Executive Committee on Executed Generals to meet widows
Use poverty fund for inputs for farmers -GFDC Official
Funeral of Ashaiman Dagomba Chief held
Chiefs learn more about human rights
Government urged to resettle handicapped persons
NGO to offer employment to the youth
NCCE embarks on education on children's rights
Eighteen workers arrested for noise pollution- EPA
French to support Ghana's developmental policies - Ambassador
Asiseh is still a member of NDC- Spio-Garbrah
Election of presiding member for AMA ends in stalemate
Railway encroachment threatens Airport Residential Area
Accra (Greater Accra) 16 July 2001
The Executive Committee on the Exhumation and Reburial of Executed Generals would on Monday meet the widows and families of the senior military officers, who were executed in the wake of the June 4, 1979 uprising.
A release from the Office of the President signed for Ms. Elizabeth Ohene, Government Spokesperson, said the Executive Committee, which is under the Chairmanship of Air Marshall M.A. Otu was constituted by President John Agyekum Kufuor in response to appeals from the widows and families of the executed senior military officers.
The release named members of the committee as General E. A. Erskine, retired Commander of UNIFIL, Commander G. E. Osei (rtd), representing the Veterans Association of Ghana (VAG), Wing Commander Osei Kyeremeh of the General Headquarters of the Ghana Armed Forces, Superintendent B. A. Ashong of the Ghana
Police, Deputy Director F. R. Y. Anka, representing Ghana Prisons and Col. Dr. Wadhwani, a pathologist at the 37 Military Hospital.
Mrs. Merley Wood of the Attorney -General's Department is the member/secretary.
At the inaugural sitting last Wednesday, Air Marshal Otu described the establishment of the Executive Committee as a "singular act, which demonstrates the Government's determination towards National Reconciliation."
He expressed the gratitude of members of the committee to the President for the trust reposed in them and gave the assurance that "they would deliver the goods and make sure that appropriate and deserving funeral ceremonies as authorised by the Commander-in- Chief were carried out."
The release named the executed officers as: General Akwasi Amankwaa Afrifa, General Ignatious Kutu Acheampong and General F. W. K. Akuffo all former Heads of State.
Others were General R. E. A. Kotei, Real-Admiral Joy Amedume, Air Marshall Yaw Boakye, General E.K. Utuka and Colonel Roger Felli.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 16 July 2001
Participants at a consultative workshop at Akosombo has urged the government to waive taxes and tariffs on insecticide treated materials since they are public health products.
This way the country would be fulfilling its obligations under the Abuja Declaration of 2000 under which Ghana committed itself to waive taxes and tariffs on insecticide treated materials.
A communiqué issued in Accra at the weekend and copied to the Ghana News Agency said: "Having deliberated extensively on the debilitating effects of malaria, which is hyper-endemic in Ghana, we call on Parliament to be proactive and act with dispatch when the proposed bill is placed before the House for consideration and passage."
The communiqué said that malaria, which was on the increase and mainly attacks pregnant women and children and compounded by poverty, had had a devastating effect on the national economy.
It said an effective way to prevent the disease was to encourage the use of insecticide treated bed nets, which should be sold at affordable prices to all Ghanaians.
It charged the business community not to abuse the waiver and take steps to guarantee that the waiver reflects in the retail price of the product.
The statement advised Ghanaians to take advantage of the waiver to buy the nets to protect themselves against the deadly disease.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 16 July 2001
A seven-member delegation from the Society of Black Architects (SOBA) and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) led by Mr. Paul Hyett are in the country to explore business opportunities and partnerships.
Mr. Hyett who is also the President of RIBA told journalists at the Airport that his organisation is involved in architectural development in the United Kingdom (UK) and are in the country to study the system and how best to assist in Ghana's economic development.
He said they would foster joint partnership with the Ghanaian counterpart and share ideas on urban environment in relation to city and its development.
Mr. Kwasi Amponsah Boateng of SOBA, said they would also showcase their work at the British council and pay a courtesy call on President J A Kufuor, Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and interact with architectural students of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
He said black architects in the UK do not get the desired recognition although they have all the required skills and that this is an opportunity to exhibit their work and look for partners.
Members of the delegation include Ms. Elsie Owusu, Mr. Eme Kalu, Ms. Annette Fisher, Ms. Janet Boateng and Mr. George Asafo Adjei.
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Techiman (Brong Ahafo) 16 July 2001
District Assemblies have been urged to use the poverty alleviation fund to provide agricultural inputs for farmers to increase food production.
Mr Nii Abbey Tetteh, Techiman Area Supervisor of the Ghana Food Distribution Corporation, made the suggestion when Mr Isaac Osei-Antwi, District Chief Executive, visited the corporation's depot to familiarise himself with its operations.
