Government
says no approval for MPs Car Loans - Ohene
European Union to give budgetary assistance instead of aid
Kufuor mourns with policeman's wake keeping
Fishing
fees increased by 800 per cent
Tariff
adjustment must be tied to workers income-Participants
NPP
Chairmen blames NDC for negative press on Edumadze
Justice
Kpegah urges Govt to ratify convention
on Torture
Start
reconciliation from first republic - Forum
No
country is safe from natural disasters - Kofi Annan
Gabusu
elected President of Volta Chiefs
Upper West suspends treatment for civil
servants
Accra
(Greater Accra) 11 October 2001 - President John Agyekum Kufuor and his Cabinet
say they do not approve of the 20,000 dollar car loans for each Member of
Parliament (MPs).
"With
reference to the current furore in the media about car loans for MPs, the
government wishes to state that the President and the Cabinet have not taken
such decision", a statement from the office of the Government
Spokesperson, Ms. Elizabeth Ohene said.
The
President held talks with the Speaker of Parliament on Wednesday after a public
outcry against reports that each member of the legislature was to receive a
20,000-dollar loan from the consolidated fund for the purchase of vehicles
The
Government said within the context of the country's economic situation, it
cannot afford the interest-free four million dollar loan to members of the
legislature but will help source loans for them to purchase their own vehicles.
It was
agreed at the meeting that the Parliamentary Leadership prioritise the
transportation needs of MPs whilst the government works with Parliament to find
appropriate means to resolve the urgent ones.
"Whilst
acknowledging the serious shortage of vehicles in the public sector, it should
be stated that the President has identified as his first priority, the
procurement of vehicles for the Police to enable them to discharge their
duties."
It said
government has in the past few months been working on finding the most cost
effective solution to procuring the vehicles for the Police, adding that
"It is his (the President) firm belief that when the Police are equipped
with the vehicles they require to perform their duties, everybody's security
would be better ensured".
Meanwhile,
to Members of Parliament (MPs) from both the Majority and Minority sides have
defended the 20,000 dollars car loans for MPs saying it was reasonable and
justified.
As one of
the three arms of government and in view of the huge constituency obligations
of MPs, they deserve a reliable means of transport just like those of the
Executive and the Judiciary, they said.
The New
Patriotic Party’s Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Majority Chief Whip and Mr Moses
Asaga, National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Nabdam, were speaking in
separate telephone interviews on "Sky FM" a radio station in Sunyani
on Wednesday.
Mr
Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said it was unfair for the public to criticise MPs when they
did not raise a finger "when similar offers are regularly extended to
doctors and judges.
"The
other two arms of government, the Executive and the Judiciary even enjoy free
use of cars without the burden of paying for fuel and maintenance cost but we
are going to pay back every penny of the loans so why the outcry?"
Mr
Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said Parliament requested for a higher amount but had to
settle on 20,000 dollars because of the economic difficulties facing the
country. "We are not being insensitive.
Parliament is a very important national institution for the entrenchment
of democracy and rule of law and granting members 20,000 dollars loans to
enhance their work should not be deemed too much".
The
Majority Chief Whip appealed to the public to stop politicising the issue and
said that although the cars were to be supplied next year, deductions of 1.2
million cedis were already being made from the salaries of MPs.
Mr Asaga
said the loan is genuine since MPs need reliable means of transport to visit
their constituencies regularly and to move around in Accra to source for
projects. "About 70 per cent of our constituencies are rural and we need
good cars if we are to visit them regularly."
Mr Asaga
said he uses an NDC vehicle or hitchhike before he could visit his constituency
because as a Minister in the previous government he was denied the car loan
granted MPs in 1996. "This time around, I think all ministers, who are MPs
must be allowed to access the loans so that when they are no longer ministers,
they will still have a means of reliable transport to tour their
constituencies."
