GRi Newsreel Ghana
10 - 10 – 2001
Police
arrest armed robbers in Atebubu
President
returns home from Cote D'Ivoire
Accra (Greater Accra) 10 October 2001 - Mr. Kwabena Agyepong, Deputy Government Spokesman, has explained that the decision to grant Members of Parliament (MPs) $20,000 to enable them to purchase cars to facilitate their work was not the decision of the executive but rather that of Parliament.
He pointed out that the whole project from conception to the final decision emanated from Parliament and enjoyed that support of both sides of the House and that the Executive only had the task of finding the means to implement it.
The Government Spokesman was throwing light in an interview on the Graphic report of yesterday which disclosed that each MP was to be given $20,000 loan to buy a car.
According to Mr. Agyepong, the impression created that the government, without due consideration of the difficult economic conditions in the country, just "doled out money for MPs to buy new cars are both incorrect and unfortunate."
He also made it clear that whatever was given out to the MPs was not free money but loans which would be repaid by those who benefited from them. "These are not just blanket loans for the MPs; they are for those who are both willing and ready to take and repay them and to use such facilities to serve the larger national interest," he said.
Mr. Agyepong pointed out that without prejudice to similar arrangements made for MPs in the past, the situation the government has had to contend with was that the current Parliament was new and distinct from the previous ones.
He said as a measure of determination of the government to recoup all such monies, deductions had already been effected from the September salaries of MPs in fulfilment of the conditions attached to the loans. He, however, could not put a definite figure on the amounts deducted or say for how long such deductions would be made.
Mr Agyepong pointed out that in terms of stature, MPs were on the same level with High Court Judges, who were recently given cars by the government as part of their conditions of service and also to facilitate the effective performance of their duties.
"This and other factors have served to strengthen the case for securing similar facilities for the MPs and also put the executive in a situation that makes it difficult to ignore the entitlements of the MPs", he said.
Mr Agyepong pointed out that the government taking due cognisance of the financial constraints of the country on one hand, and the need to meet the legitimate demands of the MPs on the other, put in an invitation for tenders for vehicles after the current arrangement was agreed upon.
"Given the current prices of new vehicles on the market, this arrangement offered the cheapest and best way out in the circumstances and it was, therefore decided to take this facility", he stressed. - Daily Graphic
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Koforidua
(Eastern Region) 10 October 2001 - The National Chairman of the erstwhile
National Appeals Tribunal, Nana Addo-Aikins has asked the former Minister of
Economic Planning and Regional Integration, Mr Kwamena Ahwoi to tell Ghanaians
the whereabouts of the moneys and properties confiscated during the provisional
National Defence Council (PNDC regime.
In a
statement to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Koforidua on Monday, Nana Addo-Aikins
said Mr Ahwoi, who was one time chairman of the Citizens Vetting Committee
(CVC), National Investigations Committee (NIC) and the Public Tribunals must be
made to account for the fines collected and confiscated properties.
These
included gold, diamonds, personal effects, commercial goods and cash in local
and foreign currencies from some persons.
Nana
Addo-Aikins, who is a private legal practitioner, pointed out that the
disclosure by Mr Awhoi would "conform to the PNDC's avowed principles of
integrity, probity and accountability."
It would
also dispel rumours and suspicions that those confiscated properties went to
some high-ranking members of the erstwhile PNDC and would also help in
streamlining affairs at the archives of the erstwhile Public Tribunals for the
on-going national reconciliation exercise, he said.
Nana
Addo-Aikins said: "Mr Ahwoi, who claimed to believe in integrity, should
consider the challenge serious and come out to tell Ghanaians where the
confiscated items are."
Reacting,
Mr Ahwoi told the Ghana News Agency in Accra that he was a member of the
Citizens Vetting Committee for six months.
He became
the Co-ordinator for the CVC, NIC and Public Tribunals but was never a chairman
of any of them. He said not a pesewa was paid to him.
He said the
bodies had separate accounts into which they paid monies and he was never a
signatory to those accounts neither did he have access to them.
Mr Ahwoi
said a full time committee was set up by law to administer all confiscated
properties and if the records were kept properly any interested party could
access them.
He said he
ceased being a co-ordinator when he was appointed the Minister of Local
Government in 1988.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 10 October 2001 - Mr Emmanuel Asiedu-Mante, Deputy Governor of
the Bank of Ghana, on Tuesday said the growing sophistication in fraud and
economic crimes undermines the country's efforts to modernise its economy.
"Fraud
is not a new phenomenon in Ghana. What is new, however, is the increasing
sophistication of crimes especially those occurring in financial institutions
with the introduction of computerisation."
Mr
Asiedu-Mante told a seminar organised by the Committee for Cooperation Between
Law Enforcement Agencies and Banking Communities, and stressed the need for the
security agencies and the financial sector to work more closely to flush out
criminals who may want to take advantage of the new information technology to
perpetrate fraud and other economic crimes.
