GRi Newsreel 07 - 12 - 99

Worldspace launches satellite receivers

Governments urged to lead the fight against corruption

Regional Ministers attend conference

Dam constructed for Aburi Girls School

Exhibitors express disappointment about Swedru fair

Fall of cedi pushes the price of meat up

Beneficiaries of poverty fund refuse to pay back

African experts discuss records keeping

19 Stowaways deported from South Africa

Best farmer urges reduction in rice imports

Cabinet approves contract to dredge Korle Lagoon

President Rawlings nominates DCE for East Akim

Police arrest 40 in connection with Kitase chieftaincy dispute

Tweneboa heads Association of Accountancy bodies of West Africa

NDC urges SFO to continue investigations into SSNIT investments

Ghana to host World Congress of Home Economists

Mills urges new chapter in Ghana-Lebanon relations

Develop tourism potential of Ashanti region - Yankah

Worldspace launches satellite receivers

Accra (Greater Accra), 7th December 99

Worldspace Corporation, the world's largest digital audio broadcast system operator, on Monday introduced four of its satellite receivers which will offer direct access to news, entertainment, music and educational programmes.

The receivers will convey programmes on over 60 media channels across the globe through its recently launched AfriStar satellite which covers an area of 14 million square kilometres within Africa and the Middle East.

The products were specially designed and built for WorldSpace by Japanese-based Matsushita (Panasonic), Sanyo, Hitachi and JVC to receive direct satellite signals.

Mr. Noah Samara, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of WorldSpace, a Washington-based company with assets valued at one billion dollars, launched the products, describing them as "portable, less power consuming and user friendly."

" When connected to a personal computer, they can produce pictures from some television stations which are on our network".

He said the new products are to offer the deprived populace of developing countries an opportunity to have access to multi-media services around the globe which they would have otherwise accessed from the internet at a higher cost.

"The company's mission is to create information affluence by using new audio technology to deliver programming to three-quarters of the world's population that lack adequate radio reception, programme choice, news entertainment and knowledge of the highest quality at an affordable cost".

Mr. Samara said the company, which started about a decade ago, also owns two other satellites, AsiaStar and AmeriStar which covers Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.

"This is the first time a multi-media service with a world-wide reach is moving from Africa to the rest of the world in different languages".

He said currently, the company is negotiating with Radio Ghana, adding that within the next two days, the station's programmes would reach the world through WorldSpace AfriStar satellite.

Mr. Samara said the service of Worldspace is poised to benefit governments, broadcasters and advertisers, saying "through our network, they can reach specific targets in the global market place".

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Governments urged to lead the fight against corruption

Accra (Greater Accra), 7th December 99

Mr. Ken Dzirasah, First Deputy Speaker of Parliament on Monday inaugurated an 11-member Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) to fight corruption in the country.

The GII, whose interim chairman is Mr. Justice Francis Emile Short, Commissioner, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), is to operate under Transparency International, a non-governmental organisation with its headquarters in Berlin, Germany.

Mr. Dzirasah said the world has now recognised that governments alone cannot fight the canker. "But for the war against it to succeed, it must be led by governments" and " political authorities must demonstrate the will and back it up with the muscle".

He said the private sector, civil society and the media must work in partnership with the government and "it is in this direction that the formation of GII is very laudable".

Mr. Dzirasah said "it is important that GII is objective, consistent and non-partisan in pursuit of its objectives.

"It is appropriate to restate the commitment of the government to the fight against corruption. President Rawlings has never made a secret of his desire to rid this country of corruption.

"He sent a special message to the Durban Conference and has given the green light to the World Bank to conduct diagnostic surveys of corruption in Ghana" with the help of multilateral and international development partners.

Mrs Gifty Affenyi-Dadzie, President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) said "never in the history of this country has the media in Ghana taken the frontline role in the fight against this canker than in the Fourth Republic."

"This underscores the fact that in an atmosphere of freedom, the media can perform better".

She said "it is to the credit of the media that exposures of alleged corruption by public officials led to the historic probe by the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice which made adverse findings against some government officials".

Mrs Affenyi-Dadzie said the surveillance the media has kept on the Keta Sea Defence Project, for example, has been profound and signified the role the media can play in the fight against corruption.

She therefore called for the removal of all inimical laws against press freedom.

