Ghana Airways dismisses eight employees
26 illegal chemical shops closed down
Bunja Council appeals for help against alien herdsmen
Ga Traditional Council announces Nii Amontia's death
Stakeholders attend workshop on water
Another bi-weekly hits the newsstand
GES performance agreement signed at Sunyani
Third SOS Village in Ghana for the Northern Region
State-owned timber firm appeal for consideration
Komfo Anokye Midwives not involved in strike action
NPP says 800 NDC supporters defect to it
Mahama: New censorship legislation in the offing
Police Hospital wants bodies collected by July 31.
Foundation to establish Emergency Medical Fund
African-Americans visit roots in the north
Ghana Airways dismisses eight employees
Accra (Greater Accra) 23 July '99
The board and management of Ghana Airways have dismissed eight employees of the company for misappropriating funds and using fraudulent invoices and credit notes to obtain tickets.
A release from the airline said the dismissals are part of efforts by management to eliminate fraud from the company.
The eight persons are Mr I.C.K Nyameshie, Mr G.K. Nyonyo, Mr Alfred Sefa-Boateng, Mr Michael Nubuasah, Mr P.C. Yoatse, Mr J.D. Dzimador, Mr A.O. Debrah and Mr John Sackey.
It said the dismissals are to deter staff from engaging in similar acts, adding that the board and management will continue to purge the airline of such activities.
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26 illegal chemical shops closed down
Tamale (Northern Region) 23 July '99
The Ghana Pharmacy Council has closed down 26 chemical shops in the Northern and Upper East regions for failing to renew their licenses for over five years and stocking drugs they are not qualified to sell.
The council also seized banned and expired drugs in the two regions during a monitoring exercise and cautioned a number of sellers who were operating as clinics or at unhygienic premises.
Mr Anthony Amalba, northern zonal officer of the council who disclosed this in an interview in Tamale, said the council is alarmed at the increasing activities of illegal drug vendors and marketing of sub-standard drugs in the two regions.
He accused pharmaceutical companies of selling all kinds of drugs to chemical shops in violation of professional ethics.
Mr Amalba said the zonal office, the third in the country after Kumasi and Sekondi, has the mandate to ensure a more effective system of drug control and regulation of pharmaceutical services.
He said the zonal office has enough logistics to sustain the operation in the three operational regions but needs additional staff to be more effective.
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Bunja Council appeals for help against alien herdsmen
Bunja (Northern Region) 23 July '99
Members of the Bunja Area Council in the East Gonja District have renewed their call on the authorities to help flush out alien herdsmen whose livestock, they say, continue to destroy their farms.
In a resolution passed at a meeting on Wednesday, the members said the herdsmen also indulge in social vices like stealing and rape.
The meeting deplored the attitude of security personnel towards the "legitimate concern" of the people which, it said, tends to encourage the herdsmen.
The members described as unwarranted the recent arrest by security personnel of some people at Kidengi for allegedly stealing cattle belonging to the Fulani herdsmen.
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Driver shot, car stolen
Cape Coast (Central Region) 23 July '99
Two armed robbers on Wednesday shot a driver twice in the abdomen and leg, pulled him out of the car and bolted with it at Cape Coast hotel in Cape Coast.
The driver, Mr Andrew Opoku, was rushed to the Cape Coast Regional Hospital, where he underwent operation but died in the early hours of Thursday.
The Regional Crime Officer, Mr Bartholomew Kwaku Agbenyaga, told newsmen in Cape Coast that the vehicle, a Nissan Patrol, belonged to the Village Infrastructure Project (VIP).
Mr Agbenyaga said the driver and the officer in charge of the project for Western and Central regions, Mr Patrick Larbi, went to the hotel to arrange for a seminar to be held there.
The drive sat in the car, while Mr Larbie went to the reception, from where he heard two gunshots.
He said the officer came out only to find the driver lying on the ground in a pool of blood and the vehicle taken away. There were two million cedis and a desktop computer in the car.
