Ghana’s
population stands at 18.8 million
Fire
outbreaks kill 21 in Ashanti in 2001
Bitter X’mas for teacher
Ghana’s
population stands at 18.8 million
The final
results of the 2000 Population and Housing Census put Ghana’s population at
18,845,265. This is made up of 9,320,794 males and 9,524,471 females and a
rural population of 10,566,629 as compared to 8,278,636 for the urban.
The result
also represents an increase of 53.3 per cent over the 1984 population of
12,296,081 and a growth rate of 2.6 per cent. Provisional results announced by
the secretariat in July, last year, put the population at 18,412,247.
The acting
Government Statistician, Dr K.A. Twum-Baah, who announced the final results at a news conference in Accra on
Friday, put the percentage of non-Ghanaians at 3.9 while Ghanaians by birth or
parenthood make up 91 per cent of the population.
He said,
“While the growth rate is high in comparison to the rate of the world which
stands at 1.5 per cent and even the average for the less developed countries at
2.0 per cent, it is the same for Sub-Saharan Africa and lower than the 2.9 per
cent rate for West Africa.
Dr
Twum-Baah said considering the total fertility growth rate of 2.4, which is the
lowest in West Africa, Ghana’s population is likely to record less than 24
million for the next census in 2010 should the trend continue.
Giving
details of the population at the regional level, he said Ashanti Region tops
the list with 3,600,385 people representing 19.1 per cent of the total
population with 1,809,970 males and 1,790,388 females.
The
population of Greater Accra more than doubled from 1,431,099 in 1984 to
2,903,753 (1,431,833 males and 1,471,870 females) representing 15.4 per cent.
The region was also identified as the most densely populated with 894.8 persons
per square kilometre.
With a
population of 2,101,650 made up of 1,034,591 males and 1,067,059 females, the
Eastern Region came third while the Central Region with 1,593,888 people
recorded 761,110 males and 832,778 females. Western Region, 1,916,748 (970,698
males and 946,050 females), Volta, 1,630,254, (790,184 males, 840,070 females),
Brong Ahafo 1,798,058 (males 902, 754, females 895,304), and Northern Region,
1,805,428 (males 900,076 and females 905,352).
The
population for the Upper East was 919,549 (442,430 males and 447,119 for
females) while Upper West recorded 575,579 representing 277,098 males and
298,481 females.
The results
also revealed the predominant ethnic group, as the Akans who constitute 49.1
per cent, followed by Dagbani with 16.5 per cent and Ewe with 12.7 per cent
while GaDangme had 8.0 per cent.
On the
religious front, the figures revealed that over two-thirds, constituting 69.0
per cent of the population, claim affiliation with the Christian faith followed
by Islam with 15.6 per cent with the traditional religion constituting 8.5 per
cent.
On the
stock of houses as captured from the field summary sheets, Dr Twum-Baah said
2,238,545 were recorded and two-thirds of these are in the rural areas. He said
the stock represents an increase of 82.5 per cent over the recorded stock in
1984, adding that while the rural stock increased by about 60 per cent from
1984, the urban stock increased by 160 per cent within the same period.
The Census
Coordinator translated this to mean that the average number of households per
house also reduced from 2.0 to 1.7 over the same period while the average size
remained virtually unchanged at 4.9 per cent from the 1984 figure of 5.0 per
cent.
The
Minister of Finance, Mr Yaw Osafo Maafo who was present at the news conference,
asked the acting Government Statistician to lobby Parliament to pass a
legislation stipulating the number of years a census will be required to be
conducted.
This, he
said, is necessary to give the present conventional 10 years a legal backing.
He thanked the donors who contributed to the success of the census.
More…/
The
Minister of Finance, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, has been adjudged the best Finance
Minister in the world for putting in place pragmatic policies to shape Ghana’s
economy. He comes next to Canada’s Finance Minister, Mr Paul Martin, whose
astute management has placed his country’s economy in an enviable position in
these rocky economic times.
This was
contained in the November/December edition of the “World Link,” a magazine of
the World Economic Forum. Titled “Head above the rest,” the story said Ghana’s
Finance Minister has been commended for initiating policies, which represents a
step in the right direction.
