GRi Newsreel 11-03-99

Govt. Consoles Asanteman on Otumfuo Death

Fifty-five Gambaga "Witches" return home

Tamale Fund- Ibrahima denies embezzling fund

British, French Foreign Ministers leave

DCE tells border officials to be loyal

Stakeholders attend workshop on FCUBE

Togbe Dagadu calls for media co-operation

A high powered government delegation led by the First Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings and the Presidential Staffer on Chieftaincy Affairs, Nana Akuoko Sarpong today paid its condolences to Asanteman in Kumasi on the death of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Opoku Ware II. The delegation was received by the Queen Mother, Nana Afua Kobi Serwaah Ampem, the Asanteman Council and the Kumasi Traditional Council sitting in state.

Other members of the government delegation were the Minister of Defence, Lt. Col E.K.T. Donkor, the Minister of Finance, Kwame Preprah, the Minister for National Security, Totobi Kwakye, a Minister of State, Prof. Kofi Awonnor, the Asanti Regional Minister, Kojo Yankah, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, D.O. Agyekum and the Inspector-General of Police, Peter Nanfuri.

They signed a book of condolence, which was opened at the Manhyia Palace Museum on the sixth of this month. The book is lying infront of a photograph of the Asantehene dressed in his kingly splendour.

From the museum, the delegation went to the main palace grounds where the Asanteman Council comprising all the paramount chiefs and the Kumasi Traditional Council was sitting in State.

They were all glad in mourning cloth. Nana Akuoko Sarpong expressed the deepest condolences of the President, Flt. Lt. Rawlings and the government and people of Ghana to the Asanteman on their great loss.

He assured Asanteman that the government would support all arrangements to give Otumfuo Opoku Ware a fitting burial. The government is to send a special delegation to officially inform the President and the People of Cote D=92Ivoire of his death. On behalf of Asanteman the Mamponghene, Nana Osei Bonsu, who is the occupant of the Silver Stool, thanked President Rawlings and the government for their support and sympathy during this critical period in Ashanti history.

He said Asanteman is particularly grateful to this government for sponsoring Otumfuo to undergo medical check-up in the U.K. last year.

Gambaga (Northern Region) 11 March

Fifty-five women alleged to be witches and living at the Gambaga 'witches' village have been re-united with their families under the "go home" project of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana to re-integrate them into society.

They form part of 200 women banished to the Gambaga village by their relatives and communities on suspicion of being witches.

The Reverend. J.K. Wandusim, district pastor of the church, made this known on Wednesday when Reverend Robert Aboagye-Mensah, General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, visited the village.

Reverend Aboagye-Mensah's visit was to enable him to study the conditions of the village and to assess their needs for the Christian Council to determine its role in re-integrating the victims into society.

Reverend. Wandusim said under the project, social workers visit the victim's original home to console the family and community members to prepare them psychologically towards reuniting them with their relatives.

After such counselling, the victims are encouraged to pay regular visits to the family to determine the level of acceptability before the necessary rituals are performed for the permanent reunion.

Reverend. Wandusim said the women are granted loans to undertake economic activities to make them independent of their families.

This also enables them to contribute financially to the well-being of other family members, a situation which makes them more acceptable.

He said where any of the women has developed physiological problems like menopause, a social worker is assigned to help her to seek medical assistance.

Rev. Wandusim said the heart of the project is the Christian doctrine of forgiveness and reconciliation. "If the Church preaches reconciliation, then, it is part of its job to reconcile these unfortunate women with their families."

Accra (Greater Accra) 11 March

Alhaji A.Y.M.B Ibrahima, former Municipal Chief Executive of Tamale, on Thursday expressed shock and surprise at a newspaper report alleging that 120 million cedis has disappeared from the District Assembly Common Fund.

The report said the money, meant for poverty alleviation in the Tamale municipality, has disappeared from the special account of the Municipal Assembly at the Agricultural Development Bank.

It quoted a source at the assembly as saying the Common Fund and Poverty Alleviation files, as well as office equipment, could not be located, when the new Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Mohammed Alhassan, took office on March 1.

In an interview in Accra, Alhaji Ibrahima said records of the disbursement of the fund are available.

''Records of the disbursement of the funds, including loan agreements between the Assembly and the beneficiaries, are all there and they indicate who took what amount and for what purpose''.

Reacting to another aspect of the report that he had sought to verbally hand over to the new Municipal Chief Executive, Alhaji Ibrahima said: "the last thing I want is to engage in a newspaper trade-off with a man who has just taken over from me.

"I know how hot that seat is. There are social, economic and development challenges in the municipality to be tackled. I would not want to have his attention diverted from these real issues".

He said he is available to answer any queries about his stewardship but would like to do so not in the columns of newspapers but before the District Assembly whose members, he said, are aware of the procedures for the disbursement of funds under the Poverty Alleviation Programme.

Accra, (Greater Accra) 11 March

Britain and France today expressed their willingness to co-operate with Africa to find solutions to her economic and political development.

Mr Robin Cook, British Foreign Secretary and his French counterpart, Mr Hubert Vedrine, said this in a joint pre-departure press conference at Kotoka International Airport after their two-day visit to Ghana.

The Foreign Ministers acknowledged that their visit was the beginning of a partnership with Africa, saying this would be beneficial to both sides.

