Ninety year-old convict dies at Sunyani Prisons
Journalists Ass. HIPC, awards night to be held biennially
Juvenile offenders need protection – Official
Road accidents cost nation 300 million dollars annually – NRSC
Political parties fail to submit audited account
Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 27 July 2001
The 90 year-old inmate of the Sunyani Prisons, Sulemana Basare from Atebubu, jailed seven years by the Techiman Circuit Tribunal on July 9 for defiling a 16 year- old is dead. The death occurred on Tuesday morning at the Sunyani Regional Hospital.
Dr Samuel Dogbey, a Medical Officer, told the GNA that the convict's death was caused by "Hypovolaemic shock" due to severe dehydration.
He said the prison authorities brought him to the hospital around 08:50 hours on Tuesday in state of gasping.
A medical examination conducted on him indicated that he was severely dehydrated and semi-conscious, the medical officer said, adding that the Sulemana was in a cardiovascular collapse, as his pause was weak and blood pressure unrecordable.
He died few minutes after an attempt to revive him.
Prior to his death, the Prison authorities arranged for a psychiatric examination on him.
Dr C. Jones-Techie, a Specialist Psychiatrist at the Regional Hospital, who conducted the examination at the Prisons, commented in his report: "I have the opinion that his stay in prison custody will worsen his already poor physical health and derailed mental state."
Speaking to the GNA, Mr Ishmael Khan Aborabora Baidoo-Ahad, Regional Prisons Commander, expressed regret about the old man's death.
He said, on July 21 he wrote to the President through the Director General of Prisons to the Minister of the Interior pleading for a Presidential Pardon for the convict.
"I was hopeful that he would be pardoned by the President due to his deteriorating physical and mental health."
Authorities of the Prison on July 18 suspecting an ambiguity in the offence of the late Sulemana called for a review of his case.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 27 July 2001
The Ghana Journalists Association's awards night will now be held biennially for financial reasons. There would, therefore be no awards night this year.
The decision was reached during a meeting of the National Consultative Committee of the GJA in Accra on Thursday attended by regional and chapter chairmen.
Mrs Gifty Affenyi-Dadzie, President of GJA, said due to the bad shape of the economy, most business organisations are finding it difficult to honour their sponsorship promises to the association hence the need for more time to prepare for the event.
She said there was the need to have ample time to negotiate for support to maintain the good image and impression already created by the GJA in the previous awards.
"We need to ensure that we always present quality awards which befit the enviable role journalists play in national development and in a democracy."
On the decentralization of the awards, Mrs Affenyi-Dadzie said any attempt to regionalise the awards would make it uncompetitive since only a few people could compete there.
"There is the need to guarantee the awards at the national level to maintain standards."
She announced that the GJA was working with the government to secure accommodation for use as a permanent office and press centre.
Mrs Affenyi-Dadzie warned journalists that even though the criminal libel law was to be abolished, they must guard against civil libel, which she described as "even more dangerous than criminal libel." She said journalists should show maturity to justify why the criminal libel law should not be used.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 27 July 2001
The Police on Thursday said research conducted into the spate of armed robberies in and around the Accra-Tema metropolis has revealed that the robbers operate mainly in groups of between four and 10 and are aged between 18 and 40.
The robbers who are made up of Ghanaians and nationals from neighbouring countries use different types of arms including locally made shotguns and pistols to intimidate people.
A statement issued in Accra said the research, which was conducted by the Criminal Data Services Bureau (CDSB) of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), also revealed that some wear hoods and use various objects like iron cutters, hammers, cutlasses, chisels and flower pot found at the premises of their target to gain entry into buildings.
It said the robbers are mostly interested in cash and other valuables like mobile phones, jewellery and electronic appliances that can easily be sold.
The statement said the mode of operation indicates that the robbers select their victims carefully and gather a lot of information on the location of safes containing money and other items.
The Police advised individuals moving with huge sums of money to and from the banks not to flaunt their wealth and look out for cars, motorbikes and individuals who may be following them. It said if they suspect anything, they should drive to the nearest police station.
Forex bureau operators were also advised to ensure that their safes are built into concrete walls, procure laser security systems at their premises and seek expert advice before installing them.
Travellers were urged to beware of strangers who volunteer to assist in carrying luggage while those who live in remote areas should get to know their neighbours and form neighbourhood watch committees.
Households, which engage the services of house helps should be careful not to disclose their business transactions, where they keep their moneys as well as cash withdrawals they make from the banks. Criminal background checks may be made at the CID offices, the statement added.
