GRi Newsreel 30-03-99

Accra (Greater Accra) 30 March

South Korean investors have been asked to inject more capital into the Ghanaian economy.

Mr Edward Salia, Minister of Roads and Transport, who made the call on Monday, at a reception in honour of the visiting South Korean business delegation in Accra, said investment opportunities exist in the ports, roads, construction and other sectors of the economy.

The investment climate in Ghana is conducive, he said, adding that Ghana is restructuring the economy with opportunities for the foreign investor.

Mr Lee Tae-Yul, Deputy Minister of Construction and leader of the delegation noted that several South Korean companies are working in Ghana.

The delegation is in the country to explore more areas of bilateral and economic investment and pledged South Korea's support for Ghana.

Mr Seung Moo Park, South Korean Ambassador in Ghana, said the visit of the delegation is to promote more business relations between the two countries.

Wa (Upper West) 30 March 

Heavy-duty vehicles accounted for most of the accidents in which lives were lost in the Upper West region last year.

The region recorded 108 motor accidents during the period with 25 deaths, 19 of them involving heavy-duty vehicles.

These figures, were given by Mr Seth Adenu, Upper West regional police commander, during the launching of this year's Easter road safety campaign in Wa on the theme "Be seen, Be alive"

He said 100 others received critical injuries with heavy-duty vehicles accounting for 58 of them.

Mr Adenu who is also chairman of the regional road safety committee called on the people to abide by road safety regulations to avoid accidents and the loss of lives.

Mr David Osei-Wusu, the regional minister, said the government is looking for funds for the reconstruction of the Bole-Bamboi road.

Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 30 March

A major obstacle to the success of the Vision 2020 programme is the high rate of illiteracy in the country, Mr Larbi Siaw, an elder of the Lutheran Church in Ghana, has observed.

He said the programme could be successful if the rate of illiteracy is reduced to enable majority of Ghanaians to contribute to socio-economic development.

At the inauguration of a 75-member literacy class made up of 50 women and 25 men of the Kwadaso Estate branch of the church in Kumasi last Sunday, he said "to achieve the objective of the Vision 2020 Programme, there is the need to ensure that every Ghanaian is literate to contribute towards socio-economic development".

The class is under the Non-Formal Education Division of the Ministry of Education.

Mr Siaw asked facilitators of the NFED to be dedicated and try to satisfy the special needs of the adult learners.

Bolgatanga (Upper West) 30 March  

Muslims in Bolgatanga observed Eid-Ul-Adha on Sunday instead of Saturday, March 27.

The delay was due to an attack on the home of the Upper East Regional Chief Imam, Alhaji Yussif Adam, on Friday night by a group of men. Some members of the Chief Imam's family were injured in the attack.

In a sermon after prayers to mark the celebration, Alhaji Adam asked Muslims to be guided by the commandments of Allah, the Quran and the tradition of the Prophet Mohammed.

He called for love, unity and understanding among Muslims and prayed for the peace and prosperity of the country

 Ho (Volta Region) 30 Mar

The Danish government's support to priority sectors of the Ghanaian economy since 1991 stands at 40 million dollars with good prospects for further support.

Mr Fred Pappoe, Programme Officer of the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), said since 1991 the Danish government has been involved in sectors such as health, water and sanitation, transport, energy and anti-corruption initiatives.

Mr Pappoe disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency at Ho last Friday at the closing session of a preparatory workshop for key personnel of the 12 district assemblies in the Volta region.

The Ghana and Danish governments are about to conclude an agreement for a five year capacity building programme at the National, Regional, District and sub-district levels.

Mr Pappoe said all the 17 districts in the Upper West region and 12 in the Volta region will benefit from the programme.

He said the programme will create an economic fund with women as the targets in addition to promoting collaboration between the recipient district assemblies and the civil society.

The workshop which is a follow-up to a successful one year pilot programme in selected districts in the Volta and Upper West regions is to provide opportunity for sharing ideas with stakeholders to ensure that maximum benefits are obtained from the programme.

Mr Pappoe said the Danish Embassy will require beneficiary districts to carry out their obligations towards the implementation of the programme by providing the Human, financial and other material resources that will be required of them.

Accra (Greater Accra) 30 March

Studies in recent years have shown a change in eating habits of many Ghanaians, especially those in urban areas.

The shift is from consumption of fresh local foods to high-fat processed foods rich, in sugar, salt and chemical preservatives.

Some of these processed foods are canned imported fruit drinks and meat, hamburger, fried rice and fried turkey tail that are high in saturated fat.

Evidence shows that most of these foods have health implications and are associated with diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart attack and other cardio vascular diseases, Dr Anna Lartey, of the Department of Nutrition and Food Science of the University of Ghana, said.

She told the GNA in Accra that there has not been any large-scale data on the eating habits of Ghanaians over the years because of the cost and time involved in such an exercise.

"However, isolated studies have shown an increase in preference for these high-fat foods because of improved economic status, lack of knowledge of the nutritional qualities of these foods and the false conception that imported foods and drinks are of better quality."

Dr Lartey noted that these foods are very convenient to buy off the streets since "our typical local dishes such as ampesi, nkontomire or fufu and palm nut soup take longer to prepare".

She said studies have shown that poverty has been affecting the nutritional status of folks in rural areas where changes in eating habits may be going on slowly.

Touching on some local diets, Dr Lartey said brown rice is more nutritious than imported polished rice and green leafy vegetables and local fruits provide the fibre needed for the body.

She said when vitamin C in local fresh fruits is taken together with the typical Ghanaian diets they absorb the iron in the food directly to promote good health.

Local cowpea has a lot of fibre that provides lower cholesterol effect on the body.

"Our local dishes are nutritious but there is a need for variety in the dishes served. Meals which provide a variety of foods are likely to give all members of the family enough energy and nutrients."

