech read for him, the Sandem-Nab, Ayieta
Azantillow, appealed to government to help promote large-scale rice cultivation
and livestock development in the Builsa area, particularly the Fumbisi Valley.
The Sandem-Nab said
it was his intention to elevate all divisional chiefs in the traditional area
to paramount status and solicited government's approval. He also urged
government to help find a solution to the chieftaincy problem at Chuchuliga
near Sandema, saying the problem had the potential to destabilise the hitherto
peaceful atmosphere at Builsa.
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First
Lady takes delivery of health items
Accra (Greater Accra)
10 October 2002- The First Lady, Mrs Theresa Kufuor has taken delivery of 45
boxes of hospital equipment at a cost of 70,000 dollars from the University of
Chicago in the United States of America.
The items include 22
Laboratory containers for urinal analysis, 34 assorted surgical disposables, 43
Catheter kits, 17 Headrest pillows, 38 breast drapes, and 16 vacuum containers.
Mr. Joseph Godson
Amamo, a former Ambassador and Editor of Ghanaian Times presented the equipment
on behalf of Dr. Ron Rondell, Principal of the University, who donated the
items following a request to assist the first Lady in the running of her newly
established Mother and Child Foundation.
Mrs. Kufuor, a
professional nurse midwife and patron of the Foundation said it was meant to
train young single mothers to acquire skills for financial empowerment,
establish counselling centres for vulnerable young nursing mothers and provide
first aid facility.
She was grateful to
the Americans, saying that they are far but are always near anytime their
support was needed. She said the equipment would be distributed to the various
hospitals, clinics and health centres according to their needs.
In another
development, Mr Henry Shen, a manager of a Chinese company, known as Tianjin
Tianshi biological development company, also donated 80 cartons of calcium
powder at a cost of 25,000 dollars. He said the product, which was being sold
in about 80 countries all over the world, was of a lot of benefit to children.
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We're
prepared for returnees-NADMO
Accra (Greater Accra)
10 October 2002- The National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) has said
that it is prepared to cater for Ghanaian returnees and refugees from
neighbouring Cote d'Ivoire as a result of the fighting in that country.
Brigadier (Rtd)
Joseph Odei, National Co-ordinator of NADMO, who was answering questions at a
press conference in Accra, said the organisation had both human and material
resources to cater for about 1,000 refugees daily should the fighting escalate
and force more people to seek shelter in Ghana.
The press conference
was part of activities marking this year's World Disaster Reduction Day, which
is celebrated on the second Wednesday of October each year. "We have a
very good programme to help avert any humanitarian crisis and to take care of
the influx at our border posts," he said.
Cote d'Ivoire was
thrown into turmoil on September 19 when some 750 soldiers mutinied over their
demobilisation. Although the government put down the mutiny in the main city of
Abidjan, fighting has been raging between the government and rebels in the
second city of Bouake.
Brigadier Odei said
contrary to the impression that there was a large number of Ghanaian returnees
from Cote d'Ivoire, information from most of the border posts show that only a
few people were crossing the border.
Statistics, he said,
indicated that only 63 people had crossed the border into the country at Dormaa
Ahenkro, 84 people at Gyama District and only seven returnees did so at Bole.
Brigadier Odei did not, however, rule out the use of other unofficial routes
because of weak border controls saying that these would not be captured in the
data.
He urged Ghanaians to
forge a common front to avert disasters and prepare adequately to reduce their
impact when they occur. World Disaster Reduction Day is aimed at creating
awareness on the increasing occurrences and impact of disasters on human life,
property, business or investment, monuments and the natural environment or the
ecology. The theme for this year is: "Disaster Reduction for Sustainable
Mountain Development."
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Fast
Track Court tries Tsikata
Accra (Greater Accra)
10 October 2002- Former Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum
Corporation (GNPC), Tsatsu Tsikata was put before an Accra Fast Track Court
(FTC) for willfully causing a loss of 6,919,123.22 French Francs and 20 million
cedis to the State.
The Director of
Public Prosecutions (DPP), Mr Osafo Sarpaong said Tsikata committed GNPC to
Valley Farms, a private limited liability company, without authority, thus
causing the corporation, and for that matter, the State, to incur a loss of the
French francs.
