Food for school put 89 per cent girls in school in the North
Race for
NDC chairmanship Obed Asamoah poised for victory!
Foreign
Minister to answer Prez Kuffour's 18 trips cost in Parliament
Ho District
festival beyond yam
Auditor-General
launches new initiative
The African
Development Bank (ADB), major financiers of the multi-billion cedi Kpong
Irrigation Project (KIP) has withheld further disbursement of the remaining Revolving
Fund (RF) to the Ghana Irrigation Authority (GDA) and its subsidiary company,
the KIP.
ADB took
the action after the GDA/KIP woefully failed to comply with principles guiding
he disbursement of funds released by the bank. In July, this year, Chronicle
published another story about a threat by ADB to freeze a ¢56 billion remaining
loan to Ghana for the execution of the Kpong Irrigation Project due to the
non-release of counterpart funds by the former NDC government, five years after
the multibillion project took off.
Despite
persistent warning by officials of ADB, GIDA/KIP has not put their house in
order for the Abidjan-based African financial institution to release the
remaining RF for the administration of the project.
Currently,
GDA/KIP has about ¢160 million still waiting to be had from the coffers of the
ADB for the project. Some of the conditions ADB spelt out as criteria for
replenishing the Revolving Fund include the employment of a competent
Agricultural Engineer, Environmental Management Plan and an effective Internal
Auditing System. The rest are the installation of the re-lift pump and the
rehabilitation of existing storing and drying facilities.
But
GIDA/KIP has failed to fulfill these requirements. Submissions of quarterly
progress reports to the bank has also sent not been adhered to, Chronicle
recently learnt. Chronicle investigation established that instead of employing
a competent Agricultural Engineer as prescribed by the bank in the appraisal
report, a common electrician has been employed KIP/GIDA to fill that position.
Mr Oduro
Kwadwo Gyarteng, Chief Executive of GIDA in an interview with Chronicle early
this year on the threat by the ADB to discontinue funding of the project,
blamed the government for failing to provide the counterpart fund for the
completion of the project.
In that
interview, the GIDA boss also praised the project’s consultant, Mott-McDonald,
which has Mr Tonnis Sierevogel as it leader, claiming that they had lived up to
expectation and should not be blamed for any shortcoming on the project.
His
observation runs contrary to the observation of an ADB team, which advised that
the consultancy be terminated last year.
In a draft
investigation report (dated October 29, this year) into allegations of financial
mismanagement of the project funds by the management of KIP led by the
consultant.
The report
said that: “Forty-four payment vouchers involving a total amount of
¢75,954,866.42 expended on hire of equipment, repairs and maintenance,
electricity bills, spare parts etc, were not supported by receipts nor the name
of payees indicated on them. As a result, the authenticity of the transactions
could not be vouched,” the draft report pointed out.
Following
the recalcitrant position by GIDA/KIP, an ADB team from the headquarters of the
bank in Abidjan led by Mrs M.W. Karuri, a Senior Financial Analyst, which
visited the project site in September, last year, called for the termination of
the consultancy contract with Mott-McDonald.
The team
recommended that KIP/GIDA should rather recruit local qualified people to
continue from where the consultant had reached. But with the help of the
Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Honourable Asiedu Nketiah, then Deputy
Agric Minister with direct responsibility for the project and some officials of
GIDA, the NDC government renewed the consultancy contract before they left
office.
Chronicle
has gathered that due to the mismanagement of the KIP, the nation has still not
been able to reap the full benefit of the investment. Currently, the farmers
expected to benefit from the project have been asked to pay ¢700,000 per
hectare as irrigation services charge. Something they are finding it difficult
to do.
Besides,
there is also low yield at KIP compared to that of the Dawhenya irrigation
project, where a yield per hectare is much higher. These setbacks can be
attributed to lack of proper management of the KIP, Chronicle can report.
More…/
Despite countless
denial about the diversion of materials and labour for the construction of a
private house for the live-in Ghanaian girlfriend of Mr Tonnis Sierevogel, the
leader of Mott-McDonald, consultant for the Kpong Irrigation Project (KIP),
Sierevogel is still depending on the labour force of KIP for the execution of
his girlfriend’s project.
Chronicle’s
information was further given credence when our undercover team visited the
site of the project at Kpong in the Eastern Region, Monday and met staff of KIP,
who were dispatched to the project site by Tonnis to work for him.
