Ghana needs support of all Ghanaians abroad – says Ashanti regional minister
PNC unhappy about sale of state assets
Draft policy on malaria treatment to be ready soon
Continuing education for judges, voluntary or mandatory - Chief Justice
Need to strengthen cultural base of Constitution stressed
Dredging of Takoradi Harbour to begin in June
Kpiebaya decries retrogression in Africa
Japanese Ambassador in Ghana ends tour
Kufuor receives special message from Laurent Gbagbo
Make Constitution a common property - Jake
NPP says it is confident to win 2004 election
Evangelist calls re-packaging of taboos
Foreign Minister in South Africa for Ministerial meeting
London (United Kingdom) 30 April 2002 - Mr S.K. Boafo, Ashanti Regional Minister has said in London that the on-going national restructuring process would need the financial and moral support of all Ghanaians abroad.
Mr Boafo who made the comments at a meeting with representatives of Ghanaian community associations and groups in London, urged them to marshal vital logistics which could be beneficial to the development process and their respective communities. Present at the meeting chaired by H.E. Mr Isaac Osei, Ghana’s
High Commissioner to the UK, were Hon. Akwasi Osei-Agyei, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, and Hon. Brandford Adu, Member of Parliament for Okere in the Eastern Region of Ghana.
The Ashanti Regional Minister said the government is aware of the challenges facing the nation and would work assiduously towards finding practical solutions, for a start, to issues relating to agriculture education, health and job creation. He exhorted Ghanaians to be patient and understanding since the problems bequeathed to the nation by the previous administration cannot be solved within a year.
On activities in the Ashanti Region, Hon. S.K. Boafo said his administration had set up a separate department which would facilitate the promotion of trade, investment and tourism and appealed to Ghanaians to help attract investments into the region.
He said his cherished desire to create job openings for the unemployed during his tenure of office was on course and urged residents of the area and Ghanaians to establish small-scale industries in support of efforts being made by the central government.
Contributing, Mr Osei-Agyei urged Ghanaians abroad to patronise Ghanaian goods in order to help provide the much needed foreign exchange for the operations of local industries in Ghana.
The MP for Okere, Hon. Brandford Adu praised Ghanaians abroad for remitting home regularly in support of their families back at home and commended Ghanaian media agencies based in London for helping to disseminate information on Ghana to the community.
Mr Isaac Osei spoke on various measures which had been taken to restore macro economic stability and stressed government’s determination to enhance the quality of life for Ghanaians through wealth creation.
The High Commissioner commended Ghanaians for their regular remittances back home which amounted to over US$400million last year and urged them to increase the amount as a demonstration of their support for the notable measures which had been taken to stabilise the economy.
The forum provided the opportunity for invited guests to ask questions and air their views on various subjects. Issues relating to investments, the need for training scheme for civil servants, collaboration between regional ministers in socio-economic matters and the need for the Government to disseminate information to the grassroots, were discussed.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 30 April 2002- The People's National Convention (PNC) on Monday protested against the sale and transfer of viable state assets to foreigners.
"The PNC is in total disagreement with the pure capitalistic policies being pursued for the benefit of the few rich by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government including the sale and transfer of viable state assets to foreigners and the unreasonable increases in utility tariffs without the commensurate increase in salaries and wages" it said.
Mr Issifu Azuma, PNC Member of Parliament for West Mamprusi, made the protest at a press conference in Accra. He mentioned in particular the intention by government to privatise and sell the Ghana Water Company to foreigners and said; "water is a life depending commodity and the poor would languish in poverty when sold".
He said the PNC also disagreed with the government's wholesale implementation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank sponsored policies including joining the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative without involving stakeholders in making the decision.
Mr Azuma said the PNC believed in self-reliance and called for a pragmatic way of solving the numerous problems that confronted the country by providing women and the youth with development projects.
Dr Edward Mahama, Leader of the party, described the NPP government as the worse that Ghana had ever had and called on other parties to campaign vigorously to unseat it in the 2004 polls.
He said PNC's support for the NPP during the run-off was to push for the change that everyone needed at the time, adding, that the change never helped Ghanaians since conditions were worse than the former National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.
