Those who breach norms of journalism will face the law - Ministry
Colonial boundaries source of conflict - Totobi
NDC students express concern over demonstration
Experts brain storm solutions to desertification.
Manual on Municipal Waste management out
Munufie assures Ghanaians of Compensation
Those who breach norms of journalism will face the law - Ministry
Accra (Greater Accra) 2 Nov. '99
"Those who breach the basic norms of journalism and seek to undermine the peace and stability of the country" by vicious, unverified and unsubstantiated allegations against the elected Head of State and government of the country must be prepared to face the laws of the land.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Ministry of Communications in connection with a publication in the "Weekend Statesman" of 29 October - 4 November, 1999 under the banner headline "Tapes from the Rawlings Episode".
Joy FM, an Accra radio station, also broadcast the tapes.
The statement signed by Commander P.M.G. Griffiths, a Deputy Minister of Communications, said the Ministry has persistently cautioned against the abuse of press freedom.
Freedom of speech can never mean the freedom to scandalise.
The statement said the publication contained serious allegations, which impinge on the integrity of the President and the government as a whole.
The Ministry of the Interior and Police had announced steps to conduct thorough investigations into the matter and establish the source of the recording and the persons behind it.
The statement said the Weekend Statesman delivered copies of the recording to the Ministry of the Interior and IGP on the afternoon of 29 October, when the paper had come out with the story, falsely stating that they had already delivered the tapes to the said state officials.
"While waiting for the outcome of investigations, the Ministry wishes to express its outrage at this latest attempt to bring the President of the Republic and the government into disrepute, hatred, ridicule and contempt."
The Ministry said the publication is "a very bizarre twist in the unending saga of the vicious efforts to sow seeds of disaffection against the government as part of the dirty tricks by a section of the opposition in a pre-election year."
The statement noted that a section of the private press, including local FM stations, have conspired to publish and broadcast all manner of unverified and fabricated allegations calculated to taint the image of the government.
It cited stories that claimed the government was engaged in drug trafficking, a falsified picture of the President allegedly swimming at a Swiss resort as some of the examples.
"In the view of the Ministry, this latest publication in the Weekend Statesman is designed to foul the atmosphere for the pending visit of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and lower the esteem of the President and the people of Ghana, who elected him."
The statement added that the Publication also fits into the grand design of a section of the opposition to generate hostility against the government as part of their preparations for the demonstrations previously planned for 4 November.
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Colonial boundaries source of conflict - Totobi
Accra (Greater Accra) 2 Nov. '99
Mr Kofi Totobi Quakyi, Minister of National Security, on Monday said colonial artificial boundaries have long become potential sources of conflict and tension between countries, societies and communities.
Mr Quakyi, who was opening the second International Peace Support Operations Course in Accra, said many African countries at independence became preoccupied with the need to protect their territorial sovereignty.
Thirty-two participants from Germany, USA, Belgium and 11 African countries are attending the two-week course, being organised by the Ghana Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence.
It aims, among other things, at laying the foundation for greater interregional co-operation and exchange of ideas in peace support operations, stimulating efforts at bridging the Anglophone-Francophone divide that has plagued the continent for a long time.
Mr Quakyi said in the recent past, there has been a disturbing growth in the number as well as the complexity of such conflicts and crisis situations.
The turbulent security and political situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, The great Lakes region, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau are having devastating impact on the continent.
He said a recent report has revealed that since 1989, Africa has had more armed conflicts, which have taken a regional character than any other continent.
Apart from the well-known ones, other countries suffer from internal instabilities, which could evolve into greater civil strife with serious consequences for democracy and development.
Mr Quakyi said the attention being placed on peace and security on the continent is, therefore, justifiable.
Ghana and a number of other African countries have welcomed various initiatives taken by the UN and other member states aimed at standardising training and training support systems.
Mr Quakyi said Ghana has participated in African Crisis Response Initiative Programme, "in the belief that such external bilateral training assistance should be seen as complementary to our own training efforts".
