Minister launches rural road programme
Minister assures nation of minimal Y2K problems
Research institute deny Kenkey cancer story
Local Government Minister asked to investigate existence to TDCs
Minister launches rural road programme
Accra (Greater Accra), 23rd October 99
Mr. Edward Salia, Minister of Roads and Transport on Friday launched the Ghana Rural Travel and Transport Programme (GRTTP) and called for an effective institutional framework within which roads will be properly managed.
Mr. Salia, speaking at a one-day workshop on the GRTTP said roads are not currently managed as part of the market economy and there is no clear price and value for them.
The workshop with 120 participants, is organised by the Department for Feeder Roads and is sponsored by the World Bank.
Participants will discuss issues that affect the rural transport sector with the view to developing and disseminating improved policies to plan the financing, building and maintaining of rural roads.
They will also recommend approaches to the improvement of rural transport services, and to the adoption of intermediate technologies to increase personnel mobility and agricultural production.
He called on participants to look critically at gender, poverty and environmental issues adding that improving the status of the rural poor especially women and enhancing the environment are the main challenges of the millennium.
He expressed the hope that the Ghana RTTP will be a learning centre that would anchor and provide the needed software for all projects and programmes related to rural transport.
Mr. C. D Antwi, Director of Feeder Roads, said despite continuous reforms in the rural road sub-sector, there are still many difficult problems including demand for more roads, insufficient and uncertain maintenance funding.
Mr. Antwi said government is looking forward to the strengthening of the rural road sub-sector based on the four main building blocks of ownership, funding, management, and responsibility in addition to the objectives it has set for itself.
Mr. Peter Harrold, World Bank Country Director, said Ghana is one of the many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to join the RTTP, a programme which is a component of the sub-saharan Africa Transport Policy.
The programme is a collaborative effort between many bilateral and multilateral organizations aimed at assisting governments to formulate and implement improved transport policies.
He said there has been a growing awareness at the country and Bank levels on the need to pay specific attention to addressing inadequacies associated with rural travel and transport as part of poverty alleviation strategies.
Mr. Harrold said lack of rural transport policy and strategy , unclear ownership and responsibilities and weak management capacity at local levels are some of the challenges and trends in rural transport.
He said "we should begin to see rural roads as important as the main roads for they are the largest portion of the road network in use".
He called for the evolvement of consensual policies and strategies to address the rural transport issue.
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Minister assures nation of minimal Y2K problems
Accra (Greater Accra), 23rd October 99
Mr. John Mahama, Minister of Communications, on Friday said there will be minimal disruption to all critical sectors of the economy as a result of the Y2K problem, come the year 2000.
He said presently, most missions critical organizations are 90 percent ready for the millennium bug.
Mr. Mahama said this when he addressed a seminar organized by the National Y2K Project Office of the Ministry of Communications in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to brief the diplomatic community on the state of Ghana's Y2K readiness.
Y2K, is a computer programming flaw that could cause computer systems and other electronic devices programmed to record date information in two digits instead of four to malfunction or completely shut down at the turn of year 2000.
He said as part of a national strategy to contain the Y2K risk, key mission critical areas such as electricity, water supply, health, telecommunications, energy, aviation, postal services and the financial sectors have been thoroughly looked at.
Mr. Mahama, stressed that the economy is too fragile to withstand the shock of the Y2K problem and advocated that all businesses should divert resources to remedy it.
He cautioned all mission-critical organizations to avoid complacency in dealing with the Y2K problem, adding that they should be diligent in testing their contingency plans to stem the problem.
Mr. Joseph Laryea, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, said with international dependency on trade, services and utilities, Y2K disruptions of any of Ghana's partners would have adverse consequences.
He said Ghana has fully participated in efforts of international initiatives to promote strategic co-operation and action between governments, and the private sector to minimize the adverse effects of the problem on the economy and global society.
