Mills: NPP's actions are dividing the nation
CHRAJ seeks law to protect convicted pregnant women
All gravel roads to be tarred - Minister
Physically disabled persons urged to acquire employable skills
Don't attribute diseases to witchcraft
EPA makes efforts to check drought and desertification
IGP denies media report about recovery of missing 46,000 dollars
Government urged to
encourage farmers to adopt new technologies.
Accra (Greater Accra) 22 March 2001
Former Vice-President John Evans Atta Mills on Thursday expressed the readiness of former government officials to refund extra payments of ex-gratia awards if it is legally proved they were overpaid.
"We are ready to pay back every extra pesewa on our ex-gratia awards provided the widely reported error in the payments made to us are confirmed," he said.
"I will be the first to refund any extra money paid to me," Prof. Mills said while responding to questions at a heavily packed press conference organised by the NDC to respond to issues which have emerged since the New Patriotic Party (NPP) came to power.
He deplored media reports, which, he said, have created the "wrong impression" that after overseeing the termination of the End of Service Benefit (ESB) system, former officials of government have used the same system to take over 3.4 billion cedis from state coffers.
Recent statements by NPP government officials reported in the media say the ex-gratia awards, which have been erroneously termed ESB, were paid in excess of about 2.4 billion cedis.
Prof. Mills noted that there is legal basis for such payments to be made to former government officials, saying that they were their ex-gratia awards which is three to four months salary for every one year one served the country.
This, he said, is contained in the Greenstreet Report put together by a tripartite committee on which the Trades Union Congress was represented.
He said the report also determined the salary levels of government officials.
Prof. Mills said cabinet under the NDC government first approved the report. It was later approved by the second parliament of the Fourth Republic in which members of the NPP served.
"It surprises me that Parliament is so silent about the issue as though they knew nothing about the Greenstreet report," he said.
Prof. Mills noted that the issue about the ex-gratia awards now is not whether it had a legal basis but whether or not there was an over-payment.
"I personally did not know my salary as a Vice-President so I cannot tell whether I have been overpaid or not," he said.
"I have detailed documentation on the ex-gratia awards to former state functionaries but I do not as yet have any pointing to the alleged over- payment."
He called on the transitional team to expedite action on the issue of the overpaid ex-gratia awards and rectify any anomaly.
Mr Victor Selormey, a former deputy minister of finance, said the NDC government did not decline to pay ESB as being reported in sections of the media.
"The ESB system was replaced with the pension scheme which was a better option for the survival of the economy. Before the termination date of the ESB, the NDC government paid all ESBs to deserving workers."
Mr Selormey explained that a tripartite committee set up to look into the effect of ESB on the economy recommended that the system was detrimental to inward investments and needed to be replaced by the pension scheme.
Mr. Kwame Peprah, former Minister of Finance, denied that the NDC government was about to opt for the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative.
He said when HIPC 1 was introduced by the IMF, Ghana did not qualify, adding "we qualified under the second initiative as the ratio was lowered by the IMF".
"We, however, wrote to the IMF to say that the conditions attached to the HIPC initiative were not in the interest of this country. The fact that IMF invited us to join HIPC does not mean we agreed to join."
Touching on the alleged mis-reporting of the state of the economy to the IMF for which the Fund is now demanding a refund of over 35 million dollars grant, Mr Peprah said the NDC government did no such thing.
He said the IMF had always challenged reports on Ghana's economy and the NDC government always argued with them and maintained its position.
"It is left to the NPP government to continue the legacy we have left and argue it out with the IMF rather than trying to criminalise the NDC in the name of transparency," he said.
The press conference was attended by all the top brass of the NDC, including present and past members of parliament, former ministers of state and party executives.
Prof. Mills, who was also the NDC flagbearer in the December 2000 elections, said the presence of top members of the party was to let the public know that none of them has fled the country as was being rumoured.
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Wa (Greater Accra) 22
March 2001
Mr Kofi Asamoah, Deputy
Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Operations, on Thursday
described as old-fashioned and a legacy of the country's colonial past the
notion that senior officers should not join trade unions.
Speaking at a meeting
with representatives from the District Councils of Labour from the five
districts in the Upper West Region at Wa, Mr Asamoah said a number of surveys
have firmly established that productivity levels are higher in organisations
where the senior staff are unionised than at non-unionised ones.
