Ghana tasks Saudi Arabia to ensure welfare of Ghanaian immigrants

Rawlings commission’s new fishing harbour at Sekondi

Chicken alert : Belgium chicken, eggs may be dangerous – Health Ministry

Asanteman Council to hear allegations against Goasohene

Journalists association deplores fine on Chronicle

CP to hold regional congress in Brong Ahafo

MP decries spate of Chieftaincy disputes

Researchers urged to tackle problems facing cassava development

Workers of African Automotive demonstrate

Veep intervenes in Researchers’ strike

Journalists to attend workshop on forestry management

Ghana benefits from 24 billion-cedi British book donation

Military demolish structure

ADB releases 20.35 Million Dollars for Irrigation projects

Accra (Greater Accra) 2^nd June '99

Ghana on Tuesday appealed to the Saudi authorities to investigate reports of maltreatment of Ghanaian immigrants in that country and ensure their safety.

Mr Joseph Awa Laryea, deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, made the appeal when a Special Envoy from Saudi Arabia, Prince Torki Mohammed called on Vice-President John Evans Atta Mills at the Castle, Osu, to discuss bilateral issues.

The envoy also delivered a special message from King Fahd to President Jerry Rawlings through Prof. Mills.

Mr Laryea recalled two separate incidents in which, he said, Ghanaian women who were recruited for jobs in Saudi Arabia were maltreated by their hosts.

In the first incident one of the women was beaten and denied her entitlement because she used her employer's telephone without permission.

The Deputy Minister said another 35 women were denied their correct remuneration for unexplained reasons, the deputy foreign minister said.

Mr Laryea said in both incidents, his ministry lodged a formal complaint to the authorities but nothing has been heard since.

He therefore tasked the envoy to get to the roots of the reports and bring justice to the unfortunate victims.

Mr Laryea also urged the authorities to ensure that agreements between employers and people being recruited are well documented.

Vice-President Mills said the time had come for Ghana and Saudi Arabia to enhance their relations in terms of trade and social exchanges.

He expressed appreciation for Saudi Arabia's continued support for Ghana's development programmes, citing Saudi assistance at the early stages of the Economic Recovery Programme which was launched in 1983.

Prince Mohammed assured the Vice-President that he would take personal interest in the matters discussed and work towards an enhanced and cordial relationship between the two countries.

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Sekondi (Western Region), 2^nd June ‘99 –

The fishing community at Sekondi-Takoradi sang and danced with joy when President Jerry John Rawlings commissioned a fishing harbour at Sekondi today.

At the commissioning, was the former Prime Minister of Japan, Mr Ryutaro Hashimoto who is on a three-day visit to the country whose country supported the project with 13 million dollars.

Started in September 1997 and completed in March this year, the fishing harbour has a 200-metre-long breakwater and a 76-metre-long jetty.

There are two wharfs for inshore vessels. Other facilities include an ice-making plant, ice storage unit, fish handling shed, administration block, water supply system and fire fighting system.

President Rawlings said the new harbour would ravamp the fishing industry and reactivate the socio-economic vitality of the port as far as the Sekondi-Takoradi twin-city is concerned.

"The fishermen of this area are now assured of adequate protection for their vessels which otherwise suffer losses and damage during rainy and stormy weather".

President Rawlings said because of lack of safe mooring as well as adequate facilities for storage and marketing, many fishermen from the Western coast of Ghana moved together with their families to neighbouring countries.

"Let us hope that these fine new facilities will motivate some of our lost fishermen to come home," he said.

President Rawlings added annual export earnings in fish are over 19 million dollars and hoped that this will shoot up with the anticipated increase in fishing activities at the new harbour.

He said Japan has given assistance to Ghana especially in the country's most difficult years, adding that Japanese finance went into areas such as telecommunications, ports and roads.

The President recalled his official visit to Japan in 1997 when Mr Hashimoto was the Prime Minister and said during their talks, it was clear that Japan was genuine in its desire to assist Ghana.

