Africans must chart own agenda for survival - Prof. Mazrui
"I will contest General Secretary Post" - Dan Botwe
Inhibitions to free speech still exist in Ghana- Amnesty International Report
Government sends food aid to Upper East
Region
Wereko-Brobby accuses Journalists of inducement Journalism
NPP government will respect rule of law - Kufuor
Northern Region did not contribute to NDC's defeat - Libron
Asmah advises women to give legal status to marriage
Food security will appreciate to about 50 per cent - Quashigah
Computer virus arrives in Ghana
Accra (Greater Accra) 06 August 2001
Africans must determine and implement their own agenda in this age of globalisation to be able to survive, Professor Ali Mazrui, an eminent scholar and writer, said in Accra on Friday.
"It is essential that Africans, those on the continent and those in Diaspora, resist the demands of the Western World by determining our own values and taking a leading role in world politics instead of allowing ourselves to be led".
Prof. Mazrui, author and producer of a plethora of pan-Africanist works, said Africa is going to be the battleground in this new century because of all the riches it contains as well as its historic role in the development of the world's major religions and its provision of human labour, albeit forced, to the imperialist nations of the West as it was in the past centuries."
"Globalisation is the gradual villagisation of the world," he told a packed audience at the Eighth Du Bois-Padmore-Nkrumah Pan-African Lectures at the Du Bois Centre.
He spoke on "Pan-Africanism in the Era of Globalisation". "Right now, Africa has the losing hand on the "battleground because in the 20th century, the continent's people have been subjected to and been acted on instead of they being the actors," Prof. Mazrui said.
He said one way to start gaining the upper hand is by closing the digital gap between Africa and the industrialized nations.
Prof. Mazrui explained that when President Kwame Nkrumah said "Socialism without science is void", Ghana's first president was speaking during a time when the world's major powers were preoccupied with nuclear projects. However, since this is the information age, Africans must seek to close the digital gap.
"Nkrumah came, Nkrumah saw, but Nkrumah never really conquered," said Prof. Mazrui who met President Nkrumah 40 years ago in New York City, United States.
He said since then the element of continuity has always been within African culture and Africans must continue on the path to total liberation.
"The circle of life continues in its inscrutable mysteries. It takes more than a Gaddafi or an Nkrumah; it will take the whole African continent to liberate herself."
Prof. Mazrui, who has studied African politics, international political culture, political Islam and North-South relations, is renowned for his BBC and Public Broadcasting Service (Washington) television series - "The Africans: A Triple Heritage".
He currently directs the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at Binghamton University, in New York.
Past guests of the Du Bois-Padmore-Nkrumah Pan-African Lectures include Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, Poet Maya Angelou and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Town (South Africa), Mamphela Aletta Ramphele. This is the first of a three-part series of lectures by Prof. Mazrui.
The two others are scheduled for Monday, August 6, at the Cultural Centre in Kumasi and for Wednesday, August 8, at the National Theatre in Accra.
GRi../
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Accra (Greater Accra) 06 August 2001
Mr. Dan Botwe, General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), on Friday declared his intention to contest the post at the party's national delegates' congress scheduled for August 25.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Botwe said ''I have been slow in taking the decision, but it is important to have a kind of continuous build-up at the grassroots.''
He said after broad consultations with the rank and file with whom he worked for the party's victory in the last general elections, it was realised that with most of the party's executives serving in government, there is the need to maintain his experience at the party level.
He admitted that most of the candidates for this year's party elections are not known compared to the previous times.
Mr Botwe said his support from the rank and file indicates confidence in his leadership that is ''committed to ensuring that the party is firmly established throughout the country''.
"I am confident that I can work hard to retain my position." He said the actual number of candidates for the various positions would be known at the close of nominations on August 11.
The General Secretary said, "by tradition, the NPP is committed to democratic norms and has not in any way attempted to reserve specific posts for anybody."
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Wenchi (Brong Ahafo) 06 August 2001
President John Agyekum Kufuor on Friday said the government would not pay lit-service to rural development, which was the cornerstone of the New Patriotic Party's (NPP's) national development programme.
