Chiefs want increase in allowance
Two armed robbers suspected to have killed a
driver, arrested
Elephants invade farms in Sekyere West
President Kufuor returns home from Zambia
Former ANC Secretary General to visit Ghana
Wa (Upper West) 12 July 2001
The Upper West Regional House of Chiefs has appealed to the government and the District Assemblies to review the monthly allowances paid to chiefs.
They described allowances such as sitting, travel and hotel expenses as inadequate and called for their adjustment to make them realistic.
Naa Banamini Sandu, President of the House made the appeal at a meeting of the House at Wa on Wednesday.
He said the allowances paid to chiefs do not reflect the high cost of living.
Ghana News Agency (GNA) investigations showed that Paramount Chiefs in Wa, Lawra, Jirapa/Lambussie and Nadwoli Districts are paid 10,000 cedis each per month while Sissala District pays its paramount chiefs 2,000 cedis each every month.
The district assemblies pay their divisional chiefs 8,000 cedis each, except Sissala District which pays only 200 cedis per chief.
Naa Sandu who is also the Paramount Chief of Kaleo Traditional Area, said a request to the previous Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) for review of the allowances received no positive response.
"We hope the new RCC will take a look at the situation so that chiefs can be economically empowered to exhibit their full potentials to meet the challenges facing them".
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Two of the three armed robbers who allegedly killed Abu Shalif, a taxi driver they hired from Accra to Takuve near Kpetoe, were on Wednesday arrested by a combined team of policemen and civilians at Ave-Bame near Kpetoe in the Ho district.
They are Haruna Yakubu 27 and John Gbadegbe 18.
The third suspect Raymond Kofi Agbeve who is believed to be the leader of the gang is on the run.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Kwame Anane, Officer in charge of the Kpetoe Police told newsmen that the deceased who was driving an Opel Kadet was buried in a swampy okro farm at Takuve near Kpetoe.
He said the three later engaged the services of another driver (name withheld) from a nearby village at about 3.30 am, in whom Agbeve confided that they had killed and buried Shalif.
DSP Anane said the new driver escaped from the suspects when the vehicle developed a flat tyre and reported them to the Ziope police who arrested the two suspects.
The driver, who said he knows Agbeve personally, said he became suspicious when Agbeve told him that he had bought the taxi and needed his services to drive it to Aflao.
He said when the cab developed the flat tyre for the second time at Ave-Bame, Yakubu and Gbadegbe left for Aflao to buy a new tyre.
Police said the new driver convinced Agbeve who had earlier threatened him, to allow him (driver) to go and find something to eat at Ziope where he informed the police.
The police retrieved a locally manufactured gun and a cartridge from Yakubu and impounded the taxi. The address on the vehicle shows that it belonged to one Bea Afenu of Box 15, Achimota in Accra.
The exhumed corpse of Shalif with deep wounds on the head and the shoulder has been deposited at the Ho regional hospital while police investigations continue.
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Aframso (Ashanti Region) 12 July 2001
Elephants are reported to be terrorising farmers at Aframso, in the Sekyere West section of the Afram Plains.
The elephants numbering nine, according to the farmers have destroyed large acres of crops.
Narrating their plight to the District Chief Executive (DCE) Thomas Atakorah, who visited the area, the farmers said they have been compelled to suspend farming for fear of being attacked by elephants.
They showed the DCE footprints of the animals a few kilometres from the village, expressing fear that they may invade the village.
They appealed to the DCE for support and protection, saying they could not pay back loans they have contracted from the banks because of the situation.
Mr Atakorah asked the Game and Wildlife Department to go to the aid of the farmers.
In another development, reports reaching Tamale also said seven elephants believed to have strayed from the Mole National Park, at Damongo in the Northern Region, are destroying food crops at Janga in the West Mamprusi District.
The reports indicated that several maize and yam farms have been destroyed. Briefing the Ghana News Agency on the situation, the Regional Minister, Mr Ben Bukari Salifu said as at Tuesday, three of the elephants had gone back into the reserve, leaving four of them still on the rampage.
A report has been made to the Mole National Park.
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Akyem Oda (Eastern Region) 12 July 2001
Two people were injured and property worth millions of cedis was destroyed when the Frempong Manso and Attafuah Royal Families of Akyem Oda clashed in a chieftaincy dispute at Akyem Oda on Sunday.
Briefing the Ghana News Agency at Akyem Oda, a Police source said on Saturday, July 7, the Akwamuhene Nana Danso Abiam, who previously supported the Attafuah faction, went to swear the Oath of allegiance to the Omanhene of the Akyem Kotoku Traditional area, Oseadeyeo Dr Frimpong Manso IV at his palace.
The source said some unidentified persons, suspected to be members of the Attafuah faction, hurled stones from nearby houses into the palace, apparently to disrupt the ceremony.
On Sunday July 8, the Attaufuah faction prevented the Omanhene from entering the palace and in the process some members of his retinue fled.
The source said a missile hit the back of the Omanhene's car causing considerable damage to it.
It mentioned that the members of the Frempong Manso faction went to attack Augustus Anning Attafuah Preparatory School, where the object, which hit the
Omanhene's car was presumed to have come from.
They smashed the windscreens of the proprietor's private VW saloon car and a mini bus that were parked in the compound.
