Nominate
Nana Konadu as running mate - NDC group
KNUST
NPP proposes Akufo Addo as running mates.
Poor
state of economy blamed on fake foreign currencies
African
leaders want taxes on book and printing inputs waived.
Ghana
says she supports withdrawal of cocoa from market
Ghanaians
urged to cut down on funeral expenses
Producers
sure to agree to destroy cocoa beans
More
should be done on children's rights - WIB
Cabinet
deliberates on economy
Keep
away from military installations - Journalists told
WTO
not to blame for agricultural problems - Official
TMA
calls for inclusion in delegation to visit Greenwich.
Economy
can't support TUC's wage proposal - Cabinet
Kumasi
(Greater Accra) 01 September 2000
A 33 member
group comprising Constituency chairmen, regional youth and women's wings of the
National Democratic Congress (NDC), in Ashanti have expressed support for the
nomination of Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, the First Lady, as running mate to
Professor Mills the flagbearer of the party in the December election.
This is
contained in separate statements issued in Kumasi by the three groups and
signed by Mr. Kwadwo Adu-Gyamfi, for the constituency chairmen, Dr Ted Tetteh,
chairman of the youth working committee, Mr. Yaw Owusu Obimpeh, the regional
youth organiser and Hajia Salamatu Kunteh, the regional women's organiser.
The
statement said Nana Konadu's rich political experience both at the national and
international levels was the basis for their support.
"The
First Lady has all it takes to be a President of the nation and that her
partnership with Professor John Atta Mills would provide the country with the
right leadership".
The groups
noted that as President of the 31st December Women's Movement, she has enormous
goodwill, support base and tremendous political clout.
They said
with the current wrangling over who gets the nod for the running mate slot, she
could serve as the most suitable compromise choice to keep the unity, integrity
and cohesion of the NDC intact.
"If
her husband, President Jerry John Rawlings would not object, it is our candid
view that Nana Konadu should be nominated the running mate of professor
Mills", the groups added.
GRi…/
KNUST NPP proposes Akufo Addo as running mates.
Kumasi
(Ashanti Region) 01 September 2000
The Kwame
Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), branch of the New
Patriotic Party (NPP), has proposed Nana Akuffo Addo, Member of Parliament for
Abuakwa as the running mate to Mr. J.A. Kufuor, the party's presidential
candidate in the December elections.
A release
signed by Mr. Kofi Asante, Chairman of the branch and a lecturer at the College
of Art, said the branch, which falls under the Asokwa East constituency,
resolved at a meeting that Mr. Kufuor should consult with the national
executive council to nominate Nana Akufo Addo.
The release
said that if the party should win power this year then it should select Nana
Akufo Addo as running mate because he has much support from the youth who
constitute majority of voters.
It
described Nana Akufo Addo as a team player who respects his seniors and believes
in the rule of law and will therefore play his role accordingly when he becomes
Mr. Kufuor's Vice-President.
"Our
flag bearer Mr. Kufuor and the NPP big brass will do all NPP members, rank and
file, supporters and sympathisers alike, a great service and increase our
chances of success at the forthcoming elections if they nominate Nana Akuffo
running mate".
GRi…/
Kumasi
(Ashanti Region) 01 September 2000
The worsening
economic condition of the country has been attributed not only to the inability
of the nation to earn more foreign exchange, but also the nefarious activities
of illegal immigrants who circulate fake foreign currencies.
Odeneho
Kwaku Appiah, Chairman of the concerned citizens association of Kumasi, who
expressed this view, also blamed their unpatriotic Ghanaian collaborators who
help to defraud innocent members of the public.
Odeneho
Appiah was addressing members of the "Friends of market ladies
Association", after they had undertaken a clean-up exercise at the Kumasi
central market.
He said to
aggravate the situation, some Ghanaian entrepreneurs and even market traders,
have resorted to quoting the prices of their wares in dollars and pounds
sterling instead of the local currency.
He said
such unpatriotic behaviour should not be allowed to gain roots, adding that the
only way Ghanaians can help salvage the economy is to work hard and patronise
what is produced locally.
Odeneho
Appiah suggested to the Ministry of the Interior to take a second look at the
immigration laws with the view to making them tighter to ensure that only
genuine foreigners enter the country.
He also
proposed the setting up of a taskforce to scrutinise documents of immigrants to
determine their validity and genuineness.
