Ghana whips up African
support for Kofi Annan
Japan repeats will not give loans to Ghana under HIPC
Arkaah discharged from
hospital
A dam
project to solve Sunyani's water problem
Army dismantles collapsed
school building
Ministry to improve roads
in rural areas-Minister
Accounts of four assemblies
to be published
Telecom and Broadcasting
exhibition launched
Asantehene leaves for
Britain on Friday
Farmers wants review of
crop compensation rates
Kufuor receives bereaved
family of first Police Commissioner
Gernment to revamp telecom
sector
Ghanaians are supportive of
military - Report
Chiefs
protest against zoning of cotton farms
TUC to
support national initiative for children
Kufuor
appoints Annan Cato as Secretary to the Cabinet
Ghana whips up African support
for Kofi Annan
Accra (Greater Accra) 28 March 2001
The Minister of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday urged African governments to support the re-election bid of Mr Kofi Annan for a second term as Secretary - General of the United Nations Organisation.
Mr. Hackman Owusu-Agyeman told a meeting of heads of missions of African embassies and high commissioners in Ghana that Mr Annan has the support of the country. He later had a closed-door session with the diplomats.
"Mr. Annan has the full support of the President and people of Ghana following the initiation of his re-election by the African group and all the other UN bodies in New York," the Minister said.
"It is the first time that all the UN bodies have agreed that a serving UN boss has done a marvellous job and must be re-elected."
He said a formal request would be made to their respective governments in due course.
Mr. Owusu-Agyeman said: "Mr Annan has begun very constructive and incisive changes at the UN and he must be supported to make sure the changes succeed."
"There are a few loose ends to be tied and I hope that we can count on your support," Mr Owusu-Agyeman said.
"It is, therefore, important that Africa speaks with one voice on the international scene and also ensures that change comes to repair the broken image of Africa.
"We are tired of the negative image of Africa as a place of war and poverty on the globe. Our people deserve more than this. We, (as governments) must work together to make practical all attempts at economic integration."
Mr Owusu-Agyeman later told the GNA that he received "a positive response" from the diplomats whom he was meeting as part of his regular interactions with them.
He said the only hitch to Mr Annan's successful bid could be the notion that Africa has served its two-terms "by the fact that Mr Boutros Boutros-Ghali, an Egyptian, served one term followed by Mr Annan, a Ghanaian."
"But this notion is only a convention," Mr Owusu-Agyeman said, adding that Mr Annan decided to continue in his post after very fruitful consultations with President John Agyekum Kufuor.
"I must say that the President has ordered that everything possible be done to help Mr Annan win a second term as UN boss."
An Asian candidate is also said to be seeking the UN's highest office.
Mr Owusu-Agyeman called for the strengthening of regional economic and political groupings and organisations saying "they are important if Africa does not want to be sidelined.
He repeated Ghana's committed to the ideals of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) saying: "we would not pay lip service to the concept of African Unity."
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Japan repeats will not
give loans to Ghana under HIPC
Accra (Greater Accra) 28 March 2001
Mr Hiromu Nitta, Ambassador of Japan in Ghana, on Tuesday repeated that his government would no longer give loans to Ghana since it has opted for the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative.
"However, my government will continue to give grants to Ghana to support any area that needs to be developed," the ambassador told the GNA after paying a courtesy call on Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, Minister of Mines and Energy.
Mr Nitta pledged his government's willingness to support the energy sector, especially in the area of electrification.
"Electrification is very important and in this area, we share a common concern," he said.
"My government is, therefore, ready to extend any assistance for Ghana's electrification programme."
The Ambassador said the Japanese government has since 1990 provided 10 million dollars for rural electrification programmes in Ashanti, Upper, Volta, and Eastern Regions.
"My government is very sensitive to poverty alleviation and would continue to support Ghana in this direction through rural electrification projects," he said.
Mr Kan-Dapaah said Japan has a longstanding relationship with the ministry, especially in the provision of rural electrification.
He said Ghana would continue to respect concerns of the Japan government on her support and hoped that the relations between the two countries would be strengthened.
