President orders probe into harassment of EGLE party functionary
State Attorneys call off strike
Human Rights abuse still obstacle to stability in West Africa -Wani
History has been fair to Busia- Daughter
Department Heads worried about publication on promotion exams
Ghana and Malaysia explore trade opportunities
United Nations seminar on Bawku peace opens
National Security Council investigates newspaper report
Journalists association urges crosschecking of allegations
Accra (Greater Accra) 22 August 2001
President John Agyekum Kufuor on Wednesday ordered an immediate investigation into the alleged terrorising of Alhaji M. B. Seidu, National Organiser of the EGLE party at his residence at Mallam Atta in Accra.
This was in reaction to a story in an Accra Daily that armed men believed to be police and military personnel last Thursday arrested a night watchman at the offices of National Democratic Congress and ordered him to direct them to the residence of Alhaji Seidu where they subjected his household to harassment.
Alhaji Malik Alhassan Yakubu, the Interior Minister told newsmen that in ordering the probe the President instructed that it be made known to security personnel that he would not allow anyone to take people's liberties for granted.
He said the allegations would not be taken lightly if they were proved to be true, stressing that the government was committed to ensuring the maintenance of law and order in a civilised manner and not to let people feel dehumanised in their own country.
Alhaji Yakubu said it was unacceptable for security personnel to use their office to settle personal scores and in so doing abuse the fundamental human rights of the citizenry.
"We will not condone criminality and lawlessness," he said, adding that even when a person was guilty of an offence, he must be treated with some dignity through the due process of the law.
He said over-zealous security personnel should not be allowed to tarnish the hard- won reputation of their establishments.
GRi../
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra) 22 August 2001
State Attorneys who have been on strike since last week to press demands for better conditions of service would resume work on Wednesday.
A statement signed by Ernest Genadzie, Secretary of the Association of State Attorneys, said the leadership was calling on members to call off the strike.
"The leadership of State Attorneys wishes to inform members that based upon understanding reached with the government over our grievances, we hereby call upon them to call off the strike action and resume work on 22nd August, 2001."
The association thanked the Attorney General and the government for their "tireless efforts and contribution" in resolving the impasse.
It also thanked the Ghana Bar Association, for its contributions to the resolution of the matter.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Prampram (Greater Accra) 22 August 2001
A tragic motor accident claimed 10 lives at Prampram on Monday night marring the celebration of the Homowo Festival of the chiefs and people of Prampram.
The accident has thrown the town into a state of mourning and many people have gone to the Tema General Hospital, where the bodies have been deposited to help identify the victims.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) P.A. Ayisi, Prampram District Police Commander, said the accident, which occurred at about 9PM, involved a 15-seater Datsun pick-up, which was carrying citizens of Prampram from Afienya to the festival grounds and a 33 seater-Benz bus travelling from Prampram to Ashaiman
The Datsun pick-up with registration number GT 5820 E and the Benz bus GT 730 D collided head on along the Prampram - Dawhenya road. All the victims were in the pick-up. The Benz bus was carrying only the driver and the mate, who were reported to be safe.
ASP Ayisi said the cause of the accident was being investigated.
GRi../
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra) 22 August 2001
The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) on Tuesday said the proposed Private Member's Bill on Domestic Violence was ready to be laid before Parliament when it re-convenes in October.
The objective of the Bill is to provide a comprehensive set of provisions to govern and protect the rights of the vulnerable in the home.
Gloria Ofori-Boadu, FIDA Executive Director told the media in Accra that the legal basis for seeking redress for violence against women and children as enshrined in the 1992 constitution and the criminal code was limited in remedies.
"There is limitation in the remedies that these laws provide and sometimes the punitive measures used, such as arrest and jail sentences, areas not favourable for promoting the welfare of the existing family structures."
Ofori-Boadu said the Bill was, therefore, to provide victims of domestic violence with a broader set of remedies, including civil protection that extended beyond mere criminal sanctioning of the perpetrator of violence.