Miss Naomi
Osei, Organiser of the association, appealed to the law enforcement agencies
who grant bails to suspects to ensure that their sureties are people of
substance who can be held responsible for the failure of the suspect to honour
the bail.
GRi…/
African leaders want taxes on book and printing inputs waived.
Accra
(Greater Accra) 01 September 2000
The
Organisation of African Unity, (OAU), has passed a resolution obliging member
countries to waive taxes on imported books and printing inputs.
The
resolution passed at the Heads of government conference in Algiers, Algeria,
last year is one of the measures taken by the Pan-African body to increase
access to books for the ordinary African.
Mr. Richard
Crabbe, President of the African Publishers Network (APNET) who disclosed this
on Thursday said ' "it is very necessary that African governments did
something about the heavy taxation of materials used in the publishing
industry."
An average
worker in Ghana hardly earns 16 dollars a month, the equivalent of the cost of
an imported academic material.
"Even
where there is a demand for books, low per capita incomes combined with high
levels of taxation and inflation result in poor book-buying habits"
He said
APNET and the Association of the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), a
non-governmental organisation, whose lobbying resulted in the adoption of the
resolution will be taking the crusade to the United Nations very soon.
" I
think we need to lobby the world and then come to the national level where the
real problem is."
According
to a research undertaken by the two bodies this year, Africa imports on the
average 70 per cent of its book needs and exports less than five per cent of
its local output.
He said
without a tax waiver on books and printing inputs, Ghana will never achieve her
"one book to a child" policy envisaged in the Vision 2020.
He said
APNET has begun a training programme to update the knowledge of its members and
make them more professional.
"We
are doing this in collaboration with the Printing and Publishing Institutes on
the continent and in Ghana, the Book Industry Department of the Kwame Nkrumah
University of Science and Technology (KNUST) are working with us. Those who
pass through the courses could be awarded with diplomas"
He
mentioned the high bank rates and the lack of adequate credit facilities for
publishers as the main obstacles facing the industry.
"Our
government and other African governments need to understand that publishing is
an industry on which education and societal enlightenment rest."
Mr. Crabbe
said no indigenous African publishing company has ever won a World Bank bid for
textbook publishing.
APNET, established
in 1992, brings together national publishers' associations to strengthen
indigenous publishing throughout Africa.
GRi…/
Accra
(Greater Accra) 01 September 2000
Ghana on
Thursday said she is committed to the withdrawal of 250,000 metric tonnes of
cocoa from the world market as a means of boosting prices. This should,
however, be the outcome of the co-operative effort of African cocoa producers
towards the achievement of their decision reached in Abidjan on July 15.
African
Cocoa Producers, in the Abidjan Declaration, agreed to withdraw 250,000 tonnes
of poor quality cocoa beans from the market.
Alhaji
Mahama Iddrisu, Adviser on Governmental Affairs, said this at the opening of a
two-day consultative meeting of selected African cocoa producing countries in
Accra on Thursday.
The
meeting, which has delegates from Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria and Cameroon
attending, is a follow-up to the Abidjan meeting.
It is aimed
at working out a strategy to improve the world market price of cocoa following
the persistent fall to a 27-year low.
World cocoa
prices have fallen from an average of 1,794 dollars per tonne to about 800
dollars per tonne, showing a loss of 994 dollars per tonne. This translates to
about 397.8 million dollars in cocoa export revenue for Ghana alone.
Alhaji
Iddrisu urged other member governments to give their National Technical
Committees on Cocoa the necessary impetus to take such decisions more quickly
and easily.
"I
wish to emphasize that efforts which our technical personnel are making to
reverse the current low prices of cocoa, require the political commitment from
our respective governments."
Alhaji
Iddrisu urged the technical committees to proceed to the practical
implementation of the Abidjan Declaration dispassionately in order to bring
lasting relief to the millions of people whose livelihoods are still tied to
the survival of the cocoa industry.
He said
that even though African governments are diversifying their economies, they
could not escape the fact that the cocoa industry will continue to be of major
importance.
"We
therefore have an obligation to our hardworking cocoa farmers to secure fair
returns for their efforts," Alhaji Iddrisu said.
He said he
hoped that the decision to withdraw poor quality cocoa, beginning from the
2000/2001 season could bring about the desired improvement in prices in the
short run.
Alhaji
Iddrisu said he was unhappy that many decisions reached at similar meetings
remain on paper and little or nothing is implemented. "We should be able
to implement our decisions like this one. We are very good at the
technicalities, but not good implementers.