He noted that the bulk of the nation's wealth was created by the rural dwellers, who live in abject poverty and deprivation.
President Kufuor was addressing a durbar of chiefs and people of Wenchi
Traditional Area on the second day of his four-day official visit to the Brong-
Ahafo Region.
Paying a glowing tribute to the late Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia, Prime Minister of the Second Republic and a citizen of the town, President Kufuor said, "the NPP government will continue with the vision of Dr Busia, an epitome of rural development, business promotion, democracy and the rule of law".
He said the government would, therefore, complete all rural development programmes started by the Progress Party (PP) between 1969-1972 and initiate more projects to help improve living standards in the rural areas with good roads, better health facilities, potable water and income-generation activities to create job opportunities for the people.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 06 August 2001
Freedom of expression continued to be inhibited in Ghana as the laws of defamation and contempt of court still put journalists in prison, last year's Amnesty International Annual Report on Ghana said.
"Individuals were subjected to lengthy interrogation, brief detention, and in some cases assault for publicly raising concerns about human rights violations, offending members of the government or being associated with the opposition," it noted.
The report launched on Thursday in Accra, coincided with the organisation's 40th anniversary.
Amnesty International, a non-profit, non-partisan and independent human rights organisation mainly focuses on the promotion and protection of human rights.
It currently has 1.5 million members worldwide with about 600 in Ghana. The report cited an incident that took place in May 2000, when Mr. John Agyekum Kufuor (current Ghana's President) at that time leader of the NPP and three visiting Italian politicians from the Forza Italia party were detained for a night at the police headquarters.
"The authorities said they were suspected of breaching immigration regulations. The victims said they were arrested as they were leaving the country and were held up for 15 hours without food and drink and were questioned in detail about their activities in Ghana," the report added.
Under a sub-heading, "prisoners of conscience and freedom of expression." It also mentioned that in January 2000 Mr. Stephen Owusu, Editor of the Free Press newspaper was fined and sentenced to a day's imprisonment for contempt of court for publishing an article commenting on a civil suit before the court.
The Report said by the end of 2000, the Supreme Court which has appellate jurisdiction in treason cases, had not yet heard the appeal of four men sentenced to death in February 1999 following a long running treason trial.
"The retrial of treason charges of Karim Salifu Adam, an NPP member imprisoned since 1994 did not proceed," it said.
The Report said arrests and detentions were reported to have been carried out by the Military adding that some detainees were assaulted whiles others were unlawfully detained without access to lawyers or recourse to the courts in places such as the Castle at Osu and the military headquarters.
"In some cases the reason for the arrest was political - criticism of the military or offence to the President or his family."
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Government sends food aid to Upper East
Region
Bolgatanga (Upper East) 06 August 2001
A Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Abdel-Majeed Haroun, at the weekend presented 2,000 bags of maize and 1,000 bags of rice to the Upper East Region as part of measures to ease the area's food crisis triggered by an army worm invasion early this year.
Additional 6,000 bags of cereal are expected in the region by the end of the year. The cereal will be sold at subsidised prices to the people but farmers whose fields were affected during the worm invasion as well as other vulnerable groups will receive the food free of charge.
The food aid is a response action in line with the newly introduced Emergency Social Relief Programme (ESRP) inaugurated recently by President John Agyekum Kufuor.
Dr Haroun urged those involved in the distribution of the items to exercise a great deal of self-discipline and overcome the temptation to divert them.
"Remember; those we call upon to judge our record shall be watching us day and night. Let us show that we too care for our brethren as much as the President cares for us."
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Accra (Greater Region) 06 August 2001
Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby, National Energy Adviser on Friday said he will co-operate with the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) in investigating his claim that some Journalists are encouraging financial inducements within the profession if the ethics committee is reconstituted.
He alleged that the President of the GJA, Mrs Gifty Afienyi-Dadzie, had already pronounced him guilty for his comments on an Accra FM station that some
Journalists had been induced financially to discredit the government about the
Sahara oil lifting contract, hence the need for a well constituted committee to investigate what he said.
