Second batch of Americans arrive in Accra
$1.5
million swipe at BOG - Judgement on October 21
GNAT describes SSNIT pension
scheme as frustrating
Accra (Greater Accra)
28 September 2002- The National Executive Committee of the National Democratic
Congress (NDC) on Friday congratulated the Social Democratic Party (SDP) for
winning the recent German general election.
A statement signed by
Dr N. Josiah-Ayeh, General Secretary of NDC, and sent to the General Secretary
of SPD in Berlin congratulated Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, the Executive, and
members of SPD for working "extremely hard to chalk this landmark
victory."
The statement said:
"We of the NDC will continue to imbibe the tenets of democracy that have
become deeply entrenched in German politics, learning from it to help the
growth of our own fledging democracy in Ghana.
"As we rejoice
with the SPD, we pledge to pursue the ideals of social democracy, which our
Party has recently adopted. We believe this socio-political direction will help
reduce poverty and social tensions in the nations of the world and bring peace
and security to all mankind.
"Once again,
accept our sincerest congratulations as we wish you another successful term of
government that will keep the German political project among the topmost
bastions of freedom and democracy where the political, social, economic and
cultural aspirations of the people will find true fulfilment under the
leadership of the SPD" the statement said.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Bibiani (Western
Region) 28 September 2002 - The Ministry of Local Government and Rural
Development is to hold a rural Development Week from 4-9 November 2002 to
showcase development projects undertaken so far since the New Patriotic Party
(NPP) came to power.
Captain Nkrabea
Effah-Dartey (rtd), Deputy Minister of Local Government and rural Development,
announced this at the opening of a two-day meeting of District Chief Executives
(DECs) drawn from Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo and the Western regions at Bibiani on
Friday.
The two-day meeting
would discuss the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the Health Insurance Scheme and tourism
development. Captain Effah-Dartey also announced that a Clean City Contest to
select the cleanest city, town or village as part of the environmental
cleanliness drive of the ministry would be held soon. He, however, did not give
the date for the contest.
The Deputy Minister
charged DCEs to be transparent in the award of contracts, saying that the
District Tender Boards must be actively involved in the awards. He explained
that it was the manner in which the DCEs awarded contracts that had attracted
media reports of corruption levelled against some of them, pointing out that in
all such cases, investigations had revealed that the accusations were false.
Captain Effah-Dartey,
however, warned the DCEs not to indulge in corrupt practices since anybody
found would not be spared since the NPP had no room for corruption. He appealed
to the DCEs at the nation's western corridor who share a common border with La
Cote d'Ivoire to tighten security along the frontier to ensure that there was
no spill over of the coup attempt in that country into Ghana.
Dr Kwaku Afriyie,
Minister of Health, announced that the government had ordered 450 vehicles for
the health sector and that the first batch of 70 had arrived and would be
distributed to health personnel in the most deprived districts as part of
incentives package for health personnel serving in the rural areas.
He said his ministry
had almost completed the preparation of the Health Insurance Bill, which would
be laid before Parliament when it reconvened, for approval. Dr Afriyie said
when the bill becomes law it would ensure that everybody belonged to a health
insurance scheme and that it would cover those in the public and private
sectors as well as the self-employed.
He said the government
might appear to be slow in dealing with the problems of the country but pointed
out that the NPP government wanted to ensure that anything it did was properly
done.
Dr Afriyie appealed to
Ghanaians to bear with the government while it put things in order for the
benefit of all instead of trying to hasten government to do things haphazardly,
which in the long run would be to the detriment of the country.
Mr Joseph Boahen
Aidoo, Western Regional Minister, told the DCEs that the last quarter of the
year, which he described as "the devil's quarter," would see a lot of
financial activities in the districts.
He said besides the
HIPC fund, which had been distributed to all the districts, the Administrator
of the District Assemblies Common Fund would be approved by Parliament for
confirmation and that he would start the disbursement of the common fund.