Mrs Evelyn Lamptey, a nutrition officer at the Nutrition Unit of the Ministry of Health, noted that spices are only "taste enhancers" saying that most of them contain chemicals with little or no nutritional value.

"Our local dawadawa, for example, contains a lot of protein but most people prefer to use these imported spices." Mrs Lamptey said spices such as Royco and Maggi cube may be better depending on their protein base and leaf contents. "If dawadawa could be made more presentable and the smell made more appealing it could serve as a better alternative."

On street foods and fast foods, Mrs Lamptey said these have become convenient means of eating but most of the time their nutritional quality is sacrificed for profit. Mrs Lamptey noted that most food vendors and chop bar operators would rather go in for stale vegetables to prepare meals. In addition to the fact that there is over-cooking, "Some of the ingredients used to prepare meals such as groundnut paste and kokonte powder are usually adulterated."

Mrs Lamptey said nutritious food means everybody takes in a balanced meal made up of proteins, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins. She said for a family meal of fufu, kenkey, T.Z. or akple, there should be foods from other groups like legumes, vegetables, particularly leafy vegetables, fruits, fish, meat, poultry and fatty foods such as palm oil and groundnut.

Dieticians point out that diet and lifestyle-related disorders are increasing. Improving the diet, taking appropriate exercises, drinking less alcoholic beverages, not smoking and not abusing drugs help to prevent most of these disorders, she added.

 Accra (Greater Accra) 30 March

A national forum on the protection of the rights of broadcasting organisations opened in Accra on Tuesday to review existing laws governing broadcasters.

Organised by the Copyright Office in collaboration with public and private broadcasting organisations, the forum will send its recommendations to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in Geneva.

The recommendations will assist WIPO, which is the UN agency on intellectual property matters, to upgrade and update existing broadcasting rights established 36 years ago at the Rome convention.

The forum, which is organised under the auspices of the National Commission on Culture, is being attended by about 50 broadcasters from the Greater Accra Region. They will discuss various aspects of broadcasting and the problems associated with it.

 Nana Akuoko Sarpong, Chairman of the National Commission on Culture, said there is need for enhanced protection for the rights of broadcasters in the face of the rapid development in information, communications and multi-media techniques which have driven the world to a digital age.

Nana Akuoko Sarpong recounted various changes and technological advancements in broadcasting since the 1961 convention which was silent on satellites, digital technology or the internet.

At that time, he said, broadcasting was very expensive and there was not too much risk of piracy. The situation has, however, changed and the forum will provide opportunity to reconsider international standards on the protection of the rights of broadcasters.

He urged the Copyright Administration to continue with its initiatives in ensuring that Ghana plays its required role, both locally and internationally, in the protection of creators and inventors in the copyright sector.

Cdr Pius Griffiths,(rtd )Deputy Minister of Communications, said the current world-wide electronic transmission systems calls for a total review of existing regulations as far as broadcasting is concerned.

He said in Ghana, for example, section 37 of PNDC law 110 grants exclusive rights to broadcasting organisations, but modern developments have made those rights woefully inadequate.

Mr Bernard K. Bosumprah, Acting Copyright Administrator, said to sustain the phenomenal breakthroughs in broadcasting and communication technologies, there must be an equitable share of the fruits of growth and development among all key players.

Suhum (Eastern Region) 30 March

Inhabitants of Teacher Mante, a farming community near Suhum in the Suhum-Kraboa Coaltar district today launched a five year development plan involving 200 million cedis to face-lift the town.

Launching the programme, Baffour Fianko-Mante the second chief of Teacher Mante said projects envisaged includes the construction of a market, digging of 10 wells and tapping electricity from Nsawam to the town.

Baffour Mante who personally donated one million cedis towards the project said the projects would be under taken through communal labour and contributions of 10,000 cedis a man 5,000 a woman, while non-resident citizens will contribute 20,000 cedis each.

The chief appealed to the Suhum Kraboa Coaltar district assembly and non-governmental organisation to come to the aid of the people.

Mr Addo Odei assembly member for the area congratulated Baffour Mante for releasing land for the project and urged non-citizen of the town to come home and assist to make the programme a success.

Accra (Greater Accra) 30 March

Nineteen organisations, institutions and personalities will be honoured during this year's Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana(CIMG), annual Awards for creating Marketing awareness in the country.

This year's ceremony coincides with the 10th anniversary of the institution of the awards in 1989.

Mr Kwame Adjei-Seffah, President of CIMG announced these at a press conference in Accra on Tuesday to launch programmes for the annual marketing awards slated for June 19th.

Mr Adjei-Seffah said within 10 years, the institution has recognised the excellent performances of the various organisations and personalities.

''The awards, under the Theme: marketing the practice and prospects in the next millennium'' will be in the form of lectures and a 'Marketing day' for four top organisations to inform the public about their marketing strategies.

The organisations are the Ghana Stock Exchange, Agricultural Development bank, Ghana Breweries Limited and Mobil Ghana Limited.

The "Market Day' will be held all Wednesdays in April and a ''What-do-you-know contest as part of the activities.

The celebration will be in two categories. The first comprises special awards to organisations and individuals who have contributed immensely to the growth of the institute of marketing, won the awards on three occasions within the past 10 years and created excitement in the industry over the same period.

Mr Adjei-Seffah said the second category will be personalities who excelled in marketing in 1998. These are marketing man, woman, student, marketing oriented organisation, marketing product (general), marketing product alcoholic, and industrial company, all of the year.

Others are agro-based company, bank, insurance company, petroleum company, super market, motor firm and airline of the year. The rest are out-door advert, print media, T.V. advert, radio/t.v. programme and ''chop bar'' of the year.