GRi Newsreel Ghana 17 - 11 - 2000
Education reform is
government's political gimmick –Mahama
Six students
expelled for insubordination
Ghana and
Equatorial Guinea sign economic agreement
Sixty NPP supporters defect to NDC in Keta
TUC boss urges unionists to ensure peaceful
election
Only accredited personnel can visit polling
stations
I will create new constituency for Tumu if
..- Mahama
Chief calls for responsible leadership from
party leaders
Women asked to
influence society with moral empowerment
Relatives yet to
identify body
Ghana and FAO sign
agreement on food security
Dr Owiredu
honoured with the outstanding speakers' award
Education reform
is government's political gimmick –Mahama
Wa (Upper West) 17 November 2000
Dr Edward Mahama, presidential
candidate of the People's National Convention (PNC), on Wednesday said the Free
Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) programme, instituted by the
government is only a gimmick meant to score political points.
The FCUBE programme is in a mess
and can never be said to be free, Dr Mahama told a party rally at Wa to end his
five days campaign tour of the Upper West region.
He said under the FCUBE, parents
are still buying books and furniture for their wards and children whose parents
cannot provide them with these things, either drop out, sit on stones or lie on
their stomach to learn.
The PNC presidential candidate
said under a PNC free basic education programme, no parent will buy books or
furniture for their children because their needs would be well catered for.
Dr Mahama urged the electorate to
give the PNC their mandate on December 7, elections to enable it to implement
the good policies and programmes that it has for the people.
He said the PNC is a peace loving
party adding, "this is why when our supporter was stabbed to death at
Bolgatanga and another was thrown into a well in Tamale, we did not take to
arms."
Dr Mahama promised to strengthen
the judiciary by motivating and equipping them to dispense justice to all.
The PNC presidential candidate
alleged that the NDC was transporting large numbers of voters from Bolgatanga
to Tumu to transfer their votes to the Sissala constituency to vote for their
candidate and asked the party's supporters to be vigilant on voting day.
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Swedru (Central Region) 17 November 2000
Professor John Evans Atta Mills, presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Wednesday said an NDC government under his administration would sustain the momentum of development aimed at making Ghana a showpiece in the West Africa sub-region.
He said the end of the term of President Jerry John Rawlings in January marks a historic era that cannot just be wished away.
"It is in this regard that we will strive to continue the good works of peace, unity and development, which he (Rawlings) started.
"We owe it a duty to ourselves and generations after us to sustain these virtues," said Prof. Mills.
It is the NDC's desire to serve the needs of the people, he said adding: "Ghana needs peace for such service to be effected".
Speaking at Swedru at the start of a four-day campaign tour of the Central Region, he urged NDC supporters to avoid petty quarrels with supporters of other parties arising from the destruction of posters, flags and symbols.
"Resist the temptation to be drawn into fighting and bitter quarrels for reasons such as destruction of posters, flags of party symbols."
Prof. Mills noted that the December 7 election is all about development and peace and not fighting.
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Six students
expelled for insubordination
Akim Oda 17 November 2000
Six final-year students of Akim
Oda Wesley Methodist Junior Secondary School (JSS) who smeared their school
building with human excreta after they were reprimanded for drinking alcohol
during classes have been expelled.
Keegan Amaniampong, Godfried
Asiedu, Wisdom Klutse, Richard Ntiamoah, Emmanuel Aning, and Edward Asare were
alleged to have used catapults to stone their teachers. They also destroyed a
number of seedlings in the school garden and other school property.
Throwing more light on the
incident, the Assistant Headteacher, Miss Agnes Gyan, told the Ghana News
Agency on Thursday that on October 24, while classes were in session, the
students were caught drinking palm wine from containers hidden under their
desks.
After all the teachers had
deliberated on the issue, it was decided that the students should be suspended
for three weeks.
Miss Gyan said no sooner had the
students been served with the suspension letters than they went on the rampage,
throwing stones at their teachers and destroying seedlings in the school garden.
They later returned in the night
and smeared the school block with faeces, she added.