This means that there
would be a lot of money in the system, coupled with the fact that government's
capital projects such as road construction and others would also commence. The
searchlight, Mr Aidoo said, was presently on the NPP and as such they as DCEs
should be careful of how they handle all these funds reminding them of the zero
tolerance for corruption.
Mr Christopher Addai,
Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekwai District Chief Executive, in welcoming his colleagues,
said it was a pride for the district to host for the second time the DCEs,
coming exactly three months after hosting the first one.
He noted that Bibiani
was becoming an important town, since besides the DCEs meeting, some very
important national conferences had taken place in the town, and appealed to
Ghana Telecom to complete its station at Bibiani so that they could be linked
to other parts of the country.
He also appealed to
the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development to include the tarring
of the Bibiani town roads in the 2003 District Capital Improvement Programme.
Esenkese Ogyeahoho Yaw
Gyebi, Omanhene of Sefwi-Anhwiaso Traditional Area, who chaired the function,
noted that the holding of the meeting at a district capital gave practical
meaning to the decentralisation policy. He said the impact of bringing
decentralisation to the doorsteps of the people therefore would bring them
closer to government.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra)
28 September 2002- President John Agyekum Kufuor on Friday honoured the
out-going Netherlands Ambassador in Ghana, Mr Alexander Heldring with the State
Honour of Grand Medal, (Honorary Division) at a brief ceremony at the Castle,
Osu.
It was during a
farewell call on President Kufuor by Mr Heldring who is leaving Ghana after a
five-year duty tour. Decorating Mr Heldring, President Kufuor said Mr Heldring
was being honoured for his immense contribution to the improvement and
strengthening of the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
He said last year, Mr
Heldring was very instrumental in the provision of an 80 million-dollar
assistance from the Netherlands to Ghana, which enabled the government to
implement some of its policies and programmes.
President Kufuor asked
Mr Heldring who is going on retirement to be an ambassador of Ghana in the
Netherlands, because Ghana required more assistance from friendly developed
countries that had supported democratic development in the country and
government's determination to make Ghana the gateway in the West African
sub-region.
Mr Heldring
overwhelmed by the honour said it was not for him alone but his wife, Frauke
and staff of the embassy who were loyal and assisted him to accomplish his
mission in Ghana. He said, "The
honour is a complete surprise to me. It is a sign of appreciation on your part
of the kind of relations between both countries".
Mr Hackman
Owusu-Agyemang, Minister of Foreign Affairs, read the citation. It said Mr
Heldring joined the Foreign Service in Netherlands in 1970 and between 1983-87
was the Permanent Representative of his country in the United Nations (UN).
The citation said
between 1990-94, Mr Heldring was Netherlands Ambassador in Ouagadougou, Burkina
Faso as well as Tokyo, Japan from 1994-97. It said during the tenure of Mr
Heldring in Ghana from 1997-2002, there was much improvement in the bilateral
relations between the two countries especially in the fields of agriculture,
forestry and education.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra)
28 September 2002- The National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Friday urged the
Ivorian Government and its people to exercise maximum restraint and resort to
dialogue to resolve the political challenges facing the country.
The party said the
internal political confrontations now besetting the country "We call on
all stakeholders in the peace and security of Cote d'Ivoire to engage in
sincere dialogue to resolve whatever differences that have emerged amongst
you...."
A statement signed on
Friday by Dr Josiah Aryeh, the Party's General Secretary in relation to the
recent political problems in the country said, "It is our strong
conviction that peace and stability in Cote d' Ivoire also mean peace and
tranquillity in Ghana and West Africa as a whole."
"We call
particularly on the Ivorian military to use the channels of communication the
United Nations Mechanism for Military/Civilian Conflict Resolution offered and
which is being espoused and implemented in various UN Peace Keeping
missions"
The statement said
such "an action would pave the way to genuine peace and rapprochement in
governance of the country since it would remove all suspicions and
misunderstandings between government and military.
"We believe in
the capabilities of the Ivorian leadership and in the sound judgement of
Ivorian people to resolve the situation peacefully through dialogue.