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Ewusiejo (Western Region) 27 July 2001
About 600 former employees of the National Oil Palm Limited (NOPL) have renewed their appeal to the Minister of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) to re-visit their dismissal in 1991 without the payment of severance award.
Making the appeal at an emergency meeting at Ewusiejo in the Ahanta West District on Thursday, the workers, who claimed they were transferred from the defunct State Farms Corporation to the NOPL in 1983, said some of them had worked between 10 and 27 years.
In a petition signed by their Spokesman, Mr James Oppon said following their exposure of malpractice by the Managing Director, Mr Kwaku Yeboah the Western Regional Administration appointed a committee to investigate the allegations.
They said the committee confirmed the allegations and recommended that the Managing Director should refund the amount involved to the company.
The ex-workers said some few months after the committee's recommendations, the Management asked all the workers to go home to enable rehabilitation work to be carried out in the company's factory.
They alleged that the rehabilitation did not come on but instead, the Management asked the workers to re-apply for re-engagement.
The workers said since they were not dismissed them most of them refused to re-apply and the few that did were not employed.
The dismissed workers said the management paid them only their End of
Service Benefits (ESB) in 1993 without paying the 16 per cent interest that had accrued on the ESB from 1990 to 1993 as directed by the NDC Government when it froze the ESB.
They said all efforts made to have the NOPL pay them their severance award, shares in the NOPL and the interest on their ESB had proved futile. The NOPL has been divested.
They, therefore, appealed to the government to revisit their grievances to ensure that justice and fair play.
The ex-workers also appealed to the District Chief Executives of Ahanta West and Mpohor Wassa East to use their good offices to prevent the new company that took over from the NOPL from selling the outgrown palm trees until their grievances were resolved.
They threatened to "take over the plantation" if the new company goes ahead to sell the palm trees.
The placards bearing ex-workers later went on one-hour peaceful demonstration through the principal streets of the town.
Some of the placards read: "President Kufuor save us from our plight", "NOPL should be probed", "We need justice and fair play" and "Stop selling the palm trees".
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Ho (Volta Region) 27 July 2001
Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Yanyi-Akofur, Commanding Officer of the Medium Mortar Regiment (MMR) on Thursday urged the personnel of the Military and the Police service to collaborate in ensuring social, economic and political stability of the country.
This could be achieved in an atmosphere of mutual trust, respect, discipline and confidence among the two service institutions in the discharge of their duties, Lt. Col. Yanyi-Akofur said these at a one-day joint seminar for Senior non-commissioned Officers (SNCO) of the military and police in the Volta region at Ho.
It was aimed at fostering better working relations, mutual harmony and trust among the personnel of the two institutions to enable them maintain law and order, defend and protect the constitution of Ghana.
He asked them to co-operate and avoid friction, adding, "security is the bottom-line to democracy, rule of law and food security."
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Accra (Greater Accra) 27 July 2001
A draft bill, "Juvenile Justice Bill", which seeks to protect the rights of juvenile offenders, will soon be placed before Parliament, Mrs Estelle Appiah of the Ministry of Justice told the Parliamentary Select Committee on Gender and Children on Thursday.
Mrs Appiah therefore urged the members of the committee to lobby for the speedy adoption of the bill when it is laid before the House.
She also appealed to the Ministry of Manpower Development and Employment to expedite action on the Children's Rights Regulations, which deal with issues of fosterage and apprenticeship, among others, to ensure its speedy implementation.
Mrs Appiah was speaking at a meeting in Accra at which members of the Ghana National Commission on Children briefed members of the committee on the situation of Ghanaian children.
It is estimated that 54 per cent (9.7 million) of Ghana's 18.4 million population is less than 18 years.
Mrs Appiah, who represents her Ministry on GNCC, noted that the situation where juvenile offenders are identified in the media and also not protected during interrogation by the police is not in conformity with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Ghana has ratified.
"Ghana was the first member to ratify the convention, in 1990," she said. "But we often fail to realise that ratification goes with commitment to uphold the provisions".
Mrs Appiah expressed concern about recent reports about child trafficking in Ghana and said the GNCC would research the issue.
If it is established that it is on the increase, she said, a specific law should be promulgated to deal with offenders.
She expressed concern about reports that some educational authorities do not permit expelled students from writing examination, whereas others do.
