Busia's administration did not sell SOEs to
members
Accra
(Greater Accra) 9 March 2000
The
New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Wednesday said the Busia government did not sell
state enterprises to its members to enrich themselves.
It
is rather the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government that has, under the
Divestiture Implementation Programme, sold State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs)
"to members and financiers of the NDC or their proxies at give-away
prices".
This was contained in a statement issued
in Accra and signed by Mr Samuel Odoi-Sykes, National Chairman of the NPP.
The
statement alleged that President Rawlings had used an NDC rally held at
Bolgatanga recently to criticise the NPP and its Presidential Candidate Mr John
A. Kufuor and "screamed contempt and insults on the NPP".
The statement said President Rawlings
declared at Bolgatanga that "the NPP is richer than the NDC because during
Busia's administration, they (NPP) were able to sell state enterprises to
themselves and they grew richer."
The party described the statement as
"false and completely unfounded".
The
NPP called for the substantiation of the statement with facts and figures.
It further asked for the publication of
state assets divested so far by the government for the information of the
general public.
The party said it is determined not to
trade insults with the President and the NDC or any party and gave the
assurance that the NPP would conduct its campaigns with dignity and decency.
"We
are convinced that threats and insults do not gain votes", the statement
further said.
The NPP urged the leadership of the NDC to
refrain from insulting the opposition and the private media.
GRi../
Accra
(Greater Accra) 9 March 2000
President
Jerry John Rawlings on Wednesday painted a bright picture of chieftaincy and
said stools and skins are now being occupied by persons of high calibre.
He
said once upon a time people were using either money or political connections
to get installed or enskinned as chiefs but things are beginning to change for
the better. "If this trend continues Ghana will continue to be peaceful
and stable, thus enhancing development."
The President said this when Osagyefuo
Agyemang Badu II, Dormaahene, called on him at the Castle.
Osagyefuo
Agyemang Badu, accompanied by the Queenmother, Nana Akosua Fremaa, and some of
his paramount chiefs, called to be introduced to the President and to thank him
for the role government played during the death of his predecessor Osagyefuo
Agyemang Badu I, two years ago.
President Rawlings said if a wrong person
is made to succeed a chief, the community is affected and disputes crop up
leading to prolonged conflicts which retard development.
He commended the kingmakers of Dormaa for
promptly installing a chief. "It is to your credit that you installed a
man of his calibre. If all kingmakers had done it this way we would not have
been having disputes."
President Rawlings said the government
has confidence in the ability of chiefs as focal points of authority in their
communities. Therefore, they should play active roles in the execution of
projects in their communities.
"Do
not wait for government officials to come down and ask why. Take on the
contractors."
"It is your responsibility as well
as ours to ensure that the right thing is done. As a government we have a
vision but this vision cannot be fulfilled by us alone."
President Rawlings spoke about the late
Dormaahene and said he was a man of great wisdom. "You will be doing him
injustice if you do not continue from where he left off."
Mr
Isaac Adjei-Mensah, Minister of Works and Housing, Mrs Cecilia Johnson,
Minister of Employment and Social Welfare and Lt-Col E.K.T. Donkor, Minister of
Defence, who are all citizens of Brong Ahafo, paid tribute to the late
Dormaahene and said he was humble and a man of peace.
Osagyefuo Agyemang Badu said the government
has provided Dormaa with facilities such as good roads, electricity and water.
"We are indeed grateful for all that you have done for Dormaa."
He
said he and his people are aware of the economic problems facing the country as
a result of falling commodity prices on the world market and high oil price.
"When
things improve in the future, we are appealing to the government to tar the
road from Dormaa to Gonokrom."
GRi../
Accra
(Greater Accra) 9 March 2000
A
cross-section of women in Accra on Wednesday called on the government to deal
drastically with irresponsible fathers, who abuse and leave the burden of child
upbringing to women.
The
women, who are mostly single parents, decried the hardships brought on them
when men refuse to take their responsibilities as husbands and fathers.
Speaking
to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on their views about the awareness of
International Women's day, which fell on Wednesday, the women blamed the
government for the falling standard of education in public schools and urged it
to put education on the top of its agenda.