The inputs should serve as credit to the farmers who will have to refund in cash after harvesting their produce, he said, adding that this would stop the practice whereby farmers use loans granted them for other purposes.
Nii Abbey said the corporation would start operations next week by drying farmers' maize to reduce the moisture content for good storage.
Mr. Osei-Antwi advised officials of the corporation to advertise their operations in order to inform the people about their services.
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Ashaiman (Greater Accra) 16 July 2001
Vice President Aliu Mahama on Sunday led a government delegation to attend the final funeral rites of Alhaji Fuseini Haruna, Chief of the Dagomba Community in Ashaiman and Tema.
Alhaji Haruna, who died on July 5 at the age of 74, left behind three wives and 22 children. He was enstooled in 1975.
Speaking at the ceremony, Alhaji Mahama said, even though, Alhaji Haruna was dead, because of his good leadership his name would forever remain among the
Dagomba and Muslim communities in Ashaiman and Tema.
The Vice President asked them avoid violence, saying that with the death of Alhaji Haruna, "you will soon choose another Chief Dagomba to replace him and this should be done in a peaceful atmosphere, devoid of violence."
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Dalun (Northern Region) 16 July 2001
The Northern Regional Minister, Mr Ben Bukari Salifu has said that most men in the region shirk their responsibilities under the pretext of poverty.
Sometimes it was sheer negligence and ignorance and not poverty, which make men not to live up to their responsibilities, Mr Salifu said in a speech read on his behalf at a seminar on: "Human rights in the Ghanaian perspective" organised by the Ghanaian-Danish Communities Association (GDCA), an amalgamation of twin-city relationships between communities in the Tolon-Kumbungu District and Cities in Denmark.
The three-day seminar, which was attended by the chiefs and people of the district and representatives of the Cities of Denmark, discussed: "The relationship between human rights, culture and tradition in Dagbon"; Human rights in the Ghanaian perspective" and "Human rights in the Danish perspective."
Mr Salifu said it was sometimes the manner in which the women and children were looked down upon in the North that compelled some of them to migrate to the South in search of menial jobs.
The Regional Minister asked the participants to focus their discussions on ways of doing away with traditional practices and beliefs that violate the rights of women and children.
The Chairman of the GDCA, Dr Abubakar Al-Hassan said tradition and culture per se do not encourage abuse of human rights but the misapplication of culture that infringed people's freedoms.
He said human rights must be re-fashioned in accordance with culture and tradition, and warned, "any solution prescribed that are not grounded in the culture and traditions of the people is bound to fail".
The Tolon/Kumbungu District Chief Executive, Alhassan Baako said the major area of human rights abuses in the district was the lack of access to good health and good education, which he said was predicated on poverty.
He, therefore, appealed for assistance from the international community to assist the government to address the problem of poverty.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 16 July 2001
Mr Opoku-Agyemang Prempeh, Vice-Chairman of the Ashanti Region branch of the
Association of Building and Civil Engineering Contractors has urged the government to rehabilitate and resettle the physically handicapped and visually impaired persons currently roaming streets in urban centres begging for alms.
He said the practice was not only morally wrong but had the tendency of repelling potential investors from the country.
Mr Prempeh made the proposal at a news conference in Kumasi at the weekend.
He said besides repelling potential investors and tourists from the country, the beggars also succeed in denying children of school going age formal education by engaging them as guards in their begging mission.
He noted that it was just not enough for the government to rehabilitate the handicapped beggars but should also go a step further by creating a fund from where it could assist the physically handicapped with tools and capital to begin their trade after their vocational training.
Mr Prempeh, who is the Managing Director of Lakayana Construction Company Limited, said training of the handicapped in vocational skills alone was meaningless, if they were not assisted with tools and capital to enable them practice their trade.
He observed that, even though, the Department of Social Welfare existed to cater for the welfare of the handicapped persons and has trained and equipped a lot of them, their inability to support them with tools and capital had made them to return to the streets.
On the issue of lunatics, Mr Prempeh said their increasing presence in city centres was not only an eyesore but also a threat to life and property of law-abiding citizens.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 16 July 2001
The Employment and Development Corps (EDC), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) is to register the unemployed youth, starting from July 23, to engage them in gainful employment.
The registration, which will begin in the Eastern, Greater Accra and Volta Regions, is aimed at engaging the youth in large-scale agricultural production, which is the main focus of operation of the organisation.
Mr Henry Gidi, Executive Secretary of the organisation, who announced this at a news conference in Accra on Friday, said the exercise would be extended to the other regions.
He said his organisations would also establish carpentry shops in all the three regions to serve as training centres for interested school children.
The Executive Secretary said the organisations would, in consultation with the Department of Rural Housing and Cottage Industries, go into small-scale ventures, using local materials.
