NDC urges Kufuor to reduce Isa's sentence
Diplomats urged to raise country's image
Let there be frank discussions on the crisis in Sierra Leone - Bangura
President Kufuor joins Northerners to celebrate Damba
Exhumation process is on course - Committee
NDC denies Independent newspaper story
Accra (Greater Accra) 30 July 2001
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has appealed to President John Agyekum Kufuor to "exercise his prerogative powers of mercy" to reduce the four-year sentence imposed on former sports Minister Mallam Isa.
Mallam Issa is in jail for stealing 46,000 dollars being winning bonus for the senior national soccer team during a World Cup qualifier in Sudan.
Mr Ekwow Spio-Grabrah, Chairman of the NDC Media Committee said in a statement at the weekend that the party was shocked at the four-year jail sentence imposed on the former minister.
"As much as the NDC appreciates the fact that public officials must be held accountable for their actions, especially when such conduct borders on the loss of public funds, the case of the dismissed Minister ought to attract the sympathy of the law.
"This is because he did not only accept responsibility for the loss of money, but he also made an open offer to refund the money, without admitting that he stole it. Furthermore, he has already lost his job as a Minister and his image has been badly damaged."
The NDC said justice ought to have been tempered with mercy by the imposition of a shorter custodial sentence while emphasising the option of recovering the money to the state.
The party stressed that it is not by the statement suggesting that the law should discriminatory be in favour of high public officials when it comes to dispensing justice.
It said the party's position is based on the special circumstances surrounding Mallam Isa's case, which ought to attract more sympathy. The party called on Ghanaians to join them in their appeal to the president.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 30 July 2001
Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyeman, Minister of Foreign Affairs at the weekend threw a challenge to the country's diplomats to raise her image to enable both foreign investors and Ghanaians resident abroad to do business in Ghana.
Opening a seminar on the restructuring of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Akosombo attended by newly appointed heads of Ghana's missions, Mr Owusu-Agyeman said following the change of Government fresh impetus has been brought to bear on almost all areas of the national life.
"That positive change must also be reflected in the way we do things as a Foreign Ministry.
"We would want the old style of champagne diplomacy to give way to a new style of diplomacy where the focus would be on the attraction of the right kind of development partners to raise our standard of living and bring prosperity to all our citizens", the Minister said.
Mr Owusu-Agyeman said the ministry came under severe criticisms at the just ended "Homecoming Summit" about the way some diplomats discharged their duties, which alienated Ghanaians abroad.
"The lessons drawn from the summit clearly show that there is urgent need to refocus our foreign policy objectives, retool our missions abroad, restructure our operations and improve our support services to the missions."
He said the ministry must also address its image problem and attempt to respond to the challenges facing it domestically and externally.
He told them: "The country has joined the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative with its immediate task to attract resources and as early as possible move out of that unenviable category of countries through cost saving and more judicious use of limited resources".
The country's foreign policy formulation must, therefore, take account of both her circumstances and the mood of the ordinary Ghanaian. The ministry must be seen to be involving other stakeholders such as the Parliamentary Oversight Committee, the private sector and civil society in policy formulation.
Mr Owusu-Agyeman called for a proactive and aggressive public relations exercise for people to know what the missions are doing.
"We cannot shroud all our work in secrecy. We must tell people how we are marketing Ghana abroad and what aspects of Ghana, its culture and values we are reflecting or projecting to the outside world".
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Accra (Greater Accra) 30 July 2001
President John Agyekum Kufuor has reprimanded Mr. Isaac Edumadze, Central Regional Minister about his behaviour towards a taxi driver.
Mr Edumadze was said to have seized a taxi at Suhum in the Eastern Region last week accusing the driver of bad driving and instead of reporting the incident to the police there, he rather ordered his (Minister's) driver to send the car to Cape Coast and parked it at his residence.
A Government statement in Accra last Friday said the President was displeased and disapproved of the Minister's action.
The statement said the President expressed the sentiments when he met the Minister in Accra.
