Ashaiman NDC
supports Agbesi's parliamentary candidacy
Ghana's food security
situation being threatened by bad practices
Ashanti GPRTU calls
on government to pull down stores
Revision
of Voters' Register postponed to 6 May
Ministry
of Tourism Lashes at AMA for intransigence
Ban on movement of
pigs to be lifted soon
Ashaiman NDC supports Agbesi's parliamentary
candidacy
Tema (Greater Accra) 13 April 2000
The Ashaiman constituency of the National Democratic
Congress (NDC) has pledged its support for Mr. Alfred Kwame Agbesi, a lawyer,
as parliamentary candidate for the December elections.
A letter signed by Mr. Habel Adjei, Chairman of Night Market
Youth Association at Ashaiman, and copied to the press, the Greater Accra
Regional Secretary of the NDC, Tema Municipal Chief Executive and the
Grassroots Solidarity Youth Groups of Ashaiman constituency said Mr Agbesi is
the unanimous choice of the branch.
The letter said: ''Mr. Alfred Kwame Agbesi has endeared
himself to the electorate in all manner of welfare and development
activities", adding, "any other nomination would, therefore,
jeopardise the solidarity of purpose of the Ashaiman electorate.'
''In this vein, we are appealing to the leadership through
your dynamic office, to consider our assessment,'' the letter said.
Mr. Agbesi won the Ashaiman NDC primaries for the 1996 elections,
but was asked to step down for Mr. Franklin Aheto, who was then the sitting MP.
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Tema(Greater Accra) 13 April 2000
Residents of the Social Security
and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) flats at Community Three Tema, have called
on SSNIT not to increase their rents.
According to them, the increase is
an attempt to provoke workers to demonstrate against the government for the
difficult time that they are going through and rejected a letter from the Tema
Municipal Assembly increasing refuse collection fees.
In a statement, the tenants said
the increase is an attempt to provoke workers unions and associations to ask
for the privatisation of the Pension Scheme to give workers an option to chose
from a national scheme or a private one.
It warned SSNIT not to force
workers to ask the government to reduce the salaries and allowances of its
staff because "they siphon most of the contributions of workers and then
turn back to ask workers to pay more," adding that they have been refurbishing
their flats without asking the Trust for reimbursement.
The statement noted that most of
the occupants are low-income earners and since there has not been any
meaningful salary increase for civil servants over the past five years, SSNIT
should not increase rents.
It pointed out that the inability
of residents to settle their 40,000 cedis rent for a two bedroom flat and 35,000
cedis for a bed-seater is the result of the general harsh conditions of workers
in the country and expressed their opposition to the proposed sale of the
flats.
The residents stated that it is
against the Rent Control Law to increase rent 100 per cent which is what SSNIT
is doing if it asks workers to pay 80,000 cedis and 70,000 cedis for the two
types of flats respectively.
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Ghana's food security being threatened by bad practices
Koforidua (Eastern Region) 13 April 2000
Mr Perove Lindeman, leader of the Land and Water Management Project, has cautioned that Ghana could experience serious food insecurity if the current rate of soil erosion, bush burning and other forms of crude farming practices were allowed to continue.
He said there should
be the "strong need to halt environmental degradation especially soil
erosion" if the country wants to maintain or improve upon its current food
production level, through environmentally sustainable farming practices.
Mr Lindeman said that though Ghanaian farmers were
susceptible to innovations, many of them do not know how to implement the new
methods to replace the old ones.
He said the project, which is a component of the Ghana
Environment Resource Management Project has adopted and implemented various
interventions such as controlling erosion in settlements.
Other interventions are planting and cultivation across the
slope, use of manure, and training of fire volunteer squads in order to
restrain the constraints imposed on soil erosion and fertility loss by bush
fires.
Mr Lindeman said the project has been implemented in 28
districts and 598 communities throughout the country with the focus of
rekindling a new awareness among farmers on the need to sustain the land
resource base on which all agricultural activities depend.
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Ashanti GPRTU calls on government to pull down stores
Kumasi(Ashanti Region) 13 April 2000
The Ashanti Regional branch of the Ghana Private Road
Transport Union (GPRTU) on Tuesday
protested against the construction of stores at the Kejetia terminal currently
under rehabilitation and called on the government to order work to stop.
The demolition would be in line with the original plan for the Lorry Park, which does not include stores but artefacts and toyshops, the Union said at a press conference to react to an alleged permission given by Mr Samuel Nuamah-Donkor, Ashanti Regional Minister to the traders to continue with the building of stores at the terminal.
Mr Issah Khaleepah, Senior Industrial Relations Officer (IRO) of the Union noted that the Regional Minister apart from slighting them has stabbed the Union in the back and said at the last meeting between the Regional Minister, the Union and the Traditional Caterers Association on the issue, it was agreed that another meeting should be held to thrash out the issue once.
However, the Minister to the surprise of the Union, held a
meeting with the traders and the Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive on the
matter without inviting members of the GPRTU and the Caterers. After the
meeting Mr Nuamah-Donkor gave the traders permission to continue with the
construction of the stores.
When the Union heard about this development, they went to Mr
Nuamah-Donkor to verify the truth and after having kept them waiting for more
than five hours, he told them that he gave the order, Mr Khaleeph said.
Nana Yaw Owusu, Regional Chairman of the Union said there
has never been a traders association at the Kejetia Lorry Park since it came
into existence in 1930 adding that the by-laws of the Kumasi Metropolitan
Assembly do not permit the building of stores at its lorry parks and that the
law permits only the activities of hawkers.
