Nana Konadu criticises
Women's Ministry
Harness water resources for agricultural growth - Anku
Rights body to fight for human rights of HIV/AIDS victim
Police grab two men in Twifu-Mampong chieftaincy dispute
Inhabitants of Duodukrom appeal for financial, technical help
Nkoranza undertakes cashew farming to fund projects
School activities disrupted as result of clashes
Association of garages wants its office re-opened
Metropolitan assembly records increase in marriages
President Wade stops over in Accra
Customs head to proceed on indefinite leave
10 people
died in accident at Otrokper
Nana Konadu criticises
Women's Ministry
New Ningo (Greater Accra) 22 January 2001
Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, former First Lady on Saturday criticised the creation of a Women's Ministry by the NPP government saying the United Nations (UN) in 1995 made it clear that such an idea was not feasible.
Nana Agyeman Rawlings, who is also the President of the 31st December Women's Movement said according to the UN, it was better to ensure women's representation at the various ministerial levels to cater for women's issues.
She was speaking at a get-together, organised by the Ningo-Prampram constituency branch of the NDC at New Ningo on Saturday.
The feasting, which was blended with the traditional "Kpalogo" Music and speeches of encouragement was organised to thank supporters in the constituency for voting massively for the NDC in the recent elections.
On criticisms that she was interfering in government as the former First Lady, Nana Konadu said she was only supporting her husband, as she did not believe in idling simply because she was married to the President.
She said the opportunity to serve one's people may come once in one's lifetime and "I decided to serve Ghanaian women through the 31st December Women's Movement, which built a lot of day-care centres and provided income generating ventures for women."
"The DWM as an NGO will continue with its work in line with the principle of ensuring improved lives for deprived women," She stressed.
Nana Konadu called on the NPP government not to destroy the achievements of the NDC, which inherited empty coffers, but left behind a good image for the NPP to inherit.
She said during the 20 years rule of former President Jerry John Rawlings, 80 percent of Ghanaians gained access to water from a record low of 16 percent, while electricity supply increased from 20 percent to 95 percent of the population.
Over 2.3 million children are now in primary school because more schools were put up.
She said the youth who voted against the NDC especially between the age of 18 to 30 years knew only the Rawlings administration and had no basis for comparison, since they do not know what Ghana was like before Rawlings came to power.
Nana Konadu assured NDC supporters that the party is re-organising to come back to power and advised them to bury their differences to strengthen the party.
Mr E.T. Mensah, Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram, criticised the NPP for not ensuring regional and ethnic balance in the ministerial positions but favoured only Akans.
He also accused President John Agyekum Kufuor of playing double standards by condemning coup d'état, but flirting with Nigerian President Olusegun Obanjo, President Gnyansigbe Eyadema of Togo and President Blaise Compaore of Burkina Fasso, who all became heads of state through military coups.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 22
Jan 2001
Mr Frednard Anku,
Central Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education, on
Friday called for the harnessing of the country's water resources to ensure
all-year-round agriculture.
Mr Anku, who is a Geographer,
said seawater could be desalinated for drinking and for irrigation like in
Israel.
Speaking to the GNA in
an interview in Accra, he said the seawater desalination and sucking technology
could promote all-year-round cultivation of vegetables in the Lower Volta Basin
and the Accra Plains where rainfall is below 1,000 millimetres.
It could also sustain
the growth of Oil Palm, avocado pear, oranges, cocoa, rubber and plantain.
Mr Anku noted that
since the south-western corner of Ghana, records an annual rainfall of between
1,000 and 2,000 millimetres, it should be possible for Ghana to dam all rivers
and streams in the area for agricultural activities.
The dams could be used
to irrigate large tracts of land for plantain and banana production to save the
country from importing the items from Cote d' Ivoire.
Mr Anku said in South
Africa, no river is allowed to empty into the sea, they are dammed for both
livestock and cereal production.
He said rivers and
streams in the Northern Region could be developed into small-scale dams to
support farming, adding that even though the construction of dams are capital
intensive, they can pay for themselves in no time and become assets to the
nation.
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Accra (Greater Accra)
22 Jan 2001
The African Commission
on Health and Human Rights Promoters (CAPSDH), an NGO, has been mandated by the
United Nations Joint Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS) to fight for the human rights
of HIV/AIDS victims in Ghana.
It would also act as
the Secretariat for the Sub-Sahara Africa Network against Organised Violence
and Torture (SSANTOV), a network of torture rehabilitation centres.
Dr Edmund N. Delle,
President of CAPSDH, addressing a meeting of human rights activists in Accra on
Saturday, stressed the determination of CAPSDH to assist people whose rights
have been infringed upon and to pursue their cases in the media and before the
government, courts and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative
Justice
(CHRAJ).
It would also undertake
AIDS awareness and prevention campaign, using churches, schools and
identifiable groups.
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Cape Coast, (Central
Region) 22 Jan 2001
Two men suspected to be
members of the faction in a chieftaincy at Twifo-Mampong, who vandalised the
Omanhene's palace have been arrested.
