Ghana to receive 300,000 pounds from the Commonwealth
Farmer calls for more land, funds to increase production
Upper East celebrates World Food Day
Farmers and fishermen assured of PAF loan
African leaders urged to respect human dignity
Cocoa Producers Alliance condemns the use of child labour
EC outline criteria for demarcation
Government imported right-hand drive buses
Accra (Greater Accra) 17 October 2001-The Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama on Tuesday called on the international community to support deprived nations' quest to reduce hunger and poverty.
He told a durbar of school children, traditional leaders, diplomats, farmers and fishermen to mark World Food Day that government considered poverty reduction as a significant link to fighting hunger and attaining food security.
As part of its efforts, government has tasked the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) to ensure the availability and accessibility of credit and other inputs to farmers and other operators.
The Ministry is also to ensure a demand driven technology development and transfer involving problem-oriented research and pay greater attention to human resource development, while strengthening institutional policy analysis, planning as well as technology usage.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) instituted World Food Day in November 1979 as a reminder of its search for a lasting solution to hunger and poverty. It is estimated that some 1.2 billion people around the world live in abject poverty with more than 800 million of them chronically malnourished.
This year's event was on "Fight hunger to Reduce Poverty". It's high point, as usual, was the symbolic hoisting of the national and the FAO flags, performed by the Minister of Information and Presidential Affairs, Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey and Bamidele Dada, FAO Regional Representative for Africa.
The government has admitted criticisms that Ghana, presently reeling under food insufficiency and high poverty levels in most communities, had no cause to celebrate the event, but could only observe it.
"These women, children and men do not have the energy to live meaningfully. Hunger and poverty bar access to education without which the world's dream of empowering the poor, especially women will never become a reality," the Vice President said. He expressed government's commitment to improving on the situation by providing basic minimum services.
The Minister of Food and Agriculture, Major Courage Quashigah (rtd) said his outfit's immediate mission is to achieve food security for the nation on a sustainable basis; facilitate production of raw materials for industrial use; and satisfy the production of agricultural commodities for export. This mission, he said, is embodied in the ministry's Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Development Strategy to enhance the rate of development.
Major Quashigah expressed optimism that grain yields will go up this season adding that government was making credit available to warehouse operators to store at least 10,000 metric tonnes of maize.
He cited Ejura farms saying it expects to double maize production this year. The minister drew cheers from the audience when he further announced that government was extending money to 300 small scale poultry farmers to produce at least 300 broilers each, for the forthcoming Christmas.
Mr Dada read the FAO Director-General's message in which he expressed regret that not much had been achieved over the years in alleviating hunger and poverty. In another message, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged the world to "end the circle of misery." He added: "We must combine concerted political will and innovative policies with investments in agriculture and rural development, as well as social safety nets."
The UN boss who has been named a co-recipient of the 2001 Nobel Peace Award further urged the world body's partners to rededicate themselves on this World Food Day to the fight on both fronts- against hunger and poverty.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 17 October 2001-Ghana will receive 300,000 pounds sterling from the Commonwealth Local Government Good Practice Scheme (CLGGPS) to build food storage facilities in all 110 districts in the next five years.
The country will also benefit from private and public resources from Commonwealth countries to support the District Response Initiative on HIV/AIDS launched by Vice President Aliu Mahama in August this year.
Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, told the GNA after the just ended conference of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum in Brisbane, Australia that the offer to Ghana was as a result of her allocation of one per cent of the District Assemblies Common Fund to support the fight against HIV/AIDS and malaria.
"I convinced the delegates that sustainable development cannot be achieved if many of our employable human resources die of AIDS and malaria," he said. "This revelation fired the interest of the Canadian delegation at the forum and they pledged to support Ghana to combat AIDS and malaria in a sustainable manner."
Mr Baah-Wiredu said food security constitutes one big challenge to farmers and the government, adding that a high percentage of food, including yam, plantain, maize and tomato, goes waste after bountiful harvest.
He said the five-year CLGGPS fund would help build infrastructure and human capacities in the districts to ensure that enough food is preserved during bountiful periods.
Mr Baah-Wiredu said the Poverty Reduction Loan Support (PRLS) scheme poses a challenge to the administration of the District Assemblies' Common Fund, adding ''currently about 160 billion cedis are in arrears to beneficiaries''.
"My ministry has proposed that each of the 16,000 unit committees in the country should be tasked to mobilize and use at least 10 million cedis from the debtors," he said.