"You
know what the outcome of this meeting holds for our people and our countries
and we should not let them down."
He said the
decline in the price of cocoa and rise in the price of crude oil have dealt a
heavy blow to Ghana's economy saying the outcome of the meeting in Cote
d'Ivoire is therefore a welcome development.
Alhaji
Iddrisu said the Ghana government has implemented a number of reforms in the
cocoa sector and will see to the welfare of farmers by giving them good prices
as an incentive for increased yield.
"In
this connection, it is envisaged that by 2004 to 2005, cocoa farmers' income as
a share of the FOB price would be improved drastically."
African
cocoa producers are Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroun Nigeria, Togo and Benin.
Mr. Kwame
Peprah, Minister of Finance, said it is regrettable that cocoa prices have
shown no significant signs of recovery since the Abidjan Declaration.
This, he
noted is the result of excess stocks on the market, which is showing no
indications of recovery ahead of the forthcoming cocoa season.
Mr. Peprah
said this development threatens the survival of millions of people,
particularly cocoa farmers, whose toil has helped sustain national economies
over the years.
"In
this regard, the current unfavourable conditions of the world cocoa market
calls for urgent action and commitment from members of the Cocoa Producers'
Alliance to present a united front to protect our national interests and save
our dwindling economies."
Mr. Peprah
said that while national economies try to put the withdrawal mechanism in
place, members must commit themselves to the ideas of the Production Management
Plan adopted by the Alliance.
"We
believe that such a line of action should provide the needed support for the
withdrawal mechanism to achieve its objectives."
The Finance
Minister urged the promotion of cocoa consumption both at the countries of
origin and emerging non-traditional markets. "We stand to benefit
immensely by way of price increases from increased cocoa consumption. The end
result should be to benefit our peasant farmers who produce most of the
cocoa."
Mr. Ahmed
Amadou Timite, Cote d'Ivoire's Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources
described the meeting as very important.
He said
Cote d'Ivoire, the world's largest producer, will fight back to ensure a fair
share of the world's wealth of cocoa for farmers from Africa region.
Mr. Tsimi
Enouga, President of the Technical Committee of Cameroon, said they are
committed to the goals of the African countries and will work to ensure that
they are achieved.
The
meeting, which ends on Friday, is expected to break into five different
technical committee sessions culminating in a final decision on the mode of
withdrawal of the 250,000 tonnes of cocoa beans from the world market.
Most of it,
according to sources, is to be destroyed by burning, but others think ways must
be found to have it stored until the price appreciates.
GRi…/
Dunkwa-on-Offin
(Central Region) 01 September 2000
Ghanaians
have been urged to cut down on funeral expenditures as means of to curbing the
untold financial hardships that are often brought to bear on bereaved
families.
The
District Co-ordinating Director for Upper Denkyira, Mr. L.K. Bayuoh, gave the
advice when he opened a two-day workshop for the aged on Thursday at
Dunkwa-On-Offin.
It
was organised by leaders of the Dunkwa-on-Offin branch of "The Club for
the Aged and Disabled" in collaboration with the Upper Denkyira District
Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE).
More
than 60 chiefs, clan and family-heads, religious and other opinion leaders are
taking part in the workshop, which will treat topics like "making funeral
activities less expensive", "the act of will-making", and
"the law on intestate succession".
Mr.
Bayuoh said the success of funerals should not be judged by the extent to which
sympathisers and well-wishers are feted but by the ability of families to carry
out this social responsibility effectively without over burdening members with
unnecessary debts.
"Ghanaians
must do away with image-salvaging funerals, which attract huge expenditures on
food and drinks for sympathisers most of whom attend funerals only to booze,
eat, make merry and leave without making any meaningful financial contribution
to the organisers of such sad events."
He
was also not happy with the many hours spent on funerals, saying it was about
time such things were changed to conform with the current global economic
situation, which calls for the judicious use of time.
Mr.
Bayuoh described the aged as a "great source of knowledge and
experience" and charged the youth to accord them the due respect so that
they can tap their knowledge and experiences for the good of the society.
Mr.
Justice Essel Mensah, a Circuit Court Judge who spoke on "The Act of Will
Making", advised Ghanaians to discard the notion that it is the lawyer
alone who has the exclusive right to prepare a will. Enybody at all could make
a will and have it deposited at a High Court for safe-keeping.