Mrs. Affenyi-Dadzie said for the media to play its role effectively in combating corruption, there should be capacity building and training of journalists in investigative journalism.

Mr. Short regretted that the debate on corruption in Ghana has tended to be highly politicised resulting in stalemate.

He said it is because of this that the CHRAJ brought together a non-partisan group of Ghanaians drawn from government, private business, civil society and religious groups to prepare towards the creation of a national movement to combat corruption.

He said the "GII's mission is to continuously create and heighten public awareness of the negative effects of corruption on social, economic and political development of the country and to empower citizens to demand responsiveness and transparency from both public and private institutions ".

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Regional Ministers attend conference

Sunyani (Brong Ahafo), 7th December 99

Regional Ministers have been reminded of their responsibility to enhance the well-being of the people they serve by word and deed without sacrificing their obligations to the government.

Krotwiamansa Adjei-Ampofo, Omanhene of Goaso Traditional Area and member of the Council of State, said at opening of the 15th annual Regional Minister's conference at Sunyani on Monday, that in spite of the present constraints, the people expect much to be done to mitigate the prevailing harsh conditions they face.

He asked the ministers during their four-day meeting to evolve a programme to reverse the widening information gap between the people and those in authority, which has resulted in a state of ignorance, especially among the rural population.

Krotwiamansa Adjei-Ampofo noted that previous conference proposals and recommendations have helped the government to formulate and implement policies, which have been beneficial to the country.

In view of this, the ministers should brainstorm on urgent issues confronting the nation such as rape, armed robbery, murder of women, strikes and threats of strikes, demonstrations as well as attacks on police stations and submit recommendations to the executive for redress.

Krotwiamansa Adjei-Ampofo warned the ministers to be ''well armed'' for the challenges in the coming election year, and advised them to deal fairly with other politicians, especially those in the opposition.

The appeal from some circles that the National Electoral Commission should be reconstituted to provide for party representation should also be a topic for discussion in the deliberations, he urged.

Krotwiamansa Adjei-Ampofo, said menial jobs like conservancy labour destroys the ''latrine boys'', and described it as being inhuman and infringing on the human rights of people, who enter into such jobs and asked the ministers to consider recommending its abolition.

In his welcoming address, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr. Donald Adabre, said the conference would offer the best forum to share experiences and successes to achieve the rapid transformation of their respective communities.

He noted that the country can boast of an appreciable level of development and said temporary setbacks and limitations in the economy should be regarded as part of the challenges in the country's development process.

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Dam constructed for Aburi Girls School

Aburi (Eastern Region), 7th December 99

A 121-million-cedi dam has been constructed to provide potable water for Aburi Girls Senior Secondary School in the Eastern Region.

The dam, constructed with funds from the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), the school's alumni and other sources, is expected to end the perennial water problem the school faces.

Mrs. Grace Ansa-Otoo, Headmistress, who announced this at the 52nd Speech and Prize-giving Day, said about 10 million cedis, is needed to finance the distribution of the water on the compound.

In a speech read on behalf of Mrs. Elizabeth Naadu Mills, wife of the Vice President, praised the financiers of the dam and appealed to them to assist the school to solve the problem of inadequate accommodation for teachers and students.

She noted that out of 64 teachers in the school currently, only about 30 are accommodated in staff bungalows.

Meanwhile, dormitories meant for 350 students now accommodate 800 while the student population is close to 1,300 as against its original capacity of 650 students.

Mrs. Mills assured the school of the government's commitment to providing the necessary inputs for quality education in the country, adding that the Ghana Education Service (GES) has put a mechanism in the pipeline to renovate most schools with similar predicaments.

She, however, pointed out that the government could not do it alone and called for assistance from non-governmental organisations and the private sector.

There is the need for educating the girls, saying that research has shown that the level of a mother's education is directly proportional to the level of their children's school achievement, infant mortality, family health and fertility rates.

In an interview with the GNA, Mr. Emmanuel Attah Owusu, District Chief Executive of Akwapim South, who read the speech, said that, "it is not fair for the school to monopolise the dam."

He pointed out that the dam is an old one belonging to the community, which the school renovated with its own resources.

Mr. Owusu said there would soon be a tripartite meeting between the assembly, traditional council and school's administration to discuss how the community could benefit from the dam.

"It is only when the school has agreed to share with the community that the assembly can give the needed support to the project."

