20 American volunteers to work in Ghana
Drug courier arrested at Kotoka Airport
Tema (Greater Accra) 07 January 2002 - Under a new fisheries law passed by parliament, trawling for fish in Ghana's territorial waters is now reserved solely for Ghanaians.
The law, currently awaiting Presidential assent, also stipulated that 50 percent of investment in Tuna fishing was reserved for Ghanaians instead of 25 percent in the past while foreigners could invest in the remaining 50 percent.
Mr Ishmael Ashietey, Minister of State in charge of Fisheries, announced this at the end of year get-together of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority workers of the Tema Fishing harbour at Tema on Saturday.
Mr Ashietey said this year the government would bring in some fishing vessels to enable Ghanaians to produce fish locally, saying that for the past few years the concentration had been on the importation of fish.
The intention was to raise annual local production from 400,000 to 500,000 metric tonnes while in the area of Tuna production government was inviting foreign participation to increase annual production from 70,000 to 100,000 metric tonnes.
Mr Anthony Jim-Fugar, Tema Fishing Harbour Manager in a welcoming address noted that output through the fishing harbour had been on the decline. For example, total fish landed dropped from 64,000 tonnes in 1999 to 59,000 tonnes in 2000 while it went up slightly to 62,000 tonnes last year.
Mr Jim-Fugar said fish imports also dropped sharply from 40,00 tonnes to 6,000 tonnes in 2000 and 3,000 tonnes in 2001, but noted that it was a good sign for the local fishing industry. The figure for imported fish did not give the true reflection of what was landed in Tema since bigger vessels discharged at the Tema main harbour.
He said, this year, the fishing harbour would be dredged to a depth of seven meters so that bigger vessels discharging at the main harbour would use the fishing harbour.
The Tema Fishing Harbour would also undertake a few capital projects this year and acquire two new mobile cranes by the end of this first quarter of the year to enhance its performance, he said.
Mr Jim-Fugar commended the workers for their hard work over the past year and advised them to improve upon it this year.
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Sunyani (Brong Ahafo Region) 07 January 2002 - Mr. Ernest Kwaku Debrah, Brong Ahafo Regional Minister said last night that the success of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the 2000 general elections was not a victory for the party alone but the country as a whole.
He said for the first time in the country's political history, a democratically elected government was voted out of office and this had won the admiration of the international community as a step and growth of democracy in Ghana.
Mr Debrah was speaking at a musical show in Sunyani to mark the ninth anniversary of the Fourth Republic and one-year milestone of the NPP administration.
The Regional Minister said some of the achievements of the government within one year included reduction in inflation and interest rates of commercial banks, stabilisation of the cedi, maintenance of peace and security, stoppage of the serial killing of women and repeal of the criminal libel law.
He said these developments demonstrated the government's ability to fulfil its campaign promises and called for patience and support for it to move the country forward.
Mr Debrah appealed to the people in the region to unite for the development of the area, saying, "if we allow politics to divide us, our socio-economic development will be retarded."
Let us do away with unnecessary rivalry, petty squabbles, selfishness, undermining and backbiting in the interest of the region, he added.
The Regional Minister advised the leadership and members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the region to think of how they could contribute to the development of the region, and not to spread lies and propaganda about the government.
Besides the musical show, there was a display of fire works by soldiers of the Third Battalion of Infantry in Sunyani, and which was watched by a large number of people including Mr Yaw Adjei-Duffuor, Deputy Regional Minister, heads of the security services and departments, and NPP regional functionaries.
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Kpando (Volta Region) 07 January 2002 - Professor Gilbert Keith Bluwey, of the Legon Centre for International Affairs (LECIA) has observed that the change in government has made a positive impact on the chiefs and people of the Akpini Traditional Area in the Volta Region.
He said about 70 per cent of the people from other political parties have returned home to join the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and for the first time in many years, two chiefs involved in a protracted chieftaincy dispute joined other chiefs at a grand durbar in honour of President Kufuor during his recent visit to the area.
