Panic hits Dansoman resident as cabbie goes missing
B/A civil servants threaten demonstration
Students threaten to demonstration if negotiations are not resumed
Establishments asked to employ disabled
Education service assures teachers of better deal soon
Panic hits Dansoman resident as cabbie goes missing
Accra (Greater Accra), 28th October 99
Dansoman in Accra, which has lately been the scene of unresolved serial killings of a number of women, has yet another puzzle to unravel.
A taxi driver and resident, Stephen Kwadwo Amponsah, believed to be in his 20s, is reported missing together with his cab since October 21.
Residents are speculating that he must have been kidnapped by armed robbers, got killed in an accident or simply sold the car and bolted.
Mr. Daniel Okyere, caretaker of the cab, told the GNA that Amponsah, who has been unemployed for a long time, was given the car on Tuesday, October 19, around 2 p.m. with the instruction to return it at 8.30 p.m. the same day.
Mr. Okyere, who is also Amponsah's benefactor and elder brother, said his brother did not come home for three days but heard from friends that he was driving around town.
"As at Thursday, October 21, there were still no clues with regard to Amponsah's whereabouts. I have no idea about what has happened to him."
He described Amponsah as black in complexion and of medium height.
He was last seen driving the cab, a light green and yellow Datsun 120Y saloon car, with registration number GR 1515 H and urged any member of the with information of the cab or its driver to report it to the police.
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Return to top Fire guts girls dormitory
Hohoe (Volta Region), 28th October 99
Fire broke out in Girls' Dormitory Eight of St. Francis Training College at Hohoe on Wednesday and destroyed the personal effects of 17 students.
Items lost to the fire suspected to have been caused by an electrical fault included pressing irons, bedsteads, suitcases, mattresses and school uniforms.
The cause of the fire was attributed to an electrical fault.
Three students, Doris Elewosi, Mary Kugbleafe and Lilian Hoke, received minor injuries while Stella Atieku, who suffered a shock, has been admitted at Hohoe Government Hospital.
Miss Florence Harvey, student, said at about 3 a.m. on Wednesday, there was a loud explosion in the dormitory, followed by fire and smoke.
Male students rushed to the dormitory with buckets of sand and water to bring the fire under control.
Mr K.N. Kwashie, Senior Housemaster, said a report had been made to the Ghana National Fire Service, which is investigating the cause of the fire.
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B/A civil servants threaten demonstration
Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 28th October 99
Members of the Civil Servants Association (CSA) are to stage a demonstration over problems associated with the implementation of the Ghana Universal Salary Structure (GUSS) early next month when Queen Elizabeth visits Ghana.
The Brong Ahafo Regional Secretary of the CSA, Mr Asante Asubonteng, said this on Wednesday at Sunyani when he briefed members on issues discussed recently at the National Executive meeting in Accra.
Currently, members of the association nation-wide are wearing red bands and have threatened to embark on a series of demonstrations as from next Tuesday to press home their demand for the restoration of certain allowances.
Mr. Asubonteng said if the demonstrations fail to yield positive results, they will embark upon a sit-down strike.
He said in spite of a number of meetings held between the CSA and the government on the issue, the association still does not see its way clear.
Mr. Asubonteng said if the Price WaterHouse Report had been implemented to the letter, the CSA would not have had any cause to complain.
He noted that the "grand parenting" of salaries of some members of the Civil Service had not helped in bridging the gap between them and their counterparts in other institutions.
Mr. Asubonteng, therefore, called for the restoration of petrol and car maintenance allowances to enhance the take home pay of civil servants.
He also complained that though the Ministry of Finance had written to the Controller and Accountant General's Department to release 245 million cedis as a refund of medical bills for civil servants in the region since August 10, his had not been done.
Mr. Asubonteng hoped that the government would show concern and heed the demands of the association to forestall the impending demonstrations.