According to the crime officer, the owner of the hotel, Mr Kwamena Walker, said while sitting with some friends nearby, he saw two men walk towards the driver.
Suddenly they heard the gun shots and saw the car being driven away. He said the robbers used an untarred route to join the main Cape Coast-Accra road.
Mr Agbenyaga said no arrest has been made and that a post-mortem examination would be made on the body to know the type of ammunition used.
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Ga Traditional Council announces Nii Amontia's death
Accra (Greater Accra) 23 July '99
A delegation from the Ga Traditional Council on Thursday informed President Jerry John Rawlings of the death of Nii Olai Amontia II, Asere Mantse.
The delegation, led by Nii Adote Obuor II, Sempe Mantse, told the President that Nii Amontia died early this year and that the date for his funeral would be announced later.
President Rawlings said it was unfortunate that Nii Amontia had died at this time when he was making efforts to solve some of the many chieftaincy and land disputes in the Ga State.
"He carried a great responsibility," he said, and appealed to the authorities in the Ga Traditional Area to carry on from where Nii Amontia left off.
"You should not leave the burden on one person alone or on a few people. You should all contribute to finding solutions to problems which tend to fan disunity in the Ga Traditional Area."
President Rawlings said the government would soon come out with a policy to curb land disputes in the Ga Traditional Area.
"We are going to take measures to stop the mercenary activities of people in relation to land and we will need your support," he said, adding that in Africa, issues that could be easily resolved are politicised. This is hurting us."
The President told the chiefs and elders that "Accra is the heartbeat of the country. Therefore your role as traditional authorities is important and must complement government efforts. We have to set standards for the rest of the country."
He appealed to the KingMakers of Asere to make the process of finding Nii Amontia's successor peaceful. "And when you install a new chief give him your support. Do not leave the burden on him alone."
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Stakeholders attend workshop on water
Sunyani (Brong Ahafo), 23rd July 99 –
Stakeholders from Techiman and Sunyani districts on on Thursday attended a workshop to discuss the preliminary findings of a study conducted on water resources in the two districts.
The participants were made up of District Chief Executives, Assemblymen, opinion leaders and members of the two district assemblies.
The study, which was initiated by the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) and sponsored by the British Department for International Development (DFID), is part of the water sector improvement programme.
Mr Donald Adabre, Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, said in an opening address that notwithstanding the constraints of the economy, the government was making all efforts to address the water problems facing the various communities in the region.
He said for instance, rehabilitation programmes for head works in Sunyani, Berekum and Dormaa districts have been carried out of late to provide uninterrupted water supply.
Mr Adabre added that there are also on-going European Union (EU) water and sanitation scheme (WATSAN) projects, which are aimed at providing water systems to be controlled and managed by the communities.
He said that the study on the water resources in the two districts, which was undertaken by two British firms - Howard Humphreys and Partners Limited in association with the Hydrogeological Services International and Asafo Boakye and Partners in Accra, has revealed the availability of water in the districts.
Mr Adabre said the ground water resources are plentiful in certain parts of the region, especially in the Tano river catchment area where water yields are higher and small towns around could uninterruptedly be supplied from ground sources.
The regional director of the Ghana Water Company Limited, Mr Robert Tawiah Mensah, said the workshop was organised as part of efforts to consult with the stakeholders for a better understanding of their needs.
He hoped that the workshop would create the necessary understanding between the consultants and stakeholders to actualise the ideals of the project under study.
Mr Mensah thanked the government and the DFID for their efforts to seek a permanent solution to the inadequate supply of water in the region.
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Another bi-weekly hits the newsstand
Accra (Greater Accra), 23rd July 99 –
Mr Tim Acquah Hayford, Chairman of the National Media Commission said on Thursday the commission is vigorously addressing problems that impede the growth of the media in Ghana.
Issues like tax breaks for inputs, appropriate remuneration for media personnel and access to information law, are being pursued to save the nation from media famine, he said.
