According to the Daily Graphic, the situation has been worsened by the absence of Cuban doctors, who have been complementing the work of their Ghanaian colleagues, but are now on holidays back home.

To the Principal Hospital Administrator, Mr Augustine Boamah, indicated that there are now 14 doctors on duty instead of the total 26 at the hospital.

He said what is even worse is that some of the 14 doctors are being sent to the district health centres without any replacement.

Mr Boamah attributed the situation to the fact that majority of the doctors are leaving for further studies while others are going on transfer, adding that two of the hospital's laboratory technicians who left for further studies in Accra, have not been replaced.

"The situation at the hospital which is a referral point, is alarming and if nothing is done to reverse the trend, we shall soon lose all our doctors," he said.

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Prisons authorities to revive 'Prisons Week'

The Prisons Administration has decided to revive the celebration of Prisons Week to enable the public to have a better understanding of the functions of the service.

The week, which will celebrated next month, was last observed in 1985.

Announcing the revival of the week at a durbar in Accra on Thursday, the Director General of the Ghana Prisons Service Mr Richard Kuuire said the week will highlight the supportive roles expected from members of the public.

He called for collaboration among all the players in the Criminal Justice System in the country in order to curb the upsurge in crime in the country.

He said such collaboration will also help to reduce the number of prisoners, who have been on prison remand for more than 10 years.

Mr Kuuire said all the various players in the criminal justice system seemed to be working at cross-roads adding that while the police are calling for suspects to be remanded without bail, the prison service is also calling for the quick disposal of cases so that suspects are not put on remand unnecessarily.

He said the sharing of information will go a long way to assist all players in the criminal justice system to understand and appreciate each others work.

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Govt. to implement new employment programme

The government is to implement the alternative employment programme (AEP) as part of the public sector management reform programme (PSMRP).

The AEP is part of government's efforts to restructure public sector institutions in the country to make them more efficient and productive.

Dr Appiah Koranteng, national Coordinator, National Institutional Renewal Programme (NIRP), announced this at the preparatory workshop for Phase Two of the PSMRP held in Accra on Wednesday.

He said there will be three stages under the AEP. These include transfer of productive people from one institution to another, the retirement of old staff to enable young and energetic people to take over from them and the encouragement of people who show the urge to venture into private sector businesses.

He said it has been identified that some sectors in the civil service have a large number of employees, whilst others lack personnel, and expressed the hope that the implementation of the AEP will help check these lapses.

Dr Koranteng said a new public sector mission and vision has been put in place for the five components of the public sector, which include central management agencies, subvented agencies, the civil service and others.

GRi…/

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Graphic Sports

Ten professional stars coming

With the squad of Nigeria, Senegal, Liberia and others already splashed on the international web, Ghana's coach Osam Duodu prefers dead silence, while keeping the details of his 2002 Nations Cup squad close to his chest.

The only clue the Black Stars coach was prepared to release, when contacted on Thursday, is that the foreign component of his 22-man squad would not exceed 10, reports sports bi-weekly, Graphic Sports.

Osam, according to the paper, was even more reluctant to disclose names of the 10 foreign-based professionals, saying negotiations are still going on.

At the time of the chat on phone, Mr Osam Duodu was engaged in discussions with the Ghana Football Association (GFA) on matters relating to the 2002 Cup finals in Mali and the details of when to assemble his final squad.

From other reliable sources however, players being contacted for the January 2002 assignment include Stephen Appiah, Charles Amoah, Samuel Osei Kuffour, Emmanuel Duah, Otto Addo, Yaw Preko and Kwame Ayew.

Even in the absence of the foreign-based component, Osam Duodu's team building demands are facing internal resistance from Kotoko whose four players are yet to respond to his invitation.

Mr Osam Duodu is still expecting Osei Boateng, Godwin Ablordey, Joe Hendricks and Isaac Owusu but the management of Kotoko says the release of the players, according to the formula of the Black Stars coach, would disturb the team's domestic plans.

The coach wants all his local players in the Black Stars to camp from Monday to Thursday each week, then released on Fridays to feature for their clubs in the league.

Kotoko however object to that arrangement and have asked for a meeting between the technical teams of the Black Stars and the clubs to strike a compromise.

