Rawlings accepts Kojo Yankah's resignation

ACP-EU Ministerial Committee meeting opens on Thursday

More groups root for Nuamah Donkor

Yendi youth want Kapok trees cut down

Farmers introduced to new varieties of Plantain and Banana

Cape Coast Municipal Chief takes office

Society asked to encourage the disabled

Nana Konadu calls for human resource improvement

Accra (Greater Accra) 11 Nov. '99

President Jerry John Rawlings has accepted the resignation of Mr Kojo Yankah, outgoing Ashanti Regional Minister, from the government.

A letter on Wednesday addressed to Mr Yankah and signed by the Secretary to the President, Mr Jimmy Amissah read: "His Excellency the President has accepted your letter of resignation and in that connection wishes me to convey to you his appreciation and thanks for the various services rendered to the country and particularly your work in Ashanti Region.

"I am also to convey his best wishes for continued success in your future endeavours, not least for your advocacy in Parliament."

The letter was copied to the Vice-President and Chief of Staff Office of the President.

Mr Yankah, in his letter of resignation said he was leaving "for very personal reasons" but would continue to serve as a Member of Parliament for Agona East.

He has been MP for that constituency since 1993.

Mr Yankah said: "for nearly seven years since I was offered a ministerial appointment, I have endeavoured to serve, to the best of my ability, my party, government and the nation.

"As a human being, admittedly, I may have committed some errors, but I wish to assure you that everything I did was in good faith".

He thanked the President for giving him the opportunity to serve in government in various capacities.

Mr Yankah had held the portfolios of a Deputy Minister of Information and Central Regional Minister.

A recent Cabinet reshuffle transferred him from the Ashanti region to the National Development and Planning Commission (NDPC) as a Minister of State.

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Accra (Greater Accra) 11 Nov. '99

Ghana will host the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP)-European Union (EU) Development Finance Co-operation Ministerial Committee Meeting from Thursday to Saturday in Accra.

A press release by the ACP-EU secretariat in Accra on Wednesday said the meeting will among others discuss a number of issues including the debt problem, private sector role in the development process and measures to speed up the implementation of projects approved for financing under the convention.

The meeting is expected to adopt a declaration, which could be incorporated in the framework of the Successor Agreement to the Lome IV Convention, the release added.

The Development Finance Committee was established by the ACP-EU Council of Ministers to assist in the monitoring and evaluation of programmes and projects being financed under Lome IV. Ghana is the current chairman of the committee.

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Accra (Greater Accra) 11 Nov. '99

Cadres within the Health Sector have appealed to President Jerry Rawlings, to reconsider the decision to move Mr Samuel Nuamah Donkor from the Health Sector to the Ashanti Region as Regional Minister.

In a statement, the Cadres said even though, they realise the importance of good management of the Regions as part of the country's progress, they " find it very difficult to part with a person like Mr Nuamah Donkor at least for now".

The statement signed by David H. Macauley, National Chairman, stated that, the outgoing Minister is "one of the best to have handled the sector in recent times and that a person with such qualities need to be maintained for some time to avoid a break in the progress we are seeing within the sector today".

A recent cabinet reshuffle by the President moved Mr. Nuamah Donkor from the Health Ministry to Ashanti Region but this has drawn criticism and appeals for reversal from professional and other organised groups.

In another development, the Anointed Fellowship Ambassadors (AFA) Foundation International, a local Christian Non-Governmental Organisation says it is adding its voice to the appeal by the Ghana Medical Association to President Rawlings to reconsider his decision to move Mr. Samuel Nuamah-Donkor from the Ministry of Health.

This was contained in a statement issued by Mr Kofi Lucas, Founder and Chief Servant of the Foundation in Kumasi on Wednesday.

The statement noted that the health sector is a problematic one and needed a dynamic, determined, hardworking and open-minded person ready to listen and to find lasting solutions to issues.

It said since Mr Nuamah-Donkor took over as the Minister of Health, not only health service providers but almost all Ghanaians can attest to the fact that he has proved his capabilities in facing the challenges of the sector.

"For the fact that, the Ghana Medical Association has come out to give its total support to Mr Nuamah-Donkor is even enough to prove that he has won the hearts of almost all", it said.

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Yendi (Northern Region) 11 Nov '99

Members of the Yendi Youth Development Association, have held a demonstration at Yendi for the felling of old Kapok trees along the Yendi-Tamale road, which is currently being rehabilitated.

The demonstrators paraded the streets with placards, some of which read "Yendi youth is for positive development" and "Yendi kapok trees are death traps", "support the move to fell them".

They backed their demonstration with action when they cut down 22 of the trees in the area where work on the road is nearing completion, thus blocking the road.

Lorries from Yendi to Tamale had to use the E.P. farm old road to join the Yendi-Bimbilla road, which is in a poor condition.

According to the executive of the association, a petition has been sent to the President, Flt Lt Rawlings through the District Security Committee to permit the felling of the trees.

They said all available evidence shows that the trees have outlived their usefulness and are now death traps adding that despite persistent calls on the authorities to cut them down no action has been taken.

