Kwamoso farmers fear loosing farm land under NPP government
ADF gives Ghana 19 million dollars for inland valley rice project
GT urged to stop cheating and inefficiencies in billing system
Women, victims of domestic violence
NDC denies front-page story of Guide
Evergreen Club of Ghana wins Global 500 award
Damage caused to NPP is irreparable - Movement
Food and Drugs Board gets mandate
IRS urged to facilitate enjoyment of tax relief by workers
Volta Region attains 100 per cent approval rate
Lawsuit delays formation of Council of State - Baah-Wiredu
GPRTU, not affiliate of NDC - Chairman
Koforidua (Eastern Region)
BY Edmund Quaynor
Farmers in Kwamoso in the Akuapem
North District look on worried as politicians decide on the new use of the
lands of the defunct Kwamoso Oil Palm plantation, which they had been farming
since 1989.
At a meeting in April this year
with Heads of Department of the Akuapem North District Assembly as part of his
tour of the District, the new Eastern Regional Minister, Dr. Francis
Osafo-Mensah announced his decision to have the Ghana Prisons Services take
over the Kwamoso lands to establish settlement farms for the Prisons service.
Dr. Osafo-Mensah explained that,
information available to his office indicate that the 1500 acres farm land was
being farmed by about ten former workers of the defunct State Oil Palm Plantation
and a group of squatters.
The announcement was received with
mix-feelings by the over 2000 families of settler farmers who depend on the
Kwamoso lands.
While the farmers were still
thinking of how to meet the Regional Minister to brief him on their activities
and if possible convince him to change his mind, they were hit by yet another
problem - they saw surveyers marking portions of the farmland for development
into a hotel and recreational complex.
According to the leader of the
surveyers, Mr. Anim Ayeko of Mamfi, he was engaged by the Member of Parliament
for Akropong Constituency, Mr. Agyare Koi-Larbi to curve out between 300 to 400
acres of the Kwamoso farmlands for development into a hotel and recreational
complex with a swimming pool, tennis court and gulf course. He said the aim of the project was to help
attract tourists to the Akuapem area and create employment for the youth.
Speaking in a telephone interview,
Mr. Koi-Larbi confirmed the story to this reporter and said the project would be
financed by some international company
and it would be subjected to the approval of the financiers.
He however gave the assurance that
before the project takes off, efforts would be made to relocate the affected
farmers.
The area where Mr. Koi-Larbi had
requested to be demarcated for his project included a 100 acre land used by the
Grains and Legumes Board of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture for the
production of Obatanpa maize foundation seeds for sale to seed maize growers to
help increase the supply of quality seed maize to farmers in the country.
At the moment the board is
cultivating a 20 acre Obatanpa foundation seed farm and a 15 acre improved
cassava variety farm on the land under the Root and Tuber Project for supply of
cassava cuttings to farmers in the Eastern Region.
The Kwamoso lands were acquired by
the Ghana Government and used for a 1500 acre Oil Palm Plantation but due to
poor management, in 1987, the Government ordered the palm trees to be fell and
left only 100 acres on the land. For the same bad management problem, the
remaining 100 acres left were also felled last year.
To avoid the Kwamoso farm land
from going waste, in 1989, the Akuapem North District Assembly charged the
District Secretariat of the National Mobilization Programme (NMP) to mobilize
youth in the Akuapem area and people interested in farming to farm the it to
help create employment for the youth and increased food production in the area.
As at the end of 2000, the NMP has
mobilised about 2000 families grouped in 86 Mobisquards to cultivate over 1000
acres of the Kwamoso farmlands. Records available at the NMP office indicate
that, the office was expected to collect about 10 million cedis in terms of
rent for the Akuapem North District Assembly from the farmers for the year 2000
farming season alone.
At the moment, farmers in Kwamoso
have cultivated 500 acres of cassava and maize and the area is a major supplier
of maize and cassava products to the Akuapem area and areas around Accra North.