She said the Bill would regulate the family, community and society's attitude and general respect for women and children.
Ofori-Boadu said violence within the domestic arena was in many forms including sexual and physical abuse of young boys, abuse of the elderly and aged, the sick and disabled, and attack by husbands, wives and other relations.
Most spousal beatings were treated as cases of assault that could be punished by a term of imprisonment, she noted.
However, what most wives would prefer was not for their husbands and family members to be jailed but an order to stop constant harassment.
Ofori-Boadu said the bureaucratic mechanisms of law enforcement before victims of domestic violence got redress also served as hindrances to victims.
''What the victims need is prompt, cost-effective and less traumatic means for redress."
She said the Bill included sections on the filing of complaints in respect of domestic violence, petition for civil protection, grant of civil protection orders and duration of protection orders, among other things.
It also proposes that amicable settlement be pursued and exhausted by all parties prior to redress in court.
Also a police officer may, without warrant, arrest any respondent at the scene of an incident of domestic violence whom he or she reasonably suspects of having committed an offence containing an element of violence against a complaint.
The bill provides that a domestic violence action shall not be brought more than two years from the date the act was committed.
This is to ensure prompt filing of complaints by complainants and restrict delays on the part of complainants.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra) 22 August 2001
Francis Kojo-Smith, an aspirant for the position of National Organiser of the New Patriotic Party, (NPP) on Tuesday said he has withdrawn from the contest "due to unforeseen and unexpected circumstances".
In a letter to the Chairman of the party's Elections Committee, he thanked all those who had supported and encouraged him to be involved in the party at the national level.
He gave the assurance that he would continue to work hard for the success of the party in the next general election and beyond.
In another development, Ken Gag Senaya, 64, a retired educationist has withdrawn from the race for the vice-chairmanship of the NPP scheduled to take place at its National Congress in Accra on Saturday.
The retired educationist said he took that measure in order to brighten the chances of Agnes Adzo Okudzeto an aspirant from the Volta Region.
Out of the 13 contestants for the post of Vice-Chairman of the party, five contestants were from the Volta Region.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra) 22 August 2001
Ibrahim Wani, Academic Dean of the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies (ACSS) on Tuesday said despite the progress of democracy in West Africa, lack of good governance and respect for human rights remained the main obstacles to sustainable stability and security.
He said attempts to address the challenges and needs of West Africa should put good governance and promotion and protection of human rights at the centre of policies, strategies and programmes.
Wani was speaking in Accra on the topic: "Creating a Favourable Regional Security Environment" at the first Sub-Regional Seminar on conflict prevention.
The four-day seminar, organised by the ACSS in partnership with the government of Ghana, is intended to enhance regional capabilities at formulating practical, sustainable strategies to prevent and manage conflicts.
The ACSS is a United States Department of Defence sponsored regional centre for security studies.
Attending are military officers, civilian officials, parliamentarians and civil leaders from West African States, three European nations, the United States, The United Nations, ECOWAS, and numerous non-governmental organisations.
Wani said if conflict prevention was to be effective and sustainable, it should be home grown and should ensure that responsibility rested with national governments with civil society playing an important role.
One of the most important lessons from previous conflicts was the need for the sub-region to explore and expand mechanisms for conflict prevention.
Speaking on the same topic, Dr Kayode Fayomi, Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development in London, said for conflicts to be addressed properly issues of militarism, poverty and inequality should be critically examined.
He stressed the need for states to be more accountable to their people and for consensus building and the creation of a social compatibility between leaders and their people.
GRi../
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra) 22 August 2001
Professor Abena Busia, daughter of late Premier Kofi Abrefa Busia on Tuesday eulogised his father saying history has vindicated him.
"History has been kind to my father. I believe he was a prophet whose vision has come true and he has a group of people who have always understood him."