Before
this, unannounced visit to Kpong this past Monday, Tonnis and his girlfriend,
Veronica Ahulu and some top men at Ghana Irrigation Development Authority
(GIDA) had tried to discredit Chronicle’s publication about some questionable
deals within GIDA/KIP.
When
Chronicle got to the scene on Monday, we spotted at least five workers from KIP
who have been assigned to work on the fencewall of the building. Some of the
workers who later confided in Chronicle revealed that for the past week, Tonnis
has been using them to construct private projects. They have been hijacked from
the Ghanaian taxpayer to work for ‘Obroni’ and his ‘wife’.
Chronicle
can also report that the Eastern Regional Police Crime Officer had been alerted
about the misuse of public resources by the consultant.
Chronicle
gathered that a concerned resident who could no longer bear the continuous
abuse of office by Tonnis last Monday walked to the Kpong Police Station and
lodged a complaint. He had wanted the police to arrest the workers to serve as
a deterrent, but the police refused to act on his complaint.
About three
years ago, Tonnis purchased plots of land at Kpong to build a house for his
Ghanaian girlfriend, who is also clerk working under him at KIP.
After
purchasing the plots, the perception was that the consultant was going to dip
his hands into his huge ¢60 million salary a month for the construction of the
project.
Unknowingly,
Tonnis had a different agenda and this came to light when he started the
building project and started dragging KIP workers to work on his private
project. He gave indication that he building project was part of the African
Development Bank (ADB) loan agreement with the government.
Interestingly,
when Chronicle first published the diversion of the public labour for his
personal private work, Tonnis and his girlfriend denied using the workers for
their private project.
They rather
claimed that the workers were only sent to work on the project once and that
they paid for their service.
Chronicle’s
investigations indicate that not only did they use the labour of KIP, but
almost every material for the construction came from KIP. Chronicle further
gathered that even some of the cement and iron rod used for the project
belonged to KIP.
Interestingly,
after Chronicle’s publication about the diversion of the material in July,
Tonnis later sent a copy of one day working payment voucher to Chronicle. This
suggested that he only engaged the workers in a day’s labour.
It also
emerged after weeks of this paper’s investigations that a KIP carpenter was
assigned to make both the door and window flames for the project.
Since most of
the KIP staff who were engaged by Tonnis to work on his private project is
still alive it is up to the government or the Ministry of Agriculture to set up
an independent probe into some of these serious allegations, “we cannot closed
our eyes to allow such scandal to be swept under the carpet”, observed a
farmer.
GRi…/
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Miss Eva Boadu 20, the young woman with chronic renal failure is dead. She died on Wednesday at about 5pm at the Korle Bu teaching Hospital, Accra.
The authorities of the hospital had agreed to continue her treatment only on Wednesday after the ‘Times’ published that they had earlier refused to care for her even though the Ministry of Health (MOH) had given a guarantee to pick up the bill.
Just before she died, Eva made a last plea to her parents to “do everything possible for her to receive the dialysis or she would die. She was diagnosed of the ailment about three months ago and for the past three weeks had been on admission at the hospital without being attended to.
Her sister, Gloria, told the ‘Times’ that even though they had sent ¢3 million to the hospital for the treatment, the authorities rejected it because it was not up to the ¢8 million advance they had requested.
On Wednesday the morning, the hospital authorities told the ‘Times’ that they had decided to start the treatment, but as at the time she died, they had not started.
Speaking to the ‘Times’ in his office, Professor A.R. Neequaye, Head of the Department of Medicine said that they would immediately start dialyzing Eva and subsequently submit the bills to the Ministry.
He said that they stopped the treatment when the relatives of the young woman decided to look for money to cater for the expenses after they were told the cost involved in the treatment.
Prof. Neequaye said that Eva had been diagnosed of chronic renal failure, resulting from irreparable kidney damage. He said, she would have to have a kidney transplant or undergo the dialysis three times a week for the rest of her life. The cost of the treatment would be 100 dollars each time the dialysis was done, quite apart from having to buy a catheter at 150 dollars.
Prof. Neequaye explained that even when Eva was brought to the hospital, the situation was put before the relatives and with the initial money they had, treatment was started but after a time the money ran out.
He explained that there are two types of renal failure - the acute and chronic. In acute renal failure, the kidneys would hopefully recover function within two to six weeks of dialysis after which the treatment would be stopped. But in the chronic case, he said, if the kidney transplant was not done, then the patient would have to be on dialysis treatment for life.