In another development, an unidentified member of the Attafuah faction was believed to have smashed the windscreen of taxi car belonging to sympathizer of the Frimpong faction.
Meanwhile, the situation in the town has been brought under control as the Police and the soldiers from Akyem Achiase Jungle Warfare School patrolled the streets.
After the installation of the Omanhene, the Attafuah faction took the matter to the Akim Oda High court but it dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction.
The Attafuah faction was not satisfied and sent the case to the Eastern Region House of Chiefs at Koforidua for redress. The case is still pending before House.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 12 July 2001
Participants at a day's seminar on Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) on Wednesday called for the strict enforcement of the law on the sale and marketing of iodised salt.
The Food and Drugs law among other things says salt should be fortified with potassium, protein, essential amino acids, vitamins and other nutritional substances to enhance its nutritional value.
It also states that no person shall label, package, sell or advertise salt in a manner that is likely to be mistaken for salt of the prescribed standard.
The participants recommended that iodated salt should be repacked and made affordable to every Ghanaian while education and awareness programmes are intensified and translated into the local languages to achieve the necessary impact.
The seminar under the theme: "Collaborating to achieve universal salt iodisation in Ghana" is aimed at checking the high prevalence of the IDD and improve on production, sale and use of iodised salt.
In Ghana a total of 3,847 cases of goitre has been recorded in 27 districts. Seriously affected district include Hohoe, Kwahu South, Adansi West, Nkwanta and Zabzugu Tatale.
Mrs. Rosanna Agble, Head of the Nutrition Unit of the Ministry of Health said surveys conducted in 1998 revealed that household use of iodated salt ranges between 22.1 percent to 28.0 percent having increased from 0.3 percent in
1997.
She said though the rate of use of iodised salt is good, it is fairly low compared to the level of awareness about the salt.
"Though Ghana produces more salt than other salt producing countries our iodised salt consumption is rather very low."
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Nkawkaw (Eastern Region) 12 July 2001
Three people were believed to have died of suffocation at Asuogya, in Nkawkaw while they were pumping water from an uncompleted underground reservoir.
The dead were identified as one Kwakye, a pumping machine operator, Seth Motur, 35 and Salifu Kusaasi, 55, a farmer.
A fourth person, Cephas Kojo Motur, 65, a security officer at the Holy Family Hospital, who also entered, became unconscious and has been admitted at the hospital.
The Deputy District Fire Officer of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), Mr Addai Baffour, who led a team of fire service personnel to remove the bodies from the reservoir, narrated the incident to the Ghana News Agency, at Nkawkaw on Wednesday.
He said an eyewitness told the rescue team that when Kwakye realised that the pump was not bringing out water he entered the reservoir to find out what was happening but he could not come out.
Seth Motur followed and could also not come out and Salifu, who wanted to rescue them, was also not able to come out.
Cephas Motur also entered the reservoir to find out what was happening and he became unconscious but was rescued by the team from GNFS.
Mr Baafour said the three might have died of suffocation from the smoke of the pumping machine, since the water in the reservoir was little and they could not have been drowned.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 12 July 2001
President John Agyekum Kufuor on Wednesday said the just-ended 37th OAU Summit sent a clear message to the world that Africa was ready to join the mainstream of globalisation.
He said leaders agreed that the proposed African Union should be people-centred and that all should popularise the ideas among their people.
President Kufuor told journalists at the airport on his return home from the summit in Lusaka, Zambia that unlike previous summits which were regarded only as an assembly of African leaders, the historic meeting resolved to bring the idea of an African Union to the doorsteps of the people and to be made "the property of the people."
President Kufuor said the 38 African leaders that attended the summit outlined a number of protocols to be part of the Constitutive Authority of the Union, which included the Assembly of Heads of State at the apex, Council of Ministers, a Commission which will serve the Secretariat, a Court of Justice, an African Parliament as well as an Africa Monetary Fund and an African Union Bank.
President Kufuor said leaders agreed to set up centres for the promotion of herbal medicine on the continent.
"This summit sends out the seriousness that has been lacking over the past 37 years since the inception of the organisation," he said, adding that this is the driving force behind the approaching Union.
President Kufuor said the new Secretary-General, Amara Essy of Cote d'Ivoire, was elected after a prolonged balloting.
The Union was yet to come into being, the act stipulated a one-year transition period.
The President was accompanied by Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, MP for Bimbilla who the government has nominated for the post of Executive Secretary of ECOWAS.
At the airport to welcome the President were the Vice President Aliu Mahama, Ministers of State, the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, Mr Ibrahim Omar and the Chief of the Defence Staff, Major-General Seth Obeng.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 12 July 2001
Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, a former Secretary-General of the African National Congress of South Africa, is to pay a three-day visit to Ghana from Wednesday to meet, discuss and explore areas of possible co-operation with business executives and ministers of state.
A statement in Accra on Wednesday said Dr Douglas Boateng, Chairman of Panafest, Mr Will Paskins, Chief Executive Officer of Reberve, Africa's leading facilities management company and Mr Jan Du Pree, Chief Operating Officer of Reberve would accompany Mr Ramaphosa.
Mr Ramaphosa sits on several boards and is also the chairman of Johnnic Communications and Reserves, a facilities management company in South Africa.
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