Mr
Osafo-Maafo, according to the report, has secured a debt relief under the World
Bank/IMF Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. It also explained
that although this could turn out to be a double-edged sword, credit ratings
are sometimes downgraded for those countries receiving HIPC assistance, adding
that this will free the country of $1 billion over five years to fight poverty.
It further
noted that by joining the HIPC initiative, proceeds from privatization projects
will be set aside for debt reduction for the nation. It also noted that on
assuming office, Mr Osafo-Maafo realized that the policy of raising domestic
fuel prices in line with international prices by the past administration could
not stand and did nor hesitate to raise prices by 64 per cent which has seen
inflation falling by 10 per cent.
“Osafo-Maafo
has also helped establish tax courts to fast track the prosecution of
defaulters and has scored some successes on countering tax evasion,” the report
said.
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The Western
Regional Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Nana Alex Asamoah,
has said the party stands the greatest chance of winning back political power
in the next elections since the electorate keeps making constant reference to
the NDC’s management of the nation as being better than current developments.
“Since the
confidence of the electorate in the NDC has soared after the last elections,
the reinvigoration of the party’s front should continue in earnest to ensure
its massive victory in the 2004 elections,” he said.
Nana
Asamoah, who said this in a message of goodwill during the Yuletide to the
supporters and sympathizers of the party in the region, pointed out that the
electorate has been able to draw comparisons between the NDC government and the
New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration in the management of the economy.
He said the
high anticipation and expectation that the electorate had when it voted the
Kufuor administration into power is waning considerably since the conditions of
life of the people continue to deteriorate.
According
to the NDC chairman, the mass of the electorate who voted out the party from
power have deeply regretted their actions “as their social and economic lives
have witnessed a massive decline since the beginning of the year.”
“As of now,
the broad masses of the people wish that the NDC was still managing the economy
as services provided by the utilities will witness an upward adjustment to
worsen their already precarious standards of life,” Nana Asamoah said.
He called
on leading functionaries of the party not to lend themselves to activities that
will play them into the hands of their political enemies as well as undermine
their efforts to win back power and find themselves once again in the saddle of
affairs of the country.
“Our
enemies have an intricate ball game that we must study and also avoid being
caught pants down since that will seriously undermine our efforts to recapture
political power at the next polls,” the NDC chairman said.
He gave the
assurance that the new elected executive in the region will work hard to win
all the seats in the region in the next parliamentary polls. Nana Asamoah
called for hard work and restraint among members in the coming year. He also
called on them to lend their practical support to programmes, which will be
initiated by the executive throughout the region.
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About 250
defaulters of the Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF) in the Cape Coast municipality
will face court action by the end of next month. They have defaulted in the
payment of more than ¢722 million, including interest.
The
Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Muniru Arafat Nuhu, who announced this at the
assembly’s meeting on Thursday, said the court action is the last resort to
recover the fund since every effort to retrieve the loans had proved futile.
He said out
of the more than ¢555 million disbursed to beneficiaries, only ¢139.424 million
has been recovered. Before the court action, however, Mr Nuhu said any
defaulter who wants to pay up will be allowed to do so.
GRi…/
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Fire
outbreaks kill 21 in Ashanti in 2001
Twenty-one
people died and property worth ¢9.4 billion were lost through 501 fire
outbreaks in the Ashanti Region in 2001. Last year, 480 outbreaks were
recorded.
Mr Albert
Brown Gaisie, Ashanti Regional Fire Officer, disclosed this at an end-of-year
press briefing in Kumasi. He noted that there were more cases of fire outbreaks
in the region despite the numerous public education campaigns held throughout
the region.
To avert
similar situations, he said that there should be guidelines and well defined
principles for building. He advised the public to assist fire fighters in order
to discharge their duties dispassionately.
The
Regional Fire Officer called for the establishment of a special network between
the fire service and the utility services to help fight fire outbreaks. “Our
mission to eradicate fire outbreaks from the region would be meaningless if the
service providers relent their effort to assist the fire service,” he stressed.
Mr Gaisie
urged personnel of the Fire Service to eschew acts of indiscipline and work
hard to improve upon their image.
Earlier, a
library to assist the fire personnel in the region to improve upon their skills
was commissioned by Nana Ama Acheampong, a representative of the Asantehemaa.
The library was named after the Asantehemaa, Nana Afua Serwaa Kobi Ampem, for
her immense contribution towards providing the needs of the society.
