Ban these importers- Chicken feet, turkey tails are health hazards says Prof. Akosa
Mills' Confession- this fight is not a physical one …it is spiritual…we need your prayers
Discontent in NDC…as party goes to congress
Hawa Yakubu to contest on NPP ticket
Give us relief package
Woman fries house help
Bui dam to displace 30,000 people
Electricity Co. to be divested
Ghana to stop importing rice
Nortel signs $10million deal with UCSI
War against mother Ghana.. NPP against discovery of oil
NDC Vice’s war gets dirtier
Ban these importers- Chicken feet, turkey tails are health hazards says Prof. Akosa
The Graphic in its lead story writes that the head of Pathology, at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Professor Agyemang Badu Akosa has called on the government to ban the importation of chicken feet and turkey tails into the country.
Professor Akosa who is also the president of the Ghana Medical Association is reported as saying in a statement at the weekend that apart from the health hazards that the consumption of these imported poultry products pose, their importation is a drain on the country's scarce foreign exchange.
The paper quotes Dr. Akosa as saying "they (chicken feet) contain a high content of animal fat and are deleterious to human health". It further reports Professor Akosa saying that until the saga of the mad cow disease in the United Kingdom, chicken feet were crushed and used in offal preparation for animal feed.
Professor Akosa who has recently received media attention on his anti- chicken feet campaign, is also said to have explained that chicken feet are not the only food items infected with salmonella but the way "we cook and rid it of the bacteria is the problem. Chicken feet are grilled and sold at all sorts of places in Ghana".
The story continues that Dr. Akosa said Ghana seems to have given the poultry farmers in America something to do with chicken feet rather than pay money to dispose of them.
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Also making the headlines in the Daily Graphic is a story about the European Unions decision that it will not back attempts for wholesale debt forgiveness.
The Graphic reports that the EU has made it clear that any moves to write off debts will be negotiated on country to country basis.
The decision, according to the paper was communicated to African heads of state at the first ever meeting between Africa and the EU foreign Ministers in Cairo, Egypt. According to the Graphic, the meeting is a preparatory session for the first Summit of Africa and EU heads of state and Governments to be held later.
The paper says this stand taken by the EU has shattered the hopes of many African countries that the Union would give the central issue of debt cancellation 'favourable consideration'.
Africa's current debt stands over $300 billion and the contention of African states is that the debt repayment is encouraging capital flight at a time when the EU knows that Africa is already facing precarious problems due to the adverse terms of trade.
However, the Graphic says the feeling of many European ministers interviewed is that Africa seems to be asking too much at this time. They said issues such as debt cancellation should be negotiated on a continues base until both sides reach a compromise.
According to the report other issues discussed included the reluctance of the European countries to return money looted from Africa as early as possible, the issue of landmines for which African leaders sought help to be able to deal with and the achievement of nuclear free zones.
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Mills' Confession- this fight is not a physical one …it is spiritual…we need your prayers
In a banner-headlined story the Ghanaian Chronicle reports that the Vice President John Atta Mills has confessed that he is a sinner who needs the prayers of all Christians on a regular basis.
Professor Mills, is reported to have made the confession, "I am a sinner and I know Christ died for me... the fight we have is not a physical one; it is a spiritual one" at the 32nd session of the General Council meeting of the Church of Pentecost (COP) at Koforidua on 30 March.
According to the paper, Prof. Mills said that very often those of them in politics are looked upon with contempt and thanked some of the pastors who he said he owed his life.
The Chronicle also reports the Vice President as saying that his wife Naadu would have liked to be at Koforidua with him to thank the pastors for their lifesaving prayers, had it not been that she does not like helicopter rides so much.
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In another front-page story, The Chronicle reports that demonstrations rocked the capital of the northern region last week climaxing a week of agitation against the candidature of the Minister of Justice and Attorney general Dr. Obed Asamoah.
The paper says more arguments were advanced supporting the North's bid for the Veep slot in the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The paper says this time it was the women's groups that went on the offensive. Waving placards and noisily pushing the case for a candidate from the region, they threatened that imposing the Attorney General on the party would mean, sacrificing the huge votes in the three regions of Northern Ghana.
The paper says though the North is not really homogenous, there appears to be an overwhelming consensus on this issue. According to the report the flames of agitation are engulfing Obed who has been waging propaganda offensive for his candidature with the help of the matriarch of the cash soaked Veranda boys and girls club, Ms. Faustina Nelson.
