Government,
ILO sign memorandum on child labour
Rawlings:
Fight against corruption is not for government alone
This
millennium belongs to Africa - Mahama
Media
Commission settles complaints against editors
Centenary
celebrations of Yaa Asantewaa to be launched
Aboadze
thermal plant gets additional 110 MW
Accra (Greater Accra), 2 March 2000
The
Government and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on Wednesday signed
a Memorandum of Understanding to launch the International Programme for the
Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) in Ghana.
The IPEC programme is aimed at
actualising some areas of concern of the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
which Ghana was the first country to ratify, and the passage of the 1998
Children's Act (560).
Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni, Minister of
Employment and Social Welfare, signed on behalf of the government and Mr
Cornelius Dzakpasu, Director, ILO Area Office for Ghana and Nigeria, signed on
behalf of ILO.
The programme is being supported with
funds from the United States government.
Alhaji Mumuni said the programme is aimed
at creating awareness in the country and awakening the consciousness of the
public to consider the gravity of child labour and its effects on children.
He said the worst forms of child labour
could lead to the production of an underclass population that could reduce the
human resource capacity of any country.
"It is against this backdrop that
the ILO at its annual conference last year adopted Convention 182 that aims at
the elimination of the worst forms of child labour in the world."
Alhaji Mumuni said with the
implementation of the programme, many parents in Ghana are expected to benefit
by way of capacity building and income generation while about 2,000 children
would be removed from hazardous work situations and enrolled in schools by the
end of the three-year programme.
The Minister said about 13 per cent of
children between the ages five and 15 years are involved in child labour in
Ghana.
He said while this is a clear
manifestation of poverty, in some cases it is a result of putting emphasis on
wrong traditional values, where children are expected to supplement the incomes
of the families.
"This is a complex phenomenon, which
has to be handled with caution," he said, adding that the issue of child
labour with its complexity cannot be dealt with over night.
Its solution, he said, would take a
multi-faceted and multi-sectoral approach.
The strategies would be withdrawing
children from exploitative and hazardous work, providing them and their
families with viable alternatives and improving working conditions of children
as a first and transitional step towards the elimination of child labour.
Mr Dzakpasu said available information
indicates that new forms of child labour, like prostitution and the trafficking
of children are gradually emerging in the country and in the sub-region as a
whole.
He said there is nothing wrong with the
child working, which often is part of the growing up process and contributing
to family welfare.
"Child work becomes child labour
when the work affects the child's health, morality or ability to learn or go to
school. This is what the ILO wishes to prevent in partnership with all relevant
stakeholders through the IPEC programme."
Mr. Dzakpasu said IPEC would provide
support for the collection, analysis, issue and dissemination of quantitative
and qualitative data on child labour.
Awareness of the problem would also be
created nation-wide and direct support provided to child workers and their
immediate families to demonstrate that it is possible to prevent them from
entering the workforce prematurely.
Dr Omar Abdi, UNICEF representative in
Ghana, said although child labour was one of the first issues addressed by the
international community, resulting in the ILO's 1919 minimum age convention,
the problems have still persisted to the 21st century.
He called for all stockholders to join
hands to eliminate child labour from the world this century.
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Accra (Greater Accra), 2 March 2000
President
Jerry John Rawlings on Wednesday spoke out against corruption and said there
are people, who want to introduce the "culture of corruption" into
the society and called for a fight against it.
He said the fight against corruption
should not be left to the government alone. "It is a responsibility we all
share".
The President said this when he granted
audience to Nana Okumdom II, Paramount Chief of Sefwi Wiawso Traditional Area,
at the Castle, Osu.
Nana Okumdom, accompanied by some of his
divisional chiefs, called to thank President Rawlings for the role he played
during the death and burial of his predecessor, Nana Kwadwo Aduhene, who died
three years ago.
Sefwi Wiawso tradition restrains the
Paramount Chief from travelling until three years after his installation. Thus,
his call on President Rawlings was also to enable the elders to introduce him
to the President as the new Omanhene of Sefwi Wiawso Traditional Area.
President Rawlings said in exposing and
dealing with corruption, facts must be separated from fiction and care must be
taken to avoid destroying the good image of people, whether in public or
private life.
He condemned sections of the media who
only ridicule people in public office and
expressed his displeasure at a newspaper has resorted to calling the
Vice-President names.
President Rawlings said the late Nana
Aduhene was a man of stature, who promoted peace and stability in Sefwi Wiawso
and urged the new chief to follow in his predecessor's footsteps.
He said party political activities might
bring in their wake problems as the different parties try to outdo each other
and asked the people to resolve any misunderstanding between promptly.
"If there are any of such problems,
sort them out as quickly as possible. Sometimes party politics causes divisions.
