GRi Newsreel Ghana 08 - 03 - 2001
State funeral in
honour of Victor Owusu
Four drivers
arrested for setting fire in protest of fares
Develop entrepreneurial skills - EMPRETEC
boss
NPP to pursue uncompleted NDC projects
Bawku East Assembly denies licensing
unauthorised fuel dealers
Minister says
bituminous surfacing of roads should be increased
ASWIM salutes
women on International Women's Day
Issuing of passports to be facilitated
Bad governance led to dislocation of the economy- Kufuor
Accra (Greater Accra) 08 March 2001
The Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC), a non-governmental organisation, on Wednesday said Ghana should opt for the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and mount a campaign for Structural Adjustment Programmes to be extricated from it.
The campaign will simplify procedures, speed up HIPC and result in deeper and faster debt relief for the country, Mr Charles Abugre, ISODEC Executive Director, said at a press conference in Accra.
The press conference was to state ISODEC position in the current debate on whether or not Ghana should opt for HIPC.
Mr. Abugre said Ghanaians could not run away from the fact that "we are highly indebted and extremely poor."
This is evidenced by figures that show that about 40 per cent of the average Ghanaian family of six cannot afford 7,000 cedis a day to feed and educate their children.
Mr. Abugre said: "One of the most encouraging outcomes of the public discussions is the extent to which Ghanaians value their independence and autonomy and abhor external conditionalities.
"This is healthy. Unfortunately, it is not HIPC per se which is the source of the conditionalities but the country itself has been a candidate for a host of IMF/World Bank conditionalities."
Mr. Abugre emphasised that HIPC will not negatively affect Ghana's credit rating because it is not a default mechanism. Neither is it a rescheduling mechanism nor a debt discounting mechanism.
It is more or less a buy-back mechanism where bilateral creditors and donors contribute some money and the World Bank some of its profits into a trust fund, he said.
Mr Abugre said there is no evidence that countries like Uganda who have benefited from HIPC I and II have had their credit ratings reduced.
"Rather, HIPC debt relief, especially if it is front-loaded and deep enough, acts to improve a country's risk assessment."
He said problems related with HIPC include inadequacy of debt relief effort and cumbersome and unnecessary procedures that slow the procedures.
"We should, therefore, provide positive but critical support to HIPC, underscore in particular the comprehensive approach to debt relief and the culpability of the ifs," Mr Abugre said.
He also maintained that Ghana should mount a campaign for SAP and protest Japan's call on Ghana not to join HIPC.
"We should redirect our fire on conditionalities to the IMF, the World Bank, the United States and the G7 (the world's richest countries)," the Executive Director added. HIPC, an approach to debt relief for poor countries, was established in 1996.
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State funeral in
honour of Victor Owusu
Accra (Greater Accra) 08 March
2001
The government on Wednesday
organised a state funeral for Mr Victor Kwabena Pie Ampratwum Owusu, a former
minister of state and a leading member of the Busia-Danquah tradition, who died
in London last December.
Mr Owusu, 77, a native of
Agona-Ashanti, served as Attorney General and Minister of Foreign Affairs in
both the NLC and second republican regimes. He was also one time President of
the Ghana Bar Association.
He contested the presidential election in 1979 on the ticket of the
Popular Front Party (PFP), the successor of the Progress Party led by Dr K.A.
Busia, and lost in the run-off to the late Dr Hilla Limann of the People's
National Party (PNP).
The body of Mr Owusu lay in state
in a coffin draped in the national colours at the State House in Accra as a
large number of people, filed past to pay their last respects.
They included President John
Agyekum Kufuor, Vice-President Aliu Mahama, Ministers, Service Commanders,
members of the Diplomatic Corps, chiefs, friends, sympathisers and family
members.
President Kufuor laid a wreath on
behalf of the state, Mr Samuel Odoi-Sykes, Chairman of the New Patriotic Party
(NPP), laid one on behalf of the party and Mr John Owusu Afriyie, an uncle of
Mr Owusu laid another on behalf of the family.
President Kufuor could not hold back
his emotions as he fought back tears and wiped his face with a white
handkerchief when he paid tribute to Mr Owusu whom he described as a great
patriot, a friend and a mentor under whom he started his practice as a lawyer.
