GRi Newsreel 03-03-99

Accra (Greater Accra), 3 Mar.

The general public was Tuesday reminded that Saturday, March Six, Independence Day, is a statutory public holiday.

A statement issued in Accra by the Ministry of the Interior said the day should be observed as such throughout the country.

Accra (Greater Accra), 3 March,  

The 31st December Women's Movement has donated two million cedis towards the cost of surgery for Miss Margaret Bukroh, a girl with enlarged breasts.

A statement issued in Accra on Tuesday by the Minister of Health, Mr Samuel Nuama Donkor, said the donation is in response to an appeal made by the Daily Graphic for financial assistance from the public for Miss Bukroh to undergo surgery immediately.

It quoted a letter from the Movement, signed by its President, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, to the Ministry of Health, as saying they were moved by the plight of the girl.

"The Movement has since handed over the money to the Ministry of Health for collection by the Chief Administrator of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, where Margaret would be undergoing surgery."

Manso-Nkran (Ashanti), 3 March  

Tension between the chiefs and people of four cluster communities in the Amansie West District and Amansie Resources limited, a mining company operating in the area that erupted into violent clashes recently has now eased.

This followed the intervention by Mr Anthony Boakye-Yiadom, Member of Parliament (MP) for the area.

Some vital equipment of the company, including radio communication gadgets, were stolen while others got vandalised during the clashes.

The communities, Koninase, Manso-Nkran, Dadiase and Kwankyeabo, were angered by what they saw as a deliberate refusal by the mining company to employ the youth from the area.

At a joint meeting organised at the instance of the MP, Mr Quesi Paul-Ransford, an assembly member, who acted as a spokesman, complained that of the total workforce of the company, only five are from the four communities.

He said having lost their farms and lands to the company, they expected that some of the many unemployed youth, would be recruited to work in areas of the mines operations that do not require any specialised skills to enable them to earn a living.

Other areas of concern, he said, are the constant blasting of rocks by the company which, he claimed had led to the creation of cracks on walls of their buildings and inadequate compensation for crops destroyed.

Mr Boakye-Yiadom advised them to use dialogue to resolve whatever problems they may have with the company without recourse to violence.

The MP told the chiefs and people to reconcile themselves to the fact that the laws of the country would not permit them to stop the company from carrying out its legitimate operations through acts of intimidation and lawlessness.

A source at the mines debunked the charges leveled by the communities explaining that sub-contractors who carry out most of the jobs at the mines employ casual labourers from among the communities.

The youth in the area, however, insist on permanent employment and refuse to accept any job that is temporal, the source added.

He denied also that the blasting of rocks by the company is causing damage to buildings in the community, saying the effects of the blast are constantly monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

On the issue of compensation, he said what the people are demanding is payment for lands and explained that they have no problems doing that once Parliament enacts a legislation to that effect.

Accra (Greater Accra), 3 March,  

The partnership between private sector and the government has made access to telecommunication services less difficult, Mr John Mahama, Minister of Communications, said yesterday.

Mr Mahama said this has resulted in a 100 per cent increase in subscriber lines in less than two years as well as a six fold increase in the overall network of Ghana Telecom, the former state monopoly.

He was speaking at the opening of a three-day African telecom summit in Accra, under the theme: "Beyond Privatisation, what are the realities of effective telecom delivery?"The conference, organised by Spectrum International and co-hosted by the Ministry of Communications, brings together telecommunication stakeholders such as network operators, public policy decision makers and technology manufacturersIt offers a platform for African countries as well as technology firms to market their country and corporate packages.

Some topics to be discussed include "Africa in the liberalised telecom environment, telecommunication privatisation in Africa, satellites for Africa, what are the options? And tele-centres and options for rural telecommunications".

Mr Mahama, who chaired the function, said the theme will erase the impression that privatisation or liberalisation of the telecom environment is a magic wand that instantly provides solutions to a country's telecom needs.

He said telephone subscriber lines would be increased from the present 165,000 to 650,000 by the year 2002.

" We are working in co-operation with the World Bank on a rural telecom strategy to ensure access to the majority of our people."

Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia, Chairman of the Council of State, who delivered the keynote address, said the logic behind Ghana's privatisation policy was to make a wider variety of services available to the public, provide better services, lower tariffs for end users and adopt more efficient operating entities.

