More constituencies for 2000 elections
Ports Authority to rid harbour of laid-up vessels
Nana Konadu lashes at previous governments
More constituencies for 2000 elections
Accra (Greater Accra), 23 February 2000
Mr. David Kanga, Deputy Chairman of the Electoral Commission in charge of Operations, has announced plans by the Commission to increase the number of constituencies in the country.
He said that based on the outcome of the forthcoming national population and housing census, a decision would be taken to "increase the constituencies from 200 to 220 or 300 seats".
Mr Kanga was speaking at a seminar on election reporting organised by the Commonwealth Press Union and the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association in Accra
on Tuesday.
He said the sitting arrangement in Parliament could be changed to accommodate the proposed increase in the number of parliamentary seats.
Mr Kanga said apart from population distribution, other factors such as landmarks and accessibility would be taken into consideration.
Mr Kanga expressed concern about delays in dealing with election related cases at the courts and said the setting up of Election Tribunals should be considered.
Thought is being given to the issue of direct allocation of funds to the Commission adding that Parliament could enact a law to enable it to draw funds from the Consolidated Fund, he said.
Mr. Kanga stressed the important role of the media in elections and asked journalists to be accurate and factual to reduce electoral conflicts.
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Chambas stresses importance of education
Sambali (Northern Region), 22 February 2000
Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, a Deputy Minister of Education, has noted that uneducated people are bound to become social misfits in this century.
They would have no place or role to play in this era of rapid technological development.
He was speaking at the revived guinea corn festival of the people of Sambali in the Saboba/Chereponi District.
"Education is the key to a fulfilled life without which one would be left behind in the mainstream of life".
He appealed to the people to ensure that their children are educated and said that, "formerly, uneducated people were employed as drivers and security men but today there is no job that does not demand a certificate of education".
Dr Chambas praised the chiefs and people of the area for the relative peace in the area and urged them to see people from other ethnic groups as brothers and sisters.
It is necessary to join hands with other ethnic groups to eradicate evils in the society to ensure a stable atmosphere for increased food production.
The District Chief Executive, Mr Mohammed S. I. Abah, called on the people to encourage women to develop their potentials and not to force them into early marriages.
He criticised the betrothal system in the area and called on them to stop the practice.
The DCE asked them to avoid conflicts over land and water bodies, which have diverted the attention of the District Assembly from development.
Mr San Nasamu Asabigi, Deputy Northern Regional Minister, said the people would soon enjoy potable water under the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) sponsored community water project.
He appealed to them to co-operate with officials by providing the right information during the forthcoming National Population and Housing Census.
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Tema (Greater Accra), 22 February 2000
The Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), would soon take measures to rid the Tema port and the Fishing harbour of over 30 laid-up vessels, which pose threat to maritime safety.
Under it, the Shipping Division of the Ministry of Roads and Transport has been invited to conduct a survey of laid-up vessels to ascertain their seaworthiness.
Mr Kwaku Duah Boateng, Acting Director General of GPHA, announced this on Tuesday at a forum with boat owners and agents to find a lasting solution to the problem of vessels, which have been left at the port since 1985.
He said vessels found to be seaworthy would be given up to June 2000, to become operational while those not seaworthy would be dumped in the high seas.
Affected vessel owners have the liberty to appoint independent surveyors accompany GPHA officials to observe the work of the survey team.
He said the exercise would begin by mid March and be completed in mid April.
Responsibility of maintaining the vessels at the port lies with the owners and not GPHA.
The cost of survey and disposal would be borne by owners in accordance with provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act.
The Acting Director General indicated that in September 1999, the nation spent 600 million cedis to salvage and dispose of MV Camco Star, a laid up vessel.
It would cost about 20 billion to salvage the vessels should they sink.
For the past five years, the vessels have occupied berthing space resulting in the loss of about 10 billion cedis in operational revenue.
The Port Authority has been battling to recover the debt of 4.4 billion cedis harbour rent owed by the vessels owners.
He asked them to settle the debt by April 30, this year.
Mr Boateng said due to inadequate space as a result of laid-up vessels, operational ones have to wait long hours at anchorage until berth is made available.
In some cases vessels divert to discharge their catch in Abidjan.