Short of that, Kotoko say they would only release their players after the current season, which ends in December.

GRi…/

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The Evening News

Money ‘come for chop’ at Bank of Ghana

The Evening News writes that Dr Paul Acquah is missing nothing, as he leaves his plush office in Washington, in the United States as IMF official to take up the post of Governor of Ghana's Central Bank.

“The 63-year-old Acquah, is literally rolling into his new office at the High Street with an accommodation package, which defies the present economic situation of the country”, states the paper.

Furnishing of his official private residence and that of his two Deputies, Advisors and Consultants is said to range from DSTV to garbage bins.

Investigations which the paper claims it has conducted revealed that at a meeting of the top executives of the Bank held on September 12, 2001, management considered a memorandum from the Estate Department on the issue of furnishing official private residences of senior members of staff.

It noted that, the list of standard furnishing of both the official and private residences for the senior staff approved in December 1992, was not detailed enough and as a result, a number of complementary items were left out, creating problems for the Estate Department of the Bank.

The meeting therefore, felt it was necessary to review the specific items to be provided.

According to our investigations, after some discussion, management approved a list of standard furnishing for the residences of the Governor, Deputy Governors, Advisors and consultants.

Two days later, the Secretary to the Bank, Mr James A. Odei, issued a memo to the head of the Estate Department to note and take the necessary action.

Areas to be covered include living rooms, bedrooms, study, kitchen, dining laundry and washrooms.

When reached for his comments, Dr Kwabena Duffour, who retired as Governor on September 30, 2001, confirmed the story but was full of anger saying, he felt the story was leaked to the Evening News by people who are out just to embarrass him.

Dr Duffour said any suggestion that management took those decisions to favour him was wrong, since he had only two weeks left to leave office.

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Bureau of National Investigations says will arrest them if…

The Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) has warned that it will not hesitate to arrest anyone who refuses to honour its invitation.

The warning was in apparent reaction to a recent statement by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that its former Ministers and appointees would no longer cooperate in the 'inquisitions' currently going on into its period of office.

A highly placed BNI source who spoke to the Evening News in Accra on Thursday explained that the Bureau was established under the Security and Intelligence Agencies Act 1996, Act 526, and given the powers of arrest, search and also all powers that the Ghana Police Service possesses in the course of investigations.

The source further explained that it is important for Ghanaians to know that Act 526 was passed by Parliament when the NDC had the majority in the house.

The Bureau, the source said had extended all the courtesy enjoyed by every citizen to the ex-Ministers and appointees who had so far appeared before its investigators adding that ex-Ministers and appointees were allowed to have access to their lawyers and given adequate time to respond to questions.

Since the NDC declared its stand, there has been sharp criticisms from various organisations and individuals in the society.

GRi…/

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Ghana Palaver

Educational workers body set deadline for payment of arrears

The Executives of the Teachers and Educational Workers' Union (TEWU) and the Federation of University Senior Staff Association of Ghana (FUSSAG), have set Monday October 15, as deadline for the payment of their 15 per cent salary increases from May to September, reports the Ghana Palaver.

They warned that should the authorities fail to honour their demand they "shall not be in a position to restrain our rank and file from any industrial action."

The agreement to increase the basic salaries of staff was reached at negotiations between the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals (CVCP) and TEWU/FUSSAG during the review of the collective bargaining agreement for the Universities on August 1.

The two bodies, according to the Palaver, said that the Ministry of Finance gave approval to the Universities to implement the salary adjustment from the beginning of May, while CVCP and TEWU/FUSSAG agreed on September 2001 for implementation.

TEWU and FUSSAG urged Management of the universities to adjust salary levels upward by 15 per cent across the board by the end of October, saying there is a mounting dissatisfaction among members over the undue delay in the payment.

They referred to a letter by the Minister of Finance Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo dated September 28, requesting the Auditor-General to audit the new salary levels for the Controller and Accountant-General to effect payment.

GRi…/

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Weekend Statesman

"NDC has done some good too"

The Weekend States says in a statement which cements the new NPP Chairman's commitment to introduce a new culture of multi-partyism in Ghana's polity, Harona Esseku acknowledged in an exclusive interview with the paper on Thursday that although some leading members of the erstwhile NDC government abused their position, Ghanaians should not forget that "they have done some good too."