"This would make the collection and application of the fund more localized." He said the unit committees would target areas such as the Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF), Emergency Social Relief Program (ESRP), Social Investment Fund (SIF) and the Village Infrastructure Project (VIP) for the mobilization of the 160 billion cedis.
"This proposal is modelled on a system in India called the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) set up by direct elections. Under it representatives mobilize, apply and manage the finances of various villages.
The Indian model does not only allow communities to have a more free hand in deciding who benefits from the fund but also helps in the easy recovery of loans. Mr Baah-Wiredu said the five municipalities in Ghana have also been earmarked to benefit from direct CLGF programmes.
These programmes include the lower current techniques, the best practice of clean city for safety, good sanitation and clean environment and a sustainable maintenance and repairs culture.
He said efforts are also underway for leading concrete waste management and plastic and paper recycling companies in the Commonwealth to assist the district assemblies to manage waste and to convert waste materials into useable building materials.
The minister said Ghana retained its positions on the CLGF board and on the finance and membership committee, adding that the memberships of Accra, Kumasi, Tema, Tamale and Senya-Awutu-Enyan assemblies have all been accepted on the
CLGF.
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Cape Coast (Central Region) 17 October 2001-The 1999 National Best Farmer, Mr John Mensah on Tuesday appealed to chiefs and landowners to release land for the youth to enter farming to ensure food security for the country.
He said that the present situation where only a "few aged farmers" were engaged in traditional farming must end since it could not ensure food sufficiency. Mr Mensah made the call at the Central Regional celebration of World Food Day at Cape Coast under the theme: "Fight Hunger, Reduce Poverty". He appealed to financial institutions to assist the youth interested in agriculture and to help farmers to expand their farms.
The Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Muniru Arafat Nuhu said the government has initiated projects aimed at alleviating poverty, such as the Root and Tuber Improvement Programme (RTIP), the Sustainable Fisheries Livelihood, Land Water Management and the Youth in Agriculture Development Programme.
Mr Arafat stressed the need to add value to farm produce to ensure price stability and improved living standards for farmers. He paid tribute to farmers and fishermen, who continue to "brave all odds" to feed the nation despite the numerous challenges.
Professor Mensah Bonsu of the University of Cape Coast said the only means by which Ghanaians could fight hunger and reduce poverty was through increased agricultural production.
He expressed regret that the performance of the sector was still below the rate of population growth and called for remedies to reverse the trend through the reduction of post-harvest losses, improved storage and agro-processing facilities.
"If all the lip-service we have paid to agriculture over the years were realities, Ghana would be among the most successful countries in agricultural performance. Let us realise that there is no power in words without action", he declared.
The Regional Director of Agriculture, Mrs Mary Opoku-Asiama gave the assurance that the Ministry of Food and Agriculture would continue to work towards the attainment of food security to reduce hunger and poverty.
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Tono (Upper East) 17 October 2001-Two food processing factories in the Upper East Region are to be reactivated as part of efforts at ensuring food security in the region. They are the Pwalugu Tomato and Zuarungu Meat factories, which have been abandoned for the past 15 years.
The move would ensure the primary processing of tomatoes and meat and to encourage investors to take interest in the factories, that have been on the divestiture list for some time now. The machinery components of the factories are intact and function properly, even though they have been abandoned for nearly two decades.
The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Mahami Salifu, announced these at this year's regional celebration of World Food Day at Tono in the Kassena-Nankana District. The Day is set aside by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) for its member states to draw attention to food insecurity and to explore measures to combat it.
This year's celebration was under the theme: "Fight hunger, reduce poverty". Mr. Salifu said the region had suffered serious environmental degradation with devastating consequences on food production, adding that constant tilling of land and poor agronomic practices have severely impoverished the region's soil.
He said the region is characterised by food insecurity though it has vast potential for food production. The provision of adequate irrigable facilities in local communities for use in the dry season would create job opportunities for rural people, especially in vegetable and livestock production, he said.
Under the Village Infrastructure Project (VIP, more dams would be constructed and existing ones rehabilitated to boost food production. Mr. Salifu reminded agricultural extension personnel of the threat being posed by the HIV/AIDS pandemic to food security and urged them to educate farmers on the disease.
In a welcoming address, the Kassena-Nankana District Chief Executive, Mr. George Dan-Yare said poor diet, resulting from insufficient and imbalanced food intake causes malnutrition that affects even the farmers who are engaged in food production.