"Our experiment has yielded good results in the short term and is sure to yield even better results in the medium or long term".

He said " before our liberalisation process, we had some 77,000 lines installed in 22 years that Ghana Telecom operations, an average of 3,500 a year. "But within two years of liberalisation, an additional 70,000 lines have been installed, that is 35,000 a year".

Alhaji Bawumia urged stakeholders to take steps to develop the inter-African telecom infrastructure, as a prerequisite for the establishment of the planned and much desired African economic community.

He mentioned universal access, affordability, minimum time to connect and reliable service as the response to the needs of people everywhere on the continent adding that the "dialogue to find lasting solution to our problems must be led by us Africans".

Kumasi (Ashanti), 3 March

The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and the Ashanti Regional Co-ordinating Council (ARCC) have been called upon to come out with their final decision on the re-settlement of small-scale carpenters at Anloga, in Kumasi. Reverend Samuel K. Fugah, president of the Association of Small-Scale Industries (ASSI), who made the call said the carpenters were initially to be resettled at Asokore-Mampong and the area, which was near to the Inland Port and the Wood Industries and Training Centre was gazetted in 1993.

He explained that the land was well demarcated with access roads, basic infrastructure for dealers in sawn timber, deposits for sawn-dust and a parking lot but now they are being asked to leave the present site for the wood village at Nkinkasie near Sokoban.

Rev Fugah made the call when he received relief items worth about two million cedis from the Ashanti Regional Directorate of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) in Kumasi yesterday for victims affected by recent fire outbreak at Anloga carpentry shops.

The items were five packets of roofing sheets and 20 pieces of blankets and mattresses.

Rev Fugah called on the two institutions to probe allocation of plots at the Wood Village at Nkinkasie and thanked the NADMO for the items and hoped other organisations will assist the affected carpenters to be resettled.

Accra (Greater Accra), 3 March  

Alhaji Ismail Bawa, a 52-year old civil servant, was on Tuesday elected by acclamation to contest the bye-election for the vacant Ablekuma Central constituency seat on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress.

Mr Nat Quaye, Ashiedu Keteke Electoral Officer, declared Alhaji Bawa the sole candidate, after three other contestants stepped down at a special delegates' congress in Accra.

Alhaji Bawa, who contested as parliamentary candidate for the NDC in the 1992 and 1996 general elections, thanked his colleagues, who stepped down and urged them to support him to win the seat.

He said the task ahead is great and called for unity and hard work from the rank and file to ensure victory.

Functionaries of the Progressive Alliance were present.

The seat became vacant following the death of the incumbent, Mr C. S. Crabbe of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Accra (Greater Accra), 3 March 

Dr Brahima Khaba, Liberian Minister for Commerce and Industry, on Tuesday called on investors to take advantage of the peace and stability in his country to invest there.

He said with the seven year-war over, Liberia is now poised for investment in all sectors of the economy adding, there is enormous potential in his country.

Dr Khaba made the call at Liberia's National day at the second ECOWAS trade fair in Accra.

About 16 Liberian companies are participating in the fair.

Items on display at the Liberian stand include alcoholic beverages, rubber products, cement and zinc.

Dr Khaba said at the moment, construction and building firms in Liberia are operating at full capacity.

"However, cement factories and other industries are operating at 30 per cent capacity due to the war".

Dr Khaba said the ECOWAS fair is a step in the right direction in the search for a common market and integration.

He said ECOWAS had chalked some tangible achievements in economic integration but said, "we must, however, recognise that in the past few years, socio-political crisis and the imperatives of crisis resolutions seemed to have taken a heavy toll on our initial resolve to promote increased intra-African trade."

Techiman (Brong Ahafo), 3 Mar. 

The Tano River is a great asset to the Techiman community and the Brong-Ahafo Region as a whole and care must, therefore, be taken to preserve and ensure its purity.

Mr Isaac Osei, Brong-Ahafo Regional programme officer of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), made the observation in a report on his recent visit to Techiman on the reforestation project of the Tree Farmers Association of Ghana.

He said the river serves Techiman and many people depend on it for their livelihood, so there is need for the Techiman district assembly and the Brong -Ahafo Region, as a whole, to safeguard and protect it.

He observed that both the quality and quantity of its waters were being adversely affected through various human activities and called for a serious appraisal of the resource and formulation of the right policies and relevant recommendations for short and long-term solutions of the problems associated with the river.