Miss Gyan said when the case was
reported to the Birim South District Director of Education, Ms Felicia Duku,
she ordered that the students should be withdrawn from the school.
In a letter to their parents, the
Director requested them to pay 25,250 cedis each to the school authorities in
respect of property destroyed.
The letter reminded the parents
that their wards would be permitted to write their final Basic Education
Certificate Examination (BECE), which starts in April, next year, on condition
that they pay the amount.
The children will also have to
sign an undertaking to comport themselves throughout the duration of the
examination.
The letter warned that court action
would be taken against the students if they failed to pay for the damage caused
to property.
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Ghana and
Equatorial Guinea sign economic agreement
Accra (Greater Accra) 17 November
2000
Ghana on Thursday signed an
economic, cultural and science and technology agreement with Equatorial Guinea.
Mr John Mahama, Minister of
Communications, and Mr Don Lucas Esono Mbang, who led a 13-member delegation
from Equatorial Guinea, signed the agreement in Accra at the end of a three-day
session of the Permanent Joint Commission.
Under the agreement Ghana hopes to
receive 50,000 barrels of crude oil a day from her partner "under extended
favourable credit terms."
The supply will meet the national
daily consumption of 45,000 barrels and serve the power sector.
In return, Ghana will assist
Equatorial Guinea, which pumps 900,000 barrels a day, to set up a National Oil
Company to refine petroleum.
Ghana will also assist Equatorial
Guinea to manufacture gas stoves to use liquefied petroleum gas, a by-product
from refining petroleum. Equatorial Guinea will import gas cylinders from
Ghana.
Mr Mahama and Mr Mbang, Minister
of Information, Tourism and Culture, also signed a Protocol to legalise the
Joint Commission and Rules of Procedure to govern its sessions.
A communiqué issued by the
Commission said: "The two sides reviewed the general conditions and great
potentials that abound in their countries and recognised the need to pool resources
for the mutual benefit of their countries and peoples."
The communiqué, read by Mr Yaw
Adjei, who led Ghana's 25-member delegation, said: "Some of the areas in
which the Equatorial Guinea side agreed to co-operate with Ghana are in the
supply, processing, and re-export of crude oil, petro-chemicals and methanol.
"Sharing of information on
research and manpower training featured prominently in our discussions,"
the communiqué said.
The next session of the Commission
will be held in Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea, in 2001.
Equatorial Guinea consists of
several islands and a mainland, covering an area of 10,831 square miles. It has
a population of about one million. Its main exports are petroleum, wood, cocoa,
and coffee.
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Sixty NPP supporters defect to NDC in Keta
Keta (Volta Region) 17 November 2000
Sixty NPP supporters in the Keta constituency who defected to the NDC were introduced at an NDC rally at Keta.
The occasion also saw the commissioning of a 42 million cedi streetlight project by the Minister of Trade and Industry Mr Dan Abodakpi, Member of Parliament for the area.
Welcoming the defectors NDC, Mr Abodakpi said the NDC government has remained focused on the provision of basic amenities to the people to make life worthwhile despite the unfavourable external pressures on the domestic market.
He said the recent increase in the price of crude oil and the fall in the price of cocoa on the world market could have crippled any government.
Mr Abodakpi said the government, through pragmatic policies, has been able to brave the storm and assured the people that the current economic difficulties facing the nation would be over soon.
He, therefore, called on the people of Keta to vote massively for the NDC to continue with its development programmes in the constituency.
Mr Abodakpi said the defection of the 60 members of the NPP demonstrates that the NDC is the only party capable of developing the country.
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TUC boss urges unionists to ensure peaceful
election
Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 17 November 2000
Mr Kwasi Adu-Amankwah, Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), on Thursday called on the union members to devote themselves to ensuring peaceful, free, and fair elections on December 7.
"If the election results are not credible and violence crops up in the country, workers and their families will not be spared in the scene," he said.
Mr Adu-Amankwah, who made the call at the Annual General Meeting of the Brong Ahafo Regional Council of Labour at Sunyani, advised the members not to allow themselves to be used to bring about chaos and confusion in the country before and after the elections.