Mr Acquah Hayford was speaking at the launch of the Accra Mail, a non-political bi-weekly, edited by Mr Haruna Atta, a journalist and former editor of the " Statesman ", in Accra.
Publishers of the paper say they intend to keep its coverage to the Accra Metropolitan area and make it more human centred.
Mr Acquah Hayford said although there has been growth in the media since the inception of the 1992 constitution it faces problems like funding, obsolete technology, inaccessibility to information and illiteracy on the part of a majority of the populace.
He lauded the publishers of the paper for their ingenuity and hoped the values and pace outlined for the paper would help keep it in circulation.
Mr Atta called the paper "my retirement gift", saying that it would help him to wage his last stage of battle for society and the media.
He said politicians would not enjoy prominence in the paper, which is meant to help educate the public on topical issues.
"That era where (President) Rawlings and his wife were wrapped around my pen is gone, it is a relevant part of our history. I now want to please my soul by waging this war, which is human, centred.
He dedicated the paper to his wife, Nana Yaa Agyeman, who got out of her wheel chair recently after being struck down by a viral infection.
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GES performance agreement signed at Sunyani
Sunyani (Brong Ahafo), 23 July 99 –
Mr B.A. Aglaga, Brong Ahafo regional director of education says criticisms of the Ghana Education Service (GES) are based on the poor quality of education delivery despite the heavy expenditure on the sector.
In spite of heavy investment by government in education estimated at about 35 per cent of the national budget, there have not been desirable returns, he said.
Mr Aglaga who was speaking at the signing ceremony of the 1999 performance agreement of the GES at Sunyani on Thursday said the bane of the education service is that about 90 per cent of the GES resources are allocated to salaries, leaving only 10 per cent or less on non-salary expenditure, administration and service.
This in effect means that a vital resource, which must be available for effective and efficient delivery of education, is lacking in our schools and institutions, he said adding that this is one of the causes of poor quality of services being rendered to stakeholders.
The GES is therefore caught in a critical situation as to whether all resources must be devoted to salaries to starve the provision of teaching and learning materials to schools or to apportion resources to have the right mix of salary and non-salary expenditure, he added.
Mr Obeng Asamoah, Director of Finance and Administration at the GES Headquarters, explained that the performance agreement is between district directors of education and the regional director representing the GES.
He said it is designed to test the various instruments the service has put in place to ensure enhanced performance, accountability and control.
GES headquarters will undertake to provide funds, mechanisms that are fair, practical and non-bureaucratic under the agreement, and district directors of education will also undertake to achieve realistic objectives.
This would ensure effective and efficient utilisation of resources, Mr Asamoah said.
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Third SOS Village in Ghana for the Northern Region
Tamale (Northern Region) 23 July '99
The chiefs and elders of Sagnarigu near Tamale have donated a piece of land to SOS-Ghana to build the third SOS Village in the country.
The first two SOS Villages are at Tema in Greater Accra, and Asiakwa in the Eastern Region.
A press release issued in Tamale on Thursday concerning the Golden Jubilee of SOS International and the Silver Jubilee of SOS Ghana, said approximately 12-acre piece of land is free for the project.
The release, signed by Mr William Reid-Grant, SOS administrative officer, said the SOS Children's Village jubilee is being celebrated in 130 countries worldwide with a variety of activities.
In Ghana, the occasion coincided with SOS-Ghana silver jubilee and the awareness day has been conceived to increase public knowledge about SOS, its role and aims.
This will be an occasion for stakeholders, opinion leaders, interested parties in child welfare work and especially the press, to engage in fruitful, frank and positive discussions to find out what SOS stands for, how it operates and what plans it has for future challenges, it said.
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State-owned timber firm appeal for consideration
Mim (Brong Ahafo) 23 July '99
The general manager of Mim Timber Company (MTC), Mr Osei Kusi, has urged the Minister of Lands and Forestry to give priority to state-owned timber firms in the allocation of Timber Utilisation Contracts (TUC) as a means to safe-guard their continued operation and viability.