Mrs Appiah said the practice of banning students from writing examinations conflicts with the right of the child to education and urged the Ministry of Education to clarify its policy on the issue.
Mrs Margaret M. Sackey, Executive Secretary of GNCC, complained about inadequate funds to implement the commission's programmes.
"Even though Parliament doubled our budget from 700 million cedis to 1.5 billion cedis, we are yet to receive the funds from the Finance Ministry to pursue our activities," she said.
Mrs Sackey said the commission's programme depends heavily on donor and private sector sponsorship.
The programmes aim at reducing infant and maternal mortality, improving access to basic education, promoting adult literacy, good sanitary practices and safe disposal of human excreta, among other goals.
"The commission is being restructured to focus on planning and advocacy, while other relevant institutions implement projects," she said.
Mrs Sackey mentioned the Children's Act 560 and the Criminal Code Amendment Act 554 and said educational programmes are ongoing to ensure that children's rights are respected.
The acts provide for the treatment of the disabled child, right of a child to express an opinion, protection from torture and degrading treatment, forced betrothals and marriages and penalty for contravention.
They also highlight the role of the district assembly and the Department of Social Welfare, the duty of individuals, children in need of care and protection, children's right under intestate succession law, the child and social security laws and the right to parental property.
She complained about weak enforcement of the law, especially on trokosi, female genital mutilation, child labour and street children, but acknowledged the problems of logistics enforcement agencies face.
Mrs Sackey also acknowledged the financial constraints faced by many parents and, therefore, find it difficult to provide adequately for their children.
Nevertheless, she said, a national child protection team comprising representatives of the police, judiciary, social welfare department and Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice would be inaugurated on Friday to uphold the rights of children, especially those who come into conflict with the law.
The parliamentarians pledged their commitment to advocate the rights of children and asked the commission to provide them with the relevant information and document to equip them for the role.
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President Kufuor pledges support for rule
of law
Accra (Greater Accra) 27 July 2001
President John Agyekum Kufuor on Thursday pledged the government's support for institutions that promote the rule of law, good governance, peace and stability.
He said the government would therefore support the decision of the National House of Chiefs (NHC) to compile and publish the names of Paramount and Divisional chiefs as a means to reduce the high incidence of chieftaincy disputes.
President Kufuor made the pledge when Oseadeeyo Addo Dankwa II, Okuapehene, paid a courtesy call on him and Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama at the State House in Accra.
He called on chiefs to educate their people on the good intentions of the government to make life bearable for the people with its fiscal policies that have stabilised the cedi and created an enabling environment for investments.
President Kufuor said government is taking measures to streamline and improve operations of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) to make their operations at the entry points less cumbersome and more congenial for investors.
Oseadeeyo Addo Dankwa who is also Adviser of the Research Committee of the NHC, said the house in conjunction with the NCCE and the Konrad Adeneur Foundation has compiled names of all Paramount and Divisional Chiefs, mode of election, enstoolment and destoolment as well as the procedure for the elevation of areas to paramountcy for publication.
He explained that this is to enable government to give recognition to chieftaincy and prevent anyone who is not a royal to contest for any vacant stool.
Oseadeeyo Addo Dankwa said with the assistance of some investors feasibility studies on bauxite deposits at Kyebi would begin next month in addition to the establishment of an agro-processing project, a technical school, an orphanage and a 200-bed hospital at Kwamoso in the Akuapem Traditional area.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 27 July 2001
Mr Noble Appiah, Executive Director of the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), on Thursday said road accidents cost the nation over 300 million dollars every year.
"Road accidents account for an average of six deaths everyday, 10,000 serious and minor injuries annually and damage to roads, expensive vehicles and private as well as national property," he said.
Speaking at a two-day seminar on defensive driving Mr Appiah said the NRSC has, therefore, designed a five-year strategic programme focused on seven main problematic areas to curb road accidents in the country.
The seminar organized by Toptech Drive Consult Limited for 30 drivers from private and public organisations is to train the participants in defensive driving techniques, driving laws, rules and regulation, vehicular insurance and registration and first aid.
Mr Appiah said the five-year programme would focus on sustainable training for drivers, pedestrians, children, medical staff and other stakeholders in the road transport sector with the view to curbing accidents and saving lives.
He said drivers cause 90 per cent of road accidents with most of the deaths involving passengers on commercial vehicles.
"Owing to poor rescue operations and lack of first aid skill in drivers, 80 per cent accident victims die before reaching the hospital," he said.
