Government releases report on Suame magazine demonstrations

Tree Planting marks beginning of Jubilee Hall

Wa transport union fulfils tax obligations

Two people die in a rainstorm at Bulbia

Government says it is surprised at comments on Rawlings-Asantehene meeting

Community raises funds for power project

One identified in Tsawoenu accident

Chief Psychiatrist on factors motivating illicit drugs

Obtain requisite licence on radioactive materials – importers warned

Asante students want Rawlings to apologise to Asantehene

Police round up four land guards

Judges urged to be resolute in discharge of duties

Armed robbers strike at Goil filling station

Twenty-five houses destroyed by flood

Gonjas and Konkombas organise reconciliation ceremony at Kitoe

African countries urged to re-examine development process  

Accra (Greater Accra), 29^th June 99 –

The government has urged all members of the Ghana National Association of garages and other relevant associations to abide by their own rules and regulations and see to their enforcement as far as they affect the smooth operation of the Association.

They should also not resort to taking to the streets in pursuit of their grievances.

This was contained in government recommendations on a report of a committee of enquiry into the demonstration of artisans of Suame magazine industrial area in Kumasi in March 10, 1997, released in Accra on Monday.

Major E.B. Asirifi of the Fourth Battalion of Infantry, headed the three-member committee.

Two people, Ibrahim Alhassan, 20, and Moro Hamidu Banda, 28, were killed when police opened fire on the demonstrators.

Other members of the committee were Mr Okyere Antwi of the Attorney-general's department and Mr R.K. Prempeh of the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council.

The Government directed the relevant state agencies, such as the Town and Country Planning, Lands Commission and the Land Valuation Board, to be involved in regularising the place of occupation of the artisans and demarcating the plots at the new site, in order to minimise any further discontent in the area.

The statement said the government accepts the committee's finding that the Police under the control of ASP Yakubu, did not follow laid down riot control procedures.

This negligently led to the deaths of Alhassan and Banda.

"Government accordingly directs the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to take the necessary disciplinary action against ASP Yakubu."

The Government accepted the committee's recommendation that the families of the deceased should be compensated.

It directed that in view of the tender ages of the victims, 10 million cedis compensation should be paid to the identified next of kin for each of the deceased instead of six million cedis recommended by the committee.

The government further directed that payment of the stipulated amounts by the Kumasi Metropolitan Authority (KMA) to those persons whose vehicles were recognised as damaged in the demonstration.

"The government directs the KMA to ensure that the proposed Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) substation is appropriately sited without further delay after requisite consultation with the artisans of Suame magazine."

The government urged the Ghana National Association of Garages (GNAG), the Suame Foundry and all relevant organisations and individuals to ensure that the principles of probity, transparency and accountability are instilled in the dealings of the affairs of the Suame magazine artisans in order that peace and prosperity may prevail.

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Accra (Greater Accra), 29^th June 99 –

Twenty trees were on Monday planted to commemorate the commencement of the construction of Jubilee Hall by the alumni of the University of Ghana, Legon.

The ceremony also forms part of activities marking the 50th anniversary of the University.

Mr Ewkow Spio-Garbrah, Minister of Education, who deputised for the Vice-President, commended the alumni for undertaking the project.

He urged agencies, corporations and individuals to adopt some of the existing halls as well as the sponsorship of equipment and refurbishment.

Mr Jean Aka, Managing Director of Ecobank and chairman of the jubilee planning committee, said the four billion cedis hall will be constructed in four phases.

The first phase, will consist of paired rooms with common toilet facilities, 10 rooms for disabled students, 51 rooms for regular students and 19 self-contained rooms.

The second phase, which will be in two parts, will cover 58 rooms with common facilities, 13 flats and 19 single rooms.

Mr Aka said other facilities include ironing room, washing and drying room, kitchen, two large and two medium size discussion rooms, badminton court and two volleyball courts.

The rest are halls of residence which will house about 1,332 students, he said, adding that phase three would be multi-purpose halls, dinning, kitchen, porters lodge and general administration block.

The fourth phase will comprise lecturers' flats, rental shops and offices.

He said the ceremony was to let the Alumni know to what use their money has been put and to solicit for more.

Professor Ivan Addae-Mensah, Vice-Chancellor of the University, said on September 30, 1996, the sod was cut for the commencement of the hall but the site was changed to the present location which is near the new international students hostel which is also under construction.

Mr Kofi Dua-Adonteng, president of the Sarbah Hall Alumni, said alumni are contributing one per cent per month of their income to fund the construction of the hall.