The minister said that officials of Japan International Co-operation Agency, a Japanese NGO, would be meeting him next week to review some projects that they have completed.
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Arkaah discharged from
hospital
Accra Greater Accra 28 March 2001
Former Vice President Kow Nkensen Arkaah has been discharged from hospital, Colonel Joseph Ayettey, Commander in charge of the 37 Military Hospital, said on Tuesday.
He told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that Mr Arkaah was discharged last Friday after doctors confirmed his condition as 'fine'.
"As far as the hospital is concerned his condition is stable and he is doing well," Col. Ayettey said.
He said the Mr Arkaah would now be required to attend hospital only for review and new health developments.
Mr Arkaah was hospitalised after his car was involved in an accident in Accra on March 12 when he was returning from his hometown, Winneba.
The accident happened near his residence at East Cantonments, when his chauffeur, in an attempt to avoid a head-on collision with a pickup vehicle, skidded off the road, hit a pedestrian and somersaulted three times.
The pedestrian has since been discharged.
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A dam
project to solve Sunyani's water problem
Sunyani (Brong Ahafo)
28 March 2001
Two possible sites have
been identified in the Sunyani district for the construction of a dam on the
Tano river as a long term solution to the perennial water problem in Sunyani
and its environs, especially during the dry season.
About 38 million
dollars will be needed for the full development of one of the sites for the
dual purpose of storing water for irrigation and production of potable water.
Mr Senyo Amengor, Brong
Ahafo Chief Manager of the Ghana Water Company told the Ghana News Agency in
Sunyani on Tuesday that the need for a more reliable source of water for the
Sunyani township and its environs has been long over-due.
"With the fast
increase in population, the Abesim intake pond, which currently supplies
potable water to this area has proved to be highly inadequate, hence the need
for a dam with bigger production capacity".
The two sites, he said,
were identified under a DFID funded study of the Tano River in 1999, titled
"Tano River Catchment Water Resources study".
Mr Amengor said further
detailed feasibility studies would be conducted to finally choose one of the
sites for development.
"It is after we
have chosen one of the sites based on its comparative advantages that funding
will be sourced for the construction of the dam and headworks on it."
Mr Amengor stated that
the study, which covered the water needs of the Sunyani area from year 2005 to
2015 had advised that the development of the chosen site should commence last
year.
"The projection
was that with the commencement of construction works in year 2000, the dam and
the headworks would have been in place by 2005 to meet the projected water
needs of the people."
Attributing the delay
to the problem of funding, the Chief Manager said his outfit, with the active
support of the Regional Minister, is doing everything possible to get the
project on course
Mr Amengor commended
the Minister, Mr Kwaku Debrah for his effort to get the Sunyani water crisis
solved and disclosed that an amount of one billion cedis released recently by
the Ministry of Works and Hosing for the improvement of water supply in the
area would be used to sink boreholes.
"At least 16
pump-fitted boreholes, costing about 55 million cedis each will be constructed
in Sunyani and all the towns that receive their water supply from the Abesim
headworks."
Mr. Amengor said the
measure, which is only temporary, would provide relief to residents during the
dry season.
Sunyani and its
environs experienced the worst water crisis in 18 years when the Abesim
headworks was shut down for six weeks during the dry season due to the drying
up of the Tano River.
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Army dismantles collapsed
school building
Accra (Greater Accra) 28 March 2001
The 48 Engineers Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces has dismantled the wooden structure that collapsed on pupils of Nkwantanan Primary School, near the REDCO Flats at Madina on Tuesday.
All the 16 school children that were injured have been treated and discharged, a Private Clinic and 37 Military Hospital sources told the Ghana News Agency (GNA).
The children suffered minor injuries and shock when the wooden school building, which was being renovated collapsed on them while they were in class.
Madam Juliana Oduro, Assistant Headmistress said at about 09.00 hours, she was in one of the classrooms when she heard a loud noise.
"I immediately asked the children to come out of the building, just before building came down."