He debunked the notion that the perennial food shortage in the region was due to laziness on the part of the people, and said frequent drought and insect infestation were factors that militate against the production of food in the area.
The Regional Director of Food and Agriculture, Mr. Edmund Otupiri, called for the rehabilitation of about 100 existing small-scale dams to encourage the production of fish and vegetables as a way of reducing the poverty level of the people.
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Ho (Volta Region) 17 October 2001-Mr. Kofi Dzamesi, Deputy Volta Regional Minister on Tuesday called on stakeholders in the agricultural sector to work hard in order to increase food production and reduce hunger and poverty in the country.
He, therefore, called on international bodies, financial and research institutions and the rural communities to collaborate "until hunger and poverty reduction becomes a reality".
Mr. Dzamesi was speaking at the 21st World Food Day celebration at Ho, which was under theme, "Fight Hunger-Reduce Poverty". He said the Day, which is being observed in more than 150 countries is aimed at reminding people that, "food for all, the most basic of human rights-must become a reality".
Mr. Dzamesi said thousands of Ghanaians have become victims of hunger and malnutrition, adding that the time has come to stem the tide through pragmatic approaches towards increasing food sufficiency.
He said the Emergency Social Relief Programme (ESRP), Root and Tuber Improvement Programme (RTIP), Special Programme for Food Security and the Food Crops Development Programme are government's interventions to increase productivity and reduce hunger, poverty and malnutrition.
Mr. Mawutor Goh, Ho District Chief Executive asked the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) to create a monitoring desk to advise on food prices in the region. He urged MOFA to equip farmers with the technical know-how to enable government policies to flourish.
Mr. Livingston Djokoto, Director in-charge of Human Resources at the Regional Co-ordinating Council called on farmers to embrace modern methods of farming to increase production. During an open forum, participants called for re-packaging of the region's land ownership system and creation of land banks to facilitate development.
They also suggested that dams should be constructed from the region's water bodies for irrigation purposes as rainfall patterns have become unreliable. The participants complained about celebration of the day in the conference hall of the VRCC due to financial constraints, describing the situation as "defeating the essence of the day".
A three-man committee was, therefore, inaugurated to advise the VRCC on subsequent celebrations and how to increase food production. The Committee is under the chairmanship of Dr. Daniel Kpodo, Volta Regional Veterinary Officer, with Mr. Lawrence Kuwornu, of the Ghana Irrigation Development Authority and Mr. Gabriel Bedzrah, Volta Regional Secretary of the Ghana National Farmers and Fishermen Association as members.
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Nsawam (Eastern Region) 17 October 2001-Farmers and fishermen have been assured of loans under the Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF) from the district assemblies to expand their activities.
Mr. Andrew Yaw Nyarko-Adu, Akwapim South District Chief Executive (DCE) who gave the assurance at a forum at Nsawam on Tuesday as part of world food day celebration, commended farmers and fishermen for feeding the nation and producing for export.
He said the loan would enable them to have access to infrastructure and equipment such as dams and machinery to increase productivity and make agriculture attractive to the youth. The DCE announced that a task force is to be set up to ensure that beneficiaries of the PAF meet their obligations and recalcitrant ones are prosecuted.
Mr. Nyarko-Adu advised the people to plant tress to check environmental degradation. Fishermen should also desist from using chemicals in fishing in the Densu River, which serves as a source of drinking water for millions of people.
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President Kufuor calls for national debate
on productivity, prices and wages.
Accra (Greater Accra) 17 October 2001-President John Agyekum Kufuor on Tuesday reiterated his call for a national debate on productivity and realistic prices and wages in the country.
He said this would help instil the requisite awareness in the body politic without which economic growth would continue to be stunted and business would not prosper. President Kufuor was addressing the second national employers conference of the Ghana Employers' Association (GEA) in Accra.
The theme for the conference was "Creating the Environment for Successful Private Sector development in Ghana: The Role of the Social Partners." The GEA was formed in 1959 to represent and promote employers interests in their dealings with organised labour and government.
President Kufuor said since independence Ghanaians have behaved as though the simple and basic rules of economics did not apply to the country. "Government and business have pretended to pay workers who in turn, have pretended to work.
''We have maintained a system of prices and wages within the economy which led to a perpetuation of a false economy and has led to the collapse of many businesses especially the utilities and other basic services." President Kufuor said the prices of utilities and other basic services bore no relation to the cost of production and therefore took no account of expansion.
