Suspect
stripped and flogged in another police brutality
Bimbilla bye-elections slated for March 16
Accra
(Greater Accra) 20 February 2002 - The Electoral Commission (EC) has fixed
Saturday, March 16, 2002 as the date for the conduct of the Bimbilla
Constituency bye-election.
A source at
the EC, which disclosed this in an interview in Accra on Tuesday after a
meeting of the members of the commission, which deliberated upon and fixed the
election date, also said that a writ of elections has been issued to the
Returning Officer of the Bimbilla Constituency.
Additionally,
Wednesday, February 27, and Thursday, February 28, 2002, have been set
aside as
dates for the filing of nomination papers for candidates wishing to contest the
poll at the District Electoral Office at Bimbilla.
The
Bimbilla seat became vacant following the election last December of the Member
of Parliament for the area, Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas, as the Executive Secretary
of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), at a meeting of the
Authority of Heads of State and Government of the sub-regional body.
On Friday,
February 15, 2002, the Clerk of Parliament formally notified the EC of the
existence of a vacancy in the Bimbilla Constituency, following an earlier
announcement in Parliament by Dr Chambas of his resignation from Parliament.
Article 112
(5) of the 1992 Constitution, in relation to the occurrence of a vacancy in
Parliament and the conduct of a bye-election to fill that vacancy occurs in
Parliament, states, “whenever a vacancy occurs in Parliament, the Clerk to
Parliament shall notify the Electoral Commission in writing within seven days
after the vacancy occurred, and a bye-election shall be held within 30 days after
the vacancy occurred.”
According
to the commission, the District Electoral Officer would be available at his
office at Bimbilla on February 27 and 28, 2002, from the hours of 9.00 am to
12.00 mid-day and from 2.00 pm to 5 pm for the two days to receive completed
nomination forms from candidates vying for the seat. The commission, therefore,
advised candidates wishing to contest the poll to contact its Bimbilla District
Returning Officer for the relevant nomination forms.
Since the
election of Dr Chambas as ECOWAS Executive Secretary, feverish preparations
have been made by a number of political parties, especially by the ruling New
Patriotic Party (NPP), the National Democratic Congress and the People’s
National Convention (PNC) to capture the seat when the bye-election is called.
The NDC has vowed to retain the seat against a ferocious onslaught by the NPP
and the PNC.
The PNC has
already selected Mr Dominic Nitiwul, a teacher, as its candidate and has
already received the support of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and the
National Reform Party (NRP), who together with the PNC are currently engaged in
unity talks aimed at building a monolithic Nkrumahist political party to
contest the 2004 general elections.
The
election is expected to be keenly contested and Bimbilla would, as from this
week, witness an unceasing flow of politicians of all makes and descriptions
promising the people the best under the sun if they (the people) vote for their
individual parties on Saturday, March 16, 2002 to capture the seat. – Daily
Graphic.
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Sunyani
(Brong Ahafo Region) 20 February 2002 - The National Democratic Congress (NDC)
has a bright chance of recapturing political power in the 2004 general
elections, Alhaji Kwadwo Maama Adam, the Brong-Ahafo Regional Chairman of the
party has said.
He said the
NDC has put in place effective strategies that will ensure the party an
emphatic victory in the next presidential and parliamentary polls. Alhaji Adam,
who said this in an interview in Sunyani, attributed the party’s defeat in the
2000 elections to organizational mistakes and the clamour for change by the majority
of Ghanaians.
According
to him, the NDC has learnt its lessons. He stressed that the party will not
repeat those mistakes it committed which cost it the last polls. He also noted
that the party’s sour relations with the media, which was also a contributory
factor to the NDC’s dismal performance in the last polls, have been rectified.
The
regional chairman said the NDC has drawn up an action plan under which
constituency and regional executives of the party hold meetings once in every
three months to discuss the welfare of the party.
Alhaji Adam
accused the government of its inability to fulful the expectations of the
people and stressed that almost one and half years after managing the nation’s
economy, cost of living continues to escalate.
“The actions
of the NPP within a year of its administration of the country have incurred the
displeasure of many Ghanaians and this has endeared the NDC to the masses,” he
added. – Daily Graphic.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 20 February 2002 - It is estimated that about 120 children are
born with deformities at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital each year. Dr (Mrs)
Afua A.J. Hesse, who disclosed this in an interview, attributed the problem to
the increasing use of herbal concoctions by pregnant women.
According
to her, most of the pregnant women who deliver abnormal babies, when interviewed,
said they took certain herbal concoctions during their pregnancies. Dr Hesse
described the situation as “the tip of the iceberg because there have been many
reports in the rural areas where children with such abnormalities have been
sent to the bush to be killed because it is a taboo to give birth to such
children.”
She said
the women admitted that they were given such preparations by their relatives
who claimed herbal drugs have the potentials to make their babies strong as
well as promote safe delivery.
“Unlike the
developed countries where herbal preparations go through comprehensive testing
and those that should not be taken during pregnancy are indicated on the
labels, herbal preparations in the country cannot be said to be very safe,” Dr
Hesse said.