In a statement in Accra, Dr Wereko-Brobby said he met with the ethics committee last July "and I pointed out that since the GJA President had already pronounced my guilt publicly, the committee's deliberation seemed pointless to me."
"I informed the committee of my willingness to amplify and substantiate the incidents within the context of a wider and more comprehensive investigation by the GJA of the whole issue of inducement Journalism."
The Energy Adviser said due to the sensitive nature of his allegations he suggested the need to meet the chairman of the Ethics committee to have a confidential discussion with one of the key players in the matter.
He said he made specific mention of similarly serious allegations involving Journalists, which the GJA had either refused to investigate or chosen to cover up.
"I believe that the issue of inducements in Ghana's Journalism practice is extremely important and meriting a full and thorough investigation by the GJA. I reiterate my willingness and enthusiasm to assist and cooperate fully with any such investigation when it is established," he said.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 06 August 2001
Major (Rtd) Courage Quashigah, Minister of Food and Agriculture, said on Friday that his administration would work towards increasing national food security level from the current 15 per cent to about 50 per cent by the end of 2004.
Major Quashigah, who was speaking to journalists in Accra, during the mid-year review conference of the ministry, which ends on Friday, said access to capital was the major constraint affecting the achievement of food security.
To resolve the problem, he said, concessionary loans and grants would be given to private operators in food production, processing, preservation and marketing.
Ghana annually imports about 350 million dollars of food, mainly rice, sugar, wheat, fish and meat.
The Minister expressed concern about the high levels of post-harvest losses, saying that it was a major cause of high food prices during the lean season.
About 20 per cent of Ghana's 20 million metric tones of food produced are lost through poor preservation practices, distribution and marketing practices.
In the Afram Plains area, where about one million metric tones of food is produced, the road network is extremely bad. Therefore, about 40 per cent of the food is lost through spoilage.
Major Quashigah said a committee had been formed to establish a national buffer stock to stabilize food availability and prices all-year round.
"It is very important for us to have a buffer stock. Every nation needs a buffer stock," he said.
The Minister said it was also necessary for heavily populated areas to have food centres so that residents do not have to travel long distances to buy food.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 06 August 2001
The National Communication Authority (NCA) says three viruses identified in the world of Internet have surfaced in Ghana.
They are Code Red Worm, SirCam and Magistr, a release from the Authority on Friday signed by the Acting Director General, Major J. R. K. Tandoh warned.
"The Redworm affects systems running Microsoft Index Server 2.0 or the Windows 2000 Indexing Service, while the SirCam embeds itself in random Microsoft Office document and, thereafter, sends itself and attachment to all names in the victim's e-mail address book. The Magistr virus is extremely dangerous and spreads via e-mails and local area networks.
The release requested the public to take immediate steps to download the latest anti-virus software to rectify the problem.
"The viruses have the potential to publish sensitive information documents on computer Hard Disk and is capable of completely deleting all files on the infested Hard Drive."
The release advised Internet users to call their various Internet Service Providers or follow anti-virus instructions on the web to avoid becoming victims.
Further information on the invasion could be obtained from NCA on telephone number (021) 776621 rpt 776621.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 06 August 2001
The police on Friday warned riders of motor cycles and bicycles that an operation is underway to arrest reckless riders.
A statement issued in Accra on Friday by ASP David Eklu of the Police Public Relations Directorate said 19 such reckless riders have been arrested, some fined and a number of motor cycles confiscated.
The statement said the police have noted with concern the careless way some young men ride motorcycles and bicycles without regard to the law and adherence to basic safety rules.
"Cyclists ignore a very important safety precaution by riding in the night without putting on bright clothes so that they can be identified by other road users," it said.
The police said these young men ride at top speed and some of them intentionally remove the exhaust pipes thus making a lot of noise.
In addition, some of them hang their crash helmets on the handles of their bikes instead of wearing them.
"This illegal and dangerous practice puts motorists and the riders at risk....There is an ongoing operation to clear our roads of all those creating this nuisance.
"Parents and guardians are advised to warn their children to desist from this dangerous practice as the risks involved far outweigh the thrill that their children seem to derive."
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