"Government, opposition, the military, and the general public have a duty
to rally and ensure the cohesion of the country," the statement said.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra)
28 September 2002- The Department of Linguistics of the University of Ghana,
Legon, on Friday named its library after Professor Florence Abena Dolphyne to
"immortalise" her achievements and contributions to the growth and development
of the department.
Professor Dolphyne for
the past thirty years, rendered dedicated service to the University. A large
number of students and lecturers charged the atmosphere with cheers, as the
plaque was unveiled in recognition with selfless devotion to a cause well
deserved.
A citation
accompanying the honour, paid glowing tribute to her achievements, referring to
her as a scholar, educator, administrator and mentor who resisted the lure of
foreign lands in search of greener pastures in order to ensure that the
Department did not collapse due to lack of lecturers.
"As Head of the
Department, you always said that the Department could only be built and
sustained by Ghanaians," the citation said and added that for the love and
concern that she showed for students of the department who went away for
further studies has been among the highest in the University.
Prof Dolphyne, who
first became a lecturer of the department in 1965, was instrumental in the
training of all the current crop of lecturers. She encouraged promising
students to undertake graduate work in linguistics to enable them join the
staff of the Department.
She rose through the
ranks by mark of scholastic contributions, to become the first Ghanaian female
to attain the status of a full professor and Pro-Vice Chancellor.
Professor Dolphyne
equally held other positions as Head of the Department of Linguistics and Dean
of the Faculty of Arts. Professor Alex Kwapong, Chairman of the Council of
State, said her utmost dedication to diligence and scholarship made the
department one of the best on the African continent.
He asked all to
emulate her contributions. Professor Kwesi Yankah, Dean of the Faculty of Arts,
who also passed under the tutelage of Prof Dolphyne, said she had left a permanent
imprints that permeated the life of the institution.
"We must uphold
virtues and denigrate vice. We are not only rewarding her scholarship but also
her social responsibility that is the only way to ensure the growth of
society," he said.
Prof Yankah appealed
to individuals and corporate organisations to help resource the library. Prof
Dolphyne said she was overwhelmed by the sincere affection of her colleagues in
rewarding her achievements.
She urged Heads of
Departments of the various faculties to identify promising students and to
groom them to take over the mantle of lectureship. She asked the staff of the
Department to co-operate with one another to ensure smooth running of affairs
of the department.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra)
28 September 2002- A second batch of 13 Americans trapped in the Ivorian
uprising have arrived in Accra after being rescued by US Special Forces using
Ghana as an operational base.
They included nine
Peace Corps Volunteers who arrived at the Kotoka International Airport on
Friday and were expected to go through a screening to register to connect them
to their relatives and parents.
According the United
States (US) Consular Office in Accra, the number who arrived on board an
American C-130 military aircraft was part of an estimated 4,000 people mostly
immigrant workers, who have been displaced in the bloody uprising that left at
least 250 people dead.
The dead included
former military ruler Robert Guei and the Interior Minister, Emile Bongo Doudou.
The sources said the first batch of 18 students of the American Baptist International
School and a Ghanaian were evacuated from Bouake, in the Ivory Coast, and
arrived in Accra on Thursday.
The kids were caught
up in clashes between insurgents and government forces, following what the
Ivorian Government said was a failed coup last Thursday.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
$1.5
million swipe at BOG - Judgement on October 21
Accra (Greater Accra)
28 September 2002- An Accra Regional Tribunal would on 21 October give
judgement in the case in which Amina B. Abubakari Sidiq also known as Baby
Ocansey, a businesswoman, managed to en-cash 1.5 million dollars banker' draft
from the Bank of Ghana.
Ocansey, 61, is
charged on four counts of causing financial loss to the state, stealing,
possessing and uttering forged documents. She had pleaded not guilty to all the
charges and is on 500,000 dollars bail, with a surety to be justified.
Addressing the
tribunal after Mr Godfred D.A. Laryea, Counsel for Ocansey, had closed his case
on Thursday, Mr Anthony Gyambiby, Principal State Attorney, said the accused
person's claim of right to the amount was in bad faith.
