“31st December has no bank account in Austria’
Asantehene meets Ga Traditional Council
Presidential despatch rider killed in accident
Police save MP from attack by angry NPP supporters
Police avert bloodbath at Sabon Zongo
African countries on the move forward - Rotary
Protection of child rights lag behind public commitment
Gov’t institutes welfare package for Ghana Armed Forces.
Isaac Osei pledges to foster Ghana-UK business
Accra (Greater Accra) 01 September 2001 - The 31st December Women’s Movement (DWM) has stated that it has no bank account in Vienna, Austria.
It, therefore, described as ridiculous claims by Mr Etienne Marie Arthur Popelar, former Managing Director of Ghana Rubber Estates Limited (GREL) that he paid £150,000 into the Movement’s account in Vienna.
Reacting to our front-page story of the Daily Graphic story last Friday, Ms Sherry Ayittey, Director of Finance & Projects of the DWM also discounted claims that she personally received the receipt for the payment of the amount into the bank.
The story had said the government has commenced auditing of the movement’s assets and alleged that Mr Popelar told the police in a statement that he was asked by the Movement to pay £150,000 into its Austrian account at Kathrein & Co, Vienna and that the receipt of the transfer was given to Ms Ayittey as evidence of payment.
Ms Ayittey explained that the Movement just like other non-governmental organisations (NGOs), from time to time, receives donations from local and international donors to support its activities.
She said these donations are channelled into the movement’s income generating ventures throughout the country and added that “the evidence, including more than 1,000 day care centres throughout the country.” Is there for all to see.
On the award of $170,000 grant for the importation of fabrics, she said the Movement applied to the Ministry of Finance and since “the Movement met the requirements, the offer was extended”.
She said “this was upon a personal intervention made by the President of the Movement to the Chinese Vice-President when she visited Ghana in January 2000”.
A team of external auditors have since 1998 been working on a consolidated audit of the activities of the Movement and the report would be forwarded to the appropriate quarters, she stated.
She explained that the international agencies, which fund the DWMs activities, appoint their own external auditors to carry out periodic audits after which the reports are forwarded to such donors.
Ms Ayittey said the Movement also has its own internal auditors who have been auditing the accounts of the movement on regular basis and gave the assurance that a complete report would soon be made available.
On her part, the President of the movement, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, in a statement faxed to the Graphic, said it was only somewhere in May or June that she read in the newspapers that all NGOs must submit their audited accounts to the Department of Social Welfare.
Throwing more light on the Dansoman Vocational and Technical Training Centre, she said she personally approached the Chinese President, to help the Movement build a skill training vocational, technical institute to train young boys and girls to acquire employable skills.
She explained that in 1990, she was asked to put the request in writing and channel it through the Chinese Embassy in Ghana and the Movement was later invited to China to defend the proposal.
She said during the Beijing Conference in 1995, a final discussion was held between madam Chen Muhua and members of the Movement during which "we were told that monies had been allocated by the Chinese Government for the project".
Nana Konadu said the Movement was later told that the money had to be channeled through the Ghana Government.
"It was not that the Ministry of Finance of Ghana went for the money and the DWM took part of it," she stated, adding that "the project was quantified and costed by the Chinese Government and the money channelled through the Ministry of Finance to the Movement.
That is why the Chinese Government insisted on bringing their own design for us to approve or otherwise, it will send consultants, architects, engineers, quantity surveyors and construction firms from China to work on the projects, which we agreed to, on condition that we can also attach Ghanaian consultants to the projects," she explained.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 01 September 2001 - Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene on Saturday met with Chiefs of the Ga Traditional Council in Accra to brief them on the launch of the Otumfuo Education Trust Fund and a fund raising dinner dance to be held at the State House.
Nii Adotey Obuor II, Sempe Mantse and acting President of the Ga Traditional Council, said in launching the fund in Accra Otumfuo Osei Tutu has demonstrated that it is not meant for Ashantis alone but all Ghanaians.
He assured the Asantehene of the support of the Ga Mantse, Nii Amugi II as well as other chiefs of the Ga Traditional Council.
