Justice Adade calls for new Constitution
Government urged to create more employment avenues
Accra (Greater Accra) 03 July 2001
A retired Supreme Court Judge, Mr Justice N. Y. B. Adade on Friday called for a new constitution to replace the 1992 one if its amendment would prove cumbersome and expensive.
He said this would be necessary because "proposed alterations will be so many and varied that it will not be convenient to use the amendment procedures in Chapter 25", of the current Constitution.
"We may have to write a whole new Constitution, which I advocate, and promulgate it by such route as the people of Ghana, led by their Members of Parliament will see fit", Mr Justice Adade said.
He was delivering a lecture on: "Agenda for reform of the constitution some policy considerations" as part of activities marking the 19th anniversary of the murder of the three High Court Judges and a retired Army Officer on June 30, 1982.
The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) the organisers of the lecture termed the day the "Martyrs Day".
The murdered judges were Mr Fred Poku Sarkodie, Justice Cecilia Koranteng-Addow amd Jusice Kwadwo Agyei Agyepong and a retired army officer, Major Sam Acquah.
Mr Justice Adade asked the Bar Association to lead in drafting the new constitution or cause amendment of the current one.
He cautioned that it would be a tragedy if the constitutional reforms were ignored by default because of the times as "we appear to be so engrossed with the economy and its impact on our pockets and our lives".
He said, "if it is agreed that the present Constitution requires some amendments as I believe we do, then in order that our electoral calendar as established since 1992 may not be disturbed, the amendments must be timed to be completed and to come into operation in good time by mid-2004"
He said, "if we miss this term, whatever amendments we make may have to wait till 2008 to be brought into operation".
Mr Justice Adade, who was the Attorney-General and the Minister of Justice during the Busia regime of the Second Republic, said after the constitutional amendment proposal might have been taken through all the stages by early 2003.
"Parliament may then be persuaded to present it to the Nation in June 2003 as our anniversary present when the event we are today memorialising shall be 21 years old".
He said the Constitution must be approved in time for use during the 2004 parliamentary and presidential elections. The timetable for inducting a new Government into office on January 7, 2004 need not be affected".
Mr Justice Adade said the current Constitution was divided into three groups for the purposes of amendments and that clauses in group (a) could not be amended, group (b) were the "entrenched clauses while group (c) were all the other clauses.
Following from that, sections 34, 35, and 37 of the Transitional Provisions belong to that group of provisions, which could not be amended under any circumstances.
He said those he had classified as groups b and c may be amended adding, "but as may be expected, the procedures for amending the two groups are not the same"
"Those for amending the entrenched clauses are so complicated and cumbersome including even a recourse to a referendum, that one wonders whether anyone may find it worth his while to attempt to initiate any steps towards interfering with any of them", Mr Justice Adade said.
He said the procedure in amending the group c was also not simpler because it was also "implicated and irritating", except that it does not include a reference to a referendum.
Mr Justice Adade said bearing the foregone in mind, "the proposals I am inviting you to consider will require that we look elsewhere for implementation procedures."
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Agona Swedru (Central Region) 03 July 2001
The Agona District Assembly has given one week ultimatum to defaulters of the Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF) and Youth in Agriculture to settle their debts or face legal action.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Agona Swedru, the District Secretary, Mr John K. Agyabeng said groups and individuals owe a total of 428 million cedis and have refused to pay back as required by law governing the disbursement of the scheme.
Mr Agyabeng said the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development gave directives to all traditional rulers to beat gong-gong to inform defaulters to pay before May five but to no avail.
He said about 95 per cent of monies disbursed went to some members of National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The DCE said the poverty alleviation and Youth in Agriculture funds concept, which were mooted out to help the rural folks who were in dire need, rather benefited public workers who were not entitled to the scheme.
Mr Agyabeng said the assembly has initiated moves at the Circuit court and Community tribunal in the district for the defaulters to be prosecuted.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 03 July 2001
A high-powered government delegation on Monday began a closed-door meeting with members of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) to discuss the controversy surrounding the payment of their Additional Duty Hours (ADH) allowances to doctors.
The meeting held at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital followed industrial action by doctors at the hospital to demand the full payment of their ADH allowances for May 2001.
