GRi Newsreel 20-04-99 (cont)

Wa (Upper West), 20th April 

The government will spend 4.1 billion cedis this year to tar the first 12 kilometres of the Wa -Tumu road, Mr David Osei Wusu, Upper West Regional Minister, has announced.

The Funsi-Yala and the Wa-Bulanga roads have also been awarded on contract for regravelling during the same period to make them more motorable, Mr Osei Wusu told the second ordinary meeting of the fourth section of the Wa District Assembly at Wa on Monday.

He reiterated the government's commitment to provide infrastructure in all districts as the foundation for Vision 2020 and urged the assembly to arrest the perpetual low level of revenue mobilisation in the district by exploring non-traditional sources of raising of generating ihncome.

The minister listed chieftaincy disputes, insecurity arising out of the widespread cattle rustling in the Dorimo traditional area, as impediments to development in the district. He enjoined the members to refrain from taking sides in controversial issues and to co-operate with the security agencies to ensure that "these unrests are eliminated".

Alhaji Ali Seidu Telpuo, Wa District Chief Executive, said 30 groups engaged in agricultural related ventures have so far benefited from the 30 million-cedi district poverty alleviation fund. He expressed concern about the high rate of expulsion of settlers at Dorimo, Bulenga, Kunsaabiala, and Poyentanga villages, saying "some of the expulsions are not justifiable". "While expulsion of thieves from Dorimo could be in the right direction, the rest have no legal merits," he said.

Accra (Greater Accra), 20th April 

Vice-President John Atta Mills on Tuesday swore into office 11 newly appointed justices of the Court of Appeal and tasked them to speed up work on the long list of cases before the court.

They are Mr Justice Nasiru Sulemana Gbedegbe, Mrs Justice Sophia Ophilia Adjeibea Adinyira, Mr Justice Stephen Twerefour Farkye, Mr Justice Benjamin Teiko Aryeetey, Mr Justice Julius Ansah and Miss Justice Rose Constance Owusu. The rest are Mr Justice Kwadwo Omari-Sasu, Mrs Justice Vida Akoto-Bamfo, Mr Justice Jacob Charles Amonoo-Monney, and Mr Justice Peter Kwabena Owusu-Ansah. Mr Justice Joseph Bawa Akamba did not turn up.

They took the oath of Allegiance and the Judicial Oath after which they were handed their warrants.

Vice-President Mills expressed the hope that the number will help reduce the delay of cases which has become a common phenomenon that the courts are grappling with. He said too many people have complained about these delays and charged the new judges to pay special attention to it.

Mr Justice Issac Kobbina Abban, Chief Justice, said they were appointed because of their hard work and urged them not to betray the trust and confidence of the appointing authorities.

Responding, Mr Justice Farkye said: "We shall not let the nation down. We pray that God will assist us to give justice to cases that come before us and meet our people's expectations."

New Tafo (Eastern Region) 20 April 

The Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) has available technology for the production of butter soap, brandy, gin, biscuit, jelly and jam. The technology is based upon scientific research conducted to add value to cocoa production, Dr M. R. Appiah, deputy executive director of the institute, said at the weekend.

"The technology is available. CRIG looks forward to an agency willing to buy it for mass production since CRIG's current production of bi-products of cocoa is limited." Dr Appiah disclosed this when welcoming members of the Knights and Ladies of Marshall of Council 48 and Court 40, a Catholic friendly society, who were on a countryside visit to the institute on Saturday.

The Institute, an offspring of the former West African Cocoa Research Institute, (WACRI) is developing new ideas towards increased yield of cocoa through soil fertility.

The CRIG has identified areas where cocoa could be grown with improved cocoa such as hybrids which are resistant to the swollen shoot disease.

The Institute has been helping farmers whose cocoa farms have been attacked by the disease to replant them with hybrid for higher production. It has developed scientific method of fermenting cocoa to get rid of excess water from the cocoa which can be distilled into cocoa brandy or gin.

Our farmers ferment cocoa by placing the cocoa on plantain or banana leaves. Fermenting takes place within four inches deep of heaped cocoa beans so they have to turn over the heaped beans in order to get the other side properly fermented.

