GRi Newsreel 03 - 09 -
2003
NDC will not be terrified into submission - Mills
Govt will pursue science education - Minister
Govt to take inventory of public lands
Forum held on Boankra Inland Port
SDA church members cause commotion at court
Upper West Region to record bumper harvest
Farmers appreciate Cocoa spraying exercise
Judges and lawyers attend HIV/AIDS workshop
NRC witness calls for reburial of father
NDC will not be terrified into submission - Mills
Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 3 September 2003 - Prof John Evans Atta Mills, Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for 2004 Elections, has declared that the Party would not be cowed into submission by the arrogance, intimidation and harassment of the government.
He said the Kufuor administration must listen "when people speak loud and clear". Addressing a rally of party activists after a protest march in Kumasi on Tuesday, Prof. Mills, who repeated his party's aversion to violence said, they would want to see the growth of democracy in the country to make Ghana to continue to be a shinning example in Africa.
He advised the people to ensure that they register during the compilation of the new voters' register, saying that, they should have the courage to resist the registration of the under-aged.
Former President Jerry John Rawlings took a swipe at the Kufuor administration, labelling it as "the worst government we have had in the history of Ghana".
The country does not deserve what is happening to it, he said. The former President accused the government of dividing the people and creating mistrust among them, saying, "they know this is the only way they can survive". Ex-President Rawlings asked the people not to allow themselves to be bought into returning the NPP to power in 2004. "Don't allow these charlatans to destroy this noble country."
Dr Tony Aidoo, a Leading Member of NDC, noted that most of the continent's economic and political problems had come about because its leaders were not tested.
The General Secretary of the NDC, Dr Nii Josiah Ayeh, said the party had shown "very responsible opposition" within the past two-and-a-half years. "We have been able to do this because we have an efficient and competent leaders".
Emmanuel Nti-Fordjour, Ashanti Regional Chairman of the Party, said by the march, they had broken the dominance of the NPP in the Region.
Other speakers were Nana Alex Asamoah, Western Regional NDC Chairman, Samuel
Ofosu Ampofo, National Organiser and Asiedu Nketiah, Member of Parliament (MP)
for Wenchi West.
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Govt will pursue science education - Minister
Agona-Nkwanta (Western Region) 3 September 2003 - The only way African countries can redress the shortfall in human resources and scientific progress would be to ensure that the education of the youth is made complete and qualitatively comprehensive.
Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports, said to achieve this the government would continue to give priority to the training, empowerment and motivation of individuals to liberate themselves and country from the shackles of poverty and ignorance.
Baah-Wiredu said this in an addressed read for him at the opening of a five-day science, technology and mathematics education (STME) clinic for 60 participants made up of 40 girls and 20 boys in the Ahanta West District.
The clinic, among others, will help participants to appreciate the role of science in the home through the use of electrical gadgets, encourage them to take interest in learning the subject and expose them to the use of the computer in the learning of science at both the basic and senior secondary school levels.
The Minister stressed the importance of science education in the country's developmental efforts and said the formation of science education unit within the Ghana Education Service is to focus on its relevance. To ensure community participation and partnership in this endeavour, Baah-Wiredu said the ministry has endorsed the formation of science and technology education committees at the regional and district levels.
On the spread of the HIV/Aids pandemic, Baah-Wiredu said the efforts to boost science education would help to combat the disease since it would require more scientific minded citizenry to support the education to check its spread.
He appealed to the various communities to use the concept of the unit committees and the school management committees to ensure effective management of schools.
Ahmad Daramanu, the Western Regional Director of Education, said the demand
on the nation to get along with the rest of the world in science and technology
places a responsibility on the education sector. Miss Rosemond Blay, the
District Director of Education, said STME clinics have helped to bring out the
best in girls who participated in the programme by breaking down misconceptions
and psychological barriers to their participation in science education.
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Govt to take inventory of public lands
Wa (Upper West) 3 September 2003 - The government would, by December come out with an inventory of all public lands in the country to determine lands for which compensation has been paid and that government has utilised.
Lands that the state does not intend to develop immediately or in the near future would be returned to their owners. Alhaji Mahama Sulemana, National Co-ordinating of the Land Administration Project (LAP), said this at a three-day workshop on the project for chiefs, landowners and officials from the lands sector agencies in the Upper West Region on Tuesday.
Alhaji Sulemana said nobody in the lands sector agencies at the moment could tell the quantum of government lands or identify those lands that had been paid for by the state.
Alhaji Sulemana said DFID had pledged nine million dollars grant for the provision of facilities and to build the capacity of traditional authorities to manage their lands property.
He said the government has also signed a 20.5 million dollars concessionary loan agreement with the World Bank to finance the LAP project.