Furthermore, by
deciding to commit GNPC's funds to the initial investment in Valley farms, he
also intentionally misapplied 20 million cedis belonging to the Corporation,
contrary to its authorised objectives.
Tsikata pleaded not
guilty to both charges. The trial judge, Mrs Henrietta Abban, an Appeal Court
Judge sitting as an additional High Court Judge, granted him bail in the sum of
700 million cedis in his own recognisance.
Mr Sampong told the
court that contrary to GNPC's clear objects and functions under the law, it
strayed into several areas outside its core business and undertook investment
activities in banking, telecommunications, financial hedging and derivatives,
cocoa production and marketing.
He said, for
instance, in 1991 Tsikata used Merban Investment Holdings Limited, a subsidiary
of Merchant Bank (Ghana) Limited, to acquire and hold shares on behalf of GNPC
in Valley Farms.
The DPP told the
court that without any indemnity or counter guarantee, GNPC through Tsikata,
provided a guarantee for Valley Farms and secured for it a two-window loan
facility from Caisse Francaise de Developpement (CFD), a French financial
institution.
He said the total
loan guaranteed by GNPC for Valley Farms was 5.5 million French Francs and
repayment was to begin on 31 October 1996. Mr Sampong told the court that on
the basis of the guarantee provided by GNPC, its shareholding in Valley Farms
was increased from 17.39 per cent to 25 per cent.
He said a forensic
audit into the activities of GNPC during Mr Tsikata's tenure of office as Chief
Executive showed that he circumvented laid down corporate objectives, and on
his own accord illegally committed it to invest in Valley Farms and to
guarantee the loan granted by CFD.
The DPP stated
further that Valley Farms could not generate sufficient inflow to repay the
loan according to the terms granted by CFD and as a result of this default, CFD
fell on the guarantor, GNPC to repay.
Mr Sampong told the
court that on the orders of Tsikata, GNPC paid a total of 6,919,123.22 French
Francs, representing the principal loan, the interest and other charges to CDF
in three instalments.
Major R. S. Agbenoto
(rtd), counsel for Tsikata, submitted that in its ruling on March 15 this year,
an Accra High Court upheld objection raised on behalf of the accused person and
acquitted and discharged him.
Major Agbenoto told
the court that before the judgment, the DPP filed new charges in that same
court against his client and those same charges were now before the FTC. Counsel
submitted further that the facts on which the charges have been brought before
the FTC were the same as those presented previously at the three courts before
which Tsikata was arraigned, namely, the Circuit Tribunal, the Fast Track Court
and the High Court.
He said to date no
"Nolle Prosequi" had been filed by the Attorney-General's Department
in respect of the charges they filed before the normal High Court just before
it gave its ruling on 15 March and freed his client.
Counsel submitted
that the only "Nolle Prosequi" served on his client was in respect of
the previous FTC sitting. Major Agbenoto stated that it would, therefore, be
for the court to determine whether the judgment delivered by the High Court on
March 15 could be circumvented.
He, however,
submitted that his client "stands ready to face trial before the Court,
and to answer the charges preferred against him".
Led in evidence by
the DPP later, Mr Jim William Wilson, an American businessman and the main
promoter of Valley Farms, told the Court that his company engaged in the
rehabilitation of cocoa farms and the export of cocoa beans.
Mr Wilson, the first
and star prosecution witness, who described himself as a cocoa farmer, said he
first came to Ghana in 1960, left for Togo in 1981 and returned in the latter
part of that same year.
Witness told the
court that he was first involved in Resigha, a private company that purchased
waste cocoa beans until March 1987, when he set up VF. He said his company
entered into an agreement with GNPC, which guaranteed a loan on its behalf from
CDF.
Witness told the
court that he signed the loan agreement with Tsikata, secured a copy of the
agreement and CDF granted the loan in February 1992. The case has been
adjourned to Tuesday, 29 October for Mr Wilson to continue with his
evidence-in-chief.
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Government
urged to re-constitute refugees board
Krisan (Western
Region) 10 October 2002- The Camp Manager of the Krisan Refugee Camp in the
Western Region, Mr Frederick Ampofo has called on the government as a matter of
urgency, to re-constitute the Ghana Refugees Board.
