Government cannot resell presidential
jet - Agyapong
Police allegedly brutalise farmers
Ghana to participate in bamboo festival in China
Addo Dankwa elected President of Eastern House of Chiefs
Volta, tactical political field -MP
Security Council cannot audit 31st
December account - MPs
Accra (Greater Accra) 05 September 2001 - The institution of actions by the National Security Advisor to audit the accounts of the 31st December Women's Movement is illegal and unconstitutional, the NDC Women's Parliamentary Caucus said on Tuesday.
A statement signed by Mrs Ama Benyiwa-Doe, Member of Parliament (MP) for Gomoa West, said the action contravenes Article 187 of the Constitution, which vested in the Auditor-General powers of auditing public offices and not the office of the National Security Advisor and the National Security Council.
President Agyekum Kufuor incidentally chairs the National Security Council, it said.
"The office has absolutely nothing to do with the auditing of the accounts by the 31st December Women's Movement or for that matter any other NGO".
It said the action also shows "how hard this government is trying to criminalize persons and organisations perceived to be associated with the former government and the persecution of their political opponents."
The statement said the office of the National Security Advisor had sent wireless messages to the various Regional Co-ordinating Councils to furnish the secretariat of the National Security Co-ordinator with assets of the Movement.
The statement said: "It is difficult to imagine how the operations of the movement would involve national security."
The statement explained that the movement was a company, limited by a guarantee and was registered with the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare as a non-governmental organisation (NGO) and it was not subject to audit by any government agency and especially not the office of the National Security Advisor.
"We are of the opinion that if any doubts or questions arise concerning the accounts of a company limited by a guarantee, this is strictly speaking an issue for the members of the company."
The statement said if it was alleged that the movement benefited from loans that were guaranteed by the Government of Ghana and that the movement was unable to repay the loans regularly and the remedy should have been civil proceedings to recover any indebtedness.
"In any lending agreement, events that constitute acts of default are clearly spelt out. Furthermore, the actions that are to be taken in the event of any act of default are also clearly spelt out."
It said the government's action showed no respect for the rule of law and ignored the tenets of democracy that was loudly postulated when the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was in the opposition and which, it has abandoned, now that they were in power.
The statements called on the government to stop discrediting the Movement and desist from calculated actions to brand NDC members as criminals.
GRi../
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Security agents search for
five escaped criminals
Atebubu (Brong Ahafo) 05 September 2001 - The Police have mounted a
search for five suspected criminals who escaped from custody, while under detention
at the Atebubu Police Station in the Brong Ahafo Region. The escapees include
three men suspected to have been involved in a recent highway robbery at Yeji,
also in the Brong Ahafo Region.
They
escaped after violently attacking the police officer who was guarding their
cell. The three alleged robbers were rounded up by military personnel after the
Yeji robbery in which millions of cedis were taken away from some traders. They
were placed in police cells pending an identification parade.
As has
been the practice, Corporal Agbe, who was on duty, opened the cell door on
Saturday morning for an inmate to dispose of excreta after which he led him
back to the police station. When Corporal Agbe opened the cell door for him to
enter, one of the suspects in the cells hit him on the forehead with a metal
object, which sent him reeling to the ground.
The five
persons immediately rushed out of the cells. Two convicted criminals who were
in the same cell, however, refused to heed the promptings of the five persons
to also run away. The policeman who sustained a deep cut was rushed to the
Atebubu Hospital where he was treated and discharged. – Joy FM
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 September 2001 - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Tuesday asked the Board of Directors of Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) not to allow personal interest, greed and subversion to get the better part of their judgement otherwise they would betray the nation.
He said they should manage the fund efficiently, profitably and with transparency for contributors to benefit on retirement.
Swearing into office 13 out of the 14 members of the SSNIT Board at the State House in Accra, President Kufuor said the immediate past records of SSNIT lacked transparency in their transactions.
"Some people became leeches and sucked blood from the institution, which has been the convergent point of the government, employers and workers contribution to make life better for workers on retirement."
The government has resolved not to politicise SSNIT that was why no Minister of State has been put on the Board.
The government would not create any subsidiary company but the Board would have the exclusive responsibility to put the fund into viable ventures that would increase the stock of wealth for workers.
President Kufuor told them that when they decide to invest they should be motivated by the principle of good returns for the workers. They should make sure investments were made in profitable ventures.
"You are not in business of your own to inflate cost of goods for your selfish ends. If SSNIT is managed well it could be an institution that would be next to the Bank of Ghana (BOG). We believe that you have the managerial capacity to manage the assets of SSNIT well."
