2000 elections will be tough, Rawlings tells cadres

Government asked to ratify convention on torture

Rawlings calls for marriage between Africa's resources and technology

Narcotics Board appeals for information on businessmen in drug trafficking

Catholic Church organises seminar on Peace and Justice

NGOs asked to establish links with district assemblies

Make research findings available to industries - Asantehene

Water supply in Tamale receives a boost

Cholera on the decline in Accra

Maritme academy appeals for support

Association of Statistics Students inaugurated

Tamale (Northern Region) 28^th June 99 -

President Jerry John Rawlings on Saturday called for unity among the various groupings constituting the NDC, saying it is only through unity that the party could win future elections.

''The year 2000 elections are going to be tough, so we have to close our ranks. We do not want enemies from within, because we already have a lot of them outside the party'', he said.

The President was addressing a durbar at Tamale by the Association Committees for the Defence of the Revolution (ACDR) to mark this year's 'Cadres Day,' under the theme ''ACDRs and the Challenges of Our Time''.

On June 19, 1983, a group of dissident soldiers from outside the country attempted to oust the erstwhile PNDC. The coup attempt was foiled by loyal soldiers, with support from cadres, then known as Committees for the Defence of the Revolution (CDR).

Some of the cadres lost their lives, and June 19 has since been celebrated as cadres day.

President Rawlings told the cadres, who are referred to as ''foot soldiers of the NDC": ''Let us bury our differences and start with our preparations for the 2000 elections. Our political opponents have started campaigning'.

''If we have any quarrel, let us talk it over among ourselves. It is no use making our differences public'', he said, apparently referring to cracks within the ranks of the Progressive Alliance and the emergence of the Reform Movement, which is a breakaway faction of the NDC.

President Rawlings, whose address drew several rounds of applause from the cadres who came from all over the country, said: ''I am 52 years old, but nothing has changed about me'', referring to his leadership style.

He spoke about his countryside and factory tours of old and said he would soon go back to that ''I will meet you on the field and in the factories'', he told the cadres.

''There is work to be done. Let us begin to take the initiative as we did in those days. What we have in common is more than our differences."

Dr Obed Asamoah, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, painted a bleak picture of conflicts within the NDC and said ''containing conflicts within the party is going to be the struggle of the future''.

He said these conflicts revolve around people promoting their personal agenda, trying to undo each other with a view to becoming members of parliament or for other appointments.

''If we do not manage these, then, we will have problems because a house divided against itself cannot stand. Therefore, we have to curb these tendencies to ensure the success of our party'', Dr Asamoah said.

Dr Asamoah said the NDC needs unity to enable it to manage the transition from ''one leadership group to another'', referring to Vice-President John Atta Mills as NDC presidential candidate for the 2000 elections.

''We need your support to manage successfully the transition process'', he said.

Professor Kofi Awoonor, a presidential staffer, said cracks might appear within the ranks of the Progressive Alliance as a result of disappointments and frustrations.

''We have the right to disagree, but let us do so within our party. We should not voice our disagreements on the platforms of other parties and on the wave lengths of radio stations''.

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Accra (Greater Accra), 28^th June 99 -

The government has been called upon to explain why it is yet to become a signatory to the UN convention against torture.

The government should also start providing modest support to the UN Voluntary Fund for the rehabilitation of torture victims and "to end the impunity of torturers that exists in the country and undermines the rule of law''.

The call was made by Nii Offei Dodoo, Vice President of Civil Liberties Centre, a human rights NGO, at a press conference in Accra to mark the second anniversary of UN Day in Support of Victims of Torture Saturday.

Nii Offei explained that the theme of "End Impunity" was chosen, because there cannot be any real healing or democracy as long as torturers walk about in the streets with impunity.

"Torture can make the tortured (victims) believe that society accepts violence of the worst kind, and this definitely leads to loss of confidence in democracy and in humanity itself".

Nii Offei said 113 countries of the UN membership have signed and ratified the Convention, making them unsafe havens for alleged torturers, but noted that Ghana is among the 73 countries yet to make such a commitment to end torture.

In a message read for him by Mrs Evelyn Sarpong, a UN representative in Ghana, Mr Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General, said many countries have passed anti-torture legislation and taken administrative measures to prevent torture and remedy the consequences.