Mr Asaga
said he had visited a lot of African Parliaments and his conclusions were that
"Ghana's is the most deprived and MPs the least in terms of both resources
and looked after".
He urged
the media to help Parliament to be viable since it plays a very important role
in the consolidation of democracy, which guarantees press freedom.
During the
phone in segment, the majority of callers expressed concern about the granting
of such "huge car loans" to the MPs in the face of the nation's
Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) status.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 11 October 2001 - Deloitte and Touche West Africa, a financial consulting firm, says it has only one consultant working in the Ministry of Economic Planning and Regional Co-operation in his individual capacity.
"The consultant is seconded in his individual capacity and the services to the ministry are free of charge," Mr Olu Sawyerr, a managing partner of the accounting and auditing, management consulting and tax service firm told a press conference in Accra on Thursday.
Mr Sawyerr denied that there are five consultants, explaining that four of their professionals had earlier on been engaged with other consultants to track poverty reduction activities, a work which was completed in May.
The press conference was called to react to an article in a private weekly, the Ghana Palaver that imputed that Dr Kwesi Nduom, Minister of Economic Planning and Regional Integration, had engaged five consultants from DTWAC. The Minister is a former senior partner in Deloitte and Touche.
Mr Sawyerr said the company did not expect to make any immediate or future financial gain through the work that the consultant was presently doing, emphasising that the firm still pays the consultant salary.
"The only benefit that would accrue to the company is the experience that the consultant would gain working in a public sector," he said.
The firm, he said, had since 1996 pursued a policy of not directly seeking engagements in the public sector in order to insulate it from unacceptable business practices associated with the sector.
Mr Sawyerr said the firm had to review its policy in line with the change in the business environment so as to be proactive to the needs of the private sector.
He said there was no conflict of interest since Dr Nduom gave up his involvement in the firm when he accepted political office and his share in the firm is currently being held in trust.
"It is a requirement, both from government and from Deloitte and Touche, that he cannot benefit from the firm during his tenure of public office," Mr Sawyerr added.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 11 October 2001 - European Union (EU) Ambassador in Ghana, Mr Stefan Frowein, on Thursday said the EU is shifting its focus from providing project aid to giving budgetary assistance to the Health Ministry.
He said EU, in tune with the new policy, is providing the health sector with 11 million Euro to support its budget. The EU will also give two million Euro to the National AIDS Control Programme as support for its campaign against the spread of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) and HIV/AIDS.
Mr Frowein told Dr Emmanuel Mensah, Director General of the Ghana Health Service when he called on him that the EU would also provide 60 ambulances to the Ministry by June next year.
Dr Mensah thanked the EU for its support for the ministry over the last few years, adding that the ministry is concentrating on data management to help it monitor the impact of its work on the people.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 11 October 2001 - President John Agyekum Kufuor last night joined other mourners at a wake keeping for Sergeant Emmanuel Kwabena Owusu, Presidential Despatch Rider, who died in an accident last August.
Sgt Owusu, 52, was leading a presidential motorcade to Burma Camp for a function when his motorbike and a pickup vehicle collided near the El Wak Stadium. He died at the 37 Military Hospital.
Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Minister of Presidential Affairs, Alhaji Malik Alhassan Yakubu, Minister of the Interior, Lt Gen Joshua Hamidu, National Security Adviser and Mr Ernest Owusu-Poku, Inspector General of Police also attended.
Sgt Owusu, popularly called "Burger" will be buried at Dome in the Asante- Akyem district today (Thursday). He left behind a wife and six children.
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Tema
(Greater Accra) 11 October 2001 - The Ministry of Fisheries is to increase fishing
licence fees by 800 per cent with effect from January 2002, according to a
letter signed by Ms Emelia R. Anang, Acting Director of Fisheries.
The letter,
which was sent to all fishing companies, stated that Tuna vessels with a
throughput of 401 tonnes to 500 tonnes that was licensed at 5.4 million cedis
in 1999/2000 would have to pay 32.9 million cedis a year.
