Massive turnout at Bawku People's Assembly
Tributes paid to Bishop Owusu's memory
Thousands mourned Bishop Owusu
Stop indiscriminate sale of Fetteh lands - Chief
Madina police recorded 6,055 criminal cases last year
Spread of HIV/AIDS could shatter economy - DCE
Vision 2020 was stillborn - Minister
Bawku (Upper Eastern) 11 January 2002 - There was massive turnout in Bawku on Wednesday when a team led by the Defence Minister, Dr. Addo Kufuor, addressed a people's assembly.
The various ethic groups backed by their dance troupes performed at the grounds to show their preparedness for unity and development, amidst tight security.
Recently, violence erupted at Bawku among the Mamprusis and the Kusasis where a number of people lost their lives and properties were destroyed.
Dr. Kufuor told the people that the forum was not a political rally but an opportunity for the public to either criticise the government or praise it for its performance in the past year.
He said as a government that respected democracy, it was bound to account to the people on its stewardship and make amends where necessary through open discussions and suggestions from the governed.
He mentioned some achievements of the government and said in the past year, Ghanaians had been free to express their opinions without intimidation and harassment through the repeal of the criminal libel law.
He added that the value of the cedi had been stable, while inflation and bank interest rates also reduced. External reserves he said had also shot up thereby stabilising the economy.
During question time, most of the questioners wanted to know when a permanent solution would be found to the Bawku crisis, because they alleged that the commercial features of Bawku were dying off, while development was retrogressing.
They appealed to the government to expedite action to resolve the Bawku crisis once and for all to redeem the image and status of the area. The team earlier visited the Bongo District where a similar forum was held.
Dr Addo Kufuor, gave an assurance that the trunk road linking Bolgatanga and Bongo would be tarred from a loan facility of 220 million dollars acquired from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Other members of the team included the Minister for Tourism, Madam Hawa Yakubu, Deputy Minister for Lands and Forestry, Mr Clement Elidi and Alhaji Mugtar Musah Bamba, Deputy Minister in the office of the President.
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Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 11 January 2002 - Tributes were paid by various individuals and organisations to the memory of the late Right Reverend James Owusu, 74, Catholic Bishop of Sunyani who died in a motor accident on Friday, December 28, 2001.
The Bishop, whose body was brought to Sunyani on Thursday night, was due to be buried inside the Sunyani Catholic Cathedral after a funeral mass at the coronation park.
President John Agyekum Kufuor and his wife, Theresa, Ministers of State, MPs, Catholic Bishops of Ghana and neighbouring countries and Bishops of other denominations were among dignitaries attending the funeral.
Born in 1927 at Kwasibuorkrom in the Jaman District, Bishop Owusu was appointed in 1973 as the first Bishop of Sunyani Catholic diocese, which was carved out of the Kumasi diocese.
He celebrated his silver jubilee as bishop in 1998 and on December 8, last year, marked his 45th anniversary as a priest, having been ordained in 1956. Bishop Owusu was a chaplain of the Ghana Army before his election as a bishop.
The Brong Ahafo Region benefited in terms of socio-economic development through the provision of educational and health facilities established under his initiative.
Archbishop Peter Appiah-Turkson, President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference in his tribute said the late Bishop relates to each of the 17 Archbishops and bishops of the conference in a special and distinctive way.
He said although Bishop Owusu's origins and beginnings were lowly, he was armed with a strength of character, self discipline and determination, which manifested themselves in the seminary as admirable attributes of an athlete, a great sportsman and an admired footballer.
He rose to lofty heights as a priest and a prelate of honour (monsignor), a chaplain and a major in the Ghana Armed Forces, and finally a diocesan bishop.
Archbishop Turkson noted that in these high positions, the lowly origins of the late bishop never deserted him. "They stayed with him and were transmitted into an admirable blend of sterling simplicity, meekness, humility and forthrightness".
The Archbishop said the late Bishop, having served for a long time as the Episcopal Chairman of the Department of Health at the National Catholic Secretariat, won the respect and great admiration of the conference, upholding morality in the practice of medicine and in health care delivery.