He said while some are paying, a great number have not yet started and appealed to all such "alumni to join in this noble enterprise".

He appealed to employers of alumni of the University to co-operate by deducting the one per from their salaries at source.

Trees were planted on behalf of the government, the University Council, hall masters and the regional Alumni Association.

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Wa (Upper West), 29^th June, 99 –

The Upper West Regional Branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) of the TUC last year paid 60.9 million cedis as income tax to the Internal Revenue Service.

This shows an improvement of 8.4 million cedis compared to 52.5 million cedis paid in 1997.

Mr Nuhu Mahama, Regional Industrial Relations Officer, attributed the revenue improvement to the existing co-operation between GPRTU guards and the police at the barriers and the opening of new branches in the region.

Mr Mahama told a regional executive council meeting at Wa on Sunday that transportation has improved considerably following the allocation of 22 buses to the region in 1996.

Mr David Osei-Wusu, Upper West Regional Minister who was present at the meeting advised them to take interest in the maintenance of their vehicles..

He asked the Union not to prevent other transport organisations from using the lorry parks, saying "your duty is only to collect revenue for the government".

The Regional Minister appealed to all those allocated with buses on "work and pay basis" to fulfil their obligations to the government which guaranteed their loans.

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Bulbia (Northern Region), 29^th June 99 –

A 65-year-old blind woman, Napoa Ngube and a four-year-old child Barichisu Bawa were trapped to death in their room when their house caught fire in a rainstorm at Bulbia in the West Mamprusi District.

Wind from the storm which started at around 4 p.m. on Friday carried fire left in the compound after the day’s chores to the thatched-roof of the house, setting it ablaze and trapping the blind old lady and the young child.

While the fire razed down 34 other rooms, the rainstorm rendered about 130 people homeless by carrying away the roofing of several buildings.

The fire also consumed 70 bags of maize, 50 bags of guinea corn, 60 bags of groundnuts, five bags of rice and 30 bags of beans as well as bicycles and many other personal and household effects.

A government delegation led by the district co-ordinating director, Alhaji Adam Sidiq, the regional fire officer, Mr Charles Yitah and the district co-ordinator of disaster management, Mr Alidu Yakubu has visited the victims and mobilised relief for them.

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Accra (Greater Accra), 29^th June 99 –

The government on Monday expressed surprise at sentiments expressed by individuals and certain sections of the media on the recent meeting between President Jerry John Rawlings and Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.

It described as a paradox the fact that exactly what the President was complaining about in respect of running down political opponents and the possibility of ethnic tensions as a result of irresponsible use of the mass media is the same abuse to which the meeting between the President and Asantehene is being subjected.

A statement issued in Accra by Mr John Mahama, Minister of Communications, expressed regret that what was a fruitful and cordial interaction between government and the Ashanti traditional authority has been misinterpreted as to degenerate into ethnic exchanges in the mass media.

"In the process, the point that the President sought to make about abuse of ethnic sentiments and political witch-hunting in the media has been lost completely."

The statement said it is well known fact that the President speaks very frankly and dispassionately and usually presents his point of view quite strongly.

"It is unfortunate that this should be deliberately played up while ignoring the real issues that he sought to raise.

"The President on this occasion was being his usual forthright self with clearly no wish or intention to hurt the sensibilities of anyone."

The statement said the meeting discussed several issues of urgent concern, including the now famous statement by the Otumfuo that "Ashanti is not an island within Ghana."

It said both the President and the Otumfuo left the meeting firm friends and with a healthy respect for each other and no attempt should be made to sow seeds of discord between them.

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Akim Asamama (Eastern Region), 29^th June 99 –

The people of Asamama in the East Akim District of the Eastern Region have raised 2.6 million cedis in aid of an electrification project.

Mr Otchere Frimpong, assembly member for the area, said at the fund raising harvest that the money would be used to purchase 50 wooden poles for the project.

Mr Frimpong said more than 6.5 million cedis had so far been spent on the project, which started four years ago.

The assembly member said other projects envisaged include the construction of market stalls, two day-care centres and the provision of furniture for the Local Presbyterian and Methodist Primary Schools.

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Tsawoenu-Awudome(Volta Region), 29^th June 99 –

One person has been identified in Thursday's accident at Tsawoenu near Ho in which six persons were trapped to death.

He is Mr Philip Akpozah, 32, also known as "Iron Boy." The remaining five, four men and a woman between the ages of 20 and 50 years, are yet to be identified.

