NDC set to amend its constitution
Report not victimization of Police - President
Reconciliation exercise should begin from 1957
New development blue print soon
'We won't let donors dictate to us'
Kumasi Abattoir dismisses 'whistle blower'
60,000-dollar house pulled down in the name of
Veep
Prisons
man queries some court decisions…Judge reacts
NDC set to amend its constitution
A National Democratic Congress source said the
party is to separate the position of leader of the party from that of the
founder as part of proposals for the amendment of the constitution and legal
sub-committee of the party, reports the Daily Graphic.
The source said the likely approval of this
amendment, the first after the party's defeat in the 2000 elections, will strip
former President Jerry Rawlings of one of the titles.
The sources said the approval of the amendment
by delegates at the national congress of the party at the University of Ghana
Legon, on December 28, 2001, will guarantee ex-President Rawlings the founder's
position while the position of leader will go to the national chairman of the
party to be elected at the congress.
The move is said to be in line with the popular
demands of the mass of party members and supporters and also as part of efforts
to renew and further democratize the party to increase its appeal to the
people.
It said the chairman would continue to function
in this leadership capacity until the party again goes to congress to elect a
flagbearer for the 2004 general elections, who from then on takes over the
leadership of the party until the elections are over.
Another area of change would be the abolition
of the co-chairman positions instituted since the formation of the party in
1992. If the committee's recommendations are accepted, there would be only one
national chairman who would take direct responsibility for steering the affairs
of the party.
The other key area slated for change at the
congress is in respect of the six vice chairperson positions of the party. The
committee's proposal is that these positions be pruned down to three as the
current number is unwieldy and not cost effective.
More…/
Report not victimization of Police - President
President J.A. Kufuor has said that the
implementation of the White Paper on the May 9 Accra Stadium Report should not
be misconstrued as victimisation of some sort against the police officers
involved.
He said the action should be viewed as pursuing
the rule of law in pursuit of the truth, as some of the officers are alleged to
have misconducted themselves, which resulted in the loss of 126 lives.
President Kufuor was addressing 300 officers
and men drawn from all parts of the country at the Police Headquarters in Accra
on Tuesday after he inaugurated a 10-member National Police Council, under his
chairmanship, as required by the Constitution.
He however, appointed Mr B.J. da Rocha, a
veteran lawyer, as the alternate chairman who will see to the day-to-day
matters concerning the council.
Other members are Honourable Malik Al-Hassan
Yakubu (MP), Minister of the interior; Mr Ernest Owusu-Poku, Inspector-General
of Police; Ms Gloria Akuffo, Deputy Attorney-General and Minister of Justice;
Mr J. Ebow Quashie, representing the Ghana Bar Association, and Mr. C.K.
Kuadey, representing retired police officers.
Others are Mr J.B. Amofa, Deputy Commissioner
of Police, Inspector Jordan Quaye, Alhaji Abdel Kareem Iddrisu and Osuodumgya
Barima Kwame Bonsu, Hwidiemhene, both of whom are the President's nominees.
President Kufuor told the officers that the
government will ensure that justice is seen to be done on what transpired at
the Accra Sports Stadium on May 9.
According to official records, 126 people lost
their lives in the disaster, which occurred after a titanic league match
between archrivals, Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko.
More…/
Reconciliation exercise should begin from 1957
The NDC Youth Forum has called on the
government to allow the reconciliation exercise to begin from 1957 if the
purpose is to heal all old wounds.
A statement issued in Accra on Tuesday and
signed by Iddrisu Haruna, the Forum spokesman's noted that the persistent
insistence by the government that only coup-de-tat regimes particularly the
Jerry Rawlings pre-constitutional era, be considered is beginning to give the
Forum cause to doubt the sincerity of the ruling party's intentions.
The Forum stated that if that position is not
changed, it has the potential of further polarizing the country and thereby
defeating the whole purpose of reconciliation. The group failed to understand
why the NPP government is not comfortable with the consensual date of 1957.
"The result of the regional forums on the
proposed bill was crystal clear that the process should begin from 1957.
Therefore, any departure from this popular position will amount to a disregard
of the wishes of the majority of Ghanaians and other political parties,"
the statement said.
More…/
New development blue print soon
The government will sometimes next year present
to Parliament for its consideration and approval a new blue print designed to
function as the vision for the country's long term development agenda.
The blue print, which will draw useful lessons
from the Vision 2020 development programme of the former NDC government, will
also incorporate the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS), the Golden Age of
Business and other growth related schemes espoused by the government of the New
Patriotic Party (NPP).
Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, Minister of Economic
Planning and Regional Cooperation, who disclosed this in an interview in Accra in
an interview with the Graphic on Tuesday, said this development has been
necessitated by the state of dormancy of the Vision 2020 blue print.
