Detained
Belize national claims training cadres - Minister
Sahara
contract is purely a commercial contract - Minister
President
Kufuor congratulates British
Defence
minister commends 64th regiment
Judges
must be well paid - Amua Sekyi
Cocoa
farmers ask agriculture policy makers to do less talking
GBA to accept 'prodigal' members
NDC for national congress early next year
Parliament asked to use its constitutional powers to negotiate for
resources
Accra
(Greater Accra) 12 June 2001
The
Minister of the Interior Alhaji Malik Alhassan Yakubu said on Monday that a
Belize national, Mr Albert Hamid Odjinga who was arrested on Saturday said he
trains cadres who collect grassroots information about functionaries of the
erstwhile Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC).
The
minister said Mr Odjinga also said he teaches selected cadres counter
intelligence operations.
Speaking to
the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra following a security operation around the
house of former President Jerry Rawlings at the weekend during which the Belize
national, a close friend of the former President, was arrested, Alhaji Malik said
Mr Odjinga claims he was deported from the country in 1980 without any reason
and when he returned in 1989 he was
given that accommodation by Captain Kojo Tsikata, former National Security
Adviser to the PNDC.
The
minister said Mr Odjinga claimed that he was then given a 10-year resident
permit. But this was rejected by the Director of Immigration who said legally a
person can be given only five years residence permit but would need re-approval
from the Minister of the Interior.
Alhaji
Malik said following the suspicion that the house close to that of the former
President had not been allocated but seemed to have an occupant, security
personnel went there on the evening of June 8 and at dawn of June 9 where they
met a watchman, an employee of the Ministry of Works and Housing.
They asked
the occupant to open the door but he refused till it was forced open.
The
Minister said Mr Odjinga could not explain why he was trying to avoid the
security agents after his arrest.
Alhaji
Malik said the government has a constitutional responsibility to provide
security cover for the former President and would ensure this at all cost.
"Since
his security is in the hands of the government we would not allow any
suspicious characters to undermine it to the detriment of the state and
embarrass the government," he said.
On comments
in some quarters that the security agents are trying to cow opponents of the
government, Alhaji Malik said such statements were diversionary and aimed at
thwarting efforts of the government in ensuring accountability and maintenance
of security.
"Allegations
of harassment, threats and aversion to people being questioned are clever
diversionary tactics. In football when you meet a superior team you try to play
it rough to avoid total defeat by frustrating your opponents."
On why such
a large number of security personnel were used, the Minister said it could be a
precautionary measure since the security agents may not know what they are up
against.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 12 June 2001
The
Government on Monday described the contract between Sahara Energy Resource
Limited and the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) as a purely commercial contract with no
official intervention.
At a press
conference in Accra, Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, Minister of Energy, said the
government only came into the matter at the final stage when he, as acting
chairman of the board of TOR, had to sign the agreement.
Mr
Kan-Dapaah said he was compelled to react because of the unending questions
that were being raised on the issue that suggested malfeasance by some
government officials in the whole affair.
"At
the time that we took over power, Sahara was the only company that had
registered with TOR to lift oil. We then had to do a due diligent study that
gave us the green light to let them go ahead and lift."
Mr
Kan-Dapaah said the entire process of negotiating and arranging the deal with
Sahara was done solely by the management of TOR.
Mr
Kan-Dapaah said in this event, the government was pressed to ensure that oil
was lifted to Ghana earliest by two weeks of the signing of the agreement on
April 1, 2001.
"We
did not have the benefit of time to consider competitive tendering. Besides it
was not a sole source contract. We examined proposals from two companies.
Indeed, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) nominated two
companies - VITOL and Sahara."
He said
Sahara was selected because they, among the others, possessed the ability to
undertake the assignment and further more it was clear from our initial
discussions that their management fees would be much lower than VITOL.
"The
purpose of competitive tenders is to ensure competitive prices, but in the oil
business one can use industry benchmarks to determine the competitiveness of
prices," Mr Kan-Dapaah said.
"This
means that the absence of competitive tendering does not mean that there was
lack of transparency."
Mr
Kan-Dappah said the selection was also based on the international commodity
market practice where it is demanded that goods and services will be sourced
from the donor country.