The national Chairman was elaborating on some of the points he raised in his press statement on Wednesday.

In his statement to the press, the veteran politician lauded the benefits of multi-party democracy, adding that the system "cannot, however, successfully operate in the absence of strong, well-organised parties," which believe in the multi-party concept and that the leaders of the political parties do "recognise the need for regular dialogue and interaction."

In The Statesman interview, Esseku pointed to his press statement as his first gesture at inviting the other parties to pick up the gauntlet and engage in a dialogue.

"What joins parties together in a multi-party system is oneness in our commitment to addressing issues in the national interest," he put it wisely. "We should always be talking - we may disagree, but that should not make us enemies."

In a separate interview, the General Secretary of the NPP, Dan Botwe, pointed to the inter-party meeting held between elections at the Electoral Commission as a useful forum to promote and enhance inter-party relationships. But in a tacit support to the National Chairman's statement, Botwe told The Statesman that in "principle, once we have accepted multi-party democracy, any effort to add to it should be welcomed."

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90,000 customers owe Electricity Company ¢35bn in Kumasi

Some 90,000 out of the 110,000 customers of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in Kumasi owe ¢35 billion in unpaid bills. To this end, the ECG is currently undertaking mass disconnection to compel defaulting customers to pay up.

The huge debt has put severe pressure on the company's finances, as it struggles to find money to pay staff, improve upon its systems and maintain its equipment.

Painting this gloomy picture to the media in Kumasi this week, the Ashanti Regional Director of ECG, William Hutton-Mensah, said the situation has compelled the company to intensify its revenue mobilisation in order to improve its revenue base. He announced that power would be restored to disconnected customers only after they had paid the full amount involved and the reconnection fee.

According to the Regional Director of the ECG, a monitoring patrol team of the ECG, in collaboration with the police, has been going round in the night to check on customers who may have made illegal reconnections.

About 300 people have been caught in this net and made to settle the full debt and the re-connection fee, in addition to a penalty of ¢200,000, Hutton-Mensah said.

The Ashanti Regional Public Relations of ECG, William Boateng, said despite the difficulties being encountered, the company has been able to improve the electricity supply systems in 48 areas of Kumasi.

GRi…/

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The Ghanaian Times

Corruption in Judicial System is endemic- Akuffo

Corruption has become so endemic in the country's judicial system that some lawyers have come to accept it and even factor in the amount of inducement they give to judges and court officials when determining how much to charge their clients, state daily The Ghanaian Times quotes Deputy Attorney and Minister of Justice, Ms Gloria Akuffo as saying.

She said this act of condoning should cease if lawyers and indeed the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) would command the moral authority to spearhead the fight against corruption.

She announced these at the just ended national conference of the Ghana Bar Association at Sunyani.

According to her, "a lot of lawyers accused judges and judiciary staff of being corrupt but we cannot deny that some of us have contributed to the problem and, therefore, also need to take a look at ourselves as we point accusing fingers at others".

The three-day conference had the theme "Corruption, the rule of law and administration of justice."

Miss Akuffo said lawyers should practise their profession with integrity to enable them to question societal ills.

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Musicians union calls for music/film regulations

The Musicians Association of Ghana (MUSIGA) has urged the President, Mr John Kufuor to set up two separate bodies that would regulate and approve new musical lyrics and video films before they are put on sale.

In the view of MUSIGA, one of the bodies should be tasked to preview and approve every video film, theatrical play and television material before they appear on the market, while the other body should approve lyrics in every music production.

In a letter signed by its General Secretary, Nana Ampadu, MUSIGA suggested that an immediate stop should be put to the screening of semi-nude pictures of mostly the youth, musical video clips and video films that depict sexually motivated scenes.

More…/

Cape Coast School for Deaf score zero in exams

The Cape Coast School for the Deaf (CAPEDEAF), scored zero per cent in the last Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) organised by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).

But a source close to the Municipal Directorate of Education, told the Times that the failure of the examination authorities to give special treatment to the students of the school might have contributed to their failure.

It explained that the students were slow learners and therefore should not have been given the same period or allowed to write the examinations with the 'normal' students.