Madam Oduro said no one was seriously injured because of the timely evacuation.
Some of the children, who complained of injuries, were immediately sent to a private clinic nearby where 13 were treated and discharged. Three of them, who were referred to the 37 Military Hospital, were also treated and discharged.
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Ministry to improve roads
in rural areas-Minister
Accra (Greater Accra) 28 March 2001
Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister for Local Government and Rural Development has said that district assemblies are to be equipped with road building equipment to assist in improving the road networks in rural communities.
A statement from the ministry said, " the ministry is also exploring the technique of using a mixture of disused engine oil and gravel to harden the surface of rural roads to increase their life span.
It said the minister, who disclosed this when Barima Asumadu Sekyi II, Kumawuhene called on him, said the present situation where millions of cedis are spent every year reshaping and regravelling feeder roads cannot be sustained.
" Mr Baah-Wiredu said the nation's scarce resources should be used judiciously and that improvement in the rural areas would cut down the scramble for social amenities by communities".
"It should be possible for three or four communities to share a facility like clinic, if roads in the rural areas are made accessible throughout the year", the statement quoted the minister as saying.
He said government would ensure that roads in the rural areas are made accessible to enable farmers to bring foodstuffs to the marketing centres.
The minister said, now that population census figures are known, the NPP government would set up a commission to go into demands for the creation of regions and districts as such issues are considered national and must be tackled holistically to satisfy all groups.
The statement said the minister was not happy with the activities of Fulani herdsmen in certain parts of Brong-Ahafo, Ashanti and Eastern regions. He appealed to traditional authorities to use their influence to get the Fulanis out or confine their animals, which have become a nuisance to the communities.
He recounted the number of Ghanaians killed in Agogo and its environs by the herdsmen.
On his part, Barima Asumadu Sekyi appealed for the completion of the Kumawu market under the Village Infrastructure Project to enhance the economic well being of the people.
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Accounts of four
assemblies to be published
Accra (Greater Accra) 28 March 2001
The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) will publish the accounts of one municipal and three metropolitan assemblies.
They are Accra, Kumasi and Shama-Ahanta East Metropolitan assemblies, and Tema municipal.
This will ease the pressure on the Auditor-Generals' department and also make the assemblies more accountable to the people, a statement from the ministry said.
The statement said Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister for LGRD made this known when Mr Callisto Madavo, Vice President of the World Bank called on him at the ministry.
He reiterated government desire to see that rural areas are developed by making them accessible and noted that the inaccessibility of rural communities has been impediment to development. the statement said.
He called for both "technical and financial support in road construction and maintenance to open up the countryside".
Mr. Baah-Wiredu said, " the opening up of the remote areas, specially in Brong-Ahafo, Ashanti, Eastern and Western regions, will help farmers to bring the locked-up foodstuffs to the market centres".
He informed the World Bank Vice President that there are vast rice fields in the Northern and Volta regions that need to be exploited to meet the country's food requirements.
The Minister appealed to the World Bank and other donors to help add value to the farm produce in the country by establishing food processing factories and rehabilitating existing ones.
Mr. Callisto Madavo said the Bank will support the district assembly capacity building efforts, harmonise procedures in reporting on donor projects and the government road programme in the rural areas.
On the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC), the Vice President regretted about misinformation currently going round and said information available to the bank from Uganda were encouraging.
He praised Ghanaians for debating on the topic, saying it is the only country where debates were allowed, as to whether to accept or reject HIPC.
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Telecom and Broadcasting
exhibition launched
Accra (Greater Accra) 28 March 2001
The fifth West Africa Computing, Telecommunications and Broadcasting Exhibition and Conference to showcase latest developments in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry was on Tuesday launched in Accra.
The three-day event, slated for May this year, will be co-hosted by the Ministry of Communications and AITEC on the theme "Tapping information and communications technologies for West Africa's Development."
Dubbed "AITEC West Africa 2001", the exhibition will provide a platform for ICT professionals and experts and top decision makers in government and the private sector to exchange ideas on key issues of 'e-governance' and 'e-commerce', policy and regulatory framework in the industry.