"A
re-constituted Board would enable the managers of the refugee camps and the
government to properly screen asylum seekers and recognise them as refugees
before they are admitted into the camp" he said.
Mr Ampofo said;
"as it is now, we cannot properly screen refugees before we accept them
into our camps, due to the absence of the board". Speaking to the Ghana
News Agency (GNA) in an interview at Krisan on Tuesday, Mr Ampofo said for
almost two years, the Board had not been re-constituted thus leaving the
refugees and the camp managers in a dilemma.
He said the Krisan
camp, which was opened in December 1996 and commissioned in March 1997, has
1,974 refugees, most of them from Sierra Leone. Mr Ampofo said six years after
the camp was commissioned it still depended on generating plants for their
electricity.
The plant operates between 1830 hours and
0530 hours thus reducing the opportunities for the refugees, to embark on income
generating ventures, he explained. Mr Ampofo, therefore, called on the
Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to connect the camp to the national
electricity grid to enable the residents to undertake small and medium scale
businesses.
He said the camp had
no access to telephone facilities thus making communication between the camp
management committee, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
and other institutions very difficult.
The camp manager
appealed to Ghana Telecom (GT) to come to their aid and provide telephone
facilities at the camp. "Through the Unified Welfare Council and Unified
Refugees Women's Group (UREWOG), mouthpieces for the refugees, the UNHCR, is
allocating grants through the two groups for small and medium scale businesses"
he said.
Mr Samuel
Hansen-Dzikunu, Senior Field Officer of the Western Regional Office of the
UNHCR, said in order not to compromise the cultural identity of the refugees,
each nationality had its own welfare council.
The councils are
charged to ensure that the cultural identity, practices and beliefs were not
infringed upon. He said grants from the UNHCR through UREWOG were meant to make
refugees self-reliant and independent.
Mr Hansen-Dzikunu
said already, a skills training centre had been established at the Krisan camp
and several young men and women were being trained in hairdressing, tailoring,
carpentry, gari-processing and other income generating projects.
He said to maximise
the skills and talents, the refugees themselves handled the entire local
clinic, school and other internal works that needed technical expertise. The
Senior Field Officer said an Olympic Aid Volunteers scheme had began at the
camp to assist children to develop their skills and talents in sporting
activities and such children were expected, to participate in future Olympic
Games while learning at the same time.
Mr Hansen-Dzikunu
said though there was a Police presence at the camp, the absence of a security
fence, made the refugees to move to town easily. He expressed his appreciation
to the chiefs and people of Eikwe for accommodating and living peacefully with
the refugees.
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Kwesi
Botchwey arrives in Accra
Accra (Greater Accra)
10 October 2002- Dr Kwesi Botchwey, a former Minister of Finance in the former
NDC government has returned home from the United States (US) to begin his
campaign to be elected as the presidential candidate of the NDC for the 2004
general elections.
Some leading members
of the party who met him at the Kotoka International Airport included Deputy
General-Secretary Baba Jamal, Mr Larry Adjetey, Mr Sam Garbah, Dr Ahmed
Mustapha and thousands of NDC supporters.
Dr Botchwey, clad in
NDC colours, told the supporters that he is back to seek their support and
mandate to lead the party for the 2004 elections. ''The NDC needs to unite,
strengthen and democratise in order to win the next elections. I believe I can
provide the inspired leadership with vision and dynamism to return the NDC to
power."
Asked whether Dr Obed
Asamoah, the party Chairman, coerced him to seek the party's nomination, Dr
Botchwey said he was rather asked by supporters and the public to seek the
mandate.
He however, commended
Dr Asamoah for creating a democratic atmosphere in the party, which enabled him
to seek the nomination. On the present government, Dr Botchwey said he has a
lot of respect for President John Agyekum Kufuor. ''He is doing a good job but
there is more room for improvement.''
He said Prof John
Evans Atta Mills is a friend and we were even mates at Legon and I believe we
would have a fruitful debate." He said he would later issue statement on
his candidature after which he would embark on a nationwide tour with party
members.
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