Mr Asamoah said the
benefits of unionisation is obvious and management and senior staff should
therefore be allowed to take the opportunity to become members in the common
interest of the organisation.
He suggested that, to
allay the fears of employers, a clear distinction be made between officers who
are just senior officers in name and those actually formulating policies for
the employer.
This is to enable
senior and management staff to exercise their constitutional right of joining
trade unions.
Mr Asamoah called for
the representation of district councils of labour in the assemblies so as to
bring their influence in their operations.
He also hinted that the
TUC would be waging a relentless war for the restoration of the frozen End of
Service Benefits (ESB).
He therefore called on
all organisations whose collective bargaining agreements are due for
renegotiations to ensure that they include the restoration of the frozen ESB.
Mr Asamoah said the
determination of the TUC to fight for the restoration of the ESB is borne out
of the fact that the social security benefit is woefully inadequate to cater
for the worker on his retirement, pointing out that, as a result, many of them
die shortly after going on retirement.
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Yendi (Northern Region) 22 March 2001
Large quantities of rice, maize, groundnut, yam, millet, beans and guinea corn are locked up in the Yendi District due to lack of transport to convey them to marketing centres.
The foodstuffs have been locked up in various stores and houses for over three months and there are fears that they may go bad if they are not cleared.
At a meeting of the Yendi Foodstuff Sellers Association on Wednesday, the Vice-chairman, Mallam Zakaria Mahama, appealed to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) and the district assemblies to assist the association to convey the foodstuffs to needy areas.
He said traders who used to come to the area to purchase the items are also finding it difficult to convey them to urban markets in Southern Ghana.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 22 March 2001
A flag-hoisting ceremony to commemorate this year's World Water Day took place in Accra on Thursday with a call on Ghanaians to offer themselves as watchdogs over the country's water bodies.
This is to help expose and check people who deliberately farm close to rivers, destroy and pollute water basins and resources through destructive activities.
Mr Kwamena Bartels, Minister of Works and Housing, who made the call, said the ministry is seeking the assistance of the donor community to get helicopters that would be used to patrol and protect water bodies and resources from time to time.
Additionally, water patrol teams are being set up to check the drying up, pollution and contamination of these resources.
The day, which is being celebrated under the theme "Water for Health" has since 1992 been set aside by the United Nations to raise public awareness about the need to conserve water and encourage governments to take steps to protect fresh water supplies.
This year, the day is focusing on water and its impact on the health of people. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 155 children in Africa die every hour from water, sanitation and hygiene related diseases.
A total of 187,545 cholera cases and 8,051 deaths were officially reported in 1999 in the African region and it is estimated that 80 per cent of all diseases and over one third of deaths in developing countries are caused by the consumption of contaminated water.
In Ghana, the celebration was organised locally by a number of organisations, including the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Water Resources Commission and the Community Water and Sanitation Agency.
Mr Bartels announced that the ministry has prepared a draft national water policy to guide future developments in the water sector that would be launched in due course, adding that all stakeholders would be invited to contribute to it.
He said the government has, as a matter of priority, targeted guinea worm, bilharzia and buruli ulcer endemic areas for the provision of potable water.
"For the urban areas and large cities, the government is vigorously proceeding with the private sector participation programme under which private sector operators would be involved in the provision of safe water supply and improve its delivery and distribution.
The minister touched on water management and said the Water Resources Commission would be supported to help in controlling and coordinating activities connected with the development and utilisation of water resources.
In a speech read on his behalf, Dr Ebrahim Samba, Regional Director of WHO, Africa Region, said the organisation estimates that 2,000 million people are at risk from waterborne and foodborne diarrhea diseases, which are the main cause of nearly four million child deaths each year."
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Accra (Greater Accra) 22 March 2001
A top scientist on Thursday called for the creation of partnerships between public and private sector organisations to increase agricultural production.
Professor Walter S. Alhassan, Director-General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), said at a day's workshop on "Agricultural Production Support and Financial Services" that the effects of research and extension services on agricultural development cannot be sustained if research institutions are to be commercialised.
"It will take many years for our numerous small-scale farmers who produce most of our food requirements to develop a payment culture for research and extension service," he said.
