‘Moves to remove me will expose Ghana to ridicule’
Police won't shield wrong doers
Head of State Award Scheme to expand
Regional Minister calls on envoys to showcase Eastern Region
Zero tolerance for corruption will yield no positive results
Viability studies on mineral deposits in Volta region to be ready soon
Calls for better wages to curb corruption
Ten to receive awards on Children's Day
Tension mounts
between NPP and ACDR over Ashaiman toilets
Institute of Surveyors urges district assemblies to engage professionals
Accra (Greater Accra) 30 August 2001 - The President of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID), Dr George Yankey, has cautioned that the move by Ghana’s foreign ministry to instigate his removal from the bank could expose the country to ridicule in international circles.
In a faxed statement to the Graphic, he said “the purported letter of dismissal from the ECOWAS Secretariat dated April 23, 2001 and signed by Nande Sidibe for the chairman, breached the protocol of the ECOWAS.
Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, had, in an interview with the Graphic on Tuesday, indicated that the appointment of Dr Yankey had been terminated following the withdrawal of support for him by the Government of Ghana.
Dr Yankey’s appointment was enacted under a regulation (C/Reg.5/12/00) of the summit of Heads of State and Government in Bamako on December 12, 2000. Article 1 of the regulation stated that “Mr George Sipa-Adja Yankey is hereby appointed the Managing Director of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development for a period of five years.
The regulation was subsequently published, on the orders of Article Two (2) of the same regulations, in the official journal of the community and the gazette of member countries.
The statement noted that since the Council of Ministers approved the appointment of Dr Yankey, after which it was approved by the Authority of Heads of State and Government, no one but the appointing authorities can terminate it.
It said that the claim by the Ghana's foreign minister that he advised Dr Yankey early this year not to contest the position is not correct. It said the present Foreign Minister of Ghana was not in office at the time of the appointment of Dr Yankey and could, therefore, not have advised him against vying for the position.
“It is true that Mr Owusu-Agyeman on February 2, called Dr Yankey, but that was not to offer advice, but to order him to give up his appointment failing which Mr Owusu-Agyeman will embarrass him. This explains the unconventional tactics deployed ever since against Dr Yankey, which include the inclusion of his name on the list of respondents in the Quality Grain Saga.”
The statement said that the purported withdrawal of support for Dr Yankey’s appointment was made in a verbal threat on February 2, 2001, long before Mr Owusu-Agyeman’s sudden interest in the position of ECOWAS Executive Secretary.
“As a matter of fact, the urge to get Dr Yankey out of EBID at all cost, accounted for Mr Owusu-Agyeman’s campaign for the position of ECOWAS Executive Secretary since Ghana cannot head two community institutions.
“Recently Mr Owusu-Agyeman asked the Gambia to swap its candidacy for the position of Executive Secretary for the presidency of EBID even though the latter is not vacant’, the statement said.
With regard to the allegations of fraud by Mr Owusu-Agyeman, the statement noted that the case is before a fast track court in Ghana. “Moreover, in Ghana, citizens are innocent until proven guilty. As earlier indicated, Dr Yankey’s name was included in the list to make good Mr Owusu-Agyeman’s threat to embarrass him for refusing to give up his job.”
The purported letter of dismissal, according to the statement, breached the protocol of the ECOWAS Fund and has, therefore, being challenged in a competent court of law which delivered an introductory injunction on May 25, 2001 restraining ECOWAS and its agents from disrupting the tenure of Dr Yankey.
Though ECOWAS claims immunity and, therefore, failed to enter an appearance, the lawyers of Dr Yankey contend that by the revised ECOWAS protocol relating to the general convention of privilege and immunity and the headquarters agreement, the Federal Court in Abuja has jurisdiction.
“As you are well aware, the Federal Court is recognised as a competent court of a member state of ECOWAS and its decision is binding on every member state of ECOWAS as well as ECOWAS and its institutions.
The only legally recognised option against the decision is for ECOWAS to appeal against it to have it set aside on the grounds that the decision is erroneous in law,” Dr Yankey’s lawyers intimated.
Speaking Joy FM, an Accra private radio station on Wednesday, Dr Yankey said although the controversy rages on, he is still at post. – Daily Graphic
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Tema (Greater Accra) 30 August 2001 - A 16-year old girl who was raped but decided to keep it secret until she fell ill has died at the Tema General Hospital shortly after she broke the news and was rushed there.
Lillian Bartdy, House Help, mentioned a 33 year-old self-employed Kofi Afram Mensah from Kpone as the one who raped her in an uncompleted building at Kpone but she could not give the actual date.
The Police asked the Tema Community Tribunal, presided over by Ringo Cass Azumah to remand Mensah, who was facing a charge of rape, in custody to enable them to prefer new charges following the death of Miss Bartdy.