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Suhum (Eastern Region), 23rd October 99
Mr. Ransford Adjapong, defeated in the last elections, has been re-elected unopposed as the NPP Parliamentary candidate for the Suhum constituency at the party's constituency congress.
Other executive members who were re-elected unopposed include Mr. Dominic Osei-Bonsu, Chairman, Mr. Frank Dadebo, First Vice-Chairman, Mr. Raymond Quartey,
Second Vice-Chairman, Nana Odei Amoako, Secretary and Mr. Emmanuel Kwadwo Wiafe, Assistant Secretary.
The Eastern Region Chairman of the party, Nana Adi Ankama, asked them to work harder to enable the party to win both the parliamentary and presidential elections next year.
"Nothing will prevent the NPP from winning the year 2000 general elections," he said but noted, however, that this could only be achieved through the vigilance of the polling agents and the party executives.
Nana Ankama reminded them that elections are won at the polling station.
Thereafter it would be wrong for the party to always blame the Electoral Commission when it suffers defeat.
The regional vice-chairman of the party, Mr. Isaac Omane, commended the constituency for constructing its own office.
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Research institute deny Kenkey cancer story
Accra (Greater Accra), 23rd October 99
Dr W.A. Plahar, a food scientist, on Friday described a publication attributed to him that Kenkey, Fufu and Gari can cause cancer as untrue and alarmist.
He said aflatoxin, a cancer causing agent, which infects grains that are not properly dried before storage is real but that there is no empirical evidence based on a research in Ghana to definitely establish a direct link of an incidence of cancer to any particular food.
Dr Plahar was reacting to a GNA publication labelled " Fears that Kenkey causes cancer is real" carried on October 12.
" Our earlier reports that some levels of aflatoxins were found in some Kenkey samples produced from contaminated grains were based on only a limited number of samples showing great variations", he said in a rejoinder.
"The report was only meant to arouse the awareness of the relevant institutions to embark on the necessary steps to avoid a large scale aflatoxins problem with grains produced in the country."
He said Fufu and Gari should not have been mentioned at all since the two are not prepared from grains.
Dr Plahar said "No aflatoxin has ever been determined in fufu or gari in our laboratories and I have never come across any such report in the literature on the subject."
Dr Plahar said aflatoxins were discovered in the early sixties and not three years ago as was said in the publication.
He denied having said that aflatoxin might be the cause of many cancer cases recorded at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in the past few months.
" We have no reports and we are not in a position to determine the causes of any form of cancer, much less specifically relate the consumption of certain aflatoxin-contaminated foods to cancer-related deaths."
Dr. Plahar said Ghanaian staple foods are safe under the current steps being taken by relevant organisations to ensure good post-harvest management practices.
He disclosed that the Food Research Institute has one of the finest aflatoxin detection laboratories in the country and called on all relevant bodies to avail themselves of their services.
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Local Government Minister asked to investigate existence to TDCs
Agona Duakwa (Central Region), 23rd October 99
The minister of Local Government and Rural Development has been urged to set up a committee to investigate the continued existence of Town Development Committees (TDCs) at Agona Duakwa.
Mr. Jacob Ankah Yeboah, Assemblyman for Ankobiah/Zongo in Agona Duakwa, who made the appeal, said the 10 unit committees for Duakwa Ankobia/Zongo electoral area, cannot work because of alleged installation of "Mbrantsehene" (Youth leader) to lead development efforts in the town.
Mr. Yeboah noted that the chief of the town has empowered the "Mbrantsehene" to collect toilet tolls and other revenue and further alleged that the development of the town has been affected by the situation.
Mr. Yeboah stressed that becuase of the existence of the TDC, this year's 'Akwambo' festival celebration could not come off and the matter has been reported to the district chief executive.
Nana Owusuaa Bentumaa, Queenmother of Duakwa when contacted confirmed the existence of the TDC in the town adding that its continued existence is creating tension and rivalry between the members and unit committees.
She urged the authorities to strive to resolve the issue to ensure development of the area.
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