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Exhibitors express disappointment about Swedru fair

Agona Swedru (Central Region) 7th December 99

Exhibitors at a just-ended trade and investment fair at Agona Swedru have expressed great disappointment about the one week exposition organised by Agona, Gomoa and Awutu-Effutu-Senya district assemblies.

They attributed the failure to lack of publicity, and the absence of facilities such as telephones and health post at the fair site.

The organisers also failed to involve the exhibitors in the planning of the fair.

Mr. Justice Nortey Yeboah, President of the Central Zone One Entrepreneurs, expressed these sentiments at the closing session of the fair at the weekend.

He said most of the entrepreneurs could not attend the fair because the notice given them was too short and they could not prepare adequately.

Mr. Yeboah, who is also President of the Gomoa District Association of Entrepreneurs, appealed to the Central Regional Co-ordinating Council and Planning Committee of the three district assemblies to find a permanent site for the fair instead of using lorry parks.

Mr. John Boateng, Fair Co-ordinator said the exhibitors sold goods worth 23 million cedis during the fair and said they should show appreciation to the assemblies for helping them to market their wares adding that the mistakes made will be corrected in subsequent years.

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Fall of cedi pushes the price of meat up

Kumasi (Ashanti), 7th December 99

Butchers in the Kumasi metropolis have announced a 25 per cent increase in the price of beef in response to the depreciation of the cedi against the CFA Franc, which is used for the importation of cattle from Burkina Faso and Mali.

A kilo of beef, now sells at 5,000 cedis instead of 4,000 cedis the butchers resolved at a meeting in Kumasi last Friday.

Messrs Ibrahim Salifu Anyars and Seidu Blankson of the Progressive Butchers Association told newsmen that apart from the fall in the value of the cedi, freight charges had gone up as a result of recent increases in fuel prices.

These, they maintained, had caused their operational cost to shoot up by about 50 per cent, making them to operate at a loss in the past two months.

They asked butchers in the metropolis to ensure strict adherence to the new price and expressed the hope that the consuming public will bear with them.

Meanwhile, the chief butcher, Alhaji Seidu Alhassan, has directed the leadership of the two butchers associations in Kumasi to take immediate steps to check indiscipline, poor and unhygienic handling of meat and slaughtering of animals without supervision.

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Beneficiaries of poverty fund refuse to pay back

Agona Asafo (Central Region), 7th December 99

The Agona District Assembly has disbursed 200 million cedis of its share of the common fund meant for poverty alleviation to more than 200 groups and individuals to expand their businesses since its inception two years ago.

Most of those who received the credit facility have failed to pay back the money to the assembly, Mr Samuel Adu Yeboah, District Chief Executive (DCE), announced this at a Farmers' Day rally at Agona Asafo last Friday.

He said all attempts to put the beneficiaries before the law courts have been frustrated adding that the facility was not a gift and urged them to pay back for others to benefit.

The DCE announced that the assembly has also disbursed 10 million cedis under the ' Youth in Agriculture Programme' which is aimed at getting he youth interested in agriculture and minimise the rural urban drift.

Captain A. K. Acquah (rtd) was adjudged district best farmer while Agona Natifa A.D.C Primary/Junior Secondary School won the best basic school in agriculture award.

Nana Kwao Ponse, Krontihene of Agona Asafo, appealed to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and assembly to rehabilitate an abandoned gari factory.

He expressed concern about the activities of group hunters, who go to the area from Accra and Kasoa every year on hunting expedition, during dry season and set bush fires.

Nana Ponse said the people of the area are unable to stop them because they carry weapons.

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African experts discuss records keeping

Accra (Greater Accra), 7th December 99

A four-day seminar on top level strategic planning in the public sector reform and evidenced-based government for five African countries opened in Accra on Monday.

It is being organised by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service (OHCS) and the Public Records, Archives and Administration Department in collaboration with the International Records Management Trust.

Participants from Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, The Gambia and the United Kingdom will discuss and evolve strategies for effective and efficient control of records for policy formulation and evaluation, preservation of the rule of law, management of financial and personnel systems and protection of human rights.

Dr. Robert Dodoo, Head OHCS, who opened the seminar said strategic planning is a critical activity which is being pioneered in the Civil Service and the top echelons of society.

This, he said, has led to the institution of Performance Improvement Planning, the related Performance Agreement and the Medium Term Expenditure Framework.