A
will is not made only when one is either old or on a sick bed but at any time
during one's lifetime, he said adding that any
person
who is 18 years or above qualifies to make a Will but it should not be prepared
under duress.
Furthermore,
a will can be prepared by a man or woman, and should cover only property
personally acquired by the maker and not family property placed in one's
custody.
Mr.
Justice Mensah said no one has the right to know the contents of a will because
they are strictly confidential and that witnesses are not even expected to know
their contents.
He
advised people who are keeping other people's wills to ensure that they are
deposited at a High Court within 14 days after the death of the author to avoid
prosecution.
GRi…/
Accra
(Greater Accra) 01 September 2000
African
cocoa producers have expressed optimism about the implementation of their
decision to withdraw 250,000 metric tonnes of poor quality cocoa beans from the
market. They, however, believe that this must be done within a framework of consensus
among them for it to succeed in reversing the current low prices.
The Ghana
News Agency (GNA), reached these conclusions after separate interviews with Mr.
Sona Ebai, Secretary-General of the Cocoa Producers Alliance (CPA) and Mr. John
Henry Newman, Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocobod.
Also
interviewed were Mr. J.H. Owusu-Acheampong, Minister of Food and Agriculture
and Nana Erhuma Kpanyinli VI, President of the Ghana Cocoa, Coffee and Sheanut
Farmers' Association.
This was
after the opening of a Consultative Meeting of selected cocoa producers from
Africa, who are in Accra to continue discussions on the possibility of
implementing the decision taken in Abidjan last July.
They told
the GNA that they appreciate the political will backing the intended action,
saying hitherto, most of such conclusions "never saw the light of
day" because of the inability of politicians to implement them.
Mr. Ebai
from Cameroon, said he believes that the proposal would not have any adverse
effect on the farmers or national economies, which are facing severe crisis.
"This
will not have an effect on them since the decision is aimed at creating a
shortage by removing, first, poor grade cocoa beans from the market.
"When
this happens, I believe it would lead to a significant increase in price, which
is now at a 27-year low of 800 dollars per tonne".
Mr. Ebai said
at the first look, one might take it as a negative move. "But with a
careful analysis and approach you will realise that it is good after all".
The meeting
being attended by delegates from Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria and Cameroon, is
a follow-up to the one held in Abidjan.
World cocoa
prices have fallen from an annual average of 1,794 per tonne to about 800
dollars, a loss of 994 dollars. This translates to about 397.8 million dollars
in cocoa export revenue loss for Ghana alone.
Mr. Newman
said the idea is "an implementable one". "But when it comes to
the crunch, it should be a collective decision, at the regional basis,
something that involves the entire region".
Mr.
Acheampong said the decision to increase cocoa prices must be fought vigorously
and with a common voice.
"We,
however, must wait to see what the delegates of the technical committees on
cocoa from the various countries bring out tomorrow."
Nana
Kpanyinli, who has a 150-acre cocoa farm, said it is difficult to convince
farmers to reduce production.
"You
cannot tell the farmers not to produce. This will mean they should not maintain
their crops and this will cause a complete destruction of entire farms".
He
explained that if cocoa farms are not attended to for a while, they would die
and this would cause great loss to many families and the nation as a whole.
The farmer
was happy that the government has given the assurance to either buy their
produce or create avenues for private buyers to do so.
He said
they were not moved by the decision to destroy 250,000 metric tonnes of cocoa
since there is the assurance that their produce would be bought.
"We
understand, because the idea is in favour of farmers so that we can get good
prices. The fact is once the beans are bought and paid for we have no
problems".
Nana
Kpanyinli urged African governments to consider the idea of building storage
facilities for the beans, as was proposed by Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's First
President, many years ago.
When this
is done, he said, the commodity can be released as and when it is required to
make an impact on the market. Besides, it takes about 10 years for cocoa beans
under storage to deteriorate.
A
Ministerial Committee Meeting is also scheduled for tomorrow, at which Sector
Ministers from participating countries would make their positions known.
GRi…/
Accra
(Greater Accra) 01 September 2000
Women In
Broadcasting (WIB) said in Accra on Thursday that although the Convention on
the Right of the Child has chalked some successes since it was ratified by
Ghana 12 years ago, there is still more to be done.
In a
statement in Accra to mark the Day of the Ghanaian Child, it noted that a
significant number of children do not have access to basic education, food
shelter and health care.