The area has 50 acres of papaw farm, 50 acres of pineapple, 50 acres of
vegetables and 20 acres of plantain farms all targeted for the export market.
This year, a company, Potatoes
Shop, Affiliated to the British Potatoes Council has started a five acre Irish
potatoes farm on trial basis. The company planned to increase its farm to 200
acres by next year if the project proves successful.
The company objective is to export
majority of its products.
Commenting on the decision to use
part of the Kwamoso lands for the hotel and recreational complex and to
allocate the remaining land to the prisons Service, Mr. Ben Mensah, Akuapem
North District Co-ordinator of NMP expressed surprise at the decisions and said
may be the Member of Parliament for Akropong Constituency, Mr. Koi-Larbi and
Dr. Osafo-Mensah have not been properly briefed about the real situation at
Kwamoso.
He said Kwamoso is among the very
few places where the farmlands of the defunct State Farms have been properly
maintained and utilised well. To him the Kwamoso example could be replicated in
other places where there are state farmlands.
The situation, he said could
negate the government’s own policy of promotion of private initiative in
business.
Observers at Kwamoso believed that
some influential Akuapem citizens want to take advantage of the situation at
the Kwamoso farmlands to take over the land.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 31 May 2001
The Board of Directors of the African Development Fund (ADF) has approved a loan of about 19 million dollars (15 million units of account) to finance Ghana's inland valleys rice development project.
A statement from the Abidjan-based African Development Bank received in Accra on Wednesday said the objective of the project is to enhance food security and reduce rice imports.
"It specifically seeks to increase the incomes of smallholder rice producers of the Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Central, Eastern and Western regions by increasing the production of good quality local rice," the statement said.
Some 9,000 farmers and 150 people involved in rice milling and trading will benefit from the project.
The project is also expected to increase paddy rice production by 60,000 metric tons over five years.
The ADF, the Ghana government and the beneficiaries will jointly finance the project. The ADF loan will be used to finance the entire foreign exchange cost and 76 per cent of the local currency expenditure of the project whose total cost is estimated at about 21.64 million dollars.
The project will involve the development of 5,500 hectares of rice, improvement of 280 kilometres of access roads and field tracks and provision of about 6.17 million dollars credit for farm inputs and equipment.
It will also support the training of beneficiaries and technical staff, and the development of rice agronomic packages and technologies.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 31 May 2001
The Ghana Telecom Company Limited (Ghana Telecom) has been urged to take firm measures to remove cheating and inefficiencies in its billing system.
Mr Owusu Ankomah, an independent presidential aspirant in the last general election and chairman of Ghana Fashion Council, described the present billing system of Ghana Telecom as "awful and a disincentive to business".
Mr Ankomah cited instances where customers were charged for telephone calls they never made.
He said a critical scrutiny of the itemised bills of the company reveals what he sees as "unpardonable anomalies in the recording of the time spent by customers during phone calls.
He showed some of the itemised bills prepared between January and March this year which sought to create the impression that a customer using one direct exchange phone line is able to make separate calls on the same line at the same time.
Mr Ankomah wondered how one could for example stand on the same phone line and simultaneously speak to different people in different countries like America and Spain.
"This is complete fraud on customers and cannot be justified by anybody", he said, adding, "we are not amused by the usual explanation of computer error".
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Offinso (Ashanti Region) 31 May 2001
The nomination of Mr F. K. Buor as the Offinso District Chief Executive and the failure of the assembly to confirm him is seriously threatening the unity and growth of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the District.
Mr Pambour Karikari-Prempeh, Assembly Member for Dome-Aboasu, who made the observation at Offinso on Wednesday noted with concern, the clandestine activities of some few party members that is deeply affecting the unity and growth of the party.
He recalled that when Mr Buor was nominated a few NPP supporters embarked on a campaign of lies and personality attacks aimed at ensuring his rejection by the assembly members.
"As a campaign manager to Mr Buor at last year's primaries to select a parliamentary candidate for Offinso South constituency, some few party members, who opposed him have again adopted the same strategy to destroy me and Mr Owusu Badu, the Constituency Chairman with the aim of creating a rift between us to satisfy their own personal agenda", he said.