Tuna
vessels with throughput of 501 tonnes to 800 whose licence fee is currently
pegged at 7.5 million cedis would pay 47.5 million cedis.
Shrimper
with throughput of 401 tonnes to 500 tones that is now paying 9.6 million cedis
would pay 57.8 million cedis in the new rate regime, while 501 tonnes to 800
tonnes category moves from 13.9 million cedis to 83.4 million cedis.
Trawler
vessels of 401 tonnes to 500 tonnes would pay 38.8 million cedis up from 6.5
million cedis, while those of 500 tonnes to 800 tonnes have been increased from
9.3 million cedis to 56 million cedis.
In an
interview with the Ghana News Agency, Ms Anang explained that the increases in
the fees become necessary because of the effect of the depreciation of the cedi
last year.
She said
the Minister of State in charge of Fisheries on whose directives that this was
done, had at various times consulted the fishing companies and held discussions
with them at different meetings on the need to increase the fees to meet the
present economic trends.
Executive
members of the Ghana Tuna Association, whom GNA contacted for their comments
said: "We have just received the new fees and we have to study them before
we can pass any comments."
Ghanaian
fishing companies catch about 100,000 tonnes of tuna annually, out of which
Pioneer Food Cannery (PFC) cans 40,000 tonnes, other canneries including Ghana
Agro Foods Company (GAFCO), 10,000 tonnes and the remaining 50,000 tonnes are
exported. The PFC pays 650 dollars per
tonne of tuna. Ghana earns about 32.5
million dollars from the export of raw fish annually.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 11 October 2001 - Participants at a roundtable meeting on energy
tariff, sponsored by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), have
asked that upward adjustment of tariff must commensurate with income levels of
workers.
"Wages
are not realistic and cannot meet the rising living costs including
tariff", a PURC release to the GNA on Wednesday said. Participants, who
were made up of PURC officials and members of the steering Committee of the
Trade Union Congress (TUC) discussed the commission's transitional plan for
electricity rate adjustment and quality of service issues.
The
statement said the meeting observed that subsidies within the sector have not
favoured the poor and the vulnerable and must be looked at critically to ensure
that they are beneficial to those for whom it is intended. Individual members
of the TUC expressed misgivings about poor customer services of the utilities.
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Cape Coast
(Central Region) 11 October 2001 - The New Patriotic Party (NPP) constituency
chairmen in the Central Region on Wednesday expressed their solidarity with the
Regional Minister, Isaac Edumadze and attributed the current negative media
reports about him to the work of his "detractors and foes, the NDC".
They said
the media has been "extraordinarily hard on the Minister and seem to be
unceasingly blowing issues concerning him out of proportion just to let him
appear as a misfit.
"We
feel a lot have come about through the evil machinations of his detractors and
foes alike, who only want to see his downfall by sniffing round him for the
least misdemeanour," the Chairmen stated these in a release read by their
spokesman, Nana Gyamerah, Chairman of Assin South Constituency, after an
emergency meeting at Cape Coast.
The
release, signed by 13 of the 17 constituency chairmen said among other things
that they: "wish to unequivocally state that he is the right person for the
job in the Region in spite of a few flaws that have befallen him. To err, we
all know, is human", they declared.
They
expressed misgivings about the continued references in the media, to the
incident in which Mr Edumadze was said to have impounded a taxi from Suhum to
Cape Coast. "The obnoxious tradition of changing Regional Ministers
perennially in the Region, must be a thing of the past in this new
dispensation."
On the
recent impasse involving the Minister and the Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam constituency
NPP Chairman, Nana Gyamerah said the issue was amicably settled last Thursday,
adding, "to the utter dismay of their adversaries". The Journalists
asked the chairmen to advice the Minister to be very circumspect in his
dealings, especially with the media.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 11 October 2001- Mr Justice Francis Yao Kpegah, Justice of the Supreme
Court, on Wednesday called on the government to ratify the International
Convention on Torture to protect the individual's dignity.
