Armed robbers rob ADB of 70 Million Cedis.

Adabre defends government' privatisation policy

Ghana far from ensuring women's rights - Short

Regional Ministers issue communiqué on plight of farmers

Stakeholders' consultation workshop opens at Sunyani

Tema (Greater Accra) 11 Dec. '99

Six armed robbers today attacked the Mankoadze roundabout branch of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) at Tema and made away with 70 million cedis.

Four of the armed robbers arrived in a Toyota Land cruiser without a registration number and together with two others waiting around the bank's premises, attacked the bank's bullion van as soon as it parked in front of the bank.

Eyewitnesses said the robbers who were armed with two AK 47 riffles seized a metal trunk containing the amount and immediately started firing shots.

The robbers shouted at shopkeepers around not to get near them. They also fired shots to cut the bank's telephone cables.

The eyewitnesses said the robbers were dressed in mufti and spoke English with a foreign accent. The crime took place at exactly 0830 a.m. Shop owners said they phoned 999 but nobody answered the call.

Mr Joe Danquah, Tema Regional Police Commander in an interview with Journalists said the robbery was carried out in a typical James Bond Fashion.

He said the police suspects an "inside job" looking at the way the crime was executed and "we are definitely going to question some of the bank staff."

Mr Danquah said it has been the daily practice of the bank to collect money every morning from the ADB's main branch at the Tema Fishing Harbour and return what is left at the close of work.

On why there was no policeman accompanying the bullion van, Mr Danquah said policemen on "specific duties" are provided at the request of the banks but the ADB has not made such a request.

Shopkeepers confirmed that it has been the usual practice of the bank to take money in and out without police protection.

The Area Manager of the Bank who refused to give his name to the press refused to comment on this issue saying he can only confirm that there has been a robbery which is being investigated by the police.

On the absence of the policeman on guard duties at the bank at the time of the incident, the Regional Commander said the police are going to investigate why he was not there.

He said the police have already started investigations "which are showing positive results."

Last Tuesday, three armed robbers attacked a shop at community 18 and stole provisions and one million cedis bringing to three the number of armed robberies committed in the Tema Township this week.

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Tanoso (Brong Ahafo) 11 Dec '99

The sudden turn-around of fortunes of many public industries, now in private hands, has justified the government's privatisation policy.

The government would therefore give the necessary support and encouragement to private concerns to enhance their contribution to the growth of the country's economy, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr. Donald Adabre said this when addressed management and workers of Tano Clay Concrete Products at Tanoso, near Sunyani, when Regional Ministers attending a conference in Sunyani toured a number of industries in the Sunyani, Berekum and Asunafo districts.

The company, formerly known as the Tanoso brick and tile Company, owned by the defunct Brong Ahafo regional Development Corporation, was divested about three years ago.

The minister said: "after changing hands, these industries which were almost dead have come back to life and are contributing to the national economy."

Mr Charles Appiah Boateng, the Managing Director, said three years after taking over, the company has increased its labour force from 11 to 60, producing 10,000 high quality bricks and tiles daily.

He said expansion programmes would soon be initiated to offer more employment to the youth in the area as well as to meet the demand for its products.

At Asuo Bomosadu Timber and Sawmill at Berekum, the managing director, Mr. Ernest Apraku told the ministers that the company currently employs 950 workers and exports most of its products.

At Scanstyle Mim Limited, manufacturers and exporters of knocked-down furniture, Mr. Kwamena Ahwoi, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development told the workers that the government appreciates their contributions to sustain the country's economy.

He said with the decentralisation policy, workers have a say, in all issues that affect them and they should therefore seize the opportunity to better their lot.

Mr. Sam Addo-Nortey, management representative, appealed to the government to help keep the company in business by allocating it more concessions.

The ministers also visited the Mim Timbers, now on divestiture, and Oti Yeboah Timber and Plywood Company near Sunyani.

The ministers paid a courtesy call on members of the Mim Traditional Council during which Mr. Adabre advised the people to protect the environment from destruction.

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Accra (Greater Accra) 11 Dec. '99

Ghana has a long distance to cover in ensuring women's full participation in all facets of national endeavour, Mr Francis Emile Short, Commissioner for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) said on Friday.

He said: "combating deep-seated patriarchal stereotypes of appropriate gender roles for women and men in Ghana remains a critical challenge."

Mr Short was giving an overview of the commission's activities since its inception in 1993 at a press conference to commemorate this year's World Human Rights Day in Accra.

He said the commission was horrified and dismayed by the gruesome murders of women in Ghana over the past months.

" We wish to re-echo our view that this novel and horrific development in the crime scene in Ghana represents a high point in the increasing rate of violence against women in this country."

He said the unpredictable murders put in jeopardy the fundamental rights of women to life, liberty and security of the person, adding the police have up to date not been able to solve any of these gruesome murders.

Mr Short however said the police alone cannot solve these murders without the assistance and co-operation of the general public.

He said the commission would very soon convene a national conference on crime and crime prevention with a special focus on domestic violence against women, child sexual and physical abuse and sexual assault to bring these activities to the barest minimum.

Mr Short commended the government for pursuing a vigorous policy of ensuring greater gender equality in the Ghanaian society.