The government's delegation included Jake Obetsebi- Lamptey, Chief of Staff and Minister of Presidential Affairs, Kwamena Bartels, Minister for Works and Housing, Major Courage Quashigah (rtd), Minister for Food and Agriculture and Mrs Grace Coleman, Deputy Minister of Finance.
Others were Dr E. N. Mensah, Director of Health Services and Dr Holdsbrook Smith, Chief Executive of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
The delegation of the GMA included Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa, President and Dr J.B. Asare, Head of the Accra Psychiatric Hospital.
Journalists, who were at the meeting, were not allowed into the meeting.
Doctors at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital on Friday began an industrial action to demand the full payment of their ADH.
The Ministry of Health had given the hospital administration 1.1 billion cedis to be paid as the ADH for health workers, who deserved it but the doctors described it as inadequate.
Claims submitted by the health workers exceeded the amount compelling the hospital management to reduce the number of hours for which the payments were to be made.
Cheques were been given out for the payment of the ADH but the doctors refused to collect them.
Doctors have gone on strike many times in the past over the payment of ADH.
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Mampong (Ashanti Region) 03 July 2001
The Government have been urged to re-examine the running of orphanages in the country.
A London-based Lay Preacher of the Saint Mark's Methodist Church in North London, Madam Elizabeth Ama Techie-Benson made the call when she presented items worth 15 million cedis to the children of the Asante-Mampong Babies Home.
The items included 10 baby's cots, 10 mattresses, eight bedspreads, large quantity of clothing, napkins, a gas cooker with cylinder.
Madam Techie-Benson, who described the situation at the Home as "awful", blamed the past government for not doing much to improve the lot of orphans in the country especially the Mampong Home.
Most orphans have been known to possess great potentials and must be assisted to realise these.
She reminded the Anglican Diocese of Kumasi and the government of their obligation to ensure the sustenance of the objective for which the Anglican Sisters from England established the orphanage some decades ago.
Rev Daniel Okyere Korankye of the Mampong Saint Micheal Anglican Church, who received the items, thanked Madam Techie-Benson for her kind gesture.
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Bawku (Upper East) 03 July 2001
The success of prison officers can only be determined by their ability to transform and reform prison inmates into law-abiding citizens, Mr Richard Kuuire, Director General of Prisons, has told a durbar of officers of the local prison at Bawku in the Upper East Region during his recent tour of prisons in the region.
In this light, prison officers must break away from the old tradition of confining prisoners to their cells and doing very little to change their character.
Mr Kuuire said his visit to Bawku, which formed part of a familiarisation tour of the three northern regions, was also to afford him the opportunity to discuss with the officers how to move the service forward.
He pointed out that his mission is to restructure the service to look more professional to discharge its duty efficiently to society.
Mr Kuuire bemoaned the attitude of some officers who in the past did not want to attend in-service training, adding that competence in any field of endeavour can only be achieved with knowledge.
The Director-General explained that his administration would ensure that promotion of officers would now be based on merit, emphasising that only those who proved their worth would be promoted to the next rank.
He warned those officers who indulge in the trafficking of Indian hemp and other hard drugs in the prisons to desist from the practice or face dismissal and subsequent prosecution when caught.
He earlier in the day paid a courtesy call on the paramount chief of Bawku Traditional Area, Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II.
Mr Kuuire told the Bawku Naba and his elders that the service intends to embark on a vigorous prisoners' training programme to give at least a trade to every inmate in the country's prisons.
When the time comes, the Bawku Naba would be called upon to assist with land for farming and any other things that the service would need from him, he added.
Naba Azoka told the Director-General that his doors were always open for him to come and seek any assistance he might require.
At a meeting with inmates of the prison, the Director-General assured them that plans were far advanced to solve their accommodation and sanitation problems.
He asked the inmates to constantly reflect on what brought about their imprisonment and strive to reform in order not to return to the cells again.
Mr Kuuire appealed to the churches and Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) to come to the aid of the service to improve upon the living conditions of the inmates.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 03 July 2001
Mr Joseph Owusu-Annor, National Organiser of the Young Elephants Movement, youth wing of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has called on the government to create more employment avenues to cater for the many unemployed youth in the country.