Pay particular attention to this year."
Mrs Lily Nkansah, Western Region
Minister, blamed the youth of Sefwi Wiawso for the delay in the rehabilitation
of the town's roads.
She said when contractors were asked to
submit bids for the project, the youth of the town insisted that the contract
should be awarded to Francesco and Partners although the bid it submitted was
the highest.
"The voice of the youth prevailed
and the contract was awarded to the company in June last year."
The company then demanded that before it
started work the government should pay it the arrears it owed it from a
previous work done and when the government could not meet their demand, the
abandoned the Sefwi Wiawso town roads contract.
Mrs Nkansah appealed to the chiefs to
assist the government to protect forest reserves in the Western Region.
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Accra (Greater Accra), 2 March 2000
President
Jerry John Rawlings on Wednesday praised the role of the private sector in
assisting the government to finance education and said more is expected from
them.
He said the private sector is the direct
beneficiary of products of institutions of higher learning and it is, therefore,
proper that private industry contributes to sustaining it. education.
The President said this when Professor A.
S. Ayim was introduced to him as the new Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah
University of Science and Technology, Kumasi.
Nana Adu Gyamfi Ampem, Chairman of the
University Council did the introduction.
President Rawlings said he was not
unaware of the intrigues that went on before Prof. Ayim's election and asked
lecturers to stop playing politics in the universities.
"The universities do not belong to
the areas they are located. They belong to the nation."
He said certain individuals, having
failed in politics have gone back to the universities and are using them as
platforms to pour scorn on the government, "taking advantage of the
dynamism of students."
"They devote much time to hacking at
the government and do not use sound arguments. We expect them to approach
issues in a balanced manner."
Mr Nathan Quao, an Adviser to the
President, recalled the instability that preceded Prof. Ayim's election and
told him "to show magnanimity. Let the past be buried."
Prof. Ayim, an expert in Pharmaceutical
Chemistry, said he would work hard to ensure that KNUST achieves the vision of
its founding fathers.
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Accra (Greater Accra), 2 March 2000
The Government has withdrawn its recognition
of the Ghana United Nations Association (GUNA) until proper steps are taken to
reorganise it.
This is to prevent the
Secretary-General, Mr. Mike Awua Asamoa, or any member of the present executive
from using the current recognition of the Association to dupe the public.
This was part of recommendations of a
three-man Committee of Inquiry that have been accepted by the Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Mr James Victor Gbeho.
The committee was set up last year
following a number of reports the Ministry received from individuals and
groups, including the La branch of GUNA, which accused Mr Asamoa of fraud and
lack of accountability.
A statement issued by the Ministry on
Tuesday said the alleged cases of visa racketeering the sale of interior
products and all cases of misconduct should be referred to the Bureau of
National Investigations for further investigation.
"Until its status is clarified, GUNA
should be denied the use of the State House offices."
It said steps would be taken to re-possess
the bungalow occupied by the Secretary-general within three months and legal
proceedings would be instituted against culprits, where grounds exist.
The Committee established that Mr. Asamoa
used the name of GUNA to acquire visas for a fee and contrary to the
constitution of GUNA, there have not been elections since 1972.
It found that the Mr. Asamoa used his
connections to infringe on the rights of those who disagree with him.
The Committee was charged to investigate
the organisation and structure of GUNA, its methods of operation and level of
transparency and effectiveness.
It was also to investigate the management
of finances, particularly the use of donations from international and other
non-governmental organisations.
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Accra (Greater Accra), 2 March 2000
This
millennium belongs to Africa because its resources remain largely untapped
compared to the developed countries, Mr. John Mahama, Minister of
Communications, said in Accra on Wednesday.
He said developed countries have come
this far not only because of their human resources but also out of immense
external investment.
Mr. Mahama was speaking at the launch of
commemorative stamps bearing pictures of Ghana's first President, Osagyefo Dr
Kwame Nkrumah, the University
of Ghana,
and the Millennium logo.
The launch of the stamps forms part of
Ghana's Millennium celebrations under the theme "Peace and development in
a sustainable environment."
The logo depicts the globe encircled in
red and yellow against a deep green background, with five white doves flying
from the centre of the world towards the five continents bearing a message of
peace, that is signified by olive branches in their beaks.
The stamps are meant to bring home to the
world the need for peace, tolerance, fairness and compassion to all,
"irrespective of colour, race, gender, status, life-styles, religion and
other beliefs."
Mr Kofi Sekyiamah, Director of the Information Services Department, said stamps are effective tools for communication and thus would be effective in portraying far and wide, the theme of the celebration.
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Media Commission settles complaints against editors
Accra (Greater Accra), March 2000
The
National Media Commission said on Wednesday that it has settled complaints
against publishers and editors of three newspapers, The Crusading Guide, The
Evening News and The Guide.