Prof. Neequaye said, alternatively, the chronic case could be treated “conservatively”, that is, “treat any ailment the person may develop but not the renal failure.”
Kidney transplant, he said, was not done at the Korle Bu Hospital but in South Africa, Britain or America at a cost of about 80,000 dollars.
More…/
‘Food for school’ put 89 per cent girls in school in the
North
The World Food Programme under which girls in the Northern Savannah are given food-aid to encourage them to go to school has recorded a resounding success.
The programme has resulted in an estimated 89 per cent enrolment levels for girls in school benefiting from the programme in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions.
This was made known at as meeting the Minster of Education, Prof. Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi had with a joint UNESCO/WFP mission which visited Ghana to appraise the programme.
He said that in October 2001, the executive board of the programme recognizing the remarkable success recorded in the three Northern regions approved a second phase of the programme from 2001 to 2005.
According to the Minister, the programme has also been extended to cover junior secondary schools. It is estimated that about 29,600 girls out of which 19,733 are in primary schools and 9,867 are in junior secondary schools will benefit from the programme.
Prof. Ameyaw-Akumfi noted that the food-aid programme is “in line with the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) which gives priority to the reduction of food security and the increasing access to education especially for the girl-child”.
Ms Eva Hodell, the WFP representative in Ghana informed the Minister that the Programme has been successful in increasing enrolment and stabilizing attendance of girls in schools in the three Northern Regions.
More…/
The Principal of the Labour College, Mr David Dorkenoo, said on Wednesday that strike actions by workers and other forms of industrial unrests were major factors responsible for low productivity in the country.
“They do not only affect the finances of the enterprises and companies involved, but also the national economy as a whole,” he said. Mr Dorkenoo said this in Accra at the opening of a three-day sub-regional seminar on Labour disputes settlement mechanisms.
Twenty-two participants, representing trade unions from Nigeria, Sierra-Leone, Kenya and Mauritius, are attending. It is organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Trades Union Congress (TUC).
Participants are to find possible ways of dealing with disputes at the work places between management and employees, in an effort to avert industrial actions.
Speaking to newsmen shortly after the opening session of the seminar, Mr Dorkenoo said that the TUC was concerned about developments in the labour front.
“We need to move away from this sort of medium of making management to meet certain demands by workers.” He said that most industrial actions by workers could be attributed to misinterpretation of some clauses in the Collective Bargaining Agreements, adding that it was the duty of the union officials to be conversant with the agreement and educate their members on them.
Mr John Fallah, a Senior Specialist for Workers Activities at the ILO office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, said that the days when workers gained concessions in negotiations by “banging table,” were gone.
Mr Fallah said that in order for workers to share the benefits of the win-win game, they needed leaders with a vision, competence and integrity.
More…/
Tension has mounted at Goaso, in the Asunafo District of Brong-Ahafo Region, following threats by a group of illegal chainsaw operators to burn down the Goaso Police Station and the officers of the Forestry Department.
The threats followed the death of a member of the gang who was arrested during a special joint operation of police and Forestry officers last Tuesday.
The deceased, whose name was not immediately given was said to have collapsed and started foaming in the mouth after he was arrested with a vehicle he had loaded with sawn beams.
He was rushed to the Goaso Government Hospital but died on admission. On hearing the news, his colleagues organized themselves and converged on Goaso Police Station in buses, threatening to burn it and the officers of the Forestry Department. They alleged that the deceased was beaten to death by the police and the task force.
A reinforcement of police form Sunyani was dispatched to the town at about 7.30pm, to contain the situation. It was believed that following the threat; the vehicle, which had been impounded by the Forestry Department Goaso had been released.
According to the Brong-Ahafo Regional Crime Officer Superintendent Amadu Salifu, reports indicated that the deceased after his arrest sat in the vehicle refusing to get down.
Suddenly, the vehicle began to move and a member of the Forestry task force jumped unto it to apply the brake and he found the suspect foaming in the mouth.
Superintendent Salifu said that the suspect was then rushed was then rushed to the hospital where he died.
GRi…/
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Race for
NDC chairmanship Obed Asamoah poised for victory!
With nearly
two weeks for the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to go to
congress at the University of Ghana, Legon, an official of the campaign team of
Dr Obed Yao Asamoah has stated that they are leaving no stone unturned to
ensure total victory for him as the new National Chairman of the party.
A source
close to Dr Asamoah's camp has hinted The Crusading Guide that the former
Attorney General was doing all within his power to save the NDC by providing it
with a dynamic and creative leadership.