The source said further that the absence of a sign language specialist to explain instructions to the students before the start of the examinations was also a factor to their failure.

At CAPEDEAF, a source close to the teachers confirmed the story and assigned similar reasons to the students' failure.

GRi…/

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The Ghanaian Chronicle

Two hundred scientists needed for industrial development

For effective industrial development in Ghana, it is estimated that 200 scientists per one million individuals are needed, according a story in The Ghanaian Chronicle.

Mr John Budu-Smith, Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) said this whiles delivering a keynote address at the third annual Brong Ahafo Regional Science, Technology and Mathematics Education (STME) clinic last week.

He announced that as a measure to promote teaching and learning of science at the pre-tertiary level, a science education of all science and technology education programmes at pre-tertiary level has been created.

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Nduom declares: Fiscal indiscipline is cause of economic problems

The Minister for Economic Planning and Regional Integration, Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, has said that Ghana's debt burden and fiscal indiscipline contributed to the country's inability to address her economic problems.

The minister added that the nation's domestic and external debts and payment of salaries alone could take up the whole national budget.

He was speaking at a workshop on "Strengthening civil society organisations on the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy and education on the HIPC Initiative" in Tamale, organised by the Ghana Association of Private Voluntary Organisations in Developmet (GAPVOD).

Dr Nduom said what needs to be done to resuscitate the economy was fiscal discipline and the restructuring of the domestic and external debts.

"That is where HIPC comes in handy. At the moment the external debt is $6 billion and the domestic 9 million cedis. Ghana will also gain between $150 million and $200 milion every year,” he said.

It's a smear campaign- says Ghana UN association

The National Executive of the Ghana United Nations Association (GUNA) has expressed dismay at a recent publication in an Accra daily alluding to an alleged closure of the activities of the Association and that GUNA is no longer recognised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At an emergency meeting held on Tuesday, October 2, 2001, at the new national secretariat of the association, the National Executive Committee (NEC) of GUNA stated that after careful investigation, research and analysis of the said publication, it has deduced that the said publication was only an interview granted to a "Graphic" reporter by an officer of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who was expressing his personal opinion and therefore, position of the ministry.

The NEC categorically stated that the coup d' etat-style announcement of one Kojo Acquah of the Foreign Affairs Ministry and another colleague are unacceptable in Ghana's democratic dispensation. They negate natural justice, rule of law and undermine the spirit and letter of the 1992 constitution of Ghana, the meeting ruled.

They said the claim that there is a mandate from the World Federation of United Nations Association (WFUNA) to someone to re-organise GUNA is also false.

The meeting, which was chaired by the National President, Nana Takui Ameyaw II, and attended by all the representatives of the Southern Executives of GUNA's network, was in reaction to the publications.

It was also to plan for the forthcoming National Congress of the Association scheduled for mid-November this year.

GRi…/

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The Weekend Agenda

NDC sold Ghana Telecom without capital input-

"We weren't required to invest in Ghana Telecom", says Malaysian MD.

The Public Agenda writes that as events leading to the privatisation of the Ghana Telecom (GT) came to a climax in 1996, the then NDC government, dangled to the Ghanaian public-the huge financial infusion a strategic investor would bring into the country's telecommunication industry, as one of the benefits of privatising the company.

"The strategic investor would bring money to expand and upgrade the business and make it a real market leader", the government listed this among four benefits that the country was to derive from privatising Ghana Telecom.

Four years after taking over Ghana Telecom, the strategic shareholder, Telekom Malaysia, says injection of foreign capital into the company, was not part of the conditions for buying the 30 per cent stake in Ghana Telecom.

"Our role was basically to help out in the development of the industry. Apart from what we paid in equity, no other condition on capital was stated", the Malaysian Managing Director of GT, Dato Abdul Mallek Mohamed said of their role as strategic investor.

Dato Malek Mohamed told the Agenda that they had not brought in any capital for the company apart from the $38 million they had paid to the government to acquire the 30 per cent stake in the company.

For their 30 per cent stock, the strategic investor was handed absolute management control. Aside that, four of the seven-member board of GT are appointed by Telekom Malaysia.

The other benefits the government listed for the need for a strategic investor was that the investor would bring his management expertise to bear on the management and operations of the company.

GRi…/

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