Oldest reigning chief marks 70th
anniversary
President calls on churches to expand roles
Democracy is gaining roots in NDC - Mahama
Hawa calls for Northern unity
Ex-AMA boss loses Round One
Govt to target investors
Two burnt to death in accident
The Catholic Archbishop of Cape Coast, the most
Rev Peter Appiah Turkson, has stressed the need for Members of Parliament to
live godly lives and respect the rights of the electorate who voted them into
power.
He pointed out that the use of harsh language
and absenteeism among the members of the House were “ungodly and not in the
best interest of the people who voted them into power.
“The MPs must know that they are not in the
House by themselves and, therefore, must respect the rights of the people who
voted them into power. He said that, “Godliness among the MPs was also the
pathway to true peace, justice, tolerance and economic stability of the
country.”
Archbishop Turkson was speaking in an exclusive
interview shortly after presiding over a Christmas Day Mass celebration at the
St. Francis Cathedral in Cape Coast on Tuesday. He said that the MPs had a
mandate but must have the sense of duty to promote the welfare of the people,
instead of engaging in utterances and other activities, which retarded
progress.
The Archbishop, therefore, called for a united
force among the members of the House to promote policies aimed at improving the
welfare of the people and enhancing the economic growth of the country in the
coming years.
Earlier in a sermon, Archibishop Turkson
pointed out that Christmas was not just the celebration of the birth of Christ.
He explained that the celebration of Christmas affirmed that Christ became man
and dwelt among the flesh. He said that it was only through Christ that man was
redeemed from his sins and made to inherit the Kingdom of God.
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Due to the lack of classrooms, about 40 pupils
of classes One to Six of the Dinkrah Local Authority Primary School in the
Nkoranza District of the Brong Ahafo Region, have been put together and are
being taught in the same classroom housed in a local church.
Moreover, the only two teachers of the school
also sleep in one small room because of lack of accommodation.
The national executive members of the Brong
Ahafo Students Union (BASU) disclosed these to the Times after the union’s
Central Executive Committee meeting held at the University of Ghana in Accra.
Mr Francis Obiri, National Secretary of the
BASU, said that the Kinkrah L/A Primary school building collapsed some time ago
and a new one had not yet been built. He said that schools in other farming
communities in the district such as Kyeredeso, Nsuenso, Abountem and Meta were
in similarly poor conditions.
Mr Obiri said that when BASU members recently
embarked on an educational tour of the Nkoranza District they saw pupils at
Abountem lying prostrate while writing. Others also sat on stones under trees,
their books on their laps, taking notes.
He appealed to the Ghana Education Service
(GES), Ministry of Education and non-governmental organizations to help those
deprived schools. BASU also appealed to the Ministry of Education to
re-establish the Teacher Training College at Nkoranza, which was closed down
some years ago.
The Union had congratulated the chiefs and
people of Fiapre, near Sunyani, as well as the Catholic Church for the amicable
settlement of the disagreement over the establishment of the proposed Catholic
University at Fiapre.
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The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the
National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Saturday sent a delegation to visit Mr Victor
Selormey, former Deputy Minister of Finance, at the Nsawam Prisons.
Members of the delegation, which was led by the
General Assembly, Huudu Yahaya, included Mr Ekwow Spiol-Garbrah, Mr E.T.
Mensah, Nii Adjei_Boye Sekan, Mr Bede Ziedeng, Mr Kofi Attor and Mr Victor
Smith also visited Mallam Yussif Issa, the former Minister of Youth and Sports.
A press release issued in Accra on Wednesday,
said that both Selormey and Mallam Issa were quite health.
The visit afforded the delegation the
opportunity to present rice, cooking oil, fruits and bread valued at over
¢600,000 to the inmates of the prison for their Christmas enjoyment. The
statement also wished Ghanaians and NDC members in particular, a Merry
Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.
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Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin, Okyehene, on
Monday reiterated the call to the society to be caring and loving to deprived
children and the visually impaired to unearth their capabilities in
contributing towards the building of the nation.
“Some of us have the ability to think and work
and if we fail our children and the visually impaired there will be no
country.” Osagyefo Ofori Panin was launching an appeal to raise ¢20 million
“Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh” musical show organized by the International
Central Gospel Church (ICGC) in Accra to support the Society of the Blind and
the Central Aid Educational Scholarship for needy students.
Part of the money realized will go into the ¢1
billion-cedi fund for the blind set up by the Okyehene while another part will
be used to set up an agricultural training centre, a computer training centre
and a Braille library for the blind.