He stated that at the moment, Mim Timber, which is state-owned, is finding it difficult to clinch social responsibility contracts to support its TUC applications as demanded by the new forestry law due to excessive demands by communities in which it wants to acquire concessions.
Mr Kusi was speaking during a visit to the company by the sector Minister, Dr Christina Amoako-Nuama, on Wednesday as part of her three-day familiarisation tour of the Brong-Ahafo Region.
He contended that if priority is not given to firms such as Mim Timber, whose social responsibility contracts might not be impressive compared to private firms as a result of genuine constraints, they might be forced to fold up with dire consequences.
He said the company, which is on the divestiture list and has a labour force of about 1,500, exported over 5.5 million dollars worth of lumber, last year.
He said lack of concessions, a second dryer and a plymill has, however, forced the company to operate below capacity and appealed to the ministry to assist it get the necessary financial help to install the needed equipment to operate profitably.
The production manager of the company, Mr D.K. Kuma, said about one million deutsche marks is needed to acquire the additional machinery required to improve production and make it profitable.
Mr Kuma stated that though the company is slated for divestiture, its vast expanse of assets indicates that a buyer might not be found immediately and every effort must be make to keep it operational in order to attract the right market price.
Dr Amoako-Nuama explained that the award of Timber Utilisation Contracts is not solely determined by how much a timber firm is prepared to spend on community development as contained in its social contracts.
Past performance records of a company in afforestation, community service and general contribution to the national economy are all taken into consideration before the Forestry Commission awards a contract, she said.
Dr Amoako-Nuama was not happy about the performance of most state-owned timber firms and appealed to workers of all such firms to co-operate with management in finding solutions to operational difficulties facing them.
She expressed the hope that the management of Mim Timber would adopt the right strategies to reduce waste and improve efficiency, so that the company would
continue to contribute to the development of the Mim township and other areas where it operates.
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Komfo Anokye Midwives not involved in strike action
Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 23 July '99
Midwives at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) have decided not to take part in the strike action of junior nurses since other nurses of the hospital joined their colleagues at Korle-Bu yesterday to demand the payment of extra duty allowances for nurses.
When the GNA visited the hospital on Thursday morning, midwives at the Maternity Block were busy working. Other wards, however, were without nurses.
The polyclinic and other specialist consulting rooms were also holding clinics. One midwife said they did not see any justifiable cause for the strike since Mr Samuel Nuamah-Donkor, Minister of Health, has promised to get them paid by July 28.
"If we go on strike now, we have not acted maturely; we need to wait till 28th, if nothing happens, then, we would know the next line of action to take", she added.
Professor Albert Peter Asafo-Agyei, Chief Administrator of the hospital, when contacted said, the nurses would have to resume work because, first of all, the sector minister has promised to give them what they want at a certain deadline.
Secondly, the National Executive of the Ghana Registered Nurses Association has asked them to call off the strike.
"There is totally no justification for the strike action", he said.
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NPP says 800 NDC supporters defect to it
Atiteti (Volta Region) 23 July '99
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) says over 800 card-bearing cadres of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) were last Saturday "baptised into the fold of the NPP."
A statement issued in Accra signed by Mr Dan Botwe, NPP General Secretary, on Thursday said newly elected executives were also inaugurated.
The statement said the newly won party members defied a rain to attend the function, which also saw the swearing into office of over 30 people who had earlier in the week been elected to hold various positions in their wards.
In a resolution, the executives, who were sworn in by Mr S.A. Odoi-Sykes, National Chairman, promised to "defy all intimidation from the NDC" to work hard to ensure the success of the party.
The resolution assured the NPP that as cadres trained by the NDC to achieve two victories, they should expect them to deliver the same victory to the NPP.
In an acceptance speech on behalf of his colleagues, Mr Agbelie, newly elected chairman of the Atetiti ward, stated that their salvation lies in the NPP which, he said, is strong enough to protect and move them forward to prosperity.