On Evidence-Government, he said the civil service has embodied record keeping as a management tool in development.

" We have been considering both paper and electronic based evidence to ensure efficiency, enhanced performance and good governance in Africa".

He said Ghana has made strides in the area of reforms and record keeping and emphasis is being placed on prioritised projects to make them realisable.

Mr. Neil McCallum, Country Director of International Records Management Trust, a London based non-profit organisation lauded the civil servants improvement projects in Ghana.

He emphasised the importance of record keeping saying, "without effective record keeping systems, a nation cannot carry out economic and administrative reform programmes."

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19 Stowaways deported from South Africa

Accra (Greater Accra), 7th December 99

Nineteen Ghanaian stowaways aged between 15 and 35 were today deported from Durban, South Africa, after having been held in custody for over a month.

The stowaways, who were escorted by six South African Security men, hail from Kumasi, Axim and Takoradi. They are mostly artisans, Junior Secondary School drop-outs and footballers.

John Baidoo, 35, a welder, told newsmen at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) that he joined the vessel MV Diana, in Abidjan on November two to seek greener pastures in Europe, not knowing the vessel was bound for Bangkok in the Far East.

He said he hid among the logs being carried on the vessel without knowing there were other stowaways on board. On the high seas, 18-year-old Solomon Aggrey, emerged from among the lot and was apprehended by the vessel's captain.

A search then led to the discovery of the 18 others, who were handed over to Immigration officials when the vessel got to Durban, South Africa.

Mr Rudi De Beer, one of the escorts acknowledged that most of the harbours are not well secured thus enhancing the activities of stowaways.

The 19 deportees have been detained by security agents at the KIA for screening and possible prosecution.

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Best farmer urges reduction in rice imports

Lambussie (Upper West), 7th December 99

Mr. Tong Baloro, the new Upper West Regional best farmer, has appealed to importers to reduce the importation of rice in order to boost the local production of the crop.

Mr. Baloro, who was speaking to newsmen at Lambussie after he had been adjudged the best regional farmer of the year, said although the local rice is cheaper and more nutritious, the influx of foreign rice into the local market was impeding the development of the local rice industry.

''While there are stockpiles of rice all over the country, people were still encouraging the importation of rice into the country''.

He said advertisements on the radio and television have made the people to think that local rice, which is cheaper and more nutritious, is inferior to imported rice.

Mr. Baloro said educational institutions, which were their major customers, have now been supplied with some imported rice thus demoralising most rice farmers in the region.

The Regional Best Farmer showed newsmen 840 bags of rice from his farm, which were still unsold due to lack of market adding that ''there are other farmers throughout the region, who are facing similar problems''.

The farmers have stopped the cultivation of cowpea, Soya beans and other farm produce because of the losses they incurred.

He said he had to store some soya beans for over two years until some people from Burkina Faso came to buy it at a very low price.

''Until we get available market for our produce coupled with subsidised prices on our farming inputs we cannot make the desired impact in the country''.

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Cabinet approves contract to dredge Korle Lagoon

Accra (Greater Accra) 7 Dec. ’99

Cabinet has endorsed the recommendation made by the Central Tender Board for the award of contract for the dredging of the Korle Lagoon to Messrs Dredging International, for the sum of 26,168,421 dollars.

The dredging is part of the Korle Lagoon Ecological Restoration Project, which involves the removal of approximately 2.5 million cubic metres of silted material and the improvement of the terminal section of the Odaw channel, primarily for flood control purposes.

This was contained in a statement signed by Mr J. K. Babaako- Mensah, Secretary to the Cabinet in Accra on Monday.

It also includes sanitation control measures involving the construction of treatment plants with a total capacity of 1,300 cubic metres per day, laying of 3,100 metres long network for the diversion of dry weather flows and the construction of a new sea outfall pipe of 1,000 metres length.

The statement said cabinet recommended for parliamentary approval a development Credit Agreement between Ghana and the International Development Association (IDA) for the second Community Water and Sanitation Project (CWSP II).

The IDA will give Ghana 25 million dollars under a programme to extend sustainable water and sanitation facilities to 85 per cent of the rural population in Ghana by the year 2009.

The Statement said Cabinet approved for further action, proposals for amendments to the Local Government Act, 1993, Act 462.