Mr Gabriel Pwamang, General Secretary of the PNC, announced that the party stood ready to work together with all parties, groups and individuals who would help to salvage the Ghanaian economy.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 30 April 2002- A stakeholders meeting, aimed at coming out with a draft policy on the treatment and management of malaria, is slated for
September. The meeting would map out a clear policy direction for malaria management and come out with various drugs suitable for the treatment of simple and complicated malaria, which accounts for some 300 million acute illness and over one million deaths globally.
Dr Constance Marfo, Manager of the Malaria Control Programme, made this known at a press briefing in Accra on Africa Malaria Day, which is celebrated on 25 April every year.
She said the meeting would also focus on some herbal drugs, which have been proven to be effective in the treatment of malaria, which is a mosquito-borne tropical disease and estimated to cost Africa more than 12 billion dollars every year in loss of Gross Domestic Product.
The date was declared Africa Malaria Day in 2000, by a number of heads of states from 44 African countries that met in Abuja, Nigeria, where the leaders committed themselves to an intensive effort to halve the burden of malaria by 2010. This year's focus is on the role of communities, particularly, mothers, traditional birth attendants and chemical sellers, among other groups, as the first points of contact for sick people living in remote areas.
Dr George Amofa, Director of Public Health, Ghana Health Service, said the case management of malaria was not the best in the country, especially in complicated cases, it was, therefore, necessary for a training programme to be instituted for health workers to help in the control of the disease.
Dr Amofa said it was important that all sectors worked together to reduce the social and economic impact of malaria in Ghana through multiple prevention strategies. He said local government agencies and other sectors should join in promoting environmental issues, which were closely linked to malaria control
Dr Amofa said malaria was a major cause of poverty and low productivity in poor countries as the annual economic burden of the disease in Africa was about 1.7 billion dollars. He said the goal of the Roll Back Malaria Initiative, which aimed at fighting malaria through global partnership, was to facilitate human development by reducing the malaria disease burden by 50 per cent by 2010.
Dr Amofa said the Ghana Health Service was working together with other partners to mobilise funding and resources for the implementation of the plan at the district and community levels as no single ministry or agency could handle the complex factors involved in Malaria control.
Dr Melville George, World Health Organisation Country Representative, said the disease had been affecting productivity in the country. He mentioned some problems, which were affecting the control of the disease including resistance of certain strains of the parasite to drugs.
Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, Director General of the Ghana Health Service, said malaria contributed to 44.5 per cent of all out patient diseases seen; 36.9 per cent of all in-patients and 22 per cent of all deaths occurring in children under five years. He noted that about 70 to 80 per cent of malaria treatment occurred at home or in the community and it was, therefore, important that the communities were supported in the fight against the disease.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 30 April 2002- Mr Justice Edward Kwame Wiredu, the Chief Justice, on Monday tasked the newly inaugurated nine-member Board of Trustees of the Institute of Continuing Judicial Education to decide whether promotions and progress on the Bench should be based on attendance and excellence at the institute.
Mr Justice Wiredu, who inaugurated the Board, said they should determine whether continuing education should be voluntary or mandatory for all judges and whether promotions and progress on the Bench should be conditional after attending a number of classes at the Institute as pertained in most court systems in Canada and United States of America.
He described the notion that judges did not need training because they already had enough education and experience as narrow and misconceived. "Prior experience and expertise at the Bar do not necessary equip the new judicial appointee with all the skills he needs to discharge his judicial duties efficiently," he noted.
Mr Justice Wiredu described the inauguration of the institute as momentous because it was the first time efforts were being made to concretise the idea of continuing training and education for judges and court personnel in the country.
Chief Justice Wiredu noted that a dynamic society with its constantly changing social and technical norms and values rendered knowledge acquired at any time rapidly obsolete and therefore "need to be tuned and re-tuned to keep pace with modern trends and modern thinking."
He said training and education initiatives were the only means by which the judicial service could accept responsibility as a professional body to improve on the quality and efficiency of the work of its officials, adding, "these are the main rationale for the emphasis now being place on continuing education of the personnel within the service."
The Chief Justice said the Institute would serve as the hub around which all judicial education in the country would revolve with the primary responsibility for continuing education for judges, chairmen, magistrates, registrars and all court personnel.
Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo, Attorney General and Minster of Justice, said if the nation were to succeed in building a durable democracy founded on respect for human rights and rule of law and in developing the national economy, then the health of the legal system was absolutely critical to the prospects of success.
He said, as the country became more private sector oriented, judges would be called upon to advise on, deal with and adjudicate contractual and business matters far removed from the substantive subjects of their legal education and practice experience.
The Justice Minister said while some of these skills and knowledge were acquired as part of basic legal training, revision and constant updating of mind were essential, hence the institute. He said much would be expected from the Board by both the legal profession and the general public since they were going to be the pioneers, who would chart the development of the new and much awaited institution.
Mr Justice George K. Acquah, Chairman of the Board, said, "globalisation and technological advancements have exposed the inadequacies in the application of some of the traditional legal concepts and principles.
He said the institute was now going to be responsible for the training programme of the staff, training of newly recruited members of the Bench and the continuing judicial education programme for the Bench adding that they were aware of the enormity of the task and would live up to expectation.
The other members were, Ms Justice Sophia Akuffo, representing the Supreme Courts, Mr Kwadwo Owusu, representing the Lower Courts, Mr Justice S. A. Brobbey, Acting Director of the Board and Professor Akua Kuenyehia, Director of the Ghana Law School.
The rest were, Mr Sam Adjei Mensah Sowah, a Management Consultant, Nene Amegatcher, representing Ghana Bar Association, Mr Joseph Essiful-Ansah, an Administrative Staff, and Mrs Mills Tetteh, as Secretary.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 30 April 2002- The President of the National House of Chiefs, Odeneho Gyapong Ababio on Monday called for the strengthening of the cultural base of constitutional democracy with a conscious effort to strive to transform social and religious attitudes, concepts, practices, customs, policies and beliefs.
"The Ghanaian has many positive cultural values which when applied will go a long way to contribute to increased and sustained interest as well as participation of all in the new democratic and constitutional dispensation for the achievement of good governance, social and political stability and national integration and development, " Odeneho Ababio said.
Odeneho Ababio was delivering one of the inaugural lectures of the Second National Constitution Week celebration organised by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) in Accra. The Week, under the theme: "The Constitution, Cultural Values, and Good Governance," would focus on traditional authority in the contemporary democratic dispensation.
It would also contribute to the development of the spirit of constitutionalism and eventually make the 1992 Constitution a living document and also part and parcel of the daily lifestyle of all citizens. Speaking on: "Strengthening the cultural base of Ghana's constitutional democracy: challenges and prospects," Odeneho Ababio said women must be paramount in the effort to strengthening constitutional cultural base in society.
Odeneho Ababio said the cultural understanding of responsibility to family, neighbour and society at large "is worth considering" and must reflect in welfare legislation. "In typical Ghanaian society welfare rests not only on people's needs, but also on recognition that they are brothers and sisters of the nuclear or extended family or clan."
He deplored cultural values that restricted and discriminated against women and its linkage with religion and language. "The down grading of women, the plight of widows and the protection of the girl child in recent decades, calls for a critical assessment aimed at checking the discrimination, injustices, prejudices and apparent imbalances."
Odeneho Ababio said traditional values of the right of the individual had been the corner stone of democracy and the stability of traditional society with the interpretation of fundamental truth that all men and women have their inalienable rights.
Any attempt at trampling upon the dignity of a human being in society was consistently resisted by those who believed that man's dignity must be preserved. He also called for the recognition of traditional cultural values of community participation and the strong sense of personal responsibility toward society with encouragement to accept other responsibilities for community interest.
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Takoradi (Western Region) 30 April 2002- The dredging of the Takoradi Harbour to enable modern bigger ships to dock, which had been on the drawing board for many years would begin in June, Mrs Gladys Asmah, MP for Takoradi and Minister for Women and Children's Affairs has said.
The project would not only help to ease congestion at the Tema Harbour but would also attract foreign ships to dock at the port. Mrs Asmah was speaking at a forum at Takoradi to brief the people on the work of Parliament, programmes of the government and the employment situation on Sunday.
The harbour built in 1928 has a depth of about nine metres, which does not enable modern ships to dock to the detriment of the economy. Mrs. Asmah said after the dredging, the port would be at least 12 metres deep and provided with modern facilities to enhance operations to create employment for the youth.