He said Bishop Owusu was until his death the conference's chief adviser on Chaplainry issues and the leader of delegation to sector ministers and pertinent officials of the Ghana Army whenever the need arose. "In these, his simplicity and forthrightness were assets, which the conference will forever miss".
In their tribute, priests in the Sunyani diocese said: "What we have to say about him on this occasion will be personal, not directed to what he has done but to who he has been to us for the 30 years he shepherded us to work together as a formidable pastoral team in the diocese of Sunyani".
Describing the late Bishop as their father, they intimated that the father-son bond that characterised their working relationship with him, his supple spirit, his candour, affection, childlikeness, willingness to listen long and lovingly, and his utter trust in God were what endeared them most to him.
His colleagues of the Ghana Armed Forces expressed their pride in the late Bishop's efforts and achievements and especially the fact that he used his training and experience to aid him in his work.
No wonder his exploits set an example for others to follow, they said in their tribute. "The painful and sudden demise of our friend and colleague has robbed us of a wise counsel and a father confessor.
There were other tributes from the conference of Major Superiors of Religious Men and Women of the Catholic Church, his family, Diocese of Sunyani and Handmaids of the Holy Child Jesus.
Pupils of St Mary's Preparatory School, Sunyani, Knights and Ladies of Saint John, Catholic Women Association, Sunyani Diocese, also paid their respects describing the late bishop as an affable and fearless leader who would be missed sorely by them.
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Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 11 January 2002 - Thousands of mourners filled the Sunyani Coronation Park on Thursday to bid farewell to the late Most Reverend James Kwadwo Owusu, Catholic Bishop of Sunyani who died in a motor accident late last month.
Among the mourners were President John Agyekum Kufuor and his wife Theresa, both Catholics, Ministers of State, Members of Parliament, Bishops and Archbishops of the Catholic Church, chiefs, the clergy of other religious denominations and representatives of political parties.
A large number of the mourners were Catholics clad in black and white clothes, according to the church’s tradition. Apart from the "multitudes" inside the park, there were large numbers of mourners outside and others who made sure they participated in the funeral proceedings perched on tree-tops and on the roofs of buildings around the park.
Sunyani was in a mournful state as most stores were closed with few people on the streets. The hazy harmattan weather also added glamour to the occasion. As usual superstition about the death of the Bishop and the funeral had been rife among the people culminating in the attribution of a heavy downpour on Tuesday night to the fact that the rain was needed to "calm down" dust for a successful funeral ceremony.
Radio stations in the regional capital also contributed to the mournful state as they carried live commentaries of the funeral, and played funeral dirges to the delight and satisfaction of those at home.
Tributes from Bishop Akwasi Sarpong of the Kumasi Diocese and Most Reverend George Kuchery, Apostolic Nuncio, who delivered a message from the Vatican, among a host of others, drew tears from most of the mourners.
President Kufuor, on arrival at the park for the funeral with the First Lady and Ministers of State, filed past the body of the late Bishop, which was placed in an ash-coloured casket on a raised platform in the centre of the park.
The casket was draped in the national colours and a white-laced apparel with the cross. The platform was bedecked with flowers and hordes of wreaths from the state, churches, friends, family and sympathisers.
In a homily, Most Reverend Peter Kwasi Sarpong, Catholic Bishop of Kumasi, said the death of Bishop Owusu was not a calamity but a warning "to those who forget that one day they will die and are therefore hardened in criminality."
Bishop Sarpong urged Christians not to be insensitive to the plight of their neighbours but be models of manpower and human resources development, which he said were the "hallmark of Bishop Owusu in his apostolate."
After the sermon a minute's silence was observed in memory of the late Bishop. Paying their last respects, President Kufuor and his wife Theresa carried the wine and the waivers for the communion in the mass (service) to the altar.
Mr Joseph Henry Mensah, Senior Minister, who paid a tribute on behalf of the government and people of Ghana, said the nation and the Brong Ahafo Region had lost a great statesman.
The government, he said, would continue to play its part in partnership with the church for the progress of the people in unity and love.
Mr Mensah appealed for unity and co-operation to settle the strained relationship between the chiefs and people of Japekrom and Drobo traditional areas, a problem whose solution was very dear to the heart of the late Bishop Owusu.
