Government to create land division of High Court
Exercise to retrieve arms ongoing
Government urged to regulate law on medical labs
'Delegate' with different agenda at big conference in police grip
Anti-pregnancy 'expert' in police custody
Husband strips wife, subjects her to severe beatings
Government to create land division of High Court
Accra
(Greater Accra) 09 March 2002 - The government is to establish a land court
division of the high court to ensure a speedy determination of land-related
cases. This forms part of government's land reform initiatives aimed at
revitalizing the land administration system in the country.
Prof Kasim
Kasanga, Minister of Lands and Forestry, announced this at the annual general
meeting of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors (GIS) in Accra on Sunday. He said
the thrust of the initiative is to introduce significant improvement in the
land acquisition and the titling process.
Professor
Kasanga said the initiative will entail streamlining the land delivery
processes by removing and deregulating unnecessary processes and requirements,
employing appropriate IT software to automate documentation and land titling
processes. "The initiative will also include enhancing the capacities of
traditional land owners to enable them to play their roles effectively as
partners as well as enhance the level of cooperation between the land sector
agencies through appropriate polities," he said.
Prof.
Kassanga said at the moment land development processes in the country is
fraught with many problems and these pose a lot of risks to investors and
developers. He said in line with the policy of the golden age of business,
government aims at encouraging the private sector to drive the nation's
development process through the creation of a stable economy and an improved
business environment.
The
Minister expressed concern about outstanding land related compensations which
is about ¢800 billion and said it constitutes a significant proportion of the
stock of domestic debt that the government intends to defray. Prof. Kessanga
said this will be done through sound land economics and financial management
techniques.
Mr Francis
Atta-Affram, President of the GIS, expressed concerns about land acquisition
and called on the government to find solutions to issues that militate against
smooth acquisition of land. He said the issue of compensation also needs
serious attention since certain individuals are sidelined when payments are
being considered. - Daily Graphic
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Exercise to retrieve arms ongoing
Accra
(Greater Accra) 11 March 2002 - The Police Administration has described as
erroneous impressions in certain quarters that the recent phenomenon of spousal
murder in the country is the result of the failure of the exercise to retrieve
illegal firearms in the system. It said the exercise, which began last year is
ongoing and appealed to members of the public to help the security agencies to
rid the society of unauthorised firearms.
Mr Kwasi
Nkansah, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) in-charge of Administration, said
in an interview that there is no basis in the claim that it is because the
exercise did not succeed that the use of arms for unauthorised purposes is on
the ascendancy. He said it is yet to be established that the weapons, which
were used to commit the spousal murders were acquired illegally.
Mr Nkansah
conceded that there are unauthorised firearms in the system for which public
support is required to mop up. He explained that last year, the police
retrieved quite a number of firearms in the system but some were returned to
their owners upon the submission of documents including their licences to show
proof that they are authorised to possess the weapons.
Mr Nkansah
noted that the Police Administration is contemplating the introduction of a new
licensing regime where letters would be dispatched to all gun owners to renew
their licences at the beginning of each year. He said no matter when guns are
acquired or licensed, the possession of such guns can only be deemed legal only
when the licences are renewed at the beginning of the year.
Mr Nkansah
said the Ministry of the Interior registers pistol and revolvers, while the
police is required by law to register shotguns, capguns and garden guns. He
noted that the exercise to retrieve the guns began largely because of the
security implications posed by the possession of weapons by unauthorised
persons.
Mr Nkansah
said the spate of armed robberies and the security of the state are of concern
to the security agencies and the government and stated that the phenomenon of
spousal murders has thrown up another security dimension for expedited action
to retrieve all firearms in unauthorised hands.
He said
civilians are debarred from possessing highly sophisticated weapons such as AK
47 assault rifle, which are reserved for use by the security agencies. The
Deputy Commissioner of Police gave conditions under which licenses are granted
to people to own firearms.
He said to
qualify for a licence, the person must be 18 years and above, be of good
character, while he or she must not be suffering from any mental or physical
infirmity. Mr Nkansah also added that such a person must demonstrate whether he
or she has the means to acquire the weapon or it has been bequeathed through
inheritance or as a gift. He said the person to whom a gun has been bequeathed
must demonstrate that the property was bequeathed to him and that he or she
also satisfies the conditions for which licences are given.
Mr Nkansah
said one problem that confronts the police is the process of renewal of the
licences as gun owners are not screened to ascertain whether they still satisfy
the conditions for which the permit was granted. He said this can only be done
if the law is amended so that the police can ask gun owners who want to renew
their licences to demonstrate that they are still mentally sound.
Mr Nkansah
said as the law stands now the police cannot deny the renewal of a licence to a
gun owner when they do not have proof of the person's insanity but added that
"it is possible that after the person acquired the gun legally, he or she
might have developed mental problems. - Daily Graphic
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Government urged to regulate law on medical labs
Tamale
(Northern Region) 09 March 2002 - Mr Seth Amankwah, Coordinator of Laboratory
Services, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, has called for a law to regulate the
activities of medical laboratories in the country. He said the absence of such
a law denied patients any legitimate legal redress in the event of wrong
diagnosis.
