Christian Council sets up monitoring team for 2000 elections

Woodworkers union wants chainsaw operators back

Sankara interchange to be commissioned in February

Lawyers, Writers condemn arrest of publisher

Television transmission in the North to get a big boost.

Minister inspects facilities at Suame light industrial area

President says : No apology to wrong-doers

IPR condemns Kabral's arrest

Rawlings inspects Tema-Aflao road

Accra (Greater Accra), 20^th January 2000

The Christian Council of Ghana on Wednesday said it has set up a team to monitor the 2000 presidential and parliamentary elections to ensure free, fair and acceptable results.

The council said about 1,000 people throughout the country will undergo special training in election monitoring before, during and after the elections.

The Rev. Dr. Robert Aboagye-Mensah, General Secretary of the council, told the GNA in an interview in Accra that the council undertook a similar exercise in the 1996 elections.

Rev. Aboagye-Mensah appealed to the Electoral Commission (EC) to open the voter's register early to enable the electorate to cross check their names and that of deceased persons in their communities.

This will help to clear the list of ghost names and enable those of voting age whose names are not on the register to be registered.

The General Secretary said the proposal from the Minority Group for electoral reforms in the EC should be opened for a public debate.

The Minority Group in Parliament on January 11, at a press conference in Accra, called for reforms in the EC to reflect equal interest of all political parties in the country.

Rev Aboagye-Mensah said: "If the public think that they will have confidence in the EC by the inclusion of all political parties, so be it.

"As we prepare for this year's general elections in December, we will need politicians who will put the interest of the nation above their personal and political interests".

He urged politicians to desist from using abusive language on political platforms, and asked them to focus on their manifestos.

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Accra (Greater Accra), 20^th January 2000

The Timber and Woodworkers' Union (TWU) of the TUC on Wednesday congratulated Mr. Kosi Kedem, MP (Hohoe South) for his statement in Parliament last Tuesday on the scarcity of lumber and wood products in the country.

A statement signed by Mr. George Mannah, General Secretary, said the Union is delighted that about 16 MPs who contributed to the statement admitted that the acute shortage of timber products nation-wide is causing havoc to the economy.

It said this situation is the result of the ban on chain-saw operations following the implementation of the Timber Resource Management Regulations Act of 1998 by the Government.

"We reiterate that the disaster is unfortunate, because the Union foresaw these unpleasant consequences if the law was not given a human face in its passage".

The Union said in view of this concern, it sent memoranda to the Ministry of Lands and Forestry, and Parliament with suggestions for consideration during the passage of the Bill but these were rejected.

The statement asked how a government could enact a law to impoverish the ordinary man whose life is already very miserable and dejected.

It reiterated that timber is one vital resource with multiple uses which, apart from export, has provided a lot of jobs to millions of Ghanaians as well as being an essential input in the building industry.

"We therefore commend our Honourable MPs for revisiting this law and calling for its immediate review to salvage the havoc being caused in the local market''.

The union appealed to Parliament to reject any ''cosmetic solution being paraded by the ministry in the wake of Parliament's reaction against the controversial law''.

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Accra (Greater Accra), 20^th January 2000

The 20 million dollar Sankara Interchange in Accra which took 28 months to construct will be fully opened to traffic a month from now, Mr. Edward Salia, Minister of Roads and Transport said on Wednesday.

This is to enable the contractors, Razel, to put extra road signs and markings on the completed project which has been partially opened to vehicles. It has a base pass, an overpass, side passes and a round-about.

The Ministry of Roads and Highways will before the full opening carry out an intensive education of pedestrians, cyclists and motorists on the usage of the interchange which has a 600 metre stretch each from the East, West, South and North approaches and stands at 10 metres.

Mr. Salia commended the contractors for their efficiency and for completing the work on schedule.

Mr. Salia said he wished such projects could be undertaken at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle and other regional capitals.