However, "torture continues to be used as a weapon of intimidation in war-time and as a tool of governance by those who cannot rule with the confidence of their people".

He said international criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda are sending signals that no one should be able to violate human rights and get away with it.

Mr Annan, therefore, urged all nations to fully support the tribunals and urged those who have not yet ratified the Rome Statute, which set up the tribunals, to do so as soon as possible.

He said even though it is too late to prevent torture from accompanying us into the new century, "it is not too late to redouble our efforts to contain this menace".

Mr Kabral Blay-Amihere, President of the West African Journalists Association, said it is time civil society spoke against torture whether in peaceful or war conditions.

He regretted that even though Ghana's constitution guarantees civil liberties and rights, young girls are held under bondage and youths generally are subjected to forced labour in some parts of the country.

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Accra (Greater Accra), 28^th June 99 -

Africa's ownership of vast human and mineral resources is meaningless, unless investment is made in equipment, machines,

management and technology for their extraction, processing and export for the mutual benefit of the continent and investors.

President Jerry Rawlings, writing in a document titled: "Divestiture - Unlocking Ghana's Potential", said in today's world economy, where classical comparative advantage is replaced by technology and knowledge-based competitive advantage, Africa's ownership of resources could be useless if not well harnessed.

The 27 page-document issued by the Divestiture Implementation Committee (DIC) was prepared as an insight into Ghana's privatisation programme. It lists the successes of 14 divested companies, monies accrued from divestiture programmes, outstanding bills due the government and the modes and procedures in the divestiture programme.

"Africa's ownership of 95 per cent of the world's chromium, 75 per cent of platinum, 69 per cent of cobalt, 54 per cent of gold and 39 per cent of diamonds, as well as other resources such as petroleum copper, iron ore, bauxite, manganese and emeralds is meaningless, unless investment is made in equipment and machines ... for the mutual benefit of the peoples of our continent and investors".

President Rawlings noted that the process of globalisation and liberalisation, which characterises the world economy, offers great opportunities for economic growth and social development in Africa.

However, they also carry the risk of marginalisation and isolation for Africa, the least developed continent which also lacks sufficient commercial infrastructure.

"Consequently, Africa runs the risk of becoming even more seriously marginalised", President Rawlings said.

He said Africa's investment climate and potential for economic growth have improved remarkably, and the long dormant private sector is now on the move with trickling private capital flows.

He noted that Ghana is committed to operating and maintaining open and liberal market economy supported by a world-wide rules-based trading system.

"We are amending customs laws to make them consistent with the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) agreement on customs valuation".

The President mentioned the "three-dimensional free zone programme" and the Gateway strategy as incentives for promoting export processing and manufacturing and a proactive trade and investment regime.

Mr Kwame Peprah, Minister of Finance, said the development of the private sector as the engine of growth is making steady progress.

"The transfer of 212 enterprises and units to the private sector under the divestiture programme is indeed an effort at building the sector, which was generally non-existent due to the previous policies of state intervention in almost all industrial and commercial activities".

He said the government will sustain its programme of creating an enabling environment for the private sector to really develop into the engine of growth of the economy.

Mr Peprah, who is chairman of the DIC, said the committee is aware of the need to promote indigenous participation in the divestiture programme.

He said local involvement is mainly limited by difficulties local investors face in the assembling and pooling of resources for the purchase and rehabilitation of divested enterprises.

Mr Peprah said to address these concerns, the government has introduced a project to establish the Privatisation Trust, which will warehouse for a limited period government's minority shares in enterprises being privatised

"The Trust is to manage these shares through a management company and will be charged with packaging these shares for sale at a later date to employees of the enterprise, institutional investors and the public".

He stressed that government intends to pursue the divestiture programme vigorously in order to achieve an efficient and effective SOE regime, so that economic development as envisaged under Vision 2020 becomes a reality.

Mr Emmanuel Agbodo, Executive Secretary of DIC writing in the document under the title: 'Impact of Divestiture", said since the commencement of the divestiture programme, three studies have been conducted to assess its impact.

He said one finding is that the divestiture has resulted in increased sales as a result of improved productivity arising from the injection of new investment and improved management practices.

The studies also showed that an important outcome of the increase is capacity utilisation and general improvement in employment.

"It is observed that employment went up by 59 per cent in the surveyed enterprises".