He said more countries are now providing troops or taking part in contingency training towards future peace keeping operations.
"This underlines the global responsibility for conflict resolution as it enhances and adds legitimacy to peace keeping operations".
Mr Quakyi said Ghanaian troops on peace keeping have proved that they have the necessary skills, training, and experience adding that this credible performance has been acclaimed world wide including the UN.
He said, "this international experience in peace keeping has taught us how important it is to be able to operate and co-operate in a multi-national environment".
A multinational peacekeeping force will not work effectively unless there is cohesion of troops, inter-operability of equipment and harmonisation of procedures.
He said Ghana would continue to support efforts for periodic seminars and joint training exercise, at least at the sub-regional level as a means of achieving these important objectives.
Brigadier R. K Agbemasu, Commandant of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College, said the course is at the initiative of President Jerry John Rawlings.
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NDC students express concern over demonstration
Accra (Greater Accra) 2 Nov. '99
The executive body of the Tertiary Education Institutional Network (TEIN) of the NDC, Kumasi Polytechnic Chapter, on Monday expressed its concern about the planned demonstration by the opposition parties against the government.
"This demonstration in the midst of the arrival of the Queen will be an insult to the Ghanaian citizenry".
In a statement issued on Monday in Accra by Mr Abudu Abu Mahama, Secretary of TEIN, criticised the opposition's disapproval of the regime and conduct of affairs without offering any suggestions for the national good.
It said this is "a ploy to seek political kingdom and control of the economy, but not with the desire to change affairs."
The TEIN, therefore, urged the electorate to give the NDC the mandate to pursue its human centred developmental programme by voting massively for the party in the 2000 general elections.
It also called on the opposition demonstrators to join the NDC government to campaign for investors to come and invest in the private sector.
This, the statement believes, will lead to the creation of more jobs for the youth and promote national growth.
In another development, the leadership of the opposition political parties have been asked to show genuine and firm disposition towards national peace, cohesion and stability.
Mr Yaw Owusu Obimpeh, Ashanti Regional Youth Organiser of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who made the call, criticised them for what he sees as "their penchant for creating confusion and political mischief".
Addressing the NDC youth in the Odotobri Constituency at Jacobu, he noted that unbridled use of public demonstrations and protests as a tool by the opposition political parties and its leaders to incite anger and hatred against the government could undermine the peace and security of the country.
Mr Obimpeh observed that the dislocation of the economy has been caused by prevailing realities on the international market, citing the fall in the export prices of cocoa and gold and the rise in the price of crude oil.
These, he said, are hard facts that should be appreciated by all and expressed surprise at the accusations levelled against the government for what they perceive as inefficiency and mismanagement.
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Experts brain storm solutions to desertification.
Accra (Greater Accra) 2 Nov. '99
A 12-day seminar to develop capacity in the planning and implementation of a national action programme to combat desertification opened in Accra on Monday.
The experts from meteorological Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Agencies would be trained in the collection, processing and interpretation of climatic data to assess drought and its effect on agricultural production, among other things.
It was jointly organised by the FAO and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) under the auspices of the Ministry of Communications.
Commander P. M. G. Griffiths, a Deputy Minister of Communications, emphasised the need to offer climatic data to those who need them most in order "to prepare them physically, mentally and psychologically against the consequences of disasters."
He said although people cannot control natural disasters, with relevant information, they could mitigate their effects.
Cdr Griffiths said Vision 2020 would be enhanced if Ghanaians were able to apply climatic data for drought and flood preparedness and manage them for sustainable agriculture.
Cdr Griffiths said it was against this background that the role of communication in meteorological service is so vital.
The Ministry would not neglect its duties in ensuring that the Meteorological Services Department is provided with the necessary resources to discharge its role in the national interest.
He urged the participants to come out with a worthy national action plan for the economic development of the nation.
Mr Johnson Asiedu-Nketiah, a Deputy Minister of Agriculture, said drought and mid-season dry spells are common in West Africa and the understanding of the mechanisms that trigger them is vital for proper agriculture planning.