The Okyehene said: “We the physically strong
have the ability to do things for ourselves and we have the responsibility to
care for the blind who have not volunteered to be blind. You are either born
with it or a disease turns you into a blind person.
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A 20-year old man Taa Adjei, who wanted to
celebrate the Christmas in grand style and decided to steal some fowls for sale
was on December 20 slashed by unknown residents of Teshie.
Taa Adjei, who is popularly known at Teshie
Aboma where he resides as “Darko Farms” for his involvement in several fowl
stealing cases, is currently on admission at the Police Hospital. He is also
under police guard following a tip-off that he is a suspected armed robber.
A close family source who disclosed this to the
Times said that on December 20, at about 6 am, they were informed that Adjei
had been slashed and was in a pool of blood near the Calvary International
School, a private school at Teshie.
The source said that two family members were
sent to bring Adjei home after which a report was made at the Teshie Police
Station. The police officer in charge was told that they woke up from bed only
to see Adjei dumped behind the house.
According to the source, the police issued a
medical form for Adjei to be sent to the hospital. The source said that at the
hospital the family told the doctor that, Adjei went to his girlfriend and met
his rival who organized some boys to beat him (Adjei) up.
A source at the Teshie Police station told the
Times that Adjei’s mother had confirmed that her son was a fowl thief and that
she told a lie to enable them issue a medical form to enable him to receive
medical attention.
The source said the police have mounted a
search for suspected accomplices and called on resident with any information to
report to the police.
At the Police Hospital, the Times saw Adjei in
a critical condition and under a 24-hour police guard.
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Oldest reigning chief marks 70th
anniversary
A grand durbar of the chiefs and people of the
Builsa Traditional area in the Upper East Region, attended by hundreds of
tourists, has been held at Sandema to climax their annual “Feok” Festival.
This year’s festival also marked the 70th
anniversary of the enskinment of Nab-Ayieta Azantilow as Paramount Chief of the
area in 1931. He is believed to be a centenarian, and the oldest reigning chief
in the country.
The “Feok” Festival, like others, affords the
people the opportunity to give thanks to their ancestors for bounty harvest,
reunite with families and friends, access their developmental achievements as
well as set goals for the coming year.
Mr Mahami Salifu, Upper East Regional Minister,
who represented President Kufuor as special guest of honour, described the
“Feok” Festival this year as unique not only for Builsa but the entire nation.
This was because 70 years of a committed and
dynamic leadership reign of the King of Builsas has one important lesson that
Ghanaians must learn. To the Minister, Sandem-Nab’s long reign indicates that
stability and peaceful atmosphere are the ingredients for sustained development
and prosperity of a people.
In paying a glowing tribute to Nab-Ayieta
Azantilow, Mr Salifu noted that sustained peace prevailing in the Builsa
Traditional Area was an envious mark of his leadership qualities and the
preparedness of his people to strive together to develop the area.
Nab-Ayieta Azantilow, in his welcoming address,
pointed out that the Builsa abounds in both human and material resources like
most parts of the North but lacked quality education to exploit them to their
advantage.
He expressed his gratitude to the NPP
government under President Kufuor for its efforts to review the current
structure and content of education in the country to make it relevant to “our
needs as a people.”
The Bolga-Naba, Chief Martin Adongo Abilba III
and Paramount Chief of the Frafra Traditional Area who presided called on
chiefs in the country to emulate the Sandem-Nab’s exemplary leadership
qualities, which had kept him on the throne for 70 years.
Hundreds of war dancers from all over the
district thrilled the public with their war tactics that led to the conquest of
Samouri and Babatu, slave raiders in the 19th century.
GRi…/
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President calls on churches to expand roles
The President, Mr John Kufuor, has called on
churches to expand their roles beyond their traditional preoccupation of
spiritual uplift to include the social and economic development of the
individual and the society at large.
"Our churches need to focus on the total
well-being and development of the individual in society so as to achieve their
requisite equilibrium and harmony in society," he stated.
This was contained in a speech read on his
behalf by the Volta Regional Minister, Mr Kwasi Owusu-Yeboah, at a thanksgiving
service to round-off the centenary celebrations of the Immaculate Conception
Parish at Kpando last Saturday.
President Kufuor said the government recognises
the efforts of Christian churches at raising the socio-economic status of
citizens and pledged that the government will continue to provide an enabling
environment to sustain their efforts.
He deplored the negative trends emerging in
some churches, where Christian leaders have been indulging in false teachings
and other activities which tend to portray a situation of not only deceiving
the people but also of the commercialization of the Holy Scriptures and the
Ministry of Christ.