Mr Karikari-Prempeh described as unfortunate, disheartening and palpable false, a rumour being circulated by the opponents of Mr Buor that he and Mr Owusu Badu voted against Mr Buor and said it is a propaganda machinery to win the confidence of other assembly members to satisfy their hidden agenda.
He cautioned the opportunists, whose aim is to create confusion, disunity, disrespect to the party's leadership and disintegration to refrain from such acts.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 31 May 2001
Research has shown that women continue to be primarily the major victims of domestic violence and suffer severe physical and mental tortures in their homes.
This violence slows down the development of women and as a result negatively affects the development of the nation, Dr Emmanuel Mensah, Director-General of the Ghana Health Services said in Accra on Wednesday.
He said in a speech read for him at a seminar on training of medical personnel on the handling of victims of domestic violence, that violence against women has a long- term health consequences.
It also has direct negative impact on several important health issues including safe motherhood, family planning and sexually transmitted infectious diseases such as AIDS.
The training programme is to sensitise the personnel to know the type of evidence to gather when a victim visits the health facility.
It will also enable them to offer assistance to the victim even in the absence of a medical doctor and provide detailed reports on victims of domestic violence that will help the judicial system.
The seminar was organised by leadership and Advocacy for Women in Africa (LAWA) and Multi -Disciplinary African Women's Health Network (MAWHN).
He said children are often caught in between a lot of cases of domestic violence. Such children may sometimes sustain long lasting psychological trauma and emotional scars.
Dr Afua Hesse, a representative of MAWHN said over 90 per cent of these domestic violence are done by close relatives with most of the perpetrators getting away with the crimes.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 31 May 2001
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Tuesday denied a story in the May 28 edition of the Daily Guide, which alleged that Former President, Flt. Lt. J. J. Rawlings has accepted the police bodyguards detailed to guard him.
A release signed by Alhaji Huudu Yahaya, General Secretary of the party, described the story as "deliberately misleading."
It is a "desperate attempt by the writer to salvage the image of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government relative to its handling of former President Rawlings' personal security."
It said although Former President Rawlings has not officially agreed to the new arrangement, "he has on humanitarian grounds been seeing to their general welfare as it is clear that they are virtually left in the streets by those who sent them there."
The release said the security detail from the Ghana Police Service are not within the Former President's residence, but are limited to patrolling the streets adjoining his residence.
According to the release, "it is obvious that the NPP government is not concerned with the real security of Former President Rawlings. If it was, the government will not be sending police men to patrol his premises without adequate arrangements for their maintenance."
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Accra (Greater Accra) 31 May 2001
The Evergreen Club of Ghana is among 18 individuals and organisations that won this year's Global 500 Roll of Honour for dedication to environmental protection.
Others include the Dalian Municipal Government of China, the Environmental
Investigation Agency of the United Kingdom, Dr. Friederick Gikandi of Kenya, Dr.
Chan Eng Heng and Liew Hawk Chark of Malasia.
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) presents the awards annually to individuals and organisations that have made outstanding contributions to the protection of the environment.
A statement by Klaus Topefer, Executive Director of UNEP on Wednesday, said since the inception of the award in 1987, 719 individuals and organisations, in both the adult and youth categories have been honoured with the Global 500 award.
"The winners on the UNEP's Global 500 Roll of Honour are members of a board and growing environmental movement that is flourishing around the world.
"They have taken the path that most of us hesitate to take for want of time or caring," he said.
The awards will be presented in Torino, Italy, at the World Environment Day 2001 ceremonies on June five.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 31 May 2001
The Young Elephants Movement, a youth wing of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has said that the damage caused to the party by Alhaji Issaka Inusah during last year's general election is unforgettable and he should, therefore, not be re-admitted into the party.