"This can be possible if there is money and people paid their taxes and contributed to the Road Fund because the provision of such infrastructural facilities are very expensive."

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Accra (Greater Accra), 20^th January 2000

The Pan African Writers Association (PAWA) and the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) on Wednesday added their voices to the host of condemnations over the arrest and detention of the West African Journalists Association (WAJA) President, Mr. Kabral Blay Amihere on the night of Thursday, January 13.

Mr. Blay-Amihere who was picked up by army personnel in mufti on the night of January 13, while visiting his sister at Kasoa in the Central Region, was released from detention on Friday, January 14.

A PAWA statement expressed surprise at the news of the recent arrest and detention of Mr. Blay-Amihere, Publisher and Editor of the Independent newspaper and President of WAJA by military and said "the arrest and detention of a pressman by the military anywhere is not only an attempt by a section of society to take the law into its own hands; more than this, it represents a serious infraction on civil liberties".

PAWA is aware of the untiring and laudable efforts by the authorities and indeed the nation as a whole to guarantee respect for human beings and sustainable peace and stability in the country.

PAWA is therefore hopeful that the appropriate agencies of the state would continue to ensure that the successes they have achieved in this regard are not undermined by any section of the society.

PAWA reminded all "colleagues in the world of ideas and communication that their responsibility as gatekeepers of society's conscience, defenders of their right and ability to express that conscience in dignity is onerous and requires strong commitment, a spirit of perseverance and a deep and abiding faith in one's mission".

PAWA pledged its unwavering solidarity with all journalists in Africa as a whole who encounter any form of intimidation in their uniquely crucial mission."

In its statement the GBA described Kabral's arrest and detention as "shameful and a dent on Constitutionalism."

It said "civilians are not subject to military discipline and other jurisdiction in time of peace. Therefore the detention of Mr. Blay-Amihere, who is also the President of the West African Journalist Association(WAJA) is an affront to the rule of law and the constitution.

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Tamale (Northern Region), 20^th January 2000

The Ghana Telecommunication Company Limited is undertaking a multi-million dollar expansion project in the Northern and Upper East region to improve television transmission and telephone services.

The three-year project to be completed by 2003 involves an increase in the number of booster stations between Salaga and Bolgatanga from six to 11. The Bolgatanga-Tamale-Kumasi-Accra Analog link will be replaced with a digital radio facility under the project.

Mr. Timothy Okyere Acheampong, Northern region head of Ghana Telecom, told the Ghana News Agency in Tamale on Tuesday that "the digital radio system is likely to be commissioned next month in Kumasi while the booster stations will be ready in six months".

He said the replacement of the Analog link forms part of Telecom's plan to introduce a mobile telephone service to be known as "One Touch Mobile Service", between February and July this year.

Mr. Acheampong said the programme to improve on the Customer Access Network (CAN) in the Tamale municipality is also on course.

The first phase of CAN which covers 23 priority residential areas will replace all the obsolete underground cables and increase access to telephone lines to about 7,200.

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Kumasi (Ashanti), 20^th January 2000

Mr. Samuel Nuamah-Donkor, Ashanti Regional Minister, has asked artisans operating in the Suame Light Industrial area to desist from selling land allotted them to private developers for residential buildings.

This is unacceptable because the light industrial complex site is meant for workshops for artisans. "It will, therefore, be wrong for residential accommodation to be built on the site."

Mr Nuamah-Donkor was interacting with the artisans after he and, his deputy, Mrs Joana Appiah-Dwomoh and Nana Akwasi Agyemang, the Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive, had inspected the site in Kumasi on Tuesday.

They also visited members of the Ghana National Association of Garages (GNAG) at work in the industrial complex.

The team inspected the offices of the GNAG, a clinic, access roads, workshops, a sub-station of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) sited at the magazine and the Suame Foundry at Ahensan.

Mr Nuamah-Donkor said the government acknowledges the artisans' contribution to the development of the economy and "will explore all avenues to provide the necessary materials and other forms of assistance for the transformation of the light complex."