Mr Appiah said this is a reflection of poor driver training, stemming out of the erroneous notion that driving is for school dropouts and illiterates.
"We must understand that lives and expensive vehicles are usually entrusted into the hands of drivers," he said. "There is, therefore, the need to place importance on sustainable training and re-training of drivers if we are to prevent accidents and save lives and property."
Mr Appiah said vehicular population increases by 10 per cent annually and results in a corresponding five per cent increase in road accidents.
"In 1996 vehicular population in Ghana was 135,000. Now it stands at 520,000 and threatens to increase to 720,000 in five years," he said.
"If we do not put in combating measures 20,000 people would die from road accidents in the next five years."
Mr Appiah noted that the state of the country's roads plays an insignificant role in road accidents.
"Seventy per cent of accidents occur on flat roads," he said, and identified over-speeding as the main cause in road accidents.
"There is need to develop speed limit mechanisms to check over-speeding.
"Research has shown that victims of accidents involving a vehicle running at 32 kilometres per hour have 95 per cent chance to survive, at 48 kilometres per hour, victims have 65 per cent chance of survival," he said.
"Most commercial vehicle travel at over 80 kilometres per hour, which is deadly."
He said five regions - Greater-Accra, Western, Eastern, Ashanti and Central - account for over 70 per cent of accidents in the country and 80 per cent of road accidents occur on five major roads. These are the Aflao-Elubo, Accra-Kumasi, Kumasi-Sunyani-Gornokrom, Koforidua-Bonsu-Accra and Kumasi-Mampong-Tamale roads.
"Between January and March this year, 300 people died from road accidents nationwide," he said. "Out of the figure, 64 four died in the Eastern region alone and 57 in Accra."
In a speech read on his behalf, the Minister of Transport and Communications, Mr Felix Owusu-Agyapong called on transport unions and organisations to make budgetary allocations for regular training of their drivers.
He warned that transport-regulating bodies in collaboration with the law courts would soon initiate measures for effective control and surveillance of drivers through the suspension of drivers' license, withdrawal, revocation and other sanctions to stem indiscipline on the road.
Mr Owusu-Agyapong appealed to driving schools to organise programmes on concessionary terms and fees in order to impart defensive driving skills to motorists.
Mr Justice Amegashie, Director of Vehicle Licensing Division (VELD) said measures are underway to curb the proliferation of fake licenses and roadworthiness certificates.
He said VELD would soon open a Customer Service Unit to provide information to the public with the view to helping them to avoid dealers in fake transport documents who loiter around VELD.
Mr Cecil Garbrah, Chief Executive Officer of Toptech, said the training programme would be extended to commercial drivers in all regions beginning from Aflao next month.
The programme will be carried out in collaboration with the Ghana Private Road
Transport Union.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 27 July 2001
The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) on Thursday said the erection of billboards by political parties on ceremonial streets is illegal and they should be removed by Friday July 27.
Mr Solomon Ofei Darko, AMA Chief Executive, explained in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra that under the assembly's bye-laws it is an offence to erect political billboards on ceremonial routes.
He said the siting of unauthorised billboards of all sizes on ceremonial roads distracts landmarks aimed at beautifying such routes and gave bad impressions, especially to first time visitors.
Mr Darko noted that the haphazard and unprofessional way some of the billboards have been erected impede the visibility of motorists and could contribute to accidents on the roads.
He said the AMA allowed their erection during the electioneering campaign because of the purposes they were to serve.
However, after the elections these billboards have no particular purpose to the electorate and must be removed immediately. Mr Darko named the ceremonial routes as Airport area, Tetteh Quarshie Roundabout as well as routes leading to and from the Castle and the State House.
The Chief Executive said the assembly was allowing the parties to remove the billboards on their own but if they failed the assembly in collaboration with Advertising Association of Ghana would remove them.
They would not be destroyed but kept by the association.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 27 July 2001
Top members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), university lecturers and lawyers have been named as ambassadors, a senior government official said on Thursday.
Mr Kwabena Agyepong, Deputy Government Spokesman, told reporters in Accra that President John Agyekum Kufuor named the envoys in consultation with the Council of State.
He did not say which countries they have been accredited to.
They are Mr Samuel Arthur Odoi-Sykes, a lawyer and Chairman of the NPP, Mr Roland Issifu Alhassan, a Lawyer and a leading Member Of NPP, Professor Albert Owusu Sarpong, Dean of the Social Sciences Department of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and Mr Timothy Enyo Kwaku Amesimeku, a Lawyer.