Prof Abena Busia said during a photo exhibition on the late Prime Minister of the Second Republic that: "the people's desire to have democracy and the will to have control over those who govern them has become a reality after a long emotional and dangerous struggle."
She refuted the idea that her father had enemies saying, "If a group of people perceive themselves as my father's enemies, that is their problem."
"In life, one needs to conceive and nurture ideas before taking a decision", she said and added it was unfortunate if others misunderstood his father's ideas and reacted inappropriately.
Prof Abena Busia stressed the need for a recall of the past, the heroes who made it memorable and the events that characterised it.
"Some are worth remembering. All of them have shaped the present and would shape the future," she said.
The exhibition, which is expected to complete a cross-country tour in 2003, is made up of photographs of the late Prime Minister and his clothes.
It includes "Papa is travelling to Africa" - a jacket and a pair of trousers he wore whenever he travelled to Africa from exile.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Kintampo (Brong Ahafo Region) 22 August 2001
Heads of government departments in the Kintampo District have expressed fears that their promotions could suffer as a result of the recent call by civil servants in the area for the abolition of promotion examinations.
They said at a monthly meeting at Kintampo on Monday that there was pressure on the District Executive Committee of the Civil Servants Association "from certain quarters in Sunyani and Accra" following the media publication of the call.
A news item in the Daily Graphic of August 7 said the civil servants, in a resolution, called for the abolition of the promotion examinations, which they alleged had become "gold mines" for some senior officers at the Public Services Commission.
They said "the situation breeds incompetence in the civil Service" as some civil servants managed to manipulate the system.
The civil servants, therefore, suggested that in place of the examinations, seniority and competence should be the basis for promotion.
Divine Y. Ayidzoe, District Secretary of the association said since the publication the district secretariat had received calls from both its regional and national secretariats, for the withdrawal of the story because it had created a rift between the district association and the Public Services Commission.
The heads called for the retraction of the story to stop further damage to their relations and mandated the District Information Officer to write to the Editor of the Daily Graphic to that effect and also to apologise to the Public Services Commission.
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra) 22 August 2001
Ghana is poised to take advantage of the emerging Afro-Asian solidarity to enhance her resource base, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hackman Owusu-Agyemang said on Tuesday.
He said some Asian countries like Malaysia have a lot to exchange with Ghana to boost each other's drive for enhanced trade and investment.
Owusu-Agyemang said when he received Kamarudin Mustafa, Malaysian High Commissioner, who called on him to express Malaysia's desire to promote economic diplomacy with Ghana.
Ghana and Malaysia did not only share the same pre-Independence economic variables but the two nations also attained Independence almost simultaneously.
However, while the Asian nation's economy became buoyant, Ghana continued to grapple with an ailing economy and has even opted for the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative for relief.
Owusu-Agyemang and Mustafa explored areas of economic co-operation between their respective countries with a special focus on cocoa and oil palm processing for export.
Malaysia produces cocoa and yet imports cocoa from the West Coast of Africa, including Ghana and the Cote d'Ivoire. It processes about 60 per cent of the commodity with Ghana processing only 18 per cent.
The two officials also considered exchanges in areas of appropriate technology and small-scale industries and have unanimously resolved to establish a permanent joint commission to boost bilateral co-operation.
"It is necessary that our two governments make it possible for things to happen," declared Owusu-Agyemang, lauding Malaysia's stability in the past two decades.
In another development, Mr Owusu-Agyemang also received the United States Deputy Secretary of State for African Affairs, Robert Perry and discussed areas where Ghana would need US assistance.
GRi../
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Bolgatanga (Upper East Region) 22 August 2001
The Minister of the Interior, Alhaji Malik Alhassan Yakubu, on Tuesday said the government places law and order high on its agenda and would deal ruthlessly with persons who wish to test its resolve on the matter.