She said feasibility studies were being carried out for the extension of the railway network to some parts of the country to ensure the efficient transportation of goods and services. Mrs. Asmah said a firm foundation had been laid for the take-off of the economy, adding that, the government's policies had also started yielding results.
The Minister said the names of non-existing workers whose salaries and wages amounted to more than 320 billion cedis annually, had been removed from the government's payroll, adding that, "in spite of this, we are still paying dearly for the reckless handling of the economy by the previous government".
She said debts of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) under the NDC administration, which stood at 3 point 2 trillion cedis had gone up to 4 point 5 trillion cedis following the discovery of an additional 1 point 3 trillion-ced1i debt.
She promised that everything would be done to ensure the smooth transfer of traders operating at the outer perimeter of the Takoradi Central Market to the new Apremdo Market. Mrs. Asmah advised traders, farmers and other beneficiaries of loan facilities from the government to cultivate the habit of transacting business with the banks.
Madam Sophia Horner-Sam, Deputy Western Regional Minister, assured women that the government would work hard to improve the welfare of the people and urged members of the NPP to win more supporters for the party.
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Tamale (Northern Region) 30 April 2002- Most Reverend Gregory Kpiebaya, Catholic Archbishop of Tamale, has attributed the economic retrogression being experienced by African countries to the failure of African leaders to pursue principles that promote progress.
"Africa, once called the Dark Continent, has become darker because basic principles such as the rule of law, respect for human rights, and concern for the common good are not the pre-occupation of the vast majority of African leaders," Archbishop Kpiebaya said in Tamale at the weekend.
He was speaking at the start of a two-day workshop organised by the Tamale Ecclesiastical Provincial Conference (TEPPCON) in conjunction with the Konrad Adenaurer Foundation (KAF), a non-governmental organisation, for Catholic district assembly members and Catholic aspirants to the district assembly.
The seminar, themed, the "Social teaching of the Catholic Church", was aimed at disabusing the minds of Catholics in the belief that politics is a dirty game and a "no-go" area for serious Christians.
Its main objective was to stimulate the interest of Catholics in political life, especially at the local level, to bring Christian values to bear on the country's political and public life so as to clean up its political culture.
The workshop therefore, sought to equip Catholics aspiring to become members of the district assemblies with the social teachings of the church to let them realise that they have a responsibility to get involved in politics in order to bridge the dichotomy between religious practices and Ghana's political and social culture.
Archbishop Kpiebaya said the African continent had been made darker by inter and intra ethnic conflicts, which have left millions dead, displaced or rendered homeless.
Widespread injustice, spearheaded by bribery and corruption in political and economic life has deepened poverty with nine out of 10 citizens in the Upper East Region living in poverty, whilst eight out of 10 and seven out of 10 people in the Upper West and Northern regions respectively also live in abject poverty.
Archbishop Kpiebaya said worsening the already bad situation is the HIV/AIDS pandemic sweeping across the African continent, the wanton destruction of the environment, the falling standards in education, health and morality and the rising crime wave.
He said it was ironical that whilst the slogan of Ghana's first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, at Ghana's independence was "seek ye first the political kingdom and everything else will be added unto you," experience has rather shown the opposite, with "everything else being taken from Africans."
Archbishop Kpiebaya was optimistic that in spite of the dismal situation of Ghana, and Africa as a whole, all is not yet lost, saying, "in the face of such realities, Catholic social teaching offers a whole gamut of principles and values for action." "This programme of Catholic civic education will prepare the way for the 'beautiful ones' to be born in our society to effect the needed change."
Madam Agnes Gandaa, Project Co-ordinator of TEPPCON, said respect for human rights, democracy, the rule of law, peace and overcoming under-development constitute some of the cardinal social issues that the church fights for in its bid to ensure social justice for all peoples.
Since these issues derive their expression from the political order of the day, it has become imperative for Christians to be at the helm of political affairs in order to Christianise politics, she said. Madam Gandaa said since politics is not a dirty game but it is the players who make it dirty, it follows that it is the quality of people involved in politics who determine the political culture of the day.
She said it was regrettable that a serious dichotomy existed between the country's religious beliefs and its political, social and economic culture, saying, "we hardly allow these areas of our lives to be influenced by the gospel of Jesus Christ and the social teaching of the church."