The Executive Director of AITEC, Kwami Ahiabenu, said since the first show, the event has grown massively and the exhibition would be a major gathering of ICT professionals in the sub-region.
He advised prospective exhibitors to be definite in their planning so as to reap maximum benefits from the event.
Mr. Tim Gross, AITEC General Manager, referred to the relative speed with which ICT is growing, saying in the past one year in Ghana, Internet access has been made available through the proliferation of cyber cafes in the major centres.
He said that as part of measures to promote the growth of new entrants to the market, a trade hub area at the exhibition would be devoted to them to enable them to meet and do business with strategic partners at a modest cost.
About 30 exhibitors and over 6,000 visitors are expected to attend the event.
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Asantehene leaves for
Britain on Friday
Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 28 March 2001
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene, leaves Accra on Friday, March 30 for a one-week visit to Britain.
The visit is at the invitation of the International Cocoa Organisation (ICO) to address their general meeting on Monday, April 2.
Mr Ernest Sarhene, Head of Protocol at the Manhyia Palace told the Ghana News Agency in Kumasi on Tuesday that the Asantehene will deliver the keynote address at the meeting which is under the theme "Sustaining the Global Cocoa Economy in the new Millennium".
This is Asantehene's second official visit outside the country since his ascending to the Golden Stool two years ago.
He made the first trip to the United Kingdom at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth II of Britain in May last year.
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Farmers wants review of
crop compensation rates
Bibiani (Western Region) 28 March 2001
The Ghana Land and Farm Owners Protection Association has called on the Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines to take immediate steps to review the present rates for the payment of compensation to farmers, whose crops are destroyed by mining companies.
In a petition signed by Mr Samuel Appiagyei, General Secretary of the association, at Bibiani, they contended that the rates, which have been in existence for the past nine years were ridiculously low.
"The government should involve farmers' associations in the country when decisions affecting them are being taken."
It appealed to the government to encourage underground mining since surface mining destroys the environment and the ecology.
The petition called on the government to investigate the circumstances that led to fragments of stones falling on the people of Bibiani Old Town, when the Ashanti Goldfields Bibiani Limited (AGBL) dynamited the area on February 28.
The petition called on the AGBL to initiate steps to resettle the people of the Old Town to forestall any disaster.
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Kufuor receives bereaved
family of first Police Commissioner
Accra (Greater Accra) 28 March 2001
Krobo chiefs and family members of the first Ghanaian Inspector General of Police E. R. T. Madjitey on Tuesday called on President John Agyekum Kufuor to informed him of their decision to hold the final funeral rites for the man who died five years ago.
Mr Madjitey, who was appointed the first Ghanaian Police Commissioner in 1958, died at the age of 78 years and was buried in February 1996.
Nene Muala Okumsro II, Divisional Chief of Dorm in the Manya Krobo District and leader of the delegation, told President Kufuor that the funeral rites would be held from April 25 to 29. He invited the Presidency to participate in the programme.
Welcoming the delegation, President Kufuor paid a glowing tribute to the ex-police chief, who, he said, was a pioneer of the Ghana Police Service.
"His pioneering works are written in the annals of our country."
President Kufuor said Mr Madjitey, who served with him on the opposite bench in the Parliament of the Second Republic, later became a staunch NPP member.
He assured the delegation that government would fully participate in the activities to give him a fitting funeral.
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Bolgatanga (Greater Accra) 28 March 2001
Police Inspector George Musah, Officer in Charge of the Tongo Police Post, near Bolgatanga, was on Monday murdered in cold blood by a mob when he went to effect the arrest of a suspect involved in a sheep theft case.
The mob, in addition, bolted with the officers' service rifle and magazine containing 20 rounds of live ammunition.
The Upper East Regional Police Public Relations Officer, Inspector Thomas Agbanyo, told the Ghana News Agency that the deceased was accompanied by a junior officer to effect the arrest of the suspect, alleged to be a member of a sheep stealing syndicate at Yameriga, a village near Tongo, in the Bolgatanga District.