He therefore called on the GEA to institute measures to increase productivity, realistic prices, adequate remuneration and contribute to the debate. President Kufuor called on the business community to modernise their business methods, train and retrain their workforce and tap the rich resources of the Internet for the conduct, expansion and growth of their business.
"There must be effective deployment of labour and skills if we are to stand a chance of competing with the rest of the world in the global market." President Kufuor said the government was taking steps to restructure its internal debt to ensure that the private sector would not be crowded out of the available credit in the economy.
He said the government, employers and workers must be in harmony to work and share a common vision of the creation of wealth for the benefit of all. Mr Ato Ampiah, President of the GEA, said the economy did not lend itself fully to facilitate a private sector-led growth because it was characterised by high but reducing inflation.
Others are high but declining interest rates, a high but stabilized exchange rate, low production capacity and productivity. He said the effect of these factors was the creation of an unstable macro-economic environment that stifled the private sector.
Mr Ampiah said Ghana's internal market was not large enough to support an accelerated growth. Therefore, the private sector should have to compete in the global market if the country is to succeed economically.
"There is no alternative for us than to propel our economy on to the road of aggressive exports." The GEA President said it was important for Ghana to maintain a flexible exchange rate policy that would allow it to adjust to external shocks.
"The time has come for the private sector to be involved in policy formulation and implementation to influence the quality of human resource that would be useful in industry by participating in existing and new programmes to reflect demands on the labour market".
Mr Ampiah appealed to the government to ensure that the new Labour Bill is passed into law before the end of the year to enable the GEA to educate its members on their obligations as stipulated under the new law.
He said delay in its promulgation would lead to undermining the industrial atmosphere and its urgency was reflected in the fact that while the trade and investment practices have been reformed the labour laws have remained the same for more than 50 years.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 17 October 2001-African leaders were on Tuesday called upon to address issues of security, stability, democracy, good governance and development if the continent is to move along the path of peace, progress and respect for human dignity.
Mr Kwame Gyan, a lecturer in law at the University of Ghana, said poverty alleviation and food security also needed to be addressed 'if the African child is to see a better tomorrow'.
Mr Gyan, who is also the Co-ordinator of Social Alert-Ghana, was addressing the opening of a four-day regional seminar on children's economic, social and cultural rights in West Africa.
The seminar organized by Social Alert, an international NGO, brought together about 30 participants from 10 countries in West Africa. The countries are Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Mali, Gambia, Senegal, Cameroon and Guinea.
Mr Gyan said in spite of new trends in the sub-region's democratic dispensation, child abuse continues to abound in many countries. "The improvements being made on the socio-economic and political fronts are being dwarfed by the persistent barrage of horrible news and photos of child related abuses from our region".
Mr Gyan called on NGOs to assist their governments to deal with such issues as the international community strives to create a world that is peaceful, prosperous and secure. Mr Akinbode Olusola, Secretary and Press Co-ordinator, said one major problem confronting child rights advocates on the continent is the issue of child domestic workers.
"This is a problem mostly found among the elite and highly placed personnel within our society, making it difficult to eradicate," he said. Mr Francesco d'Ovidio, a representative of the International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), called on governments and NGOs to go beyond the numerous seminars and programmes related to the elimination of child labour and engage in direct activities that would eradicate the problem.
He told the participants not wait until tragedies strike before taking action, adding, "we need to work to prevent trafficking and other worst forms of child abuse beginning from now."
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Accra (Greater Accra) 17 October 2001-The Trades Union Congress on Tuesday called for a new partnership between employers and labour, which would place the interest of the country first and push the government to move along with it.
Mr Kwasi Adu-Amankwah, TUC Secretary-General, said this new partnership was important in view of the growing threat of globalisation that seeks to position the world's economy over the sovereignty of weaker nations.
"Government cannot lead the way, we can and we must do it," he said, and emphasised the need for an overriding interest to re-engineer a new country based on common values that thrive on hard work and respect for rights and obligations and nurturing of creativity.
"(We need) a new nation in which we have a caring elite and ruling classes who only do not think of their comfort, but are smart and sensitive enough to see that their fortunes are tied to the well-being of the people over whose affairs they preside."
Mr Adu-Amankwah was speaking at the second national employers' conference on the topic: "Removing Obstacles to Private Sector Development in Ghana - The Role of Organised Labour."