The rest are Dr Baffour Adjei Bawah, a Development Consultant and Chairman of the United Kingdom Branch of the NPP, Mr Tahir Abdul EL Razak Muhyiddin Hassan, a University lecturer, Mr Emmanuel Kwadwo Adu, a representative of Scancem International, Major-General Francis Yahaya Mahama (rtd) and Mr Clarus Kobina Sakyi, a career diplomat.
Meanwhile, the President has appointed Nana Bonsu Wiafe Ababio as Managing Director of Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company.
He has also named Mr Haruna Esseku as Chairman of the reconstituted nine-member board of the company.
Other members are Nana Ababio, Paa Kwesi Yankey, a Business Executive, Mr Yaw Agyeman-Duah, Managing Director of Ghana Oil Company, Mr Akwasi
Kyeremanteng, Member of Parliament for Sekyere West, Mr S. O Darkoh, M.P for Ga North, Mr Johnson Aboagye, a Business Executive, Ms Serwaah Derkyi, an Educationist, and Mr Benjamin Baah, a Chartered Accountant.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 27 July 2001
The Electoral Commission revealed on Thursday that political parties which contested the 2000 elections have not submitted their audited accounts as required by the electoral law. The parties were to submit their audited accounts to the commission by June 30, a source told the Ghana News Agency in Accra.
The law says: "A political party shall, within six months from December 31st of each year, file with the commission a return indicating the state of its accounts; the source of its funds and membership dues paid or risk cancellation of its registration.
"Without prejudice to any other penalty prescribed by the Act or any other enactment, where a political party refuses or neglects to comply with the provision or submits a declaration that is false in any material, the commission may cancel its registration."
The source said seven months after the elections the parties have turned a blind eye to the law.
It said law also requires political parties to inform EC about other sources of funding including contributions or donations in cash or kind and property, adding that these are constitutional and statutory provisions that the parties are required to meet and make available to the commission for verification.
"The Act says this shall be supported by a statutory declaration made by the national treasurer and the national or general secretary of the party''.
The source explained that only a citizen might contribute in cash or kind to a party without limitation. Foreigners are not allowed to contribute financially to any political party.
It said any person or company that contravenes the constitutional provision on funding of political parties would forfeit such amount to the state.
A non-citizen found guilty of contravention of the provision shall be deemed to be a prohibited immigrant and liable to deportation under the Aliens Act.
GNA investigations indicate that since 1996, most of the parties have not furnished the EC with their audited account or updated their records on party officials at the national, regional and district offices. This is in spite of the fact that the initial list submitted to the commission for registration has changed.
Some of the political parties claimed that they have not submitted any audited account because the commission failed to come out with a unified modality for the parties. They said accounts submitted by some political parties in 1996 did not reflect their expenditure for the elections and this generated heated debate among the parties.
Therefore, the Inter-Party Advisory Committee (IPAC) suggested to the commission to adopt a uniform modality, but this is yet to be formulated.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 27 July 2001
Members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Nigerian Senate on Thursday held talks with the Foreign Minister, Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang exploring strategies to boost the leading role of Ghana and Nigeria in consolidating regional integration.
The talks also provided a platform for Ghana and Nigeria to identify specific areas in which they could enhance bilateral and multilateral cooperation.
Also on the Ghanaian side at the talks was Mr Kofi Attor, ranking member in the Foreign Affairs select committee.
The 14-member Nigerian delegation, led by the Committee's Vice Chairman, Chimaobi Nkwakanma, arrived in Accra on Wednesday for a four-day reciprocal visit.
Mr Nkwakanma said his country and Ghana have a great responsibility to collectively give meaning to the integration process as well as the recently christened Africa Union. "We need to do more than we are doing now. There should be more fast-tracking," he said.
Mr Owusu-Agyemang called for the revamping of dormant protocols and institutions that were initiated as part of the integration process.
He thanked Nigeria for supporting the candidature of Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas who Ghana is putting forward for the position of ECOWAS Executive Secretary.
He said although the task ahead is not easy, the two countries should be motivated by the long-term benefits that their people would derive from the successes and push ahead. During the exchanges, the two agreed that Ghana and Nigeria should further cooperate in protecting the environment and collaborate in safeguarding national security.