The Ho police have therefore appealed to the general public to help identify them at the Ho Regional Hospital mortuary.

Assistant Superintendent Frederick Adu Anim, Volta Regional Officer of the Motor Traffic and Transport Unit said Mr Akpozah is the driver of the Toyota taxi cab engaged by African Lotto Enterprise (ALE).

He said the driver was returning from Somanya to Ho on one of his trips, when it skidded off the road during torrential rains and plunged into the flooded waters.

Mr Anim said 13 ALE lotto booklets and 270,200 cedis were retrieved from the car. Meanwhile, police are investigating the cause of the accident.

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Koforidua (Eastern Region), 28^th June ‘99-

Dr J.B. Asare, Chief Psychiatrist at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, has said the desire for societal acceptance and struggle for affluence are the main factors responsible for the production and marketing of illicit drugs in the country.

He maintained that the increase in urbanisation compounded by the threat posed by foreign cultures facilitated by tourism will increase drug use and its trafficking.

Dr Asare was speaking at a durbar to climax the New Juaben Municipal Drug Abuse Awareness month in Koforidua at the weekend.

He said the stigma attached to drug use in the society extends to all members including non-users, adding that rampant disturbances in schools, armed robbery and the amount of money used in treating drug addicts are issues that should motivate every Ghanaian to do something about drug abuse.

He called on families to have more time for their children and urged communities to support the fight against drug abuse.

The Municipal Director of Health Services, Dr J.B. Buckle, said about 15 Senior Secondary Schools in the Municipality had participated in a month-long educational campaign programme. The campaign, he said, will continue till the message gets to the last drug user in the municipality.

He commended students and staff in the Municipality for their interest in the programme.

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Accra (Greater Accra), 29^th June 99 -

The Radiation Protection Board (RPB) of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) has directed government agencies, companies and individuals importing x-ray machines and radioactive materials to obtain the requisite certificates from the board.

A press release issued by the Director of the RPB, Mr. Cyril Schandorf, in Accra on Friday said: "it is an offence under LI 1559 of 1993 to import, sell, manufacture or export an irradiating device such as x-ray machine, or radioactive materials without notifying the board or applying for a valid authorisation to operate these equipment and facilities".

It, therefore, directed all defaulters to comply with existing regulations governing the safe use of radiation and radiation sources in the country.

In a telephone interview with the GNA, Mr Schandorf regretted that though the RPB had been empowered to prosecute offenders, it lacks the necessary facilities to monitor the use of radioactive materials or carry out its functions effectively.

The RPB is the national competent authority for the licensing and inspecting practices for the purposes of radiation protection and safety of sources.

It is empowered to "enforce the provision of the LI 1559, promote knowledge about radiation protection and provide technical services to users of ionising radiation".

Under the provisions of the instrument, any person intending to import, sell, manufacture or export an irradiating device or a radioactive material shall notify the board in respect of such transactions in writing.

"Any person or organisation who owns, purchases, manufactures, acquires, sells or deals in, stores, uses, disposes of or exports any irradiating devices and radioactive materials shall register all such devices and radioactive materials in a prescribed form to be purchased from the board; apply for an appropriate licence in a prescribed form to be purchased from the board.

"No person shall cause ionisation radiation to be applied to any person for the purposes of diagnosis or treating disease unless that application is prescribed by a medical or dental practitioner registered under the Medical or Dental Decree, 1972 (NRCD. 91)

"No person shall administer ionising radiation to another person unless the person administering it is in possession of a valid licence; "Any violation of the provisions of the Radiation Protection Instrument is an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding 500,000 cedis or imprisonment to a term not exceeding 12 months or both.

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Kumasi (Ashanti), 29^th June 99 -

The Asante Students Union Alumni (ASUA) has called on President Jerry John Rawlings to apologise to the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, and Asanteman.

The Union asked the President to apologise for the manner he addressed the Asantehene and his entourage, when they called on him at the Castle, Osu about two weeks ago.

ASUA said the President talked to the Asantehene and the other chiefs and pointed at them with his left index finger.

Mr Kwabena Owusu Dwomo, President ASUA, was addressing a press conference in Kumasi, on Monday.

He said the Union was not worried about the issues President Rawlings spoke about but was rather concerned about how he "slighted the Asantehene, in particular, and his distinguished entourage".

Mr Dwomo said ASUA believes that the President did what he did for one of two reasons.

It was either out of ignorance of the fact that it is disrespectful and, therefore, unacceptable, at least to Asantes, that their chiefs, let alone their King, be addressed in that manner or that it was deliberately done.