Child
delinquency, child labour, infant mortality, disabilities, child abuse and
other infringements on the rights of the child, still remain a major problem,
it said.
The statement
said WIB is happy that the event is barely five months to the presidential and
parliamentary elections adding that, it is an opportunity to demand from
politicians what they have on their manifestos for children as future leaders.
It urged
political parties, which have not already included the needs and concerns of
children in their manifestos to do so. WIB also reminded District Assemblies of
their responsibilities under the Children's Act, which enjoins them to protect
and promote the right and welfare of children.
WIB asked
the government to strengthen the capacity and resource of the Department of
Social Welfare to enable it to discharge it responsibilities to the child
efficiently.
"The
idea of the Day is a laudable one. This is as yet another opportunity to
reflect on the situation of Ghanaian children and to examine challenges that
confront them in their daily quest for the basic needs and rights".
GRi…/
Accra
(Greater Accra) 01 September 2000
The Cabinet
at its meeting on Tuesday discussed the economic situation in the country,
including the expected inflow of some 560 million dollars and the need to
ensure its prudent use.
A statement
on Thursday signed by Mr. J.K. Bebaako-Mensah, Secretary to Cabinet, said the
Cabinet noted that efforts being made to avoid further hikes in petroleum
prices had led to widespread smuggling of fuel to neighbouring countries where
prices are higher.
It said
that steps had been taken to check this pointing out that prices of petroleum
products cover only about two-thirds of the cost of imported crude oil.
The Cabinet
expressed concern about the apparently organised price increases by traders in
a wide range of goods including locally manufactured items and locally grown
foods.
"Simultaneous
price hikes by shops, market and street traders to levels bearing no reasonable
relationship with factory prices, transport costs, or farm gate prices were obviously
being co-ordinated."
The Cabinet
directed the Minister of Trade and Industry to request local manufacturers to
publish prevailing prices from time to time to help the public to know whether
price increases are justified.
It approved
the nomination of members of the reconstituted Council of the Institute of
Professional Studies (IPS).
Earlier
nominations were rejected on the grounds that at least four of the members
should be women.
Dr Idris
Egala, Director of Hill End Consultancy Limited in Accra has been nominated as
Chairman of the 16 member-council including five women.
GRi…/
Accra
(Greater Accra) 01 September 2000
The
Military on Thursday warned journalists to keep away from military
installations or risk being arrested and dealt with according to law.
"With
effect from this publication any person found taking pictures of any military
establishment or loitering around any military installations will be arrested
and dealt with according to law".
A statement
from the Public Relations Directorate, General Headquarters, Burma Camp,
reminded media practitioners that it is in their own interest not to publish
pictures likely to jeopardise national security.
It said the
print medium has been showing pictures of military installations of late
without regard to national security.
"While
the military tries to prevent such things from getting into the hands of
potential enemies that will enable them wreak havoc on the nation in time of
trouble, our civilian counterparts, especially the media, do not see the
obvious subversion in these actions".
The
statement referred to the August 29 publication of the "Ghanaian
Chronicle," which it said showed pictures of a security set up and said
the military "abhors such actions and would countenance them no
more".
"As a
further measure to check this unwarranted behaviour of some journalists, the
military is reminding the general public especially the media that it is an
offence to take pictures of any military institution, barracks and
installations without approval from the authorities," the statement added.
GRi…/
Accra (Greater
Accra) 01 September 2000
A Deputy
Director at the Policy Division of the Ministry of Trade and Industry said on
Thursday that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is not to be blamed for the
problems facing the development of agriculture in the country.
Mr.
Achiayao Brahms said at a seminar on food security in Accra on Thursday that WTO
agreements in agriculture, to which Ghana is a signatory, do not restrict
support to the sector.
It was
organised by Reseau Ghaneen of SADOC, a Network of Sustainable Food Security in
Central West Africa, under the theme: Trade Liberalisation and Food Security in
Ghana. The seminar brought together researchers, policy makers and
representatives of civil society.
Mr. Brahms
said the responsibility to provide such support as subsidies and tax rebate for
agriculture to boost production lies with individual countries, adding that,
the WTO does not prevent member countries from carrying out these obligations.
The
agreement only seeks to reform trade in agriculture as well as providing the
basis for market-oriented policies.
Mr. Brahms
said WTO has given enough concession to developing countries to support the
growth and development of agriculture adding that, the choice depends on the
ability of individual members.