"Election is not the end of the world; we should not allow politics to tear the nation apart," he stressed, and asked workers to give their mandate to a labour-friendly party that would address their concerns.
He expressed concern about the recent political violence in some parts of the country and condemned the closure of Chris FM, a private radio station at Berekum.
Mr Adu-Amankwah appealed to media practitioners to be circumspect in what they present to the public and advised contributors to phone-in programmes to avoid provocative statements.
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Only accredited personnel can visit polling
stations
Wa (Upper West) 17 November 2000
Journalists, electoral observers, and political party functionaries without accreditation would not be allowed to go round the polling stations on the election day.
Ministers, members of parliament and district chief executives, apart from casting their votes at their various polling stations would also not be allowed to do any other thing at the stations.
Mr Kwame Boateng, Upper West regional director of the Electoral Commission announced this on Wednesday when he spoke on the electoral process at a seminar at Wa.
The seminar organised by Media Foundation for West Africa attracted about 20 participants from community radio stations throughout the country.
Mr Boateng asked returning officers and polling agents to ensure that all ballot papers are stamped with validating stamp and signed before they are issued out to voters.
He said all papers not validated would be rejected outright at the polling stations during the vote counting.
Mr Boateng said all voters who get to the polling stations or in the voting queue before five p.m. should also be allowed to cast their votes.
"You can only disallow a voter when he or she comes to the polling station at 5 p.m. or after", Mr Boateng explained.
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I will create new constituency for Tumu if
..- Mahama
Tumu (Upper West) 17 November 2000
Dr. Edward Mahama, presidential candidate of the People's National Convention (PNC), on Tuesday told the people of Tumu that he would create an additional constituency for them if voted to power in next month's elections.
He said the Sissala area covers 45 per cent of the total landmass of the Upper West Region and therefore needs an additional constituency to hasten its development.
Dr. Mahama said this at a well-attended political rally at Tumu in the Sissala District as part of his tour of the Upper West Region.
He said that under a PNC government, fertiliser depots would be established in strategic farming communities and sold to farmers on credit.
He said his government would also guarantee stable foodstuff prices by buying farmers' produce directly from them to save them from being exploited by middlemen.
Dr. Mahama said the NDC government cannot fight corruption and urged the people to reject crumbs from that party and vote wisely to elect a visionary leader to lead the country to prosperity.
GRi…/
Chief calls for responsible leadership from
party leaders
Bekwai (Ashanti Region) 17 November 2000
Nana Kaakari Appau II, Omanhene of Bekwai Traditional Area, has advised the leadership of the various political parties to insist on responsible conduct among their followers.
This, he said, is necessary to help defuse heightening tension and stop nasty incidents in the run-up to the December 7 general election.
Nana Kaakari gave the advice when the Bekwai constituency executive of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) introduced the party's parliamentary candidate for the area, Mr Ignatius Kofi Poku Adusei, to him at his palace.
The Omanhene noted that trading insults, jeering, taunting of political opponents and adopting antagonistic positions would not help advance the cause of peace and growth of democracy.
It is therefore important that politicians use their campaign platform to discus and present to the electorate credible alternative programmes they have for the country, Nana Kaakari said and reminded the political parties and their leaders that they have a responsibility to posterity to maintain the peace, unity, stability an cohesion of the nation.
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Women asked to
influence society with moral empowerment
Accra (Greater Accra) 17 November
2000
Mrs. Frances Ademola, a veteran
broadcaster, on Thursday told a gathering of religious women that they have a
responsibility of exerting influence on society with good morals otherwise they
risk losing their status as role models.
She said, most young persons do
not appreciate moral values because nobody teaches them.
Mrs Ademola was contributing to a
panel discussion on: "Empowerment of women through moral values" at a
seminar organised by Moral Re-Armament-Ghana (MRA), a Non-governmental
Organisation.
She said most women do not use
their moral empowerment to change society "because they think nothing can
be done about it."
"A woman with moral values is
a model to society and can be put in a position of trust to make an impact on
society. Although there are issues of
peer pressure, each individual has a choice in moulding his or her character to
suit the society," she said.