He also spoke about the "Hashimoto initiatives" under which Japan would help control and eradicate communicable diseases in West Africa.

President Rawlings said the Noguchi Institute for Medical Research would be the focal point of this initiative working in collaboration with the Legon and Pantang Hospitals.

Mr Edward Salia, Minister for Roads and Transport, appealed to all stakeholders to take good care of the port and ensure that old vessels are not permitted to sink in the harbour to pose danger to fishing.

Mrs Esther Lily Nkansah, the Western Regional Minister, in her welcoming address, said the people of Western region regard the fishing harbour project as yet another landmark in the efforts of the NDC government to revamp and stimulate the growth of the regional economy through the phased implementation of a carefully worked-out strategic plan for the development of the region.

This process, she said, commenced with the execution of some selected projects for the revamping of the regional economy.

These include the rehabilitation of the Western rail line, the Takoradi port itself, phased development of a network of strategic overland routes to open up the region's interior and improved links to other regions to facilitate evacuation of export commodities to the port.

Mrs Nkansah said additionally, the Aboadze Thermal Plant has been constructed and brought on stream to supplement power from Akosombo; the whole region is now looking forward to seeing additional power being generated through the utilisation of the gas deposits off-shore Half Assini. The telecommunication sector has seen equally exciting developments.

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Accra (Greater Accra) 2^nd June ’99

The Belgian Ministry of Health has warned that Belgian chicken and eggs may be unsafe for consumption.

A faxed message from the Ghana Mission in Brussels, received by the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Tuesday, said the Belgian press has quoted the ministry as saying that "the risk of contamination is small, but as a precaution, it is recommended to the population to stop eating chicken and eggs".

The message was sent to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, with copies to the Ministers of Health and Trade.

The message said as a result of the warning, most supermarkets in Belgium have withdrawn chickens and eggs from their shelves, although some open-market sellers claim contaminated chicken and eggs have been on the market for a long time now.

"The cause of contamination has been traced to high level of dioxin in poultry feed, in the eggs and in chicken fat."

It said the ban is also to affect pork and all pork products, as it has been established that pigs have also been fed on similar feed.

The message said part of the ingredients used for the manufacture of the feed have been imported from the Netherlands.

"Both the Belgian and Netherlands governments have reportedly issued independent enquiries into this matter of contamination which, reportedly, was detected in January 1999."

The message said the Mission's investigations so far have confirmed the media reports and revealed that some European countries have banned the importation of Belgian chicken and eggs.

The Mission recommended that "urgent measures be taken to protect the Ghanaian consumer by having all chicken and eggs that are already on the Ghanaian market withdrawn immediately, and for a ban to be placed on the importation of any such chicken and eggs, directly or indirectly, into Ghana."

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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 2^nd June '99

The Asanteman Council has fixed Thursday, June 24 to hear allegations made by Nana Yaa Akyaa, Queenmother of Goaso, against Krotwiamansa Adjei Ampofo II, Goasohene, for rebelling against the Golden Stool when he refused to attend to calls by the late Asantehene, Otumfuo Opoku Ware II, on three occasions.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene, announced this on Monday when he sat in state at the maiden meeting of the Council since his enstoolment in April this year.

He asked all the parties to summon all their witnesses and bring all the necessary documents on that day to enable the Council to settle the issue for peace and tranquillity to prevail at Goaso.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu said the Goasohene has not been destooled and, therefore, all the people should give him the due respect and recognition until the adjourned date to settle the issue. "I will not compromise with any of the parties involved but the case will be settled (based on what is) presented by the parties before Asanteman".

Both parties were fined one live sheep and 28,000 cedis each for invoking the Great Oath of Asanteman (Ntamkesie).