He said laid-out vessels dotted along the coast do not only pose a threat to safety but have become a source of pollution as they discharge oils, lubricants and garbage adding that, " this is a potential threat to standards set by the European Union for accepting fish imports from Ghana".
Last year, the GPHA recorded eight pirate attacks on waiting vessels at the anchorage, which is a set back to the growth of the port.
The GPHA has had meetings with boat owners over the situation.
Mr Boateng said that should the boat owners fail to comply, GPHA would resort to legal action.
During open forum the boat owners pleaded for extension of time to enable them to look for money to take up the task.
In 1982 the then Ghana Ports Authority dumped 26 of such vessels to clear the ports and in 1986, 51 sunken vessels were removed from the ports of Tema and Takoradi at the cost of 2.5 million dollars, as part of port rehabilitation.
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Accra (Greater Accra), 23 February 2000
The Panos Institute of Paris, an international NGO dedicated to democracy, media pluralism and empowerment of journalists has been decentralised.
The institute, which has carried out media development activities in West Africa, for many years, has established a Panos Institute of West Africa (PIWA).
PIWA, will have offices in Accra, Dakar and Bamako. It will join Panos London, Panos Washington and Panos Paris to constitute Panos International.
Mrs Jeannette Quarcoopome, Co-ordinator, of the Accra Office, told a press conference in Accra on Tuesday that the objectives for which the Panos Institute, Paris invested in the African media, professional journalists' associations and civil societal organisations will be reinforced by PIWA.
It will work around themes like Media for Peace, Economic Viability of the Media, Media Pluralism, Media and Culture and New Information Technology.
The co-ordinator said activities to be carried out under the themes include the production and dissemination of information, training of journalists, the establishment of a network of partners of PIWA as well as donors and studies.
"These will be supported by a unit for research, publications and New Information Technology based in Dakar and a radio unit based in Bamako".
She said PIWA which was formed in January has Madam Diana Senghor as the Director General would be managed by a five member board of Directors comprising Mrs Alexina Arthur, Ghana, Zahia Hafs, Panos Paris, Bakary Younoussi, Niger and Gaston Zongo, Burkina Faso.
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Salaga (Northern Region), 23 February 2000
The First Lady and President of the 31st December Women's Movement, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, has criticised past governments for failing to live up to their duties.
"Their failure has plunged the country into the economic crisis that the NDC government is working hard to reverse."
Speaking at the inauguration of the Veranda Boys and Girls Club at Salaga on Monday, Nana Konadu noted however that the only government that ensured appreciable level of development was that of Dr Kwame Nkurumah.
She said during that period when Ghana was earning hard foreign exchange for her exports and had a relatively low population to cater for, those governments failed to make use of existing opportunities for the country's developments
It is for this reason that all Ghanaians should rally behind the present government since it has ensured development in several spheres of life ranging from the construction of good roads to the extension of electricity to communities.
She said the NDC has been able to achieve this because of the fact that it has "a workable programme and always ensures that monies allocated to specific projects are used for those projects.
"We NDC members never contracted loans and shared it amongst ourselves".
Nana Konadu said the party has made Ghana popular abroad, which enables the country to easily acquire loans to fund development projects.
She asked the people of Salaga not to vote for any party, which would have to start a new process of trying to build credibility for the country.
Miss Faustina Nelson, National Vice Chairperson of NDC, said that the Veranda Boys and Girls Club is the youth wing of the party and asked those who have defected from other parties to return all items that identify them with those parties as a sign of loyalty to NDC.
Dr Obed Asamoah, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, praised members of the organisation for their courage and the sacrifice.
He said that NDC believes in dedication and hard work and urged them to ensure that all those "in the political wilderness" are brought into the party".
Alhaji Huudu Yahaya, NDC General Secretary, appealed to members of the party to promote peace and stability and not to fan quarrels and division.
They should "preach the good works of the NDC" to convince more people to join.
Seven former NPP members pledged their support for the NDC at the ceremony, which was attended by Alhaji Seidu Iddi, Northern Regional Minister, Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Deputy Minister of Education, and Mr San Masama Asabigi, Deputy Northern Regional Minister.
Others were Hajia Fati Jawala, Member of the Council of State and Mr Jerry Dramani Jackson, Salaga District Chief Executive.
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