Accompanying the Otumfuo were Nana Wiafe Akenteng III, Offinsohene and Osahene Kwaku Atakyi II, Omanhene of Kukrom Traditional Area. Nii Tetteh Kpobi Tsuru III, La Mantse and Nii Adjetey Kraku III, Tema Mantse were among the Ga chiefs who met the Asantehene.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, together with Nii Obuor and the other chiefs also called on Sheikh I.C. Quaye, Greater Accra Regional Minister. The Asantehene said education is a key ingredient for progress and it was out of his desire for progress throughout the country that he decided to establish the fund.
Mr Quaye said no private initiative in fund-raising has had such a national approval as the Asantehene's. "It is a mark of your hard work and of the continuing relevance of the institution you represent."
He said Otumfuo's example sets a new stage in relations among traditional rulers. "Without doubt it will go a long way to help in the development of Chieftaincy, which in turn will deepen national unity," he said.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 01 September 2001 - Uniiq 95.7 FM, the new station of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), which replaces Radio GAR was launched in Accra on Saturday with a call on the staff to differ its services from private stations some of which depend only on music and phone-ins.
"There is a large room for improvement where journalists need to display their professionalism by giving objective and factual reports to listeners," Ms Elizabeth Ohene, Minister of Media Relations, said.
She said journalists would do a great disservice to listeners if they depended on hearsay and information received through phone-ins by people who they could not identify.
Uniiq FM plans to go fully commercial in contrast to the former GAR, which tried to satisfy a whole range of diverse interests.
The target group of the new station is the middle and upper class and easy-going "money in pocket" people. Its business department would be relocated outside the gates of GBC to make clients avoid the bureaucratic nature of the security men.
Ms Ohene said the problem with GBC is not solely the lack of enough money to upgrade their equipment but also initiative to be adventurous.
This, she said, has made a lot of other stations to overtake them. There is the need for constant training for staff to upgrade their skills so as to meet current demands.
Ms Ohene said most advanced capitalist countries still insist that public broadcasting should be maintained, adding that the government would do what it could as quickly as possible to put the needed infrastructure in place.
Yaw Owusu Addo, Director of Radio said though Uniiq would be commercial, it would not lose sight of its constitutional duty and of being a pacesetter. "We shall remain politically neutral, circumspect, critical of ourselves and be responsible for the services we provide."
Seth Ago Adjetey, Director-General of GBC, said management appreciates the support of Ms Ohene, which has resulted in the creation of the new station.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 01 September 2001 - Authorities at the 37 Military Hospital on Friday, confirmed the death of Police Sergeant Emmanuel K. Owusu, 50, one of the most experienced Presidential Despatch Riders in the country.
He was involved in a fatal accident at a junction near the Air Force Officers Mess in Accra.
Colonel Joseph Aryeetey, Commanding Officer of the Hospital, told said the rider was dead on arrival.
The Sgt. Owusu, popularly known as "Burger", was leading the presidential convoy from the Castle, Osu to the Burma Camp, along the Giffard Road when a driver of a blue Mazda pickup ran into his motorbike from a minor road from behind the El-Wak Stadium.
President Agyekum Kufuor was on his way to inaugurate the Armed Forces Council and address a durbar of the personnel when the accident occurred.
Police Superintendent Victor Tandoh, Commanding Officer of the Police Motor Traffic and Transport Unit, expressed his disgust at the scorn shown by drivers at the sound of siren.
"Drivers should learn to respect the siren when sounded and give way to whoever is approaching as it indicates the approach of an important personality."
Superintendent Tandoh called for a review of the law pertaining to punishments meted out to traffic offenders and suggested that the courts should endeavour to impose stiffer punishment.
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Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 01 September 2001 - A group of people believed to be NPP sympathisers on Friday attempted to attack Johnson Asiedu-Nketiah, NDC-MP for Wenchi West, for allegedly spreading lies about the government during a discussion programme on Sunyani-based Sky FM Radio.
The group, numbering over 100, rushed on the MP, forcing him and his companions to beat a fast retreat.
For over 40 minutes, he was holed up in the offices of Sky FM and was only able to escape through a back door after the police had been called in to contain the situation.
Mr Asiedu-Nketiah was whisked away in an NDC pick-up that had been parked at the other side of the building, thus compelling him to leave behind his own car to avoid a possible attack by fuming NPP sympathisers.
The car was later driven away by some young men but not without some dents as some of the angry NPP supporters banged at it a number of times.