They called for expedited action on the West African gas pipeline project, which, they said, could make a difference in the economic life of the beneficiary nations.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 27 July 2001
Dr Kwaku Afriyie, Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines, said on Thursday that the lay-offs being embarked upon by some timber firms in the Sekondi-Takoradi area are a deliberate strategy to dent the image of the government.
He said the firms were among those, which were able to log in excess of annual allowable cut as a result of their business contacts with the previous government.
The Minister, who was speaking in Accra in reaction to the action by the companies said because the Ministry has put in place control measures to reverse the excesses, the firms had resorted to the ploy to make the government unpopular.
Dr Afriyie said the problem is not with the Timber Utilization Policy but "is because of measures to make the firms go by the annual allowable cut of one million cubic meters which the complaining companies want to exceed".
He said it is his obligation to control the depletion of the forest so that posterity will also benefit.
He said at the turn of the century, the forest cover was 8.5 million hectares but is now reduced to 1.6 million hectares.
The installed capacity of Sawmills is 5.2 million cubic meters in terms of volume, he said. "if I go beyond the annual allowable cut the country would be in danger".
Dr Afriyie said the Millers and Loggers were stealing from the forest at the rate of 900,000 cubic meters while chainsaw operators were also stealing over 1.6 million cubic meters bringing to a total of about 3.5 million cubic meters. He said one company stole over 100,000 logs without royalty, tax and stump fees.
However, three companies have paid over 100 million cedis fines in respect of illegal operations and that was the success story of the log auditing the ministry had put in place.
Dr Afriyie said the companies making noise -- John Bitter Company Limited, Metro Star Wood Limited and BMK Particle Board Limited-- have bad operational records.
These companies, he said are subsidiaries of one company and have large concessions and therefore if one company lacked resources it could rely on the other.
Dr Afriyie said Samartex Timber and Plywood Company Limited for example, has 36 concessions while Ghana Prime Wood and BMK Particle Board Limited have almost the same concessions.
The problem now for them is how to renew their license for allowable cut, which, he said he wants to control so that everyone would be treated fairly.
In the interim, Dr Afriyie said, stressed companies could apply for the Timber Utilization Permit (TUP) of six months duration but that would not be a wholesale issuance.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 27 July 2001
A 20-member delegation made up of business executives from Morocco on Thursday arrived in Accra for a two-day investment and exploratory visit.
Mr Hassan Chami is leading the delegation whose visit was arranged by King Mohammed V1, the President of the Moroccan Employers' Association. Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, Minister of Foreign Affairs, several ministers, officials of the Private Enterprise Foundation (PEF) and the Association of Ghana Industries met the delegation on arrival.
Speaking to newsmen Mr Mourad Cherif, Executive Member of the Moroccan Employers' Association and former Finance Minister, said they were in the country to strengthen the cordial relations between the two countries and concretise business contacts made during president John Agyekum Kufuor's visit to Morocco a few months ago.
He said the delegation would hold discussion with their Ghanaian counterparts for joint ventures in the areas of tourism, textiles, telecommunications, energy, gas, mining and fisheries.
The delegation would also hold discussions with President Kufuor. Nana Yeboah Kodie II, President of the PEF, said the Foundation would offer them every opportunity to cement investment deals struck during the President's visit to Morocco and build a strong partnership between the two associations.
He invited the Moroccans to invest in cotton production, which is important to Ghana. The President of the Association of Ghana Industries Prince Kofi Kludjeson said the association was trying to develop the handicrafts and fruit juice industry and would learn from the experience of their Moroccan counterparts.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 27 July 2001
President John Agyekum Kufuor on Thursday said the renewed relationship between Ghana and Morocco should be strengthened in practical terms for the mutual benefit of both countries.
"As we welcome you as brothers, let us make this relationship more practical and Ghana is prepared to discuss with you about fisheries, energy, tourism, culture, extiles, aviation and other sectors.".
President Kufuor said this when a 20- member business delegation comprising Chief Executives of Moroccan companies on a two-day visit to Ghana paid a courtesy call on him and Vice-President Alhaji Aliu Mahama at the State House in Accra.
The visit is a follow-up to a visit by President Kufuor some Ministers of State and private entrepreneurs to Morocco in May at the invitation of King Mohammed VI to explore avenues for mutual co-operation between the two countries.
The delegation later had a discussion with some Ministers of State at the Accra International Conference Centre to be followed by a special meeting with the private sector at the M-Plaza Hotel on Friday.
Mr Mourad Cherif, leader of the delegation said Morocco would ensure that the vision of the two countries becomes a reality.
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