Mr Kwashie
Ahorsu, a member of the campaign team, revealed that the legal luminary has
decided to contest the position because of popular demand by some key members
of the party.
According
to him, they (supporters of Dr Asamoah) are working around the clock to ensure
that Dr Asamoah gets the nod during the congress in order to reshape the
activities of the party to recapture political power from the New Patriotic
Party (NPP) government, come election 2004.
He noted
that Dr Obed Asamoah stands the chance of winning the race due to his hard
work, affableness, and political experience.
Meanwhile,
Dr Obed Asamoah has confirmed in an interview with The Crusading GUIDE that he
is poised for victory, come December 28th. The staunch NDC member
added that he would continue to re-organise the party when given the mandate as
the National Chairman.
He noted
that the NDC needs to strengthen its internal democracy and that is what he
would press for when elect as a National Chairman. The former Attorney General
and Justice Minister therefore implored all party supporters to work towards
ensuring a successful congress. He urged them to remain loyal and work hard to
win more members into the party.
Dr Obed
Asamoah advised them to eschew all negative tendencies that impede the unity
and progress of the party.
More…/
A leading
member of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Ashanti has strongly
indicated that the negative status quo that culminated in the party's
unexpected crushing defeat in the 2000 presidential and parliamentary elections
at the hands of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) will no longer be
tolerated at all levels of the party.
He said,
considering the ordeal, as well as the humiliation the NDC as a legitimate
political party in the country, has been subjected to by their real and
perceived political opponents led by the NPP and its cohorts in the section of
the private newspapers, anyone who would engage in acts which are reminiscent
of those that led to its defeat in the last elections would fiercely be
resisted.
"I was
to place on records that any maneuver by any person or group of persons either
from within the NDC or from outside that will create the platform or provide
the fertile ground for our second defeat in the 2004 elections, will be
considered the number one enemy of our party, irrespective of their political
standing", he underscored.
In a rare
interview with The Crusading Guide in Kumasi recently, the NDC guru, who
requested for anonymity for obvious reason especially at the time the party is
undergoing a re-organisation process to wrestle political power again from the
NPP, stated that imposition of opinions, policies and personalities have been
identified as the major contributory factors to their defeat, and they would
not allow that to happen again.
"As a
democratic party, we are in the process of restructuring the party's democratic
structures and any attempt by anyone to resort to short-cut methods to derail
the reorganization agenda we have set for ourselves, will be resisted to the
hilt", he cautioned.
In an
apparent reference to newspaper reports that the Leader and Founder of the
Party, ex-President Jerry Rawlings had initiated a fresh move top play back his
previous way of doing things in the party, by imposing candidates, he said, he
did not believe in those stories, but quickly added that if they were proved to
be authentic, then the former President had got it all wrong.
He said NDC
is poised for power, come 2004 and as such, antic and political loose talks
would be fiercely resisted.
He
recounted what he called the "unfortunate scenario" where the junior
partners in the "Progressive Alliance", the EGLE Party and the
Democratic People's Party (DPP), were sidelined and become mere passengers in
the activities of the Alliance and said that mentally now belong to history.
"Everybody
who is interested in any position of the party will have equal chance provided
that person does not contravene the NDC constitution and that of Ghana",
he underscored.
He said
transparency and openness would continue to be their guiding principle and that
they would uphold it for ever and ever, in the interest of the party and Ghana.
The NDC
leading member said both the EGLE and the DPP would be allowed to file their
candidates to contest for various positions in the party if they chose to
remain in the Alliance and that if they are fully endorsed by consensus, no
individual, irrespective of their status, can kick against the collective will
of the majority of party members.
He finally
urged journalists, especially those who openly declared war against the NDC, to
reconsider their stance, since according to him, such positions, rather
strengthen the party.
"Following
our surprising defeat in the last year's elections we, are united ever than
before, and come 2004, all those who are blowing issues concerning the NDC out
of proportion will bow their heads in shame, since we will win the elections
hands down", he concluded.
GRi…/
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Foreign Minister
to answer Prez Kuffour's 18 trips cost in Parliament
The
President J.A. Kuffour or his representative will soon appear in parliament to
tell Ghanaians how much his foreign trips has cost the Ghanaian Tax payer. He
will be answering an urgent question from the NDC Member of Parliament for Ga
South Hon. E.A. Armah.
