GRi Newsreel -
Ghana 07 - 07 - 2000
Chamber
of Commerce reacts on spate of murders of women
Accra
(Greater Accra) 07 July 2000
President
Jerry John Rawlings has described the devolution of power from a centralised
government to a decentralised system as one of the fundamental changes chalked
during his tenure of office.
He also
listed the current accelerating of integration process in the sub-region as
another feat, though he admits, things have been slow.
President
Rawlings said these when he spoke to the "International Herald
Tribune" and gave his assessment of Ghana and contemporary Africa today.
He said the
government is no longer a distant mystery, adding: "hundreds of thousands
of ordinary folks now take part in planning, determining priorities and
monitoring social infrastructure development projects".
President
Rawlings stressed that it was a personal choice, Ghana made to develop good
governance from the bottom up rather than impose a thin superficial layer of
governance from above.
He said
Ghana has regained international respect as an example of peaceful development
and to Ghanaians, the maintenance of peace and stability in an often, troubled
continent is of great significance.
The
President called for more work to be done to realise the objectives set out by
the founders of the sub-region.
"At
this time of globalisation, it is vital that West Africa should form a well
integrated economic bloc, and our concerns manifesting by the 'fast-track'
approach, instituted by Ghana and Nigeria last year".
President
Rawlings said the objectives of a "borderless" and single monetary
zone, was endorsed at the ECOWAS 25th Anniversary Summit in Abuja in June.
He
indicated that peace in West Africa is necessary for the success of ECOWAS,
saying Ghana's peacekeeping goal in Liberia and Sierra Leone undertaken at
considerable cost to the economy, is to achieve stability in the region.
President
Rawlings said he was happy that the international community has now taken
interest in the conflicts.
"Fortunately,
the international community is now taking a rather belated interest in those
conflicts".
On the
forthcoming general election, President Rawlings was upbeat, noting, "this
will be the first time that a Ghanaian head of state has stepped down at the
end of his constitutional term of office".
He stressed
the need for the elections to be conducted in a peaceful and calm atmosphere to
ensure fairness and transparency, "if we are to consolidate our new
tradition of stability and continuity in governance through the electoral
process."
He said
opposition parties will obviously emphasise anything negative, as they are
doing already, blaming the government for the economic difficulties, "but
I have confidence in the good sense of our people to understand the factors
responsible for our present difficulties".
GRi../
Accra
(Greater Accra) 07 July 2000
Stealing
during traffic jams and at traffic lights in the Accra Metropolis has been on
the increase with thugs making away with parts of vehicles and items from
passengers.
A Ghana
News Agency (GNA) investigation has shown that thugs, who operate in groups,
stand a few metres away from traffic lights and watch the signals. When the
light changes to red and the vehicles stop, they move close and pretend to be
crossing.
However, as
soon as the green light shows and the vehicles begin to move, they snatch
whatever is within reach and ran away. They also remove vehicle parts in
traffic, especially, when women are driving.
Items that
are stolen include side mirrors of vehicles and wristwatches, bags and
necklaces.
This new
type of thuggery is found around areas such as Rawlings Park, Graphic Road, the
highway in front of the Kaneshie Market, High Street and Tudu.
It is also
alleged that some shop owners around these areas readily buy these stolen items
at ridiculously low prices.
Some of the
victims interviewed said the thugs operate between 1700 and 2000 hours and
appealed to the Inspector-General of Police to detail police personnel to such
places to guarantee the security of motorists.
They
advised motorists to lock their doors and roll up their side windows and be
extra vigilant when in traffic.
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Essuehyia
(Central Region) 07 July 2000
The
Central Regional branch of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has elected three more
candidates to contest this year's parliamentary elections.
They
are Miss Joyce Thompson, Regional Women's Organiser, for Mfantseman East, Mr
Samuel Obodai, a Pharmacist for Agona East and Mr Emmanuel Acheampong,
Educationist for Gomoa East.
They
were elected at constituency delegates conference at the weekend at Essuehyia,
Agona Abodom and Gomoa
Akwankrom.
At
Essuehyia, Miss Thompson polled 68 votes to beat Mr Bashir Hayford who had 15.
She
thanked the delegates for the confidence reposed in her and promised to work
harder to beat the incumbent NDC MP.
Miss
Thompson promised to ensure the accelerated development of the area when she is
elected.
Mr
Kweku Ofori-Aidoo, Second Regional Vice-chairman appealed to members to close
their ranks to ensure victory in the 2000 elections.
Mr
Albert Essuman, Regional Secretary said Ghanaians need a change to rescue the
economy.
At
Gomoa Abodom, Mr Obodai who was elected unopposed expressed gratitude to the
delegates and urged members of the party to embark on a house-to-house campaign
to educate the electorate about the party's manifesto.
He
stressed the need to use committed party agents to man polling stations during
the elections.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 07 July 2000
President
Jerry John Rawlings returned home on Thursday from Geneva, Switzerland, where
he attended a special session of the United Nations General Assembly on the
World Social Summit.
He was
accompanied by the First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, Mr Victor Gbeho,
Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Mr Daniel Ohene Agyekum, Minister of
Chieftaincy Affairs and Protocol.
They were
met on arrival by Lieutenant-Colonel E.K.T. Donkor, Minister of Defence,
ministers of state, the Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant-General Ben Akafia,
IGP Peter Nanfuri and members of the diplomatic corps.
The special
summit discussed issues aimed at advancing the global social development
agenda, which includes poverty, employment and workers' rights.
It was also
to find new initiatives that will enhance efforts to create jobs and address a wide
array of other social concerns.
The
five-day meeting, which was opened by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, was
attended by
a number of heads of state as well as high-level government officials.
GRi../
Accra
(Greater Accra) 07 July 2000
The Ghana
National Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Thursday said it has noted with
horror the spate of murders committed against women in Ghana, particularly in
Accra, over the past two year.
"The
restart of murders during the past one week after a lull brings to the fore the
false sense of security prevailing in the country", it said in a statement
issued in Accra by the Chamber's Chief Director, Mr Sal D. Amegavie.
It said the
Chamber is saddened by the fact that these were innocent women in their prime
going about their legitimate businesses.
"This
has no doubt created fear and tension, not only among women business operators,
but also in the general business community due to the necessary linkages in
commercial activity."
The
Chamber, therefore, called upon all institutions in the security network to
redouble their efforts at tracing the perpetrators of these crimes.
"For
Ghana to stem the current tide of economic difficulties, we need all the peace
and security to go about our normal business activities."
The
statement noted that the hard work of President Jerry John Rawlings in
attracting foreign investors would come to naught if the current fear generated
is allowed to persist.
"We
need to sustain the confidence of all, including foreigners, in our economy so
as to push forward our agenda for vision 2020."
The Chamber
appealed to the general public to be vigilant and provide the support needed by
the security agencies in their work.
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