He noted that there were many unemployed youth roaming about in the streets that needed to be provided with the opportunity to contribute to national development.
Mr Owusu-Annor was speaking to newsmen after members of the movement from Krofofrom, CPC, Osei Kyeretwie, Buokrom and Tafo-Nhyiaeso areas undertook a three-hour cleanup at the market, lorrypark and some streets at New Tafo in Kumasi at the weekend.
The members defied a downpour to dig trenches to control drainage, de-silted gutters and swept the market areas.
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Senior citizens asked to share experiences
with government
Cape Coast (Central Region) 03 July 2001
The Central Regional Minister, Mr Isaac Edumadze on Sunday urged senior citizens to share their rich experiences with the government to enhance national development.
He also called on them to put their expertise to the disposal of the youth, so that they could become useful citizens in the future.
Mr Edumadze was speaking at a dinner held in honour of senior citizens as part of the 41st Republic day's celebration at Cape Coast.
About 60 senior citizens made up of retired civil and public servants, retired security officers and chiefs from all the districts in the region attended it.
The Minister commended them for their immense contributions towards the development of the nation.
He said: "You have struggled to make the nation what it is today but your task is not over yet. Share your experience and expertise with the government and the young ones."
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Accra (Greater Accra) 03 July 2001
Alhaji Malik Al-hassan Yakubu, Minister of the Interior on Monday warned the police that the government would not spare officers found to be corrupt in the performance of their duties.
Speaking at the opening of a course for crime officers in Accra, he said: " I do hope that after this course officers will be more alert, thorough and honest in the performance of your duties, since your integrity will be put to the test against the government's policy of zero tolerance for corruption".
Fifty crime officers selected nation-wide are attending the two-week course designed to upgrade their skills in the handling of specific crimes and new trends in criminology.
Alhaji Yakubu urged the officers to work to erase the negative perception of the police by the public as one of the most corrupt institutions in the country.
"You should generally improve upon your ethical standards to paint a picture of a disciplined and effective police force".
The government, he said, is exploring opportunities for training and procurement of equipment from Britain and Canada for the service from which crime officers would also benefit.
The Minister commended the United States Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) for assisting the country to gather enough scientific evidence on the serial killings.
Peter Acheampong, Director of the Police Criminal Investigations Department said the course would help address complaints often received from the Attorney General's office and the courts over cases brought before them.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 03 July 2001
President John Agyekum Kufuor on Monday said IMF and the World Bank have approved an amount of 462 million U.S dollars to support Ghana's developmental projects.
Out of the amount, 132 million dollars has been earmarked for Ghana's poverty reduction programme and 110 million dollars to support Ghana's budget while 220 million dollars would go for road projects, notably Accra- Kumasi and Accra-Cape Coast dual carriage roads.
The President announced the approval, in an interaction with newsmen at the Airport on his arrival from the United States of America, where he attended the UN Conference on HIV/AIDS.
President Kufuor said he held discussions with the US Secretary of the Treasury, who pledged to assist Ghana in her developmental process.
The President, together with two other leaders, Omar Konare of Mali and Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal held discussions with US President, George W. Bush.
During the meeting, President Bush expressed his appreciation with the democratic process in the West Africa sub-region and promised to put Africa on the agenda of the G8 Summit.
President Kufuor also met with the US Secretary of State, General Collin Powell and discussed bilateral issues, especially trade, and expressed admiration for Ghana's economic plans and entrenchment of democracy on the continent.
On the UN Conference on AIDS, President Kufuor said, for the first time in the history of the organisation, they have taken a global stand to fight the pandemic.
He said a number of resolutions were passed to contain and manage the disease, especially in Africa.
Mr. J. H. Mensah, Minister of Government Affairs and Majority Leader, who joined the President in the US from a tour of Japan and South Korea, said the HIPC initiative has its positive and negative sides and that they took advantage of the positive side and negotiated on the negative side during his meeting in Japan.
He said, the Japanese government has agreed to continue to assist Ghana in her developmental efforts despite her decision to go HIPC.
He said there was the need to embark on such travels abroad to redeem confidence and the image of Ghana.
"Private capital will flow into the country when they have confidence in the people they are dealing with, and this is what the NPP government has been able to do," said Mr. Mensah.
