Outgoing
Parliament must not pass new laws - da Rocha
Twelve countries benefit from 13 loan
agreements
International community congratulates
President-elect
National Media Commission commends media
Parties celebrate Kufuor
victory in Bolga
Wamfie accident
victims discharged
Delle suggests
performance contracts for Chief Executives
Defeat at polls offers NDC time for
self-assessment- Minister
Outgoing
Parliament must not pass new laws - da Rocha
Accra (Greater Accra) 04 January
2001
Mr B.J. da Rocha, former Chairman
of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), on Wednesday said the outgoing Parliament has
no authority to pass any new laws.
In a statement issued in Accra, he
said the outgoing Parliament's business should be limited to the process of
winding itself up and no more.
Mr da Rocha, a lawyer by
profession, said: "They (Parliament) certainly should not pass laws which
will impose any obligations on the state or approve contracts which may not be
consistent with the policies of the incoming administration.
"To attempt to pass any
important measures at this time can only be seen as an attempt to sabotage the
incoming Parliament and Administration."
Mr da Rocha said any persons or
organisations, trying to enter into any contracts with the outgoing
administration at this late stage, should therefore advise themselves.
"They must wait for the new
administration and the incoming Parliament. It will be in their own interest to
do so."
Mr da Rocha said the outgoing
Parliament was trying to pre-empt the incoming parliament by passing and
approving, at this last minute, various acts and contracts.
"I wish to draw the attention
of the Honourable Speaker and Honourable Members on both sides of the House to
the fact that the people of this country on the 7th of December, 2000 withdrew
their mandate from the outgoing parliament," he said.
"Significantly, the Chairman
of the Mines and Energy Committee of the outgoing Parliament, Mr Thomas Yeboah,
lost his seat in the 7th December parliamentary election. The
outgoing Parliament has, therefore, no authority to pass any new laws."
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Twelve countries benefit from 13 loan
agreements
Accra (Greater Accra) 04 January 2001
The OPEC Fund for International Development last November signed 13 agreements for loans totalling 78.88 million dollars to assist 12 developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
The loans were extended to seven so-called least-developed countries namely Bangladesh, Benin, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Mauritania, Tanzania, and Zambia, according to a press release from the OPEC Fund in Vienna, Austria.
The other countries were Belize, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Senegal and Turkmenistan.
The statement said the loans were meant to finance projects in education, water supply and sewerage, health, agriculture and transportation sectors.
All the 13 projects, according to the statement, will be co-financed by governments and a number of international development institutions.
The institutions include the Arab Fund for Economic Development in Africa, the Islamic Development Bank and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, which are OPEC agencies.
The others are the African Development Fund, the Asian Development Bank, the International Development Association, the Inter-American Development Bank, UNICEF, the Technical Co-operation of France, and the Technical Assistance Fund of the African Development Bank.
The statement said most of OPEC's loans carry interest rates ranging from one per cent to 1.74 per cent. The loan for Belize has an interest rate of 3.5 per cent.
Five out of the 13 loans have a maturity of 17 years, while the remaining eight have a maturity of 20 years. All have a grace period of five years.
The statement said as of the end of September last year cumulative lending of the OPEC Fund for project and programme financing, balance of payments support and Highly-Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief, stood at 4.4 billion dollars.
A further 53.2 million dollars was extended in support of private sector operations. Total commitments, inclusive of grants and contributions to other international institutions had reached 5.7 billion dollars for 107 countries.
Total disbursements amounted to 3.9 billion dollars, the statement added.
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International community congratulates
President-elect
Accra (Greater Accra) 04 January 2001
Mr. Kofi Annan, United Nations' Secretary General on Tuesday congratulated Mr John Agyekum Kufuor, Ghana's President-elect who emerged winner in the country's general elections in December 2000.
A statement from Mr Kufuor's office in Accra said the president-elect has also received messages from Heads of State of some African countries and leaders of the international community.
They are from King Mohammed VI of Morroco which said, "On the occasion of your election as president of the brotherly Republic of Ghana, we are pleased to extend our most sincere congratulations and best wishes to you for every success in your new lofty duties and in leading the nation along the right path of democracy."
Others are Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, Abduolayi Wade of Senegal, Gynassingbe Eyadema of Togo, Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and Blaisse Campore of Burkina Faso.
The rest are Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, Tai Wan Chin, Executive Secretary of World League for Freedom and Democracy, Tanvir Mwazrhan of Bangladesh and two separate messages from Italy and the Philippines.
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National Media Commission commends media
Accra (Greater Accra) 04 January 2001
The National Media Commission on Tuesday commended the media for their "thorough and incisive" coverage of the processes leading to and after the presidential and parliamentary elections last month.
The NMC also commended the executives of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Private Newspapers and Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG) and the Association of Public Broadcasters (APBC) for their leadership role in this direction.
A statement in Accra by the NMC chairman, Mr Nutifafa Kuenyehia, after a meeting in Accra, said the extensive coverage by the numerous radio stations helped in no small way to address lapses that could otherwise have marred the peaceful and free nature of the election.
"the members noted that the presence of the media at the collation centres facilitated the early release of the results by the Electoral Commission, and deploying staff throughout the country ensured a continuous flow of information on the election results to keep the interest of the public high."