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Mabang (Ashanti Region) 11 Nov. '99

The two species of hybrid plantain and banana resistant to the Black Sigatoka disease, were introduced to farmers at a forum organised by the Crops Research Institute (CRI) at Mabang in the Ahafo Ano North District on Tuesday.

At similar forums at Bunso in the Eastern Region and Assin Fosu in the Central Region, the farmers were also educated on the rapid multiplication of the suckers by the split corm technique.

The varieties, re-named by the National Variety Release Committee, were Apem Hemaa plantain because of its outlook and Kwaku Bempah banana, named after Dr Owusu Bempah Hemang, Director of the CRI in appreciation to his immense contribution to research into crop varieties.

The plantain (FHIA-21) and the banana (FHIA-01) in technical terms, were imported from Honduras under the Plantain Development Project jointly funded by the Ghana Government and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada, which began in 1991.

Dr Annor Nyarko, Project Co-ordinator, asked the farmers to cultivate the new varieties, which are high yielding, resistant to the Sigatoka disease and taste better.

Dr Hemang spoke of the need for food security and the efforts of the government to tackle the problems of post-harvest losses and marketing of farm produce to encourage farmers to increase production.

He advised them to adopt improved methods of farming and to follow the advice of extension officers to help increase production and to improve their standard of living.

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Cape Coast (Central Region) 11 Nov. '99

The Central Regional Minister, Lt. Col. Charles Kofi Agbenaza on Wednesday asked members of the Cape Coast Municipal Assembly to work in unity with a common destiny for the development of the municipality.

Col. Agbenaza gave the advice when he presented an instrument of appointment of Mr George Percy Ashun, as the Cape Coast Municipal Chief Executive, on behalf of the Head of State in Cape Coast.

Mr Ashun took the oaths of allegiance, office and secrecy, and signed the national register, which was sent in from the Castle Osu.

Col. Agbenaza asked members of the assembly to give the new Chief Executive the necessary support and advice to initiate programmes to face-lift the area.

He expressed the hope that his tenure of office would "become the longest in the history of the assembly."

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Tamale (Northern Region) 11 Nov '99

Mr M. S. Adam, Northern Regional Director of Social Welfare, has called for community involvement in the rehabilitation of disabled and vulnerable persons.

He said that given the right training and support, such people could contribute towards the success of the human resource development programme under Vision 2020.

Mr Adam was addressing a two-day training workshop on the management of the disabled under the Community Based Rehabilitation Programme (CBRP) of the Department in Tamale on Wednesday. It was for regional and district teams.

He said people with disability need the support and encouragement of society to build their confidence and faith in their ability to depend on themselves.

Mr Adam said it is when society accepts the disabled wholeheartedly and assists them to acquire education and vocations that the number of destitute would reduce.

He stressed the need for collaboration among the Ministries of Health and Education, communities and the Department of Social Welfare to identify people with disabilities and to encourage them to either go to school or learn a vocation.

Mr Adams said children with disabilities need special care in order to grow without bitterness against society.

He called on the 30 participants from decentralised department of the district assemblies to share ideas and to come out with suggestions on how best to handle the disabled in communities.

Mr R.K. Santah, Programme Head for Community Care, outlined the objectives of the workshop and said there is the need for effective inter-agency collaboration to sensitise the people on the need to support the disabled.

He said the workshop aims at developing district level capacities to enable them to formulate strategies for the participation of society in service delivery to persons with disabilities.

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Accra (Greater Accra) 11 Nov. '99

The First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings on Wednesday called for hard work and improvement of the human resource base of the country.

She condemned stereotype education which, she said, continues to worsen the plight of people, especially women.

The First Lady was speaking at the opening of a two-day national consensus building forum in preparation for the sixth African Regional Meeting.

The meeting, scheduled for November 22 to 27, 1999 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, will discuss the integration of measures to prevent and eliminate violence against women and trafficking in women and other women-related issues.

Nana Konadu observed that media organisations continue to advertise products and programmes that continue to "condition the people to believe that those are the only roles for women."

She mentioned advertisement on toys, soap, miniature kitchen tools and dolls as examples.

The First Lady appealed to the Association of Women Broadcasters and other women media institutions to help monitor and reverse advertisements and programmes that keep women in stereotype positions.

She noted that the achievement of equality and the fight against all forms of discrimination against women would not be easy, saying "changing the mentality of society is not easy."

Nana Konadu charged women to do a lot of sensitisation and education to change the trend.

Dr Robert Dodoo, Head of the Civil Service, urged the Public Services Commission to ensure that public institutions implement gender sensitive programmes.

He said a number of measures have been taken to promote equal opportunities and rights of women in the civil service.

These include career development of women already in the service, creation of women's desk at the Head of Civil Service, revival of Civil Service Ladies Clubs, review of code of conduct to protect women's rights and opportunities in workplace and recruitment and promotion based on merit, fairness and equality.

Dr Dodoo stressed the need for the Ministry of Finance to allocate more funds to enable ministries, agencies and departments to implement gender sensitive and sector plans.

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