Finance Minister. Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, said the IMF has approved Ghana's budget and this will enhance Ghana's relationship with other donor agencies to come to Ghana's aid.
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Berekum (Brong Ahafo) 03 July 2001
The Attorney- General and Minister of Justice, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said there is nothing unconstitutional about former ministers being prosecuted in court on corruption charges.
"The whole process is the application of the rule of law, and the due process of law will persist to ensure that wrongdoers are prosecuted in a most transparent manner", he said at Berekum at the weekend.
Addressing a meeting of the Berekum constituency executive of the NPP, Nana Akufo-Addo said, "we are not witch-hunting anybody, it only shows our commitment to probity and accountability that all must adhere to".
He said fast track courts would be established in all the regional capitals within the government's four-year mandate to ensure the speedy trial of cases.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 03 July 2001
Mr Justice N. Y. B. Adade, retired Supreme Court Judge, on Friday described as anachronistic the administration of lands in the country and called for its reversion to the chiefs and the stools.
He said: "the provisions in the Constitution concerning lands have not helped much in a proper and easy understanding of our land administration in this country.
"On the contrary, they have compounded the confusion often experienced in this area by ordinary Ghanaians, even by some professionals".
Mr Justice Adade, who was giving a lecture on: "Agenda for reform on the Constitution: some policy considerations," described the Lands Commission's eating into the province of the Administrator of Stool Lands as an anachronism.
He said there were many "owners" of land in this country and that the Constitution never tasked the Land Commission to substantially take over any of the functions of any other agencies in land ownership and administration.
Mr Justice Adade, a former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice in the Second Republic said, "unfortunately, it is impossible to acquire land from any owner at all and process the document of title from execution to registration without somewhere, somehow, coming face to face with the Lands Commission".
He said the Administrator of Stool Lands was a successor to the colonial institution, which was to hold lands in trust of the people as the then illiterate chiefs dissipated stool funds.
He said the intention behind creating those trusts was laudable and expressive of responsible governance since Colonial Trustees transparently operated accounts of stool lands.
"Successive governments after independence have taken over the institution of the Administrator of Stool Lands and continue to operate it on obsolete and anachronistic grounds," he said that the Land Commission and the Administrator of Stool Lands were, "now acting as landlords of expired leases of stool lands, granted by the Colonial government".
Mr Justice Adade said this matter required immediate attention and resolution since "most stools do not even know if they have accounts at all much less how much they have in them.
"It will seem that the Administrator operates through the Lands Commission, which in turn pays the revenues into the consolidated fund, with all the attendant problems of retrieval."
Now that the chiefs were educated and surrounded with elite group, the lands must go back to the Stool Land Owners, who would manage it more efficiently on behalf of the people for development in the rural areas, which may go a long to help government in that direction.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 03 July 2001
Mr Justice N. Y. B. Adade, a retired Supreme Court Judge, on Friday called for the removal of the chapter on National Commission for Civic Education from the Constitution.
He was delivering a lecture on the topic: "Agenda for reform of the Constitution: some policy considerations," organised by the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) to mark the 19th Martyrs Day in Accra.
The day is being observed in memory of three murdered High Court Judges and a retired army officer on June 30, 1982.
Mr Justice Adade said: "I am yet to fathom satisfactorily for myself what a whole chapter on civic education is doing in our Constitution and to think that it is an entrenched provision."
He said the numerous TV and radio stations, the newspapers the Information Service Department, countless non-governmental and other bodies such as the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) and the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) and many others could take care of educating the public on civic matters.
Mr Justice Adade invited Parliament to examine the issue as to whether a public institution was needed for civic education.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 03 July 2001
A retired Supreme Court Judge, on Friday called for the sitting of the Council of State to be conducted in public for them to know whether it was discharging its duties properly, maturely and effectively.
Mr Justice N. Y. B Adade, who was delivering a lecture at the Martyr's Day in Accra said, "the public are entitled to be comforted that at least the members of the Council are putting their enormous learning and experience at the disposal of the country."
He said, "may it not be useful to amend Article 92 (3) so that instead of the Council meeting in secret as a rule, it should rather meet in public, sitting in camera only in exceptional circumstances where the interest of the public morality, public safety or public order may so required."