"Widespread funding of state-owned enterprises, through renewal of their plant and equipment by government and the guarantee of loans and other facilities, has ceased in respect of divested SOE's.

"The process has brought a non-financial benefit to government through the relief of the burden of administering and supervising SOE's which are no more required in respect of divested companies".

It is also a finding of the studies that the Ghana Stock Exchange, through which some of the enterprises are divested, has boosted business as it has created awareness in the Ghanaian public and encouraged participation in the capital market.

"Entrepreneurship development, technology transfer and strong headways by the divested entities are the other findings that emerged from the study, Mr Agbodo added."

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Accra (Greater Accra), 28^th June 99

The Narcotics Control Board (NCB) says it is aware that some businessmen are part of drug syndicates in the country but needs the right information on their operations to arrest them, an official of the NCB said on Saturday.

Speaking at a durbar dubbed "Drug Awareness '99" in Accra, Mr Daniel Amankwah of the NCB, said the fact that they have not yet been caught does not mean the board is not aware of their activities.

"We only need enough evidence to arrest them," he said adding that so far, a few of such people have been caught and are serving various sentences but that more of them are still operating.

The durbar, marking International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking celebrated every June 26, was organised by the Ghana United Nations Students and Youth Association.

Mr Amankwah, who was speaking on "Preventing Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking: The Role of the Youth In The Next Millennium", explained the reactions the various drugs have on people.

Some of the drugs, he said, are mixed with shito, coca-cola or brewed as tea, which when taken, lead to the loss of both short-term and long-term memory.

Some of the drugs such as marijuana, cannabis, cocaine and the opiate plant manufactured into heroine can also cause skin cancer and make people have hallucinations.

In such cases, the victims see non-existing living forms, as well as hear voices that lead them to commit abnormal acts such as killing, stealing and rape.

The user becomes the first victim in the use of drugs; the next victim is the immediate society, mostly the family followed by the general society.

Mr Amankwah noted that there is evidence of student addicts in certain schools and cautioned:

"The fact that they serve as stimulant for staying awake does not mean they make students absorb what they learn, and the youth must stay away from it."

To combat drug addiction in schools, the NCB has established drug-free clubs in a few of them and called on others to emulate that.

He said the emphasis is on the youth, because they are the future leaders and they should be advised to engage in more rewarding activities such as reading, joining voluntary organisations.

They should also give information, when available, for an effective drug use campaign.

Schools present at the durbar include Achimota School, St Thomas Aquinas, Wesley Grammer, Christian Methodist and Chemu Secondary and Abuakwa State College.

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Kumasi (Ashanti), 28^th June 99 -

Mr Kojo Yankah, Ashanti Regional Minister, on Saturday called for the adoption of "more relevant and culturally acceptable social communication patterns" which have their basis in biblical teachings towards the maintenance of peace and justice in the world.

He explained that the need for such an adoption is dictated by the rapid changes going on in the world on the political, economic and cultural fronts.

Mr Yankah was speaking at the opening of a six-day seminar on "The Social Teachings of the Catholic Church", being organised in Kumasi by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace from Vatican City in Rome.

In attendance are some 200 participants, including the clergy, the laity, and youth and other groups of the Church drawn from its 15 dioceses in the country.

The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace deals with people and their needs, aspirations and views.

The regional minister commended the Catholic Church for organising the seminar to share ideas and experiences and explore common opportunities for improved methods for effective social teachings in the Church.

He expressed appreciation to the Church for showing deep concern for social problems confronting the nation, saying it has been very vocal on social issues.

"It has not only criticised where it is necessary; it has also expressed commendations where desirable. But beyond its analysis and criticism of social issues, the (Catholic) church is known to have taken positive and practical steps in contributing to the solution of national problems", he added.

The Most Reverend Francois Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, said solutions to the challenges and crises facing the world could be achieved through unity and the co-operation of everyone irrespective of their religious or cultural background.

He noted that sometime ago the economies of most developing countries were either linked to capitalism or socialism.

The Most Rev. Thuan observed that all these led to desperation, hopelessness and decline in the status of people and that since the economic sector could not save mankind, the next millennium should pave the way for peace and justice for a congenial atmosphere to be created for development.

Welcoming the participants, the Right Reverend Peter Kwasi Sarpong, Catholic Bishop of Kumasi, said if issues of justice and peace are prevalent, real and urgent anywhere, it is the continent of Africa.