He said in this view, that the EPA has put forward some recommendations, which when given appropriate attention, would help to preserve and improve the status of the Tano River for the common good.

Mr Osei suggested the passing of by-laws to empower the assembly to demolish all unauthorised structures within the 100- metre zone earmarked as green belt for the river.

The banning of all farming activities along the entire bank, grazing by cattle along the banks and prosecuting all those who break laws meant to protect the environment to serve as deterrent.

He said the tree farmers' association must not only be praised for their efforts but must be given logistics and financial support to sustain their good work.

Agona Swedru (Central Region), 3 Mar.

The Agona district assembly is to establish a committee to probe into the alleged illegal collection of school fees by headteachers.

Mr Samuel Adu-Yeboah, district chief executive, announced this when Mr S.K. Tenkorang, Agona district director of education, was summoned to brief assembly members on the state of education in the district.

According to the DCE, some headteachers collected nine thousand cedis as school fees instead of the approved four thousand cedis which Mr Tenkorang said was unauthorised.

The director stressed that since some PTAs and school management committees are not aware of the illegal collection, such fees cannot be accounted for.

He said that the Regional co-ordinating council's "send your child to school programme," launched last year yielded positive result.

The district director said a team from the district directorate of education is to evaluate the programme to promote teaching and learning in schools.

Nana Odiako Bonsu, presiding member of the assembly, urged headteachers to use the limited resources at their disposal judiciously to achieve results and not to exploit parents and guardians.

He appealed to assembly members to monitor the activities of the teachers in their communities to help raise the falling standard of education in the district.

Fomena (Ashanti), 3 March 

The Adansi Traditional Council and the Adansi East and West District Assemblies have agreed to set up a 15-member board to manage their one billion cedi shares in the Ashanti Goldfields Company (AGC).

The board, to be known as the Adansiman Development Trust,will among other functions, control and administer all dividends accruing from the shares for the benefit of the traditional area.

At an extraordinary meeting at Fomena yesterday to discuss membership and representation on the Trust, the two assemblies suggested that the traditional council should appoint seven members while the assemblies present eight members.

Led by the Adansihene, Nana Ofori Agyemang the second, the council argued that as custodians of the land who are accountable to the people in respect of land use, they should be given eight seats on the Trust.

Tey also suggested that the Adansi Korye Kuo should be represented on the Trust to make it broad-based.

The Council asked the District Chief Executives for Adansi East and Adansi West, Mr Owusu Sekyere Agyeman and Mr George Adu-Mensah respectively, to accept its proposal in good faith.

Mrs Theresa Joyce Baffoe, Member of Parliament for New Edubiase, appealed to the traditional council and the assemblies to nominate women to serve on the Trust, stressing that "women cannot be left out in the composition of the administrative team of the Adansiman Development Trust".

The meeting requested the two District Chief Executives to report back at another date for the reaction of the two assemblies on the composition of the of the trust.

Obuasi (Ashanti), 3 March -- The Obuasi District Police Command came under serious criticism at the second ordinary meeting of the Adansi West District Assembly yesterday when the assembly was informed that the police cannot undertake night patrols in the Obuasi township because of lack of personnel.

This was during a discussion on a report submitted by its Justice and Security Sub-Committee which dealt with the increasing crime wave within Obuasi, especially at the Ashanti Goldfields Company.

The sub-committee had suggested a number of measures including the intensification of night patrols by the police to check the activities of criminals.

Mr A.A. Sambah, Assistant Superintendent of Police, who represented the District Police Commander, Mr A.R. Birikorang at the meeting, told the assembly that lack of men and accommodation has made it impossible for the police to embark on night patrols in the township.

This information from the police officer invited criticism from the assembly members.

They accused the Obuasi police that in spite of their claim of lack of personnel, they are able to mobilise men to conduct road checks daily in addition to undertaking debt collection in the township.

Mr Sambah responding to the criticisms, told the assembly that the road checks are very special exercises being carried out by a special unit within the police.

In an answer to a question from the presiding member, Mr Francis Adjei, the ASP insisted that the police could not undertake the night patrols for reasons already stated by him.

This statement brought the two members of Parliament from the district, Mr A.B. Boadi-Mensah and Mr Akwasi Afrifa to their feet.