The story continues that other arguments are that Northerners have been discriminated against in the area of employment. They cited the case of Dr. Ibn Chambas and Mr. Martin Hamidu who both played deputy to Dr. Obed Asamoah in his various Ministerial positions, adding that they thought the time is right to appoint either of these men as Vice President.
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The Public Agenda writes in its lead story that with barely a month to go before NDC congress at Ho, a fresh source of discontent has broken over how the party selects candidates for parliament seats in the 2000 elections.
The party hierarchy, the Public Agenda says, wants members to concentrate on wrestling constituencies currently in the hands of the opposition but hopeful party members are campaigning to unseat sitting NDC MP's, said to be unpopular.
Most of the agitating members are from a group called the reform movement made up of cadres, which the paper says are disillusioned with the way affairs are being run in the party. They alleged that they were promised that a completely new team would be put in government including some of their own if the NDC won the elections of 1992. This didn't happen then or in 1996.
According to the report, officially the party maintains that it has not lifted its ban on campaign for parliamentary seats. PNDC -era cadres reputed to be the party's foot soldiers, credited with the hard work that ensured that the party won the 1992 elections, have officially not made demands on the issue apart from insisting that the procedure for selecting prospective parliamentary candidates should be free and fair.
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Hawa Yakubu to contest on NPP ticket
In another story the Agenda reports that a former Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Hawa Yakubu who lost the 1996 parliamentary election to a candidate of the National Democratic Congress has announced her decision to contest the seat in the coming election.
The Agenda says though she has not said whether she will stand as an independent candidate as in the past two elections, it is becoming increasingly clear that she would contest on the New Patriotic Party platform.
According the paper, Mr. Dan Botwe, general secretary of the NPP has confirmed that Madam Yakubu has applied to the NPP for the Bawku constituency. Adding that the application "is refreshing… she is a heavy weight in politics not only in her constituency and region but the country as a whole".
Yakubu's presence in the NPP is expected to galvanise the women's wing of the party, which has been inactive over the period.
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The shareholders of Standard Chartered Bank Ghana wore broad smiles at their annual General Meeting held last week, reports the High Street Journal.
The paper says the bank at that meeting announced that its shareholders were to receive additional 1,900 cedis per share as dividends which puts their total takings for 1999 at 3, 2000 per share.
An interim dividend of 1,300 cedis per share had been paid for the half year 1999. According to the paper, dividends declared for last year were 25% higher than the 2,500 paid in 1998.
With a hefty after tax profit of 79.6 billion cedis, easily the biggest in the industry, the bank could afford the 64% payout ratio which last year's dividends represent, it said adding that that was another industry record.
From the bank's sleek showing, earnings per share actually amounted to 5,024 cedis from 4,273 in 1998.
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The High Street Journal writes that one year after embarking on its massive corporate transformation programme, the SSB Bank’s out turn for 1999 shows clearly that the restructuring has been worth the while.
The Journal's story continues that during the period of transition in 1999 the bank was able to hold its grounds without any visible decline in performance. According to the paper the MD Mr. Kojo Thompson had explained that the transformation started with manpower rationalisation after an intensive environment scan and was followed with structural realignment of some divisions and departments last year to make them more responsive to customer needs.
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Give us relief package
The Concerned Civil Servants Group, (CCSG) an association of civil servants, has cautioned the government that if by the end of this month, nothing is done to bring some relief to suffering civil servants, it will embark on an action to bring about the desired pressure in support of its avowed objectives, reports the Ghanaian Times in a front-page banner story.
According to the story, a release issued by the Group asked the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare to take full responsibility for any labour crises within the civil service since it had failed to recommend any relief package to the government for consideration.
The Times story said considering the increase in petrol prices against the meagre upward adjustments, and in some cases reduction of the salary levels of some civil servants, an interim award in the form of Cost of Living Allowance to compensate for the erosion in purchasing power of civil servants, should have been granted by the government as a relief.
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Woman fries house help
The Times reports on page three that the Tema police have arrested Lydia Nartey, 26, for allegedly pushing her house help into a saucepan full of boiling oil at Tema Community One on 9 March.
According to the story, also arrested was the suspect’s mother, Madam Victoria Narh, who according to the police, knew of the crime but refused to report it to the police. The incidents is said to have left the victims with burns on the head, the face and both hands, and a doctor at the Tema General Hospital where Marku is receiving treatment, is said to have expressed fear that the victim could be permanently blind in the right eye.