It was therefore, the aim of the organisers that at the end of the training workshop, participants would have realised how to transform their political and social lives to reflect the gospel values if ever they find themselves in active politics. Consequently, they would regard and use politics as one of the vehicles for social change in the light of the gospel, with they themselves as agents.
Madam Gandaa said whilst the interest of TEPPCON and KAF in supporting political education seminars for Catholics aspiring to contest the forthcoming district assembly elections was generally aimed at broadening the democratic culture already taking root in the country, experience has already shown religion could pave the way for sanity in politics.
She cited the examples of the 1996 and 2000 presidential and parliamentary elections where religious bodies played a key role in maintaining peace. Madam Gandaa said the social teachings of the church, which many Catholics remain ignorant about, are astonishing in their depth of analysis of global issues.
"They have the potential and practical capacity to bridge the contrasting differences between the ideological economic fronts represented by Marxist collectivism and capitalist individualism."
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Accra (Greater Accra) 30 April 2002- President John Agyekum Kufuor on Monday commended the out-going Japanese Ambassador in Ghana, Mr Hiroma Nitta for his contribution to strengthening Ghana-Japan relations.
He said Mr Nitta made a positive impact on the socio-economic development of the country and played a tremendous role when Ghana opted for the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative in March last year.
"Japan is against the granting of credits to countries that opted for the HIPC Initiative but for the first time Japan considered Ghana and converted all credits into grants. This marked the depth of friendship between both countries," President Kufuor said when Mr Nitta paid a farewell call on him at the Castle, Osu.
Mr Nitta leaves on Wednesday after 18 months duty tour of Ghana. President Kufuor said Ghana had received many donor and development support in various fields of endeavour from Japan and urged Mr Nitta to continue to be an advocate for Ghana's socio-economic development efforts.
Mr Nitta said although he had a short period in Ghana there was substantial improvement in the relations between both countries. He said Japan had a very good reputation in Ghana because of the establishment of the Noguchi Memorial Institute in Accra.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 30 April 2002- Mr Erick Kahe, Ivorian Minister of Commerce, on Monday delivered a special message from Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo to President John Agyekum Kufuor at the Castle, Osu.
Briefing newsmen later, Mr Kwabena Agyepong, Deputy Government Spokesman, said they also held discussions on cocoa, the main export crop of both countries. He said Mr Kahe commended President Kufuor on his role in the reconciliation process in Cote D'Ivoire that had brought peace and stability to the country.
Mr Agyepong said President Kufuor also considered Ghana and Cote D'Ivoire as countries with a common destiny and whatever happened in one affected the other.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 30 April 2002- Mr Jake Obestebi-Lamptey, Minister of Information and Presidential Affairs, on Monday said the Constitution should be considered as a common property and part of the national culture, "if the country is to escape from its unconstitutional past of, political instability and chequered economic development".
He said, "we have to cultivate the culture of making our constitutional democracy part of our national culture and to continually remind ourselves that democracy, well nurtured and sustained is the path to peace and prosperity".
Mr Obestebi-Lamptey stated these at the Second Constitutional Week cerebration in Accra, organised by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE). The Week, under the theme: "The Constitution, Cultural Values and Good Governance," would focus on traditional authority in the contemporary democratic dispensation.
It would also contribute to the development of the spirit of constitutionalism and eventually make the 1992 Constitution a living document and also part and parcel of the daily lifestyle of all citizens.
The Minister said, "under our history of unconstitutional rule with its erosion of personal freedom, restrictions on media pluralism and national well being normally generated by individual and economic entrepreneurship, we have no choice but to ensure the preservation and sustenance of our Constitution, as a national imperative."
Mr Obestebi-Lamptey described Ghana's democracy as the bedrock for peace, prosperity and economic development and a solace for protection of individual fundamental rights. He, however, noted that the challenge that confronted the nation was how to ensure the strengthening of the cultural base of the Constitution.
The Minister suggested the production of pocket editions and to generally make it as available and readable as the modern versions of the Bible and urged the NCCE to intensify its translation into local languages.
Mr Obestebi-Lamptey also called on the media to maintain its gate-keeping role of the democratic dispensation. He urged the NCCE to develop a collaborative network with the Ghana Journalists Association to educate the citizenry of their civic rights and responsibilities.