Mr Amankwah
was speaking at a training workshop organised by Human Diagnestica Ghana for
medical laboratory technicians in Tamale on its products, which include
reagents and medical laboratory equipment. According to him, such a law would
also ensure quality control and assurance by the laboratory to ensure that
their reports were accurate.
He
described laboratory services in the country as "not the best" and
described the situation where some laboratories do not even have refrigerators
to store reagents and yet they undertake very important tests like HIV/AIDS. Mr
Amankwah, a lecturer at the University of Ghana Medical School, said that
request for HIV/AIDS test should be done with circumspection because of the
trauma that diagnosed patients go through.
He said it
was ethically wrong for some churches to pressurize their members who intend
marrying to undergo HIV/AIDS test without consulting a qualified medical
personnel for pre-counselling and after test counseling procedures to manage
the individual. Mr Amankwah appealed to medical officers to help minimize the
medical cost of patients by being specific on the demand for laboratory test. –
The Ghanaian Times
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 09 March 2002 - A consultant urologist at the Korle-Bu Teaching
Hospital, Professor E. Donkor Yeboah, has said that reported cases of erectile
dysfunction, commonly known as impotence, is on the increase. He said out of
every 2000 patients who call at the Out-Patients-Department of the hospital to
see him, about 10 to 15 per cent present cases of erectile dysfunction
"and this figure is gradually increasing".
According
to him, the problem can affect all sexually active persons and that the mean
age of patients is 62 years. Unfortunately, he said, some patients take
"all sorts of things" in an attempt to solve their problems and only
come to the hospital when they fail to get results.
He said he
is aware that a large number of alcoholic beverages on the market claim to
contain aphrodisiac properties but warned that alcohol have a very devastating
effect on one's sexual performance. "In fact what alcohol does is to
increase the desire for sex and decrease sexual performance".
He said the
Mampong Centre for Research into Plant Medicine, which is an affiliate of the
College of Health Sciences, has not officially notified the Korle Bu Teaching
hospital about any alcoholic beverage that the centre has tested and
recommended for the treatment of sexual weakness.
"If
there are any herbs that can treat impotence or sexual weakness let us do
proper research into them and package them well for the public rather than take
advantage of people's desire for good health to sell anything to them, after
all we can all become patients one day", Professor Yeboah said.
He said
there are two types of erectile dysfunction, namely, psychogenic and organic,
He explained that psychogenic patients may suffer from erectile dysfunction as
a result of stress, anxiety or may be fed up with their partners and that they
usually get erection on their own, especially in the night or early in the
morning. This, he said, is relatively easier and less expensive to treat.
He said
those who have organic cases do not have erection at all and their problem may
be the result of diseases that affect the penis or its blood vessels or
injuries to the penis. Others are nervous disorders through diseases like
diabetes, hypertension, cancer of the prostrate as well as alcohol and other
chemicals.
Prof Yeboah
said, "in fact a lot of alcoholics are impotent because of the direct
effect of alcohol on their system." He added that out of the patients who
complain of impotence about 20 per cent are due to psychogenic causes; 64 per
cent due to organic causes and 16 per cent due to a mixture of both.
He said
about 93 per cent of patients with psychogenic cases usually respond to
treatment, 82 per cent with organic cases respond to treatment while another 82
per cent with mixed cases of psychogenic and organic also respond to treatment.
The urologist said there are specialists who are capable of treating all forms
of erectile dysfunction and advised people with erectile problems to see a
doctor, "because such problems may be the indication of serious health
problems." - The Mirror
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'Delegate' with different agenda at big conference in police grip
Accra
(Greater Accra) 09 March 2002 - Immaculately dressed like a corporate executive
with all the airs, pomp and debonair of a Very Important Person (VIP), Kofi
Ansah, a businessman, smartly appeared at the Accra International Conference
Centre on the morning of February 16, 2002.
He
patiently went through registration formalities to be a participant in an
African Regional Seminar on Copyright, to be held at the Centre. Unknown to the
organizers, the 35-year-old bespectacled gentleman was there on a different
mission, very unrelated to matters pertaining to copyright.
Ansah
strategically positioned himself within the front row and listened with rapt
attention as the first session for the day came to a close to make way for a
short break which Ansah, for a very curious reason, refused to take. He
remained in the conference hall, and thinking that the tired delegates were now
only concerned about stretching their limbs and having some refreshment, he
stood up and picked a handbag which had long caught his eye.
He selected
what he wanted and kept his cool. A Namibian national, Mr Walter Naftalie
Kahivere, who was Ansah's victim lost his Namibian passport, one camera, two
air tickets, 437 US dollars, 800 Rands and the cedi equivalent of 190 US
dollars.