Professor Bluwey told the GNA at Kpando that he was forced into the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in 1998 and made an executive member of the North Dayi constituency branch of the party as well as the government appointee to the Kpando Urban Council as a means to draw the former government's assistance to solve the dispute.
He said being instrumental in the negotiations to settle the dispute between Togbe Dagadu VII, Paramount Chief of the Akpini Traditional Area and Togbe Afendza, Senior Divisional Chief of one of the three divisions in the area, the NDC government lured him into their fold, but could not settle the dispute.
Professor Bluwey who claims to be an ardent member of the Danquah-Busia tradition and participated in the drafting of the NPP's manifesto in 1992 said "I have never had confidence in the NDC, they suspected me not to be loyal and never invited me to any of the important meetings held in the constituency even the recent re-organisation meeting of the party."
"The NDC only tolerated me and the many people who followed me into the party for our votes. Now about 70 per cent of the people in the area have returned home to the NPP and would help organise the party to win the seat in the 2004 elections," he added.
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Adidome (Volta Region) 07 January 2002 - Togbe Kwao Anipati President of the Council of North-Tongu Paramount chiefs declared on Saturday that the so-called election "world bank" associated with the area was not a bona-fide preserve of only one political party.
He said any people-centred political party could also win the people's hearts and assured the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government of massive support if they delivered to the expectations and aspirations of the people.
Togbe Anipati was addressing a durbar of chiefs and people of the area at Adidome in honour of President John Agyekum Kufuor on the last leg of his three-day working visit to the Volta region.
"Already, we are seeing some positive signs just in your first year in office'', he acknowledged. Togbe Anipati lauded work on the Sogakope-Adidome-Ho road and appealed for the inclusion of the Adidome township roads and the Juapong-Adidome road.
Togbe Anipati, who is also the Paramount chief of the Mepe traditional area described the North-Tongu District as "very deprived" and therefore required positive government interventions to change the status quo necessary for the opening up of the area for investment in its abundant clay and oyster shell deposits.
He appealed for funds from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFUND) for all five Senior Secondary Schools (SSS) in the district, which were poorly resourced.
Togbe Anipati hoped that the government would help address the infrastructural and logistic problems of the Adidome Hospital, which was the only major health facility in the district. He called for the creation of another district out of the North-Tongu District, which is too large and cumbersome to administer.
Responding, President Kufuor assured that the government was committed to equitable distribution of the nation's resources for the development of its people and appealed for support to achieve this goal.
He said the Tema-Aflao road and the Adidome-Volo road would be constructed in addition to equipping the Adidome Hospital to deliver quality service to the people.
President Kufuor said the government was studying proposals for the return of the hospital to the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana.
He said the creation of a new district out of the existing one would be considered after careful study of figures saying that new districts would not be created just for the sake of it.
The large enthusiastic crowd, which received President Kufuor converged at Adidome as early as 0900 hours and waited expectantly amidst drumming and dancing until his arrival at 1600 hours.
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Havedzi (Volta Region) 07 January 2002 - Forty percent of the Keta Sea Defence Project for reclamation of 275 hectares of land eroded by the sea has been completed.
Togbe Kporku III, Chief of Alakple and Project Director disclosed this to President John Agyekum Kufuor and his entourage when they inspected the project site at Havedzi on Saturday to round off his maiden three-day official visit to the Volta Region.
He said the project was progressing on scheduled but likely to be delayed by two major problems, which were the full payment of government's component and re-settlement of the people affected by the project.
Togbe Kporku said the project being undertaken by Messrs Great Lakes, Dredge and Dock Company of the United States (US) in conjunction with Messrs W.F. Baird and Associates was estimated at about 84 million dollars.
He said the Exim Bank of US was providing 72 million dollars and out of the government's counterpart funding of 12 million dollars, nine million dollars had been paid with the remaining three million dollars due for payment by the end of January, this year.
He said the contractors have threatened to stop work unless there was a guarantee of payment. The Project Director said about 10,000 people in Havedzi, Vodza, Adzido and Kedzi were to be re-settled to allow low lying areas now inhabited to be reclaimed.
