Ghana Oil Company denies adulterating fuel
Gov’t urged to grant waiver to Media Houses
Let us rededicate ourselves to a multicultural world -Annan
Increase poverty alleviation Fund - government told
Rawlings leaves for ECOWAS summit in Lome
Assembly rehabilitates feeder roads
Ghana Oil Company denies adulterating fuel
Accra (Greater Accra) 9 Dec. ’99
The Management of Ghana Oil Company (GOIL) on Thursday denied that a fuel station at Abofu, near Achimota, which allegedly adulterated kerosene with diesel, belongs to it.
A statement issued in Accra and signed by Mr Yaw Agyemang-Duah, Acting Managing Director, said GOIL has no station at Abofu.
"This is clearly evident from the colours at the station which did not reflect the GOIL colours and an interview with the dealers would have confirmed that the station is under some other oil company."
The statement said GOIL management has for sometime now withdrawn from the sponsorship of a number of resell outlets it sponsored in the past.
Most of these have been closed down or are operating under other oil companies.
Police on Tuesday ordered the closure of a diesel-dispensing pump at Achimota filling station, which the police said belong to Ghana Oil Company (GOIL) distributor, Alhaji Issah Mohammed
This followed preliminary investigations by a team from the Ministry of Mines and Energy which indicated that there had been adulteration of diesel with kerosene.
It said it has noted with embarrassment news items on alleged adulteration of diesel with Kerosene at the Achimota taxi park GOIL station.
"Management regrets any actions which might have been taken by the dealer, attendants and/or others", which lead the team to make the observations carried in the media.
It said it is investigating allegations of adulteration at some Goil stations and would take action against those found guilty.
Meanwhile, it has directed its stations to stop the sale of gasoline (petrol) and gasoline (diesel) to those who visit them to buy these products in jerrycans and drums.
The statement said management supports the work being done to thwart the actions of people who make it almost impossible for those in need of kerosene to get the product.
The management cautioned its customers to be ware of some of these stations that claim to be GOIL outlets.
GRi../
Govt urged to grant waiver to Media Houses
Tamale (Northern Region) 9 Dec. ’99
The government has been called upon to grant media houses duty waivers on equipment they import, to make their services more affordable to the people.
A resolution issued at the end of a two-day workshop at Tamale on "the role of the media in the promotion and protection of human rights", also called for freedom to information and asked that criminal libel and the other obnoxious laws in the status books should be abolished.
. It was organised by Amnesty International, Ghana.
The participants included media practitioners, trade unionists and police officers.
It called on media houses to create human rights desks in order to monitor and report on human right issues effectively.
The resolution condemned a number of "pervasive and degrading" human rights violations against women in the Northern region including ostracising aged women to witch camps, wife battering and "wife pensioning" by some Muslim husbands to enable them marry more wives.
It called on the Ministry of Education to include human rights education in the school curriculum to imbue human rights culture in Ghanaians from infancy.
GRi../
Let us rededicate ourselves to a multicultural world -Annan
Accra (Greater Accra) 9 Dec. ’99
Mr. Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General, has urged the world to rededicate itself to the ideals of a multicultural world where all races and ethnic groups coexist peacefully.
In a statement to mark Human Rights Day which falls tomorrow, Friday, December 10, Mr. Annan said such an ideal can be achieved, adding that diversity and tolerance makes every nation and every people better, stronger and richer in human spirit.
He said although the century has seen real progress towards human rights and equality for all, regardless of race or ethnicity, more work has to be done.
Mr. Annan noted that racism, discrimination, bigotry and intolerance have been at the root of the greatest crimes and bloodiest wars of this century and urged the world to renew efforts to defeat racism in all its forms.
"For every man or woman able to live without fear of persecution, too many people have been murdered for no other reason than that they were born into a particular group."
Mr. Annan said the scars of the past decade - Rwanda, Bosnia, Kosovo - remind the world of how racism can destroy the very fabric of humanity.