They
noted that although the quality of education in the private basic schools is
high, it is expensive.
They
said the government should revert to the old system of education instead of the
present Junior Secondary School system which cuts down on the number of years
in school, de-emphasises rigid academic work and promotes vocational work.
Mrs
Gifty Anin-Botwe, Commanding Officer of the Women and Juvenile Unit (WAJU) of
the Police Service reiterated the need for women to rise up to the challenge
posed by fight for equality.
She urged women to open up to their
children and dependants so that they could also open up to them saying that in
so doing they can break the myth surrounding men and society.
Miss Sophia Neequaye, a trader at the
Tema station, said a lot of women end up in mental homes due to broken
marriages and violence meted out to them by men.
"If men should live up to their
responsibilities, women will not abandon their children in gutters and on
refuse dumps. They do so because they cannot make ends meet. No mother will be
so inhuman to do that if she is of good standing."
Miss Amy Lamptey, a student of Accra
Girls Secondary School, congratulated women for having come this far to
celebrate their day and implored them to include God in everything they do.
Mrs Constance Adjepong, a caterer, said
there is the need for women to be well educated to know their rights and be
firm to compete with men.
Miss Gifty Addy of the Registrar General
Department (RGD) advised men not to compete with women, but rather give them
all the support they need. This is because when a woman makes a mark in society
the glory goes to her husband as
she
carries the man's family name.
Ms Clementine Akins, a student of the
University of Ghana, called on younger women to take their time before entering
into marriage, take family planning seriously and beware of AIDS.
"Women should unite and fight for
their rights, stand up against violence and see themselves as partners in
nation building," said Mary Tetteh-Ashong, a senior executive officer.
GRi./
Techiman (Brong Ahafo) 9 March 2000
The
Techiman constituency branch of the United Ghana Movement (UGM) has held its
delegates' conference to elect its executives to steer the affairs of the
party.
All the constituency office holders, with
the exception of the Secretary, were returned unopposed.
They
are Mr Boye Sowah, Chairman, Mr Alexis Nyarba, Vice-chairman, Mr D.C. Kofi,
Treasurer, and Mr Oman Abudulai, Youth Organiser.
Mr Ali Atakorah polled 46 votes as
against 10 by his challenger Thomas Atta Fosu to become the new Secretary of
the party.
Officials from the National Electoral
Commission supervised the elections.
The
Brong Ahafo Regional Co-ordinator of the party, Mr Atta Fuseini, asked
Ghanaians to vote the NDC out of power during the forthcoming elections.
The
NDC's mismanagement of the economy had contributed immensely to the
impoverishment of Ghanaians and does not deserve to rule the country again.
Mr Fuseini was optimistic that the UGM
would win the December general elections and called on its members to intensify
their campaign to convert more people to the party.
GRi../
Accra (Greater Accra) 9 March 2000
Mr
Ekow Awoonor, one of the newly appointed Executive Directors of Ashanti
Goldfields Company (AGC), on Wednesday denied that he had resigned from his
post.
He
said some people thought a 'regrettable incident' some 24 years ago would cause
his resignation from the board, adding: "I have moved on and all that is
behind me now".
Mr Awoonor was reacting to a JOY FM story
carried by an Accra Weekly that said he had resigned from the AGC Board on the
grounds that he was arrested 24 years ago in the United States for possessing a
banned substance.
He called that event 'a regrettable
incident' that saw him being fined 25 dollars, saying: "the effect of that
fine shows the severity of the crime".
The incident does not have any relevance to
my present state, he said stressing that the Ashanti Board is at a critical
juncture trying to find a means of making the company more
marketable.
"Now that the board is more
independent, we have to put last October's problems behind us and ensure that
we get an increased value for our shareholders."
GRi../
Somanya
(Eastern Region) 9 March 2000
The
New Patriotic Party (NPP) has criticised the decision of the Electoral
Commission (EC) to allow voters without identification (ID) cards to vote in
this year's general elections.