He
expressed the government's satisfaction with the terms and conditions with
Sahara and hopes to continue.
Under the
terms of agreement, which is to last for a year in the first instance, Ghana
has been offered 90 days of credit before paying for each consignment of crude
oil delivered to TOR.
Mr
Kan-Dappah said all of the government's action was done in extreme conditions
of utmost urgency adding that there was only one week's supply of crude oil,
two weeks supply of gasoline and between three and four days of gas oil when
the government came in.
The terms
indicate that Sahara will use its best efforts to ensure that the NNPC makes
available for lifting Bonny Light and Brass River grades of oil from Nigeria
for TOR.
Where TOR
is unable or unwilling to receive the crude oil due to the refinery's shutdown
as a result of scheduled maintenance or other site works Sahara, upon approval
from TOR, would undertake on behalf of TOR in the international oil markets to
swap the crude oil cargoes.
He said in
the event that Sahara is unable to obtain a lifting over and above the standard
430,000 barrels, TOR would pay an incentive bonus of 0.75 dollars per barrel
out of its quantified savings of 2.03 dollars per barrel.
Meanwhile,
a statement issued from the Ministry of Energy on the Ghana-Nigeria Crude Oil
Supply Agreement said the normal requirement to establish letters of credit
acceptable to recognised international banks was waived for Ghana to establish
letters of credit by local commercial banks guaranteed by the government
through the Bank of Ghana.
Additionally,
the 2.3 million dollars debt incurred by the Ghana National Petroleum
Corporation (GNPC) as penalty for non-lifting, has been deferred for two years.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 12 June 2001
President
John Agyekum Kufuor on Monday congratulated Mr Tony Blair, the British Prime
Minister for his landslide second term electoral victory.
President
Kufuor said: "On behalf of the people and government of Ghana, and in my
own name, I wish to express warm congratulations to you on your impressive
election victory.
“We look
forward with renewed hope and expectation that the traditional bonds of
friendship subsisting between our two countries will be further deepened in the
succeeding years, to the mutual benefit of our governments and people.
Please
accept my best wishes for another successful tenure and the assurances of my
esteemed consideration," the message said.
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Ho (Volta
Region) 12 June 2001
Mr Ernest
Owusu-Poku, Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) on Monday urged Policemen
to forge cordial relations with the Military for the maintenance of national
security.
"Our
roles are complementary and nothing must be done to disharmonise the cordial
relationship between our two sister security agencies."
The IGP was
addressing officers and men of the Volta Regional Command of the service at Ho.
Mr
Owusu-Poku said it was important for the Police and the Military in the region
to collaborate in combating cross-border crimes.
He
cautioned the Police to inform the Military command immediately they arrest
Military personnel, in accordance with Service Instruction, which deals with
arrest of members of the armed forces.
Mr
Owusu-Poku called for similar co-operation with personnel of the Customs,
Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) in dealing with smugglers in the region.
"Those
of you who condone and connive with smugglers leading to loss of revenue to the
nation must change for the better", he warned.
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Asutsuare
(Eastern Region) 12 June 2001
The
Minister of Defence, Dr Kwame Addo Kufuor has commended the 64th Regiment of
the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) for comporting itself amidst negative perceptions
from the public as to where their loyalty stood.
"Not
only has the image of the 64th Regiment improved considerably in the eyes of
Ghanaians but their appearance is also highly commendable considering their
peculiar history," the Minister said.
Dr Addo
Kufuor said this at a durbar, attended by troops of the 64th Regiment at the
Asutsuare Training Camp in the Eastern Regions as part of a nation-wide tour of
military institutions in the country.
He urged
the unit to maintain peace, defend the Constitution, be disciplined at all
times and take directives, like all other soldiers, from the Military High
Command.
The
Minister reminded them that the Acting Chief of the Defence Staff, after taking
into consideration the comportment of the Regiment, decided that they should
also be given the opportunity to go on peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone.
Currently,
most troops of the regiment are undergoing training to participate in the
United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL). This will be the first time
the regiment will participate in a peacekeeping mission.
"You
should not only maintain peace in the country but in the sub-region," Dr
Addo Kufuor said.
"Be of
duty to your motherland, maintain the professionalism associated with the
Ghana Armed
Forces and comport yourself when going on the UN mission," he told the
regiment.