Mr John Sackah Addo, Chairman of the SSNIT Board, said it would strive to justify the confidence the government has in them by giving of their best. He said statutory provisions and policy guidelines would form the basis of their decisions and expressed the hope that together with the management they would work efficiently.
The members include Dr A. Akoto Osei of the Ministry of Finance, Mr Emmanuel Asiedu-Mante, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BOG), Mr K. S. Asafu Adjaye, a lawyer, Dr Edmund O. T. Prempeh, a businessman, Mrs Faustina Mensah, an industrialist and Mrs Rose Karikari Anang of the Ghana Employers Association (GEA).
The others are Mr Kwasi Adu Amankwaa, Secretary-General of Trades Union Congress (TUC), Mr Napoleon Kpoh, General-Secretary of Industrial and Commercial Union of TUC, Mr W. Kusi-Atansah of Ghana national Association of Teachers (GNAT), Alhaji Yakubu Ziblim of the Civil Servants Association (CSA), Mr Thompson Kuduo Abu-Bakr Bibilazu, Acting Director of the Ministry of Manpower Development and Employment and Mr Kwesi Osei, Director General of SSNIT.
The only member absent was Dr Charles Mensa of the Ghana Employers Association (GEA).
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Aflao (Greater Accra) 05 September 2001 - A Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) officer was killed by two unidentified persons armed with AK 47 rifles, while he was on duty at Pillar 13, near Aflao.
The deceased, Mr Joseph K, Addoh, a Collecting Assistant Grade 2 (CA 2) died instantly as a result of multiple gun shot wounds he sustained.
Mr Geoffrey Appau a CA 2 and another officer, who were on duty with the deceased, were however not hurt.
A source close to CEPS said thatt at about 02:30 hours on Monday, Appau saw the two persons approaching the Ghana side of the border and he ordered them to stop. The two men refused to comply but flashed a torchlight and opened fire at the CEPS personnel.
Appau and the other officer took cover and after sometime they discovered that Addoh had been hit and was lying in a pool of blood.
Meanwhile, CEPS officers on guard at Pillar 13 have been increased. Some people have attributed the attack to personal vendetta on the part of an enemy of the deceased, while others believe it was the work of smugglers.
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Government
cannot resell presidential jet - Agyapong
Accra (Greater Accra) 05 September 2001 – The Ghana Government
has no power to resell the ‘Gulfstream III’ Presidential jet since the aircraft
was just leased to Ghana.
Government Spokesperson, Kwabena Agyepong says since the previous
NDC administration did not buy the aircraft, the best the government can do now
is to send it back to its original owners.
The Government is therefore negotiating with HSBC, the bank which
facilitated the lease agreement, because the managers of GALLEN Limited, real
owners of the jet remain unknown. The only man known to be connected with
GALLEN is former Finance Minister, Kwame Peprah, who is the local
representative for the company.
In an
interview with JOY FM, Mr. Agyepong said the handover of the jet has been
delayed because the government has not yet received a copy of the original
agreement.
The Government has however stopped paying the monthly fees for the
lease of the aircraft. Mr. Agyepong noted that since management of GALLEN is
yet to be identified, the government is now dealing with HSBC for the disposal
of the jet, which was leased to Ghana for about 24 million dollars.
The
present government is finding difficulty because it was not party to the
signing of the agreement on the jet, Mr. Agyapong said and urged the former NDC
administration to help bring the controversy surrounding the jet to an end by
making the directors of Gallen known to help in the sale of the jet.
President
Kufuor has refused to travel on the jet since he came to power in January and
rather travels by commercial aircraft due to the controversy surrounding its
acquisition and lease agreement. – Joy FM
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Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 05 September 2001 - Farmers at Debiso in the Juabeso Bia district have again petitioned the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the Minister of the Interior to investigate alleged brutality meted out to them by a police task force who seized their personal belongings last April.
The task force was said to have seized 47 bags of cocoa from a shed belonging to the Cocoa Merchants Ghana Limited at Kwaku Duakrom, near the Ghana/ Ivory Coast border.
A spokesman for the farmers, Kofi Adzingo, District Manager of the company told the GNA that the farmers petitioned the Minister and the IGP a day after the incident, "but up till now we have not heard anything from them".
He said: "We cannot trace our belongings or the cocoa that were taken away," adding that the long silence over the matter had heightened the farmers' fear of another assault on them by the police.