Mr Laary Bimi, NCCE Chairman said emphasis on the cerebration was to make the Constitution become a living document embossed on the minds and hearts of the people for the attainment of democracy and good governance in Ghana.
He said over 80 per cent of the population was indirectly governed by traditional rulers but the Constitution failed to recognise it, explaining that in the rural areas traditional authority superseded state authority and this had been the remote cause of some of the conflicts in the country.
Mr Bimi said, "Ghanaians need to develop the culture of democracy, the courage to resist violation of their human rights and the tenacity to resist dictatorship of all forms and, more particularly and fundamentally any overthrow or attempted overthrow, of government".
Mr Bimi also called for the studying of the traditional system of the enstoolment of an individual as a chief and the constitutional swearing in of the President. He suggested that the traditional period of confinement to prepare the chief should be adopted to prepare the country's Presidents-elect to understand the dictates of leadership before assuming that role.
Odeneho Gyapong Ababio, President of the National House of Chiefs, who chaired the occasion, said it was obligatory for each citizen to protect the Constitution and to resist any attempt by an individual or group of people to abrogate it.
He said the Constitution mandated the government to rule for four years after which collectively the people had a responsibility through the ballot box to either renew its mandate or vote for another.
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Kissie (Central Region) 30 April 2002- Mr Albert Essuman, Central Region Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has said the party would chalk a massive victory in the 2004 general elections following the confidence the public have in the party since it has been able stabilize the economy and is committed to rule of law.
Mr. Essuman said this on Sunday when he addressed the executive of the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo constituency branch of the party at Kissi. Mr Essuman urged the executive to be dedicated and committed to the party and endeavour to defend the policies of the party at all times.
He said the number of infrastructures put in place by the government so far indicate the government's desire to improve the lot of Ghanaians and asked Ghanaians, irrespective of their party affiliations to contribute their quota to the development of the nation.
Mr. Ebenezer Agyeman Kese, constituency chairman, said the government attaches importance to the forthcoming district assembly elections and asked the party members, especially women to contest the elections in their respective electoral areas. Mr Kwaku Ofori, regional chairman of the party, asked the executive to endeavour to hold periodic meetings to explain government policies to the people.
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Ho (Volta Region) 30 April 2002- The Reverend Christopher Titriku, General Overseer of the Redeem Evangel Church on Monday called for the re-packaging of taboos and some cultural and traditional beliefs to bring out the wisdom and values in them.
Rev Titriku, who is a member of the Volta Region Consultative Body of the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE), made the call at the launching of the second constitution week in Ho, under the theme: "The constitution, cultural values and good governance".
He said when the public are well educated to understand the reasoning behind the creation of "sacred forests" and "taboo day" for example, they would recognise and accept the wisdom in them.
He said, for as long as the "pleasing of the gods" is cited as a reason for instituting some time tested environmental and societal value systems, they would be opposed by those whose beliefs are at variance to the reasoning behind such measures.
Rev. Titriku said, where superstition was a deterrence against undermining society's values in the past, in modern times however, only logic and good reasoning could achieve the same result. He appealed to the public not to be confrontational in registering their displeasure against the mode of worship at some churches.
Rev Titriku said a constructive approach that stresses the benefits that would accrue to such churches if they acted in accordance with the positions of the public would facilitate the needed change.
"Every pastor would like his church to grow," Rev Titriku said and explained that most of the time nuisances created by some churches were unknown to their leaders but manifested the over-zealous and over-exuberance of a few.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 30 April 2002- The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyeman is attending the ministerial meeting of the co-ordinating bureau of the non-aligned movement in Durban, South Africa.
The meeting, scheduled to take place from April 27 to 29 would review the international situation and deliberate on political and economic developments affecting member states since the last ministerial meeting in Colombia, 2000.
A statement issued on Monday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, this includes the threats to world peace and security, the Middle East conflict, intra-state conflicts, terrorism, worsening terms of trade, economic deprivation and poverty.
It said the meeting, being attended by 115 members of the movement, would deliberate on the challenges confronting the movement against the background of the evolving nature of the international system characterised by globalisation.
"It will also explore innovative approaches to reinvigorating the Non-Aligned Movement, in order to strengthen its influence in shaping the course of international affairs," the statement said.
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