He stressed the need for a strong organised labour, which would contribute effectively to overcome the obstacles that impede the growth of the private sector. "Only strong organised labour will be fully capable of confronting resolutely the problems of lack of motivation, low skills and the abuse of rights at the workplace," he said.
Mr Adu-Amankwah said employers had everything to gain from a labour that is strong and purposeful since it can contribute to ensure that the workplace endures as a place for work, creativity and decent living. He called on employers to support the expansion of trade union movement rather than work to undermine it.
Mr Ebenezer Essoka, Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank, Ghana, asked employers to be organised in effective groups to enable them to influence government policies affecting the macro-economic environment.
"In unity you will be able to provide government with checks and balances for the maintenance, review and cancellation of various policies affecting the macro-environment." Mr Essoka called for a new brand of leadership that will bring success through adoption and demonstration of suitable leadership competencies. This leadership approach, he said, must go beyond the scramble to meet short-term needs to a more pragmatic long-term strategy for implementing visions.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 17 October 2001-The Cocoa Producers Alliance have condemned the enslavement of children and all forms of exploitation of child labour at the 64th Annual General meeting held in Kheus, Brazil.
In a resolution issued after the meeting, the Alliance urged member governments to investigate any child labour activity that might exist in the field of agriculture in their countries. This was disclosed to newsmen at the airport by Mrs Grace Coleman, Deputy Minister of Finance on her return from the meeting.
She said it was noted that child labour to a great extent was caused by poverty and, therefore, suggested a long-term solution through a sustained economic growth, which would lead to social progress and poverty alleviation and universal education.
Mrs Coleman said some West African countries argued that most children, who worked on the farms, were not slaves or forced but rather follow their parents as a form of tradition. They said most times the children learn farming to take over from their ageing parents without being coerced into it.
She said, however, a few countries were accused of indulging in child labour from neighbouring countries. The Deputy Minister said the issues of organic growing of cocoa was encouraged and urged members to reduce or eliminate the use of chemicals. The issues of upward adjustments of prices of cocoa, the unity of member countries and the quota system for all members to stabilise the cocoa market were also discussed.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 17 October 2001-The Electoral Commission (EC) on Tuesday outlined the criteria for the demarcation of the electoral boundaries for both national and local government elections.
"Demarcation of local government administrative areas is guided by the need to decentralise to bring administration closer to the people, while electoral boundaries is determined by the jurisdiction for approximately equally weighted constituencies."
Mr Kwadwo Sarfo Kantanka, EC Deputy Chairman in charge of operations, stated at the launching of sensitisation and consultation on demarcation of administrative and electoral boundaries in Accra. The launch attracted representatives from political parties, the media, Members of Parliament (MPs), religious bodies, chiefs and civil society.
Mr Kantanka said other criteria for consideration for demarcating local government administrative areas were the population of the districts, which must be large enough to include an appreciable number of economically active groups that could be relied upon for the initial capitalisation of the administration through taxation.
He said petitioners should not aim at the District Assemblies' Common Fund for their development needs but should rely on locally generated funds. Other variables were geographical or physical features, economic viability, ethnicity and community of interest, availability of trained personnel and an administrative centre.
He explained that the administrative centre should preferably be at a central location to be equidistant from all out-lying areas, be accessible from all parts of the envisaged areas and not less than seven miles from the nearest district administrative centre to ensure that development was spread out.
The EC Deputy Chairman said the chosen centre should also have existing basic infrastructure that support administration such as schools, daily markets, health facilities and other government agencies.
Mr Kantanka stressed that the decision to create additional districts and the sub-structures would not be guided on political considerations alone but the state of the national economy, the need to avoid unnecessary rivalry, competition and duplication of efforts.
He stated that an administrative area covers unit committees, town, area, zonal, urban and sub-metropolitan district councils and districts, municipal and metropolitan assemblies. He explained that request for the creation districts and the substructures should be presented through the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.
On the creation of electoral areas, Mr Kantanka said the constitutional provision prescribes that no constituency should fall within more than one region and that the number of inhabitants of each constituency should be nearly equal to the population quota.
However, based on account of means of communication, geographical features, density of population and area boundaries a constituency may be less or more than the population quota.
Mr Kantanka said any review of the electoral boundaries should come into effect upon the next dissolution of Parliament. He said the primary reason for the Constitution devoting considerable attention to the constituency changes was to prevent gerrymandering.
He cautioned politicians against the temptation of gerrymandering, saying "politicians would invariably carve constituencies, if allowed in a manner that maximises their support while scattering and neutralising the support of their opponents."
