Installation of Abesimhene ends in confusion
Police order vehicle owners to dismantle top lights and sirens
Population Council focuses on women empowerment
Think of overall interest of society, investors told
Junior Doctors lash out at Pricewaterhouse Report
Reform Party yet to receive Final Certificate - Official
NPP boss says electoral alliances cannot be ruled out
Delle says CP congress was successful
Poverty alleviation fund in debt at Adansi
Installation of Abesimhene ends in confusion
Abesim, (Brong Ahafo) 14 July '99
The scheduled installation of the new chief of Abesim, near Sunyani ended in chaos when two of the three contestants were carried shoulder high by their supporters even before the presentation of the queenmother's nominee.
Police had to throw tear gas to disperse the thick crowd and stone throwing youth to offset any calamity during the unfolding drama.
The three people contesting the stool are Mr Kwabena Adoma, an educator, Mr Kwabena Obiri, a Tema-based businessman, and Mr Kwame Ansu, a Sunyani-based private legal practitioner.
The Queenmother, Nana Yaa Pomaa, after keeping the people in suspense nominated Obiri and presented him to the kingmakers for their acceptance.
However, the kingmakers were divided about Obiri's nomination and therefore informed the elders of the town that the matter should be referred to the Omanhene of Dormaa, the traditional overlord of Abesim.
The Queenmother, however, insisted that all the charges that have been levelled against Obiri were not tangible and there was no need to consult the Omanhene of Dormaa Traditional Area.
It was during the unfolding episode that the two candidates were carried shoulder high by their supporters and paraded through the streets.
The entire crowd which had gathered at the forecourt of the Abesim palace to witness the installation had to ran away from the scene when the tear gas was thrown.
A number of security personnel were deployed to the town to quell any possible disorder in the aftermath of the still-born installation.
However, there was calm yesterday morning even without the presence of the security personnel.
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Police order vehicle owners to dismantle top lights and sirens
Accra (Greater Accra) 14 July '99
The Police Administration on Tuesday ordered vehicle owners who have installed top lights and sirens on their vehicles to dismantle them within seven days or face the law.
A statement signed in Accra by the director of the Police Public Relations Unit, DSP Angwubutoge Awuni, said vehicle owners who flout the order will have their vehicles impounded. The owners will also be prosecuted and will be charged for the dismantling of the gadgets.
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Population Council focuses on women empowerment
Accra (Greater Accra) 14 July '99
The National Population Council (NPC) on Tuesday said women empowerment, girl-child education and unsafe abortion would be the core of its programme for the next millennium.
These, according to NPC, form part of the world population agenda formulated by the International Conference for Population and Development for the 21st Century.
Taking its turn at the meet-the-press series organised by the Ministry of Communications, the NPC said these could be achieved through strengthening linkages with government ministries, departments and agencies and non-governmental organisations to intensify public education.
Dr Richard Turkson, Executive Secretary of NPC, outlining the Council's strategies said partnerships with the public sector, donor agencies and NGOs have already produced a number of important policy guidelines for population control.
They include the medium-term health strategy, national reproductive health policy, draft national adolescent reproductive health and national communication strategy.
Dr Turkson said there has been significant progress in implementing these policies that have resulted in the enactment by parliament of the Children's Bill.
Similarly, there has been a sharp decline in fertility rates from 6.5 children per woman in 1960 to 4.5 in 1998, while the use of modern contraceptives have improved from five per cent in 1981 to 13 per cent as of now.
"The NPC has actively participated in mobilising the necessary commitment and support for the next population and housing census which, when completed, should equip our implementing partners with the much-needed data for integration of population factors into the development planning processes at all levels..."
In Ghana, the warning that rapid population growth could be an obstacle was ignored until 1969 when it adopted a comprehensive policy on measures to address the problem.
However, the absence of a well-articulated and co-ordinated institutional machinery to translate the various population objectives into action, contributed to the magnitude of the population issues confronting the nation today.
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Think of overall interest of society, investors told
Takoradi (Western Region) 14 July '99
Vice-President John Atta Mills on Tuesday called on prospective investors not to think only of their private gains but also the overall interest of the society.
" They (Investors) should have in mind what they can put back into the society in the form of improving the existing conditions of health, education, social services and sustainable employment opportunities. "
Professor Mills cautioned against " unnecessary competition and confrontation among investors especially between new investors and existing ones, citing the protracted case of Benso Oil Palm Plantation (BOPP) and the new emerging mining companies over arable land for surface mining.