"As we cross into the new century, let us do our part to advance understanding and defeat racism by embracing diversity, by teaching tolerance and by treating every human being with the dignity he or she deserves."
GRi
Increase poverty alleviation Fund - government told
Cape Coast (Central Region), 9th December 99
The Central Regional Youth Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Kwaku Agyensam, has appealed to the government to increase the Poverty Alleviation Fund to 50 per cent of the common fund.
Mr. Agyensam said the present 20 per cent, is inadequate to make any meaningful impact on efforts to improve the lives of the people.
He made the suggestion at a seminar organised for constituency youth organisers at Cape Coast at which they discussed government’s policies and programmes and mapped out strategies for next year's electioneering campaign.
Mr. Agyensam deplored the attitude of some beneficiaries of the fund who have refused to pay it back and said they should erase the misconception that the loans are gifts to enable others to benefit from it.
"Our attitudes to loans from the government must change for the better if we want improvements in life".
He asked the youth to take advantage of facilitates provided by the Intermediate Technology Transfer Unit (ITTU), Youth In Agriculture, Village Infrastructure Project and the Poverty Alleviation Fund to better their lot.
GRi
Rawlings leaves for ECOWAS summit in Lome
Accra (Greater Accra), 9th December 99
President Jerry John Rawlings left Accra on Thursday for Lome, Togo, to attend the 22nd Ordinary Session of ECOWAS Heads of State Summit.
He was accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. James Victor Gbeho, and Mr. Victor Selormey, Deputy Minister of Finance.
Other members of the delegation are Mr. Dan Abodakpi, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, a Deputy Minister of Education, and Mr. Osei Kumah, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana.
Mr. Joseph Laryea, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, told newsmen that the two-day summit is expected, for the first time in so many years, to be dominated by economic and financial issues because of the progress of peace and democratic reforms in former conflict torn member-states such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau and Niger.
The summit, which was preceded by the Council of Ministers meeting and that of the ECOWAS Foreign Ministers, will examine the report of the Executive Secretary.
It is also expected to focus on the acceleration of the integration process to create a more viable market and foster institutional capacity for co-operation in the sub-region.
Mr. Laryea said the summit will examine the financial situation of ECOWAS, including the ECOWAS Fund, non-payment of contributions and sanctions against defaulters.
It is expected to reaffirm its commitment to jointly implement the ECOWAS energy programme and encourage increased private sector involvement in the development of energy production facilities.
The summit, which begins on Thursday, will review the security situations in the sub-region with the view to consolidating the peace processes and democratic reforms in former conflict ridden countries.
Other issues to be discussed include ECOWAS moratorium on the importation, exportation and manufacture of light weapons and small arms, a political dialogue between ECOWAS and EU to widen the scope of co-operation in matters of conflict resolution.
The climax of the summit, according to the deputy minister, will be the election of a new Chairman for the ECOWAS.
President Rawlings and his entourage were seen off by Vice-President John Atta Mills, Inspector General of Police Peter Nanfuri, Chief of Defence Staff Lieutenant General Ben Akafia and some Ministers of state.
GRi
Assembly rehabilitates feeder roads
Breman Asikuma,(Central Region) 9th December 99
The Asikuma -Odoben-Brakwa District Assembly has spent 15 million cedis to rehabilitate a number of feeder roads to facilitate farmers bringing their produce to marketing centres.
Mr. Kweku Addai, the District Chief Executive, named some of the roads as Toboase-Ewusikwa, Toboase-Ohurubo, Eduman-Ohiada, Gyamera-Akwawase, Gyamera-Patukyere, Edumanu-Kofi and Ninsin-Otabilkrom.
He said the assembly also reconditioned a bridge at 13 million cedis at Ekumfi, a suburb of Asikuma.
Mr. Addai said the assembly has spent four million cedis to procure electricity poles to help complete electrification projects at Breman Womanso and Breman Amoanda.
GRi