A statement signed by Mr Tim
Acquah-Hayford, Chairman of NMC, in Accra said the complaints involved the
First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings against the Crusading Guide and the
Managing Director of GIHOC Distilleries, Ms Sherry Ayittey against the Evening
News.
"It was agreed that the editors
would retract the offensive publications and where applicable, render
unqualified apologies to the complainants."
The statement said the complaint against
the Crusading Guide by Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings was over a publication in
the paper's edition of 14-20 September 1999, headlined "The first family
first sampled the Presidential Jet."
The statement said Nana Konadu denied
that she and her family used the jet.
According to the statement the
Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper, Mr Kweku Baako Jnr, agreed that he could not
authenticate whether the First Lady travelled on the jet with her children.
He further agreed that the heading of the
story was false and offered to retract the said story.
The statement said in the case of the
Evening News, Ms Ayittey complained about a letter carried in the paper
headlined "Sherry Ayittey speaks out" which was carried in its
edition of Monday, December 6, 1999, the content of which was uncomplimentary
to her and her company.
It said the Acting Editor of the Evening
News, Mr Gayheart Edem Mensah apologised for the publication which, he agreed,
was uncomplimentary.
He promised that the paper would be more
circumspect in the future and appealed to Ms Ayittey to take the apology in
good faith.
The statement further said that Mr Kwesi
Biney, Editor of the Guide, whose paper carried the same letter, agreed that it
sought to cast aspersions on the performance of GIHOC Distilleries and its
Chiefs Executive, Ms Ayittey.
He said since the publication, the paper
has realised that some of the issues raised are before a court of competent
jurisdiction.
Mr Biney accordingly agreed to retract
the letter and render "a very sincere and unqualified apology to Ms
Ayittey in respect of any offending material" in the belief that the
apology and retraction would be taken in good faith.
The statement said the NMC directed that
apart from the statement on the settlements, where agreed, each of the editors
must render their apologies prominently to the complainants.
They must also ensure that in future the
complainants are contacted on the issue that come to their knowledge to enable
them to give their side of the story before publication.
The Chairman of the NMC commended the
complainants and the editors for using the complaint settlement process of the
Commission.
He appealed to the media organisations,
which are brought before the Commission, to show commitment and demonstrate
respect and good faith to give meaning to its decisions so that the media would
be free, independent and responsible.
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Kumasi (Ashanti), 2 March 2000
The
Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II will on March 14 launch the centenary
celebrations of Yaa Asantewaa at the Manhyia Palace to mark the official
beginning of the celebrations.
The theme of the celebrations is
"Yaa Asantewaa - celebrating the heroism of an African woman".
According to a programme announced by the
Yaa Asantewaa Centenary Planning Committee in Kumasi, the press launch will
herald activities including a mock battle at the military museum, mock the
arrest of Yaa Asantewaa and the unveiling of a heroic statue of Yaa Asantewaa.
There will also be a durbar of
Queenmothers and excursions to places of historical interest connected with
Nana Yaa Asantewaa.
In 1900, Yaa Asantewaa, queenmother of
Ejisu, mobilised the people and fought against the British after the latter had
defeated the Asantes and exiled their King.
Yaa Asantewaa was subsequently exiled to
the Seychelles where she died.
The celebrations are meant to honour her
bravery.
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Accra (Greater Accra), 2 March 2000
Work on the
third unit (combustion turbine) of the Aboadze Thermal Plant has been
completed.
This unit will add an additional 110-mega
watts of power to the 330-mega watts of the Aboadze Thermal Plant to boost
power generation in the country.
A source at the Volta River Authority
(VRA), who disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at the VRA stand at
the on-going seventh Ghana International Trade Fair in Accra on Wednesday, said
that this would increase the power generation of the Plant to 440 mega watts.
The source said the unit is currently
undergoing a test run to assess its efficiency, adding that the new unit would
be available for commercial operations by the middle of the month.
On the proposed Bui Dam project, the
source said a consortium of consultants led by Brown and Ruth have signed a
memorandum of understanding with the government to undertake feasibility and
environmental impact studies.
It said so far not much has been achieved
on the funding for the project.
The source, however, expressed confidence
that within five to six years the Bui Dam would become a reality.
It said that the retrofitting of the
turbines of the Akosombo Plant is progressing steadily.
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Savelugu/Nanton declares war on poor sanitation.
Savelugu
(Northern Region), 2 March 2000
The
Savelugu /Nanton District Assembly has declared March 18 as general sanitation
day and appealed to all institutions and households to keep clean the
environment in order to stay healthy.
On that day, according to a programme
drawn up for the exercise, the people will do communal work to desilt gutters,
clear the huge piles of rubbish at dumping sites, and clean their houses and
surroundings.