The Vice-President was opening a two-day trade and investment conference for the Western Region at Takoradi, aimed at exposing investment potentials of the region.
The conference is on the theme: "The Western Region - the key to Ghana's economic development in the 21st Century ".
Pro Atta Mills urged the conference being attended by business concerns from the private and public sectors, policy planners, Chief executives and Chiefs to focus on human-centred strategies rather than only promoting private motives.
Professor Atta Mills reiterated government's determination to do all that is necessary to enable investors to take advantage of the vast potential resources of the Western Region.
In line with this, government had launched a study with the World Bank to design a strategy for the development of the region in the context of the national project for accelerated growth.
Government, Professor Mills said, is intensifying its role as a facilitator and creator of a conducive environment to boost the private sector through a suitable policy framework and the provision of infrastructure.
He identified a number of problems mostly the lack of social infrastructure like roads, utilities and inadequate educational and health facilities and said strenuous efforts were underway to address them.
Vice-President Mills said apart from the need to further develop the infrastructural base, there is the need for the development of complementary activities and services to assist the envisaged investment.
Mrs. Esther Lily Nkansah, Western Regional Minister, called on prospective investors, both foreign and local, to take advantage of the region's resources and rich endowments and invest without any apprehension.
She said the region has all the good things, which can turn over their investment and has friendly environment and an open door policy.
Over the last decade, conscious efforts have been made to change the unattractiveness of the region for economic growth and investment.
This turnaround, Mrs. Nkansah, said begins with the collaborative initiative taken by the government and the World Bank to undertake an in-depth study of the region five years ago.
Mrs. Nkansah said this positive development was further accelerated by the new investment climate, which has enabled a number of companies to invest in the region especially in the mining sector.
An exhibition of the potentials in the region in the area of wood products, mining, batik textiles, machinery, building materials and natural resources including oil and gas was organised as part of the conference.
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Abira (Ashanti Region) 14 July '99
Seventeen African Americans from Chicago in the United States who have adopted Abira community in the Kwabre District as their hometown paid their third visit to Abira on Sunday.
The team, led by Mr Kwaku Louis Wright, Team Administrator and Mr Kwaw John Zeigler, Connections Co-ordinator, both of the Youth Guidance Agency in Chicago, joined the homesters to clean the St. Joseph's Maternity Clinic.
They later held discussions with the hospital staff about their problems.
Members of the group worshipped at the Ebenezer Methodist Church, St. Joseph's Catholic Church, the Temple of Peace or the Assemblies of God Church.
Preaching at the Assemblies of God Church, the Pastor in-charge, the Rev. Augustine Obeng, called on the congregation to encourage their children to acquire higher education.
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Junior Doctors lash out at Pricewaterhouse Report
Accra (Greater Accra) 14 July '99
Junior doctors at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital say they are "completely dissatisfied and totally disappointed" at their basic salaries as shown in the new salary scales of the Pricewaterhouse Report.
This was the outcome of a meting of junior doctors on July nine on problems associated with the implementation of the Report.
A statement issued in Accra on Tuesday signed by Dr George Boateng Kyei, spokesman for the junior doctors, said: "We are shocked to notice that contrary to the many promises made by various government officials that the Pricewaterhouse report will solve our basic salary problems, it has rather come to worsen it".
"By this, government has not demonstrated any commitment to retain doctors in the country - the number of which is ever dwindling."
They urged the government to take serious steps to address the basic salary problems for doctors, and for all, "since the present salary can only be described as shameful.
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Reform Party yet to receive Final Certificate - Official
Accra (Greater Accra) 14 July '99
The National Reform Party (NRP) has not yet received its final certificate from the National Electoral Commission.
However, the name of the party has been Gazetted since June 17, Mr Kyeretwei Opoku, Interim General Secretary of the National Reform Party, said in Accra at the weekend.
He told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Accra that 40 days after the Gazeting it would receive the final certificate.
Mr Opoku said no adverse findings had been found against the party after it obtained a provisional certificate from the Electoral Commission in June.
He said the party has begun programmes aimed at consolidating it in the country.
These include membership drive, education on the party's strategies and awareness creation, and administrative matters.
Mr Opoku said the party has slated February 2000 for a congress to elect party leaders and presidential candidate.
He said in all its decisions and deliberations, the NRP makes gender issues priority and a special desk has been created to handle women affairs.