Mr Asiedu-Nketiah had berated the government for defrauding Ghanaians and farmers in particular by claiming that the mass spraying of cocoa farms exercise was being done free of charge.
He said the exercise was being financed with half the bonuses due the farmers but which the government had withheld for the spraying exercise.
As the group began to converge on the premises of the radio station, Mr Kwadwo Yeboah-Fordjour, Regional Chairman of the NPP also stormed the studios and accused Mr Asiedu-Nketiah of deliberately spreading lies about the government, describing his comments as unfair and skewed.
The resultant exchanges forced officials of the radio station to take the programme off the air at 9.40 a.m., 20 minutes before it was scheduled to end.
Mr Kwame Enin Frimpong, News Editor of Sky FM, said it was not the intention of the station to host only Mr Asiedu-Nketiah so as to give him an unfair advantage over the NPP.
He said a letter was sent to the NPP inviting them to appear on the programme but the party rang to say that the letter came late so it could not get in touch with any of its MPs to represent it on the programme.
Mr Anthony Kusi, Regional Secretary of the NPP, however accused Mr Frimpong of twisting the facts, saying that he received the letter inviting the NPP to participate in the programme at 2 p.m. on Thursday.
Mr Kusi said since the letter specifically asked for an MP to appear on the programme at 8 a.m. on Friday, he explained it to him that it would not be possible to get an MP to feature at such a short notice.
He therefore pleaded with him to postpone the programme to the following week to which the news editor agreed.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 01 September 2001 - The police on Saturday averted a near bloody clash between two rival factions in a chieftaincy dispute at Sabon Zongo in Accra.
The police acted fast to break up a fight between the factions and arrested about 24 people who were released later.
Tension had been mounting for about three weeks now following the installation of two Muslim chiefs from the same family last May and things came to a head when the people were about to celebrate Maulidinabiyi - the birth of Mohammed.
The two factions installed Alhaji Sulley Baako and Alhaji Yahaya Baako simultaneously.
Ms Helena Cobbinah, Korle-Bu District Police Commander met with the two factions at Gaskia Cinema Hall and warned them against any breach of the peace during the celebration.
Both factions agreed that the celebration should go ahead without the presence of the chiefs to avoid possible hostilities.
They also agreed that no 'T' shirts with effigies of the chiefs should be worn, no praise singing for either chief and no shouting of slogans at the celebrations.
This was to ensure peaceful celebration, which they said was a religious festival and not for chiefs.
Ms Cobbinah cautioned the youth not to allow anybody to take advantage of the situation to cause confusion and urged both factions to go back and solve their differences amicably.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 01 September 2001 - Mr Eduardo Suarez, Governor of the District 9100 of the Rotary Club of Accra, on Friday said the African continent is steadily moving towards the realisation of a union of African states.
The African Union should draw the attention of policy makers and social groups to do away with individualism and co-ordinate their activities for the common good of its members, Suarez who is a Senegalese said at a presentation ceremony of Rotarian membership Charter to the Accra-Labone Club in Accra.
He urged Rotarians to be devoted to the efforts and ideals to unification the continent.
He said "we must work together to make Africa, a place where one can live in peace and security, where one will recover all his dignity and the paramount position he deserves in a world, where Negro-African values will regain humanism and friendship."
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Accra (Greater Accra) 01 September 2001 - Mrs Gladys Asmah, Minister of Women and Children's Affairs, on Friday said the care and protection of children's rights lag far behind public declarations or commitment to those ideals.
"Even public awareness and education on child rights issues too often stop either at the regional or districts boundaries. There is still a big gap, which needs to be addressed as far as our people in the rural communities are concerned," she stressed.
This was contained in a speech read for her at this year's National Features on Children Awards Day of which 10 journalists from both the print and the electronic media were honoured.
The award was instituted 15 years ago by the Ghana National Commission on Children (GNCC) to draw the attention of policy makers to pressing issues that affect the welfare of children.
The winners presented articles and programmes, which sensitised the public on proper development and protection of child rights in the country.
The first prize of 21-inch colour television and a certificate went to Ms. Adwoa Aseidu of the Ghanaian Times who wrote a feature on the topic, " The Ugly Face of Rape- Will Castration Do?"
The second prize of 14-inch colour television with certificate went to Silvanus Kumi of the Ghanaian Times on an article, "Safeguarding children's right; whose responsibility?