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Students threaten to demonstration if negotiations are not resumed
Accra (Greater Accra), 28th October 99
The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), on Wednesday threatened to continue mass protests and demonstrations next month if negotiations on the academic facility user fees are not resumed before the re-opening of the universities.
A statement signed by Mr. Timothy Nsobila, National Secretary, said the decision was taken at a meeting of Students Representative Councils of the universities on October 15.
The statement said unfortunately, when NUGS put its request for the resumption of negotiations before the Deputy Minister of Education on October 21, they were told that the government had taken its final decision on the issue.
"NUGS deeply regrets that after making the statement, the government still continues to make remarks which seek to draw the public into believing that a tentative agreement has been reached while efforts are being made to get long term solutions."
The statement said the union has informed the Inspector General of Police and the university authorities through the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals, of the students' resolve to continue mass protest and demonstrations.
It called on the Ministry of Education and the government to re-open negotiations immediately and unconditionally, to ensure peace and stability on the campuses.
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Return to top Establishments asked to employ disabled
Ho (Volta Region), 28th October 99
The government has directed that five per cent of all vacancies in all establishments are reserved for the disabled in the society.
Alhaji Seidu Iddi, Volta Regional Minister, said this in a speech read for him at the 16th annual national congress of the Ghana Association of the Blind (GAB) at Ho on Wednesday.
The three-day congress, which attracted more than 50 participants throughout the country, is on the theme "GAB - preparing towards the challenges of the new millennium".
"We need to collectively work together to facilitate the integration of the blind and visually impaired into the mainstream of society", he stressed.
Alhaji Iddi noted that society's attitude towards the disabled could change if the disabled recognise themselves as normal human beings who could contribute towards national development.
Dr. B.I. Koray, the National President, said combating discrimination and segregation stemming from ignorance, fear, superstition and prejudice remained a challenge to the disabled at the threshold of the next millennium.
He said high on the association's plans include placing disability on the national agenda, establishing rights of the blind, access to education, employment and information among others.
He said the association with more than 90,000 dollars support from the Danish Association of the Blind, Danish International Development Agency and the African Union of the Blind, had made tremendous strides in Braille literacy, leadership skills and income-generating activities.
It has also established a credit facility, gari-processing factory and is locally producing white canes.
He appealed to the executive and the legislature to ensure that persons with disabilities exercise the same rights and obligations as others, saying "disability issues are inter-sectorial and multi-disciplinary in character and must be viewed and treated as such".
He said their problems have been compounded by a disabling society that has focused upon their impairments rather than their potential, adding that inclusion and participation are essential towards promoting integration, human rights and dignity.
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Return to top Education service assures teachers of better deal soon
Tamale (Northern Region), 28th October 99
Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Ekumfi, Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), has assured teachers about efforts to rectify as soon as possible all identifiable anomalies under the new universal salary structure.
He has therefore appealed to the Ghana Association of Teachers (GNAT) not to embark on its intended strike action over the irregularities which include curtailment of certain allowances and general drop in salary levels.
Professor Ameyaw-Ekumfi called on teachers to exercise restraint since the Vice-President, Professor John Atta Mills and the Accountant-General's Department have taken up the issue.
He told a press conference in Tamale on Wednesday, that the Ministries of Education and Employment and Social Welfare, "are also holding consultations to address all the technical issues involved in the implementation of the Pricewater House report to streamline all possible errors.
The Director-General observed that a strike action would affect the effective supervision of the on-going Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination and teaching and learning.
Professor Ameyaw-Ekumfi said the GES has received 865 million cedis from government for the payment of salaries of newly trained teachers while those who graduated last year are also being taken care of.
Reacting to the controversy about the supply of imported rice by GES to schools in the Northern Region in favour of paddy rice from the local farmers, Professor Ameyaw-Ekumfi said the rice were donations to the country to help supplement the feeding of students.
He said since the rice are better treated, he has instructed that they are stored for future use in order not to interfere with the marketing of paddy rice.
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