"But our box method developed by a British scientist is able to ferment the cocoa beans without the need to turn them over. The excess water is used to produce gin or brandy but in the case of the indigenous farming methods, the excess water is wasted," Mr Oduro Kyereko of the fermentation unit, said.

Tema (Greater Accra) 20 April 

Eighteen District Chief Executives, District Co-ordinating Directors and heads of decentralised departments attending a course in management skills and project management in Accra on Monday expressed concern about delays in the completion of government projects.

They identified the slow work culture of project consultants and contractors as some of the major causes of delays, resulting in the high numbers of abandoned projects in the country.

The participants visited Tema as part of a four-week course being organised by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and the Management Development and Productive Institute (MDPI) with sponsorship from the European Union (EU). They were drawn from nine districts in the Greater Accra and Eastern Regions.

While admitting that some of the problems could be found at the door steps of the district assemblies, consultants on projects always have too much work at hand while most often, they have no deadlines for presenting designs.

Nii Armah Ashietey, Tema Municipal Chief Executive who led them to inspect the assembly's office complex and a new library project, said the consultants are responsible for the delay on the projects. The assembly completed an eight flat storey in 14 months, which had no consultant on the project while the other projects with consultants have delayed for about four years.

Nii Ashietey said one complaint of consultants is that their roles and responsibilities are not well defined in the award of contracts. This creates confusion between the consultants and Works Department of the assemblies. Another issue is the practice of awarding contracts before drawings or designs are ready. This compels the district assemblies to hire consultants.

Nii Ashietey said the assembly has been unable to retain certain professionals on the job due to brighter opportunities elsewhere, adding "this sometimes contributes to delays in the inspection of projects for certificates to be issued.

Mr Joe Bosomefi, chief consultant of the MDPI, stressed the need for regular up-to-date information on projects at various levels. Regular cost variations on a project are indications of problems of planning from the initial stages and advised assemblies to consider future expectations in their planning projects, he said.

The engineers and works departments of the assemblies should always expedite action on requests of contractors to avoid cost variations which are additional cost to government. The issue of cash strapped contractors who always want to be paid at any stage of their contracts must be dealt with by indicating clearly the terms of payments in the contract.

Mr Bosomefi said the course was a new human resource development programme of the Ministry of Local Government and the European Union. It is aimed at looking at proper project documentation, costing and how to plan projects towards execution, causes of delays and what to do to ensure successful completion of government projects. He said recommendations will be presented to the ministry for its consideration.

Assin Fosu ( Central Region) 20 April 

Nana Ofori Daban the second, chief of Assin Anyinabrim, is helping the Assin Fosu police in their investigations into an alleged illegal electricity connection, assault and threatening.

Mr L. M. Morladza, Central Regional Administrative Manager of the Electricity Company of Ghana, told the GNA that the chief had made an illegal underground connection to his new storeyed building.

When the personnel of the company at Assin Fosu went to disconnect the cables, the chief allegedly assaulted Mr Steven Owusu and Mr Kwame Osei, both ECG employees and threatened them with a loaded gun.

When contacted by the GNA, Nana Ofori Daban said his actions were to protect his property because " I thought the two men are thieves stealing the cables."

Accra (Greater Accra) 20 April  

Funding of health research in Africa should be part of the health sector programme and budget, but not an ad hoc measure, a health official said in Accra on Tuesday.

Dr Awudu Tinorgah, Acting Director of Medical Service, expressed regret that currently most research in African countries is funded by outside donors. These donors usually influence the direction of research to suit their interest.

Dr Tinorgah, who was presenting a paper at the 20th African Health Sciences Congress, said "most donors fund research because they have a specific agenda which is not always congruent with our own needs". His paper was entitled "Health Sector reform in Africa: Research Needs" at the congress which is on the theme "Health research and development in Africa: Meeting the challenges of the year 2000 and beyond".

Participants are from Ghana, Nigeria, Benin, Niger, Togo, Gabon, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Egypt, Norway, Holland, Pakistan, France, and Belgium. Others are Denmark, UK, USA, Australia, Japan, Tunisia, Mauritius, Sudan, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, and Rwanda.