The Ghana Bar Association (GBA) organised the lecture, which was on: "Agenda for reform of the Constitution, some policy considerations," to mark the 19th anniversary of the murder of three High Court Judges and a retired army officer on June 30, 1982.
Mr Justice Adade said there was a grey area, which sooner or later might require clarification in relationship to the Council's quasi-legislative functions.
"What happens if the Council advises the President not to sign into law a particular Bill passed by Parliament? Is the President to ignore the advice and proceed to sign the Bill or is he bound by the advice, and therefore required to return the Bill to Parliament?" He asked.
Mr Justice Adade said the term of four years of a President may be cut short by death, resignation or removal from office and that the Vice President could serve the unspent portion of the President's term and asked; "But what happens if the Speaker of Parliament is forced by circumstances to assume office as President, and must call a Presidential election in three months according to Article 60 (3).
"In that event, from when do we reckon the end of the term of the Council of State?" he further asked.
Mr Justice Adade said that the clause that chiefs should not participate in active party politics runs counter to Article 17 (2) which prohibits discrimination on gender, social or economic status and stands against Article 21 (1) (a) and (b) on freedom of speech and expression.
It also stands against Article 55 (1) and (2) which gives the people the right to form or to join a political party and to propagate and disseminate its views, programmes and ideals.
He debunked the claim that politics by the chiefs would dismember their traditional areas.
This to him, "is not sufficiently strong as we pretend it is, if only because whether we admit it or not, it is founded on the assumption that is bad, and if so, why don't we all stop it".
Mr Justice Adade said every citizen owns allegiance to and subject to one or the other of the several stools/skins and contested the wisdom of running the country without the active participation of chiefs in politics.
He called for deliberation of the chiefs and the giving back of their lands to them and to build local government institutions around them to generate more revenue.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 03 July 2001
Colonel Micheal Amuzu, Deputy Director-General, Personnel and Administration of the Ghana Armed Forces, has stressed the need to keep disappointed, disgruntled and defeated politicians out of military barracks to prevent them from infesting the soldiers with diabolical ideas.
He also asked that there should be a balanced reportage by the electronic and print media on matters involving the military and called for assistance from the press to move forward the development of democracy in the country.
Colonel Amuzu was speaking at a seminar on "Civil-military relations in a constitutional democracy" organised by the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) in Kumasi.
Military personnel, organised groups, assembly members and civil society attended the two-day seminar.
He observed that under the new political dispensation, there was a common desire to consolidate and strengthen democratic constitutional governance.
There was, therefore, the need to create an appropriate civil-military discourse to harmoniously appreciate issues at stake in order to arrive at positive conclusions and reach a common understanding on civil-military relations.
Colonel E. K. Danso, Deputy Director of Legal Affairs of the Ghana Armed Forces, who spoke on: "The military contribution in a constitutional democracy", stated that the role of the Ghanaian military in democratic governance has been stated in simple terms in the Constitution.
No one should have much difficulty in understanding what the role was but problems, however, arise when the military or its members stray outside the bounds of their constitutional role, either deliberately or in the false belief that they could do so.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 03 July 2001
Vice-President Aliu Mahama has commended the security agencies and other organisations who assisted in the rescue of victims of the June 27 floods.
A statement by the Office of the President signed by the Government Spokesperson, Ms. Elizabeth Ohene on Sunday, mentioned the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Armed Forces, National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) and Ghana National Fire Service.
The statement said Vice-President Mahama also expressed the government's gratitude to all those who assisted in diverse ways to save lives and minimize the losses suffered during the downpour.
"The tragedy, avoidable and unfortunate as it was, once again brought to the fore the Ghanaian spirit of compassion and fellow feeling", the statement said.
Vice-President Mahama said NADMO has been tasked to receive and distribute relief items for victims of the flood and to assist bereaved families arrange decent funerals for those who lost their lives.
The statement said all donations should be directed to NADMO.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 03 July 2001
Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu arrived on Monday after a six-week tour of the USA and Europe.
During the tour, the Asantehene had discussions with political and business leaders and received awards.
He was met on arrival by a large retinue of chiefs.
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