"Those who knew him as a politician,
will bear testimony to the deep commitment he had to the cause of the
democratic and political development of Ghana....The calumny that was heaped on
Victor Owusu as a tribalist was particularly painful to those who knew and
worked with him."
President Kufuor said the
leadership qualities of Mr Owusu would have made him a great president had he
won the 1979 presidential run-off.
Mr Kufuor expressed
dissatisfaction about the "dishonourable manner" in which past
leaders like Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Dr Busia and Mr Owusu died whilst seeking
medical care abroad.
"Enough people have died in
strange and foreign lands; enough people have died in prison cells who should
have been properly held as role models for our young people. Let us resolve to
acknowledge the contributions of such eminent Ghanaians even as they live and
not after they have died."
There were other tributes from the
Attorney General's Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the NPP,
schoolmates and his wife, Agnes.
The Rev. Dr Emmanuel Asante,
President of the Trinity Theological Seminary, Legon, who committed the mortal
remains of Mr Owusu to the lord after a short sermon asked the mourners to be
mindful of the mortality of earthly life by striving to lead accountable
lifestyles free from all frivolities.
After the ceremony the body of Mr
Owusu was flown to Kumasi for wake-keeping and other funeral rites before
burial at Agona-Ashanti on Saturday.
Meanwhile, President Kufuor has
directed that all flags be flown at half-mast from Wednesday as a mark of
respect for the late Mr Victor Owusu, a key politician in the Danquah-Busia
tradition.
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Four drivers
arrested for setting fire in protest of fares
Cape Coast (Central Region) 08
March 2001
Cape Coast Police on Wednesday,
arrested four taxi drivers for allegedly setting fire to lorry tyres in the
middle of the road between Kotokoraba and Abura in the municipality in protest
against the 15 percent increase in lorry fares.
The four, whose names were not
disclosed, were also said to have prevented some of their colleagues from
operating because the increase is "too low".
The police said investigations
have shown that some commercial drivers are demanding 30 percent increase in
fares to enable them meet their running costs.
Mr. Reuben Yalley, vice-chairman
of the Kotokoraba local branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union
(GPRTU) when contacted, agreed with some of the drivers demanding for review of
the lorry fares.
According to him, the drivers have
complained that they were unable to make their daily sales from the current
fares.
He however, appealed to commercial
drivers in the municipality to exercise restraint while the national executive
of the union took up the matter.
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Develop entrepreneurial skills - EMPRETEC
boss
Accra (Greater Accra) 08 March 2001
The Executive Director of EMPRETEC, Dr George Manu, on Wednesday said any policy to develop technical and vocational education without attention to the development of entrepreneurial skills will not work well for the country.
Speaking on the topic: "Linking Science and Technology and Entrepreneurs" at a symposium organised by the Association of Ghana Industries as part INDUTECH exhibition fair, he attributed the weak performance of the economy to the failure to link science and technology with entrepreneurship.
"I will like to submit that the absence of these linkages in Ghana account for the low productivity in the manufacturing sector, contributing more to the country's over-reliance on a few export products," he said.
Dr Manu said if Ghana is to make meaningful progress on the economic front it will depend on how well it manages the link between science and enterpreneurship.
To promote a healthy linkage between industry and technology, he said, there is the need for government to implement policies and support measures that would ensure that raw materials are processed before export.
Dr Manu said it is also essential for the country to identify and concentrate on few priority areas, copy and adapt technology, source for long-term finance for the development of most science and technology businesses and set targets for the universities and other research institutes.
Prof. W.S. Alhassan, Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, said a strong partnership is required between the scientific community and the private sector in technology identification, development of pilot scale testing and transfer under terms that are mutually rewarding.
He said these joint initiatives would flourish if the right macro environment framework exists, adding that its absence poses a unique challenge to technology generators, users and the ruling government.
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NPP to pursue uncompleted NDC projects
Kaleo (Upper West) 08 March 2001
Mr. Sahanun Mogtari, Upper West Regional Minister on Wednesday gave the assurance that all development programmes initiated by the previous government would be completed.