According
to parliamentary sources, the question has been admitted and what is left is it
to be advertised. The president will also be asked to tell Ghanaians how much
the new per diem of 250 dollars collected by entourage on his trips has
totaled.
The
question is expected to generate a lot of controversy considering the way and
manner most Ghanaians have viewed his trips.
GRi…/
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Ho
District festival beyond yam
For the
past 17 years, the people of eleven traditional areas in the Ho District have
demonstrated a consistent desire to live together.
They are
Tanyigbe, Hodzo, Lume, Shia, Dodome Awuiasu, Atikpui, Klave. Nyive, Tokokoe,
Hoe and Avee who have come together to form the Norvisi Development Union
(NORDU).
Every year
the people converge at the capital of the traditional area, to celebrate their
Yam Festival. But in actual fact, the celebration goes beyond celebrating yam.
It is actually "Brotherliness."
So on
November 24 it was at Tanyibge-Anyigbe, as many people from all walks of life
descended on the town to celebrate the festival. It was a ‘beautiful girls’
galore, because they were in number in all colours and flocked the inner arena
of the durbar ground anytime one of "Borborbor" groups from the
eleven traditional areas was called to play.
So it was
also a "Borborbor" festival with much ecstasy in addition to high
sense of friendship and social partnership.
Togbe Adiko
V, Fiaga of Tanyibge who takes over the chairmanship of NORDU by virtue of the
celebration in his traditional area said mutual understanding by all members of
the union has been the driving force for the implementation of development
projects on health, education and income generating ventures in the area.
The NORDU
festival this year bagged ¢19.3 million to fund further development projects in
the area. It was sponsored by Latex Foam.
More…/
The veteran
son-writer, guitarist, singer and leader of the erstwhile Osofo Dadzie Group,
S.K. Oppong has died.
S.K. Oppong
died last Monday, December 3, at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital where he was on
admission following a sudden illness the day before.
Preparations
for his funeral observances are currently ongoing.
More…/
Fuming rap artistes have asked the Minister of Food and agriculture Major (RTD) Courage Quashigah to shut up and concentrate on his job and leave them to do theirs.
The musicians, some of who called personally at the office of Showbiz and others who were contacted on phone, were unanimous in condemning a statement made by Major Quashigah last Monday which they consider as insulting, unfair and unbecoming of a Minister of State.
Major Quashigah was speaking at the opening ceremony of the 1st Ghana International Food and Agriculture Trade Fairs (Agrifex) 2001 at Trade Fair Centre in Accra.
Major Quashigah said: “I wonder why we are denied the opportunity to listen to (such) soul searching and moving music that would have changed the attitude of Ghanaians instead of what we are being exposed to, a whole lot of madness of disappointed musicians who decide to talk and call it rap music and you find people jumping about like grasshoppers and moving their hands like Praying Mantis and their whole attire does not show too much difference between somebody walking about in the street insane.”
Major Quashigah made this statement after a performance by some JSS students who did a popular song about the usefulness of cassava. The rap artistes were not amused at all that the Honourable Minister though their efforts at making a life for themselves was a mark of disappointment in their chosen careers.
Lord Kenya, the “Rap Heavyweight Champion” and the current Rap Artiste of the Year, found it quite unfortunate that the Minister should say such things. “Mr Quashigah has got the whole thing against rap music wrong. What is a song if it cannot entertain and at the same time educate?” he asked.
“Highlife is dynamic and the youth have found in hiplife a great source of inspiration without which they would have become liabilities to society”.
He went ahead to encourage young artistes not to give up because “persistent practice promises progress”. Asked what he expected from the Minster after this statement, Lord Kenya said, he was not going to demand an apology but was expecting the Minister to do the right thing as a father would.
Other rap artistes, Sidney Omanhene Pozo and Lazy of VIP complained to Showbiz that the Minister’s statement is demeaning and is tantamount to victimization and therefore demanded an immediate apology from the minister.
The three were in agreement over the importance of rap music citing examples as the AIDS campaign and the pointing out of moral decay in society as sme of the good things they are doing for the nation, saying that but for their careers in music they would probably be unemployed and would have fallen prey to all forms of social vices.
They spoke passionately about the injustice of what the Minister said and said that although their performance costume may not be traditional they are appropriate for their kind of music and thought it disappointing that Major Quashigah should compare them to insane persons on the street.
Major Quashigah’s statement comes at a time when hiplife music and its rap cousin has become largely accepted in Ghanaian society and is the in-thing especially among the youth.
