Establish WAJU offices in the regions participants
Independent candidate refuses to withdraw
from race
Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 09 Nov
2000
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene,
on Wednesday urged Ghanaians and political parties to ensure a peaceful
election to maintain stability since Ghanaians will not allow politicians to
throw the country into lawlessness.
Speaking when the National
Executive of the NRP led by Mr Gossie Tanoh, presidential candidate, called on
him in Kumasi, the Asantehene also charged the Electoral Commission to ensure a
free and fair election.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu said Ghanaians
want to hear what the parties would do in the health, education, roads and
agriculture sectors when they gain power, adding that the welfare of the people
should be supreme.
He recounted the country's
political history since independence and called on the people to respect the
constitution.
Mr Tanoh said the NRP has no
enemies and doesnt insult the other political parties, adding that the party's
aim is to build a prosperous nation.
He said the party does not induce
people or solicits for support but uses good language to appeal to the people.
Members of the NRP delegation included
Mr Peter Kpordugbe, National Chairman, Mr Cletus Kosiba, vice-presidential
candidate, Mr Kweretwie Opoku, General Secretary and others.
GRi../
Accra (Greater Accra) 09 Nov. 2000
Professor Patrick A. Twumasi, Presidential Adviser on Policy Management, has said that despite the increase in the number of political parties and individuals contesting in the December 7 elections, the voting pattern will not be any different from those of 1992 and 1996.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) he said: "given the history of the country before, during and after the PNDC era, I am confident that Ghanaians are fully aware that it took the Rawlings government to lift the economy from below zero to this appreciable level."
Prof. Twumasi said the peace and stability the country has enjoyed for the past 20 years indicates the credibility of the Rawlings legacy.
"The absence of President Jerry John Rawlings from the December 7 presidential race will not be much of a determining factor in the voting pattern as the legacy of peace, stability and accountability," he said.
The National Reform Party (NRP), which is a breakaway group from the NDC and the United Ghana Movement (UGM), which is a breakaway from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) are contesting the vote.
The Convention People's Party (CPP) has brought together most of the factions of the Nkrumah heritage and is stronger on the ground than in 1992 and 1996.
The NDC is putting up vice president John Evans Atta Mills as President Rawlings has completed his second four-year term.
Prof. Twumasi said the voting pattern of this year's elections will be determined by issues such as the charisma of President Rawlings, peace, security and stability in the country, the history of the country and the present standard of living which is determined by level of income.
"Though President Rawlings is no more standing as a candidate, his legacy which is expressed in handpicking his successor has a lot to do with what the voting pattern will be like this year," he said.
"For the electorate it is a matter of accepting the devil you know than the angel you do not know."
Prof. Twumasi said under the Rawlings government, the country has won recognition as one of the most peaceful and politically stable countries in the world, adding that the Rawlings government is responsible for the abundant availability of goods and service.
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Nkoranza (Brong Ahafo) 09 Nov. 2000
The flagbearer of the National Reform Party (NRP), Mr Goosie Tanoh, has attributed current problems confronting the economic, education, health, and agricultural sectors to lack of effective leadership.
Addressing supporters of the party at separate rallies at Nkoranza and Kranka in the Brong Ahafo Region as part of his tour of the Brong Ahafo Region, Mr Tanoh said his party has youthful and energetic intellectuals who are ready to serve their country and not to lord it over the people as is the case of some African leaders.
He, therefore, appealed to the electorate to vote the NRP to power in the December general election to enable it to implement policies and programmes that would salvage the nation from its present predicament.
"An NRP government will fight poverty and improve the education and health needs of the people and raise the dignity of the ordinary man," he stressed.
Mr Tanoh said if given the mandate, the NRP will encourage farmers to increase productivity through the provision of loans and the introduction of modern farming methods.
Under an NRP government, he said, district chief executives would be elected through the ballot box to ensure that they become accountable to the people.
Mr Tanoh later introduced Mr James Opoku-Ware as the party's parliamentary candidate for the area and appealed to the people to support and vote for him.
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Sogakope (Volta Region) 09 Nov.
2000
The Police Administration has been
urged to open offices of the Women and Juvenile Unit (WAJU) in all the regional
capitals within the next two years.
There are two offices one in
Accra, for the southern sector and the other in Kumasi, for the northern
sector.