For
instance, appropriate mechanisms are in place to ensure that food aid and
imports to developing countries are not affected.
He said
lack of funds and the restrictions on Ghana not to use donor funds for
subsidising agriculture has remained a major obstacle to the sector.
Mr. Brahms
said for the country to participate and benefit from the process of
globalisation, there is the need to adopt the right policies that can cope with
the fast changing trends.
The country
has the leverage to use higher tariffs to regulate food imports and thereby
enhance local food production without competition from cheap imports.
He said the
hope of developing countries gaining more access to the European Union market
because of reduction in tariffs was not fulfilled since it rather brought
restrictions.
Mr.
Augustine Adongo, Chief Executive of the Federation of Associations of Ghanaian
Exporters, said the best approach to ensure food security is to address the
food preferences of people.
He said
competition is the major force of change in the global economy, hence there is
the need to adopt a market-oriented approach to agricultural production.
GRi…/
TMA calls for inclusion in delegation to visit Greenwich.
Tema
(Greater Accra) 01 September 2000
The Tema
Municipal Assembly (TMA) on Thursday called on the government to include at
least two members of the Assembly on the government delegation, which is
visiting Greenwich to launch the Greenwich Foundation.
The
Assembly, which is currently holding its third ordinary meeting of the second
session, resolved that since TMA is at the centre of the programme that has
twinned Tema with the Borough of Greenwich, there was the need for the
inclusion of The Municipal Chief Executive and the Presiding Member on the
delegation.
The members
also suggested that since there will also be a durbar of chiefs at the
launching of the Foundation, Kpone and Tema Manhean Paramount Chiefs should
also be included in the delegation.
The
Assembly agreed that the issue of the delegation of the two chiefs should be
referred to the finance and administration sub-committee, to see if their
flights could be financed by the assembly, barring all protocol issues in
London, in case the government refuses to take up their bills.
The establishment
of a formal link between the communities of Greenwich and Tema was celebrated
at Greenwich Council's meeting on May 19, 1999.
The members
noted that Greenwich and Tema share notable characteristics as, both are
located on the Meridian line.
The two
also share a vision of a world where people of different cultures can live in
peace.
"We
have much to learn from each other and look forward to the benefits that will
come from this association", the assembly added.
For the
twinning to be meaningful in a North and South context, it should enhance the
levels of education and development in both communities.
Nii Armah
Ashietey, the Municipal Chief Executive said, the priorities from the formal
linking of Greenwich and Tema include support for the development of a
polytechnic in the municipality to be sited at Kpone.
He
explained that for regular exchange of information between schools in Greenwich
and schools in Tema, eight students and two teachers from Star Basic and Tema
Secondary School (TEMASCO) are to leave Ghana on September 6, 2000, to take
part in the celebration of Greenwich Youth Conference which will lasts for a
week.
President Jerry
John Rawlings will pay an eight-day visit to the United Kingdom from September
9 to 17, to participate in the formal commemoration of Greenwich/Tema
partnership for development.
The launch
of the foundation is a follow-up to a twinning arrangement inaugurated last year
between the Borough of Greenwich in the UK and Tema.
Among
others, the commemoration will be marked with a colourful durbar of Ghanaian
chiefs, queen mothers and cultural troupes at the Greenwich Royal Artillery
Garrison on September 9, 2000.
GRi…/
Accra
(Greater Accra) 01 September 2000
The Cabinet
on Thursday urged government representatives on the tripartite committee
negotiating a new minimum wage to lay bare the state's finances as the labour
union's proposal of 5,500 cedis was on a high side.
In a
summary report of it’s meeting in Accra issued by Mr. J.K. Bebaako Mensah,
Secretary, the Cabinet said there is the need to explain to other members that
the proposal of the Trade Union Congress would put the economy out of gear.
It said
that while the minimum wage should offer some relief to workers, it should not
place "dangerous pressures" on the economy.
Cabinet
also approved for the consideration of Parliament, a loan agreement for 50
million dollars for the reconstruction of the Sogakope-Aflao road, which forms
part of the Trans-West African Highway.
According
to the statement, the balance of the funds would be used for the improvement of
other key roads in the Volta Region.
"To
enhance safety, some portions of the road would be re-aligned, including a
by-pass around the township of Akasti".
Funding has
already been secured for the Tema-Sogakope portion of the road through a loan
agreement approved by Parliament in December last year. Pre-construction work
is progressing while actual construction begins in early 2001.
GRi…/