He also used the occasion to clarify the
misrepresentation that Vision 2020 had bee scrapped by the government and
replaced by GPRS.
He stressed that Vision 2020, largely because
of a number of flaws contained in it, cannot, in its present state, be used as
the vehicle to catapult the nation to the status of a middle income country by
the year 2020, hence the decision to freeze it for a thorough assessment.
More…/
'We won't let donors dictate to us'
The Senior Minister and Leader of Government
Economic Team, Mr J.H. Mensah, has said government will negotiate with donor
communities to implement programmes that will directly benefit the ordinary
Ghanaian. He said much as government recognises the immense support of the
donor community, it will not allow donors to dictate to it.
Mr Mensah said the country is currently
benefiting from substantial donor support, adding that "the use of donor
inflows will not be dictated by donors and that government will work towards
reaching a consensus with its development partners that will fall in line with
government's own development agenda.
He was speaking at the launching of the
Agricultural Services Sub-sector Investment Project (AGSSIP) in Accra.
More…/
Kumasi Abattoir dismisses 'whistle blower'
The Board of Directors of Kumasi Abattoir
Company Limited has dismissed the Administrative Manager, Mr Maxwell Awuku, the
man who blew the whistle on alleged financial malpractices and mismanagement of
the company a few months ago.
A letter of dismissal, dated November 23, 2001
and signed by the Board Chairman, Mr T. Minta-Jacobs, accused Mr Awuku of "demonstrating
gross insubordination and disrespect to the Board of Directors."
The board contended that in view of his
conduct, it would not be able to work with him as the administrative manager,
and directed him to surrender all company property in his possession
immediately to the managing director.
The letter also directed Mr Awuku to vacate the
official residence by the end of February 2002. These came to light at a press
conference organized by Mr Awuku on Tuesday to brief media personnel on the latest
developments at the Kumasi Abattoir.
He expressed concern over his dismissal and
described it as a form of victimization to perpetrate alleged nefarious
activities of the Managing Director, Mr K. Agyenim Boateng, and the Production
Manager, Mr John Owusu-Abrefa.
He, therefore, appealed to the President, Mr
John Agyekum Kufuor, to intervene to ensure fair play and justice.
GRi…/
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60,000-dollar house pulled down in the name of
Veep
The
Chronicle says if there is any Ghanaian who will curse her stars this year, it
is Mrs Mavis Agyemang, also known as Abba Asman, who returned to Ghana after 26
years sojourn in the US.
The
patriotic Asman returned to Ghana early this year to contribute her quota
towards the resuscitation of the nation’s economy. She established Reminiscence
Travel and Tours company in Accra, which was fast carving a name for itself
until four months ago it was stormed by armed robbers who made away with
several valuables and nearly destabilised her.
Asman was again hit with another tragedy on
November 14 this year when her last investment, a $60,000 mansion, the fruit of
27 years labour between her and her husband in the US was demolished by one
Amadu Kaleem, Managing Director of Kea Ghana Limited, a construction company.
According to the Chronicle, the demolition was
done without any court order, bringing back eerie memories of the era of the
revolution when the recourse to brutal force became an accepted norm. Kaleem
reportedly, threatened workers at the site that he was a relative of the
Vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, and could shoot and kill, and go scot-free.
“Anyone who will stand in my way and prevent me
from carrying out the demolition exercise will be shot,” Kaleem reportedly
threatened as he ordered the operator of the bulldozer to pull down the
mansion.
When he was arrested he denied carrying a gun
to the site. A source at the Vice-President’s office last Monday however,
denounced Kaleem’s claim that he was related to the Vice-President.
Asman told the Chronicle that she came down two
years ago and bought the land in dispute from the sons of Nii Amon Kotey, the
Chief of Nkwatanan with his blessing, after a thorough search at the Lands
Commission.
She said her workers were on the job on one
occasion when Kaleem alias ‘business’ visited the site and claimed ownership of
the parcel of land indicating that he acquired it as far back as 1978.
He threatened to pull down the structure and,
although the Madina Police was arranging an amicable settlement, went ahead
with the demolition without any court order.
More…/
The Omanhene of Essikado traditional area in
the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis, Nana Kobina Nketiah IV, has observed that
anyone who refuses to confront what has happened in the past has skeletons in
his cupboard, which he does not want exposed.
According to him, almost all the successive
governments that this county has produced used what he termed as a super
structure, which was created by our colonial masters to suppress the indigenous
people.
He mentioned the crafting of certain policies,
which were used to suppress those who did not belong to the camp of those
controlling state apparatus. He said the use of this super structure by most of
the successive governments divided the country and the only way this could be
remedied is to confront what happened in the past with the view to reconciling
the people, once and for all.