He told the tribunal
chaired by Mr Isaac Duose that a claim of right "is a claim of right in
good faith" but that Baby Ocansey did not show any good faith in her claim
and that "a person without a claim of right becomes an essential element
of dishonest appropriation."
He said "where
there is a claim of right, it must be supported by evidence" adding that
the accused had no claim of right whatsoever, in the collection of the 1.5
million dollars from the Bank Of Ghana (BOG)".
On Tuesday, August 13,
2002, the tribunal acquitted and discharged three others - two former officials
of the BOG and a businessman, who had been charged jointly with Ocansey.
The tribunal ruled
that the Prosecution had failed to establish prima facie cases against Mr
Sebastian Gavor and Mr Justice Larbie, the two former employees of the BOG and
Alhaji Sidiq Gimala, the businessman.
Mr Gyambiby said that
as at December 17, 1999, the bank draft from the Chase Manhattan Bank in the
United States was not a good instrument for payment, since it had no supporting
funds and that the draft turned out to be forged.
The Prosecution said
looking at the totality of evidence before the tribunal, there were so many
pieces of circumstantial evidence, which had led to the conclusion that,
Ocansey misappropriated the 1.5 million dollars and wilfully caused financial
loss to the state.
The Principal State
Attorney submitted that Ocansey appropriated the money, which she did not deny
and described the appropriation as dishonest, since the accused had an evil
intention. Mr Gyambiby wondered how the name of an official of the BOG could be
written on the face of the cheque in question as a beneficiary, and added that
it was to influence payment.
He said this was a
clear test case to show that the whole exercise was a syndicate. The Prosecutor
told the tribunal that unless the defence put up credible evidence beyond
reasonable doubt, it should fail leading to the accused person's conviction.
He said the
"Prosecution has been able to establish its case on all the four charges,
and called on the tribunal to convict Ocansey". The Principal State
Attorney had earlier told the Tribunal that in the latter part of October 1999,
Gavor called one Mr E. D. Donkoh, Manager of the Budget and Accounts Department
of the Bank into his office and asked him to furnish Ocansey with the account
number and address of the Ghana International Bank in London. Mr Donkoh
complied with the request, which enabled Ocansey to transact business with the
bank.
Mr Gyambi by said on
11 November 1999, Ocansey presented a bank draft purported to have been issued
by the Chase Manhattan Bank in New York, dated 5 November 1999 with the face
value of 1.5 million dollars to Gavor for encashment, after which Gavor
instructed his secretary, Mrs Lucy Sasu to ask Mr Donkoh to send the draft to
one Mr Ashie Djanie for processing for collection.
The draft whose
maturity date was December 12, 1999, was given to Mr Djanie for processing
after which it was despatched by the BOG on 26 November 1999.
On 1 December 1999,
Citibank, New York, confirmed by a swift message having credited 1.5 million
dollars to the BOG's account, but with the following proviso; "subject to
the rules governing cheques and their clearings", Mr Gyambiby said,
adding, "this message was received the following day."
On 16 November 1999,
Mr Gavor asked Mr Djanie, who worked in the Banking Department of the BOG, to
use his (Gavor's) IDD to confer with the BOG's contact personnel at the City
Bank to know the status of the bank draft and he was informed that, the BOG had
been credited with the bank draft.
Irrespective of the
proviso about the clearance of cheques and banking procedures, Mr Larbie
instructed Mr Djanie to process the draft for payment and subsequently approved
the payment schedule, which was prepared by Mrs Nyarko and Mrs Kessie, both
workers of the BOG. The process went through and the amount was paid to Baby
Ocansey and Gavor whose names appeared on the cheque in the office of Gavor.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Paga (Upper East) 28
September 2002- Mr. Isaac Nsoh Amoah, Upper East Regional Manager of Ghana
Tourist Board (GTB) has assured tourists that adequate measures were in place
for maximum security and protection of tourists at tourists' sites in the Upper
East Region, particularly the Paga crocodile pond.