Ms Amina Dikedi of MRA, urged
women to assert their moral authority by removing fear which for generations
has held them back.
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Relatives yet to
identify body
Accra (Greater Accra) 17 November
2000
The body of a woman, believed by
police to be the 26th victim of the unsolved Accra serial killings, remains
unidentified at Police Hospital Mortuary three days after she was found dead.
"The situation is hampering
efforts of the police to perform a coroner's inquest into what caused the
demise of the victim," a source at the District Police Command told the
Ghana News Agency on Thursday in Accra.
According to the source, an
inquest can only be conducted in the presence of relative of a deceased unless
the state deems it necessary to act otherwise.
Last Tuesday residents at Ogbojo,
near Madina in Accra found the body of the woman, believed to be in her early
30s. This was the 26th unsolved killing of a woman in Accra during the past two
and half years.
Police say similarities in the
killings led them to think that one person or one group committed the crimes.
The police have made no arrest in the cases.
In the early hours last Tuesday,
residents in the area found the woman's body half-naked in a black skirt and
top, with her torn panties lying by her side. Her height was about 5 feet, 3
inches.
The police asked anyone who might
know the woman to contact the nearest police station.
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Ghana and FAO
sign agreement on food security
Accra (Greater Accra) 17 November
2000
Ghana and the Food and
Agricultural Organisation (FAO) on Thursday signed a one million dollar
agreement to support the Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS) in the
country.
Mr. J.H. Owusu-Acheampong,
Minister of Food and Agriculture, signed on behalf of the government and Mr.
Patrick Tesha, Acting Deputy Regional Director and Country Representative for
Ghana, signed for FAO.
Ghana is one of eight African
countries participating in the small-scale farmer training programme.
The African Development Bank made
the grant available to support the programme, which is to achieve sustainable
growth rate at household and national levels.
Mr Tesha said 28 Chinese experts
would assist their Ghanaian counterparts to improve agricultural production
using new technologies.
The programme began last year in
five districts under Technical Co-operation with a grant of 336,000 dollars
from FAO.
The additional one million dollars
grant will expand the programme to nine other districts within three years.
The new districts are Akatsi in
Volta region, Bolgatanga, Zebila and Kassena-Nankana in Upper East,
Ejisu-Central in Ashanti region, two projects each at Tolon-Kumbugu in Northern
region and Dangbe East in Greater Accra.
The project will train about 400
farmers to increase their production of vegetables, fruits, rice and sorghum on
approximately 440 acres.
The new technologies include water
harvesting, shallow boreholes and treadle pumps, low lift pumps and gravity-fed
irrigation.
Mr. Owusu-Acheampong said national
SPFS programmes are designed and implemented within the existing national
agricultural policy framework.
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Dr Owiredu
honoured with the outstanding speakers' award
Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 17
November 2000
The International Biographical
Centre (IBC) of Cambridge, England has honoured Dr Peter Augustus Owiredu, a
retired educationist with the Outstanding Speakers Award of the 20th century.
The award is in recognition of Dr
Owiredu's excellence in the use of his talent in oratory in a variety of
situations.
The award follows his nomination
by the Editorial and Advisory Board of the IBC in November last year, from
among a number of world intellectuals.
Though his nomination was in
November last year, he was eventually presented with the award in October 2000
in Kumasi where he now resides.
The award, a hand carved in fine
wood and detachable from an engraved wall plaque, symbolises authority and
grandeur, according to the IBC.
Briefing newsmen on Wednesday, Dr
Owiredu, 74 said the honour is not for him alone but he shares it with the
entire nation.
Dr Owiredu who was headmaster of
Apam Secondary School in the Central region from 1959-1979, was assessed as a
distinguished examiner in 1964 by the Moderator of Mathematics, West African
Examination Council (WAEC). He scored "A" in all aspects of
examining.
Dr Owiredu is currently the
Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Mpasaatia Secondary/Technical School
in the Atwima district and City Girls Educational Complex in Kumasi.
He is also life patron of the
Voluntary Workcamps Association of Ghana of which he was president for several
years in his Apam days.
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