Dr Addo
Kufuor urged the 64 Regiment to endeavour to be the most trusted unit within
the Armed Forces adding, "once there is trust everything is
possible".
"Whatever
the past, your duty is to maintain discipline, exhibit professional competence,
give unflinching loyalty to the ruling government, improve civil-military
relations by giving them mutual support and respect and above all endeavour to
improve the image of the Ghana Armed Forces.
"You
have a duty to protect the territory and the constitutional government of the
country from breaches of security and this you must do with all your resources.
The military has a duty to ensure that this constitutional directive is adhered
to."
Major-General
Seth Obeng, acting Chief of Defence Staff, Brigadier John Danquah, General
Officer Commanding Southern Command, Mr. Frank Mpare, Chief Director, Ministry
of Defence, accompanied the Defence Minister.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 12 June 2001
Mr Justice
Kweku E. Amua Sekyi, a retired Supreme Court Judge, on Monday called for the
re-appraisal of the role of judges in the body politic and the creation of the
conditions necessary for the effective and efficient exercise of their
function.
Speaking on
“consolidating democratic governance in Ghana by further strengthening
institutional capacity” at the 15th Speaker's Forum, Mr Justice Amua Sekyi
said, "judges should be well paid so as to make them less open to corrupt
influences.
The
presentation focused on the executive, the legislature, the judiciary and the
Attorney -General's office as some of the institutions that could make the
government accountable to the people within the rule of law to promote the
country's fledgling democracy.
The forum
was organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) with sponsorship from
the UNDP.
Mr Justice
Amua Sekyi said judges should also be assured of a comfortable old age when
they retire.
He said,
"where as in 1970 the Chief Justice and the judges of the Superior Courts
were the highest paid public officers, today they are not. Other interest
groups have succeeded in overtaking them in terms of earnings".
He was
quick to add, "there are many judicial officers who, however, low their
earnings, will never succumb to the temptations of taking bribes.
"There
are, however, some who will find it difficult to resist financial inducements
to pervert the course of justice".
He said
until the economy improved to enable the judiciary to be well paid, to make
corrupt practices unattractive, a mechanism must be devised to expose the
corrupt ones.
Mr Justice
Amua Sekyi said a law should be passed to protect those who would give
information on judges to the Chief Justice from prosecution.
Whether the
condition of service of the judiciary was improved or not the nation demands
that they must be firm and morally upright, he observed.
"Lawyers
who have been guilty of offences involving fraud, dishonesty or moral turpitude
should not be permitted to find their way into the ranks of the
judiciary."
The
Speaker, Mr Peter Ala Adjetey deplored the poor state of courthouses and poor
accommodation for judges and called for infrastructure development of the
judiciary.
He said if
the judiciary is considered as the basis of peace and good governance, then
everything possible should be done to improve the physical image of the
judicial service.
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Kumasi
(Ashanti Region) 12 June 2001
Miss
Theresa Tagoe, Deputy Minister of Works and Housing, on Monday called for
sustained public education to help do away with acts of degrading and polluting
the country's water resources.
Water
pollution from human activities like agriculture, settlement and industry
including mining is "seriously threatening the environment and the
totality of life it supports."
Miss Tagoe
was giving the keynote address at the second of the two national forums to
share views and thoughts on the draft national water policy in Kumasi.
It was
attended by sector institutions and experts as well as development partners,
representatives of non-Governmental
Organisation (NGOs) and Local Government organisations in the Northern
sector.
The Deputy
Minister said water pollution of varying degrees are prevalent in almost all
the river basins and mentioned the Pra, Ankobra and Densu rivers among the most
polluted.
She
expressed concern about the perennial flooding of the Odaw and the White Volta
rivers, caused by inadequate drainage system, unauthorised buildings at
water-ways and cross border dam spillage from the Burkina Faso.
Miss Tagoe
said these situations have persisted because of lack of a comprehensive
institutional and legal framework to manage water resources properly.
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Bibiani
(Western Region) 12 June 2001
Nana Robert
Mensah, Sefwi-Anhwiaso District Chief Farmer, has called on agricultural policy
makers to do less talking and initiate scientific actions that would enhance
agricultural production.