Mr Gidi said so far, the EDC has, with the support of philanthropists, acquired 200 acres of land in the Volta Region and 120 in the Greater Accra Region to start the projects.
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Goaso (Brong Ahafo) 16 July 2001
The Asunafo District Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), has embarked on public fora to educate parents and the youth about the provisions of the Children's Act.
The programme is aimed at ensuring that the provisions are adhered to, in order to enhance the survival, development and protection of children in the area.
Speaking at one such fora attended by teachers and pupils at Goaso, Mr Elvis Mensah, Asunafo District Social Welfare officer, advised children who are regularly maltreated by their parents, step mothers and guardians to report to the police or the nearest Social Welfare office for redress.
Children have the right to be protected from hazardous work that threatens their health, education and development".
Mr Mensah expressed regret that, in spite of the Children's Act, some parents continue to shirk their responsibilities and warned that the Social Welfare Department would deal drastically with such irresponsible parents.
He commended the NCCE for organising the fora to educate parents to know their responsibilities to their children.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 16 July 2001
Mr Dan Botwe, General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has repeated the call on Ghanaians to remain united so as to move the nation forward.
Addressing an annual fund raising harvest organised by members of the Accra-Tema branch of the Boso Youth Association (BYA) in Accra on Saturday, Mr Botwe said without peace and stability, no meaningful development could take place in the country.
He, therefore, appealed to Ghanaians to bury their political differences and unite in order to make positive contributions towards government's efforts of improving the living standards of the people.
The NPP General Secretary, who is a citizen of the town, assured the people that he would liaise with the appropriate authorities to assist the town to carry through its development programmes.
Mr Daniel Osae, President of BYA said the development-oriented organisations in the town have initiated projects including a clinic, rehabilitation of roads and the renovation of first and second cycle schools.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 16 July 2001
The Environmental Protection Agency in collaboration with the Nima Divisional Police on Friday arrested 18 workers of Everstone Concrete Product for operating without environmental permit.
The Company situated in a strictly residential area is also noted for generating excessive noise and dust causing environmental hazards.
A statement by the Environmental Inspectorate Department of EPA said following a report by a neighbour in March last year about the activities of the company, which manufactures concrete products, it was asked to relocate but it failed to comply.
The proprietor of the company, Mr Robert Akuoku was brought before a Circuit Tribunal in Accra and ordered to stop operation until the final determination of the case. However, the company disregarded the order.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 16 July 2001
Mr Jean-Michel Berrit, French Ambassador on Saturday assured Ghana of the support of France towards the development and strengthening of democracy and the rule of law.
"The Republic of Ghana must be assured that France is by its side and will keep on standing by it, to the best of our (France) ability even more on the way to entrenching democratic culture in the country", Mr Berrit said while proposing a toast to President John Agyekum Kufuor, the government and people of Ghana to the prosperity, warm and friendly relations between Ghana and France at a reception to mark the French National Day in Accra.
He said because of France historical past, it was deeply attached to democratic ideals and greatly appreciated the perfect political transition in Ghana. "It showed Ghana's maturity and its commitment to democracy, thereby setting the pace for other African countries."
He noted that France and Ghana have long-standing relations of trust, partnership and share the same views on numerous economic and international issues.
He mentioned particularly the area of peacekeeping, regional and Africa integration into the world trade, which would enhance stability and progress on the continent.
The French Ambassador said France was Africa's advocate at various forums and international organisations and believed in Africa's future in spite of the difficulties facing it.
"We consider that the African continent must be able to make itself heard and its own specificity recognised in the context of globalisation."
Tracing the history of the French National Day, the Ambassador noted that 212 years ago on July 14, 1789, the people of Paris stormed the Bastille State Prison, which marked the beginning of the French Revolution.
The events of the day brought about a series of activities that led to the advent of democracy in France.
"In the international arena, the ideals instituted by the French Revolution were to prove to be of the greatest significance. These ideals expressed in the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, inspired 19th century revolutionary movements in Europe, the Russian Revolution and the post World War II democratic movements in the Third World," he said.
In responding to the toast Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, Minister of Foreign Affairs, expressed the country's appreciation to France for the considerable financial assistance through the total cancellation of Ghana's bilateral debts under the highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative.
"Ghana is grateful to France for the intensification of relations especially in such fields as culture, scientific and technical co-operation, trade and investment and exchange of high-level visits."
He noted that the relations between the two countries dated back to Ghana's independence in 1957, when Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah identified France as the country's potentially dependable development partner, whose revolutionary experience contained valuable lessons for the development of Ghana after independence.
Mr Owusu-Agyeman, on behalf of President Kufuor, the government and people of Ghana expressed the warmest felicitations to the government and people of France.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 16 July 2001
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has denied that Mr. Vincent Asiseh, former National Press Secretary has resigned from the party entirely.