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The Trades
Union Congress (YUC) has said that it is not against restructuring of the
utility services but it will mobilise workers to fight against the government’s
moves to put the provision of urban water supply under the control of foreign
companies.
The
Secretary-General of the TUC, Mr Kwesi Adu Amankwah, gave the warning at the
sixth annual TUC-GJA Media Encounter held in Accra. The event was to enable
journalists to fratenise with officials of the TUC and share experiences during
the year under review.
Mr Adu
Amankwah said that water is a priceless commodity and that the government
should not do everything to prevent it from reaching the people at an
affordable cost.
He however,
praised the government for undertaking extensive auditing of local government
authorities and the forensic audits of a number of public companies and
institutions.
The TUC, Mr
Adu Amankwah said, would wish that the government spared no effort in ensuring
that those who abused their trust in office at various levels were brought to
book. That, he explained, would help to combat corruption and set standards for
public office holders.
Mr Adu
Amankwah reaffirmed the TUC’s readiness to dialogue with government and
negotiate to achieve outcomes that would promote the well-being of the working
people of Ghana.
The
President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Mrs Gifty Afenyi-Dadzie,
assured the TUC of the media’s cooperation to help promote democracy in the
country.
She praised
the TUC for being a part of the coalition it sep up to undertake civic
education campaign during the last elections. The GJA President appealed to
Ghanaians, particularly, politicians, the government and Members of Parliament,
to be tolerant with the media as they try to play their watchdog role to promote
probity, accountability and transparency towards achieving functional
democracy.
GRi…/
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Bitter X’mas for teacher
The dream of a head teacher of a primary school at Gomoa Kwame-Adwer, a village seven kilometres from Agona Swedru, to have a merry Christmas with his family was shattered when five suspected armed robbers attacked his home on Saturday, December 22, and made away with his personal effects and 1.3 million cedis cash.
Relating his ordeal at the hands of the robbers, Mr William Opoku, 43, in tears said he and his family were asleep when at about 1.25 am, they heard loud banging on their door.
He said, thinking it was the relatives of a sick person coming to hire his taxi-cab, he opened the door only to be attacked by five men wielding shotguns.
Mr Opoku said the men tied his hands at his back, blindfolded and gagged him as well. They then packed his belongings and cash which they loaded into a sack.
He said the robbers then stripped his wife naked and ordered her at gunpoint to show them the house of the local cocoa purchasing clerk. Mr Opoku said on the way, his wife raised an alarm and this apparently infuriated the robbers who brutally assaulted her.
The woman’s shouts however, awakened a young man who attempted to come to her aid only to be stopped by a warning shot from the robbers. He said the armed robbers later brought back his wife to the house and locked both of them in their room and fled with their booty.
The couple later reported the incident to the Gomoa Oboase Police who have confirmed that they are investigating the matter. No arrest has so far been made.
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A mob opposed to the installation of a new queenmother at Bechem has attacked the Omanhene’s palace causing destruction to stool property.
The mob also marched to a 100-acre stool land, which has been allocated to some youth of the area and destroyed vegetables grown on it. No arrest has been made.
Speaking in an interview, the Omanhene of Bechem, Nana Fosu Gyeabour Akoto condemned the attack. He said before the installation, an ex-queenmother, Nana Achiaa Konadu customarily came for the stool but her demand was rejected.
The Omanhene said just after the installation, a mob, apparently protesting against the rejection of Nana Achiaa stormed the palace and caused destruction to a number of property.
He, said from the palace, the mob marched to the vegetable farms and destroyed everything on them. The police came in after the mob had caused the damage.
Nana Fosu Gyeabour said Bechem is a peaceful town and under no circumstances should a few people take the law into their own hands in the name of chieftaincy to plunge the town into chaos.
The Regional Police Command confirmed the story. According to the police, calm has returned but investigations have begun into the disturbances.
GRi…/
What looked like a friendly exchange of words between two students of Kpetoe Roman Catholic Junior secondary School (JSS) in the Ho district, Volta Region, turned into a brawl following a misunderstanding.
And the whole episode ended in a ‘boxing arena’, which was created by three tutors of the school to settle the scores.
The result was that, the strongest of the two battered the weaker one until he had a swollen face and black eye, and was unable to walk. Sensing danger the tutor’s intervened to save the life of the battered youngster.