Addressing
a farmers' rally at Bibiani at the weekend, he said the government's call on farmers
to increase production has achieved little because of inaction from agriculture
officers.
Nana Mensah
said there should be a purposeful education right from the primary school to
make the youth to appreciate the importance of agriculture and thereby dispose
them to go into farming.
He
expressed farmers' gratitude to the government for increasing the producer
price of cocoa and the mass spraying of cocoa farms and pledged the solidarity
of farmers for the government.
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GBA to accept 'prodigal' members
Sunyani
(Brong Ahafo) 12 June 2001
The Ghana
Bar Association (GBA) has decided to grant amnesty to all lawyers who were sanctioned
for defying the association's resolution debarring members from attending the
defunct Peoples Tribunals of the erstwhile PNDC era.
Such
lawyers can, however, only be re-admitted into the association if they write a
formal letter to the general council of the Bar, apologise for their behaviour,
Mr. J. Ebow Quashie, National President of the GBA said in a statement released
at Sunyani on Monday after touring the Eastern, Ashanti and Brong Ahafo
regions.
Accompanied
by other national executives, Mr. Quashie interacted with members of the
regional branch of the association and judges. They also met with leading
political figures in the three regions.
Giving the
rationale for the amnesty, Mr. Quashie said "with the spirit of
reconciliation blowing all over the country, it has become necessary that the
association extends an olive branch to members who erred in the past".
He
said:" The association is made up of people from all political persuasions
and it is important that we put the past behind us and unite for the progress
of the profession and national development".
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Koforidua
(Eastern Region) 12 June 2001
The Eastern
Regional branch of the Convention Peoples' Party (CPP) has called on Nkrumahist
parties to end the fragmentation of their front and unite to build the party to
win power.
In a
message issued at Koforidua on Monday to mark the 52nd anniversary of the
founding of the CPP by Dr Kwame Nkrumah, which falls on June 12, the branch
noted, "with the CPP now in existence, no one can remain outside it and
honestly claim to be a true Nkrumahist".
The
message, signed by the Regional Chairman, Mr S. O. Mpare, recalled that the CPP
government, under Dr Nkrumah, "laid solid foundation for the total
development of the country and aimed at establishing a society in which no one
would have had any anxiety about the basic needs of life".
It said,
"unfortunately, the life of the CPP government was cut short by the nation
wreckers, who overthrew that government in the 1966 coup d'etat after which
Ghana has continued to sink."
The message
expressed the hope that "with a new administration in place, we pray that
conditions will change for the better for Ghanaians to live in dignity and
contentment."
It saluted
all "true Nkrumahists" on the occasion of the anniversary and called
on them to strengthen their bond of unity for the growth of the party.
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NDC for national congress early next year
Koforidua
(Eastern Region) 12 June 2001
Mr Kwesi
Denkyi, Chairman of the Eastern Regional National Democratic Congress (NDC)
Re-organisation Committee, has said that for the few months that the New
Patriotic Party (NPP) had been in government, it had demonstrated its inability
to manage the country's economy.
He said,
the worsening economic conditions in the country is a sign that the NDC could
win back power in the 2004 elections, but said that such a dream could be
realised if only members of the party could forget the past and unite for the
future.
Mr Denkyi
was speaking at a meeting between members of the Regional re-organisation
committee and the Koforidua Constituency of the Party at Koforidua at the
weekend.
He advised
members to start paying their dues for the running of the party at the ward and
constituency levels.
Mr Samuel
Sallas-Mensah, Leader of the Eastern Regional NDC Parliamentary
Caucus,
announced that the party would organise its national congress early next year,
to elect its presidential candidate for the 2004 elections.
He
explained that, the early election of the presidential candidate would enable
the candidate to have ample time to tour the country and to prepare effectively
for the elections.
Mr
Sallas-Mensah said constituency and regional congresses would precede the
national one by the end of this year, to elect constituency and regional party
executives and parliamentary candidates for the 2004 elections.
He claimed
that due to the NPP government's declaration of the country as Heavily Indebted
Poor Country (HIPC), the country would not be able to raise loans for some
planned projects like the Accra-Yamoransa and the Achimota -Anyinam roads.