Mensah's plea was not taken and was remanded in custody to re-appear on
September 4.
Police Inspector Alice Gyamfi, prosecuting, told the tribunal that on June 12, Miss Bartdy complained of lower abdominal and stomach pains and was sent to the Kpone Health Post, where she received treatment.
The prosecution said on June 30, her pains became severe and when her Mistress demanded to know the cause of her illness, Bartdy disclosed that Mensah rape her one evening in an uncompleted building.
Miss Bartdy was rushed to TGH after the confession but died shortly on arrival.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 30 August 2001 - The Police Administration on Wednesday said that it would under no circumstances shield any policeman who might misconduct himself.
This is in line with the administration's drive to instil discipline into the service at all levels, a statement signed by David Eklu, Acting Director of the Police Public
Relations Unit in Accra said.
" ...It (Administration) will not under any circumstance shield any police officer who commits an offence."
It expressed condolences to the family of Yawo Avonor, a 27-year-old student of Accra Polytechnic who was gunned down by Corporal Twumasi Appiah of the
Odorkor Police Station earlier this month at Dansoman.
He said a report received by the administration on the incident has evidence to support a charge of murder against Corporal Twumasi, who has been interdicted by the administration.
Eklu said the accused was arraigned before court last Friday and was remanded to reappear on August 31.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 30 August 2001 - A three-member Japanese delegation is expected in Ghana soon to undertake feasibility studies on capacity building for the country's tourism sector.
Hiromu Nitta, the Japanese Ambassador who announced this in Accra on Wednesday said Japan is eager to explore Ghana's tourism potentials and to assist the country develop the sector as a means of opening up the rural areas to accelerate national development and integration.
Nitta said this during a courtesy call on the Minister of Tourism, Ms Hawa Yakubu to brief her on the visit of the delegation, to be led by a former minister of Foreign Affairs.
The Ambassador said the visit forms part of measures aimed at developing links between the two countries in the area of tourism.
He lauded the government's focus on tourism as part of the Golden Age of Business promotion and urged the ministry to adopt the appropriate policy framework to network with other social partners.
Ms Yakubu expressed gratitude to the Japanese government for the interest it has shown in Ghana's tourism development and pledged her ministry's support and co-operation.
She said Ghana abounds in rich cultural and natural resources but the only hindrance is funding and urged the Ambassador to encourage Japanese investors and financial institutions to do business with Ghana in that sector.
She said the tourism industry is ripe for private sector participation and Japan should take advantage of the congenial socio-economic climate in the country to invest.
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Amedzofe (Volta Region) 29 August 2001 - The Heads of State Awards Scheme for perseverance and good leadership qualities among the youth would be expanded to cover the entire country.
Papa Owusu-Ankomah, Minister of Youth and Sports, announced this at Amedzofe on Tuesday to mark the commencement of the Gold Test Expedition of the Scheme, the last of the four stages one has to pass through to win the Heads of State Award.
It involves expeditions through unfamiliar terrains on foot guided by a map and a compass and is open to people from 14 to 25 years.
"The Award Scheme ......has a place in Ghana's development agenda and government will do everything within its powers to sustain and expand it to cover the youth in the entire country," Papa Owusu-Ankomah said.
He, therefore, directed organisers of the scheme and the National Youth Council (NYC) to submit to the Ministry, proposals on the expansion of the scheme's activities to be integrated into the revised National Youth Policy.
The Minister promised to seek support of the private sector for the programme, which would enable the youth to take up leadership roles in the future. The national call to duty, sacrifice, patriotism, which the scheme inculcated in the youth were the virtues that the government wanted to "serve as the bedrock of our development initiative".
He said such virtues were necessary for one's success in any aspect of human endeavour, be it in sports, academia or business.
The 300 young participants, including 75 girls from all over the country would scout 80 kilometres of mountainous zones around Amedzofe in the Ho and Hohoe Districts.
The Scouts who would be in groups of between four and seven would traverse through Kpedze, Amedzofe, Tafi, Logba and Leklebi all in the Hohoe district.
Papa Owusu-Ankomah advised the participants that during their four-day sojourn, they should not restrict themselves to programmes of the Award Scheme alone but interact with the rural folks, identify their problems and make efforts at solving them.
Jenkins Kwame Awume, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Scheme, expressed regret about the inability of some regions to send representatives to participate in the expeditions.
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Koforidua (Eastern Region) 30 August 2001 - The Eastern Regional Minister, Dr Francis Osafo-Mensah has appealed to the newly appointed Envoys to showcase the region to help attract investors to create employment for the youth.