In this regard, the government would, in spite of the prevailing economic constraints, provide the necessary logistics to security agencies in the country to enable them to handle the challenges of maintaining law and order.
Alhaji Yakubu made the declaration in an address delivered on his behalf by Yaw Barima, Deputy Minister of the Interior, at a day's seminar on the Bawku peace initiative currently underway in Bolgatanga.
It is being organised by the United Nations Office in Ghana under the theme: "Fostering a culture of peace and ethnic harmony in Ghana," in line with the UN world conference against racism scheduled for Durban, South Africa later this month.
He said it was important for Ghanaians to know that they live in a nation made up of different ethnic groups and that it was this diversity that made them what they were.
"Let us not use diversity to destroy this country. We should rather endeavour to promote the adage of unity in diversity as we forge ahead with our developmental programmes," Alhaji Yakubu urged.
In an address delivered on behalf of Alfred S. Fawundu, UN Resident Representative in Ghana, Miss Adama Wurie, Head of the United nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Office in Ghana, said the idea behind the Bolgatanga seminar was to build on the peace process that had been initiated at Damongo by opinion leaders from the various ethnic groups in Bawku last June.
"What the United Nations expects from us is that our meeting today should not only promote greater awareness about the negative effects of violence and ethnic hatred but that it should also lead to concrete action from the local level to the regional and the national level so as to help those who suffer from ethnic conflicts on daily basis."
GRi…/
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Tamale (Northern Region) 22 August 2001
The National Security Council (NSC) is investigating the alleged military brutalities meted to a civilian at Damongo in the West Gonja District of Northern Region on August 3.
The Ghanaian Chronicle had published that a group of soldiers, who were on patrol duties at Damongo, had beaten and stripped naked one Shahanunu, a local businessman for gunrunning.
Briefing members of the Northern Region Security Committee (REGSEC) and the press in Tamale on Tuesday, the West Gonja District Chief Executive, Yakubu
Zakaria said a team from the NSC had been to the district and had interviewed a cross-section of the public on the incident.
He described the Ghanaian Chronicle publication as an exaggeration of what really happened, saying that, nobody was stripped naked as alleged by the publication.
Narrating the incident, Zakaria said the military was asked by the Police to assist them to disarm a madman, who was firing indiscriminately.
When the madman was interrogated after he had been disarmed, he mentioned
Shahanunu as being the source of the gun and ammunition.
The madman led the soldiers to Shahanunu's store and during interrogation, Shahanunu said he used to deal in ammunition.
The soldiers took him to his house to search and nothing incriminating was found. The store was searched and nothing was found, excerpt his licensed gun.
The soldiers, not satisfied with the outcome of their investigation, roughed up Shahanunu and this created a scene.
The DCE said the Yagbonwura, Bawa Doshie on hearing of the incident, invited the soldiers to his palace where they showed remorse for what they did, after he had appealed to them to exercise restraint.
The Northern Regional Minister, Ben Bukari Salifu, said though the public welcomes the joint patrol by the Military and Police, it should be done with some decorum.
He described the incident as unfortunate and coming at a time the government was working towards fostering a cordial military-civilian relationship.
The Regional Minister appealed to the soldiers to hand-over suspects to the Police and not to take the law into their own hands to bring back the memories of the June 4, 1979 atrocities.
GRi../
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com
Accra (Greater Accra) 22 August 2001
The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has reiterated its call on its members to cross check allegations in their stories before publishing them in compliance with their professional ethics.
A statement by the association in Accra on Tuesday referred to a publication in the Statesman that the Director-General of Prisons, Richard Kuuire had complained about that it was not crosschecked with him before publication.
The Ethics Committee of the GJA said although the newspaper had published a rejoinder to the story, it stressed that publication of rejoinders was not a substitute for crosschecking information.
The committee also advised public officials to appreciate the importance of facilitating the efforts of journalists to crosscheck their stories.
GRi../
Send your comments to viewpoint@ghanareview.com