"Over enthusiasm is not an acceptable excuse of a possible breach of the law," the President was quoted as telling Mr Edumadze.
The statement said the President has accepted the assurance of the Regional Minister that nothing similar would occur again.
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Tema (Greater Accra) 30 July 2001
An old bomb exploded near a house in Tema Community Five Extension at mid-day on Saturday killing a fowl and setting a palm tree on fire. No one was injured.
Mr Addo Kwapong, a tenant of House Number AP 19, said explosion cracked a wall of a nearby house and shattered the louvers of another.
Mr Kwapong, who was speaking to the Ghana News Agency on Sunday, said a thick smoke and heavy dust followed the explosion, which made all the tenants to rush from their rooms for safety.
"When the smoke had subsided and the dust settled, I mustered courage and walked to the spot where the explosion occurred and found a shell. It was very hot when I attempted to touch it, so I left it there", he said.
Mr Kwapong, an employee of Maroon Shipping, Tema, said he called the Community Two Police and the Chief Inspector in charge arrived with one of his men within 10 to 15 minutes, adding, "I conducted them round the scene of the explosion and showed them the shell".
"The Police said it was an old bomb and told us that they would inform Military Ballistic Experts to come and examine it on Monday."
He said they decided to inform the Tema Regional Commander of Police in the evening, who arrived at the house at 19:00 hours, turn informed the Military, who came to the scene of the explosion at 23:00 hours and they confirmed that it was an old bomb.
Mr Kwapong said the leader of the Military team told them that they would come on Monday to excavate the area to find out if there were other bombs.
Explaining the circumstances that led to the blast, Mr Kwapong said the household undertook a clean up exercise and some sticks and few other items were incinerated.
He said it was when the fire was dying down that the explosion occurred. The Police confirmed that the incident had been reported to them and they had visited the scene.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 30 July 2001
Mr Allie E Bangura, Sierra Leone High Commissioner in Ghana has observed that frank discussions on the security situation in his country was the only way to finding a permanent solution to the problem.
Mr Bangura, who made the observation at a two-day lecture on the political and security situation in Sierra Leone, said: "At a time when the end of the cold war has increased prospects for peace in Africa, the rebel war that started in Liberia and in its grand design spread over to our country on March 23, 1991 has shocked the whole world by its gruesome violence."
The lectures were organised by African Security Dialogue and Research (ASDR), an independent, non-governmental institute based in Accra, and aimed at fostering dialogue and consensus with regard to the role and governance of security forces in emerging African democracies.
He said that by the early 1990s Sierra Leone's socio-economic condition degenerated into "the paradox of poverty in the midst of potential plenty and wealth."
The High Commissioner said since then tear shedding and agony became the hallmarks of a country that had hitherto been peaceful.
Dr Ibrahim Abdullah, a Historian based at the University of Western Cape, in Cape Town, South Africa, who delivered the lectures commended women in Sierra Leone for their frontline role in the peace process.
His topics were: "The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and its Regional Links" and "The Lome Accord and the Future of the Peace Process in Sierra Leone."
Dr Abdullah blamed the failure of the Lome Accord on both the Sierra Leonean government and the RUF because in his view neither the government nor the RUF went to Lome to make peace.
He expressed optimism that all the stakeholders in the Sierra Leonean conflict would return to the negotiating table to find a lasting solution to the crisis.
Professor Eboe Hutchful, Executive Director of ASDR, gave the assurance that it would encourage greater transparency and accountability in the formulation and implementation of national security and defence policies on the continent.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 30 July 2001
President John Agyekum Kufuor said though his government was only six months in office it is poised to lay the foundation for sustained growth and prosperity if it enjoyed peace and stability.
He therefore urged Ghanaians not to tolerate any attempt to destabilise the country since they reserved the right to vote the government out in four years if it failed to perform.
President Kufuor was speaking when he joined Dagombas and other Northern ethnic communities in Accra to celebrate the annual Damba festival, which marks the traditional celebration of the birth of Prophet Mohammed, the founder of Islam.