The third prize went to Mr. Yaw Boadu Ayeboafo, Executive Secretary of the National Media Commission (NMC) in an article with the topic "Is it a curse to be a girl?"
Captain George Nfodjo, former Ho District Chief Executive, was also given a special award for his efforts to ensure that children of the Christ Apostolic Faith Missio in the region, were immunised against the will of the church.
Dr. George Pupulampu, Chairman of the GNCC blamed parents and the public for the frequent cases of child abuse, rape, defilement, child labour, street children and the infestation of children with the HIV/AIDS.
He said this "reminds us of the fact that we have not been faithful to the numerous promises made to children at forums, national and international meetings for the survival, protection and development of children.
Dr Pupulampu said though, there is the need to recognise the good work of journalists, the GNCC is equally "mindful of some news and features in the media, have not always been in the interest of children".
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Gov’t institutes welfare package for Ghana Armed
Forces.
Accra (Greater Accra) 01 August 2001 – The Government has instituted a special welfare package for the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF).
It includes SSB Housing Loan Scheme payable over 15 years and car loan payable over five years
President John Agyekum Kufuor who announced this on Friday, reassured members of the GAF that training facilities and logistics would be given priority attention when the economy improved.
Addressing a durbar of officers and men at the Air Force Base in Accra, President Kufuor did not give details of the package but said the rehabilitation of the 37 Military Hospital and the Medical Reception Stations (MRS) would continue.
He announced that the government has in addition increased the UN Peacekeeping Allowance from 16 dollars to 20 dollars, adding, "all these efforts are being made in the hope that the soldier and his family would be able to lead reasonably comfortable lives and have the peace of mind to carry out his constitutional duties.".
President Kufuor said the plan by the Ministry of Defence to engage troops in re-afforestation programmes would restore the ecological balance in the forest and contribute to the sustainability of the timber industry whilst they earn extra income.
He cautioned that whilst the government was making efforts to improve their standard of living, they should not do anything that would bring the Forces into disrepute.
President Kufuor said positive relations between the military and civilians should be the concern of all, adding, "it is a mark of the strength and discipline of a soldier that he treats civilians with courtesy and due regard for their rights and does not bully or frighten them".
The military as an institution must keep itself out of partisan politics, he said. "Whilst as individual citizens you are of course, entitled to political opinions and to exercise your civic duties when it comes to voting, you collectively as the military have no business in politics.
"The abolition of political organisations like the June 4 Movement, 31st December Women's Movement and ACDR's within the ranks of the GAF is meant to ensure that soldiers do not get dragged into partisan political arena", he added.
President Kufuor said the military is a noble and honourable profession and the GAF have an enviable reputation abroad with their peacekeeping record second to none. Therefore they should build a similar reputation at home by being loyal to the constitution and the state.
"The people of Ghana, including you have reached a consensus that the way forward is to use the ballot box to change governments. This is the only way to restore power to the people and make them confident in their rights. You must be part of the process of building a safe, happy and prosperous country".
Major-General Seth K. Obeng, Chief of Defence Staff said the loyalty of the Forces to the government and the nation remains unflinching and unquestionable.
"We shall remain committed to the ideals of professionalism and the Constitution and do all in our power to maintain cordial relationship with the civilian population." He added.
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Koforidua (Eastern Region) 01 September 2001- The newly appointed Ghana High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (UK), Isaac Osei has pledged to foster improved business relations between the two countries on assumption of duty.
He also assured Ghanaian residents in the UK of his fullest support in providing their consular services so long as they engaged in lawful activities.
Mr Osei was speaking at a reception held in his honour on Thursday by the Board of Directors of the Koforidua-based Intravenous Infusions Limited (IIL) where he served as its Managing Director till his appointment.
He said his appointment from the private sector was an indication of the New Patriotic Party's (NPP) seriousness in forging a closer link between the government and the business community for national development and its determination to create the "golden age of business".
Mr Osei said the government’s policies could engender either positive or negative impact on the lives of the citizens, noting that over the past 20 years, the political environment created fear among the rich, thereby affecting both investment and the entrepreneurial spirit of many Ghanaians.
The Eastern Regional Minister, Dr Francis Osafo-Mensah urged the envoy to market the abundant natural and human potentials of the region to attract investors from the UK to complement the government's efforts to provide employment for the youth.
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