About 20 participants, made up of scientific and technical officers, the private sector, NGOs and financial institutions attended the workshop organised by the CSIR, USAID and the Semi-Arid Food Grains Research and Development (SAFGRAD) of the OAU.
Prof. Alhassan said that for a long time to come these services must be provided free to farmers, adding: "this can only be provided by the public sector".
He said although the Economic Recovery Programme (ERP) brought a lot of changes to the agricultural sector, it did not, however, change the dominant role that public institutions play in the generation and transfer of technologies.
"Some of the effects of the reform which farmers are still battling with are the transfer of the marketing of agro-chemicals, seed and land preparation to the private sector and the withdrawal of input subsidies," Prof. Alhassan said.
"Government also withdrew its support from the provision of guaranteed markets for farmers' produce through the abolition of marketing boards and other parastatals such as the Ghana Food Distribution Co-operation," he added.
Prof. Alhassan said with the creation of an effective partnership between public, private and civil society organisations, "we will also face the challenges of how to develop new private sector capacities to assume the roles of the research institution".
Mr Kwasi M. Setsoafia, Programme Co-ordinator, said that in this era of globalisation and information, partnership is high on the agenda of all social actors engaged in the development industry.
"It is, therefore, important that in our attempts to develop agriculture, we should become partnership-oriented and outward looking," he added.
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Pwalugu (Upper East) 22 March 2001
The Minister of Agriculture, Major Courage Quashigah, on Wednesday called for an immediate probe into the activities of the former management of the Pwalugu Tomato Cannery.
"I am angry and at the same time sad that an investment such as this could lie waste because a few people had to drain the company's money into their pockets."
The minister said this when he paid a day's working visit to key agricultural areas in the Upper East Region, including the Pwalugu Tomato Factory, Ghana Cotton Company (GCC) Ginnery, and the Irrigation Company of the Upper Region (ICOUR).
Maj. Quashigah said it is criminal for a few selfish people to take the state to ransom by killing what he described as "the bloodstream of a majority of the people".
"We would therefore go back to history and find out who the various management and board of directors were," he added.
He said agriculture is the live wire of the people and the economy in general, adding that Ghanaians are depending on the ministry for positive solutions to the food problems in the country.
In line with this desire, Maj. Quashigah said his ministry would work tirelessly to remove all forms of indiscipline to streamline the agricultural sector.
The factory, which started production in 1973, had 60 permanent staff and employed more than 100 casual workers daily. It stopped operations when it went bankrupt due to alleged mismanagement and conflict of interests.
All machines at the multi-purpose factory that produced canned foods, including tomato puree, paste and whole, and dazum paste made from dawadawa fruits, garden egg paste, pepper and groundnut pastes are intact.
The minister apologised to farmers in the area for the hectic moments they went through in selling their produce when the factory was closed down, and promised that everything possible would be done to get the factory to function, adding "we shall look for genuine investors to man the factory if we do not get the most immediate solution".
Maj. Quashigah later inspected the Cotton Ginnery at Puso-Namongo, near Bolgatanga, where he had a chat with cotton farmers.
He said the NPP government inherited some difficulties from the previous government but added that, this notwithstanding, it would find the most appropriate and acceptable solutions to agricultural problems.
He, however, warned farmers against indiscipline and said it stagnates the level of production "and no country would advance when it has no code of discipline for its people".
Maj. Quashigah cited diversion of inputs subsidised by the Ghana Cotton Company to farmers into different areas and the siting of structures indiscriminately, especially at areas demarcated for farming purposes.
He urged the farmers to exercise restraint to enable the Ministry to find solutions to the country's agricultural problems.
The acting Managing Director of the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), Mr. Sammy Welbeck, said the production of cotton in the country does not break even as compared to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Togo because farmers divert inputs directed for the purpose of cotton production.
He said the act creates losses to the GCC, and that, as a check, the company would introduce a unit output production, and when a farmer fails to meet these requirements, he would not be considered for subsidies.
Mr Welbeck added that the highest yielding zone would be awarded an incentive package to serve as a source of motivation to farmers to produce more.
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Tamale (Northern Region) 22 March 2001
Mr Kwesi Pratt Jnr., Chairman of the Publicity Committee of the Convention People's Party (CPP), on Thursday said that it was a betrayal that the NPP had allowed Ghana to be classified as HIPC.