The President's speech focussed on the theme for the celebration: "Reconciliation for a united Ghana."
President Kufuor, dressed in smock, acknowledged cheers from the large crowd when he joined the local Dagomba Chief Alhaji Abdul-Kadir Tahiru to do the special Damba dance.
Vice-President Aliu Mahama and other Ministers of state joined in the fanfare attracting similar cheers from the revellers including Members of Parliament and the Diplomatic Corps.
President Kufuor gave the assurance that the accident of history which has stifled the development of the north would be reversed through prudent policies that would focus mainly on education and agriculture.
He said through 'The Africa Growth and Opportunity Act' of the US, farmers in the North would be supported with irrigation schemes, fertiliser and extension services to step up the production of rice and cotton.
He said the North would also have its fair share of schools that would be spread throughout the country and that at least every district would get a well-equipped Senior Secondary School to stem the flow of students to good schools in the South.
President Kufuor expressed satisfaction that the festival has brought unity among the revellers of diverse ethnic, religious and political backgrounds.
Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas, Member of Parliament for Bimbilla, who spoke on "the need for national unity," lauded government's vision of the "Golden age of business".
He called for support for the programme irrespective of ones political affiliation since it held the key to the country's development.
Dr Chambas appealed to people of the north to prepare themselves adequately for leadership roles by encouraging children, especially girls, to go to school to acquire the right skills.
He also cautioned the chiefs and people to discourage the persistent religious, chieftaincy and sectional conflicts by focussing on the critical problems retarding progress.
Dr Edward Mahama, Presidential Candidate of the Peoples' National Convention (PNC) in the last general election also called on Northerners to help eradicate widespread poverty and ignorance amongst them by promoting education.
Alhaji Tahiru called on the government to make the festival one of the major tourist attractions.
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Zebilla (Upper East) 30 July 2001
The government of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) will continue from where its predecessor left off, but policies and actions that were taken against interest of the people would be reviewed, Mr Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications said on Friday.
Whilst the government of the NPP would not condone any wrong doing and impropriety on the part of the former administration and its functionaries, it would not undo the gains that have been achieved through the collective efforts of the people, Mr Agyeman-Manu said at Zebilla when he addressed the first in a series of meetings of District Chief Executives (DCES) in the Upper East Region.
The Regional meetings, introduced by the new government, are to be held on the last Friday of every month to promote closer interaction among the DCEs, sector ministries, departments and agencies at the national, regional and district levels.
The meetings would also rotate among the various district capitals, during which the DCEs would compare notes on problems confronting the development of their districts and share experiences.
Mr Agyeman-Manu urged DCEs and heads of decentralised departments to work closely together to move the country forward socio-economically, since anything short of that would be a disservice to the people they have been employed to serve.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 30 July 2001
President John Agyekum Kufuor on Friday said the tenure of office of the government would be marked by the enforcement of law and order in all spheres of life.
"We want our time in office to be marked by law and order and this would be enforced," he said when receiving the final report from the five-member Presidential Commission of Inquiry into the May 9 Accra Sports Stadium Disaster at the State House in Accra.
The Commission was to investigate and make recommendations to prevent the re-occurrence of the incident in which about 126 football fans died and many others were injured.
He expressed the hope that with the report in, the government would be able to put in place policies that would correct whatever wrongs that took place and issues that endanger the discipline, honesty and sacrifices that the public should demand from anyone put in place of trust.
President Kufuor commended the members of the Commission for the work they had done, saying: "You have risen to the challenges so competently."
He assured Ghanaians that government would study the report and whatever recommendations made would be considered with the utmost objectivity.
Mr Sam Okudzeto, a lawyer and Chairman of the Commission said it has recommended criminal prosecution of officers and men at the stadium for the reckless use of firearms.
Mr Okudzeto said the behaviour of some of the policemen who showed utter dishonesty in their evidence at the inquiry should be punished as a deterrent to people in public service.