Mr Short said one of the key inspirations for the independence struggles in Ghana, which lead to the attainment of political independence in March 1957, was the fundamental conviction of the justness of the right to self determination and national sovereignty.

Notwithstanding this primary belief in human rights, Ghana's political history since independence has been marred with repressive laws promulgated under a variety of civilian and military regimes.

This, he said, had served to put a chill on civil and political rights in "our country for a long time".

Mr Short said with the return of the country to constitutional democracy under the Fourth Republican Constitution, where the protection of the basic rights and freedoms of the people were enshrined, significant gains in the human rights field have been achieved.

He said several independent democratic institutions such as CHRAJ, National Commission on Children, National Council of Women and Development and the Electoral Commission has been established to ensure the enforcement of these rights.

On the enhancement of free speech, the Commissioner expressed regret that there continue to be in existence criminal libel and sedition laws despite the increase in radio stations and publishing companies.

Mr Short said such laws must quickly be repealed as they represent a chill on the freedom of expression.

He also called on Parliament to rectify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

''Parliament also needs to consider ratification of the more recent Convention on the establishment of the International Criminal Court''.

Mr Short said to fight for the growth and consolidation of the democratic order, it requires that ''we demonstrate statesmanship in our political discourse, avoid political extremism, show greater political, ethnic and religious tolerance and also learn to appreciate the strengths and virtues of those who differ from us.

''It will also require that Ghanaians find a way of healing the wounds of the past even as we chart a new course of harmony in the next millennium''.

Thirteen students from Primary, Junior and Senior Secondary Schools were given certificates and cash prizes for winning a competition organised by the CHRAJ and United Nations Information Centre on the theme ''The Need to Respect the Rights of Other Persons''.

The first prize winners received a cheque for 150,000 cedis each, second prize winners, 100,000 cedis each and 50,000 cedis each for those in the third position.

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Sunyani (Brong Ahafo), 11^th December b99

Regional Ministers on Friday called on the Ministries of Finance and Food and Agriculture to take immediate steps to alleviate the plight of farmers to forestall their exploitation by private buying companies.

This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of their four-day conference at Sunyani and read by the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr. Donald Adabre.

The Ministers said the good intentions of the government in maintaining the producer price of cocoa, in spite of dwindling world market price, is being undermined by some private licensed buying companies.

These companies have taken advantage of the continuous delay in the payment of farmers through the banks since the opening of this year's cocoa season, to offer ridiculously low prices for the produce.

The communiqué commended the initiative to revamp the agricultural sector and called for the introduction of new tools, gadgets and technology to modernise agriculture.

An efficient marketing system should be evolved to sustain the interest of farmers in the industry.

The Ministers noted that the present high unemployment situation continues to be a headache and pledged their support for the measures being taken to solve the problem and to ensure industrial harmony.

The Regional Ministers stressed the need for the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare and other partners to address all problems associated with the implementation of the Ghana Universal Salary Structure, (GUSS), otherwise known as the Price Waterhouse Report.

They pledged to lend their support to views expressed at the national educational forum, particularly the establishment of the educational trust fund, and public and private sector partnership in funding and provision of facilities.

The Ministers also called for the optimum use of budgetary allocations to the education sector to reduce waste and sustain gains under the education reforms programme.

The communiqué said the policy to promote the patronage of made-in-Ghana goods is laudable; however, the present mode of payment for these goods, purchased by ministries, departments and agencies should be revised to ensure prompt payment.

The government's programme to boost private sector participation in housing delivery is satisfactory, the communiqué said, but called for the enactment of a code of practice and regulations for the estate development industry.

The Ministers urged the Ministry of Works and Housing to act on its policy to sell junior staff quarters and bungalows to sitting tenants and transfer the remaining ones to the various district assemblies.

The next Regional Ministers' Conference is scheduled to take place at Koforidua, the Eastern Regional capital in April or May 2000.

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Sunyani (Brong Ahafo), 11^th December 99

A four-day stakeholders' consultation workshop on fiscal decentralisation as part of the Public Financial Management Reform Programme (PUFMARP) began at Sunyani on Friday.

It is aimed at discussing the Fiscal Decentralisation Project Team's findings from the assessment and diagnostic phase, to provide a foundation for the design stage.

About 70-selected District Chief Executives, District Co-ordinating Directors, District Finance Officers and District Planning Officers are attending.

Opening it, Mr. Donald Adabre, Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, called on the participants to provide a better programme for a Ghanaian brand of fiscal decentralisation to meet the expectations of the people.

He stated that fiscal decentralisation, which is being undertaken by the government, is a complex political, legal, administrative and financial process that require commitment at all levels.

He, called on all stakeholders to discharge their responsibilities under the decentralisation arrangement to support the building of a more resilient form of democratic governance in the country.

Mr. Adabre said that government has sunk more funds, including donor assistance, to support the decentralisation process, which is looked upon as an outstanding achievement of the government and should not be toyed with.

The Project Manager of PUFMARP, Mr. Joseph Adda, said that the financial management system of the country has been computerised to ensure easy access to information.

He said district financial officers would be trained to use computers to enhance their efficiency in the controlling of finance at the district level.

Mr Adda appealed to all stakeholders to assist the Ministry of Finance to prudently manage the economy to ensure a better living standard for the people.

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