He said the police personnel escorted the first suspect, Naapa Suure, to the village where he identified a young man as one of the members of the syndicate.
However, in an attempt to arrest him, the youth from the village obstructed the police officer from carrying out his duty.
Inspector Agbanyo said the police officers decided to return to the office but the group ambushed and attacked them on the way and inflicted cutlass wounds on the forehead and temple of the deceased.
The PRO said the other policeman, who was not identified, escaped after sustaining several injuries while Suura, who was handcuffed, bolted.
Mr Agbanyo said the case was reported to the Bolgatanga District Police Headquarters and a team of personnel was dispatched to the village where they found Inspector Musah dead in a pool of blood.
The corpse has been conveyed to the War Memorial Hospital mortuary in Navrongo for autopsy.
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Gernment to revamp telecom
sector
Accra (Greater Accra) 28 March 2001
Mr Felix Owusu-Agyapong, Minister of Transport and Communications, on Tuesday said steps are underway to revamp national communication policies and programmes to ensure that increased telecom infrastructure lead to improved accessibility to telecom services nation-wide.
He said to ensure that policy objectives aimed at facilitating rapid access to telecom services throughout the country within the shortest possible time remained on track, suitable strategies, which will address the deficiencies of the past and also reflect the changes in the environment including technology, will soon be implemented.
Mr Owusu-Agyapong said this at the opening of the Third African Telecom Summit in Accra, organised by the government and Spectrum International Limited, a Ghanaian-based private Information Technology (IT) firm.
The three-day summit, under the theme: "Universal Access and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Africa - Strategies for effective development," is to evolve a programme of action on how to increase access to telecom services in African countries.
The Minister noted that the five-year exclusivity to the provision of fixed telecom services granted to Ghana Telecom (GT) and Western Telesystems Limited (Westel) will come to and end in 2002. Steps are, therefore, being taken to announce the government's position on the exclusivity policy by the third quarter of this year.
The Minister said the move to revamp the telecom sector was motivated, among other factors, by the fact that four years after the establishment of the National Communication Authority (NCA) as a regulatory body in the telecom sector, access to telecom services in the country still falls below expectation.
He said the revamping exercise would, therefore, focus on strengthening the regulatory agency, developing human capacity, deployment countrywide and the promotion of value-added service.
"For instance, pilot programmes to promote access to computers in schools will be re-packaged as a national programme to be implemented in phases," he said.
"The private sector will also be encouraged to assist the government in extending the use of their ICT training facilities to the public sector."
Mr Owusu-Agyapong reiterated government's intention to have all public officers become computer literate in order to facilitate the use of the Internet in the public sector.
The Minister, like other speakers at the summit, noted that in spite of the billions of dollars invested into telecom infrastructure in African countries, accessibility to telecom services is still relatively very low.
He attributed the disparity to the relatively inadequate infrastructure compared to the population of African countries and poor quality service delivery of the few telecom industries.
"This situation is invariably due to inadequacy of policies, weak regulatory environment as well as the lack of resources for infrastructure development," he said.
Mr Owusu-Agyapong urged his colleague African ministers of communications to be committed to the harmonisation of policies in the sub-region with the view to effectively addressing the problems of infrastructure development, access to market, financing and technology.
"The challenge for us is to create a favourable environment that would attract investors," he said.
Mr Yoshio Utsumi, Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), said while Africa's population increases, the digital divide gap between Africa and the developed world also widens.
He said available statistics indicate that currently only about 28 per cent of Africans use fixed telephones, 14 per cent use mobile phones and an estimated 7.6 per cent use the Internet.
Mr Utsumi noted international calls between developed and developing countries cost more than between two developed countries, saying that a call from Geneva to Ghana for instance cost about 13 times more than from Geneva to the United States.
He said to effectively address these disparities and bridge the digital divide, the ITU would hold a telecom summit between November 12 and 16 to establish common grounds that would inform the UN World Summit on the Information Society slated for 2003 to combat the digital divide problem.
