GRi in Parliament 12 - 12 - 2001
Parliament applauds Kofi Annan
Plant genetic resources being protected - Minister
Town and Country Planning being powered for efficiency
Accra (Greater Accra) 12 December 2001 - Parliament on Tuesday applauded Mr Kofi Annan, Ghanaian born United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, for jointly winning the Noble Peace Prize with the UN.
Papa Owusu-Ankomah, the Majority Leader said in recognition of the achievement the government was considering naming the Accra International Conference Centre after Mr Kofi Annan.
He said little could Ghanaians think that Mr Kofi Annan in discharge of his duties and the fight for international peace could rise to the occasion to receive the highest international award.
Papa Owusu-Ankomah was contributing to a statement Mr Kofi Poku-Adusei made in the House on the UN Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan for winning the Noble Peace Award.
The award winning ceremony took place in Oslo, Norway on Monday December 10. Mr Poku-Adusei, NPP-Bekwai, told the House, "we need to appreciate Kofi Annan, and we need to appreciate the image his name has created for this country in particular and Africa as a whole".
He said: "It is in order that our President, Mr John Agyekum Kufuor was in Oslo, Norway to give this illustrious son of Ghana and Africa the maximum moral support".
Mr Poku-Adusei said the winning of the award was dramatic, as Mr Kofi Annan "has tried to manage the world at the time that the so-called global village was chaotic and gloomy".
He said Mr Annan had worked as a successful Secretary General of the UN, which alone was an enviable achievement, and more so he had devoted and still devotes his entire life to the organisation for the promotion of world peace.
"We must not only simply congratulate Kofi Annan, but we must, as a nation applaud him for adding Ghana's name to the illustrious winners of the renowned award."
Mr Alex Korankye, NPP-Asante Akim South, said a befitting monument should be erected in honour of Mr Annan depicting him as a role model for Africa. Mr M. A. Seidu, NDC-Wa Central, said a public holiday should be instituted in the name of Mr Annan during which the youth would through poems, lectures, drama and other activities immortalise this "Great Son of Africa".
GRi../
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Accra (Greater Accra) 12 December 2001 - Professor Dominic Kwaku Fobih, Minister of Environment and Science on Tuesday said a National Bio-safety Committee (NBC) had been established to see to the safe handling of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) that enter the country.
"One of the measures taken to conserve the nation's genetic resources is the protection of the nation's resources from the effects of GMOs while steps are also being taken to provide proper legal framework for their use".
Prof Fobih was answering a question, which stood in the name of Mr Yaw Effah-Baafi NDC-Kintampo. He wanted to know what steps the Ministry of Environment and Science was taking to ensure that adequate plant genetic resources were conserved in the country.
He said the NBC had prepared draft guidelines for biotechnology and genetic engineering to protect the country from any negative impact of biotechnology adding that stakeholders were having consultations for adoption of the guidelines.
Prof Fobih said the ministry would soon resume negotiations with the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute for Ghana's participation in a project on "Community-based management of plant genetic resources in arid and semi arid areas of sub-environmental facility".
The project would benefit other African countries like Benin, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Uganda and Zimbabwe, he said.
The Minister said when the project successfully took off plants endemic in the Guinea Savannah of the country would be preserved.
Prof Fobih said the ministry would submit to Cabinet a memorandum for the ratification of the Cartagena Protocol on Bio-safety which when signed would enable the country to benefit from various activities that help to conserve plant genetic resources.
He said the protocol was an environmental agreement meant to protect and conserve biological diversity.
GRi../
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Accra (Greater Accra) 12 December 2001 - Professor Dominic Kwaku Fobih, Minister of Environment and Science on Tuesday told Parliament that the ministry has developed methods of strengthening the Town and Country Planning Department to effectively and efficiently handle human settlements.
He was answering Dr Alfred Sugri Tia, NDC-Nalerigu, who wanted to know the plans the ministry had to expand and equip the department in all district to ensure that physical planning did not take place haphazardly.
Prof Fobih said some of the methods included the formulation of a National Human Settlement Policy, a review of the Town and Country Planning Ordinance of 1945 (Cap 84) and a study and compilation of Town Planning Standards at the district level.
The rest were the Development of Base Maps for Human Settlements Planning, and the development of Greenbelts, Landscaping of open spaces, nature and conservation areas.
"The ministry recognises the need to have more up-to-date legal instruments and the requisite human resource capacity to ensure proper physical planning."
He said plans were underway to strengthen the human resource capacity of the department and to make it fully operational and effective.
Prof Fobih told Mrs Cecilia Gyan Amoah, NPP-Asutifi, that the ministry has developed a memorandum, which was to be submitted to Parliament for approval to adopt the District Environmental Management Commitees (DEMCs) into the mainstream of the administration of the district assemblies.
GRi../
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