When Ansah
was immediately confronted, he claimed he belonged to the GTV news team
covering the seminar. He however, vanished soon after the confrontation. He
came back to the conference this time in a different attire. But an earlier
photograph taken on him and other participants, however, gave him up.
Suspicious
of his behaviour the organizers confronted Ansah again, but he vehemently
denied ever stealing from the hall. Not satisfied with his explanation, the
organizers sent him to the Osu Police Station and after interrogation; he was
arraigned before the Osu Community Tribunal on Wednesday, February 27, 2002. He
pleaded not guilty to the charge of stealing.
Police
Chief Inspector, Chris Quarcoo, told the tribunal chaired by Mr George Nana
Donkor that most of the items allegedly taken by Ansah were personal belongings.
The items in the bag included a Namibian passport, two air tickets, 800 Rand,
437 US dollars and the cedi equivalent of 190 US dollars.
He said
Ansah faked as a participant went to the Accra International Conference Centre
(AICC) when the conference was being held and joined the participants. During
break time after the first session of the seminar Ansah chose to remain in the
conference hall whilst the rest of the participants went out for some
refreshment.
Ansah
realizing that everyone was out of the hall picked Walters handbag and stole
the items earlier mentioned. But some of the participants had spotted Ansah
picking some items from a bag. They confronted him but he claimed to be a
member of the GTV news team covering the seminar. With this explanation, they
left him. Ansah then vanished from the scene.
Walter
returned later from the break and detected the theft and reported the mater to
the organisers of the seminar. They suspected Ansah and began looking for him
but he could nowhere be found.
Earlier, a
photographer at the seminar had taken photographs of almost all the
participants including Ansah in the attire he wore to the seminar that day. Not
quite long, Ansah emerged again this time dressed in a different attire. He was
confronted and after questioning was handed over to the Osu Police.
Chief
Inspector Quacoo said Ansah has refused to take the police to the house where
he changed his dress so as to retrieve the attire which the photograph revealed
he first wore to the seminar and possibly the stolen items which have still not
been retrieved.
Mr E. Manu,
counsel for Ansah prayed the tribunal to grant his client bail as the stealing
charge preferred against him was based on mere suspicion. The judge refused to
grant him bail. When asked why he was arrested in a different attire other than
what he wore to the seminar as indicated in the picture and why he was at the
seminar, neither Ansah nor his counsel could explain. Ansah was remanded into
prison custody. - The Spectator
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Anti-pregnancy 'expert' in police custody
Hwiremoase
(Ashanti Region) 09 March 2002 - The Hwiremoase Police in the Adansi East
District of Ashanti, have arrested a 45-year-old farmer, Otu Kwasi, for
allegedly injecting drugs into the private parts of teenage girls ostensibly to
prevent them from getting pregnant. Two girls who have fallen victim to the act
are helping the investigations.
According
to a member of the town's unit committee, Mr Charles Antwi, over a period there
were rumours that a man resident in the town was injecting an unknown drug,
into the private parts of the teenage girls as a contraceptive. Later, he said
a woman informed them that Otu had invited her daughter to "continue the
injection."
Mr Antwi
said the committee called the girl and instructed her on what to do when she
goes to Otu's room. He said while they were instructing the girl, another
teenage girl came to report of her ordeal with Otu. Mr Antwi said they
contacted the police who lay ambush in the neighbourhood of Otu's house.
He said
within minutes of the girl entering Otu's room they heard screams amidst a
struggle. Mr Antwi said the police burst into the room but on seeing them Otu
dropped the bottle containing the drug and broke it. When questioned Otu
claimed that the girls voluntarily came to him for assistance to avoid
pregnancy. Otu has been placed in custody. - The Mirror
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Husband strips wife, subjects her to severe beatings
Bolgatanga
(Upper East Region) 09 March 2002 - A 25-year old farmer who had a dream that
his wife had divorced him, quickly went to a soothsayer who also divined that a
divorce was in the pipeline. Angry at the prospect of losing his wife,
Asampabilla Akelenteera took an action, which everyone agrees was totally
outlandish and senseless.
He stripped
his wife naked and subjected her to a severe beating. The enraged husband is
currently cooling off in police custody, having been remanded by the Bolgantaga
Circuit Court. The prosecution said the accused told his wife, Abena Avoya, 19,
on December 19, 2001, that he had a dream confirmed by a soothsayer that she
was planning to divorce him.
To prevent
the woman from going away, the accused packed her clothes, cooking utensils, a
bag of groundnuts and other items belonging to her and took them to another
house. Detective Chief Inspector Yahaya Bukari said that when Abena Avoya
demanded from her husband that all the seized items be returned to her, the
accused took offence and together with his mother, he stripped the complainant
naked and beat her severely.
Not
satisfied, the accused further used a knife and cut his wife's plaited hair,
and later took her to her mother and told her. "Take your foolish
daughter." According to the prosecutor, the accused’s mother-in-law on
seeing her daughter's terrible condition, reported the case to the police at
Sirugu. He said Abena was rushed to the Novrongo Hospital where she was
treated. - The Spectator.
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