He said that though there would be a minimum debt relief under HIPC, the high cost and its conditions would make Ghana more under-developed.
Mr Pratt, who was speaking at a CPP meeting in Tamale, said that, under HIPC, all subsidies are to be withdrawn and the government would have to ensure full cost recovery of education at all levels and health services.
The government will also be compelled to sell all state enterprises, including the Ghana Water Company and Electricity Company of Ghana, within 12 months.
Barriers to trade are also to be removed and the cedi will not be protected but will depend on market forces.
Dr Adam Nasser, member of the Central Committee of the CPP, called for the total cancellation of Ghana's debt by the West if they are genuinely interested in assisting the country to develop.
He said HIPC was only postponing the problems of the country, adding that the only way Ghana can develop is through mass mobilisation of the people towards a specific objective.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 22 March 2001
Former Vice-President, Prof. John Evans Atta Mills on Thursday said statements, acts and omissions of the government are dividing rather than reconciling the nation.
"Policies are being deliberately twisted, correspondence is being wilfully misinterpreted, programmes are being adopted without attribution and projects are being commissioned without acknowledgement."
Prof. Mills, who was the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2000 elections, was addressing his first media encounter in Accra since he and the party lost the vote.
Flanked by his running mate, Mr Martin Amidu and Mr Kwaku Baah, NDC Co-Chairman, Prof. Mills said the NDC had hoped that co-operation, consultation and consensus would have characterised the New Patriotic Party's first few months in office.
"Regrettably, we have been subjected to an avalanche of attack and accusations throughselective leaks, deliberate distortions and wilful misrepresentations," he said.
Citing examples, Prof. Mills said the 41 trillion-cedi national debt allegedly incurred by his government through mismanagement was money used for projects for which the NPP government is now taking credit.
He said: "a national debt of over 40 trillion cedis may have been incurred, but that debt is represented by national assets in the nature of roads, electricity, housing, telecommunications, hospitals, water and schools."
Prof. Mills described as unfair, the impression that the money had been dissipated without any assets to back it.
He added his voice to the call on the Minister of Finance to publish the list of all debts owed by the country since independence, and the uses to which the loans have been put.
Prof. Mills challenged the NPP government to tell Ghanaians how much of the 41 trillion cedis national debt is payable within the next four years as it had promised.
On the 900 billion cedis the NDC government is being accused of "blowing" in the last quarter of 2000, he said there would not have been a mix-up had NPP sought details from the Central Bank before referring to it in the budget for the press to blow it up.
"We are there to be consulted, for clarifications to be sought and for explanations to be given, instead of rushing to the media with every unverified so-called discovery of alleged impropriety," Prof. Mills said.
He said he was also not happy with several acts of harassment and intimidation meted out to leading and outspoken NDC members, citing the issue of alleged stolen cars and raids by security men on the premises of the NDC Deputy National Treasurer's office and that of other members.
He also cited the "unnecessary surveillance" on the residence of former-President Jerry John Rawlings and his movements, adding, "reliable information has it that the telephone lines of certain NDC members were being bugged."
There have also been, he said, efforts to criminalise the NDC era, including allegations that ex-ministers had fled the country or were crossing the border in four-wheel drive vehicles and improperly paid ex-gratia awards.
"The public has a right to scrutinise our period of stewardship and I will be the first to make admission of every error that is established," he said. "Those involved in such scrutiny must, however, be seen to be fair and
just."
Prof. Mills said the unexplained directives to heads of selected state-owned enterprises to proceed on leave were creating "fear and insecurity in the public and civil services of Ghana today.
"It has become clear that persons, who worked closely with NDC political appointees in those services or who are suspected of having pro-NDC sympathies are those being hounded out of office."
The NPP, he said, had on several occasions violated the provisions of the Constitution, making many appointments unilaterally without consulting relevant governing boards and councils or the Council of State.
The violations were made " because the NPP government shot itself in the foot by dismissing all district chief executives and terminating the appointments of all government appointees in the district assemblies before the expiry of their four-year tenures."
Prof. Mills advised the government to stick to the letter and spirit of the Constitution and to the truth.
He said the NDC is ready to co-operate with the NPP and others to forge a national consensus to restore the economy to good health.
He said the acts of revenge and vendetta being perpetrated against the NDC was setting bad precedent for the future of constitutional governance, a matter that a stable political culture could not endure.