Mr
Sallas-Mensah said, an NDC Government would not have gone HIPC but would have
opted for renegotiation of the payment of the country's foreign debts.
Mr Anthony
Gyampoh, a Parliamentary Candidate of the Party for Akropong Constituency in
the 2000 elections, said it was never the intention of NDC to undermine the NPP
government to fail "because when it fails, all Ghanaians including
sympathisers of NDC would be affected and the clock of progress which the NDC
set in motion would have rolled back by
the time the NDC takes over in 2005."
He claimed
that the NPP government had "failed to honour any of the many electoral
promises it made and was not sure it could honour them hence the efforts to
destroy the NDC whom it sees as a force to reckon with."
"However,
nobody could destroy the NDC except God," Mr Gyampoh declared.
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Parliament asked to use its constitutional powers to negotiate for
resources
Accra
(Greater Accra) 12 June 2001
Mr Justice
Kweku Amuah Sekyi, a retired Supreme Court Judge, on Monday asked Parliament to
use its power of authorizing expenditure to negotiate for adequate flow of its
own budgetary allocations.
"There
is the tendency that the Finance Ministry could slow down the pace that
Parliament would want its resources to flow. What can be done is to hold back
the executive's purse and it would be forced to release yours."
Mr Justice
Amuah Sekyi was delivering a paper on " consolidating democratic
governance in Ghana by further strengthening institutional Capacity" at
this year's Speaker's Breakfast Forum.
The forum
was organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs with financial support from
the United Nation's Development Programme (UNDP).
More than
30 politicians, academics, diplomats and journalists attended the 15th edition
of the Speaker's Forum initiated to discuss national issues.
Mr Justice
Auuah Sekyi called for the provision of rent-free accommodation for Members of
Parliament that would be vacated when they leave office.
He said the
provision of houses after every four years would put serious financial strain
on the country.
"A
better solution to the problem is to pay members a housing allowance and allow
them to make their own arrangement for accommodation."
On members'
outreach programmes' he suggested that allowances for travel ought to be
graduated to take account of the comparative inaccessibility of some of the
constituencies and the distance from Accra where Parliament is located.
Mr Justice
Amuah Sekyi asked the house to sanction ministers, who refuse to appear before
it to answer questions.
"In
the last Parliament, there were far too many occasions when questions were
allowed to lie on the table for months without the Minister appearing before
Parliament to answer them."
He said:
"It ought to be appreciated that a refusal to appear and answer question
is not just an affront to the member who asked the question but to the whole
house."
Mr Justice
Amuah Sekyi called for the provision of office accommodation and staff for
Parliamentarians to function properly.
"The
diverse nature of parliamentary business requires that members have at their
disposal an expert staff to conduct research for them on matters before
Parliament."
On the
Executive, he suggested that the President should have regular interactions
with the media so that he could personally defend the decisions of the
government.
"The
people would want to know that the person they elected into office as their
President cares about them and their problems."
Mr Peter
Ala Adjetey, Speaker, promised to apply all the powers invested in him to
compel members of the executive to appear before the House when they are asked
to do so.
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Justice Annan did well- Adjetey
Accra
(Greater Accra) 12 June 2001
Mr Peter
Ala Adjetey, Speaker of Parliament, on Monday paid tribute to his predecessor,
Mr Justice Daniel Francis Annan for instituting the"Speaker's Breakfast
Forum".
He said the
forum has won the support of all players in the governance process and thus
become an institution in itself and made Parliament relate more to the people.
Mr Adjetey
was opening the 15th Speaker's forum organised by Institute of Economic Affairs
in conjunction with the Office of Parliament.
The forum,
which was attended by more than 30 politicians, academics, diplomats and
journalists, ran under the theme, "consolidating democratic governance in
Ghana by further strengthening institutional capacity".
The leading
discussant was Mr Justice Kweku Amua Sekyi, a retired Supreme Court Judge.
The forum
seeks to bring together experts, stakeholders and opinion leaders from various
sectors of civil society to brainstorm on matters of national importance.
Mr Adjetey
said the country's present socio-political milieu makes it imperative that
institutions of governance such as Parliament provide the people with avenues
for civil society to have an input into their work.
He said
Parliament would continue to explore channels of communications to ensure that
the public contributes significantly to its work.
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