ASUA said the President went to the extent of saying that the bad press Nana Akwasi Agyeman received in the media in the run-up to finding a successor to Otumfuo Opoku Ware II gave Otumfuo Osei Tutu II the advantage to be selected as the successor to the Golden Stool.

He said the selection of an Asantehene is more intricate than it might seem to the President, adding that ASUA is concerned about how the President talks to all chiefs in the country and more so the Asantehene.

The Union submitted that the manner in which the President addressed the Asantehene and his entourage has deeply hurt the sensibilities of Asanteman.

Mr Dwomo said if the President does not apologise, the Union would take it to mean that he intentionally decided to slight the Asantehene and Asanteman.

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Accra (Greater Accra), 29^th June 99 -

The Police on Saturday arrested four land guards, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Angwubutoge Awuni, Head of the Police Public Relations Directorate, told newsmen in Accra on Monday.

The four, Albert Wilson, 48, Alhassan Osmanu, 56, George Lartey, 37, and Solomon Nii Ayitey, 32, were rounded during a police operation at Amanjo, a suburb of Accra.

Narrating the circumstances leading to their arrest, DSP Awuni said the four, employees of Nii Adu Kotokro of Abola Pian (Lartebiokoshie), used to take money from the residents of Amanjo and assured them of protection.

He said when the residents became fed up with the harassment from the land guards; they reported the matter to the Inspector General of Police.

DSP Awuni said, at a secret meeting between members of the Amanjo Landlords/Landladies Association and the land guards, personnel from the Panthers Unit effected the arrest of the guards.

DSP Awuni said the Police would continue to "fight" the land guards, and cautioned them to find alternative jobs to do, "because we are getting closer to them."

He warned that in their own interest, chiefs, who are harbouring the guards, should flush them out.

DSP Awuni said the chief is to be picked up to assist the Police in their investigations, adding that the guards would be put before court as soon as investigations are completed.

In another development, the Police arrested Attuquaye Botchway, draughtsman, for causing damage to other people's property at Teshie-Nungua.

According to DSP Awuni, Botchway trespassed on a plot of land belonging to the international soccer star, Abedi Pele and inscribed "IGP's Property" on some pillars on the land to deter other people from encroaching on it.

DSP Awuni stated that when the IGP denied ownership of the land after a caller had rang for verification, Botchway was arrested.

He warned those, who have been using the names of important personalities in society to dupe others to desist from the practice since they would not be spared when caught.

Botchway, he said, will be put before court tomorrow.

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Accra (Greater Accra), 29^th June 99-

Mr Justice Patrick Anin, a retired judge of the Supreme Court, on Monday urged members of the legal profession to be resolute in the defence and promotion of justice and human rights.

"As custodians of the law you must interpret legislation on human rights and freedoms on a wider perspective to avoid doubts in the minds of the public", he said.

Mr Justice Anin was delivering the first in the series of this year's Sarkodie, Koranteng-Addow and Agyepong Memorial lectures in Accra.

The lectures are under the general theme: "The need for Ghana Bar and Bench to develop human rights jurisprudence and the rule of law through legal or judicial activism and creativity".

The lectures were instituted five years ago in memory of the three judges who together with Major Sam Acquah, were abducted and murdered in June, 1982.

Justice Anin's topic was, "The need for the legal profession as a whole to be resolute in their defence and promotion of the independence of the judiciary, the defence and promotion of justice and human rights in Ghana".

The retired judge quoted extensively legal authorities and provisions on fundamental human rights as enshrined in the constitutions of some African and European countries.

Mr Justice Anin stressed that it is the duty of everyone to help to protect, promote and observe fundamental human rights and freedoms of the individual.

He urged the Executive, Legislature, Judiciary and all organs charged with the protection of the individual's rights and freedoms to respect provisions on fundamental human rights and freedoms in the constitution.

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Atimpoku (Eastern Region), 29^th June 99 --

Armed robbers stormed the Goil filling station in Atimpoku last Tuesday and made away with nearly three million cedis cash.

Mr Kwame Omanhene, a station attendant who was on night duty at the time of the incident, said at about 3 a.m. a passenger who was on transit told him that some men had hidden themselves behind one of the parked vehicles at the station.

Mr Omanhene, who was narrating the incident to Mr Emmanuel Dwamena-Bekoe, Asuogyaman District Chief Executive, said just as he picked his flashlight to come out, he was confronted by four gunmen who ushered him and the passenger back into his office.