Nana Akyaa told the Council that before the demise of the late Asantehene, the Goasohene was summoned to appear before him (Asantehene) on three occasions but he failed to do so. She added that once the Goasohene had rebelled against the Golden Stool he should not be allowed to swear the oath of allegiance before Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.

Krotwiamansa Ampofo who is also a member of the Council of State, on his part, denied that he had rebelled against the Golden Stool.

He said he had never refused on three occasions to attend to the call of the Asantehene.

He said, however, that there is litigation over the role of Nana Akyaa as Queenmother of Goaso and the case is before the courts.

In another development, the Council has fixed the same day for the hearing of the Kokofu-Ashanti Chieftaincy dispute.

This was after Nana Otuo Serebour II, Juabenhene and Head of the Oyoko Clan of Asante, had pleaded with the Council to allow them to settle the issue amicably and report to the Council.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu said he is much concerned about the problem at Kokofu-Ashanti and is determined to ensure that there is peace for a new Omanhene to be installed.

He told the Queenmother, Nana Ataa Birago and the Kingmakers led by Oheneba Owusu Afriyie, the Krontihene, that he has the power to install an Omanhene for Kokofu-Ashanti from the Manhyia Palace but will not do so now.

"The onus is now on both the Queenmother and the Kingmakers to ensure that peace prevails at Kokofu-Ashanti and that they install a new Omanhene", he added.

Nana Birago told the Council that upon the demise of the late Kokofuhene, Nana Kofi Adu II, the royal family met and nominated one Kwabena Gyimah as the successor. She said the Kingmakers demanded 10 million cedis from her before they would consent to her nomination and she has paid eight million cedis of the amount.

The Kingmakers informed her later that they had rejected her nominee. Realising that she was being cheated she reported the matter to the late Asantehene, Otumfuo OpokuWare II.

Nana Birago said during an arbitration at the Manhyia Palace it was decided that the Kingmakers should accept her nominee and were asked to pay 100,000 cedis as drinks for the settlement out of which she paid 50,000 cedis. The Akwamuhene however insisted that her nominee should be rejected. This, she said, had stalled the installation of a new Omanhene for Kokofu-Ashanti.

Oheneba Afriyie said some stool property were missing after the death of the late Kokofuhene and that until they have been found the Kingmakers would not install the Queenmother's nominee, who is also (too) young.

He said in addition, the youth in the town have vowed to resist the installation of Mr Gyimah (the Queenmother's nominee).

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Accra (Greater Accra), 2^nd June 99 -

The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) on Tuesday deplored the 42 million cedis court fine slapped against the 'Ghana Chronicle', saying it is "too harsh and severe".

The fine was imposed on the editor and publisher of the Accra-based paper in a libel case brought against them by Mr Edward Salia, Minister of Roads and Transport.

A statement issued in Accra and signed by Mrs. Gifty Affenyi-Dadzie, President of the GJA, observed that the fine is the highest ever in the history of the country against a newspaper for libel.

"From our research, this is the first time in the history of Ghana that a court of the land has imposed such a high fine on a newspaper for libel," it said, adding that the unprecedented fine of 42 million is "too harsh and severe".

"This record fine constitutes a threat to press freedom, pluralism and diversity which should not be lost on the Ghanaian society," it stressed.

The statement noted that the press is a very important institution of democracy and a pillar of governance, adding that such high fines against such an institution go a long way to undermine the country's democracy and good governance.

It, therefore, called on the judiciary to dispense justice to all parties in the country's democracy in a manner that will not undermine and destroy the fundamental structures of good governance while upholding the rights of individuals.

The GJA assured the public of its commitment to the promotion of media accountability and responsibility, adding: "we have never lacked the courage to be self-critical of our profession".

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Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 2^nd June '99

Following a successful re-organisation of the Convention Party (CP) in the Brong Ahafo region, the party will hold a regional delegates congress on June nine to elect its executives.