Urging the
government to invoke Article 75 of the Constitution to make the convention
meaningful, the Supreme Court Judge also called for the establishment of an
African
Court of
Human Rights like the European Court of Human Rights, to protect people whose
rights would be violated.
Mr Justice
Kpegah was delivering a lecture as part of activities marking the golden
jubilee of Bishop Herman College, Kpando, at the Christ the King Church in
Accra.
He said
Ghana "enjoys a great deal of reputation in the international community
and we cannot afford to be on the wrong side of this important humanitarian
law.
"The
government would not only be sending a message of hope and re-assurance to the
people of its belief in due process of law but also to the international
community".
Mr Justice
Kpegah said, "we cannot pretend to be unaware of over-zealous officials in
the security services, who still violate with impunity, the rights of suspects
to induce them to co-operate in investigations. "The Convention on Torture
compels every party state to regard torture as a crime within its jurisdiction."
He said the
international law holds the view that a permanent International Criminal Court
could deter dictators from committing genocide and other heinous crimes and
also send a strong message that those acts were punishable.
He said,
"crimes to be considered by the court include war crimes, genocide,
murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation or forcible transfer of
populations, torture and rape and other sexual abuses".
Mr Justice
Kpegah traced the history of international law, and said crimes like piracy, is
an enemy of every state and must be brought to justice.
He said
international criminal acts could be tried by the international courts adding,
"Osama Bin Laden, the Islamic militant leader, accused of masterminding
the September 11 suicide attacks on the United States (US) could be
tried".
Dr Mohamed
Ibn Chambas, Member of Parliament (MP) for Bimbilla, who chaired the function,
said he was aware that the US has also not ratified the Convention saying
"perhaps she has a skeleton in the cupboard". He hoped many countries
would ratify the convention for justice, which is of great concern of all
people, to prevail.
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Kumasi
(Ashanti Region) 11 October 2001-Majority of contributors at the second public
hearing on the National Reconciliation Bill held in Kumasi on Wednesday
expressed the view that the period to be covered should start from the first
republic to reflect the true essence of reconciliation.
They feel
that justice would be done if the time frame covered the first republic and not
limited to only a specific period of time. The public hearing follows a
proposal by the government to set up a National Reconciliation Commission and
in pursuit of this therefore, a national reconciliation bill has been laid
before Parliament.
The
Parliamentary Committee on Constitution, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs in
conjunction with the Centre for Development of Democracy and the Civil Society
Coalition, all non-governmental organisations (NGOs) has therefore, started a
series of public hearings to solicit information, views and suggestions from a
cross section of Ghanaians to enable the committee to take informed decisions.
The first
public hearing was held in Bolgatanga in the Upper East region. The Reverend
Brew Riverson, a retired educationist, asked that the period should start from
1949 when Britain granted self-government to the country to find out what went
wrong to necessitate military intervention in the first republic and the
subsequent military interventions after that.
Mr. Mike
Bishop Owusu of Adehye FM at Bibiani, did not agree with the proposal that the
President, in consultation with the Council of State should appoint members of
the reconciliation committee, since he could have sway over the Council of
State members to appoint his favourites.
He also agreed
that the exercise should start from the first republic and called on the
political parties not to make the indemnity clause in the constitution a
subject of debate during the 2004 elections since it would not help in the
reconciliation exercise.
Mr. S.P.
Ofrang, an assemblyman at the Asante-Akim North district assembly, however,
noted that since reconciliation went with compensation, the government would
bite more than it could chew if the exercise started from the first republic.
He
therefore, suggested that it must start from June 4, which he said, marked the
start of atrocities to many Ghanaians but cautioned that revenge should not be
the basis of the reconciliation exercise.
In his
opening remarks, Mr. Osei Aidoo, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on
Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, noted that almost every
government the country had had, breached the law in one way or the other.