The misunderstanding between the two students, Master Gustav Teh and Master Attigah Slater, both J.S.S. two students, centred on whether there was the need for the government to revert the current Educational Reform Programme to the old system or to review the programme completely.
Teh’s argument was that the programme should revert to the old system because students were being made to study many subjects within a period of three years. Some of the subjects, he argued, were without adequate textbooks.
Slater’s view was that the reforms were necessary because they would enable students to acquire professional skills, thereby contributing meaningfully to the socio-economic development of the nation. He argued that the reforms were taking place within the West African Sub-region and that Ghana was no exception.
The, realizing that his argument was untenable and had incurred the displeasure of his colleagues, pounced on him. Attempts by their colleagues to separate them failed since the to insisted on fighting.
The behaviour of the two students did not go down well with two others - Masters John Kwaku Azaglo and Samuel Owusu - who reported their conduct to three teachers who were then on the compound.
But to their amazement, the teachers, Messrs Kofi Brempong, E. Aseihyie and Peter Kudjo, created a ‘boxing arena’ for the two combatants to settle their scores.
Teh and Slatter took advantage of the teacher’s decision and exhibited their strength and fought until Slater had a swollen face and black eyes. He was unable to stand on his feet; it was at this point that the teachers stopped the fight.
Dissatisfied with what happened, Asaglo, Owusu and some students went to the offices of “The spectator” to express their disgust at the attitude of the teachers.
The students said when they enquired why the teachers should allow the students to continue to fight instead of taking disciplinary action against them, the teachers claimed that their conduct was based on the Ghana Education Service (GES) regulations. The teachers reportedly claimed that when they tried to stop the fighting, the students insisted that they should be allowed to fight until a winner emerged.
When asked whether they had reported the conduct of the teachers to the head of the school, Azaglo and Owusu claimed that they were not given the opportunity to explain themselves since discipline had broken down in the school.
When contacted, officials of the Ho district of the (GES), expressed shock and dismay at the behaviour of the teachers, saying that their claim were unfounded and could not be found in any GES Service regulations.
Mr S.K. Amedjor, Head of Finance and Administration, at the GES office said that the conduct of the teachers was an act of indiscipline and that the Service was yet to receive a formal report on the matter.
He indicated that a full scale investigation, would be conducted, and the teachers would be brought to book if any adverse findings were found against them. It is against GES regulations for pupils and students to fight let alone be encouraged by teachers.
Mr Amedjor said that boxing had not been included in school sporting activities because of the danger it posed to students. He wondered why the students refused to inform the headteacher or his assistant and their parents so that immediate action could be taken against them.
A cross-section of parents interviewed in Ho by ‘The Spectator’ condemned the conduct of the teachers and called for their outright dismissal from the Service.
More…/
A self-confessed witch, Abena Serwaah, 18, from Mampong Ashanti stunned a congregation worshipping at the Jesus Connection Prayer Centre in Accra last Wednesday. She confidently revealed to the congregation that she used her witchcraft to influence male adults at Mampong to sleep with their daughters.
“Over seven men who raped me when I was a child can longer father a child,” she confessed and said spiritually, she turned her own brother into an elephant and made him consume food meant for 20 people.
Serwaah also revealed to the congregation how she planned to cause road accidents and plane crash during this Christmas. “We blind the faces of drivers with cotton wool thereby, rendering them temporarily blind thereby causing accidents”.
She narrated how she and her group operated; they spiritually changed their victims into fowls and pigs before killing them; they then feasted on them.
Serwaah claimed she spiritually killed over 300 people through witchcraft and said her paternal grandmother gave her the witchcraft when she was only five years old.
And she told the congregation; “I know God will come very soon, hence I decided to change my evil deeds; that is why I have come here (the Prayer Centre) to be exorcised”.
After the woman’s revelations, Prophet Fred Kwesi Ansah, the head of Jesus Connection Prayer Centre, told “The Spectator” that witchcraft is real and should not be treated lightly.
He said witches are the cause of some of the social problems in the society. Prophet Ansah said Serwaah came to the church on her own on Monday, December 19 and during one of the prayer sessions she voluntarily came forward to confess her “sins” and asked for deliverance.
He advised Ghanaians to always pray because witchcraft and other forces of darkness are destructive and can only be overcome through constant prayers.
GRi…/
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