A statement signed by the interim regional chairman, Alhaji Issifu Ali-Buahen, said by this, the first hurdle for the party to have a foot-hold in the region towards 2000 general elections has been completed.

The statement said immediately after the regional congress, delegates from other regions will join in to elect national officers on June 11 to 12.

It said election of the party's flag-bearer for the general elections will, however, take place in September, this year.

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Dome (Ashanti Region) 2^nd June '99

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Amansie West, Mr Anthony Boakye-Yiadom, has

expressed concern about the spate of Chieftaincy disputes in the area which, he says, has become a serious drawback to the development of the Constituency.

He said the intense rivalry and lack of co-operation resulting from the numerous Chieftaincy-related conflicts is at the moment holding up the release of royalties totalling about 140 million cedis meant for the area.

Mr Boakye-Yiadom was speaking at the commissioning of a 4.8 million-cedi hand-dug well fitted with a hand-pump at Dome, a farming community in the Amansie West District.

The project was financed through the MP's share of the common fund.

He reminded the people of the need to build bridges of co-operation, mutual respect and understanding, pointing out that there cannot be any significant progress in an atmosphere of disunity, mistrust and suspicion.

Mr Boakye-Yiadom advised them to bury all their differences and should focus on ways to pool the human and natural resources of the area to improve on their living conditions.

Mr Kwame Owusu Achaw, the Assembly member for the town, expressed appreciation to the MP for providing the community with good drinking water.

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Accra(Greater Accra) 2^nd June '99

A three-day workshop on development of cassava in West and Central Africa opened in Accra on Tuesday with a call for close collaboration in research efforts to tackle problems facing the development of the crop.

Mr J. Asiedu Nketiah, Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, said participants should examine major constraints to strategic plans to develop cassava as an important staple food and cash crop.

This, he said, would lead to attraction of investments in the crop.

The workshop is being attended by agriculture researchers drawn from 12 African countries.

It is aimed, among others, at identifying constraints and opportunities for public investments.

Also, it is to set a framework for international technical co-operation for research and technology transfer. It is being organised by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in collaboration with the International Fund for Agriculture (IFAD).

The countries attending are Ghana, Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Nigeria, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Uganda, Senegal and Togo.

Mr Nketiah identified some of the constraints as lack of improved varieties to replace local types, poor husbandry practices, unavailability of planting materials due to low multiplication ratio. The crop is also bulky and perishable.

Other problems are lack of appropriate planting and harvesting technology to attract medium and large-scale farmers.

These, Mr Nketia said, call for close collaboration and co-ordination of research efforts among international agricultural research centres and national research and extension systems to tackle the problems. Cassava is produced under various agro-ecological conditions some of which are unsuitable for many other crops.

The Deputy Minister said the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is supporting Ghana to implement a root and tuber improvement programme (RTIP) based on promising experiences with cassava development in the country.

The six-year programme will benefit 750,000 farmers and processors and it has the objective to enhance food security and increase farmers' income.

Mr Nketia said for the past 10 years the country has considered the development of the crop as an important element of its agricultural and rural development strategy.

Although support has been inadequate, the Ministry of Agriculture has always ensured that the crop is not neglected.

Mr Bamidele F. Dada, FAO Africa Regional Representative, said cassava contributes significantly to the food consumption of nearly 500 million people in Africa, South America, the Caribbean and Asia by adding yearly 180 million tonnes to the global agricultural production.

Africa alone produces 42 per cent of the world's cassava, using principally subsistence agriculture practice on 10.5 million hectares on the most marginal lands of the tropics and sub-tropics in 41 countries.

Mr Dada, who is also the Assistant-Director-General of FAO, said with rapid population growth, an increasing competition for land resources for human settlements, industry, forestry and mining, the existing agricultural lands in Africa will dwindle significantly in the next millennium.

Therefore, crops such as cassava that can grow well in marginal soil, require special attention.

Mr Dada said intervention action on cassava is also justified on the grounds of the high productivity of the crop which averages 10-ton/hectare yield.