On behalf of the government, Mr Mensah donated a carton of schnapps, two bottles each of whisky and gin, four cartons of beer, four crates of soft drinks and 10 million cedis.
President Kufuor later laid a wreath on behalf of the government and people of Ghana, Mr Ernest Akubuor Debrah, Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, also laid one on behalf of the chiefs and people of the region, while the Most Reverend Peter Kwadwo Appiah Turkson, Archbishop of Cape Coast and President of Catholic Bishops Conference laid one for the bishops in Ghana and world-wide.
The mass was officiated by Most Reverend George Kocherry, Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, Togo and Benin. The funeral mass came to a climax when the casket containing the mortal remains of the late Bishop was lifted up at 3 p.m. by a six-man military personnel and handed over to eight Catholic priests.
The priests in turn carried it on foot for a distance of about one kilometre for interment at the Christ the King Cathedral. The late Bishop, as a retired military officer, was given a 21-gun salute after his casket was lowered into an erected spotless whitish ceramic tiled tomb at the catacomb of the Cathedral.
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Gomoa Fetteh (Central Region) 11 January 2002 - The Chief of Gomoa Fetteh in the
Central Region, Nana Abor Yamoah II, has warned people parading themselves as chiefs and agents of the traditional authority to stop the indiscriminate sale of lands in the area to prospective developers.
Speaking to newsmen at Gomoa Fetteh on Thursday, Nana Yamoah, who is the Twafohene of the Gomoa Akyempim Traditional Area, said he had not appointed anybody to sell land or act as his agent in the area.
He noted that some people parading themselves as chiefs were selling land especially at Budumburam (Liberia Camp), Fetteh Kakraba, Kobina Andoh, Anapa Nsu, Kojo Oku and other settlements.
Nana Yamoah urged people who had acquired land within the area to contact him to regularise their transactions to avoid future complications.
While investors were welcome to create jobs for the unemployed youth in the area, they should acquire land for their ventures through the right channel, he said adding that, "we do not want to plunge our tenants into land disputes."
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Madina (Greater Accra) 11 January 2002 – About 6,055 criminal cases were reported at the Madina Police Station between January and December last year.
The cases included murder, abortion, abduction, narcotics, assault, stealing and unlawful entry, fraud, threatening, rape and defilement and causing harm among others.
Out of the total number, assault topped the list with 1,985 cases followed by stealing and unlawful entry with 1,857. The least cases reported last year were murder and abortion with two and four cases respectively.
The statistics available also indicated that the highest number of cases of stealing ranging between 196 and 204 were recorded between November and December last year. In all the month of November 2001 recorded the highest number of cases of 635, with January recording the least of 327.
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Yendi (Northern Region) 11 January 2002 - Mr. Mohammed Tijani, Yendi District Chief Executive, has said that the country's aspiration to attain a middle income status would be shattered if concrete measures were not taken to check the spread of HIV/AIDS.
He said the youth, who form majority of the sexually-active members of society were being infested with HIV/AIDS at an alarming rate, and the direct consequences would be that most of them would die of the disease.
Mr. Tijani said this at an HIV/AIDS seminar organised by the National Population Council for 45 assembly members, youth associations, traditional rulers, and religious organisations at Yendi on Wednesday.
The participants, who were drawn from the Yendi and Zabzugu-Tatale districts, discussed topics on HIV/AIDS, capacity-building of the youth for national development and the impact of tradition and culture on population management in the Dagbon Traditional Area.
The DCE said HIV/AIDS menace was a worry to the government and called on all Ghanaians to help prevent its spread. Mr. Tijani said, as part of efforts to minimise the spread of HIV/AIDS, the government had made a statutory provision of one per cent of the district assembly's common fund to the assemblies to undertake HIV/AIDS education.
He said HIV/AIDS committees had been formed at national, regional and district levels to mobilise the human, financial and institutional resources for the fight against the disease.
Quoting a World Health Organisation (WHO) report, Mr. Tijani said out of the 33 million people infested with HIV/AIDS world-wide, 22 million of them live in Africa.
He said about four million new cases of the disease were reported in Africa in 1998 while 200 people were being infested daily in Ghana. Life expectancy in Africa, he said, was also likely to go down as a result of HIV/AIDS infection, and urged the youth to check their sexual behaviour.