The
committee is composed of the central bank, other financial institutions and
security services collaborating to fight fraud and economic crime.
Topics to
be discussed included: Security in the Banking and Financial Institutions-
Whose responsibility, Computer Frauds- Nature and Prevention and Payment
Systems Development in Ghana: The use of credit and debit cards.
Sixty
participants drawn from the Bank of Ghana, VAT Secretariat, Internal Revenue
Service, Customs, Excise and Preventive Service and Ghana Immigration Service
are taking part in the programme.
Other participating
institutions are the commercials banks, Police, Bureau of National
Investigations and other security agencies.
Mr
Asiedu-Mante said economic crimes have the tendency to affect the ability to
manage the economy ant this may dampen investor confidence.
The Deputy
Governor identified some of the financial crimes as fraudulent manipulation of
computer hardware and altering data on software to facilitate fraud,
suppressing deposits and collusion among staff and customers to nullify the
effect on internal control mechanisms.
Others are
attempted withdrawal of money using counterfeit Visa Card, fraudulent
withdrawal of cash using stolen cheque leaves or ATM cards, fraudulent
manipulation of funds transfer.
He said
even though institutions have their own mechanism to check fraud such as
appointing external auditors and directives to banks to report fraud cases,
there is the need to constantly share intelligence with security agencies.
Mr
Asiedu-Mante said the central bank is collaborating with other stakeholders to
ensure integrity and stability of the financial system. This includes a
proposal to the judiciary to establish specialised courts to handle cases
concerning fraud and other economic activities.
He said the
bank has also initiated a move to review existing laws like the banking law,
PNDC law 225, the Bill of Exchange Act and promulgating a new Payment System
Law.
Mr
Asiedu-Mante urged members of the committee to cooperate, share information and
recognise each other's role in curbing economic crime.
GRi../
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Kumasi (Ashanti
Region) 10 October 2001 - Dr Kenneth Agyemang Attafuah, a Director of the
Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), has asked
Ghanaians to change from being passive subjects to full fledged citizens of a
stable, democratic political system.
Democracy
in Ghana cannot flourish without the active support of citizens, who understood
the foundations of democracy in ideas, institutions and practices, he noted.
To sustain
democracy in Ghana and nurture it to blossom Ghanaians must become new citizens
imbued with civic knowledge and responsibilities, Dr Attafuah told a day's
workshop organised by Civitas Ghana, for the Ashanti Regional Steering
Committee of Civitas in Kumasi at the weekend.
The Public
Affairs Section of the US Embassy sponsored the workshop, which has as its
theme: "Taking the awareness mandate seriously: The importance of
democracy and human rights".
Citizen
must know and ensure that their responsibilities and aspirations were addressed
by governments charged with representing
them at the national and district assembly levels.
It also
required a vibrant crop of citizens that could dutifully, firmly and
respectfully hold their leaders to the stringent standard of public
accountability, transparency and performance to which leaders must necessarily
pledge themselves.
Dr Attafuah
asked Ghanaians to be concerned about the gradual decline of integrity in the
country, adding that the trend signalled the impending disappearance of crucial
virtues of decency, honesty, fair-mindedness, civility, impartiality,
transparency, accountability and simple good old-fashioned devotion to duty and
family.
These
virtues were among the most vital of the foundations for a well-ordered and
progressive society and "without them we will self-destruct as a
nation".
He charged
Civitas Ghana together with the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE),
CHRAJ, Judiciary, media, government and other partners to work to foster
respect for the rule of law, natural justice and procedural fairness.
These
time-honoured protocols serve to ensure the security of the individual from the
predatory actions of others or state and from the capricious exercise of
coercive power, he added.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 10 October 2001 - The Minister of Environment Science and
Technology, Prof. Dominic Kwaku Fobih, on Tuesday expressed the government's
condolence to the government and people of the United States following last
month's terrorist attacks and expressed support for Washington's efforts at
creating world peace.
He said,
''anything that affects the US affects Ghana and the world as a whole.
Therefore, Ghana is committed to assist to ensure peace prevails in the
world''.
Receiving
the US Ambassador in Ghana, Ms. Nancy Jo Powell, at his office, Prof. Fobih
said Ghana was grateful to the US for the long-standing co-operation that
exists between the two countries and expressed the hope that such fruitful
relationship would be nurtured.
The
Minister asked for collaboration between the two countries and asked for
assistance to develop the country's industrial, commercial, environment and
socio-economic sectors.
"Maintaining
such sectors of the economy through capacity building would not only address
the needs of the people but assist them to improve their living standards'', he
said.
Prof. Fobih
said the ministry has set up a regulatory board to screen the numerous
non-government organisations (NGOs) whose activities concern, especially the
environment to make them more efficient and to meet the country's expectations.
Ms. Powell
thanked the government and people of Ghana for the support in the wake of the
terrorist attacks on America, lauded co-operation between the two countries and
said the US was committed to continuing with the long- standing assistance to
Ghana.