Captain Nkrebea Effah-Dartey (rtd), Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, said the ministry have received over 70 petitions for the creation of new districts.
"The Ministry would consider each according to the constitutional provision in line with the economic viability of the district." He noted that in spite of the constitutional provisions the financial resources of the nation might constrain the creation of more districts and electoral areas.
Capt. Effah-Dartey called for the review of the population threshold for demarcation of administrative or electoral area. The current thresholds are rural district - a minimum population of 75,000; urban 100,000; a single compact municipal settlement 95,000; Metropolis 250,000; single compact urban councils 15,000; town/area councils with single compact settlement 5,000.
He said the review would enhance balance and broaden access to political authority. Mr Kwemena Ahwoi, ex-Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, suggested the formation of inter agency and inter ministerial bodies to co-ordinate the process to enhance the credibility and fairness of the exercise.
These should include the Survey Department, Atlas Ghana, National House of Chiefs, the security agencies and other stakeholders. He also reiterated the call for a review of the threshold saying the current figures were absolute and based on the population figures of 1994, which was 12 million.
Mr Ahwoi noted that based on the provisional census figures of 18 million the threshold would automatically change and urged the EC to intensify education on the modalities to reduce the number of petitions. Mr Larry Bimi, National Commission for Civic Education chaired the launching ceremony.
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Zabzugu (Northern Region) 17 October 2001-Mr. John Jebbah Bennam, Deputy Minister of Manpower Development and Employment on Tuesday urged the electorate in the Zabzugu/Tatale District to be vigilant and check public officials entrusted with funds for projects in the area. He said this would ensure that individuals do not misappropriate such funds as was done in the past.
Addressing supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) at separate meetings in the area as part of his two-day tour of the district, Mr Bennam said a special audit report accused the former District Chief Executive of misappropriating over 500 million cedis meant for development projects.
Communities he visited included Zubzugu, Tatale, Nakpale, Sabara, Larabanga and Konkonjoni. All the communities raised concerns about the deplorable nature of their roads, poor education and health facilities and the lack of potable water.
Mr. Bennam, emphasising the importance of peace as a pre-requisite for development, appealed to the people to bury their ethnic differences and pool resources to develop the area.
He said the NPP would not discriminate against any ethnic group and would ensure even development in the district. He advised the supporters to hold regular discussions on government policies so that they could explain to others.
Mr. Emmanuel S. Asigri, a staff at the office of the President said the government was determined to revamp the agricultural sector, which was abandoned by the previous government.
Mr. Bennam later presented assorted books, 10 bales of used clothes and 23 bags of Wheat Soya Blend to the District Education Office to be distributed to Junior and Senior Secondary Schools and health institutions in the area.
The items were donated by Ministerial Relief Programme (MRP) a Canadian charity organisation operating in the Zabzugu/Tatale District. The MRP has also acquired four acres of land free of charge from Zabzugu/Tatale District Assembly to build an orphanage at Zabzugu.
Receiving the items, the District Director of Education, Mr. Adam Mohammed Nashriru thanked the MRP for the gesture and gave the assurance that they would be put to good use.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 17 October 2001 - The Chartered Institute of Transport has challenged the government to disclose the law that mandates it to grant temporary permission for the importation of right-hand drives into the country. Government ministries aided by other institutions flouted the country's laws and allowed the importation of a right-hand drive double decker bus into the country.
The bus, which plies certain routes in Accra, is exposing passengers to avoidable danger as the entrance and exits are on the left. Passengers therefore alight on the wrong side of the road in the path of on-coming vehicles.
The Minister for Communications and Technology, Felix Owusu Agyepong who until last Thursday was in charge of the Transport sector, in an attempt to defend the government's action said they took advantage of an undisclosed regulation that allows the granting of permission for importation of right hand drives vehicles on experimental basis. He noted that the vehicles would be sent back after the experiment.
The Vice President of the Institute of Transport, David Ofosu Dortey however sys there is no such law. He described the Minister's pronouncement that the law will be amended to allow the importation of more right-hand vehicles as unfortunate and a big blunder.
In another development, the Asantehene's personal assistant, Owusu Boateng has denied that the Asantehene has been given authorisation to import any of the double decker buses into the country. He however confirmed that during the Otumfuo's visit to London this year, some investors expressed interest in the country's transport sector but said negotiations were still ongoing.
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