Adzingo said the cocoa, worth about 11.5 million cedis were forcibly taken away under the pretext that they would be smuggled to the Ivory Coast. He mentioned Inspector A. Yeboah as the leader of the police team from Sekondi that carried out the operation.
Mr Adzingo said he and the farmers were severely beaten and his motorbike damaged when he dared to question the action of the policemen.
The farmers had also appealed to the District Superintendent of Police at Asawinso on the matter but no action was been taken, according to him.
Deputy Commissioner F.K. Agyemang, Western Regional Police Commander said the alleged incident occurred on April 1, this year, when he had not been posted to the region, but promised to have it investigated.
He confirmed that a task force made up of policemen and staff of COCOBOD had been carrying out exercises in the area to combat smuggling of cocoa and illegal felling of timber trees.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 September 2001 – The Ghana Police Service has warned that there are fake 5,000 cedi-notes in circulation and have asked the public to be on the look out for them.
A statement issued by the Police Public Relations Unit on Tuesday, said the fake notes were deeper in colour and do not bear the silvery security thread found in the middle of the genuine notes and were being mostly used in the night and in the rural areas.
"The fake notes are smooth in texture and do not bear the water mark in the form of the coat of arms of the Republic of Ghana. They are found in bundles with the same serial numbers."
The statement said the fake 5,000 cedi-notes were being exchanged for genuine 2,000 cedi-notes and advised the public to be careful not to fall into temptation.
It requested the public to report anybody found to be in possession of any machine used for the printing of fake currencies.
Meanwhile, Mr Ernest Owusu-Poku, Inspector General of Police (IGP), on Tuesday directed the Police to mount special operations to arrest people involved in illicit trade in fake currencies.
The directive followed the Criminal Investigations Department's Situational Report (SETRAP) that indicated an upsurge in fake currency transactions. The Police in the regions and in the districts should take the operations seriously to save the economy from money launders, the statement said.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 September 2001 - President John Agyekum Kufuor, on the advice of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) Council, has promoted the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and two Service Commanders.
A government statement said Major General Seth K. Obeng, the CDS, is now Lieutenant General. Brigadier C. D. Yaache, Army Commander, has been promoted to Major General and Air Commodore E, A, Mantey, Chief of Air Staff to Air Vice Marshall.
The statement said President Kufuor has sent his congratulations to the three officers.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 05 September 2001 - The Ghana Association of the Blind (GAB) has stated that the government's quest for national development might not yield swift results if some categories of persons in the society were continually left out of the drive.
Dr B. I. Koray, National President of the GAB, expressed regret that even though, national development required the total harnessing of all human resources to achieve positive outcome, the blind and physically handicapped have often been marginalized and discriminated against.
At opening of the ninth annual national congress of the Ghana Blind Students and Youth Association wing of GAB in Kumasi on Tuesday, Dr Koray entreated the government to perceive issues of education, training and employment for the blind as a right and not a privilege.
He therefore urged the government to give priority attention to them to enable the blind to also contribute meaningfully to national development like anyone else.
The three-day congress, which is being attended by over 85 delegates and observers from all parts of the country, is under theme: "Tapping the capabilities of the blind and visually impaired youth towards national development."
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 05 September 2001 - Kwadwo Adjei-Darko, Minister of Roads and Highways, has asked road contractors to stop the practice of putting in bids below the direct cost of engineers' estimates in desperation to win jobs.
This, he noted, has been a major factor in the poor contract execution and abandonment of projects by contractors in the country.
Mr Adjei-Darko, who is on a three-day official inspection tour of road projects in the Ashanti Region, was addressing a meeting with the Association of Road Contractors at the Royal Park Hotel in Kumasi on Monday.
Chief Directors, Engineers and technical officers of the Ministry are accompanying him.
He was said the ministry would no any longer allow the situation where contractors took on many jobs at a time, adding that, there would be fairness and equity in the distribution of contract awards.
The Minister said that nobody would be discriminated against and that the government would see to it that jobs were given to every deserving Ghanaian.
Adjei-Darko said in line with the government's efforts at promoting private sector growth, there were plans to equip contractors and provide them with access to capital.
For a start, labour-based contractors in each region are to be trained, equipped and resourced to enable them to perform more efficiently.
The Minister told the contractors to engage young graduates from the universities and the polytechnics to help boost the human resource base of their companies.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 September 2001 - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Tuesday asked the new Board of Directors of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBD) to bring about the needed change in operations of the cocoa industry to make it beneficial to Ghanaians.
He said the industry has been the life-blood of the country for the past 100 years and has been vital in national development.