He urged manufacturers of telecommunication infrastructure to develop new rural friendly, affordable equipment to make it easy for rural dwellers to access telecom service.
Mr Shola Taylor, Chief Executive Officer of UK-based Kemilink International Limited, called on African governments to fashion their communication with accessibility, capacity, continuity, reliability and affordability (ACCRA) of telecom service in mind.
Over 100 participants, including 16 African ministers of communications, ICT experts, policy makers and industrialists from ITU and African Telecommunication Union (ATU) member states are attending.
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Ghanaians are supportive
of military - Report
Accra (Greater Accra) 28 March 2001
An overwhelming number of Ghanaians support the military but are cautiously optimistic about its commitment to democratic rule in Ghana.
They are also doubtful of absolute healthy civil-military relations, according to a report of a survey conducted between February and March 2000 by the Centre for Democracy and Development Ghana (CDD).
It was to assess the state of civil-military relations in Ghana and the perceptions of the public of the military institution under democratic rule.
The survey, conducted under the Centre's "Peace-Security for Democracy and Development in West Africa" project, sampled the opinions of 800 respondents in eight of the 10 regions.
The report, obtained by the Ghana News Agency (GNA), was reviewed by representatives of the Ghana Armed Forces, Ministry of the Interior, retired public servants and consultants of the CDD.
It said Ghanaians have a positive impression of the character of the military and support its involvement in international peacekeeping. However, they want a strict separation between military and civilian or political matters.
The report said as much as 84 per cent of respondents were in favour of a standing army and a universal conscription, indicating a very high level of support for the idea of national armed forces.
Over the last 40 years, the Ghana Army has participated in peacekeeping missions in the Congo, Sinai, Lebanon, Liberia, Cambodia and Rwanda, among others. This achievement has received global recognition and respect.
The report said Ghanaians registered a strong approval for the army's overseas engagements, with nearly 90 per cent of respondents in favour of this role.
On the issue of universal conscription, 49 per cent of those surveyed were in favour of military training for all physically fit Ghanaians aged 18 years and above, saying that a draft was necessary for the country to be able to defend itself and instil discipline in the youth.
The survey revealed that the public would want to see matters concerning civilians and the military separated.
Beginning with the issue of living quarters, 80 per cent of respondents want soldiers to be physically separated from civilians and housed in barracks.
Civilians, the report said, want a separation not just in space, but in time as well, with a distinction between what soldiers are allowed to do on and off duty.
The public wants more information concerning the military and substantial parliamentary oversight of many of its procedures.
It said 68 per cent of respondents supported media scrutiny of the military, 69 per cent were in favour of parliamentary scrutiny and 75 per cent desired greater public information on the military.
Areas respondents thought should be subjected to parliamentary scrutiny involved where public funds are directly involved.
Parliamentary oversight of military budget topped this area with 83 per cent in favour, followed by oversight of arms purchase, salaries and benefits paid to soldiers and arms stock.
The report said responses on the topic of a parliamentary oversight for internal military functions such as recruitment and promotion produced split results.
Close to 52 per cent were not in favour of a parliamentary oversight on recruitment while 62 per cent of respondents were against an oversight of issues of promotion within the military.
The public, the report noted, was divided concerning whether soldiers possess a de facto immunity from discipline or prosecution in cases of wrongdoing.
According to the report, 41 per cent said it was easier for military personnel to get away with offences while an equal number said objected to it. Some 18 per cent indicated no opinion on the subject.
The report said 92 per cent of respondents were against soldiers carrying guns while off duty.
While 60 per cent supported the right of soldiers to carry guns while on duty, 30 per cent believed that carrying a gun should be allowed only in particular circumstances.
The survey indicated that political parties are considered purely civilian organisations and that Ghanaians are strongly opposed to any involvement by military personnel in them.
It said 80 per cent of respondents were against active soldiers being members of political parties; 87 per cent believed that they should not hold public office, with 90 per cent saying that soldiers should not attend partisan political rallies in uniform.