Nana Nketiah, known in private life as Dr
Baffoe Maison, a lecturer at the University of Cape Coast, was commenting on
the National Reconciliation Bill, which is before Parliament, in an interview
with the Chronicle at his private residence at Essikado on Monday.
More…/
The Kotoka International Airport (KIA) could be
a possible target for terrorists, says Lt. Col. (Rtd) Nat Kpikpitse, former
Director of Aviation Security.
“The perception that KIA can’t be a target of
terrorism is wrong,” he stressed, explaining that this is because the KIA is
one of four airports that operate direct flights to the United States from
Africa.
Addressing a League of Aviation Journalists at
a seminar in Accra on Tuesday, Lt. Col. Kpikpitse said because Ghana operates a
direct flight to the USA, it could be targeted by terrorists as a transit point
to America.
He hinted that maybe the first East Africa
attack on some American Embassies a few years ago might have originated from
Ghana because Ghana operates a direct flight to East Africa. Lt. Col Kpikpitse
therefore urged the media to be careful when reporting on security issues at
the KIA.
Touching on security at the KIA, he said the
airport has employed the services of well- trained private security personnel,
instead of national security personnel from the police and military services.
He said the frequent transfer of police and
military personnel does not make them suitable for airport security because one
could easily be transferred after he has gained ground at the airport and
understands operations there.
GRi…/
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Retired Army General Emmanuel Erskine has a
clear message for those either planning a coup or beating the coup drums,
according to The Evening News. “Let them try it,” he says.
Gen Erskine, speaking on an Accra radio station
on Tuesday stated clearly that he was hopeful his friends and colleagues in the
Armed Forces “will never ever allow what happened in June 1979 to re-occur.”
Gen Erskine, in the group of Ghana’s finest
military personalities, was emphatic that Ghanaians were tired of coups.
“Things have changed. People are tired, nobody has benefited from coup,” the
former UNIFIL Commander told the radio station.
He reminded those talking about coups that
soldiers are human beings who have families and conscience, adding that those
soldiers who took part in the atrocities of the 1979 coup were a worried people
when they were sent to Lebanon to peace-keeping operations.
General Erskine said most of them confessed the
killings and atrocities they carried against fellow Ghanaians and prayed for
forgiveness. “Some of them died and others got mad. Conscience killed some of
them,” he revealed.
GRi…/
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Prisons
man queries some court decisions…Judge reacts
A
Ho High Court Judge, Justice R.K. Apaloo and the Volta Regional Prison’s
commander, Mr Kofi Bansah, could not agree on the reality of judgement meted
out to offenders.
According
to The Ghanaian Times, at a ceremony at Ho to mark this year’s prison’s week,
Mr Bansah accused judges in the country of giving out unrealistic judgements.
But the judge quickly reacted, debunking the assertion and explaining that
judgement was evaluated, assessed and weighed before being passed.
He
indicated that judges work in accordance with the criminal procedures code,
which specified minimum sentences to various offences.
Speaking
on the topic “The Role of Judges in Criminal Justice in Ghana”, Justice Apaloo
maintained that judges would not mete out punishment to culprits according to
their whims and caprices but in accordance with the criminal laws of the land.
He
mentioned retributive, reformation and preventive measures as theories taken
into consideration by judges before pronouncing judgement and declared, “the
manner in which the offence is committed and the arrogance of the accused
person during trial is also taken into consideration.
He
advised ex-convicts while in prison to acquire knowledge and skills so that
they will be self-employed instead of looking for non-existing jobs and that
the stigmas attached to them would prevent them from seeking employment.
More…/
It
is now certain that the inland port project originally planned to be
constructed at Fumesua near Kumasi will take off at Boankra, near Ejisu in the
Ashanti Region by the end of this year.
Mr
Kwasi Osei Adjei, deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, made these known at
the weekend during the commissioning of the 400,000-dollar sheanut processing
factory for the Juaben Oil Mill.
The
inland port project was originally to be constructed at Fumesua near Kumasi but
had to be moved to the present site at Boankra due to endless litigation on the
Fumesua land, which nearly stifled the implementation of the project.
More…/
The
Ghana Education Service (GES) has warned Heads of Senior Secondary Schools
against the refusal to register candidates for the 2002 SSSCE with the pretext
that they owe fees.
A
statement signed by Mr Joseph Kwesi Odom, head of Public Relations, GES said
that reports indicate that some heads were refusing to register candidates with
the pretext that they are owing fees even though those students had paid the
approved fees. “Heads who are involved should desist from this act,” it
warned.
The
statement advised the Heads of Schools to register students who had paid the
approved fees in their own interest and also urged Regional and District
Directors to ensure compliance.
GRi…/
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