Analysis of a long-term meteorological data is necessary to obtain reliable estimates of the probabilities of occurrence of certain stress patterns that happen to crops.
Mr George K. Mburathi, FAO Deputy Representative for Africa, said, agro-meteorology needs to play a key role in the intensification of agricultural production.
National capacities need to be strengthened to make use of climatic data for drought preparedness and management of sustainable agriculture.
He said that except for the south-western zone of Ghana, the unreliability of rainfall is a major factor affecting crop growth, especially after germination.
Despite this situation, less than zero point five per cent of the potential irrigable area in the country has been developed since formal irrigation started in the early 1960s.
One of the main factors for the slow pace of irrigation development is the limited capacity to identify, formulate and implement projects that are adapted in an optimum way to the water resources besides its high cost per hectare.
Mr Mburathi said lack of farmers' participation is another factor for the slow pace of development.
The water control component of the special programme for food security project, which has been launched, would lead to the adaptation of improved low-cost irrigation practices and techniques for increased food production and water use efficiency.
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Manual on Municipal Waste management out
Accra (Greater Accra) 2 Nov. '99
The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), have prepared a training manual on municipal waste management for Africa.
The 324-paged document covers areas including anaerobic decomposition, anaerobic digestion, commercial waste, recycling, material reprocessing and landfill.
Other areas include, municipal solid waste, post consumer waste, waste analysis, waste minimisation and recyclable and recycled materials.
Mr Massimo Garzelli, UNIDO Representative for Ghana, Togo and Benin said it provides a general approach for solid waste management through the philosophy of sustainability in solving the problem facing most African cities.
He said experts to develop a positive practical approach to handle the problem would test the manual in a series of regional workshops.
It would be subjected to continuous improvement over the next five years to arrive at a final form.
Mr Garzelli said Africa is undergoing very fast changes and noted that new patterns of consumption and production are emerging and waste handling and management practices are also changing.
The UNIDO Representative said it was agreed at a meeting in Nairobi in December 1997 that the manual should be partly a source book and used for training.
He said the problem of solid waste in Africa is a direct result of a growing urban population with its problems, which have triggered short and long-term consequences on the environment and human life.
The health hazard, threat to natural resources have to be tackled adding that solid waste management cost between 20 and 50 per cent of Municipal expenditure yet only 50 to 70 per cent of urban residents are covered.
Mr Garzelli said the objective of the manual is to help increase awareness of the importance of proper, sanitary and environmentally sustainable treatment of municipal solid waste, particularly, for government officers and community members.
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Munufie assures Ghanaians of Compensation
Abidjan (Cote d'Ivoire) 2 Nov. '99
Mr A. A. Munufie, Ghana's ambassador to Cote d'Ivoire, has assured Ghanaians that the mission is doing everything possible to ensure that compensation is paid to Ghanaians who suffered in the aftermath of the Kotoko Asec football match.
He said the Ivorian government has already expressed her willingness to pay, however, the details involved would take time to work out and Ghanaians should therefore be patient.
Mr. Munufie said this when answering questions from the 17-member delegation of the Parliamentary Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs on a week's tour of Cote d'Ivoire, which called on him at the end of the tour.
The committee led by Alhaji Isaku Salia, its chairman, include Mr Emil Brentuo, vice-chairman and Dr Winfred Anane. It was in Cote d'Ivoire to familiarise itself with policies and factors that accounts for that country's encouraging performance in agriculture.
Mr. Munufie said the delay in compensation, was because of the delicate nature of the issues involved and denied newspaper reports that the money has been paid but government is refusing to release it to the victims.
During the tour, members visited a number of research stations, rubber and palm plantations as well as agro-processing industries.
It also held separate discussions with the Speaker of the Ivorian Parliament, Dr Emile Brou Amoakon Atta, Mr Amadou Ouattara, a deputy Minister of Agriculture in-charge of the Youth in Agriculture Programme and their counterparts in the committee of agriculture.
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