He told 20 Envoys who paid a courtesy call on him at the residency in Koforidua that the Region cultivates non-traditional crops such as pineapples, cassava, cashew and sunflower, which could be processed for export.
The Region also has a lot of natural resources that could be developed into industrial products adding that the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) had asked all the 15 District Assemblies in the region to prepare their profiles to provide database for investment.
He said the RCC was also talking to some traditional authorities to release land to enable the RCC to establish land banks to make it easy for investors to acquire land .
The Envoys toured the Greater Accra Region last Monday visiting the Free Trade Zone in Tema, Tema Drydock, Akosombo. They continued to the Volta Region before arriving in Koforidua.
From Koforidua they would go to the Ashanti Region and then to the Northern part of the country.
The tour is to enable them interact with the political and government departmental heads to be abreast with the socio-economic and cultural circumstances to equip them to effectively represent the nation at their countries of accreditation.
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Kumasi Ashanti Region) 30 August 2001 - Alhaji Mohammed Sani, Ashanti Regional Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Re-organisation Committee has said the government's policy of zero tolerance for corruption, might not yield any positive results unless there is an improvement in the incomes and service conditions of workers.
He said it will be virtually impossible for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government to eliminate corrupt practices from the system in the face of such harsh economic conditions, compounded by the hikes in utility tariffs and transport fares.
Alhaji Sani was speaking at a forum organised by the Asokwa-East constituency of the party and the Gaskia Club, an affiliate group in Kumasi on Monday.
The forum was to enable the reorganisation committee to brief party members on the essence of the re-organisation drive and to evolve mechanisms for winning new members.
Alhaji Sani said the government had failed to deliver on its election pledges as shown by its inability to create jobs and halt the increases in fuel prices and utility tariffs.
Nti Fordjour, Regional Vice-Chairman, dismissed the notion that the party had been torn apart as a result of its defeat in the last elections, describing such speculations as mere political propaganda.
He said on the contrary the party has drawn more members from various quarters, including the NPP into its fold because such members have realised that it is the NDC, which is capable of transforming the country.
Madam Comfort Asamoah, a member of the regional re-organisation committee appealed to constituency and ward branches to begin to explore avenues for generating funds to support their activities at the local level.
She said it would be wrong for them to look up to the headquarters for funding, saying the headquarters also depends on dues and contributions from members to support party work.
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Ho (Greater Accra) 30 August 2001 - A study on the viability of mineral deposits in the Volta Region would be ready in six months, Kwasi Owusu-Yeboa, the Regional
Minister has announced.
He was briefing 18 Ambassadors-Designate that were in Ho on Tuesday as part of their tour of the country to acquaint themselves with problems and potentials of the regions.
A map produced by the Volta Regional Co-ordinating Council (VRCC) documented deposits of gold, diamond, iron and crude oil none of which has been exploited.
Owusu-Yeboa said the VRCC has also worked out a system of providing litigation free land banks for investors.
He said the yearly ritual of impassable roads during the rainy season in the northern sector of the region was hampering economic activity in the area, which was its breadbasket.
Owusu-Yeboa said the coastal areas hold a lot of promise for large-scale salt mining. The Ambassadors who were accompanied by officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs included Mr Kabral Blay Amihere, a Journalist, Mrs Muareen Amematekpor, a Hospitality Consultant and Mrs Veronica Boakye Kufuor, Regional Chief Manager of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Koforidua.
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Winneba (Central Region) 30 August 2001 - Participants at the launch of an anti-corruption club at Winneba on Tuesday called for better pay and service conditions for workers to support the implementation of President John Agyekum Kufuor's policy of "zero tolerance" of bribery and corruption in the country.
They also called for the enactment of effective bye-laws by the district assemblies to check irresponsible people who regard bringing up children as a mere hobby.
They further stressed the need for parents to give their children excellent home training to enable the country secure the right type of men and women who can confidently and effectively take over the mantle of nation building in future.
According to the participants, poor pay packets and service conditions are some of the serious factors militating against the nation's battle against bribery and corruption, which have now become serious and destructive sickness undermining the country's forward march.
Speaking on Christians and corruption in Ghana, the Rev. Iver Wilson, of the Triumph Bible Church International, Winneba, described corruption as dangerous socio-economic epidemic, which is gradually breaking down the entire moral fibber of the nation, and urged all followers of Christian principles to help eradicate it.
Rev Wilson, who gave several Bible quotations to support his call, made it clear to Christians that corruption profanes the Holy Name of God and that any follower or believer of the Biblical tenets, who indulge in corrupt practices commits sin against God
He mentioned the love for money, greediness, and covetousness, as the major symptoms of corruption and advised both Christians and non-Christians to eschew these vices.
Rev Wilson said corruption breeds injustice because it perverts justice and destroys national welfare at all levels and must be feared.
