Gari in Milo tins? Company investigates
Police scale down presence at Legon
Twenty-nine drivers fined 3.3 million cedis
MP kicks against government appointees to district assemblies
US to help train disaster management volunteers
Community appeals for inclusion in electrification programme
Gari in Milo tins? Company investigates
Tema (Greater Accra), 23rd August 99
Consumers who buy tinned Milo beverage produced by Nestle Ghana Limited may now have to open the can to make sure that that the content is genuine before leaving the shop.
This follows complaints by some consumers in Tema and Ashaiman that some tins of Milo they bought from accredited Nestle wholesale shops contained only gari and not their favourite beverage.
Nestle, on receiving the complaint on Thursday, immediately began investigations and collected 15 of such "gari in Milo" tins from three shops in Tema and Ashaiman.
The company, however, insists that its internal control system makes this impossible.
Mr Samuel Asare, a shopkeeper of Polycare where Nestle officials collected nine of the fake Milo, said the affected customers told him that there were no protective seals when they opened the tins.
He said it was difficult to doubt the integrity of the people who returned them and, therefore, suspected that the issue could originate from the factory.
At another shop at Ashaiman, a customer who bought 12 tins returned five of them because they contained only gari.
One fake Milo was collected from a retailer at Tema Market who said she bought it from Frankmenson Enterprise, a Nestle wholesaler.
When contacted, Mr Andre Porchet, Managing Director of Nestle Ghana Limited, said he also received a tin that contained cassava instead of Milo on Thursday but added that the fake Milo could not have originated from the factory since none of them had the protective seals.
This was after journalists had been taken round the factory to experience the production process and the final packaging stage.
Mr Porchet said, sometime ago, people went round some shops with Milo tins they had already filled with other materials and swapped them with genuine Milo tins on the shelves without the knowledge of the attendants.
Other officials said they did not suspect that their own workers could be involved since the company is not experiencing any industrial dispute.
The company said it would lodge a complaint with the police for further investigations.
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Police scale down presence at Legon
Accra (Greater Accra), 23rd August 99
Police presence on the campus of the University of Ghana, Legon, has been scaled down as registration of freshmen has gone smoothly contrary to the riotous conditions expected by the authorities.
As at last Friday, the few policemen remaining were either chatting or relaxing at their posts which contrasted sharply with the heavily fortified and armed personnel seen on campus at the beginning of the week.
By the close of day on Friday 2,270 out of 3,125 freshmen expected to register had done so.
At the Legon Hall, 653 out of the expected 700 students, comprising 301 resident and 352 non-resident students, had registered.
Mensah Sarbah Hall had registered 495 out of the expected 650, Volta Hall 372 out of 477 and Akuafo Hall about 350 out of the expected 428.
An official of Commonwealth Hall told said originally 770 freshmen were expected in the hall.
"However, due to the desire of most non-resident students to identify with the 'Vandals', as members of the Hall are affectionately called, we had a jam."
Commonwealth Hall has so far therefore, registered 400 students comprising 300 non-residents and 100 residents with many more waiting their turn.
The Senior Tutors of each of the five halls said more application forms were being submitted to them.
"So we are actually expecting more than 3,125 students to be admitted this year," said one of them.
Meanwhile, at the Flexibility Terms of Payment Secretariat, 307 freshmen had collected the forms. The secretariat is to cater for needy students who are unable to pay the full cost of fees at a go.
Mr Robert Acquah, Chief Auditing Assistant, said only about 200 students out of the 307 had filled and submitted their forms.
Those who have collected the forms include two Ph.D. students, 56 MA, MSc. and MPhil. students, eight Diploma in Accounting and Public Administration students, nine Administration students, 16 Agriculture students and 45 Science students.
The rest are one Home Science student, 124 Humanities students and 46 students offering Diploma and other courses.