He said the church has to contribute to the process of searching for peace and justice in the country, adding that the Catholic Church has laid down guidelines which, when followed, would put the country on the road to progress and development.

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Dalun (Northern Region), 28^th June 99 -

The Deputy Northern Regional Minister, Mr San Nasamu Asabigi, has called on Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), to establish strong links with district assemblies for the proper harmonisation of resources for development.

They should also collaborate with decentralised departments to ensure people centred development envisaged in the Vision 2020 document.

Mr Asabigi was opening a four-day seminar for Danish sponsored NGOs at Dalun in the Tolon/Kumbungu district on Friday on the theme "Functions and potentials of networking''.

A total of 18 Ghana based NGOs and four from Denmark are attending the seminar aimed at fostering understanding between them to avoid duplication.

Mr Asabigi urged the participants to examine areas where they can work together to help people to become self-reliant adding that partners and donor agencies would only be interested in their programmes when they efficiently utilise resources for the benefit of the people.

The Deputy Regional Minister called the participants to enhance their competence, effectiveness, organisational and managerial skills with the support of the district assemblies.

Mr Ibrahim Tanko, programme coordinator of the Ghana Danish Community Project (GDCP), said NGOs, "should not be seen to be working in competition but in collaboration with national and local governments."

He cautioned NGOs against moving into areas without consulting the district assemblies and traditional authorities in their anxiety to sustain and maximise the impact of their project.

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Kumasi (Ashanti), 28^th June 99 -

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene, last Friday called on the authorities of the University of Science and Technology (UST) to develop strategies that would make the university's research findings in technology and consultancy services beneficial to the country.

He noted that since its establishment, the UST has made many research findings and technologies that could be beneficial to industry and other sectors of the economy.

These are, however, not being utilised, much to the detriment of the country's development, as institutions import foreign experts and consultants for their operations.

The Asantehene made the call when Agyewodin Adu Gyamfi Ampem II, Acherensuahene and Chairman of the UST Council, led other members of the council and the executive committee to Manhyia Palace to congratulate the Asantehene on his enthronement.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu pointed out that the financial constraints of the UST could be overcome when research findings and technologies are made available to industries to enable the UST generate more revenue for its operations.

He observed that as a human institution, the UST has many inherent problems but that these could be solved when its consultancy services are easily made available and well utilised to reduce government expenditure on tertiary institutions.

Professor Ambrose K. Tuah, Acting Vice Chancellor of the UST, thanked the Asantehene for his advice and said its Technology Consultancy Centre (TCC) has been established to address the issue. Its activities would, however, be intensified, he said.

He said every university has a "direct responsibility" to help promote development in areas where they are situated.

The UST presented one carton Schnapps and 500,000 cedis to the Asantehene.

The Acherensuahene also presented 200,000 and a copy of his book, "Akan Mmebusem Bi", to the Asantehene.

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Tamale (Northern Region), 28^th June 99 -

President Jerry John Rawlings on Saturday commissioned the 21-billion-cedi Tamale water rehabilitation project, which has increased water supply to the municipality by 60 per cent.

The project, started in September 1997 with a 10-million-dollar Japanese loan and a 3.75 billion cedi component, now pumps 4.3 million gallons of water a day, from the previous 2.7 million gallons.

The rehabilitation work, which was undertaken by the French construction firm, SOGEA, involved the installation of two new pumping machines at the Nawuni intake point and the construction of a one million-gallon booster station each at Gumo and Tamale.

Two 500,000-gallon overhead reservoirs have also been constructed to cater for the northern and southern parts of the municipality.

President Rawlings said the increase in the volume of water supply is still not enough to meet the demands of the 400,000 residents of the municipality.

He said government does not have enough resources to meet the total demand now, but efforts are being made to secure loans to undertake a major expansion to cater for the entire population.

President Rawlings said though Ghana is a credit worthy country, the donor community would be more encouraged to come forth with loans if consumers pay their water bills and refrain from illegal connections.

He appealed to the public to pay their bills promptly to ensure that the system is maintained on a sustainable basis.

Alhaji Amadu Seidu, Deputy Minister of Works and Housing, said the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), in collaboration with the government of Ghana, is providing water and sanitation systems to seven districts in the eastern part of the Northern Region.