He advised the government to be cautious with the institutions of state saying, "no impression must be created that these institutions or their heads serve governments rather than the state."
Prof. Mills said he would concentrate on reorganising the NDC into a stronger and more effective party and advised members to put factionalism and wrangling behind them.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 22 March 2001
The Food and Drugs Board (FBD) on Thursday warned sachet water producers to stop labelling their products as being suitable for babies, saying this contravenes the legislative instrument on exclusive breast-feeding.
At a day's workshop for sachet water producers in Accra, Mr K. Van-Ess, an official of FBD said the law say mothers should breast-feed their babies exclusively for the first six months of their lives hence the need for producers to stop confusing the public.
"The water labelled as spring water or pure water does not exist, since research and scientific evidence have proven that spring water that has been bagged does not exist in Ghana," he said.
Mr Van-Ess said what is being sold on the market is "filtered tap water" which is not meant for babies as producers claim.
The workshop under the theme "Good manufacturing and hygienic practices in the production of sachet water" was organised by the FDB to educate sachet water producers to ensure that water coming from their industry is safe for human consumption.
The occasion was also to mark the celebration of World water Day.
Mr Van-Ess urged the producers to delete labels such "Safe for babies", "suitable for babies", "spring water" and "pure water" and to replace these with labels such as "sachet water" and "filtered water" as early as possible.
He urged the producers to do proper booking and ensure that their products are produced in batches "So that you can recall any particular batch from the market if errors or faults are later detected."
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Accra (Greater Accra)
22 March 2001
Mrs. Angelina M.
Domakyaareh, Deputy Commissioner for Human Rights and Administrative Justice,
on Wednesday appealed to the government to institute legal structures that
would keep convicted pregnant women out of the prisons.
Speaking in an
interview with the GNA, she said the imprisonment of pregnant women violates
their fundamental human right and that of their unborn babies, who committed no
crime.
"The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights provides that it is the fundamental right of
pregnant women convicted of crime to be given suspended sentence to allow them
obtain the needed attention from their families," she said.
Mrs. Domakyaareh said
though Ghana was one of the first countries to ratify the UN Human Rights
Convention, the necessary domestic laws have not been enacted to ensure its
application.
"It is not enough
to ratify the convention and leave it hanging without the necessary legal
backing to facilitate its implementation," she said. "This situation
makes it difficult for the Commission to apply the provisions of the
convention."
Mrs. Domakyaareh said
in spite of the ratification of the convention imprisonment of pregnant women
is still very rampant in the country.
She said routine checks
by CHRAJ in the various prisons and police cells reveal that several pregnant
women and nursing mothers are languishing behind bars, some serving their
sentences and others on remand for years.
"The problem is
worse at the James Fort Prison," she said.
Mrs. Domakyaareh said
over the past two years, CHRAJ in collaboration with the Continuing Judicial
Education Unit of the Judiciary initiated steps to have a domestic legal
backing to the Universal Human Rights Declaration, but that has not yet yielded
result.
She said efforts are
still underway to make that a reality and expressed the hope that the NPP
government would facilitate the passage of domestic laws to enhance the
application of the provisions of the UN human rights convention.
Dr. Ken Attafua, Chief
Investigator of CHRAJ also said prisoners have rights, which need to be
protected.
He said apart from the
freedom of mobility and limited privacy, prisoners have the right to enjoy all
other necessities and privileges everyone enjoys.
"They have the
right to natural light, good food, shelter and clothes, education, human
dignity and protection among other things," he said. "To some extent,
prisoners should have their privacy."
Dr. Attafua said
prisoners have the right to make complains to public officers about their
conditions without interference from prison and police officers.
"Unfortunately
this is not the case in this country, as prisoners live in very poor, unhealthy
conditions and are denied their comfort and privacy," he said. "Right
in front of CHRAJ officers at the Nsawam Prisons recently, a prison officer
demanded to censor a written complaint from a prisoner to the CHRAJ."
He said the CHRAJ is
making efforts to ensure that the rights of prisoners are upheld.
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Tema (Greater Accra) 22 March 2001
The Ministry of Roads and Highways is to tar feeder roads instead of regravelling and reshaping them under its new policy.