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Mahama: New censorship legislation in the offing
Accra (Greater Accra) 23 July '99
Mr John Mahama, Minister of Communications, said on Thursday that efforts are underway to introduce new censorship legislation to replace the Cinematography Act of 1966.
Launching new film classification symbols in Accra, he said the Ministry of Communications and Attorney General's Department are working on the new law since the old one has become difficult to enforce.
The new classification symbols serve as a guide to parents and guardians regarding the suitability of films to be viewed by various age groups.
This is to help stem the increasing rate of violence, drug use, nudity, gang rapes, robbery and indecent assault of women in the Ghanaian society.
The symbols have been categorised into five. They are U for all age groups, PG for parental guidance, 12 representing films suitable for persons of 12 years old and over, 15 for persons of 15 years and above and 18 for persons of 18 years and above.
The symbols were developed by the Ministry of Communications in conjunction with television companies in the country.
Mr Mahama said the introduction and promotion of the symbols would help the public to determine the type of films to watch and minimise public discomfort at some of the films screened on local television stations.
He said in addition to the classification symbols, the ministry has directed television networks to carry out thorough editing of film materials to ensure that "unacceptable scenes" are removed.
The minister said based on the success of the usage of the symbols, the innovation might be extended to cover other artistic works, but he stressed that this shall be done within the framework of the constitution.
Mr Mahama called on the police to ensure that film houses in the country abide by rules governing their operations to avoid corrupting children.
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Police Hospital wants bodies collected by July 31.
Accra (Greater Accra) 23 June '99
The authorities of the Police Hospital wish to inform the general public that, in preparation for a decongestion exercise to be carried out soon, all those who have bodies deposited at the hospital's mortuary should take steps to collect them by Saturday, July 31, 1999.
According to a release from the Police Public Relations Directorate, failure to do so will compel them to carry out mass burial of the bodies.
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Foundation to establish Emergency Medical Fund
Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 23 July '99
The Anointed Fellowship Ambassadors (AFA) Foundation International Incorporated, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), is to establish a fund to finance medical emergencies in the country.
Mr Kofi Lucas, founder of AFA, said about 22 billion cedis would be mobilised before the fund takes off in January 2000.
He was opening a four-day seminar on emergency medical fund and health insurance, organised by AFA under the theme "Health for all by the Year 2020 - The Role and Challenges of the AFA Foundation International Incorporated" in Kumasi on Thursday.
The seminar, being attended by sponsors of the Medical Fund made up of representatives of churches, district assemblies and financial institutions, is to give them an insight of programmes of the Foundation.
Mr Lucas said initially, AFA would mobilise about 100,000 Christian families in the Ashanti region, which would be expected to contribute 100,000 cedis per family to the fund.
He said the Fund would be managed by institutions, including Data Bank and Gold Coast Securities, adding that part of it would be invested in projects to sustain the programme.
The Reverend Dr S. Asore, General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God Church, observed that even though efficient and quality health delivery is important for meaningful development, it is very costly.
Reverend Asore, who is also a member of the Council of State, stressed the need for practical ways to complement government's efforts aimed at achieving health for all by the year 2020.
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African-Americans visit roots in the north
Salaga (Upper West) 23 July '99
Fifteen African-American students of the South Illinois University at Carbondale in the United States of America have visited the slave market centre at Salaga as part of activities marking this year's Emancipation Day.
They also visited a number of towns in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions, including Tamale, Paga and Sandema. The tour was organised by the Centre for Savanna Art and Civilisation, a non-governmental organisation.
During a courtesy call on the Kpembewura, Alhaji Ibrahim Harruna Kibassibi the first, the chief called on Africans in the diaspora to see the area as their home and invest there.
He mentioned agriculture, education and health as areas that need to be developed, and said now that many people of African descent are tracing their roots, they should not make such visits mere symbolic gestures but help in the development of their ancestral homes.
The leader of the team, Professor Nancy Dawson, thanked the people for their hospitality and advised them to establish contacts with the students in order to persuade them to return home.
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