Mr. Alhassan Amadu, Northern Regional Population Officer, advised the participants to share their knowledge with people in their communities to stop the spread of the disease.
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Somanya (Eastern Region) 11 January 2002 - The Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Edward Osei-Kwaku has described the Vision 2020 programme of the former National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration as "a stillborn document".
He said due to mismanagement, corruption and shortsightedness that went into the formulation of the programme, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration found it unviable to be continued and had to replace it with a 10-year development plan.
Mr Osei-Kwaku was answering a question on why the NPP administration had decided to replace the Vision 2020 with its own economic blue-print at a "People's Assembly" at Somanya in the Yilo Krobo District on Wednesday.
He said for the five years that the previous government was supposed to be implementing the programme none of the projected growth rates was achieved, saying: "From all indications, the vision of Ghana becoming a middle-income economy would have been a mirage."
He explained that it was for this reason that the NPP administration decided to come out with a 10-year economic programme that would be "more realistic and manageable".
On misgivings about the selected players for the Black Stars for the CAN 2002 in Mali, the Minister explained that the selection was based on the professional assessment of the players by the coach and the approval by Ghana Football Association (GFA) and said the team was capable of winning the trophy for the country for the fifth time.
The Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Moses Daniba on complaints by some parents over the charging of school fees by some heads of institutions above the government's stipulated fees, warned such heads to abide by the approved fees or face sanctions.
He warned that the government would not sit unconcerned for a few selfish school heads to defeat the policy of alleviating the sufferings of parents in their efforts to educate their children at affordable cost.
Mr Daniba gave the assurance that the payment of premiums under the proposed Health Insurance Scheme by those in the informal sector, such as farmers, would be tailored to meet their seasonal incomes situation as done by some community-based schemes already in place at Nkroranza and Dangbe West Districts.
The Eastern Regional Minister, Dr Francis Osafo Mensah, announced that 1,000 women farmers in the region were to be selected for credit facility under the government's Women-in-Agriculture policy this year.
He said the telecommunication industry was being opened up for more competition and said telephone connection to Somanya would be undertaken soon. The District Chief Executive for Yilo-Krobo, Mr Christian Tettey told the people that 10 kilometres of roads at Somanya would be tarred this year while eight selected feeder roads and a number of markets would be rehabilitated.
He announced that the district was among the five selected in the region to implement the President's Special Initiative on Cassava for the production of industrial starch, saying 40.5 hectares had already been acquired for the purpose while over 2,000 farmers would be registered under a Corporate Village Enterprise to implement the project.
A farmer appealed for the supply of more tractors to enhance agricultural production in the area while the District Director of Agriculture, Mr John Tsra-Kasu, appealed to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to build workers flats in the districts.
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Ejura (Ashanti Region) 11 January 2002 - Mr Sampson Kwaku Boafo, Ashanti Regional Minister, has said that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government abhorred
one-party state and would, therefore, do nothing to dismantle the other parties.
Mr Boafo told a Peoples' Assembly held at Ejura to mark the one-year anniversary of the NPP administration and ninth year of the Fourth Republic that the increasing provision of infrastructure and services in the health, education and social sectors in the years ahead would give cause for the electorate to vote massively for the NPP in the 2004 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
Mr Boafo announced that steps to build more cribs at Ejura to solve the protracted problem of post-harvest losses was far-advanced. Collapsed agro-based industries would be revamped so as to stem the tide of rural-urban migration.
Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, Minister of Energy, stated that the NPP government thought it wise to adopt the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative because the nation's per capital income was 390 dollars as compared to the standard per capital income of 690 dollars.
The Energy Minister said, even though, Ghana abounded in wealth, its citizens were poverty-stricken due to the immediate past government's administrative malfeasance.
Mr Kan-Dapaah stressed that benefits accruing from the HIPC initiative would be translated into a significant improvement in the lot of Ghanaians in the few months ahead.
Touching on agricultural inputs, the Deputy Minister of Local Government, Hajia Alima Mahama said 50 tractors and 72 power tillers had been assembled for distribution and that Ejura was to benefit from it. Madam Elizabeth Owusu, District Chief Executive, enumerated the number of projects that had been executed in the district.
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