She said
there was the need for effective collaboration between governments and NGOs
towards ensuring sustained development especially of deprived communities.
Ms. Powell
said the West African Gas Pipeline project was important and must be developed
to its full capacity and hoped that it would help solve environment problems
facing the sub-region.
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Tamale
(Northern Region) 10 October 2001 - Mr Prince Imoro Andani, Tamale Municipal
Chief Executive, has observed that the exodus of trained personnel and the
taste for foreign goods have accounted for the country's inability to attain
sustainable
development.
Bribery and
corruption among top officials in society and the country's over-reliance on
rain fed agriculture were the other factors that negate economic growth, Mr
Andani observed at a day's zonal consultative workshop on the national
assessment of the implementation of Agenda 21 held in Tamale on Monday.
The Agenda
21 is a blue print for sustainable development for the 21st century.
The
workshop, which was a prelude to the World Summit on Sustainable Development
(WSSD) slated for Johannesburg in South Africa in 2002, attracted 50
participants from government departments, civil society and non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) from Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions.
The
workshop was to find the constraints to the implementation of sustainable
development strategies and recommend solutions to the government to present at
the WSSD.
Mr Andani
urged the participants to focus attention on issues that border on poverty
eradication since it was the biggest obstacle to sustainable development.
He asked
the workshop to reflect on socio-economic, cultural and human rights issues as
well as effective governance, which, he said, were the fundamental determinants
of sustainable development.
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Sunyani
(Brong Ahafo) 10 October 2001 - The Brong Ahafo Regional Police Task-force
arrested three alleged armed robbers in the early hours of Monday at Prang in
the tebubu
District.
They are
Yakubu Mumuni, 24, Mohammed Abass, 24, trader, and Kwame Ayamba, 20, a driver.
Two accomplices Baba Mohammed and one Adei are on the run.
Police said
the robbers who were using a taxicab with registration number AS 4511 C in
their operations had earlier raided a filling station at Kokompe, a village
near Atebubu, and bolted with 2.1 million cedis and a single barrel gun.
They robbed
another filling station of 121,000 cedis at Afrefreso, also near Atebubu. In
another development two suspected armed robbers who attempted stealing a Yamaha
motor-bike with registration number GV 451 Q belonging to Mr Joseph Asowe a
Circuit Supervisor of the Ghana Education Service (GES), have been arrested by
the police at Walewale.
The
suspected robbers are Baba Dokura Bennett 20, a native of Nandom and Nabila Tia
Issac 27, of Kparigu, in the Walewale area.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 10 October 2001 -President J.A. Kufuor, on Tuesday evening
returned home from Cote D'Ivoire after a four-day official visit to that
country.
He was
accompanied by Mr. Hackman Owusu Agyeman, Foreign Minister, Dr. Kwesi Ndoum,
Minister of Economic Planning and
Regional Co-operation and Gen. Joshua Hamidu, National Security Advisor.
Speaking to
Journalists on arrival, The Foreign Minister described the visit as successful,
at the end of which a communiqué was issued calling for an urgent meeting of
the Ghana, Cote D'Ivoire joint permanent commission.
The
commission is to fast track issues discussed by the two leaders, who pledged
their commitment to co-operate to enhance their economies as well as unite
their people.
He said the
joint commission would resolve the bottlenecks that have characterised trade
and currency issues within the two countries, as well as reduce the difficulty
in the movement of goods and people across their borders.
The Foreign
Minister said the two leaders also agreed to strengthen cultural ties in the
form of exchange of students, information, scientific research and promote
tourism between the two countries.
President
Kufuor, who was in Yamosoukro, went to Sakasu where he was installed a King,
with the title Kwame Gye Tua the third, by the king and people of Bawule, who
are believed to be the direct descendants of the Ashantis.
The
President was also decorated at a state dinner with the highest order of Cote
d'Ivoire, titled the "Grand Cross" in appreciation of his service and
contribution to peace in the sub-region and good neighbourliness in general.
Mr. Owusu
Agyeman said the peace and stability in the sub-region was discussed,
especially the Mannor river state where the leaders agreed to give the needed
support, both monetary and in human terms to enhance the work of ECOWAS as well
as the African Union.
In Abidjan,
President Kufuor had the opportunity to address the National Reconciliation
forum of Cote D'Ivoire where he was emphatic that peace in Cote d'Ivoire is a
catalyst to peace in the sub-region as a whole.
Also at the
forum were the current chairman of ECOWAS, Mr. Alpha Konare, four other African
leaders and a representative of the UN Secretary General, all of whom addressed
the forum.
At the
Airport to meet the President and his entourage were the Vice President, Alhaji
Aliu Mahama, Ministers, the Chief of Defence Staff Lt.- Gen Seth Obeng, the IGP
Mr Ernest Owusu Poku and the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, Mr. Ibrahim Omar.
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