A statement signed by Nana Kusi Abeyie, National Secretary of the Movement, urged the national executives of the party to protect, guard and save the good image of the party by refusing to accept Alhaji Inusa back into its fold.
The statement was in reaction to the announcement by Alhaji Inusah, former Campaign Manager of President J. A. Kufuor that he was returning to the party.
The statement said, "Alhaji Inusah is dangerous and should not be entertained at all. We don't want him. In fact, it will be better for him to quit politics".
It added that members of the movement chased out Alhaji Inusah at Acherensua during the delayed parliamentary election there because he was involved in acts to rig the elections in favour of the NDC.
Alhaji Inusah defected to the NDC party in the heat of the political campaign for the 2000 general elections.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 31 May 2001
The Ashanti Regional Re-organisation Committee (RCC) of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has launched a programme code-named "Operation Sankofa 2004" as part of its reorganisation exercise.
Alhaji Mohammed Sanni, Chairman of the Ashanti Regional Reorganisation Committee (ARRC) at the inauguration of the various constituency reorganisation committees in the Kumasi Metropolis, explained that the NDC allowed petty bickering and backbiting as well as complacency and arrogance to disintegrate its support base, which ultimately cost the party the election.
Alhaji Sanni said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) did not win the election but rather it was the NDC that lost the election.
It therefore behoves the party members to wake up to the realities and galvanise themselves to reorganise the party to win back political power in the 2004 elections.
“Now that we are all suffering the pain of losing an election and being vilified, intimidated and harassed, let us correct our mistakes and shortcomings to bounce back."
He recalled the unity, strength and stability with which the party worked to win the 1992 and 1996 elections and urged them to rediscover themselves, work hard for victory, adding, "united we stand divided we fall".
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Accra (Greater Accra) 31 May 2001
The Food and Drugs Board (FDB) has been mandated to oversee the food and drug administration in Ghana.
A statement issued in Accra on Wednesday by the Ministry of Health said the FDB was given the nod over the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) at a meeting between the Ministers of Health and Trade and Industry, Dr. Richard Anane and Dr. Konadu Apraku and officials of FDB and the GSB.
The meeting was to resolve the conflict in some specific functions in respect of the two establishments.
It recognised the limitation of the FDB in the performance of some of its functions and resolved that areas for which FDB does not have the adequate capacity at the moment should be contracted to the GSB.
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Koforidua (Eastern Region) 31 May 2001
The Eastern Regional Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Mr Kofi Aduamoah Simpson has urged the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to ensure that workers enjoy the tax relief announced in the budget without any hindrance.
He, therefore, called for the streamlining of the cumbersome procedure to ensure confidence and to boost the income of taxpayers.
Mr Simpson was opening a day's public forum on the government's 2001 budget
organised jointly by the GNAT and the Centre for Budget Advocacy (CBA) at
Koforidua on Wednesday.
Participants were drawn from civil society organisations including the Media, Trades Union Congress and political parties.
Mr Simpson said, "workers are not interested in how the government attains a budget surplus but how much the macro-economic policies promote positive changes in their lifestyles."
Speaking on the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, Mr Felix Asante-Annor, Eastern Regional Budget Officer of the Ghana Education Service (GES), noted that by opting for the Initiative, a country stood to obtain debt relief to spend more on social infrastructure and poverty alleviation.
He stated that the Kufuor administration had no alternative than opting to accept the Initiative considering the precarious economic situation it inherited from the previous administration, which made the country qualified for the HIPC status.
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Keta (Volta Region) 31 May 2001
The Volta Region achieved a 100 per cent approval rate for all the 12 District Chief Executives nominated by the President with the approval of Mr Emmanuel Vorkey, 58, a Journalist and a Publisher, as the District Chief Executive (DCE) of the Keta District on Wednesday.
He polled 64 out of the 66 votes cast representing 97 per cent.
In his acceptance speech Mr Vorkey said he would consolidate the achievements of the previous government in the area and urged members to "forget about the harsh words said about each other during the electioneering campaign and come together to put the district on an accelerated growth".