Several reasons contribute to the neglect of the crop. These include competition with more valued crops, cost of production of cassava, which is higher than other carbohydrates food sources and absence of infrastructure and markets in cassava production areas.

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Accra (Greater Accra) 2^nd June '99

Workers of African Automobile Limited (AAL) on Tuesday undertook a peaceful demonstration against the "unlawful dismissal" of 11 of their colleagues and poor conditions of service.

The placard-bearing workers, clad in red bands and singing patriotic songs, accused the management of incompetence, gross disrespect and discrimination in favour of expatriate staff.

Some of the placards read "Sanction Management, Mr President", "TUC, Help Us", "We Are Dying", "We Need Pay Increase", "750,000 cedis a week for each expatriate, 70,000 cedis a month for Ghanaian workers, How?"

The workers walked from the offices of the company at Atico Junction on the Mallam-Odorkor road through Graphic Road to the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare, where they demanded to see the Minister.

Spokesmen of the workers, who pleaded anonymity, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that on Monday 11 colleagues, mainly mechanics and technical staff, were summarily dismissed by the management without any tangible reason.

The workers said they have not enjoyed any salary increase for the past four years.

Attempts to form a workers' union are frustrated by the management, and any group of people or persons who show interest in the formation of a union are dismissed from the company, they said.

The spokesmen said management offers poor medical care, and there is neither insurance cover nor safety equipment.

They, therefore, appealed with the government to intervene to reinstate the dismissed workers and solve these problems.

In an interview, Mr Austin Gamey, Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, said he has detailed the Chief Labour Officer to prevail on the management of AAL not to lock out the workers.

He said a special meeting with the management will be convened to iron out the differences and bring peace to the company.

Mr Gamey said he advised the workers to go back to work and use the approved channel to press home their grievances, saying it is illegal to embark on such an action.

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Accra (Greater Accra), 2^nd June 99 -

Members of the Research Staff Association (RSA) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) who have withheld their services for three months have agreed to release all reports and breeder seeds to farmers.

This followed the intervention of the Vice President, Professor John Atta Mills, on May 14, about one month after the researchers refused to release breeder seeds to farmers.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Tuesday, Mr Patrick Ofori-Danson, National President of RSA, said the vice-president has promised to help obtain the Literature Update and Technology Transfer Allowance (LUTTA) for the research staff grade of CSIR.

He said they were releasing the reports as well as breeder seeds to farmers to allow the vice-president to pursue the matter by the end of June as suggested by the sector minister, Mr Cletus Avoka.

Mr Ofori-Danson said the farmers were taken into consideration, because "we are in the wet season, and farmers are supposed to sow their seeds."

RSA members on March seven withheld selective withdrawal of all annual reports to government agencies after the government failed to honour their request for increased allowances.

They were demanding an increase in the LUTTA from 100 dollars a year plus 80,000 cedis every month as research allowance to 650 dollars a year.

Mr Ofori-Danson noted that teachers at the polytechnics are receiving 500 dollars a year as their book allowance after embarking on an industrial action in January this year.

He said their demand on the book allowance is to help them update their knowledge and be members of international professional associations for more information on science and technology.

"Our colleagues in the universities are now receiving 600 dollars a year as their book allowance".

Mr Ofori-Danson said they are looking forward to a favourable response and approval from the government by June ending, or "we will advise ourselves again."

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Accra (Greater Accra), 2^nd June 99 –

Media practitioners are to participate in a five-day workshop on forestry and the environment as a follow-up to this year's World Environment Day celebrations.

A statement issued in Accra on Tuesday said the workshop, to be organised by the Institute of Renewable Natural Resources, will be attended by 20 media practitioners at the University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, from June six to 11. It will be funded by PACIPE, an environment NGO.

Dr E.A. Abeney, co-ordinator of the workshop, said it will help media personnel to report, discuss and comment on forestry and related environmental issues.