Some $54m has been earmarked for the execution of the project with other sources of funds being Nordic Development Fund, GTZ, KFW and CIDA. The LAP Co-ordinator said one million dollars grant pledged by CIDA would be used to finance land administration in the three Northern regions.
Apart from reducing litigation, the project, when fully implemented, would minimise corruption in the lands sector. Alhaji Sulemana said five communities in the Nadowli District of the region have been selected by the Institute of Development Studies of the University of Sussex, UK in partnership with Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology to pilot a scheme that would look at how land rights are managed within certain areas.
The communities are Bussie, Loho, Issa, Tabiasi and Tangasia. Sahanun Mogtari, Upper West Regional Minister, said land is a critical factor in the "Golden Age of Business" declared by the government and urged land sector agencies to formulate workable plans for proper development and management of land.
Mogtari called on landowners and other stakeholders to eschew land
litigations and find ways of making land acquisition easy and more liberalised.
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Forum held on Boankra Inland Port
Ejisu (Ashanti Region) 3 September 2003 - Kingsley Atta-Karikari, Senior State Attorney in-charge of land Title Registry in Kumasi, has suggested that land for the development of the Inland Port at Boankra and its environs be brought under the Land Title Registration exercise to promote investment.
He also called for the encouragement of real estate developers for the development of the inland port area since they can meet the criteria of the financiers and also to avoid waste of land.
Atta-Karikari was speaking at a day's forum on management of land for the development of the Boankra Inland Port and its environs on Tuesday. It was organised by the Ejisu-Juaben District Assembly in conjunction with the Ghana Shippers Council, Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority.
Traditional authorities, departmental heads, assembly members, land development agencies and unit committee members from the various communities in the district attended the forum.
The Senior State Attorney said the demarcation of all the lands allocated to developers should be in line with the policy development objectives of the area.
Yaw Ahenkora Afrifa, the Ejisu-Juaben District Chief Executive, said the district assembly has voted 100 million cedis towards the preparation of a composite land use plan to check haphazard location of structures and also maintain a disciplined development pattern of the area.
He called on all stakeholders to ensure that lands in the area are positively
protected and that anybody caught encroaching on any land will not be spared.
Nana Aboagye Agyei II, Ejisuhene, called for effective collaboration of all
stakeholders.
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SDA church members cause commotion at court
Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 3 September 2003 - Members of the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church branches at Berekum, Techiman, Dormaa Ahenkro and Terchire in Brong Ahafo on Tuesday besieged the premises of the Sunyani high court to express their dissatisfaction with the slow proceedings of an alleged stealing case against some of the Church's executives.
The members left the courtroom disappointed and in a furious mood after Mr Kofi Debrah, the presiding judge announced another adjournment of the case to October 7.
They shouted for an explanation to the continued adjournments and delays of the case "since the complainants, suspects and their counsels are always present in court."
Two pastors and three executives of Mid-West Ghana conference of Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Church were on 17 February put before the court on the allegation that they stole more than $19,000, ¢160m and quantities of Aluzinc roofing sheets belonging to the Church.
Pastor James Kwaku Badu, President of the Conference and Pastor Frederic Kofi Agyei-Baah, Secretary, Alfred Owusu Ansah, Treasurer/Financial Administrator, Daniel Kwabena Donkor and Kwabena Boa-Amponsem, executive members, have pleaded not guilty to 12 counts of conspiracy to steal, stealing and dishonestly receiving and are on ¢200m bail each with two sureties.
A sixth accused, Pastor Richard Addai Mununkum, pleaded guilty with explanation and was granted a self-recognizance bail after he told the court that he was prepared to refund the packets of roofing sheets in his possession.
The Court also asked its registrar to write a letter to Bank of Ghana and Barclays Bank of Ghana, Sunyani Branch, to furnish it with the Church's financial position to enable it to continue with the case.
Attempts by security personnel at the court to calm down the members proved futile as they rather attacked the vehicle carrying Pastor Adjei-Baah, hitting it with their hands and legs.
They massed to prevent the vehicle from moving out from the court premises and it had to be given a police escort but they still chased it with insults and shouts of "thieves, thieves".
There was such a rowdy scene at the court's premises that the judge had to stop proceedings and come out to warn the members to leave the place in peace to which they shouted back, "Judge settle our case for us". Four of the members, including a lady were arrested by the police and detained in the courtroom for contempt of court.
The arrest of the four put fear in the other members who quickly joined their vehicles to leave the place but continued with shouts that they would be there again to fight for their rights. The facts of the case as presented by Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Alex Yartey Tawiah, prosecutor, were that on 27 June last year a letter of complaint titled "Financial Malfeasance and Stealing at Mid-West Ghana Conference (MGC) of the SDA Church", was received by the Brong Ahafo Regional Crime Officer and was referred for investigations.