Unfortunately, the President said, it lost its way and became so politicised and corrupted by the officials involved to the extent that monies that accrued from the industry for development were diverted into wasteful ventures.
The industry provided employment for both Ghanaians and non-Ghanaians on the farms, education, health and other basic infrastructure in the country, President Kufuor said during the swearing into office eight out of the 10-member Board of Directors of COCOBOD at the State House in Accra.
"Under your stewardship make the necessary positive changes in the industry for the people to realise that the industry is available for the benefit of all Ghanaians and the era when officials enriched themselves at the expense of the cocoa farmer is over."
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Ho (Volta Region) 05 September 2001 - Professor John Evans Atta Mills, ex Vice President and Presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2000 elections would pay a day's visit to the Volta Region on Wednesday to thank the electorate in the Region for voting for him.
He is scheduled to meet the Regional House of Chiefs and the chiefs of Ho at separate ceremonies between 08:00 hours am and 11:00 hours.
A programme released by the regional Executives of the party said Prof. Mills would be the guest of the Volta Star FM station at 09:00 hours and later address a public forum at Mawuko Girls Secondary School at 13:00 hours.
Professor Mills won in all the 19 constituencies in the region during the first and second rounds of the Presidential election. It was the only Region where he gained more votes in the second round than he did in the first.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 05 September 2001 - Ghana has been invited to participate in an international workshop on bamboo handicraft techniques in China from October 8 to 21.
Participants would take part in the China Bamboo Cultural Festival and would visit manufacturers of bamboo flooring, veneers and other small industrial products. They would also interact with handicraft manufacturers such as furniture, baskets, hats and other appliances.
Mr Sam K. Akrofi, Public Relations Manager of the Forestry Commission (FC), who was speaking to the Ghana News Agency, said the invitation was a follow-up to the recent visit of Bamboo Experts from China.
Bamboo is an evergreen grass that grows in sub-tropical and tropical zones and is considered to be an ideal substitute for wood.
This is because as an important non-timber forest resource it is widely distributed, grows fast and has high regenerating rate and utilisation with economic values.
Mr Akrofi said the workshop was important to Ghana because China's bamboo industry has been developing very fast and "now its bamboo processing techniques are among the most advanced in the world."
He said in Ghana, bamboo has not been formally recognised and that plantations would soon be developed to support the Forestry Commission in the promotion of non-timber species.
"So far it grows only in the wild, but Ghana has to take advantage of this industry to support its dwindling timber industry," he said.
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Koforidua (Easrtern Region) 05 September 2001 - The Omanhene of the Akuapem Traditional Area, Oseadeeyo Addo Dankwa 111, was on Tuesday elected unopposed as President, of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs at Koforidua.
Nene Narh Dawutey Ologo VI, Konor of the Yilo Krobo Traditional Area, was also elected unopposed as the vice. Three other Paramount Chiefs were elected unopposed, to join the President and his vice to represent the Region at the National House of Chiefs.
They are Daasebre Dr Oti Boateng, Omanhene of the New Juaben Traditional Area, Osaegyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, Okyenhene and Daasebre Akuamoah Boateng, Omanhene of the Kwahu Traditional Area.
With the exception of Daasebre Akuamoah Boateng who was absent, the others were sworn-in by Mrs Mabel Banful, a circuit court judge after they have taken the oaths of office, allegiance and secrecy.
The Eastern Regional Minister, Dr Francis Osafo Mensah advised traditional rulers to uphold the noble ideals of the chieftaincy institution.
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Peki (Volta Region) 05 September 2001 - Dr Kwame Ampofo, MP for South Dayi on Wednesday described the Volta Region as a tactical political field for all the political parties.
"While the National Democratic Congress (NDC) will adopt strategies to retain the region as its ''world bank'', the NPP will attempt to use the power of incumbency and the influence of District Chief Executives to make inroads to capture it in the 2004 general elections," he said.
Dr Ampofo said in an interview at Peki that both parties need to respect and consider the views of the people and avoid actions that would be to the detriment of the region.
He said most of the current DCEs are potential parliamentary candidates for the NPP in the next elections but cautioned them against attempts to undermine the sitting MPs.
Such an attitude, he said, would retard the development of the region, which "we seek for our people".
Dr Ampofo said although the NDC government created the enabling environment for the development of the region, the implementation of policies to attract investors was rather slow. "This was misconstrued as neglect of the region during the 2000 general elections".
Dr Ampofo said goodwill for a government is not established on intentions but on accomplishment, stressing that the international recognition the country presently enjoys was through the hard work and achievements of the NDC government over the last eight years.
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