The districts are Yendi, Nanaumba, Saboba/Chereponi, Zapzugu/Tatale, Gushegu/Karaga, East Mamprusi and West Mamprusi.

The French Development Agency (AFD) is also assisting to provide similar facilities in the Bole, West Gonja, East Gonja, Savelugu/Nanton and Tolon/Kumbungu districts.

Alhaji Seidu said the beneficiary communities are expected to pay five per cent of the capital cost of the project.

The Northern Regional Minister, Mr Joshua Alabi, said the completion of the water project attests to the fact that the NDC government does not make vain promises.

He said the availability of potable water to the municipality would drastically reduce the incidence of guinea worm disease if not eradicate it completely.

The Regent of Tamale, Na Ziblim Abdulai who chaired the function.

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Accra (Greater Accra), 28^th June 99 --

A cholera outbreak in Accra last week is said to be on the decline, Mr Fred Dugbazah, public relations officer of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital has said.

Speaking to the GNA in an interview on Saturday, he said the Korle Bu Polyclinic, which recorded three deaths and 49 admissions on June 19, has not received any fresh cases.

He said some of those who were admitted have been treated and discharged while the rest are responding to treatment.

The patients who were mainly adults were from Palladium, Chokor, James Town, Korle-Gonno, Agbobloshie and some parts of Ablekuma.

Mr Dugbazah said there is no isolation ward at the Polyclinic adding that there are plans to accommodate such patients for the time being at the fever ward and appealed to other clinics and hospitals not to refer cholera cases to Korle-Bu.

He advised the public to observe personal hygiene and to keep their surroundings clean ''since we are in the wet season''.

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Nungua (Greater Accra), 28^th June 99 --

The Regional Maritime Academy (RMA) said on Friday that it is facing acute financial problems and has appealed for support to save it from collapsing.

Mr Benoni W. Urey, the Liberian Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Academy who made the appeal, called on member countries, individuals and organisations to work assiduously for the survival of the Academy.

He was speaking at a graduation parade of 76 cadets who have completed courses in Marine Engineering, Pre-sea Nautical Science, Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

Mr Urey said the RMA plays an important role as the centre for the study of Shipping and Port Management in West and Central Africa which depend on it for their man-power requirements for their shipping industries.

He said as the world enters a new millennium, port operations are going to be more complex while there will be more demands for the use of sophisticated machines.

Ghana, Cameroon, the Gambia, Liberia and Sierra Leone established the Academy in 1983. It is based at the old Ghana Nautical College which was founded in 1958 for the training of sea-going personnel. Sierra Leone has not been contributing towards its running of late due to the conflict there.

Mr Urey said recently the academy received a number of specialised computers from the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to help alleviate inadequacies of its instructional equipment.

He hoped that appeals by Ghana and Liberia for technical assistance from the European Union would be favourably considered.

Mr Emmanuel Ayisi, Principal of the Academy said the graduands have spent both time and energy to achieve goals that they set for themselves and charged them to exhibit qualities of good character, diligence, self-respect and to execute orders and commands given by their superiors.

Prizes were awarded for academic excellence, outstanding leadership and dedication to duty.

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Tamale (Northern Region), 28^th June 99 -

Government institutions and business establishments have been advised to engage the services of statisticians to ensure proper planning, monitoring and evaluation of their activities.

This will facilitate adequate inventory and quality control as well as effective budgeting, auditing and research to assist in management decision processes.

Mr G.S. Tia, Head of the Department of Statistics, Mathematics and Science of Tamale Polytechnic, made the call at the inauguration of the school's branch of the Ghana Association of Statistics Students in Tamale on Friday.

He said development had reached a state where business establishments and government could not do without statistics.

"Unfortunately, both the public and the private sectors continue to ignore the expertise of the statistician and this has led to widespread discrimination on the job market."

Mr Tia said what goes into the training of the statistician goes far beyond the collection, representation, analysis and interpretation of data into the social, economic, health and business fields.

He, therefore, called on district, municipal and metropolitan assemblies, banks, hospitals and other organisations not only to establish statistics departments but accept students on industrial attachments to give them a foretaste of their contributions to society.

Mr Charles Tandoh, Vice-Principal of the Polytechnic, said even though data are used frequently to support certain information, many people misuse them to their own advantage.

He, therefore, called on the new association to be alert and act as watchdogs so that people would not mislead society and make a mockery of the their noble profession.

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