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NPP boss says electoral alliances cannot be ruled out
Accra (Greater Accra) 14 July '99
The National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Sammuel A. Odoi-Sykes says co-operation and alliances cannot be ruled out in national politics.
He said if the need arises, the opposition political parties, especially the Convention Party and NPP, will have to enter into an alliance in order to wrest political power from the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Mr Odoi-Sykes told the Ghana News Agency in Accra at the weekend that experiences from the 1996 electoral pact of the defunct Great Alliance was a trauma and politicians of the Nkrumaist and Danquah/Busia traditions have learnt their lessons and mistakes.
Asked whether the NPP will contest seats in constituencies where there are sitting PCP Members of Parliament, the NPP Chairman said there has not been any formal pact that the NPP will not contest such seats.
However, he added, "it does not mean we cannot have alliances at constituencies."
On the chances of the NPP in next year's general elections, Mr Odoi Sykes said the party is seriously preparing for the contest saying "we have confidence in Mr John Agyekum Kufuor NPP's Flag-bearer), that he will beat any candidate the National Democratic Congress chooses."
He said Ghanaians are yearning for change and it is the NPP that will bring about the needed change.
Touching on the performance of the Minority Group in Parliament, Mr Odoi-Sykes said "they are doing very well but they are not given adequate publicity."
He said the finance, campaign and publicity committees set up by the NPP have started work and by the end of September this year they must have identified their problems and provide the necessary solutions to enhance the chances of the party in the poll.
Mr Odoi-Sykes said presently the party is concentrating on putting up structures on the ground and organising the whole country on the basis of polling stations.
He said the party is recruiting polling agents and training them to prevent electoral malpractices and complete its parliamentary primaries by the end of next September.
The NPP Chairman said the party would also start outdoor activities and provide resources such as computers and fax machines for constituency offices.
Money has always been the problem of the party and efforts are being made to mobilise funds, he said.
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Delle says CP congress was successful
Accra (Greater Accra) 14 July '99
Dr Edmund Delle, a contestant of the chairmanship of the Convention Party (CP), on Tuesday congratulated the national executive committee, supporters and delegates to the just-ended congress of the party for exhibiting loyalty and solidarity to Nkrumaism and the party at large.
In a statement, Dr Delle said although the congress failed to elect a chairman, it was no doubt a successful one and hoped that members would remain united and calm until the next congress.
He said members of the party have again demonstrated to the world that the fate that has robbed their mother party, the Convention People's Party, of its fortune cannot stop them from organising themselves and struggling to recapture lost ground.
"It is for the show of this heroism that I commit myself more than ever to become the 'political Jushua' to lead the party on its final journey to victory in the forthcoming general elections.
Last Saturday, Dr Delle polled 399 votes to place second to Dr Abubakar Alhassan who polled 419 votes for the position of national chairman.
Both of them failed to secure 50 per cent of votes cast as stipulated by the party's constitution.
Instead of a second ballot, pressure was put on Dr Delle to bow out for Dr Alhassan to be declared Chairman, but he refused.
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Poverty alleviation fund in debt at Adansi
Obuasi (Ashanti Region) 14 July '99
Only 13 million cedis out of a total of 60 million cedis distributed to 92 beneficiaries for poverty alleviation by the Adansi West District Assembly in 1996 and 1997 has so far been recovered.
An additional 20 million cedis given out to 58 persons last year under the Poverty Alleviation Fund is yet to mature for recovery.
Mr George Adu-Mensah, the District Chief Executive, who made these known was answering a supplementary question from Mr Akwasi Afrifa, M.P. for Fomena at the third ordinary meeting of the assembly at Obuasi.
The first question which stood in the name of the assembly member for Obuasi Wawase Junior Quarters sought to know the number of persons who had so far benefited from the fund in the district.
Before the question time, the assembly members had discussed at length, and with misgivings, the manner in which stalls at the Obuasi 'Koobi' market were allocated.
At the end of the deliberations, the assembly cancelled all allocations made and directed a fresh allocations of the stalls.
In his sessional address, Mr Adu-Mensah reminded the assembly members of the arduous task ahead of the assembly in providing the development needs of communities in the district.
Mr Francis K. Adei, the presiding member, commended the members for their commitment towards assembly duties.
He, however, expressed concern about slow implementation of the assembly's decisions stressing that "it is not commendable"
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