Mrs Margaret Sackey, Acting
Executive Secretary of the Ghana National Commission on Children (GNCC), made
the appeal on Wednesday in a report at a seminar to develop a national plan to
eliminate child labour.
She said this would enable more
women and children to have access to the services of WAJU.
The offices should also have
psychologists to counsel traumatised women and children including those saved
from harsh and exploitative labour as part of efforts to integrate them back
into society.
Mrs Sackey called for the
provision of facilities at police stations for such women and children and said
police personnel who happen to be on duty often house them on humanitarian
grounds or they are put behind the counter, which make them look like criminals
and add to their trauma.
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Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 09 Nov. 2000
The Chris FM, a private radio station at Berekum, was closed down on Wednesday on the orders of the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Donald Adabre.
Soldiers from the Liberation Barracks have surrounded the station, which is housed in a private two-story building, according to an employee who spoke to the Ghana News Agency on telephone.
The closure of the station is believed to be in connection with violent clashes between supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on Sunday.
Nineteen people, 18 of them believed to be supporters of the NDC, sustained various degrees of injury and were treated and discharged at the Berekum Holy Family Hospital.
It took the police more than two hours to bring the situation under control.
Supporters of the two political parties were returning to Berekum later in the day after attending rallies at nearby Senase and Akoforo when the incident occurred.
Windscreens of four buses and a campaign vehicle on which NDC supporters were riding were smashed.
Frank Agyemang Konadu, 17, student, and Kofi Twumasi, 19, a shoeshine boy, both said to be NPP supporters, were arrested by the police.
Mr Oheneba Owusu, programme officer of Chris FM, on Monday told the GNA that a few hours before the incident, Captain Nkrabeah Effah-Darteh (Rtd), NPP parliamentary candidate for Berekum, had spoken on the radio in a scheduled political programme.
Mr Owusu denied that Capt. Effah-Darteh, who is said to be out of the country, made any inflammatory statement during the "Kabi na me nka bi" political programme, adding that a recorded version of the programme has been handed over to the Berekum police to enhance their investigation.
Mrs Mary Boakye, Berekum District Chief Executive, told newsmen on telephone that she could not comment on the closure of the station. Efforts to reach the Regional Minister also proved futile.
Meanwhile, the Brong Ahafo Regional Executive of the Ghana Journalists Association, at an emergency meeting, has expressed grave concern over the closure of the station and called for thorough investigations into the matter.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 09 Nov. 2000
The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Tuesday said it has noted with concern the two "unfortunate incidents" involving the arrest and interrogation of Nana Kofi Coomson, publisher of the Ghanaian Chronicle, and Mr. Odartey-Wellington, a media commentator.
A statement issued in Accra said the two incidents are unfortunate because they tend to send wrong signals with regards to the environment required for campaigning in the period before election, especially as it relates to the crucial role of the media.
The GJA said it is at a loss to fathom the role of the BNI in the management of the alleged infringement of the law.
It said the need for transparency and regard for due processes in the handling of such situation with possible political undertone cannot be over- emphasised.
"In such a situation, the police, as the sole investigative agency and respecting due processes, would definitely have been a better option provided complainants felt so strong about the criminal aspect of the reported incidents."
The Association appealed to all who feel aggrieved by the work of media practitioners or commentators to make use of the rejuvenated Ethics/Disciplinary Committee of the GJA and the Media Commission in the first instance.
It also appealed to all parties involved in the present dispute to exercise restraint and circumspection as efforts are being intensified to facilitate the resolution of the issues involved in the wider interest of Ghana and in cognisance of the letter and spirit of the constitution.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 09 Nov. 2000
The Ghanaian Centre of International PEN on Wednesday congratulated Mr Nutifafa Kuenyehia on his election as the chairman of the National Media Commission.
A statement issued in Accra said the organisation sees his election as "another triumph" for Ghana's media and free expression.
"PEN welcomes Mr Kuenyehia, who is a true friend of the media, and assures him of our support," it said.
"His fight for the rule of law and freedom of expression over the years amply makes him a man worthy of heading the NMC. We therefore have every belief and hope that under his chairmanship, the NMC will live up to its constitutional responsibilities to promote a free press and freedom of expression."