Town roads, which do not fall under the Department of Urban Roads (DUR), would also be taken over by the Department of Feeder Roads (DFR) and tarred to reduce dust pollution.
Mr Kwadwo Adjei-Darko, Minister for Roads and Highways, announced this when he paid a working visit to the Ghana Emulsion Company Limited (GEC), manufactures of bitumen emulsion used in sealing roads, at Tema on Tuesday.
Currently only 6,000 kilometres of trunk roads out of 14,200 kilometres have been tarred while the rest is either gravelled or earth. In addition 680 kilometres of the country's feeder roads representing only two per cent have been tarred.
Emulsion bitumen, a substitute for cut back and hot bitumen, is a mixture of pen grade bitumen and water which is stabilised by the use of emulsifiers
Mr Adjei-Darko said the Ministry would consider the use of emulsion for these projects if found to be cost effective.
It would also want transparency in all dealings so that the company would not take advantage of its monopoly situation.
The emulsion has been tested on the Begro-Apaa and Huhunya-Boti Falls roads by the DFR, DUR and the Ghana Highways Authority (GHA) and has shown very satisfactory results.
Officials from the Ministry and Engineers of GEC, said the product has been established to be environmentally friendly and its use would reduce the country's oil bill since it is not mixed with either diesel or kerosene.
The technology became available in Ghana with the establishment of GEC four years ago.
Mr Adam Yakubu Kasule, Managing Director of Ghana Emulsion, said the company is currently producing below 30 per cent of its installed capacity of 97,000 tonnes per year because the product is not being patronised for road construction in the country.
He said the company has drawn up a training programme for road engineers and contractors on the proper application of the bitumen so that it could be used in massive road construction. It is mostly used to fill potholes at present.
Mr Kasule said currently, a joint supply agreement is being worked out between EMH of Denmark, GEC's main partners and Hoffmann and Sons, a Danish company in Benin for the supply of 1,200 tonnes of bitumen emulsion for road rehabilitation works in Benin.
GEC's component for the project, which spans over a period of three to six months, is expected to cost 360,000 dollars. The Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) is funding the project.
Mr Joseph Lamptey, Acting Chief Director of the Ministry, Mr Albert Hammond, Acting Chief Executive of the GHA, Mr Alex Twumasi-Boakye, Acting Director of the DUR and Mr Eric Oduro-Konadu, Director of Materials, GHA accompanied the Minister.
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Elmina (Central Region) 22 March 2001
The Komenda-Edina-Eguafo -Abrem(KEEA) District Director of the Department of Social Welfare, Mrs Lucy Ofori-Agyemang has charged physically handicapped persons to endeavour to avail themselves of opportunities to acquire employable skills.
This would enable them to undertake income-generating activities to improve their socio-economic standards and curtail the situation whereby some of them have resorted to begging for a living.
Mrs Ofori-Agyemang, made the call when Interlove International, an non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in the United States, presented 40 wheel chairs and 30 walking aids worth 50 million cedis to 70 physically disabled person in district, at a ceremony at Elmina.
Mrs Ofori-Agyemang called on able-bodied members of the society to desist from maltreating people with disabilities.
Mrs Judy Vollert, who presented the items, said the organisation is committed to soliciting support to facilitate the mobility of disabled persons in deprived committees worldwide, adding that recipients in the district are the first to benefit from its assistance in Africa.
The Interlove International Co-ordinator in the Central Region, Mrs Cecilia Edu thanked the donors for the gesture and exhorted the recipients to make good use of the items.
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Lawra (Upper West) 22
March 2001
A public Health Nurse on
Tuesday advised communities to find ways of combating the outbreak of
contagious diseases rather than attributing them to witchcraft and other
superstitious beliefs.
They should also desist
from the practice of chasing away relations who are affected by such diseases
as this could aggravate their plight.
Miss Marjorie Nimtori,
Public Health Nurse at the Lawra Government Hospital made this call in an
interview with the GNA following the banishing of a number of patients believed
to have contracted certain diseases through witchcraft in some communities in
the district.
She said late last year
a 26-year-old woman was chased out of a community, because her sick child had
allegedly inherited witchcraft from her grandparents.
Miss Nimtori, who is
also in-charge of the Lawra District Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre said the
child and her mother were granted "social asylum" at the centre only
to realise that the child's continued sickness was due to malnutrition and not
witchcraft as alleged by the people.