He said the government would carry out these projects because of its commitment to raising the living standards of the people.
Mr. Mogtari said this when he called on Naa Banaamini Sandu II, President of the Regional House of Chiefs and Paramount Chief of the Kaleo Traditional Area at Kaleo.
The visit marked the beginning of a programme by the Regional Co-ordinating Council to introduce him to the chiefs.
The Regional Minister appealed to the Kaleo Naa and his colleagues to take steps to fill all vacant skins.
He urged them to find ways to settle all chieftaincy disputes out of court for the right occupants to assume their roles.
Out of 17 Paramountcies in the region, eight are vacant, with five being contested at chieftaincy tribunals.
Mr. Mogtari said the government would not interfere in chieftaincy issues but it would not sit by to see the peace and security of the country undermined by chieftaincy disputes.
Naa Sandu pledged his support to the government and appealed to people who are not NPP members to support the government to implement its programmes.
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Bawku East Assembly denies licensing
unauthorised fuel dealers
Bawku (Upper East) 08 March 2001
Mr. J.B. Atogiba, Bawku East District Co-ordinating Director, has dismissed as false, allegations that the district assembly issues permits to unlicensed individuals to engage in the sale of petroleum products.
The allegation was made by some Bawku-based transport owners at a meeting at Bolgatanga between the Regional Minister, Mr. Mahami Salifu and fuel dealers and transport union representatives in the region.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Bawku at the weekend, Mr. Atogiba said it would be irresponsible for the assembly to issue such permits, being aware of the problems posed by fuel smugglers in the district.
He said in line with the assembly's fee fixing resolution, a yearly levy of 100,000 cedis is collected from private businessmen and business companies including licensed fuel dealers.
"This, however, cannot be the same as giving out permits to unauthorised individuals to sell fuel", he said.
Mr. Atogiba expressed concern at the increasing rate of fuel smuggling in the area, saying whole tanker-loads of petroleum products are diverted to Bawku from other parts of the region by some illegal dealers.
"Invariably, these products find their way across the border under cover of darkness," he added.
He said although the police and airborne force mount occasional swoops and impound petrol from unlicensed wayside dealers in the Bawku township, the sale of fuel by unauthorised persons still continues.
He stressed the need for the security agencies to monitor fuel tankers going to the Bawku area to ensure that they are consigned to licensed dealers.
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Minister says
bituminous surfacing of roads should be increased
Accra (Greater Accra) 08 March
2001
The Minister of Roads and
Highways, Mr K. Adjei-Darko has said a conscious effort should be made to
increase the bituminous surfacing of unpaved roads that carry heavy traffic.
He said the Department of Urban
Roads (DUR) should also intensify the surface dressing of roads in the
municipal, metropolitan and urban roads.
This was contained in a speech he
delivered at a two-day seminar for management staff of the Department of Feeder
Roads (DFR) in Accra on February 28 and March 1, but released to the press on
Wednesday.
Mr Adjei-Darko said the DFR should
be made responsible for the surface dressing of roads and streets in towns and
villages.
"Cost effective strategies
should be adopted for the regular maintenance of unpaved roads to make them
less rough and more motor-able during wet seasons," he said.
The minister directed that
specifications for gravelling of roads under rehabilitation and re-gravelling
of unpaved roads should be reviewed to ensure that gravel is placed only on
road sections that require strengthening.
"More emphasis should be
placed on sectional gravelling rather than gravelling whole lengths of
roads."
He said more contractors, both
capital based and labour based, should be trained in the new surface dressing
technology adopted by the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) so as to increase the
capacity of contractors for bituminous surfacing.
Mr Adjei-Darko also directed that
monitoring officers of the ministry and head offices of the agencies should
ensure that staff at the regional and district offices gravel only road
sections that require strengthening.
"More emphasis should be
placed on the improvement of all classes of roads to ensure that they are
all-weather motor-able.
The minister said statistics show
that the total length of roads classified or recognised by the three road
agencies - the GHA, DUR and DFR - is about 40,500 kilometres. This excludes
about 5,500 kilometres of tracks in the rural areas and 500 kilometres of
tracks and un-engineered streets in the metropolitan, municipal and urban
areas.