Dr Tinorgah said: "We should begin to invest in research as part of our regular expenditure programmes to guard against the danger of undue influence in the direction of research." He called on researchers on the continent to be strong and focussed in negotiating with donors to help each country articulate a clear strategic framework as a basis for donor support. Researchers must be involved in the reform process and help refine questions and issues, study them to provide better understanding and design formative research to provide answers, models and direction. There is the need to establish mechanisms to co-ordinate research within each country in Africa, especially in the West African Sub-Region, for the common good of their people.

In the context of the current health research in most countries, research should be designed to identify health problems in the community and ways of solving them, Dr Tinorgah said. These should include operations research, health systems research, applied research, community health research. This must also involve policy makers, those who implement health service and communities who are the ultimate beneficiaries of research findings.

New Tafo (Eastern Region) 20 April

The government has been urged to provide loans for cocoa farmers to buy fertilisers. Dr M.A. Appiah, deputy executive director of the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana, said this would enable cocoa farmers to remain on their farms. He told members of the Knights and Ladies of Marshall of Council 48 and Court 40, Accra West, at the weekend that "soil fertility remains the greatest problem of farmers".

"Our Research show that farmers can remain on their farms for a much longer time provided they can be supported with loans to buy fertilisers for their farms. "A mechanism has to be found to assist the farmers with loans and appropriate arrangements introduced for the farmers to repay such loans" The CRIG had found measures to deal with the more than 1,000 insects that destroy cocoa farms through the alternate use of Gamalin and Unden 20 insecticides. "These insecticides are alternately used annually among farmers in the southern and northern sectors

Ayerede (Brong Ahafo) 20 April

Farmers in Ayerede, Bredi Number one, Asuano and Pruso in the Nkoranza district have appealed to the Nkoranza District Assembly to stop hunters from destroying their farms. They claimed that the hunters who come from Techiman also steal their foodstuffs.

Mr Martin Adjei, unit committee secretary at Ayerede, told the GNA that the hunters often set bushfires in their bid to trap games. He therefore appealed to the Nkoranza District Fire Officer and the chairman of the Nkoranza District Assembly's environmental protection sub-committee to arrest the situation.

Accra (Greater Accra) 20 April

Jubilee 2000 Ghana Coaltion, a pressure group, on Tuesday added its voice to calls for the cancellation of foreign debts of developing countries, especially those in Africa.

It accused the Group of Seven (G7), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank of capitalising on the debt burden of developing countries to control and dictate their economic and social policies and perpetuate the impoverishment of millions of people in the debt stricken countries.

Mr Akoto Ampaw, Member of the National Executive of Jubilee 2000 Ghana Coalition, made the call at a news conference in Accra on Tuesday to announce the formal launch of the Ghana chapter of the world-wide movement. The coalition will be launched on May 26 and 27, 1999 at the Teachers' Hall in Accra.

Mr Akoto Ampaw said the total debt owed by developing countries does not exceed two trillion dollars and described it as a negligible fraction of the annual defence budget of the United States. Mr Akoto Ampaw said Africa debt rose from 227.2 billion dollars in 1996 to 375 billion dollars in 1998 adding that Ghana's total foreign debt increased from about one billion dollars in 1982 to 4.065 billion in 1992 and to 6.605 billion dollars in 1998.

Africa had suffered in the form of slavery and lost property and precious lives through policies and actions of developed countries. Mr Akoto Ampaw dismissed the arguments that those who borrow money have moral responsibility to pay back. Arguments that debt cancellation would set a bad precedent for future debtors and encourage others not to honour their debt are untenable, he said. Mr Akoto Ampaw called for democracy and transparency in the structure and operations of the IMF and World Bank as well as a just international system of trade and investment.

Donkro-Nkwanta (Brong Ahafo) 20 April 

The Donkro-Nkwanta branch of the Nkoranza district heavy truck union has constructed a 15 million- cedi block to store maize in the market. The station supervisor of the union, Mr Collins Ofosu, told newsmen that the project was financed through taxes from the drivers. The project would enable the branch to store maize for farmers in the district prior to marketing outside Donkro-Nkwanta. The union plans to construct a guesthouse to provide accommodation for traders, he said.