Alhaji Abdulai Haruna, District Chief
Executive, who met with chairmen of urban and area councils at Savelugu on
Tuesday to discuss the programme, said the day would mark the start of a
regular community action on sanitation.
He said to ensure 100 per cent
participation in the exercise, code-named "Operation SABTA 2000",
members of the district sanitation committee would go round the communities to
monitor the exercise.
The community with the cleanest
environment would receive an award but the least cleaned would be sanctioned.
Alhaji Haruna asked assembly members to
liaise with their chiefs to form sanitation task forces to make public cleaning
a permanent feature.
Mr Halceem Yahaya, Pong-Tamale Area
Council Chairman, suggested that the district assemblies organise training for
unit committee and area council members to enhance their performance.
Mr Bukari Alhassan, Chairman of Savelugu
Urban Council welcomed the assembly's initiative and said the council would
mobilise the community to participate actively.
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Ho (Volta Region), 2 March 2000
Lt. Col. Charles Agbenaza (rtd), Volta
Regional Minister has called for effective collaboration between district
assemblies and other implementing agencies of the fifth micro projects
programme in the region to ensure its success.
Col. Agbenaza said this in a speech read
for him by Captain George Kofi Nfodjo (rtd), Ho District Chief Executive, at
the launch of a 5.2 billion cedi fifth micro-project programme (MPP) for the
region at Ho on Wednesday.
The programme is a collaborative effort
between the government and the European Union (EU), and is designed to assist
and support the development of rural infrastructure such as schools, clinics,
water and sanitation, markets and housing schemes to enhance decentralisation.
The programme is also meant to accelerate
human centred development consistent with Ghana's poverty alleviation effort
and capacity building for district assemblies and rural communities, with
particular emphasis on education and the health status of women and children.
Col. Agbenaza said the programme, which is
based on grassroots participatory approach, emphasises community involvement,
ownership and maintenance of facilities.
He pledged the Volta Regional
Co-ordinating Council's support and co-operation to ensure a successful
execution of all the projects on schedule.
Dr Kwaku Osafo, Project Manager, said 2000
new projects estimated at 98 billion cedis would be tackled between year 2000
and 2003 in all the districts in the Volta, Central, Northern, Upper East and
Upper West regions and eight districts in them Ashanti region.
The projects would focus on the provision
of housing for teachers and nurses in rural areas, including the rehabilitation
and refurbishment of existing infrastructure in rural areas.
He said beneficiary communities and
district assemblies would be expected to contribute 25 per cent of the total
cost of each project in the form of labour or cash.
He called on district assemblies to ensure
the judicious application of project funds to guarantee the sustenance of the
project.
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Tebeso Number Two (Ashanti), 2 March 2000
The First
Lady and President of the 31st December Women's Movement (DWM), Nana Konadu
Agyeman Rawlings has called on Ghanaians to vote for a government which has the
welfare of women at heart.
Nana Konadu, who was speaking at a durbar organised in her honour
by the chiefs and people of Tebeso Number Two in the Amansie East district as
part of her tour of the Ashanti Region, said women are in the majority and that
their welfare should be the priority of every government.
The First Lady debunked allegations that
she compels women to join the NDC and explained that women are under no
obligation to join the NDC.
"Women
who join the party do so because of the good works of the government."
She advised the executives of the DWM to
be transparent in their dealings, have respect for their members and work hard
to improve on their living standards.
Nana Konadu said the country has come thus
far because of the government's ability to ensure peace and security as well as
good governance.
She presented plastic chairs and canopies
to the movement and urged the members to generate incomes to support their
projects and programmes.
Mrs Joana Appiah-Dwomoh, Deputy Ashanti
Regional Minister, said the breaking of the Amansie East district into three
constituencies, --Odotobri, Bosome Freho and Bekwai, is yielding fruitful
results.
She stressed that the government is
performing its responsibilities well and it needs the support of all to continue.
Mrs Appiah-Dwomoh regretted that some
people shun facilities put in place by the DWM especially its day-care centres
because they consider the movement as a wing of the NDC.
She indicated that the NDC government
does not discriminate in the sharing of development projects otherwise many
areas would have been deprived of certain basic facilities.
She urged the youth to form co-operatives
to win support from the government, stressing that "as the government
works on infrastructural developments, we should also look at the human
development aspect to complement government's efforts".
Mr Samuel Nuamah-Donkor, Ashanti Regional
Minister, reacting to a request of the chief of the town said efforts would be
made to open a clinic in the town to enhance the health delivery system.
Nana Kofi Mensah, chief of Tebeso, had
earlier appealed to the government to tar the road from Bodwesango to the town,
provide the town with a clinic and also extend electricity to the town.
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