The proposed amendments are designed to respond to some practical difficulties encountered in implementing the Act, iron out some internal contradictions, correct identified errors and to incorporate views, ideas and recommendations of various stakeholders and commentators who have either worked with, analysed or commented on it.

Cabinet, the statement said also approved the establishment of a district education fund to support students in second-cycle and tertiary institutions.

The objective of the fund is to enable district assemblies to sponsor deserving but financially handicapped students from their districts through the provision of scholarships, bursaries and loan supplements, as part of the poverty alleviation programme of the government.

The fund is to be created out of 50 per cent of the existing mandatory 20 per cent allocation which District Assemblies are required to disburse for income and employment generation activities (popularly called "Poverty Alleviation Fund") under the District Assemblies common Fund.

A committee to be set up by each District Assembly will administer the fund.

The statement further said Cabinet recommended for ratification by parliament an agreement between Ghana and Trinidad and Tobago on Economic, Scientific and Technical Co-operation.

The purpose of the agreement is to establish relations in these areas for the mutual benefit of the two countries.

Cabinet recommended for the consideration of Parliament a loan agreement between Ghana and Kreditanstalt Fur Wiederaubau (KFW) of Germany for the sum of 76 million Deutsche Marks to finance the rehabilitation of the Tema-Sogakope (Aflao) road.

Cabinet also approved the proposal to declare Sunday, 26 March 2000 as Census Night.

Several activities would be organised on that day, throughout the country, as the reference point for the census, which would be conducted between March and April 2000.

Enumeration will start throughout the country soon after midnight on that Sunday, the statement added.

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President Rawlings nominates DCE for East Akim

Accra (Greater Accra) 7 Dec. ’99

President Jerry John Rawlings has nominated Mr Daniel Opoku Asiamah for the post of District Chief Executive for East Akim District.

An official statement issued in Accra on Monday said he replaces Mr Mike Odame-Darkwa who died on September six, 1999.

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Police arrest 40 in connection with Kitase chieftaincy dispute

Kitase (Eastern Region) 7 Dec. ’99

Forty people including six women and a former chief of Kitase near Aburi in the Eastern Region have been arrested following a clash between two factions in a chieftaincy dispute.

The Eastern Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Chief Inspector Jonathan Kwame Abban, made this known to newsmen in Koforidua on Monday.

Inspector Abban said the Police had a tip off on Saturday, 4 December that Nana Twum Ankrah II, ex-Kitasehene, had organised about 100 of his supporters to prepare to install a new sub-chief for the town.

Chief Inspector Abban said supporters of Nana Ankrah met one Mr. Joseph Kpakpo Allotey alias Borkotey, said to be a supporter of the new Chief of Kitase, Nana Adu Ampomah II, chase him and allegedly attempted to shoot him.

Mr Allotey was alleged to have brought out a shot gun and fired at his attackers and in the process, Mr Eric Awuku, Mr. Daniel Oppong, Mr Kwame Ampofo, Mr. Kwaku Nimo, Madam Amma Oye and Madam Amma Akyiboa, all supporters of Nana Ankrah, received gun shot wounds.

They were rushed to the Tetteh Quashie Memorial Hospital at Mampong-Akwapim, where they were admitted.

Chief Inspector Abban said Mr Kwaku Nimo, whose condition was critical, was transferred to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra on Sunday 5 December.

Nana Ankrah has since been released on Police enquiry bail and ordered to report to the police daily, while the other suspects are being screened.

Mr Allotey is in custody and Policemen are patrolling the town.

The Mampong-Akwapim Police are investigating the incident, Inspector Abban said.

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Tweneboa heads Association of Accountancy bodies of West Africa

Accra (Greater Accra) 7 Dec. ’99

Mr Francis D. Tweneboa, President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana (ICAG) has been elected President of the Association of Accountancy Bodies of West Africa (ABWA) at its fifth Congress in Abuja, Nigeria.

A statement issued in Accra said Mr Tweneboa would be in office for two years.

ABWA is a sub-regional regulatory body which aims at harmonising and ensuring effective professional accountancy practice in West Africa.

Mr Tweneboa, currently the General Manager of the Ghana Stock Exchange, has held many positions in various organisations including the Internal Revenue Service as an Inspector of Taxes and a Chief Accountant of Barclays Bank of Ghana.

He is a professional tax consultant and also a member of the Ghana Institute of Management and the Ghana Institute of Bankers.

The ICAG President was educated at the University of Ghana, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1969.

