GRi Newsreel Ghana 13 - 04 - 2001
ECOWAS resolves to take decision on peace,
stability - Kufuor
KMA elects new presiding member at last
VEEP directs Ministry of Education to review
students' bursary
Central Management Board starts discussion
on salaries
Ministry of Finance establishes complaints
unit
Check the use of
poisonous chemicals for hunting
Constitutional
week starts on April 28
ECOWAS resolves to take decision on peace,
stability - Kufuor
Accra (Greater Accra) 13 April 2001
Heads of states and governments of ECOWAS have resolved to take practical measures
to restore peace and stability in the sub-region, President John Agyekum Kufuor said on his return from Abuja, Nigeria, where he attended a two-day extraordinary meeting of ECOWAS to decide on political and security issues within the sub-region.
As a first step, a mediation committee has been formed to encourage a process of open dialogue with the Presidents of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, who form the Mano River Union, to rebuild trust and bring about peace among them.
The committee is made up of Presidents Alpha Konari of Mali, Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Gnassingbe Eyadema of Togo.
The summit reviewed the situation on the three Mano River countries and the deployment of UN Monitoring Force in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) and urged the Sierra Leonean government to retain the process to enable them to take total control of the country.
President Kufuor said the summit resolved to send a special committee to Liberia next week to monitor the implementation of the UN Security Council sanction on that country.
It also urged President Charles Taylor to rescind his decision to expel the ambassadors of Guinea and Sierra Leone, which he acceded to.
On the political situation in Cote d'Ivoire, President Kufuor said that President Laurent Gbagbo agreed to dialogue with his political rival, Alhassan A. Ouatarra, to help bring peace and stability to that country.
The summit also agreed to consolidate peace and security in the sub-region by helping to combat irregular armed groups, control proliferation of light weapons and resolve the problems of refugees and a safe passage for them to return home.
President Kufuor, who was accompanied by Foreign Minister Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, was met on arrival by Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, Mr Jake
Obetsebi Lamptey, Chief of Staff, officials from the Nigeria High Commission,
Mr Ibrahim Omar, Dean of the Diplomatic Corp and the acting Inspector General of Police, Mr Ernest Owusu-Poku.
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KMA elects new presiding member at last
Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 13 April 2001
The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) on Thursday elected Nana Joe Nsiah-Awuah, Assemblyman for Dadiesoaba and a Tutor of T. I. Ahmadiyya Secondary School as its new Presiding Member at a meeting in Kumasi.
His election followed the withdrawal of two previous contestants, Dr Edward Prempeh and Oheneba Agyemang Atwereboanda, both government appointees.
Nana Nsiah-Awuah polled 85 votes out of 88 votes cast.
The assembly also elected Nana Kofi Senya, Assemblyman for New Suame and Mr Amofa Sarpong, a government appointee to represent the KMA at the Electoral College to elect the Ashanti Regional representative to the Council of State.
Nana Nsiah-Awuah thanked the assembly members for the honour done him and called for unity of purpose and co-operation to enable them to collectively work to bring about positive change in the lives of the people in the Metropolis.
Mr Sampson K. Boafo, Ashanti Regional Minister, deplored the so many unauthorised and unproductive meetings that were organised by assembly members in the previous years just to qualify them to draw huge sitting allowances.
The Minister said "this situation is unacceptable and must stop, stressing I was upset to read the Chronicle publication of March 30, 2001 that the KMA spent 481 million cedis on sitting allowance alone for last year".
Mr Boafo said according to records in his office, the KMA has since the inception of the District Assemblies' Common Fund in 1994 received a total of 14.2 billion cedis for development.
He noted that if this substantial amount of resources transferred to the assembly had been efficiently used it could have impacted positively on the lives of the residents.
The Regional Minister warned that, henceforth, any mismanagement of resources by any worker of the KMA would no longer be tolerated and directed that all funds should be judiciously used for the specific projects for which they were released.
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VEEP directs Ministry of Education to
review students' bursary
Accra (Greater Accra) 13 April 2001
Vice-President Aliu Mahama on Thursday directed the Ministry of Education to liaise with the National Scholarship Secretariat to increase the bursary and tertiary grants of university students to meet the present cost of education.
He said inadequate funding for graduate students coupled with poor infrastructure on campus is affecting academic work.
Alhaji Mahama gave the directive after meeting with members of the Graduate Students Association at the State House who complained about insufficient funding especially for project work.
Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, Minister of Education and Mr. Paul Effah, Executive Secretary of the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) attended the meeting.