According
to her, all herbal preparations in the developed countries are tested on
pregnant mice, among other procedures, for a long time to ascertain its safety
or otherwise for pregnant women. She explained that the foetus through various
stages, when disturbed through the intake of dangerous preparations, may
develop abnormalities.
Dr Hesse
said preparations from herbs such as the back of trees which are given to
pregnant women by relatives are even being put through simple testing at the
Centre for Scientific Research into Plant Medicine at Mampong-Akuapem and
registered with the Food and Drugs Board.
She said
for now, it will be safer for women to stick to ante-natal care in the
hospitals since such drugs have been tested for their safeness and efficacy. Dr
Hesse said some abnormalities at birth cannot be avoided but “if pregnant women
seek early ante-natal care and adhere to simple health practices, they can be
avoided to a large extent.”
On the
mal-formation of a month-old baby in the hospital, she reiterated her appeal
for financial support from the public to enable the baby to undergo surgery to
save his life. The baby, who was originally delivered at the Cape Coast
Hospital on January 19, and transferred to the hospital three days later, has
four legs, a penis without a passage, four testicles and no anus.
Dr Hesse
said the baby is healthy and would need several operations over a period of
five years or more, and added that the hospital can handle the situation when
given the needed financial assistance. – Daily Graphic.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 20 February 2002 - Barely two days after the NPP government
took the decisive move to abrogate the technical and consultancy services
agreement between Ghana Telecom and Telekom Malaysia, a major move to break the
monopoly of the Ghana Private Roads Transport Union (GPRTU) in the transport
sector will be announced in Parliament.
The Finance
Minister Yaw Osafo-Maafo and his team have been working round the clock on the
2002 budget, and The Statesman can authoritatively report that from next week
the collection of Vehicle Income Tax by only the GPRTU will be a thing of the
past as other transport associations will also be given the opportunity to do
so.
According
to Budget Committee sources, the decision to break GPRTU’s monopoly follows
complaints from both drivers and the general public about the way the
collection of income tax has been handled.
The
decision to break the monopoly will enable not only other transport association
to participate in the collection, but also make it possible for accounting and
other firms with the capacity to do so, to undertake the exercise, possibly by
operating from the various lorry stations.
It can also
be revealed that the 2002 budget will take a major step to fulfill the New
Patriotic Party’s promise to scrap the law banning over 10-year-old vehicles
from entering the country.
The NPP’s
argument on the issues has been that if engines which run the vehicles can be
allowed into the country no matter their age, then there is no justification
for the continued ban on so-called “over-aged” vehicles, some of which look
newer and stronger than those plying our streets. Indeed, there are indications
that the present law allows vehicles, notably commercial ones to stay on the
road dangerously longer.
Supporting
this argument has been the cost involved in disposing of such vehicles. Under
the current law, the state incurs heavy losses by spending ¢446,000 stripping
each vehicle for sale at ¢200,000.
In his
budget statement presented in March last year, Osafo-Marfo announced a
three-month amnesty for the so-called over-aged vehicles. The end of the
amnesty in May saw 448 of such vehicles being cleared from the Ports with the
state coming out ¢4.1 billion –¢9.92 billion richer.
The budget
itself will provide an opportunity for the government to triumphantly announce
the success of its economic programme and the next stage of the government’s
much lauded economic programme.
Campaigning
for power in 2000, the NPP in its manifesto, “Agenda for Positive Change” promised:
“the NPP government will initiate and implement policies to deal with the eight
major interrelated problems facing the Ghanaian economy today. These are slow
growth, high unemployment, increased incidence of rural and urban poverty, high
inflation rates, excessive government debt and fiscal deficit, the
ever-declining value of the cedi and the narrow and unstable base of the
country. The NPP believes that economic growth and increased employment for our
people will depend largely on finding solutions to these problems.”
After one
year of managing the economy, the government has succeeded in lowering
inflation from 41 per cent in January to 21 per cent, interest rates have
fallen from 51 per to 32 per cent. Most notably, the government has succeeded
in stabilizing the cedi with a 2.5 per cent fall last year compared to over 90
per cent fall the year before.
“One year
into government the Agenda for Positive Change outlined by the NPP in its
manifesto, is on course as the economic indicators and indeed the realities
show,” said Information and Presidential Affairs Minister, Jake Obetsebi
Lamptey in the recently outdoored book, “Positive Change. A good beginning.” The
80-page book catalogues the achievement and challenges of the NPP government in
its first year in office. – The Statesman.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 20 February 2002 - The government has been urged to set up a National Information Technology (IT) Trust Fund to support private businesses in the country. A policy document on the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has said.
The document prepared after discussions with IT specialists and stakeholders was of the view that it would help to drive the industry forward. Dr Samuel Somuah, Special Assistant and Coordinator of IT Initiatives, Office of the President, stated these in presentation on Ghana’s ICT Policy Framework at an IT expert’s roundtable meeting in Accra on Tuesday.
He said that although the document was still at the preparatory stage, it was necessary that such a fund was instituted to assist private partners in the IT industry. Ghana’s ICT policy document is in the final stages of preparation and is likely to be sent to cabinet in June this year.