According to the doctor, the victim might also develop personal multiple mental disorders, which would need treatment.
The story says Lydia had asked Marku to fan the fire on which the saucepan of oil was and when she found her dozing instead of fanning the fire, she slapped her from behind the force of which pushed her into the pan
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Bui dam to displace 30,000 people
The Dispatch says FoodFirst, Information and Action Network (FIAN), a German NGO, has written to President Jerry Rawlings indicating its fears that over 30,000 people would lose their land and would be displaced if the Bui dam project is carried through.
FIAN, according to the letter, is calling on President Rawlings to ensure, among others, that investors in the project submit a comprehensive environmental and social impact assessment before starting any construction work.
According to the report, the withdrawal of the World Bank and the European Investment Bank from the project due to the expected irreparable impact on local people and the environment clearly indicates the level of international concern surrounding it.
The letter reminds the President of the construction of the Akosombo dam of which the majority of the 80,000 people who were relocated were not provided with any kind of compensation.
It also reminded that as a State party to the African Charter on Human Rights, Ghana has the obligation to ensure that “All people shall have the right to their economic, social and cultural development with due regard to their freedom and equal enjoyment of common heritage of mankind”.
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Electricity Co. to be divested
The Dispatch carries another front-page story that says the Electricity Company of Ghana Limited (ECG) would soon be put on the divestiture programme confirming an earlier one it carried in its January 5 – 11 issue that four companies including the ECG were to be sold.
According to the paper sources close to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have intimated that a consultant would be appointed to carry out, as a first step, the partial divestiture of the ECG and the Northern Electricity Department (NED) of the Volta River Authority (VRA).
The implementation programme, according to the paper, would be completed within 38 weeks.
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Ghana to stop importing rice
The Accra Mail on page three reports that Mr. J. H. Owusu Acheampong have hinted that Ghana will stop the importation of rice by the year 2002.
The story said to have been picked from a Choice FM news bulletin, says the honourable Minister dropped the hint when answering questions on the floor of Parliament.
It says however that the sector minister did not say what his ministry would do to forestall a shortfall in rice on the Ghanaian market neither did he say how the local rice industry could be developed to acceptable standards.
The Accra Mail recalls an earlier story in which it reported the Danish Ambassador to Ghana to have said that Ghana imports rice to the tune of 100m annually.
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Nortel signs $10million deal with UCSI
In another story on its centre spread, The Accra Mail says a 10m dollar agreement that will open up the country’s telecommunications network will soon be signed between Nortel, a US communications giant and United Communications Systems International.
The story said the loan will enable UCSI of Ghana, a subsidiary of USCSI, USA to provide an advanced telecommunications infrastructure with huge data transfer capabilities using Voltacom (VRA) fibre optics.
The new multi-service Broad-band Network is said to be capable of transferring voice, video, data and images at top speed that will lead to marked improvement.
“With Nortel’s commitment, long distance learning between university campuses and students in remote areas will not be mere talk”.
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War against mother Ghana.. NPP against discovery of oil
It is shocking but true. While Ghanaians are daily praying for a change in the economic fortunes of Ghana that will improve the living conditions of the people, the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) does not pray for any such economic recovery, reports the Ghanaian Democrat.
According to the story, the NPP wants things to continue to be tough so as to blame the economic conditions on the ruling NDC and use it to campaign for votes in the December elections.
The paper says ever since it was announced that some oil reserves have been found in commercial quantities in the Tano Basin of the Western Region, the leadership of the NPP has become apprehensive.
The Democrat continues that the NPP fears that should oil be found in large quantities Ghana’s economic problems would be completely solved and there would be no basis to challenge the NDC for power.
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NDC Vice’s war gets dirtier
The Ghanaian Voice reports that the choice of who should pair up with Professor John Atta Mills on the ticket of the NDC is drawing fire and that if care is not taken, the once strong and stable NDC will suffer some vote losses.
It says if those who are advocating for ethnic influence are not brought to book, their activities may rock the electoral fortunes of the NDC.
The paper recalled a statement by what it calls an unauthorised spokesman of the NDC group in Tamale which churned out a tall list of why a northerner, specifically Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu should be given number two slot on the Atta Mills ticket.
The Voice says the statement had heavy dose of tribal undertones.
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