The investigations revealed that in 1998 Pastors Mununkum, Badu and Appiah Kubi Kwarteng (at large), conspired and stole 18 packets of Aluzinc roofing sheets being part of donated items from the United States of America for the roofing of the church building and shared them in the house of Henry Adusi Poku, a witness, at Techiman.
ASP Tawiah said other malpractices were detected at MIG and were reported to the Church's Headquarters in Accra upon which a Commission of Inquiry was set into the case.
Only Pastor Mununkum was subsequently dismissed after the inquiry even though there was enough evidence against the other accomplices. The prosecutor added that the Commission's findings infuriated the complainants in the case hence the request for criminal investigations.
Six packets of the sheets, being the share of Pastor Kwarteng, now in the USA, were retrieved from Isaac Ayiah, a witness, who was taking custody of them at Hausua, near Techiman, ASP Tawiah said MGC had a dollar account of 19,121 US dollars at the Barclays Bank Ghana Limited in Sunyani but this was allegedly withdrawn by Pastor Badu, Pastor Adjei-Baah and Owusu Ansah and changed on the black market.
The three upon arrest alleged that they had deposited the money at Bank of Ghana, Sunyani in the form of treasury bills. He said when they were asked to produce documents covering their claim they refused, insisting that they would only do so after they had been arraigned before a court and the Bank also on request declined to disclose any information to the police.
The prosecutor said the accused also conspired and stole ¢160m belonging to the Conference after the former Administrator of the MGC had handed over to them at a session at Techiman. The three later told the congregation that the financial position of ¢160m read at the session was a misinformation.
In 1997 and 2001 the Conference allocated 28 packets of Aluzinc roofing sheets to roof the church's branch at Aworowa, near Techiman, which was headed by Owusu Ansah, but according to Samuel Yeboah, Treasurer of the branch, only 22 packets were received and the remaining six were not accounted for.
ASP Tawiah said the three accused also allocated 28 packets of roofing sheets for projects at Brodi, near Sampa in 1997 and 2001. When the police visited the area George Okra, an Administrator, confirmed having received some packets of the roofing sheets but refused to surrender waybills and documents on them.
The prosecutor said Pastor Badu sent his younger brother, Kwabena Donkor, to collect six packets of roofing sheets from Adusi Poku at Techiman in a Peugeot caravan to Kintampo.
He said Pastor Badu, in 1998, bought four packets of roofing sheets at ¢1.7m from Pastor Adjei Baah and investigations revealed that he used the items to roof the house of one Daniel Kuma at Techiman.
ASP Tawiah added that Boa-Amponsem dishonestly received four packets of the
roofing sheets from Pastor Adjei-Baah and other Elders of Sunyani New Town
Church that was contrary to the Conference's working policy.
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Upper West Region to record bumper harvest
Wa (Upper West) 3 September 2003 - Zinnenuba Lankono, Upper West Regional Director of Ministry of Food and Agriculture, said on Monday that the region would this year record a bumper food harvest.
He said the general acceptance of new farming methods, improved varieties of seed crops and the favourable rainfall pattern is contributory to the high expectations of farmers in the region.
Lankono, who was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, after a mid-year assessment meeting said cowpea, sorghum, millet, soyabean and yam are the crops likely to exceed their annual target.
He said the rains are moderately spreading out in every month, thereby making it favourable for both the grains and root crops to flourish. "This year the rains are not too frequent, a situation which is favourable to all kinds of crops, unlike in the previous years where rains were concentrated in certain months," he said.
Lankono said this year many farmers have also gone into rice production because of the government's intentions to reduce the high rate of rice importation.
"Most farmers had abandoned rice production in the region due to inadequate market but the Minister of Food and Agriculture's announcement has encouraged most of them to go back to rice cultivation."
He said livestock production has also improved due to the introduction of
foreign breeds of small ruminants and the introduction of chemicals to rid the
animals of pests and other diseases that stifle their survival. The Regional
Director however, appealed to the government to rehabilitate feeder roads in the
region to facilitate the carting of foodstuffs.
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Farmers appreciate Cocoa spraying exercise
Abomosu (Eastern Region) 3 September 2003 - Cocoa Farmers at Akim Asamama near Akim Abomosu in the East Akim District have expressed their appreciation and gratitude for the mass spraying exercise recently introduced by the government to revamp the cocoa industry.
The Chairman of the Town's Committee, Kwadjo Obeng, said this when he spoke to farmers on the efforts being made by the government to boost the morale of the farmers and encourage them to increase their output.
He advised farmers to maintain their farms as much as possible through regular weeding and pruning and urged them to allow cocoa officers to cut down aged trees and re-plant them.
Three farmers from Abrenya and Abrasuso, who spoke on behalf of their colleagues commended the governments for the spraying exercise and said their output for last season was high.