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Twenty-nine drivers fined 3.3 million cedis
Kumasi (Ashanti), 23rd August 99
Twenty-nine drivers operating within the Kumasi metropolis have been fined a total of 3.3 million cedis by a Kumasi Circuit Tribunal for various traffic offences.
Some of the offences were driving unregistered vehicles, carrying of excess passengers and causing obstruction.
This was contained in a statement issued in Kumasi on Friday by the Ashanti Regional Police Public Relations Directorate and signed by Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Richard Baduweh.
The statement said the Kumasi Central Police MTU, in its bid to check rampant traffic congestion and breach of traffic regulations by motorists, had intensified its patrol duties.
It said the drivers were arrested during the exercise conducted last month and charged with the offences for which they were convicted and fined between 50,000 cedis and 300,000 cedis.
The MTU advised motorists to observe and obey traffic regulations to save themselves from falling foul of the law.
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MP kicks against government appointees to district assemblies
Kodie (Ashanti), 23rd August 99
Nana Asante Frimpong, Member of Parliament (MP) for Kwabre, has called for the scrapping of government appointees to the Metropolitan, urban and district assemblies.
He said the present situation that allows the President to appoint one-third of the assembly members is not desirable and does not augur well for democracy.
The MP described the system is amounting to 'cheating' since it enables the government to always have the upper hand in the assemblies, and said it conflicts sharply with the claim that the assemblies are non-partisan.
Nana Frimpong made the call at a meeting with the people at Kodie on Thursday.
He was reacting to a question on how government appointees are selected to the district assemblies and why Kwabre Number Two did not have a government appointee in the district assembly.
Nana Frimpong explained that, as an MP, he has nothing to do with that aspect of the assembly's function but said under Article 242 (c and d) of the Constitution, the President, in consultation with the traditional authorities and other interest groups in the District, should select the government appointees.
Unfortunately, he said, this has not been followed as only the District Chief Executive and a few members of the assembly make the selection.
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US to help train disaster management volunteers
Koforidua (Eastern Region), 23rd August 99
The United States, is to provide experts to train 500 volunteers and staff of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), in November this year.
The training is one the outcomes of the recent investment promotion tour of President Jerry John Rawlings to the United States.
Mr Kofi Portuphy, National Co-ordinator disclosed this, at a seminar for Eastern Region staff of NADMO in Koforidua on Friday.
Topics treated included 'Developing disaster management plan and review,' 'Training in disaster reporting, investigation, damage and need for assessment' and Co-ordination of local action to prevent and mitigate hazards associated with small-scale mining'.
He regretted that building engineers do not express concern at the way buildings are springing up in disaster prone areas throughout the country and announced that NADMO would be organising a forum for stakeholders to review the building code to ensure safety.
The Eastern Regional Minister, Ms Patience Adow, urged NADMO to organise integrated training for its personnel.
Ms Adow urged NADMO to collaborate with other agencies to intensify education on what to do in case of disaster and to encourage communities to form committees to fight disaster.
The Regional Minister urged expressed concern about "knowledgeable people who are encouraging the spread of diseases like yaws which had long been eradicated in some countries" in the region under the guise of religion.
She appealed to local and international organisations as well as public-spirited bodies and the media to assist disaster management organisations to perform their duties efficiently.
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Community appeals for inclusion in electrification programme
Jema (Western Region), 23rd August 99
The chiefs and people of Jema near Asinkrom have appealed to the Aowin-Suaman District Assembly to include them in the Self-Help Electrification Programme.
Nana Thomas Kodwo, Abusuapanyin of the town and Mr Alfred Afo Kojo, assemblyman for the area, said reports reaching them indicate that the extension of electricity would end at Asinkrom, five kilometres away from their township.
They said the people have already purchased 30 poles valued at 10 million Cedis with the anticipation of benefiting the project under which communities which show initiative at providing electricity are connected.
They said General Development Corporation (GDC), a timber company operating in the area has promised to buy 20 poles for the project and appealed that to the authorities to reconsider their position on the issue.
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