He said the
country cannot go on this way and that it was about time something positive was
done about it.
Mr. Aidoo
said there were a lot of people who had suffered at the hands of the state but
due to the indemnity clause in the constitution, could not seek redress but
cautioned, however, that the public hearings should not be a way to get the clause
removed from the constitution.
Parliament,
he said, was not in a position to tackle that clause yet and that the public
hearings was a way to get an avenue or medium to give all those who had been
wronged an opportunity to get a hearing, adding that the commission would not
be a court where people would be prosecuted.
Alhaji
Mohammed Mumuni, a member of the committee, said the exercise was part of
parliament's programme to reach out to Ghanaians to make representation to the
committee.
He said
there was the need to reach out to the people so that the nation could be
reconciled in order to move forward.
Alhaji
Mumuni said the move, when handled properly would unify the people, but warned
that if it was not properly handled, it could throw the nation into chaos as if
the "Pandora Box" had been opened. He therefore urged civil society
to be forthcoming for the exercise to unite all Ghanaians.
In his
welcoming address, Mr S.K. Boafo, Ashanti Regional Minister, said there was no
gainsaying that reconciliation was vital for national unity and that the issue
of reconciliation had in recent times been of great concern to all Ghanaians
both young and old.
He noted
government's commitment to an active policy of national reconciliation designed
to heal and bind the wounds of the past, adding that this was a commitment that
had the support of the nation.
"It is
really time we freed the future from the past and enhance the possibilities of
consolidating and deepening the hold of democracy and respect for human rights
and the rule of law in our dear country," he said.
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 11 October 2001 - United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan said
on Wednesday that no country is entirely safe from natural disasters and that
poorer countries lack the capacity to manage disasters.
"Natural
hazards will always challenge us but it is within our power to ensure that
poverty does not turn hazards into unmanageable disasters ", he said in a
release read for him at a press conference in Accra to mark World Disaster
Reduction Day and efforts to manage disasters.
The day,
which falls on every second Wednesday of October each year, has a worldwide
theme: "Countering Disaster, Targeting Vulnerability'' with the
slogan, ''Prevention Pays". In
Ghana, the day is being celebrated under the theme, ''Community involvement in
disaster management''.
It aims at
involving and preparing communities, through sustained education, to become the
pivot for hazards management. Activities for the week-long celebration include
media discussions, publications, community work, tree planting, clean- ups and
outreach programmes.
Mr. Annan
said the annual observance of the day offers opportunity for the world to focus
on preventing natural disasters and improving ways of dealing with the
consequences.
He said the
past years have seen no let-up in natural disasters as the global toll of
devastation and death has left families and economies reeling. ''In some cases
natural disasters can amplify man-made emergencies as we are all too aware from
unfolding events in Afghanistan''.
Mr. Joseph
Odei, National Co-ordinator of National Disaster Management Organisation
(NADMO) said so far, disaster management efforts have enabled the organisation
to identify both natural and human-induced hazards. He said some achievements
have been made since the establishment of NADMO but a lot remains to be done.
The
government has proposed to establish a first line rapid response team within
NADMO to serve as ''First Line Reaction Force'' and called on institutions and
individuals to assist in building the young NADMO, he said.
Under a new
programme, volunteers would be organised and motivated and provided with
technical and logistical support for agricultural and non-agricultural
productions and marketing avenues.
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Ho (Volta Region)
11 October 2001 - Togbe Gabusu VI, Paramount Chief of the Gbi Traditional Area,
was on Wednesday elected the new President of the Volta Region House of Chiefs
for a three-year term.
He polled
13 votes to beat Nana Ogrohwe Kwaku Boateng II, Paramount Chief of the Tapa
Traditional Area, who had 10 votes. Togbe Gabusu, who is currently a second
year Social Studies Student at the University College of Education, Winneba
(UCEW), has been the Vice-President of the House for the past six years.