He said there was laxity in records kept by the police, citing the armoury record book, in which arms issued and returned to be recorded, was haphazardly kept and ammunition not properly recorded, thus posing a danger to security.
"How do we know who has what arms and ammunition and for what purpose?" he asked.
Mr Okudzeto said the most disturbing thing that came to their notice was that officers and men who went to the stadium on the day of the disaster were not recorded in the station diary of the Police Striking Force.
"The Officer In-Charge of the Station detected in the evening that false entries were made in the register indicating that the men left for the stadium after 5.00 p.m. when indeed they left in the morning."
Mr Okudzeto said the long neglect of the training and discipline in the Police Service should be addressed to bring sanity into their operations.
Other members of the Commission were, Professor A. Ofosu-Amaah, former Director of the Special Branch, Professor A. Badu-Akosa, President of the Ghana Medical Association, Mr Ken Bediako, a veteran Sports Journalist and Professor Akua Kuenyehia, Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, Legon.
The Commission held 17 public hearings and 10 hearings in camera. It heard 102 witnesses, received 74 memoranda, visited seven sites in Ghana and two stadiums in the UK.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 30 July 2001
The exhumation and burial of the Executed Generals and a Colonel is being delayed because the pathologist has not completed DNA tests to identify their real identities.
A release from the Executive Committee on Exhumation and Burial of Executed Generals signed by Air Marshal M. A. Otu said: "Until the pathologist has completed all the preliminary arrangements, which are far advanced towards the DNA tests leading to full identification, exhumation of the remains cannot start."
It assured the wives and families and "all concerned that the exhumation process is (in) place and upon recovery of the remains, the families shall be notified".
The Committee said, "the exhumation is sacred and private and as such the public will not be entertained.
"At the appropriate time all interested parties will be informed," the statement concluded.
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Ejura (Ashanti Region) 30 July 2001
The Sekyere West District Assembly has placed an embargo on workers' salaries for July due to anomalies detected on payment vouchers at the Kwamanman Rural Bank.
A total of 492.5 million cedis representing payment to suspected 59 "ghost" workers would have been lost to the state.
A letter from the assembly signed by the District Co-ordinating Director Mr. David Zakari, directed all banks in the district to suspend payment of workers salaries until a team of inspectors had finished a verification exercise on the anomalies.
Reports from the office of the district assembly indicated that the District Finance Officer Mr. Charles Owusu Agyeman Prempeh detected the anomaly when he was struck by the amounts against specific names, which ranged between six million cedis and nine million cedis.
He said the ghost names were found on the Kwamanman Rural Bank report 11 and credit vouchers alone.
Report 11 contains names of people and the cheque to be used by the banks in payment of workers salary. Workers who unknowingly reported at their various banks to collect their salaries were not paid.
Meanwhile, the office of the Controller and Accountant General in Accra has been informed of the anomaly.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 30 July 2001
Former Vice President, Professor John Evans Atta-Mills has denied a statement attributed to him by the "Independent" newspaper that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was a divided party.
A statement issued in Accra and signed by Mr Ekwow Spio-Gabrah, Chairman of the Media Committee of the party, said that the front-page headline of the said story in the July 25, edition of the paper was misleading.
The statement said that Professor Mills acknowledged rather the major challenges facing the party in its reorganisation period, " he further stressed the importance of unity as one of the major factors in assuring victory in 2004.
It is this emphasis on unity that may have led the Independent reporter to state that the NDC is a divided house."
Prof. Mills was the flagbearer of the party in last year's general elections but lost to Mr John Agyekum Kufuor of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The statement said the former Vice President also denied that some individuals in the NDC corrupted themselves but rather said: "If it turns out that some individuals in the NDC regime corrupted themselves, it was not the intention of the party as an institution to conspire to loot the national coffers."
It, therefore, called on its supporters "to disregard the attempts by certain elements, including some in the media to look for only negative stories about the party to publish even when such stories are incorrect".
It further called on the supporters not to be detracted but focus on the reorganisation process to win the next elections in 2004.
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