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NDC urges SFO to continue investigations into SSNIT investments

Accra (Greater Accra) 7 Dec. '99

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Tuesday called on the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to continue its investigations into every aspect of investments of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).

The investigations should swiftly bring to book all those who would be found, involved in any wrongdoing, according to a statement signed by Alhaji Huudu Yahaya, General Secretary of the NDC.

The statement referred to a statement by SFO that a preliminary report shows that SSNIT investments in some particular projects have not been appropriately handled.

It suggested that there are large overruns in the execution of these projects.

"SSNIT is the contributions of our modest hardworking people towards the security of their lives in the future". We therefore find the action of SFO, in ensuring that our working people's confidence in the scheme of this country is not eroded, as a step in the right direction.

The statement said the NDC has "full confidence" in the SFO and would support any sanctions to be instituted by the relevant law enforcement agencies against anyone found to have contributed to SSNIT incurring these financial losses.

It added that the party is following with keen interest the progress of the investigations.

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Ghana to host World Congress of Home Economists

Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 7 Dec. '99

Ghana has been selected as the first country in Africa to host the 23rd World Congress of the International Federation of Home Economists (IFHE) in July 2000.

Delegates from all over the world would attend the congress to be held at the Accra International Conference Centre.

The Eastern Regional Minister, Miss Patience Adow who is also the vice-president of the IFHE for Africa, launched the 2000 congress at Sunyani on Monday.

She said Ghana was chosen to host the congress because of her favourable political and economic climate and expressed the hope that Ghanaians would support the Ghana Home Economists Association to host the congress successfully.

Ms Adow said a 350-dollar registration fee for each participant has been reduced to 50 dollars for delegates from Africa to enable as many people as possible to attend.

She commended the Brong Ahafo branch of the association for its outstanding performance and called on other regions to emulate it.

The Regional Co-ordinator of the association, Mrs Ellen Mensah, advised parents to encourage their children to excel in their chosen careers and not force them into professions in which they do not have interest.

She appealed to citizens of Brong Ahafo to assist the association to honour its two million cedis commitment towards the organisation of the congress.

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Mills urges new chapter in Ghana-Lebanon relations

Accra (Greater Accra) 7 Dec. '99

Vice-President John Atta Mills on Tuesday called for a new chapter in Ghana-Lebanon relations that would focus more on trade and investment.

He said while he acknowledges the contributions made by the Lebanese community in Ghana to the commercial sector, it is significant that they explore other sectors for business.

Prof. Mills said this when the new Lebanese Ambassador, Mr Chargel Aoun, who presented his letters of credence three months ago, paid a courtesy call on him at the Castle Osu.

Vice-President Mills urged him to build on the achievements of his predecessor to enhance good relations between the two countries.

He restated the government's determination to open the economy for genuine business.

On peacekeeping, Prof. Mills said Ghana is committed to achieving global peace, hence her unrelenting participation in peacekeeping missions, especially the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

He said although Ghana's participation in UNIFIL is becoming more expensive, the government would not give up because it is worthwhile.

Mr Aoun, who said his posting to Ghana is his first experience in Africa, pledged to do his best to bring the peoples of the two countries together for development.

He said there are about some 4,000 Ghanaians in Lebanon with most of them in the construction industry.

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Develop tourism potential of Ashanti region - Yankah

Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 7 Dec ’99

Mr. Kojo Yankah, former Ashanti Regional Minister, has described Lake Bosomtwe as the best tourism potential in Africa and called for its development.

He also called for the development of the inland port at Fumesua and the international airport to boost the tourism potential of the Ashanti region.

Mr. Yankah was speaking at a send-off party organised for him by the Ashanti Regional Co-ordinating Council on Sunday.

He mentioned Ahwiaa for its wood carvers and Bonwire for its kente as towns whose tourist attraction potentials must be developed.

The former minister, who said he was overwhelmed by the gifts and goodwill expressed by the various speakers said; "though I am going out of Ashanti, I have not left my relationship with Ashanti.

"I am going to set up a consultancy to offer my assistance to any region that needs my services".

He advised Ghanaians to work hard, adding; "Whatever we are doing, let's ensure that we do it for the good people of Ghana.

"If you do a good road, you will enjoy hearing that you did a good road".

The former Regional Minister, said he "served the Ashanti Region and for that matter Ghana" with all his heart.

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