The group is also
alleged to have desecrated the skeletal remains of the late Omanhene of the
traditional area, Nana Ampontenfi, during renewed hostilities on Tuesday
January 2.
Mr Bartholomew
Agbenyega, Central Regional Crime Officer, who disclosed this to the Ghana News
Agency at Cape Coast on Friday, said the two men, Ebusuapanyin Kwesi Addo, 57
and Kofi Atta Kakra, 54 are on police inquiry bail pending further
investigations.
The hostilities erupted
between the 'Akonfre' and 'Asokwa' royal families over the outdooring of a new
Omanhene for the area, Nana Appiah Nuamah II.
It is alleged that the
faction loyal to the new Omanhene, the Akonfre family, in their attempt to
retrieve the black stool, suspected to have been buried with Nana Ampontenfi,
vandalised the tomb.
The Queenmother, Nana
Nyamaa Broni was assaulted and was hospitalised for sometime, while about 13
houses and property worth millions of cedis were destroyed.
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Coaltar (Eastern Region) 22 Jan. 2001
The people of Duodukrom, a cocoa growing community, near Coaltar, in the Suhum-Kraboa-Coaltar District have appealed to the government and the Department of Feeder Roads for financial and technical assistance to rehabilitate a nine-kilometre feeder road linking the town with Dokorochiwah-Coaltar and Nsawam.
Making the appeal at a communal labour exercise, Baffour Duodu II, queenmother of the town, said about 10 million cedis had been spent on the first phase of the road, which is estimated at 50 million cedis.
Baffour Duodu said the first phase was funded through communal labour and contributions of 20,000 cedis a man and 10,000 cedis a woman.
Mr Obeng Kofi, Chairman of the road rehabilitation committee of the town, said if the road is made motorable, it would enhance the evacuation of cocoa and foodstuffs from the area to the urban centres.
He said due to the deplorable nature of the road, drivers have refused to ply the area during the raining season.
The inhabitants are therefore forced to carry their foodstuffs and cocoa for about 12 kilometres to Coaltar for sale, and called on the government to come to their aid.
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Nkoranza (Brong Ahafo) 22 Jan 2001
The people of Nkoranzafie in the Nkoranza District have decided to set up a community cashew farm to raise funds for development projects.
Mr. Kwaku Musah, assemblyman, told the GNA that the farm would help strengthen the financial wellbeing of the people by providing them with employment.
He said the project, which will be started on a two-hectare piece of land, will eventually cover 50 hectares.
The assemblyman urged the youth to get actively involved in communal labour to ensure the success of the project.
Mr. Musah urged farmers in the area to prepare fire belts around their farms and be cautious about naked fires to prevent fire disasters.
In a related development, about 82 bee-keeping farmers in the Nkoranza District have formed an association to co-ordinate ideas to enhance their activities.
Mr. Kwaku Poku Boah, Secretary, told the GNA that the formation of the association is to encourage more farmers to embrace bee-keeping.
He said researchers had identified honey produced in the district as very ideal for the manufacture of pharmaceutical drugs.
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Wa (Upper West) 22 Jan. 2001
Naayire Domegyiel, a 32-year-old farmer, who allegedly shot a 21-year-old woman, Tagfaa Dagfu, and secretly rushed her round hospitals in a bid to treat her, has been arrested and placed in police custody at Wa.
The shooting incident occurred at Fielmuo, a farming community in the Sissala District, near the Burkina Faso border, during the annual celebration of the Bagri Festival of the chiefs and people of the area.
According to Inspector Daniel Dorkpoh, Upper West Regional Police Public Relations Officer, on January 16, the Wa police acting on information that a young woman was on admission at the Wa Regional Hospital with gunshot wounds on both thighs, went to the hospital to ascertain the truth.
When questioned, the woman, who died the following day, said she was shot by the suspect during the festival on December 28, last year.
She said she was rushed to the Nandom Hospital where some of the pellets were removed but was later transferred to the Wa Hospital when her condition began to worsen.
The suspect, who was at the hospital when the police questioned the deceased, was immediately arrested.
The police said the suspect explained that during the firing of musketry at the festival, his single barrel gun failed to fire and when he lowered the muzzle to find out the cause, the gun fired and the bullets hit the deceased.
It is alleged he and the elders of the community decided to treat the victim without reporting to the local police.
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Old Abirem (Eastern Region) 22 Jan. 2001
Following a violent
clash between the inhabitants of Old Abirem in the Birim North District in the
Eastern Region and some five armed men suspected to be military personnel on
January 14, normal school activities in the town have been seriously affected.
This is because many
parents had fled the town with their children for fear of their lives, the
headmaster of both the Anglican Primary and L/A JSS schools, Mr. Daniel K.
Addae, told the press and said an average of 65 out of 229 pupils have been
attending classes daily.
In the case of the JSS,
Mr. Addae said between 30 to 32 reports daily.
He has therefore called
on both the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the military authorities to
institute measures to bring normalcy to the town.
Mr Addae said that
though all the teachers are at post, they do not feel safe, and had therefore
appealed to the District Director of Education to close down the schools until
the situation returns to normal.