Mr Kuenyehia, a former president of the Ghana Bar Association, was elected the new NMC chairman last Thursday.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 09 Nov. 2000
President Jerry Rawlings on Wednesday expressed his appreciation to Ghanaians and world leaders who sent him messages of sympathy and condolence following the accident involving the presidential convoy on October 29.
An official statement in Accra said the foreign leaders who sent messages included the presidents of Nigeria, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Togo, Benin, Cote d'Ivoire and Mali.
The statement said the Sultan of Brunei and the British Foreign Secretary also sent messages.
Four bodyguards of the president died in the accident on the Accra-Tema Motorway when a minibus driver crossed the convoy.
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Tema (Greater Accra) 09 Nov. 2000
Tema Police have arrested an
ex-convict who posed as a security man at the Castle and succeeded in swindling
the Tema Mantse and other chiefs as well as a Tema businesswoman.
The suspect, Musa Bukari, alias
"Major Musa", who claimed to be a security man assigned to supervise
the auctioning of cars at the Tema Harbour, allegedly collected 50 million
cedis from Nii Adjei Kraku II Tema Mantse and other chiefs to supply them with
auctioned cars.
He also defrauded the
businesswoman, Madam Ackunson, of 112.8 million cedis.
Inspector Yaw Nketiah-Yeboah,
Regional Police Public Relations Officer, told a press briefing that Musa,
introduced himself to Madam Ackunson that he could provide her auctioned cars
for her transport business.
Madam Ackunson requested for eight
vehicles valued at 112.8 million cedis and paid the money in various
instalments for which Musa issued forged Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority
(GPHA) receipts.
Inspector Nketiah-Yeboah said
Madam Ackunson became suspicious when Musa started playing "
hide-and-seek" with her and she reported to the police.
During a search in the suspect's
house the police found a United Nations peacekeeping military beret and a cap,
property of the Ghana Army.
The police said the chiefs trusted
Musa because he always wore military uniform to the palace.
In another development, the police
on Tuesday arrested Alhassan Iddrisu, a militiaman of the defunct Civil Defence
Organisation who is alleged to be operating with a gang of robbers at Ada and
Ashaiman.
Iddrisu has denied the
allegations, saying his girl friend framed him up after he assaulted her for
causing abortion without his consent.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 09 Nov. 2000
The Ghanaian Centre of
International PEN on Wednesday said it believes that intimidation, attacks and
detentions cannot stop writers and the media from performing their
constitutional roles.
A statement signed by Frank Mackay
Anim-Appiah, President, called on all journalists "to stand firm in the
face of unwarranted provocation that is deliberately aimed at preventing the
forward march to the development of democratic rule in Africa."
The statement was issued in Accra
in commemoration of the fifth anniversary of Nigerian writer Ken Saro-Wiwa who
was hanged in 995. The writer and eight others were hanged by the Abacha regime
for their activities in the Ogoni rights campaign.
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Akuma (Brong Ahafo) 09 Nov. 2000
Two persons died on Wednesday in an accident involving a cargo truck on which they were travelling to their farm on the Nkoranza-Brahoho-Nsugum road.
Kwame Amo, 30, and Patricia Gyan, 32, both farmers, were among 24 others who boarded a Benz cargo truck loaded with charcoal.
Inspector Hamlet Fiadzinu in charge of the Akuma police, said the driver, Kwame Bioh, picked 24 passengers, mainly farmers, to their farms on that day.
The truck skidded off the road and fell into a ditch killing Amo instantly. Patricia died later at the Saint Theresa's hospital at Nkoranza.
The rest who sustained various degrees of injuries were treated and discharged.
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Independent candidate refuses to withdraw
from race
Nkawkaw (Eastern Region) 09 Nov. 2000
An independent parliamentary candidate for Abetifi , Mr Daniel Twum Boateng, has refused to withdraw his candidature to support the NPP candidate, the incumbent MP, Mr Eugene Atta Agyepong.
He had earlier announced his withdrawal from the race after a meeting with Mr John Kufuor, NPP presidential candidate, at Abetifi during his two-day campaign tour of the Kwahu South district.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency at Nkawkaw on Tuesday, Mr Boateng said he declined to step down because the acting constituency chairman of the party, Mr Kwame Osei, could not convene a constituency executive meeting with the zonal organisers to resolve the matter.
However, Mr Osei said after announcing his withdrawal, Mr Boateng failed to accompany the constituency campaign team round to inform his supporters of his decision.
GRi../