They pointed out that the problems facing the police service are known nation-wide and therefore the Obuasi police could not use lack of men and accommodation as an excuse "to allow criminals to take over the communities".

They therefore demanded that the police should begin night patrols with the few men available.

Yara (Brong Ahafo), 3 Mar.

Mr Donald Adabre, Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, has advised beneficiary communities of projects provided by the government and other non-governmental organisations (NGO's) to set up "special maintenance funds" that could be used for periodic repairs on such facilities.

He said routine maintenance of the facilities would ensure their long-term use, and also help to inculcate the culture of maintenance among the people.

Mr Adabre gave the advice when he jointly commissioned a 65 million cedis six classroomed block with the Canadian High Commissioner to Ghana, Miss Janet Graham, at Yara in the Kintampo district yesterday.

He said the government remained committed to the rapid development of rural communities, which produce the bulk of the country's wealth, and has therefore initiated a number of projects to open them up.

The Regional Minister mentioned the youth in agriculture programme, the rural enterprise project and the poverty alleviation programme, all of which he said have been instituted to improve the well-being and roductivity of rural communities.

He appealed to the youth to take advantage of these programmes to enhance their standard of living and their contribution to the nation's economic development.

Mr Adabre commended the Canadian government, which provided materials worth 59 million cedis towards the construction of the school block, and urged it to continue to support the government in the provision of amenities to deprived areas in the country.

Miss Graham said the Canadian High Commission was moved to assist the people of Yara to construct the school to save their children from the dangers of crossing flooded rivers to attend school in a neighbouring town.

She urged parents to do everything within their means to send their children to school, as it would be an investment for the future growth and development of the community.

Miss Graham announced that in recognition of their communal spirit and environmental consciousness, the High Commission would construct three boreholes at a total cost of 20 million cedis for the community.

Accra (Greater Accra), 3 March 

Junior doctors at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital on Wednesday afternoon resumed work after the intervention of the Minister of Health.

The doctors embarked on a two-day strike action saying that until the last doctor in the country received his allowance, they would not work.

In November last year, junior doctors who embarked on a strike demanding extra duty allowance as paid to their colleagues in the other government hospitals gave the government until March one to pay the allowances or they would go withdraw their services.

At around 1200 hours when GRi visited the hospital, letters of memorandum were being sent to the various departments with copies to the junior doctors calling them back to work.

The memorandum was issued by Dr Henry Holdbrook- Smith, Chief Executive, and other heads of department.

It read: "As a result of the reconciliatory intervention by the Minister of Health and clinical heads of departments, the management has decided that all junior doctors on strike are to report to work with immediate effect".

On Monday, the chief executive issued a statement giving the doctors up till 1700 hours to resume work or consider themselves as dismissed.

This statement was issued before the sector minister met the doctors.

Some of the junior doctors said they were surprised to hear from the chief executive that they had been dismissed.

They said they were ready to resume work after the intervention of the Minister of Health on last Monday but surprisingly, another letter was issued by the Chief Executive dismissing them.

"We have not been to the wards to see to our patients because we have been dismissed. We want the Chief Executive to withdraw that letter.

"We are prepared to work as soon as we receive a letter from the management to resume work since we have collected the money," one of the doctors said.

Mr Kwasi Owusu, Acting director of Finance, said they have been able to pay all the 320 doctors with the exception of those who are on leave.

He said the hospital had received 550 million cedis to pay to doctors who had actually worked for it. Each doctor is receiving 960,000 cedis a month after tax.

A source close to the administration said the memorandum would resolve the problem once and for all.

Elubo (Western Region), 3 March 

A total of 145,745 travellers passed through the Elubo border between Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire last yearRecords show that the figure is made up of 21,971 Ghanaians, 49,886 ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) nationals and 5,114 other nationals.

Revenue accruing to the Ghana Immigration Service during the period totalled 19,460 dollars for entry ;and transit visa fees, including such items as re-entry, fines for over-stay, illegal entry.

The records indicate that 12 persons were arrested for various offences, some of which were possessing false travel documents, pick-pocketing and those found to be on the suspects list.

They included Ivorian nationals Nigerians and one Cmerounian.

Forty-five persons were refused entry. They were 18 Liberians, three Congolese, three Spanish, 12 Americans and nine Ivorians who were, among other offences, either attempting to enter Ghana without valid entry visa/permit or possessing fake travel documents.