The President also referred to the unhealthy
rivalry among some churches, which manifests in aggressive advertisement in
both the print and electronic media and which undoubtedly, paints a sorry
picture of disrespect and total disregard for human values in preference for
values of the marketplace.
He, therefore, advised Christian leaders to
provide a style of leadership which will not only unite the entire Christian
family but also make them God-fearing in order to provide the necessary tonic
for addressing the problems of society.
President Kufuor reiterated the policy of
government to share the national cake equitably across the country,
irrespective of voting patterns in the last elections but according to the
established needs of the people.
He announced a facelift project for the Kpando
township which includes the construction of a new lorry park and major streets,
adding that a telecommunications project in the town is expected to be
commissioned by March, next year.
More than ¢40 million was realized at a
fund-raising harvest at a durbar held earlier on Saturday to climax the
celebration.
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Democracy is gaining roots in NDC - Mahama
The Member of Parliament for Bole, Honourable
John Mahama, has described the current struggle for positions in the NDC as a
process of entrenching democracy in the party.
He said, "the NDC is not breaking up, but
only going through the process of democracy to elect credible and capable
leaders to steer the affairs of this great party to win back power in
2004."
Mr Mahama was addressing the newly elected
Northern Regional executive and members of the NDC at the party's regional
congress in Tamale at the weekend.
He said politics is about good leadership and
how to help improve the lives of the people, adding that let us quarrel among
ourselves, let's argue but in the long run let’s vote for those we think and
believe can do the job of making us win the next elections".
The MP described the NDC's stay in the opposition
as only temporary and promised that the party will be back to power to continue
with its development projects.
He said the NDC parliamentary caucus would
continue to live up to its task of ensuring a better life for all Ghanaians, as
is being manifest in their performance during proceedings in Parliament.
"We will continue to match members of the
ruling government boot for boot in Parliament. We are going to use their
campaign promises in the last elections to "fight" them," Mr
Mahama gave the assurance.
He congratulated the Northern Regional
executive, delegates and supporters of the party for the peaceful and mature
manner in which they conducted themselves during the elections.
The MP expressed the hope that the democratic
way in which the executive officers were elected to office would instill
confidence in them to give their best, notwithstanding the little resources
available to them.
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Hawa calls for Northern unity
Madam Hawa Yakubu has issued an urgent appeal
to people from the 'Northern part of the country to bury their differences and
forge a united front in the bid to promote the socio-economic development of
the area.
She pointed out that not only were the people
of the Northern regions one people but also that they were bound by common
problems and the same destiny and therefore logically bound to live and work
together to improve their lot.
Madam Hawa made the appeal in an address to
members of the Tomtom Keep Fit Club at the annual get-together of the members
in Accra on Sunday. The Tomtom club is constituted of members from the three
Northern Regions of the country.
According to Madam Hawa, the marginalisation of
the North dating as far back as the colonial period has contributed to the
underdevelopment and the creation and entrenchment of poverty in the area.
She bemoaned the lack of industrial enterprises
in the North to offer employment and stable incomes for the people and said
this was the reason for the drift of the youth, especially young girls, from
the North to the South for menial jobs.
The tourism minister called on educated and
relatively well endowed people from the North to take active interest in these
developmental issues which adversely impact on the development of the area and
on the lives of the people and work actively together to reverse the negative
trend.
Madam Hawa commended President J.A. Kufuor for
leading the support of his government for Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas to be elected
as the Executive Secretary of ECOWAS and said that this has gone to strengthen
not only the Northern front but also the all inclusive doctrine of the Kufuor
government and Ghana as a whole.
She also lauded the founders of the club for
the vision in initiating the club not only as an instrument of recreation, but
also as a forum for the discussion and implementation of issues and measures in
the larger interest of the people of the area and pledged to contribute her
quota to its success.
Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, Deputy Minister of
Foreign Affairs, observed that whilst differences were central to all
groupings, the problems and challenges confronting the people of the North were
such that only a united front of the people themselves could overcome them.
He pointed out that it was from such a
standpoint that the relevance of the groups such as the Tomtom club was brought
to the fore.
Alhaji Mustapha Ali called the Northern leaders
and educated men and women and other centrer in the area to show more interests
in such unification efforts as was being mooted by the Tomtom club and pledged
to lend his support to help the club move to achieve its objectives and move
the North forward.
Other speakers lauded the club and call for
greater efforts to promote unity in the ranks of Northern people.