Miss Nimtori said since
their admission at the rehabilitation centre, the child has gained weight and
now looks healthy and called on families to stop such practices, which cast a
slur on the proverbial Ghanaian hospitality.
She said it is pathetic
that people do not appreciate government's efforts at bringing health to their
doorsteps, and called on health workers to step up their educational programmes
against witchcraft, which has gained a foothold in most of the communities of
the region.
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Techiman (Brong Ahafo) 22 March 2001
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has organised a day's workshop at Techiman as part of national efforts to check drought and desertification.
The 45 participants are expected to come out with pragmatic proposals towards formulating a national action programme on drought in the district.
They included representatives of the Techiman District Assembly sub-committee on Environment, district assemblies, environmental Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), traditional rulers and market groups.
Mr Samuel S.G.A. Nlary, Techiman District Co-ordinating Director, noted that drought and desertification had gained global attention.
"This has made countries in the sub-region to devote attention and resources to issues relating to the environment because of its importance to human survival."
Mr Nlary urged the participants to fully participate in deliberations at the workshop and evolve concrete proposals for the national action programme.
Mr Joseph Edmund, Acting Regional Programme Officer of the EPA, explained that the national programme would be formulated and implemented under the Savannah Resources Management Project.
The programme will seek to mitigate the problems of drought and desertification in the drought-prone areas of the country, he added.
"Within the last couple of years, the Brong Ahafo Region has lost its enviable status as the bread basket of the country due to large-scale wanton degradation of its rich natural land as well as other national resources through human activities.
"The process of continued land degradation caused by our activities is gradually leading us to desertification."
Mr Edmund noted that the overall effect of "our irresponsible acts" has been the decline in crop yields, depletion of water and forest resources, and poverty among those who depend on the land for their livelihood.
Mr J.H. Darbo, a forester, called for the rigid enforcement of laws protecting the environment.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 22 March 2001
Mr Ernest Owusu-Poku, Inspector General of Police on Wednesday denied media reports that the missing 46,000 dollars entrusted to the dismissed Youth and Sports Minister, Mallam Yusif Isa has been found.
The IGP told the Ghana News Agency in an interview on Wednesday, " As far as we are concerned it is never true, no money has been found yet."
"We have sent people everywhere to check on the report but nothing has come out of it," Mr Owusu-Poku said.
The Ghanaian Chronicle newspaper of Wednesday, March 21,reported that the money has been found in a compartment of a car parked at the Ministry of Youth Sports, and that it has been sent to the Bank of Ghana for identification.
The paper however, failed to indicate the owner of the car and who found the money.
Police on Tuesday started investigations into the mystery surrounding the loss of the money three weeks ago.
The money was to be used to pay winning bonuses to players of the senior national team in a World Cup qualifying match in Sudan.
Mallam Isa who was given the money to take along to Sudan, said he put it into his suitcase after consultations with officials of the Ghana Football Association who later took his luggage to the airport.
The officials have, however, denied the former minister's claim saying he removed the money from the bag after he was told the risk involved.
GRi../
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Government urged to
encourage farmers to adopt new technologies.
Domeabra (Ashanti Region) 22 March 2001
The government has been urged to encourage farmers to discard obsolete methods of farming and adopt new farming technologies.
Nana Kwaku Siaw, Nkosuohene of Anwomaso and Managing Director of Kumah Farms, explained that such an initiative was crucial for the growth and development in the agricultural sector.
He said the readiness of farmers to apply modern technologies and not the amount of resources pumped into it would bring about the desired impact.
Nana Siaw was speaking at Domeabra on Tuesday, when students of the Diploma in Agriculture Extension Course of the Kwadaso Agriculture College, visited his "Kumah Farms", as part of their practical studies.
Nana Siaw, who is also the 1998 Best Farmer Award Winner for the Kumasi Metropolitan Area (KMA) attributed the low adoption rate of new agricultural technologies by farmers to the unfavourable land tenure system and obsolete beliefs and traditional practices.
Nana Siaw said that in addition to these setbacks are the limited knowledge and lack of skills on the part of some farmers and the introduction of certain technologies that are sometimes not in tune with the Ghanaian situation.
He suggested that the government should focus on eliminating these bottlenecks and problems, since they have been the major stumbling blocks to enhanced productivity.