He said the robbers asked him to open all the safes and when he opened the first one, which contained 147,000 cedis, they took offence and assaulted him.

The attendant said the robbers then opened the other safes and scooped every currency they could find and marched him and the passenger into a toilet, locked them up and fled.

Mr Fuseini Lansah, District Coordinating Director and his deputy Mr Obeng Djabaa accompanied the DCE.

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Anwona (Ashanti), 29^th June 99 -

Twenty-five houses were destroyed when River Biakwa at Anwona, near New Edubiase, in the Adansi East District of Ashanti overflowed its banks following a heavy downpour at the weekend.

About 100 people were rendered homeless and property estimated at millions of cedis destroyed.

The District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Owusu Sekyere Agyeman, has visited the town to assess the extent of damage and find out the type of assistance that could be given to the victims.

Mr Anthony Akowuah, assembly member for the area, attributed the floods to the delay in the completion of a bridge over the river and said the affected people are at present staying in classrooms, churches or with friends and relatives.

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Kitoe (Northern Region), 29^th June 99 -

Konkombas and Gonjas at Kitoe in the East Gonja district have attended a joint durbar of the chiefs and people to signify the formal end of hostilities between them after the 1994 ethnic conflict.

The durbar, organised by the District Security Committee (DISEC), followed a series of negotiations between members of the committee and Konkomba opinion leaders to pave the way for the return of Gonjas displaced by the conflict.

Twelve Konkomba community chiefs, who attended the ceremony, presented rams for sacrifice to show their commitment to reconciliation and integration with the Gonjas.

The District Chief Executive, Mr Jerry Draman Jackson, commended the two ethnic groups for their show of maturity, which made the ceremony possible.

He appealed to the Nawuris, who are disputing the Gonja claim of ownership of Kpandai lands, to take a cue from the reconciliation process and soften their "entrenched position".

Mr Jackson said now that peace and stability have returned to the district, it is no longer tenable for some of the decentralised government departments to operate under the Nanumba district assembly and asked the departments concerned to revert to their own assemblies.

Mr Jackson announced plans to open inaccessible communities in the Klaw and Jpariba area councils to development, especially in the provision of potable water and roads.

He appealed to the Community Water and Sanitation Agency and the Department of Feeder Roads to complement the efforts of the district assembly.

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Accra (Greater Accra), 29^th June 99-

A religious leader on Monday urged African countries to re-examine their development process to enable them to meet the challenges of globalisation.

Rev Dr Mensa Anumua Otabil, General Overseer of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) noted that the current globalisation process has brought up new technologies and challenges.

These include the Internet, World Wide Web, and electronic mail, all of which, he said, were alien to the architects of our current development process.

Dr Otabil, who is also the Chancellor of Central University College (CUC) in Accra, was delivering the first of three lectures in the maiden edition of the "Heritage Lectures '99", in Accra.

The lectures, jointly organised by Central Aid, a human resource development NGO within the ICGC, and the New Dawn Publication, are under the general theme: Africa on the Eve of the 21st Century.

Dr Otabil called on African countries to begin to address the challenges of globalisation in the development process to avoid becoming extinct in the new millennium".

He said 400 years after the dreaded slave trade; African countries are still wallowing in the evils that led to the enslavement of their sons and daughters.

"The civil wars, ethnic conflicts, hunger, economic hardship, poverty, ignorance and unjust distribution of national cake, which made Africans to sell their compatriots into slavery, still prevail on the continent on a very high scale.

"This has resulted in the current unforced slavery which has come to be known as brain-drain, in which highly technologically trained Africans leave the continent for the land of our former slave masters, either for better living

conditions or to avoid the dangers of political and ethnic conflicts", Dr Otabil said.

He said it is regrettable that "at the threshold of the new millennium, African countries still take pride in how much pain and destruction they have been able to cause to each other through conflicts, while the West is fast preparing to face the new millennium with confidence.

"We still maintain an archaic system of development in which only a few people enjoy the benefits at the expense of the masses".

He called on African governments to adopt globally oriented development strategies that would ensure proper human capacity building and economic empowerment, through education and the fair share of the national income.

"This will stop the unforced slavery and put African countries on course to face the challenges of the next millennium".

Dr Otabil noted that though Africans and the black man have contributed immensely to world civilization, but history books and Bible commentaries seem to rule out the black race from world civilisation.

He contended that most renowned Bible characters that are portrayed in images as white people are in fact blacks of African descent.

"It is time we realised that Africa can only be liberated and developed by Africans and not by Europeans or Americans," Dr Otabil said.

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