Mr. J.K. Ankai-Mac Aidoo, the National Organizer and Founder of the Good Citizenship Club of Ghana (GOCG), said in order to eradicate corruption from the
Ghanaian society steps must be taken to get school children educated on the dangers posed by corruption.
He was hopeful that when this is done, the battle against this serious and destructive social evil would have been won half way. Mr. Aidoo cautioned Ghanaians, particularly people in high positions against the acceptance of gifts because they can easily influence them to indulge in corrupt practices.
Launching the club, Mr Gui Siilo, the Acting District Chief Executive for Awutu-Effutu-Senya, called for the active and collective involvement of every citizen in the national crusade against corruption since the government alone cannot fight and win the battle against this social problem, which is fast gaining roots in every segment of the Ghanaian society.
Siilo, who is also the District Co-ordinating Director for the area, said corruption is a threat to the socio-economic forward march of the country and asked Ghanaians to attach all the seriousness to the campaign to eradicate it.
Geofrey E. Yarney, Headmaster of Winneba Secondary School who chaired the function, recalled recent robbery cases, in which some students of certain second cycle schools in Cape Coast broke into the Central Police Armoury and stole several rounds of ammunition and charged parents to help check such acts.
Yarney urged parents to pay regular visits to their wards in secondary schools, to access their general performance with the managements.
Nana Agyeefi VIIII, chief of Effutu-Osubonpanyin asked district assemblies to involve chiefs in the award of contracts to serve as watchdogs to check corruption associated with the granting of such awards.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 30 August 2001 - Nine people and a media house are to receive various awards as part of activities marking this years National Children's Day, which falls on August 31.
They are to be honoured for championing the cause of children and bringing issues affecting them to the limelight.
They are Ms Adwoa Asiedu, Mr Sylvanus Kumi and Mr. Sam Manfo of Ghanaian
Times; Mr.Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, Ms. Rosemary Ardayfio and Ms Tina Nyamekye of Daily Graphic, Ms. Akosua Adutumwaa and Miss Vida Atakpa, Junior Graphic; Mr. Kingsley Obeng-Kyere, GBC Radio and Mr E. A. S. Abonju of the Ghana Education Service, Bechem.
Ghanaian Times would also be honoured for an editorial headed "Babies in prison".
A statement in Accra by the Ghana National Commission on Children, said activities to mark the Day would include a workshop on traditional harmful practices against children and a fun fair.
The Day was instituted 21 years ago to create awareness on specific issues affecting the well being of children.
The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund is sponsoring the award, which has been received by more than 60 people including media practitioners and musicians.
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Tension mounts between NPP and ACDR over
Ashaiman toilets
Tema (Greater Accra) 30 August 2001 - Tension is mounting at Ashaiman between New Patriotic Party (NPP) activists and members of the Association of the Committee for the Defence of the Revolution (ACDR) following the take over of all the 17 public places of convenience by a group of people at dawn on Tuesday.
The main controversy is over one of the toilets at Mandela, which the ACDR claimed it built and has been managing for the past 10 years, that was also seized.
A group of about 10 men led by Kofi Agyepong (alias "I Walk Alone"), NPP Chairman for Ashaiman, allegedly seized the toilet and in the process assaulted the toll collector, Mr Ruben Anum.
They were said to have dragged him out of the toll kiosk and taken away. The Mandela toilet generates about 140,000 cedis a day, out of which 50,000 cedis is used to pay cleaners, attendants etc.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 30 August 2001 - The Ghana Institution of Surveyors on Wednesday called on district assemblies to engage the services of professional surveyors to help solve problems relating to human settlements.
Francis Atta-Affram, President of the institution said at a press conference in Accra that if the assemblies employed qualified surveyors, fraud and other forms of malfeasance in land acquisition and settlements would be minimised.
''The role of the surveyor is to ensure that acquired land is suitable for human settlement, demarcate the proper boundaries and prepare base maps and cadastral plans for registration''.
He said because district assemblies do not appreciate the services of professionals such as surveyors, they are not able to enforce laws relating to settlement, leading to calamities such as floods.
He said the role of the surveyor does not stop at the acquisition and demarcation of land. It also involves determining the cost implication of building designs and the choice of building materials.
He said the price being paid for ignoring the services of surveyors has been endless litigation and floods, poor layout of human settlement, development of slums and difficulty in getting access to combat fire outbreaks.
Atta-Affram said the fact that a person has land does not mean that it could be developed anyhow. "It must conform to the general land use scheme."
He appealed to the government to speed up the process of enacting the Estate Agency and Salesman law and establishing a survey council, which would strengthen the institution and empower it to bring to bear the benefits of technical expertise.
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