The cost of re-settlement was estimated at about 4.5 million dollars about 32 billion cedis. President Kufuor, who was impressed about the progress of work, said it was a "marvellous piece of engineering work put into good economic and social use of the area, not only for the benefit of the people of Keta and Anlo but the entire nation.
Work on the project, which began on December 14, 1999 and expected to be completed on February 13, 2004, was to protect existing and planned development between Keta and Horvie from erosion.
It would also stabilise the shoreline to prevent inundation of inhabited areas by the sea, to reclaim land from the Keta lagoon for habitation and to prevent flooding from the lagoon.
Other benefits from the project include an eight-kilometre long dredged channel about 11 metres deep from Keta to Havedzi for water transport and other fishing and tourism.
A total of about 11 million cubic metres of sand and one million tonnes of rock were required for the project.
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Agona Swedru (Central Region) 07 January 2002 - Nana Akomeah, Deputy Minister of Tourism on Saturday sworn into office 20 American Peace Corps Volunteers after they had been taken through a nine-month induction course at Agona Swedru.
The volunteers would spend two years in the country and work in areas such as eco-tourism, forestry, environmental development, health, water and sanitation.
Addressing them, Nana Akomeah said America's continuous support for the socio-economic advancement of the country was a clear demonstration of a special love and interest, which that country had developed for the general well-being of the people of Ghana.
The government, Nana Akomeah said, would continue to co-operate and foster a more closer ties with the United States at all times.
He commended the volunteers for accepting the challenge to work in the country and also for incorporating HIV/AIDS education programme in their various fields of duty and hope they would evolve new innovations to make their stay in the country more beneficial.
He said the government could not afford to relent in its effort to reduce the spread of the AIDS and appealed to the volunteers to intensify their AIDS educational activities in communities they would be posted to work.
On tourism, Nana Akomeah stressed the need to promote the industry because it is the third largest foreign exchange earner of the nation.
He, therefore, entreated volunteers working in that sector to play a more leading role to assist municipal and district assemblies they would be working with to identify and map out potential tourism sites.
Mr. Leonard Floyed, the Country Director of Peace Corps, Ghana, urged the volunteers to constantly liase with the HIV/AIDS Co-ordinators to update relevant materials that would assist them deliver information on the disease.
He congratulated the volunteers on the completion of the challenging training programme successfully.
Miss. Emelia Authur, Site Director, said the Peace Corps had been equipped with technical skills to enable them to function effectively in their roles as development volunteers in the country.
Miss Arthur said the trainees lived with typical Ghanaian communities and became acquainted with their culture, especially languages.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 07 January 2002 – The Police at the Kotoka International Airport on Saturday evening arrested Godfred Addo Mc Smith, a 34-year-old Ghanaian for attempting to smuggle a large quantity of cocaine concealed in his shoes and other footwear into the country.
Mc Smith who hails from Ejisu in Ashanti was on board an Ethiopian Airline flight, according to a GNA story he said he was given the drugs by a Nigerian he met at Hong Kong to be delivered to some people who would meet him at the airport. "I was offered only 1,000 dollars for the job." He said.
Mr Patrick Timbilla Airport Police District Commander, who confirmed the story, said that Mc Smith, a car sprayer, said a friend took him to Hong Kong last October.
He said the police caught up with the suspect when he was about to board a taxi at the airport, after going through customs check and immigration formalities.
He initially denied carrying contraband goods when questioned by the police but a thorough search revealed a package concealed in the soles of his "combat boots" and a pair of children's boots.
Mr Timbilla said McSmith confessed to carrying cocaine, which he claimed was given to him to deliver to two men in waiting at the Airport who would identify him through the clothes he wore and his name.
He said McSmith also claimed that the men identified him and offered to provide a car to take him home but fled the airport when the police approached. Mr Timbilla said the suspect took off from Hong Kong on January 5, through Addis Ababa via Lagos to Accra.
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