"It will enable the media to contribute effectively to sustainable management of the nation's forest resources."

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Tema (Greater Accra), 2^nd June 99 –

The British Department for International Development (DFID) on Tuesday donated 4.5 million supplementary readers, worth 24 billion cedis to the Ministry of Education at a ceremony at Tema.

The books, which are a collection of foreign and African writers series were selected by head teachers, pupils and communities in the various regions at special exhibitions organised for publishers and writers to display books for selection.

Dr Digby Swift, Senior Education Adviser of DFID, who presented the books, said the DFID decided to donate books because they serve as the key to education.

He said knowledge could not be transferred without books, while books could not be used effectively without teachers.

Dr. Swift said the potential for the next generation to write books are in the hands of teachers and, therefore, called for collaboration between all partners to achieve good results.

Dr. Stephen Ayidiya, Co-ordinator for Development Partners, Ministry of Education said the donation of the books is a manifestation of the collaboration, which could exist between the Ministry and relevant agencies.

He said the books would supplement materials required to improve the standard of teaching and learning in schools.

The Tema district would be the first to receive her consignment of books.

Mrs. Hannah Amoah, Tema Municipal Director of Education said the donation has coincided with the introduction of the universal reading technique in Ghanaian schools and this would help improve the reading ability of children.

Tema, which has school enrolment of 31,700 children, would receive 50,000 books and the GES has already constituted a monitoring team to ensure that the books are properly used and kept.

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Accra (Greater Accra) 2^nd June 99 -

The military has demolished a structure meant to be an amenity centre to serve troops and civilians working and living in the Cantonments area because the owner contravened the terms of the lease.

A statement signed by Lieutenant-Colonel J.H. Blood-Dzraku, Director of Public Relations of the Ghana Armed Forces, said a detachment of the 48 Engineer Regiment carried out the demolition on the authority of the Ghana Armed Forces.

It said the building, which was also to provide catering services for users of El Wak Stadium, stood on a plot of land belonging to the military adjacent to the Land Valuation Board offices along Giffard Road.

It said the land was leased by the Ghana Armed Forces to one Madam Dede Therson-Cofie, who was to develop it by putting up a temporary structure.

The statement said a few years ago, the Land Valuation Board made attempts to construct a high-rise block of offices on the land but was stopped by Ghana Civil Aviation Authority, because it was in the flight path of aircraft from the Kotoka International Airport.

"Over time, it came to the notice of the military authorities that the lessee, Madam Therson-Cofie, had constructed a structure whose nature was in contravention of the terms of the lease.

"The military, therefore, invoked a provision enshrined in the lease to retake possession of the land and authorised the demolition of the structure as a first step towards the repossession."

The statement said the land may now be reallocated to the Land Valuation Board for use by the government.

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Offinso (Ashanti Region) 2^nd June ’99

The government in collaboration with the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) has released 20.35 million dollars to fund 31 small-scale and micro irrigation projects throughout the country this year.

Mr Kwabena Boateng, Deputy Director of Ghana Irrigation Development Authority (GIDA) who announced this at the launching of a 25-hectare Asuoso Irrigation Pilot Project at Asuoso in the Offinso district, said the irrigation projects will not only increase food production but help the communities in their poverty alleviation efforts.

Mr Boateng, who is also Northern Sector Co-ordinator of the irrigation projects, said they will benefit the communities in terms of effective utilisation of resources, sustainability and management.

He said 25 per cent of the Asuoso project will be allocated to women farming groups to improve their living standards.

Mr Benjamin Brefoh, Offinso District Chief Executive, said it is the commitment of the government to ensure sustainable agricultural production to meet the demand of the rapidly growing population and to improve food security.

Mr Peter Obeng-Dabo, Offinso District Director of Food and Agriculture, said agriculture is the mainstay of the district's economy, employing about 70 per cent of the economically active labour force.

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