The report, however, stated that the visible participation of individual soldiers on political scenes might be read by the public as the official position of the military institution as a whole.
The survey said although the public wanted military involvement in several types of routine tasks within national borders, it is adamantly against the use of the military to evict tenants or to collect debt.
The most popular domestic duties for the military concerned responses to emergency situations, with 92 per cent of respondents supporting disaster relief and 86 per cent in favour of intervention at trouble spots.
In terms of routine duties, 79 per cent favoured the military participating in route marches on national holidays but 90 per cent were opposed to individual soldiers marching in uniform as part of a partisan rally.
The military's construction of roads was backed by 76 per cent of respondents, with 73 per cent supporting its role in maintaining the health infrastructure.
The survey revealed that Ghanaians were split on the use of the military against crowd control, with 52 per cent in favour and 48 per cent against.
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Chiefs
protest against zoning of cotton farms
Tamale (Northern
Region) 28 March 2001
The chiefs of Gushegu and
Karaga Traditional Areas in the Northern Region have protested against the
zoning of the Ghana Cotton Company out of the Gushegu/Karaga District.
They said the company
introduced cotton into the district and that the farmers were satisfied with
its activities.
Gushe-Naa Bawa Yakubu
and Karaga-Naa Mahama Adam, in a statement to the Ministry of Food and
Agriculture (MOFA) and copied to the press, said it was undemocratic for the
ministry to take a unilateral decision of zoning cotton farms in the district
without consulting the farmers.
"We cannot
understand why the ministry decided to embark upon this exercise without any
form of consultation."
The statement said much
as zoning is meant to solve certain problems in the cotton industry, the rights
and views of the farmers should not be overlooked.
"Our farmers are
apprehensive that the companies are trying to create a monopoly over them to
cheat them."
The sector minister,
Major Courage Quashigah (Rtd), during a recent meeting in Tamale with cotton
and rice farmers said cotton farms would be zoned to help address certain
problems in the industry.
The statement said it
is the responsibility of the traditional rulers to protect the interest and
wellbeing of their people.
"If the MOFA
cannot force the numerous companies in the cotton industry to amalgamate, we do
not think it would be right to force our farmers to accept just any
company," the statement said.
The chiefs cautioned
that the replacement of the Ghana Cotton Company with any other company could
lead to anarchy.
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TUC to
support national initiative for children
Accra (Greater Accra)
28 March 2001
The Trades Union Congress
(TUC) said on Tuesday that it would work with the United Nations Children's
Fund (UNICEF) and its allies to further promote the New National Initiative for
the children of Ghana.
The new national partnership
for children seeks to mobilise civil society into direct action to help improve
the lives of children.
It also seeks to
increase and broaden the level of action to campaign for the end of
discrimination against children and adolescents and to fulfil the
implementation of child rights set out in the Convention of the Rights of the
Child.
A statement signed by
Mr Kwasi Adu-Amankwah, TUC Secretary General, said the union endorses the aims
of the partnership, "notably the rights of all the children to education,
immunisation against preventable diseases, freedom from all forms of
exploitation and life in a safe and supportive environment".
The union, he said,
would liaise closely with UNICEF to determine the precise ways in which it
could help the cause of children.
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Kufuor
appoints Annan Cato as Secretary to the Cabinet
Accra (Greater Accra)
28 March 2001
President John Agyekum
Kufuor has appointed Mr Annan Arkyin Cato as Secretary to the Cabinet, a
statement from the Office of the President said on Tuesday.
Mr Cato, who was the
Chief Director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before his appointment, is
one of Ghana's distinguished diplomats.
He is a product of
Achimota School and the University of Ghana, Legon.
He joined the Foreign
Service in 1963 and has served in various capacities in Addis Ababa, Rome, the United Nations, Geneva,
London and Ottawa.
Mr Cato was Director of
State Protocol between 1987 and 1992 and was the High Commissioner to Canada
between 1992 and 1997.
He is married to Rita
Awurama and they have three children and one grandchild.
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