They however appealed to the government to allow cocoa officers to visit them
periodically to give them technical knowledge.
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Judges and lawyers attend HIV/AIDS workshop
Accra (Greater Accra) 3 September 2003 - A two-day legal literacy training workshop on Tuesday opened in Accra with a call on legal practitioners to challenge and prevent stigmatisation and discrimination against People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).
"It is sad that the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS are often violated because of their presumed HIV status, causing them to suffer both the burden of the disease and the consequential loss of their rights," Mrs Esther Baah Amoako, Executive Director of AIDS Alert Ghana, an non-governmental organisation, said.
Addressing the 30 legal experts representing Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Judiciary, Ghana Law Reform and some private legal practitioners, Mrs Amoako, a lawyer by profession, said respect for human rights was critical to the prevention and successful treatment of HIV/AIDS.
She said the violation of the rights of PLWHA could increase the negative impact of the epidemic because instead of worrying only about the infection, they also have to worry about the further loss of their rights because of their HIV status.
The workshop is the first in a series being embarked upon by AIDS Alert for lawyers to share HIV/AIDS legally related experiences, exchange information that would lead to better coordination and collaboration among lawmakers.
At the end of the workshop, participants are expected to form a network of lawyers that would create a supportive environment for PLWHA. It would also make recommendations to the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) to aid policy formulation on the disease.
Mrs Amoako said though there are no AIDS specific laws in Ghana, the Constitution and other international human rights instruments, which Ghana has ratified, guaranteed the right to equal protection before the law and freedom from discrimination on grounds such as race, colour, sex, religion and national or social origin.
She said the 2002 HIV/AIDS situational report of the GAC reveals that efforts aimed at creating a supportive legal, ethical and policy environment constitutes only 32.4 per cent of what is required while that at promoting the rights of PLWHA constitutes 46.4 per cent. She, therefore, called on legal practitioners to intensify their efforts at protecting the rights of such people, who may not even know of such rights since there are many cases of PLWHA being treated badly once people find out about their status.
Participants are being taken through topics including the new Patient Charter, Controversies in HIV, Mandatory Testing, Force Testing, Testing Without Consent and Confidentiality/Disclosure/Partner Notification.
The workshop, which would be repeated for a different batch of participants,
would also enhance the capacity of lawyers to deal with legal issues of
relevance to HIV/AIDS.
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NRC witness calls for reburial of father
Accra (Greater Accra) 3 September 2003 - Jonathan Kotey Nikoi, grandson of the late politician and cocoa merchant, Gershon Ashie Nikoi on Tuesday appealed to government to help the family to exhume his body and give him a befitting burial.
He said through the active influence of his father the Cocoa Marketing Board and the Scholarship Scheme was established and pleaded that at least four scholarship slots should be given to the family to help the young ones further their education.
Giving evidence at the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC), Nikoi said the family had not organised a funeral for the Late Gershon Nikoi and no family member knew where he was buried but mentioned one Dr. Sarfo Adu who could be contacted for the location since he was amongst those that buried his grandfather.
He said his grandfather was the Vice Chairman of the CPP led by Dr. Kwame Nkrumah with William Ofori Atta, Dr. J.B. Danquah, Akuffo Addo, Ako Adjei and Kojo Botio, among others, as his compatriots who fought for the country's independence.
Nikoi said his grandfather studied in Britain and returned home in 1930, adding that he organised the peasant farmers across West Africa and led a delegation to the Manchester Conference in 1945. He said after a series of political harassment by the Convention Peoples Party (CPP) government, his grandfather went into exile in Togo assisted by the former President Olympio, adding that after Olympio died, he continued to Ibadan, Nigeria where he died and was buried in 1963.
According to Nikoi, who works with Ghana Post in Sunyani, his grandfather said the CPP government promised to help the peasant farmers to market their produce, but failed them, adding that the CPP government was rather planning to use the proceeds from the farmers to finance the party.
Nikoi said this made his grandfather and some party members to break away from the CPP government leading to his arrest and detention. The witness said his grandfather was among the first group of 45 political opponents that were arrested and imprisoned in 1958.
He said his grandfather was later released, bundled in blanket and left at the premises of the La Presbyterian Church and was asked to walk home in his underwear.
He said the late Ashie Nikoi was re-arrested with others after he had given a speech at a political rally in Kumasi, adding that it was after his release that he went into exile.
Nii Kotey Amli, III, a traditional ruler of the Klanaa Quarter of La, who was
a witness for the Late Gershon Ashie Nikoi said the plots of land belonging to
the La traditional area, including Nkwantanan now Madina had been encroached on
by previous governments and individuals. He said the family had not received any
compensation and called on the NRC to help them retrieve the compensation due
them.
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