The farm has livestock, poultry, rabbitry, piggery, aquaculture, apiculture and crops departments.
The aim of the visit was to expose the 63 students to practical work on local farmers' fields and also give them an insight into how farmers in the field are applying the technologies passed on to them by Extension Officers.
Mr Joseph Kwasi Sarpong, Co-ordinator of the Diploma in Agriculture Extension course of the college, who led the students on the visit, appealed to the government to take positive steps towards the rehabilitation of farm structures at the college to enhance teaching and learning, especially practical work.
Mr Sarpong said farm structures, constructed over 30 years ago are now in a deplorable state and no longer meet standards required for up-to-date practical work, hence the adoption of an out-reach programme to selected farms to enable the students to do more meaningful field exercises.
The Students described the KUMAH FARMS as a model farm, which has all the
components of a standard farm and also appealed to Nana Siaw to consider accepting students from the college to do their attachment programmes.
GRi../
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Accra (Greater Accra) 22 March 2001
Government will assist the state-owned media to develop its full potential, Ms Elizabeth Ohene, Minister of State for Media Relations said on Wednesday during her first official visit to the Ghana News Agency.
Ms Ohene told the Board of Directors during an interaction that the government fully understands the worth of information and would assist the media in every way possible.
She said: "GNA has been noted to be credible and reliable. That is a good advertisement and we will help it to be more credible."
The Minister restated her assurance that she would not interfere with appointments or editorial policy. "I am anxious to help and will be available."
She said the proposed commercialisation of the Agency would be on course, stressing that the "GNA will have to change dramatically" from dependency on government subvention to a self-supporting organisation.
Ms Ohene said she has read the report of the consultants on the commercialisation and "I will watch with interest how the change evolves."
Mrs Georgina Baiden, Chairperson of the Board, appealed to the Minister to fast track the request to update the equipment of the agency.
She said GNA's machines have become obsolete making its operations non-competitive in a fast changing media scene.
Mr Robert Kafui Johnson, General Manager, said news agencies are still relevant in national development and in promoting good governance and called for support for the GNA.
He said, "the staff are willing and ready to work. They need the right tools to deliver the quality service GNA is reputed for."
The minister, accompanied by the board members, toured the various sections of the agency and interacted with the staff during her two-and- half- hour visit.
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Dunkwa-On-Offin (Central Region) 22 March 2001
The Central Regional Minister Mr Isaac Edumadze has appealed to chiefs and land owners to review the land tenure system to attract investment into the region.
He said that although the region has abundant natural resources, it has still remained largely undeveloped due to the uncompromising land tenure system, coupled with the numerous land and chieftaincy disputes that make it impossible for people to readily acquire land.
Mr Edumadze made the appeal at a meeting with the chiefs of Denkyira Traditional Area during a familiarisation tour of the region.
The tour would take him to all the 12 districts, where he would be meeting with traditional rulers and heads of departments to explain government programmes and policies.
He further appealed to the chiefs to endeavour to seek amicable settlements to chieftaincy and other disputes instead of taking them to the courts of law.
The Minister said the economic situation of the country has compelled the government to join the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and urged Ghanaians to discard the notion that the move will sell the country into slavery.
The Minister reiterated government's objective to put in place measures to revamp the agricultural sector.
He hinted that all second cycle schools in the region would from the next academic year establish farms to supplement their feeding and asked land owners to make land available for the project.
Mr Edumadze called on chiefs and district assemblies to establish education endowment funds to cater for needy students.
Nana Ntobonkyi, II, Acting President of the Denkyira Traditional Area, congratulated President John Agyekum Kufuor for winning the elections and pledged their support.
He said he was happy about the government's plans for the agriculture sector, particularly its intention to give assistance to farmers to enable them to improve rice production.
Nana Ntobonkyi appealed to the government to review the contract of the Continental Goldfields to enhance its smooth operation in the district and called for the establishment of a teacher training college in the area.
The Minister held a meeting with heads of government departments to and urged them to discard partisan politics in the performance of their duties and to concentrate on issues that enhance development.
He cautioned them against lateness, absenteeism, drunkenness and other negative tendencies.
The Minister also visited the Ashanti Goldfields Company and Dunkwa Continental Goldfields at Dunkwa and Ayanfuri, respectively.
GRi../
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