Interestingly, Major Quashigah’s interest in music and dance have been well acknowledged. A Showbiz report of February 8 this year referred to that fact when Major Quashigah appeared before the Appointment Committee of Parliament for vetting as the government’s Minister-designate for Agriculture.
Showbiz wrote at the time that: “The military ranger that he is known to be, he was taking all the difficult questions in his stride. The one question that threatened to floor him was a soft one: “Major Quashigah, your CV here says your hobby is dancing. What dance do you do?”
The ex-Major must have shifted a little in his seat but the answer came off him naturally. “I dance everything”. He explained that he has the flair for many types of dances ranging form ballroom to highlife with the traditional agbadza ranking highly.
He later told Showbiz that his interest in dancing is a result of the traditional environment he grew up in where drumming and dancing are very common. He said he really enjoyed his peer group during their dancing exercises.”
NB: Major Courage Quashigah had rendered an apology by letter to the young musicians who may have been upset by his statement. He said, “Naturally, I am touched by their feeling of disappointment and wish to apologise to all of them for hurting their sensibilities. My comment was not out of malice because I am also a musician with some compositions to my credit and this is common knowledge,” he wrote according to Showbiz.
GRi…/
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Auditor-General
launches new initiative
The acting
Auditor-General, Mr Edward Dua-Agyeman, has announced new initiatives to clear
the bottlenecks hindering the timely release of the Auditor-General's Annual
Report to Parliament.
He said
apart from directing all government ministries, agencies, departments and
subvented organisations to submit their accounts on time, the Audit Service has
engaged about 50 private firms to audit the accounts of some of the public
institutions on its behalf.
Mr
Dua-Agyeman disclosed this in an interview in Accra to throw more light on the
late submission of the report to Parliament. In recent times, there have been
delays in the submission of the annual Auditor-General's report of 1997, 1998
and 1999.
Mr
Dua-Agyeman explained that it is not a deliberate policy of his outfit to delay
reports on public accounts. He expressed optimism that next year the delays
will not resurface.
According to
him, valid information from the public institutions regarding their accounts or
financial statements is not submitted to the Audit Service on time, some of the
institutions do not have qualified accountants and personnel to compile the
accounts for early submission to the service and others too do not do it at
all.
The
Auditor-General hinted that the private firms engages to carry out the auditing
will also assist institutions that are unable to work on their accounts to
hasten the process.
Describing the
new approach as "Fast Track", Mr Duah-Agyeman expressed regret that
the delays have become a permanent feature.
"We do
not want to audit old accounts. They are not useful and do not present the
valid information to assist in auditing," he said.
He said old
reports do not take the government to plan or take effective policies or action
on national issues. He said the service will do its best to be current in order
to facilitate proper planning.
More…/
The
Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has said
that juvenile courts will soon be established throughout the country to dispose
of criminal cases concerning children.
This, he
said, forms part of the government's legislative reforms, and part of a
five-year programme for which he ministry is in the local and international
resources.
Nana
Akufo-Addo announced this when a delegation from the Ghana NGO Coalition on the
Rights of the Child (GNRC) presented a paper on the need for the enactment of
the Juvenile Justice Bill and the appalling situation confronting children in
adult prisons to him at his office on Wednesday.
He said the
government is committed to human rights and would, therefore, ensure that the
rights of citizens are not abused or trampled upon by individuals or
organisations.
Nana
Akufo-Addo appealed to Ghanaians to pay their taxes regularly to enable
government institutions to provide services.
He
commended the GNRC for its advocacy programmes and expressed the hope that it
would continue to complement government efforts in fight for the right of the
child, women and the underprivileged in the society.
Nana
Akufo-Addo pledged his ministry's support for any organisation that is
committed to the rights of the child and all individuals.
Professor
Annorbah Sarpei, Executive Director of the Centre for Community Studies should
act together and establish a fast track court or designate special courts to
deal with perpetrators of child abuse. He said that it is time pictures of perpetrators
were published in the media to deter others.
The
Executive Director, Parent and Child Foundation, Mrs Elizabeth Danquah,
suggested that laws dealing with the separation of juveniles from adult cells
and prisons should be strictly enforced.
She called
on the Attorney General's Department to sensitise judges to call for medical
boards to ascertain the right ages of juveniles who come into conflict with the
law.
The
delegation unanimously expressed its disappointed at the alleged utterance of a
judge, who was quoted in an Accra daily for saying the sentence prescribed for
people convicted of child defilement and rape is too harsh.
GRi…/
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