The document, which was drafted after several consultations, workshops, dialogue and international conferences, is aimed at providing an effective framework for the development of the IT sector in the country.
Dr Somuah said the document suggested that the fund, for a start, could target about 20 million dollars. He said the fund would go a long way to provide financial assistance to local private IT companies of whom most of them had come from abroad to invest in Ghana.
Among other things, he said the document recommended the enactment of a legislation to back the nation’s IT policy and the proposed National IT Agency to facilitate and accelerate the growth of the industry.
He explained that other areas taken care of in the document included the development and use of IT in the education sector, Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs), government institutions, rural areas and the agricultural sector. “That will help the economy to become a technology based one,” he stated.
Mr Felix Owusu-Adjepong, Minister of Communication and Technology, in a speech read on his behalf emphasized that Ghana could not afford to be on the periphery of information driven economy.
Government, he said had therefore taken the requisite measure to create the enabling environment to ensure the full exploitation of ICT in the country. He said that government was working on an initiative to create an information technology centre of excellence, the first of its kind, in the developing world in honour of Mr Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations.
The minister was happy that an assembly of experts and professionals had convened to discuss ICT and urged them to focus on identifying factors that would address the difficulties faced by developing countries in financing and accessing ICT projects.
That, he said, would enable those in the developing and least developed world to bridge the digital divide and become active participants in the networked economy. – The Ghanaian Times
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Kumasi
(Ashanti Region) 20 February 2002 - A Police officer of the Sofoline Police
Station in Kumasi who subjected woman to severe beatings after stripping her
naked is walking a free man. The assault was at the instance of the woman’s
expatriate husband.
One year
after the incident, a supposed Disciplinary Committee said to have been set up
by the Ashanti Police Command at the initial stages of Chronicle enquiries has
still not preferred any sanctions against the officer, simply known to the
Chronicle as Felix, alias Taller.
Chronicle
sources at the Regional Police Command would even want the paper to suspend
action for the next one week for action to be taken against the officer, who
brutally assaulted the woman last March.
The paper
gathered that an expatriate timber merchant, one Joseph Farhart Snr. engaged
the services of a Felicia Kesuah, a native of Navrongo in the Upper East
Region, as a house girl.
Two months
after, Farhart expressed interest in Felicia and asked her to be his wife.
"For two years, I stayed with him as husband and wife during which time I
aborted two pregnancies by Farhart," she said.
Felicia
said she prevailed upon Farhart to perform the marriage rites if he was
serious, which suggestion he (Farhart) obliged by first presenting drinks to a
relation, one Salifu Anoryeley of Ayigya Zongo in Kumasi.
Having
declared his intention thus and bent on his desire, Farhart travelled with
Felicia to Gowunia, near Navrongo, with drinks as directed by Anoryeley. Eight
months into the marriage, Farhart reportedly proposed that they employ a new
house girl to assist the wife (Felicia) with the household chores.
Felicia
readily consented and brought in one Immaculate Joyce Zetor, but Farhart was
soon found to be flirting with the new maid. When Felicia complained about the
development, Farhart took offence and sent her (Felicia) packing. She was asked
to leave their Odeneho Kwadaso residence before Farhart returned from a trek to
the bush.
Felicia
claims since Farhart did not provide any money before leaving she decided to
take away a bag she knew contained some money. "I did not have the
intention to steal it. I did not want to provoke the man, either," she
told the Chronicle.
She explained
that her action was to make sure Farhart traced her on his return home.
According to Felicia, the bag and a few of her personal effects were lodged at
Anoryeley's residence at Ayigya.
Contrary to
Felicia's expectation, Farhart on detecting the alleged theft reported the case
to the police, following which Taller and one Esther were detailed to arrest
Felicia for stealing.
The police
officer is said to have forced Anoryeley's door open and retrieved the bag,
which contained some money. While Taller reportedly claimed the bag contained
¢10 million, Farhert says he left ¢17 million in it before leaving for the
bush.
Taller is
also reported to have collected a purse containing ¢150,000 cedis and some
documents from Felicia. As if that was enough, Taller allegedly stripped
Felicia naked and brutally whipped her with a wire until she received bruises
on her body.
Joyce
(maid) is also said to have been subjected to a similar treatment until the
police woman provided her with cloth to cover her nakedness. Felicia and Joyce
have been charged with conspiracy to steal and stealing while Anoryeley and one
other are to answer a charge of abetment of crime.
An amount
of ¢100,000 is said to have been extorted from Anoryeley as bail money before
bail was granted him. The fate of Felicia after the inhuman treatment by her
husband and brutalizes of Taller is still hanging in the balance. For almost a
year now, Mr V.C. Senu's Circuit Tribunal, which started sitting on the case
last May, has still not determined the case.
Farhart,
who did not want to respond to Chronicle enquiries initially except through a
counsel, might be at large. The court has lost track of him, lawyer Kwame
Boafo, counsel for Felicia, has confided in the Chronicle. Felicia has,
therefore, appealed to the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice to ensure
a speedy trial and justice. - The Ghanaian Chronicle
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