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Ex-AMA boss loses Round One
The Fast Track High Court has ordered the
former Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Samuel
Addokwei Addo, to remain party to a suit filed by Alhaji Yusif Ibrahim and two
others claiming damages for the demolition of a hotel at the Airport
Residential Area.
This followed the dismissal of an application
by Addo praying the court, presided over by Mrs Justice Agnes Dordzie, an
Appeal Court Judge, sitting as an additional High Court Judge, that his name be
struck out of the suit brought against him and the AMA.
The court, in its ruling, said by the
plaintiffs statement of claim, the applicant acted in bad faith, adding that,
it is necessary that he remains a party to the suit for the issue as to whether
he acted in bad faith or not to be determined.
Alhaji Yusif Ibrahim, owner of the Pier Hotel,
near the Kotoka International Airport, which was demolished by the AMA two
years ago, has sued Mr Addo and the AMA for damages.
Mr Addo, in his application, said all acts or
omissions by him relating to the demolition were done in his official capacity
as Chief Executive of the AMA and as such, he is not liable.
According to him, he has been wrongly joined in
the suit because Section 18 of the National Development Planning (Systems) Act
1994, Act 480 grants him immunity and urged the court to strike out his name
from the action.
The
plaintiff opposed the application and argued that Mr Addo did not act in good
faith and that Act 480 cannot help the applicant.
In its ruling, the court, presided over by Mrs
Justice Dordzie, stated that from the wording of Act 480, officials performing
their official duties are only protected, if they act in good faith.
Mr Kwaku Baah, and Accra legal practitioner
represented Mr Addo while Mr Acquah Sampson represented Alhaji Ibrahim.
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Govt to target investors
The Vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, has
said that the government's private sector investment drive will target
investors who are willing to commit long-term capital investment into the
economy.
He said the government will particularly seek investors
who are interested in venturing into the manufacturing sector to add value to
the country's natural resources.
Alhaji Mahama was speaking at the graduation
ceremony of the first Cadet Corps of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) at
Assin Fosu. Thirty-two cadet officers, made up of 24 males and eight females
passed out. He also used the occasion to commission the Immigration Academy.
Alhaji Mahama said value addition is expected
to create employment and relieve the people of the burden of poverty.
He said government is also committed to
expanding the country's economic frontiers through the opening of new channels
of co-operation within the framework of the African Union under the new foreign
policy orientation of economic diplomacy.
He re-affirmed government's commitment to
efforts at forging integrated and harmonized sub-regional economies for mutual
benefit and advised the Immigration Service to play its role more effectively
to achieve this goal.
He noted, "As the first line of contact at
our frontiers and having the duty of regularizing the stay and activities of
foreigners, we expect nothing short of total dedication, commitment and loyalty
from you."
Alhaji Mahama also asked immigration officers
to be circumspect in their duties in order not to create any wrong impression
about the country and, more importantly, scare away potential investors,
businessmen and tourists.
He gave the assurance that every effort is
being made by government, within the constraints of available resources, to
provide the facilities and equipment needed by the service for effective work.
The Vice-President noted that under the Ghana
Trade and Gateway Project, the World Bank is assisting the government in a
programme to strengthen the operational capacity of the GIS through
institutional building, behavioural change and physical equipment while efforts
are also made to step up recruitment into the service.
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Two burnt to death in accident
Two persons were burnt to death while 13 others
sustained various degrees of injury at a spot near Teacher Mante on the
Suhum-Nsawam Road last Saturday, when two vehicles on which they were traveling
collided.
The bodies of the dead, which were burnt beyond
recognition, have been deposited at the Police Hospital in Accra. They are yet
to be identified.
The injured were identified as Priscilla
Oppong, 19; Theresa Frimpong, 39; Helena Asiedua, 25 and George Asante, 31.
Others are Joseph Boadi, 60; Musa Adamu, 35; Samuel Adu-Ansah, 45; Kofi Appiah,
52; Atua Ishmael, 16 and Robert Fugi, 26, one of the drivers. They are all on
admission at the Suhum Government Hospital.
The rest, Janet Yeboah, 46, and Janet Darko,
29, were treated and discharged at the Nsawam Government Hospital while Comfort
Opoku was referred to the Koforidua Central Hospital.
According to DSP James Bruce, the Nsawam
District Police Commander, the driver of a Toyota Hiace, registration number GR
6112 L, which was traveling from Suhum to Accra, lost control of his vehicle
when it burst its front left tyre and collided with a Ford bus with
registration number GT 4111 G, which was traveling from Accra to Nkawkaw.
GRi…/
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