Nana Owusu expressed disappointment at the action of the
Regional Minister who he said had agreed at their last meeting that a decision
will not be taken on the issue until all the parties involved arrived at a
conclusion acceptable to all.
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Ministry of Tourism Lashes at
AMA for intransigence
Accra (Greater Accra) 13 April
2000
The Ministry of Tourism on
Wednesday expressed dissatisfaction with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA)
for its intransigence to an order to quit the grounds adjacent to the Novotel
Hotel Accra.
This is in spite of several
reminders to the Assembly to quit the place to facilitate quick and easy survey
work for the commencement of two Accor Afrique International Hotels.
Mr. Mike Gizo, Minister of
Tourism, taking his turn at the "Meet the Press" series in Accra,
noted that such occurrences severely affect investment in the sector and
deprive those in the industry the much needed incentives.
Mr. Gizo said some of the significant
projects in the pipeline are the building of the Accra Palace Hotel, Palm
Royale, Inter-Continental Hotel and Ambassador Sheraton.
"The others are the City
Hotel and Novotel in Kumasi, Atlantic Hotel in Takoradi under Holiday Inn
franchise and the rehabilitation of the Mole Lodge into a two-star receptive
facility by Accor Afrique ( Novotel Group)".
Mr. Gizo said as a further
commitment to private sector initiative, the Ministry is dealing with both the
Cabinet Sub-committee on Trade and Industry as well as the Ghana Investment
Promotion Centre to provide tourism specific investment initiatives.
This would make the sector
attractive and competitive in support of the plan. A number of tax reliefs have
been put in place to attract more operators and investors, he said, adding that
it has been proposed that construction materials and furnishings, which are not
locally manufactured, must be tax exempt.
"Subsequently, after a period
of five years items for refurbishment are also tax exempt, consumables will
however, be subject to tax".
Mr. Gizo said a number of roads
are being put in shape to make visit to tourist sites less cumbersome and cited
the Accra-Cape Coast road which would be made a dual carriageway upwards from
Accra-Kasoa to Cape Coast.
Studies have been conducted to
change the classification of the road from Fulsi Junction near Tamale to the
Mole National Park from class four to class one to enable donors, investors and
the public sector to place premium on its development.
"These are areas where
private initiative is required either in partnership or otherwise, taking
advantage of the free zone to establish plants with the appropriate production
technology and technology to manufacture for the local tourism sector," he
said adding that the Ministry has made significant strides over the years to
become the third foreign exchange earner after gold and cocoa.
"If we can sustain and build
upon these modest gains, with assurances of adequate flow of resources the
sector will indeed act as the catalyst to our giant efforts at the overall
transformation of the economy".
Mrs. Doreen Owusu Fianko, Acting
Executive Director of the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB), said her outfit seeks to
ensure sustainable tourism development by creating an enabling environment,
supervising the provision of quality tourism plants and services for the
travelling public.
She said the Board and R&K
Limited have established a joint-venture company called Leisure Facilities
Limited to develop 12 service apartments on the Board's land at Cantonments,
each with two bedrooms, living room and kitchenette.
She said the Board has entered
into a joint-venture company with Holinvest, Sweden, for the development of
Accra Intercontinental Hotel, a 400 room-Five Star Beach Resort on the Marine
Drive Extension near the Arts Centre.
"Another is that with Air
Harbour Technologies, Saudi Arabia, to develop Accra Palace Hotel at the Accra
Race Course near the Conference Centre. The project involves the construction
of a Five-Star 260-room hotel and 380 condominiums".
Mr. Fritz Baffour, Acting Managing
Director of the Ghana Tourism Development Company (GTDC), said the company is
undergoing a comprehensive restructuring process that would make it as a
business development oriented company that is into capital fund activities.
He said GTDC has divested its
casino business to the private sector. It has been awarded ownership of the La
Pleasure Beach and is paying royalties to the La stool. "This we will
redevelop to meet the new development agenda facing the nation".
Mr. Baffour said assets that were
confiscated to the state and given to GTDC have been returned to the owners
except the Caprice hotel.
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Ban on movement of pigs to be lifted soon
Cape Coast (Central Region) 13 April 2000
Dr. Samuel A. Ofosu, Deputy Director of Veterinary Services,
on Tuesday gave the assurance that the ban on the movement of pigs, pork and
pork products in areas affected by the Africa Swine Fever (ASF) would soon be
lifted.
This is because the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA)
has been able to control the disease that was prevailing in the Greater Accra,
Central and Volta Regions told newsmen after a ''Trainer of Trainers' workshop
on the ASF at Cape Coast.
Thirty-three Veterinary Officers and Agricultural Frontline
Staff from the Central and Western regions attended the workshop, which was on
the theme ''ASF Control in Ghana''.
The Deputy Director said the swine fever, which has claimed 2000 pigs since it was detected in those areas in 1999, is now under control and that pork and pork-products from those areas could be allowed to be consumed after certification by meat inspectors of the Ministry.
Dr. Ofosu said the Ministry has so far paid 300,000 dollars as compensation to farmers, whose 6775 pigs had to be destroyed as a result of the disease.
Dr George Chizyuka, the FAO Resident Officer in charge of
Animal Health, said a Technical Co-operation Programme (TCP) has been initiated
by the FAO to help to combat the spread of the disease in some countries in
West Africa including Ghana.
TCP, he said, aims at assisting governments of the countries where the ASF has been detected to devise adequate control and eradication strategies.
Mrs. Mary Opoku-Asiamah, Central Regional Director of
Agriculture, said the region lost 1053 pigs to the disease at Kasoa and Bawdjuase
and 44,088,000 cedis was spent on the payment of compensation to farmers, whose
pigs had to be destroyed.
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