The statement said the NMC also mentioned the discussion and analysis programmes of the election results as well as that of the transitional arrangement and stressed that "it has now become evident to all that free and responsible media are indispensable to democracy."
The NMC said such positive contributions by the media enhance their relevance to national development.
The commission therefore condemned the attacks on some media personnel, especially the crew of TV3 at Nungua by people in uniform as Ghanaians now appreciate the media positively.
"The commission hopes that all stakeholders would co-operate with it in the New Year towards the greater promotion and defence of the freedom and independence of the media," it said.
In another development, the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) on Tuesday congratulated Mr. Kufuor on winning the presidential run-off elections.
In a statement at Takoradi signed by the National President, Mr. J. Ebow Quashie, the GBA also commended Prof. Mills for conceding defeat and Ghanaians for the high sense of maturity exhibited throughout the election process, saying, "democracy has matured in Ghana."
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Parties celebrate
Kufuor victory in Bolga
Bolgatanga (Northern Region) 04
January 2001
Supporters of the NPP and the
parties that supported Mr John Agyekum Kufuor in the presidential run-off, on
Wednesday celebrated the party's victory with a procession through the principal
streets of Bolgatanga.
With banners of the NPP, PNC, NRP,
UGM, GCPP and CPP, they danced to tunes provided by indigenous cultural troops.
The procession especially stopped
at the new market where it is believed traders voted massively to ensure victory
for the PNC and NPP in the parliamentary and the run-off respectively.
They converged at the Plaza where
Dr. G.A. Agambila, NPP candidate for the constituency in the December Seven
elections told them to expect honesty, transparency and economic growth from
the in-coming government.
He said corrupt officials would be
punished, the cedi stabilized and the over-dependency on imports reduced.
Ghanaians would be encouraged to
patronise made-in-Ghana goods, which would boost industries to absorb the unemployed
youth.
The PNC MP-elect, Mr. David
Apasera, said democracy has been strengthened with the just ended elections and
commended the people of Bolgatanga for being part of the efforts to see the
birth of a new government.
He said his victory was for all
and promised to work for the provision of social amenities to uplift the
constituency.
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Wamfie accident
victims discharged
Berekum (Brong Ahafo) 04 January
2001
All but one of the eight NPP
supporters admitted at the Berekum Holy Family Hospital following injuries they
sustained when a timber truck run into a procession marking the victory of the
party elections on December 30, at Wamfie, have been discharged.
Mr William Kusi, 27, who is on
admission, is responding to treatment, nurses told the Ghana News Agency on
Thursday.
Mr Kusi said at his bedside that
he was among those rushed to the hospital unconscious, but was "feeling
much better".
Among those discharged was
Thompson Kwakye, from Dormaa Akwamu, who was nearly lynched when the supporters
mistook him for the driver.
Kwakye said he was going to the
Wamfie lorry-park for transport to Dormaa Akwaku after being granted a court
bail on a criminal charge.
He said all of a sudden, charging
supporters pounced on him but was saved by policemen and people, who knew him.
The others discharged are Emmanuel
Donkor, 50, Afia Badu, 29, Salome Yeboah 27 and Georgina Asantewaa 24.
The rest are Andrew Oppong 22,
Francis Wiredu 43 and Kofi Adjei 60, all from Wamfie.
The truck loaded with six logs run
through the procession killing two, Adu Gyamfi, 29, teacher and Alexander Atta
23, a photographer, instantly.
Mr. Slim Manford, Dormaa District
Police Commander, told the GNA that the driver ignored signals to slow down.
Angry supporters besieged the
police station when the driver took refuge there but was whisked away before
they got there. They set the station, the truck and a vehicle it slammed into
ablaze.
Personnel of the Fire Service, who
rushed to the scene, could not put out the fire.
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Delle suggests performance
contracts for Chief Executives
Accra (Greater Accra) 04 January
2001
A member of the Central Committee
of the CPP, Dr Edmund N. Delle, on Wednesday suggested the signing of
performance contracts with specific targets between the in-coming administration
Chief Executives to increase productivity.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency
(GNA) in Accra, Dr Delle said the contracts should be "output driven and
linked to visible things on the ground".
The Central Committee member said
the new government must not accept verbal or written progress reports if it
wants to meet the aspirations of the people, who would judge the NPP in 2004.
Dr Delle, however, warned Chief
Executives against intimidating workers and called for programmes to help
change their perception towards government work.
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Defeat at polls offers NDC time for
self-assessment- Minister
Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 04 January 2001
Mr. Samuel Nuamah-Donkor, Ashanti Regional Minister on Tuesday said the defeat of the NDC at the recent elections provides the party an opportunity for a critical self-assessment.
"This is a testing period for the members and supporters to find out where the party went wrong and put things in order."
Mr Nuamah-Donkor was speaking at a get-together organised for the media and NDC functionaries at the residency in Kumasi to thank them for their support during his tenure of office.
He told supporters of the party not to be downhearted but should start preparing towards the next general election, adding: "whether the party will succeed or not will depend on all of us"
Mr. Nuamah-Donkor commended the media in the region for the support he enjoyed from them and expressed the hope that the in-coming administration will enjoy similar co-operation.
"Working in Ashanti is not easy but with your support and co-operation I have been able to discharge my duties to the best of my ability."
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