"This is patently false because Mr. Asiseh has not resigned from the NDC. The truth is that Mr. Asiseh has resigned his position in the party", a statement issued by the NDC and signed by Mr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, Chairman, Media Committee of the party said on Saturday.
The statement said "Mr Asiseh stated in a letter dated July three, this year, that "owing to my protracted ill-health and the unlikelihood that I can recover enough to play an active role in the re-organisation programme of the party, I am giving up my position as National Press Secretary."
"As a party we can not sacrifice the health of Mr Asiseh on the platform of political expediency," it said adding, that it is regrettable the services of a seasoned and indefatigable Press Secretary were not available when they were most needed.
It stated that Mr. Asiseh was not available to perform his duties during the presidential and parliamentary election last year.
The statement said, the NDC considers his resignation as natural and wish him speedy recovery adding that Mr. Asiseh remains a full-pledged member who carries the party's membership card.
"We are hopeful that he will continue to offer from time to time useful suggestions for the growth and development of the NDC." it concluded.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 16 July 2001
The election of a presiding member for the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) on Friday ended in a stalemate for the second time when none of the two contesting candidates attained the required two-thirds of the votes.
As a result both candidates supported a motion by members for the election to be rescheduled. A date was, however, not immediately agreed upon.
Out of 89 ballots cast Mr Jacob. H. Vanderpuiye obtained 35 while Mr Ben Annan obtained 53 votes.
The election of a presiding member on April 3 also ended in a stalemate.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 16 July 2001
Residents in the North Airport Residential Area have called on the city authorities and the Ghana Railway Corporation (GRC) to take immediate action to clear unauthorised structures that have sprung up along the railway track near the Nyaho Clinic.
They contend that the influx of such unplanned structures, mostly kiosks and metal containers, are fast turning the well-developed residential area into a slum.
"We will soon be overwhelmed by these structures which, like a slum, have rendered our vicinity a breeding ground for criminals," said a resident in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA).
A visit to the area confirmed the fears of residents as dozens of wooden structures are scattered along the railway track, which has remained unused for more than five years.
Most of these dilapidated structures house drinking and chop bars, squatters and selling points for used car accessories like wheel covers and bolts and nuts.
The area behind the structures is overgrown with weeds and exudes a strong smell of human excreta, as these encroachments have no toilet facilities.
The residents say persistent appeals to the authorities, including the Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA) and the GRC, have fallen on deaf ears.
Some of them even attribute the perceived reluctance by the authorities to clear the squatters off the area to fear of political "consequences".
"It is unfortunate some of these encroachers go about misusing the name of this government and claiming they voted for it and that nobody can do anything to them," a property owner alleged.
Mr Isaac Amoo, MP for the West Ayawaso-Wuogon, did not mince words, expressing his disgust and frustration over the mess, which, he said, resulted from the sheer irresponsibility of the GRC.
Mr Amoo alleged that some management personnel of the Corporation took money from the squatters and allowed them to put up at the site.
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Mampong (Ashanti Region) 16 July 2001
President John Agyekum Kufuor, on Saturday joined thousands of mourners at the burial service of the late Joseph Agyenim-Boateng, former General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), at the Asante-Mampong Saint Michael and All Angles Anglican Church.
He was accompanied by the wife, Theresa, Ministers of State and leading members of the NPP.
The body of the late Agyenim-Boateng, dressed in a white and black suit laid in a wine coloured casket bedecked with flowers and wreaths raised on a dais with the NPP paraphenelia.
President Kufuor, in a tribute said the presence of the high-powered government delegation was recognition of the contribution, the late former General-Secretary made towards the establishment of genuine democracy in the country.
He noted that there could never be a good government in any democratic nation without a well-organised and disciplined political party.
President Kufuor paid glowing tribute to the memory of the founding fathers of the Busia-Danquah tradition and said their toil to ensure the rule of law and service to improve the living conditions of Ghanaians would never be in vain.
In a sermon, the Right Reverend Daniel Yinkah-Sarfo, Anglican Bishop of Kumasi, said Ghanaians have a duty to sacrifice a little for the common good of the country and her young democracy.
He said like the late Agyenim-Boateng, all should do something to safeguard and influence society.
The Rt. Rev. Yinkah-Sarfo said the death of the former General-Secretary, who was a Christian, was a gateway to better life with God.
Earlier, President Kufuor, on arrival paid a courtesy call on Dasebre Osei Bonsu 11, Omanhene of the Asante-Mampong Traditional area, at his palace.
The late Agyenim-Boateng, aged 67, was the General-Secretary of the NPP from 1992-1999 when he lost the position to Mr. Dan Botwe.
He died on May 12, this year.
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