Alhaji Mahama said the government is concerned about the country's brain drain hence the need to create the enabling conditions to entice university graduates to stay at home to contribute to national development.
Mr Eric Boro, President of the association suggested the need to increase the current bursary of 1,000,000 cedis to 1.5 million and three million cedis for the various categories of graduate students.
He referred to a recommendation by the NCTE in 1998 for the upward review of bursaries to 1.5 million cedis and the equation of bursaries and tertiary grants to the annual salary of new graduate entrant to the Civil Service.
Mr Boro expressed surprise that government was spending 6,000 dollars per graduate student abroad besides tuition fee in 1998 but could not pay enough for those studying locally.
Professor Ameyaw-Akumfi expressed his support for the demands of the graduate students, but said, "the problem is the availability of funds".
He said his ministry is working on this year's budget on education and assured the students that bursaries for postgraduate students would be catered for.
Mr Effah said only 10.6 of the country's student population are graduates and this has compelled the tertiary council to seek World Bank support to create favourable conditions to reverse the situation.
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Central Management Board starts discussion
on salaries
Accra (Greater Accra) 13 April 2001
The Central Management Board (CMB) on the Universal Salary Structure on Thursday started discussion on salaries and allowances for the public sector for the 2001 fiscal year.
The meeting with the Joint Consultative Forum (JCF) was the first since the change over of government.
The JCF consists of the Ghana National Association of Teachers, Civil Servants Association, Ghana Registered Nurses Association and the Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana.
A statement jointly signed by Mr. A. K. Yankey, Chairman of CMB and Mr S. Y. A. Chigabatia, Chairman of JCF said Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, Minister of Finance and Mrs Cecilia Bannerman, Minister of Manpower Development and Employment addressed the meeting.
Mr. Yankey said the ministers expressed support for CMB and its role in the on-going salary negotiations.
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Ministry of Finance establishes complaints
unit
Accra (Greater Accra) 13 April 2001
The Ministry of Finance on Thursday said it has established a complaints unit to help streamline the activities of revenue generating agencies and enhance their operational efficiency.
A statement signed by the Acting Chief Director in Accra said all complaints relating to the revenue administration agencies especially with tax malpractices should be reported to room 301 of the office or faxed to 667383 or call telephone number 686136.
The agencies are Internal Revenue service, Customs, Exercise and Preventive Service, Value Added Tax (VAT) and Department of National Lotteries (DNL).
The statement assured the public that any information obtained through the office would be treated with confidence.
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Check the use of
poisonous chemicals for hunting
Apam (Central Region) 13 April
2001
A member of the Apam branch of the
Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), Mr Anthony Julius Egbert, has
called on the law enforcing agents and the
Department of Wildlife to check
the use of poisonous chemicals to hunt for game.
Mr Egbert urged the Food and Drugs
Board to conduct random tests on bushmeat sold on the market, in chop-bars and
on the highways to ensure that they are safe for human consumption.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency
at Apam on the rampant use of poisonous chemicals for hunting, Mr Egbert said
the practice contaminates ponds and food items, posing health risks for both
animals and human beings.
He warned that the hunters who
collect these carcasses and prepare them for sale to the unsuspecting public,
throw away the intestines of the game, thinking that the rest of the meat is
wholesome.
He, however, warned that poison
used to hunt these animals pass through the bloodstream to all parts of the
flesh, thus rendering it unsafe for human consumption.
Mr Egbert cautioned people who buy
bushmeat, especially smoked grasscutter along the highways, to be extra
careful.
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Constitutional
week starts on April 28
Accra (Greater Accra) 13 April
2001
Mr. Larry Bimi, Chairman of the
National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) on Thursday outlined National
and Regional activities for the celebration of the Constitutional Week from
April 28 to May 4.
The celebration, which is the
first in the country, is on the general theme: "The Constitution and
you."
"This will be a period when
the entire Ghanaian community would participate in discussions, debates,
theatre performances and other activities on the constitution to ensure that it
becomes a living document embodied on the mind and heart of the people for the
attainment of democracy and good governance in Ghana."
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency
in an interview in Accra, Mr. Bimi said the programme starts with a media
briefing on the April 18 to be followed by an inaugural lecture on "Eight
years of constitutional rule, challenges and prospects" on April 28.
Mr. Bimi said there is an urgent
need for knowledge and information for Ghanaians to accelerate the growth and
sustenance of democracy and constitutionalism.
He said April 28 has been adopted
as the commencement date for the activities in commemoration of the national
referendum, which endorsed the 1992 constitution.
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