The District Director of
Education, Mr. J.A. Essel, said he was not in a position to order the closure
at the moment, adding that he was closely monitoring the situation before a
decision could be taken.
On January 14, five
armed men, three in military uniform, allegedly drove through a funeral
procession in the town in an unregistered Hyundai Saloon car at top speed,
causing a misunderstanding between them and the inhabitants.
The men reportedly
stopped their vehicle and fired warning shots, which led to a violent
confrontation between
them and the inhabitants.
Two of the armed men got seriously injured
and were admitted at the Nkawkaw Holy Family Hospital whilst the remaining
three managed to escape on the vehicle.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 22 Jan 2001
Ten executive council members of the Ashanti regional branch of the Ghana National Association of Garages (GNAG), on Friday asked Mr S K Saahene, former chairman, to re-open the association's offices at Suame Magazine, in Kumasi.
A release issued in Kumasi and signed by its 10 council members, said since the association is non-political, Mr Saahene should begin administering its affairs.
A faction of GNAG led by one of its members, Mr Kwabena Boateng in 1995 accused Mr Saahene of colluding with spare parts dealers to sell parts of the association's land in Kumasi.
Mr Saahene and his executives were consequently removed, the office closed down and elections were held to choose new executives headed by Mr A.Z. Mohammed.
The release said since the new executive was elected, it had closed down the offices of the association without any justifiable reason.
It accused Mr Mohammed and his new executives of dragging the association into politics to the detriment of its members.
The release said a government white paper on the report of the committee of inquiry into the demonstration by members of GNAG in 1997, in which two people lost their lives described the association as a private entity.
The white paper said it was unable to interfere in its affairs by directing the resignation of any of its executive.
It therefore asked members and the public to direct all matters and enquiries on the association through GNAG's main office, headed by Mr Saahene.
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Sekondi (Western Region) 22 Jan 2001
The Registry of the Shama-Ahanta East Metropolitan Assembly (SAEMA) registered a total of 746 marriages last year.
The figure includes 231 marriages contracted under the ordinance and 515 licences issued for marriages in churches.
Sources at the Registry said there were also 12 customary marriages and 13 divorce cases.
The total number of marriages registered in 1999 was 672 made up of 261 marriages by ordinance and 411 marriages by licence.
Thirty customary marriages were registered and 10 customary marriages were dissolved in the same year, the source said.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 22 Jan 2001
President Abdulai Wade of Senegal on Saturday made a brief stopover in Accra on his way home after attending the 21st Session of the Franco-African Summit held in Yaounde, Cameroon.
The summit attracted 25 heads of state, two Vice-Presidents as well as UN chief Kofi Annan.
On board Presidential Wade's jet was Vice-President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, Minister-designate for Foreign Affairs Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, and officials of the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
They were met on arrival by President John Agyekum Kufuor and Nana Akufo Addo, minister-designate for Chief Justice and Attorney General.
Speaking to newsmen at the airport, Vice-President Aliu said the meeting acknowledged the fact that globalisation was a reality and that Africans should get on board or stand the risk or being marginalised.
He said African states were prevailed upon to put their acts together by being committed to peace and stability, avoiding conflict and making sure that the rule of law is upheld in their respective countries.
The Vice-President said new strategies and policies must be initiated by Africans to meet the challenges of globalisation.
Mr. Owusu-Agyeman said the summit was preceded by a ministerial session, which discussed issues including the bottlenecks of globalisation of Africa.
He said Ghana became the toast of the summit because of the peaceful transition from one government to another.
"Ghana received special place from the UN Secretary General for exhibiting their determination to allow democratic governance to take root in the country."
According to Mr. Owusu-Agyeman, the follow-up action by member states would indicate how beneficial the summit was.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 22 Jan 2001
The Commissioner of Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), Nii Adjei Okine, is to proceed on indefinite leave with immediate effect.
An official source from the Presidency who disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency in an interview on Saturday said the commissioner's letter was handed over to him on Friday. Nii Okine was appointed head of CEPS in February 1999.
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10
people died in accident at Otrokper
Koforidua (Eastern
Region) 22 Jan 2001
Ten persons including
three children died on the spot, while several others sustained various degrees
of injuries when two Mercedes Benz buses collided on a bridge near Otrokper in
the Manya Krobo district.
The bodies of all the
dead, including that of the driver of one of the buses belonging to the GPRTU,
could not be immediately identified.
The Ghana News Agency
(GNA) discovered at the Koforidua Central Hospital where the victims and the
dead were sent, that all the nurses and doctors on duty were busy working on
the injured.
GNA found out that one
of the buses was travelling from Atua to Asesewa, while the other one belonging
to the GPRTU was heading to Odumase Krobo from Asesewa.
It said the two drivers
failed to stop on a narrow bridge near Otrokper and in the process, collided.
The Matron at the
hospital, Mrs Rosemond Asante, told the GNA that the victims were in critical
conditions.
She said the nurses
were doing their best to treat the victims and that those with very serious
injuries would be transferred to the Korle-Bu hospital.
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