It
explained that since all registered voters would be issued with ID cards,
allowing any person to vote merely because of a name in the register, could
lead to vote rigging through the use of "ghost" names.
The
Eastern Regional Chairman of the NPP, Nana Adi Ankrah, said these when he
addressed the Yilo Krobo Constituency delegates' conference of the party on
Sunday at Somanya.
He made it clear that the NPP "will
resist any attempt by the EC to carry out its intentions since the British
government had donated the necessary facilities for the provision of all voters
with photo ID cards".
Nana Ankrah said the party demands that
any district chief executive who wishes to stand as a parliamentary candidate
should resign immediately, adding that the party would check against the use of
the assembly machinery to promote the electioneering campaign of the National
Democratic Congress.
He asked Ghanaians to make themselves
available for counting during the forthcoming national population and housing
census and also show interest in the registration exercise to ensure the
compilation of a credible voters register.
Nana Ankrah referred to the governments
of Zimbabwe which lost a referendum and Senegal, which lost at the first round
of voting in general elections this year, and said: "the NPP will likewise
remove the incumbent NDC from power through the ballot box in the December
elections".
He later swore in an 11-member elected
constituency executive under the chairmanship of Mr N.K. Addai.
Among those present at the meeting were
the MP for Koforidua, Mr Yaw Barimah, Mr Seth Ahyia, Regional Secretary,
Sub-Lieutenant Christian Tetteh, First Regional Vice-chairman, and Mr Alecs
Agobo, Regional Organiser.
GRi../
Accra (Greater Accra) 9 March 2000
In
spite of Government's constitutional and institutional measures to promote the
rights of women, many obstacles to their welfare still remain, an Alternative
Report to the Beijing Platform for Action (PFA) said on Wednesday.
The
Report, prepared by women NGOs as an assessment of Government's performance in
implementing the (PFA), was out-doored at a consultative meeting of the Network
for Women's Rights (NETRIGHT) in Accra.
The 23-page report touched on four of the
seven areas of concern being addressed by Ghana. The three other areas,
education, poverty and employment, were left out because no organisation
working in those areas was available during compilation.
The four areas are Health and
environment, violence, peace and human rights, power sharing and decision
making and institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women.
Ms Akua Biritwum, a Research Fellow at
the Centre for Development Studies, University of Cape Coast, presented the
Report.
She said, even though, there has been an
increase in the number health posts countrywide and the introduction of
post-abortion care at antenatal clinics, services are still fragmented and most
of the posts are understaffed.
The Ministry of Health is also yet to
provide gender training for health workers while maternal mortality is still
rising.
While Ghana is a signatory to
international treaties on human rights, it is yet to ratify others like the
International Covenants on Civil, Economic and Social Rights.
"Discriminatory practices against
women still remain, even in areas with legislation against that, while agencies
that promote and protect human rights do not have resources and are limited in
what they can do."
Ms Biritwum said that despite an
amendment to the Criminal Code in favour of women, the laws are too weak and
inconsistent without any mechanism to monitor its impact.
She said an institutional mechanism for
women like the National Council for Women and Development (NCWD) lacks enough
legal backing while at the same time it competes for resources with the 31st
December Women's Movement.
The Report recommended, among other things,
that Government should commit
adequate
resources to the National PFA while the NCWD should address questions about its
neutrality by reviewing its relationship with the 31st DWM.
GRi../
Tema (Greater Accra) 9 March 2000
The
Tema Community One Police is investigating how a "Mallam" allegedly
dumped two pythons in the room of a 36 year man at site 19, Tema to force him
to quit the room, which the Mallam claimed he had bought.
For
over one month, Fiifi Morison, a Storekeeper of Enyidado Fisheries Limited was
believed to have unknowingly slept with the snakes in his room until they were
killed on Sunday 5 March and Tuesday 7 March.
Mr Morison told the Police he suspects
Alhaji Abubakar Utmah, the Mallam, because during a quarrel over the room, he
threatened him that he would receive two strange visitors, that would force him
to vacate the room.
The
Police invited Utmah for questioning on Tuesday and granted him a Police
enquiry bail pending further investigations.
GRi../