He gave the assurance that training schemes would be instituted to improve the technical skills of the artisans and that a programme would be worked out with the ECG to guarantee uninterrupted electricity supply to the area.

Nana Akwasi Agyemang said the metropolitan assembly would work with the Asantehene to ensure that land acquired for the artisans at Santasi was developed for their use.

Mr A.Z. Mohammed, Chairman of the Ashanti Region branch of the GNAG, appealed to the government to expedite action on the payment of compensation to the families of two artisans shot dead during a peaceful demonstration in Kumasi three years ago.

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Accra (Greater Accra), 20^th January 2000

The President, Flt.Lt. Jerry John Rawlings, has described as unfortunate, comments by certain individuals on his recent sessional address to Parliament, adding that he owes no apology to wrongdoers.

Speaking to the GNA in a rare interview Accra on Thursday, President Rawlings said one of the obstacles standing in the way of genuine reconciliation is the arrogance on the part of some individuals who conveniently overlook how much their own actions and behaviour contributed to the angry explosions of June 4 and 31st December.

"Such individuals tend to over-simplify the issues and would want Ghanaians to believe that simply because of the excesses, everyone who suffered was a saint or committed no crimes.

''Certainly some people deserved to be punished and l will not be a hypocrite to say sorry to them. And yet even for some of them, we have gone out of our way on compassionate grounds, to reduce the effect of the punishment they received to the extent of setting aside some convictions, rehabilitating them and restoring some properties to them.''

President Rawlings said "We are genuine when we stretch a hand of sympathy to persons who might have suffered as a result of some excesses of the revolutionary period.

''We have always been willing to say sorry to innocent people who were caught in the crossfire of events. And this is not the first time I have said so in public. We will continue to do what is necessary to forge a spirit of togetherness among Ghanaians,'' the President added.

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Accra (Greater Accra), 20^th January 2000

The National Executive Council of the Institute of Public Relations (IPR) on Thursday added its voice to condemnation of the arrest and detention Mr. Kabral Blay-Amihere, publisher of the Independent newspaper, last week.

In a statement in Accra, the IPR expressed regret at the way and manner the arrest was carried out saying "it subverted Ghana's infant constitution."

The IPR therefore urged all institutions such as the Ghana Armed Forces to abide by the laid down guidelines in the constitution which deal with media complaints.

It appealed to all sections of society, including the Armed Forces, to ensure that Ghanaians go about their duties calmly and according to rules of the land.

Mr. Blay-Amihere, who is also President of West Africa Journalists Association (WAJA), was arrested at about 2200 hours last Thursday by military personnel in mufti and was released the following day.

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Prampram (Greater Accra), 20^th January 2000

President Jerry John Rawlings on Thursday inspected portions of the Tema-Aflao road, which are being rehabilitated pending reconstruction.

The road, constructed more than 40 years ago, has developed huge potholes as a result of heavy rains last year which has rendered some portions un-motorable.

Accompanying the President were Mr. Edward Salia, Minister of Roads and Transport, his Deputy, Mr. Steve Akorli as well as Alhaji B.L.T. Sakibu, Chief Executive of the Ghana Highways Authority.

President Rawlings saw work in progress from the main Tema barrier, popularly called Jerusalem Gate, stretching up to the Prampram Junction. This stretch of the road is undergoing complete reconstruction because of its bad nature.

Mr. Salia said the work being done is the normal maintenance and is estimated at four billion cedis. "We are covering the whole stretch of the Tema/Aflao road".

He said the road has seen "its useful life span and soon complete reconstruction would start".

Mr. Salia said a loan of 76 million Deutsche Marks from the German government has been procured but this would cover only the Tema/Sogakope portion adding that the donor's response for financing of the Sogakope/Aflao portion has been positive.

He said the Tema/Aflao road forms part of the West Africa Highway project, and its construction is very important to the government".

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