The statistics say there are many
streets in towns and villages for which no reliable inventory records have been
compiled.
Mr Adjei-Darko said the GHA has
also identified about 985 kilometres of "vital missing links" in the
trunk roads network.
The total length of classified
paved roads is about 8,170 kilometres and the total length of classified
unpaved road is about 32,330 kilometres.
He said only two per cent of
feeder roads are paved and the percentage is even smaller if the unclassified
tracks are included in the road portfolio.
The percentage of paved roads is
only about 20.
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ASWIM salutes
women on International Women's Day
Accra (Greater Accra) 08 March
2001
The Association of Women in the Media
(ASWIM) on Wednesday said it welcomes the creation of the Ministry of Women's
Affairs and urged the Ministry to help improve the quality of life of women by
promoting their human rights.
ASWIM also urged the Ministry to
start the process of formulating a gender policy as soon as possible by
consulting the people, including women in the rural areas.
This was contained in a statement
signed by Ms Abla Fiadjoe, President of
ASWIM to salute Ghanaian women on the occasion of International Women's Day
which, falls on Thursday, March 8.
It further called on the
government to assuage the fears of those who oppose the establishment of the
Ministry by appointing the right calibre of staff and also provide it with
adequate resources.
"We recognise that no effort
to deal with restrictions in women's advancement can bear significant results
if women do not have public voice and visibility.
"We therefore call on the
media to take a second look at it content and urgently take steps to end low
coverage of activities and events involving women".
The statement wished all women a happy celebration and urged them to
give the Ministry the needed support to
promote their interest.
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Issuing of passports to be facilitated
Accra (Greater Accra) 08 March 2001
The new Commissioner of Passports, Mr Yaw Adjei, said on Wednesday that his office has initiated measures to clear thousands of passport applications within the next few weeks.
"The staff of the passport office have, since my appointment, started working at weekends to ensure that the backlog is drastically reduced," he said.
The Commissioner was interacting with passport applicants who were at the passport office to either collect their passports or follow-up their applications.
"We are doing this to ensure that within the next three to four weeks, those whose applications are without fault receive their passports," he said.
Mr. Adjei, however, cautioned the public not to put pressure on the staff saying: "We will not countenance situations which will bring pressure on our staff because every application will undergo the necessary procedure before qualifying for the issuance of a passport."
Mr. Adjei advised passport seekers to stay clear of the passport office, saying, "we do not want to see crowds at the entry points of the office anymore."
"Your presence there is an eyesore. We are instituting this new measure at our discomfort to ensure that you are satisfied," he said and expressed the hope that applicants will reciprocate by staying away until the passports are ready.
He said officially, passports are supposed to be collected at the Immigration Offices, except for a few special cases.
Mr. Adjei said given the limited staff situation, inadequate facilities and occasional power failures, delays in issuing of passports are unavoidable.
"Whilst we are making frantic efforts to meet the four-week deadline, the existing bottlenecks in our operations make delays a necessary evil," he said.
Some passport seekers complained about misplacement of their application forms and delay in the embossment of issued passports and, appealed to the Commissioner to ensure the safety of the forms and a speedy embossment.
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Bad governance
led to dislocation of the economy- Kufuor
Mamponteng (Ashanti Region), 08
March 2001
President John Agyekum Kufuor on
Tuesday, said bad governance has led to serious dislocation in the economic and
social lives of Ghanaians.
"Widespread unemployment and
weak infrastructure development have resulted in a general loss of
self-confidence", he said in a speech read on his behalf by Mr. Hector
Amoah-Darkwa, Kwabre District Co-ordinating Director, at the 44th independence
anniversary parade of school children, security personnel and voluntary
organisations at Mamponteng.
The President said as a young
nation, "we still have time to fashion our identity and mould what we
aspire to achieve".
He said the government is
determined to restore teachers to their proper status to put education on a
sound footing.
Cash prizes and certificates were
presented to the contingents that excelled at the parade.
A gymnastic display by pupils of
Ntiri-Buoho Primary and JSS climaxed the parade.
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