He takes
over from Togbe Dagadu VII, Paramount Chief of Akpini Traditional Area, in
Kpando after the completion of his second three-year term. Nana Okortor Kofi
III, Paramount Chief of Nkonya Traditional Area, won the Vice-Presidency with
12 votes as against 11 polled by Togbe Delume VII, Paramount Chief of the Ve
Traditional Area.
Togbe
Dagadu, Togbe Adza Tekpor VI, Osie of the Avatime Traditional Area, Nana Aburam
Akpandza IV, Paramount Chief of the Buem Traditional Area and Togbe Delume were
selected to represent the House at the National House of chiefs.
Togbe
Gabusu, 52, who was enstooled in 1989, said he would involve other chiefs that
were not members of the House in decision-making.
He said he
would support policies that would enable the Region to regain its enviable role
as the prime producer of intellectuals in the country.
He pledged
to co-operate with the Volta Regional Co-ordinating Council (VRCC) in the
administration of the region and to ensure that chieftains that were qualified
were given paramount status.
Togbe
Dagadu, the outgoing President, said 41 chiefs have been approved to be
elevated to the status of Paramount Chiefs.
He said
among the 41, three were from the Kete Krachi Traditional Area, five from Buem,
10 from Akpini, four from Hokpe, in the Vane traditional area, eight from
Asogli, six from Tongu and five from the Anlo Traditional Areas.
Togbe
Dagadu said he supported the constitutional provisions that chiefs should be
"sacrosanct and be protected at all times from partisan party
politics".
"Being
non-partisan, we are the conscience of the nation and could call politicians to
order when matters are getting out of hand", he stated.
Mr Kwasi
Owusu-Yeboa, Volta Regional Minister, urged the houses of chiefs to initiate and
generate public discussions on the matter of adequate funding of the activities
of the chieftaincy institutions.
"It
cannot be gainsaid that the efficiency and integrity of our traditional
councils and houses of chiefs are likely to be enhanced with an improvement in
their financial affairs."
The
Minister advised the chiefs to adhere to the truth in exercising their powers
of adjudication in matters affecting chieftaincy to preserve their sanctity and
integrity. Professor Ernest Dumor, Member of the Electoral Commission (EC)
supervised the elections.
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Ekrawfo (Central
Region) 11 October 2001 - The Deputy Minister of Energy, K.T. Hammond has
called on Ghanaians to reject false propaganda being peddled against the
government by the opposition.
"The
propaganda of the opposition that there has not been any improvement in the
lives of the people since the NPP government came to power, should be rejected
by Ghanaians".
Mr Hammond who was the guest of honour at
this year's Akwambo festival of the chiefs and people of Ekrawfo in the Central
Region, said government is making all effort to put the economy on a sound
footing and bring the desired improvement in the lives of every Ghanaian.
Mr Hammond,
who is also the Member of Parliament for Adansi-Asokwa in Ashanti, advised the
people to bury their differences and resolve chieftaincy disputes, which are
hindering the development of the area. "You must be guided by the spirit
of peace and reconciliation," he said.
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Upper West suspends treatment for civil
servants
Wa (Upper West) 11 October 2001 - The Upper West Regional Directorate of Health Services have suspended the free medical treatment for civil servants and their dependants in the region.
The suspension, which took effect from October 1, followed the exhaustion of the regional allocation of 197 million cedis for this year by the government to defray the cost of treatment.
A letter to that effect signed by the Regional Director of Health Services, Dr. Francis Banka to the Regional Coordinating Director and the Civil Servants Association, said as at September, 170 million cedis of the amount had been spent with some hospitals yet to submit their June and July bills.
However, the Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Moses Dani Baah, said no organisation has the power to suspend a government policy without approval.
Speaking during a visit to the Nadowli district, he said if there was no money the right step should be to consult the Ministry of Health and wait for reaction before taking any unpopular decision.
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