They said as leading members of the EU, they are well placed to assist Africa in her bid towards economic emancipation.

They said their countries have already taken the initiative with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to relieve Africa of 300 million pounds sterling debt.

They said poor African countries and those that are performing well economically would be their priority as far as debt relief is concerned, adding that the relief would be one of the ways to move Africa's economy forward.

The two foreign ministers said political stability would ensure a sustained economic development, stressing that it was their desire to consolidate the rule of law and good governance in Africa.

On Sierra Leone, the ministers said they held discussions with President Jerry John Rawlings on how best France and Britain would co-ordinate their efforts in finding lasting solution to the crisis.

"It is essential that peace and the rule of law are restored in Sierra Leone and now that there is a legitimate government there the people should be able to live without fear," Mr Cook said.

He said the UK was supporting ECOMOG with transport and medicine and was exploring avenues for negotiations with the rebels to secure a ceasefire and integrate them into society. The two foreign ministers left for Cote D'Ivoire.

Jewi Wharf (Western Region), 11 Mar

The District Chief Executive for Jomoro, Mr. Thomas Kwesi, has advised border officials at the Jewi Wharf border to be honest and loyal to the nation.

As border officials and securitymen, they would be doing a great harm to the nation if they allowed enemies of the nation to corrupt them, he said.

At a meeting with the officials of the Customs, Exercise and Preventive Service (CEPS), Port Health, Ministries of Agriculture and Trade and the Immigration Service Department at Jewi Wharf yesterday, he advised them to be fair and firm in the discharge of their duties stressing that the interest of the country must be paramount in everything they do.

Mr Aaron Debrah, second in command of the CEPS at Jewi Wharf, on behalf of the officials, assured Mr. Kwesi that they would continue to work hard to collect more revenue for the nation.

At a similar meeting with the private voluntary organisation in the district at Half Assini, Mr Kwesi advised them to assist the district assembly in collecting revenue to finance development projects.

Techiman (Brong Ahafo), 11 March A two-day workshop on the Free Compulsory and Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) programme for 27 participants ended at Techiman on Wednesday.

It was aimed at sensitising stakeholders, including parent teacher associations, school management committees and unit committees on how best the FCUBE programme could be successfully implemented.

Topics treated included, the FCUBE programme, community participation, enrolment in schools, and improving teaching in schools.

Closing it, a resource person, Mr M.K. Boakye, said the course has been timely since it prepared all stakeholders to understand and contribute to the success of the FCUBE programme.

Kpando (Volta Region), 11 March

Togbe Dagadu the seventh, Member of Council of State, has called for co-operation and unity between the private and state-owned media practitioners towards strengthening the media front.

Togbe Dagadu, who is also president of the Volta Region House of Chiefs and paramount chief of the Akpini Traditional Area, made the call during an interaction with state and private media practitioners at Kpando on Wednesday.

He commended the cordial relations between private and state-owned media practitioners in the Volta Region.

Togbe Dagadu said journalists from the two media sectors should be supportive of each other in order to strengthen their solidarity and respectability.

Equal access should be afforded journalists from both sectors to information so as to remove any feelings of isolation, antagonism and suspicion, especially among private media practitioners, he said.

Togbe Dagadu said the two media sectors should be seen as supporting each other in promoting democracy and development in the country. In playing these roles, none of them is superior to the other.

Togbe Dagadu however, called for adherence to strict professional ethics and conduct to ensure that whatever information is made available to the public is accurate and motivated by the desire to serve the public rather than individual, sectional and other interests.

Timber firms asked to embark on re-afforestation

Mim (Brong Ahafo), 11 March

The Brong Ahafo regional minister, Mr Donald Adabre has urged timber firms to establish forest plantations to safeguard their continued operation and viability in the next millennium.

At the current rate of deforestation caused partly by excessive logging, there is every indication that the "future of Ghanaian timber firms are bleak unless they begin to invest heavily in afforestation projects now."

Mr Adabre said this when he visited the premises of Mim timber company and Scanstyle Mim Ltd, two timber firms based at Mim on Wednesday as part of his two-day familiarisation tour of the Asunafo district.

He said uncontrolled logging and other environmentally destructive practices in the past have drastically reduced forest resources of the country and "it is time those responsible for the plunder are made to invest in re-afforestation projects."

The deputy chief accountant of Sanstyle, Mr Albert Zanu said the company, which manufactures furniture for export, is the only free zone enterprise in the region.

The company, he said is already undertaking afforestation projects and is also providing social amenities to communities in which it operates.

Farmers advised to take interest in diversification

Sunyani, (Brong Ahafo) 11 March

The District Chief Executive of Sunyani, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, has urged farmers to take interest in agricultural diversification programmes as it is the surest way of generating more revenue for the country.

It would also help to boost the production of non-traditional export crops like cashew, mushroom and sunflower, he said.

At a seminar organised by Ghana Sunflower Association for 130 of its members at Sunyani to educate them on the cultivation and marketing of the crop, Mr Nyamekye-Marfo said the government is committed to assisting and encouraging hardworking farmers.

The DCE therefore called on the youth to take to farming to raise their standard of living.

He appealed to chiefs and landowners to release land to farmers as it is the basic factor of production.