He said the Board had
requested the communities with tourist sites to form watchdog committees to
complement the efforts of the Police in checking any potential threat of armed
robbers and dangers in and around those places.
Addressing the people
of Paga to create awareness on eco-tourism at Paga in the Kassena-Nankana
District, Mr. Amoah asked communities, which had not yet formed such watchdog
committees to do so as early as possible as a way to attract more tourists.
The programme, which
was jointly sponsored by the Ghana Tourists Board and Nature Conservation
Research Centre (NCRC), a local NGO based in Bolgatanga seeks to educate the
people about the importance of eco-tourism. The programme was organised by the
American Peace Corps based in Paga as part of measures to educate the people on
the eco-tourism potential in the area.
Mr Amoah said armed
robbers and pickpockets could trace tourists from the cities to the attraction
centres, rob and harm them, a situation, he said, that could undermine the tourism
industry in the country.
He therefore, called
on the youth to report any suspicious characters in the midst of tourists. He
appealed to the people of Paga to properly maintain the two crocodile ponds and
the slave trade camp to attract more tourists to the sites for positive
economic and social benefits.
Mr Amoah also appealed
to land owners to properly manage and maintain the lands in order not to
"kill" tourism in the country. Mr Abuga Pele, Member of Parliament
for the Chiana/Paga Constituency, who was the Guest of Honour appealed to the
Upper East Regional Co-ordinating Council and the Ghana Tourist Board as well
as the Ghana Water Company to pool resources to ensure continuous supply of
pipe borne-water to Paga township and surrounding communities.
He said, now, the only
borehole serving the Paga community was out of order making life unbearable for
the people and called on the Kassena Nankana District Assembly and the Paga
Traditional Council to join efforts to put it in order.
Mr Pele said tourism
in the district would receive a further development with more facilities,
adding that the Paga Motel, which was currently under divestiture, was one
facility which private business concerns adopt for development.
Mr. George Dan-Yare,
District Chief Executive (DCE) of the Kassena-Nankana district, in a speech
said eco-tourism was a major boost for communities and the country and that
there was the need to invest in the industry to generate more income. He
advised communities to give their maximum co-operation to tourists in order to
build good relationship with tourists and the country.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Kumasi (Ashanti
Region) 28 September 2002-The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has
described the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) pension
scheme as frustrating and at variance with the fundamental principles of
equity, fairness, and human rights.
Mr. Augustine Mensah,
Ashanti Regional Chairman of the association, who said this noted that the
continual denial of teachers of the pension ordinance (1946) popularly known as
"Cap 30" is an instance of the perennial deprivation of fair
remuneration, which has been perpetrated against teachers over the years.
He was speaking at the
Ashanti Regional Teachers Day celebrations and seventh annual best teachers
awards ceremony in Kumasi on Friday. Mr. Mensah regretted that some laws such
as the Police Service Law 1986 (PNDCL 126), the Legal Service Public Officers
Pension Amendment Law 1986 (PNDCL 168), the Prison Service Pensions Law 1987
(PNDCL 168) and recently the Ghana National Fire Service Act 1997 (Act 537,
section 27), have reverted these services to Cap 30.
"According to the
International Labour Organisation (ILO) any new scheme re-placing an old one at
the workplace must be an improvement on the old system but a comparison of the
pension ordinance in which teachers had a corresponding scheme under teachers
pension ordinance of 1955, the SSNIT Pension Scheme is frustrating", he
said.
Mr. Mensah, said
benefits under SSNIT pension are based on average annual salary for three best
years are not indexed to inflation and life expectancy after retirement is 12
years against 20 years under Cap 30.
GNAT, he said, is not
against the principle of the "new study leave quota system" to
teachers but certain conditions including the human resources planning,
information, education and support of other forms of alternative implementation
of the programme and called for its suspension until 2003-2004 academic year.
Mr. Mensah stressed
that GNAT was not happy with the practice, whereby some parents shy away from
their responsibilities of providing adequate guidance and balanced child
development and called for greater parental and community support for the
teacher.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com