Mr Kwasi Owusu-Yeboa, Volta Regional Minister, had earlier urged members of the assembly to assess Mr Vorkey on his personal merit, devoid of party or other sectional considerations.
This how nominees to the position of District Chief Executives fared in the Volta
Region:
District No of voters Votes For Votes Against Votes Rejected Percentage
Ho 73 72 1 0 98.6
Hohoe 62 62 0 0 100
North-Tongu 55 54 1 0 98.2
South-Tongu 48 46 2 0 95.8
Akatsi 47 35 12 0 74.4
Ketu 75 54 21 0 72
Kadjebi 41 36 4 0 87.8
Krachi 52 49 3 0 94
Nkwanta 42 35 7 0 83
Kpando 63 51 12 0 81
Jasikan 63 61 1 1 96.8
Keta 66 64 2 0 97
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Accra (Greater Accra) 31 May 2001
Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, on Thursday said the formation of the Council of State is being delayed by a lawsuit filed by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) seeking a perpetual injunction to restrain the Electoral Commission (EC) from conducting elections for regional representatives of the Council.
"With the completion of the selection of the two representatives of the 110 District Assemblies to form the Regional Electoral Colleges, the Electoral Commission is mandated to conduct the elections to elect the regional representatives to the Council of State to complement the president's nominees," he said.
Mr Baah-Wiredu said in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra that until the final determination of the suit the EC could not hold the elections.
The Supreme Court will rule on the suit on June13.
The NDC in its suit said that district assemblies could only perform their duties of electing someone to the Electoral College if and only when they are properly constituted, which was not the case at the time the EC gave notice for the elections.
It said letters written by the Minister of Local Government had terminated the appointments of all district chief executives at the time of the notice of the elections.
Under the Constitution, the Council of State shall consist of a former Chief Justice, a former Chief of Defence Staff, a former Inspector-General of Police and the president of the National House of Chiefs.
There shall also be one representative from each region elected by an electoral college comprising two representatives of each district assembly and 11 other members appointed by the President.
Giving statistics on those who have filed their nomination papers, the minister said only five female candidates from three regions would contest the elections. One woman filed in the Western Region and two each in the Central and Northern regions.
The Ashanti and Eastern regions filed the highest number of contestants of 14 each while the Northern and Greater Accra filed the least of six candidates each.
The rest are Central (13), Western (11), Volta (8), Upper West (8) and Brong Ahafo (7).
Under the laws of the elections, a candidate who obtains the highest number of valid votes cast shall be declared elected and where two or more people obtain the highest votes the process of elections shall continue until one is elected.
The instruments provide that the existing electoral laws shall apply to the council of state election with modifications and adaptations as directed by the commission.
The Commission is enjoined to furnish the President with the names of the 10 elected regional representatives and publish the results in the Gazette.
A source at EC who confirmed the minister's assertion told the GNA that the commission is waiting for the Supreme Court's decision on the interim injunction before fixing a date.
"The commission cannot conduct the elections, although the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development has officially informed the EC of the completion of selection of representatives for the regional electoral colleges throughout the country," the source said.
The election was to have been conducted on March 20 in accordance with Article 89 of the 1992 constitution.
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Mankessim (Central Region) 31 May 2001
Mr Robert Eshun, Central Regional Chairman of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) has dismissed the notion that the union is an integral wing of the National Democratic Party (NDC).
He said GPRTU is one of the 17 affiliated unions of the Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC) and like the other affiliates, it is non-partisan.
Mr Eshun was re-acting to a statement attributed to Mr John Scott, former Chairman of Senya-Bereku branch of GPRTU that the union is a wing of the NDC and that all its officials are NDC supporters.
Denying Mr Scott's allegations, Mr Eshun cautioned the government to be wary of disgruntled elements who, would like to destroy others through foul means to win its favour.
Mr Eshun said the wind of change provides an opportunity for sober reflection and stock taking to enable all Ghanaians to contribute meaningfully to national development instead of resorting to character assassination of perceived opponents.
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