Government urged to rehabilitate quarantine stations
Mahama’s PNC undermining Nkrumaist unity talks – Dan Lartey
Government says will solve Volta’s development problems
Vivian Baah wins Bio-diversity reporting award
GNPC provident fund trustees to account for
4.59 billion cedis.
Tema (Greater Accra) 11 September 2001 - The dissolved Board of Trustees of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) Provident Fund under the chairmanship of the corporation's internal auditor, Kanzing Jabariyeng is to account for the disbursement of the fund.
Contributions to the fund, established by the staff in 1991, had yielded 4.59 billion cedis as at December 2000, according to an interim report of the Deloitte and Touche
Company, contracted by the management of GNPC to audit the fund. Workers contribute five per cent of their salary and management adds another five per cent.
Speaking to journalists in Tema on Monday, Kalibi Abu Ali, Financial Controller of GNPC, said the Trustees are yet to explain how they spent 79.9 million cedis on honorarium last year.
Ali said Jabariyeng surrendered himself to the BNI in Accra about three weeks ago, but "we have not received any report from them (BNI) about the money".
The management has appointed a new board of trustees under the chairmanship of Miss Comfort Dapaah. Meanwhile, consultants from GIMPA, contracted by the Ministry of Energy, to restructure the corporation has recommended that it should concentrate on its core activities and, therefore, retain only 72 out of the 597 workers.
The consultants and management are discussing modalities for reviewing this number as well as severance package for workers who will be affected by the retrenchment exercise.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 11 September 2001- An appeal has been made to the government to urgently consider the rehabilitation of the broken down and abandoned quarantine stations in the country to help in the effective diagnosis of cattle to ascertain the quality of their health before their entry into the country.
Dr F. K. Aduamah, National Co-ordinator of the Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP), a disease which affects the chest cavity of cattle, mentioned the Paga, Pusiga, Hamile, Weshau, Mognori and the Kupulme quarantine stations as those that needed to be promptly reactivated to save the Ghanaian cattle industry from diseases like the CBPP.
Dr Aduamah made the appeal when he presented a general over-view of the occurrence of the CBPP disease in Ghana at the opening of a four-day training workshop on CBPP for meat inspectors and cattle farmers in Kumasi on Tuesday.
The Veterinary Services of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) is organising the workshop in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and is being attended by 30 meat inspectors and cattle farmers drawn from all over the country.
The workshop, under the theme: "Recognising CBPP", is aimed at helping meat inspectors to familiarise themselves with various pathological forms of the CBPP disease and to assist cattle farmers recognise clinical signs of the disease in their cattle and report them promptly for action.
Dr Aduamah observed that the break down and several years of neglect of the quarantine stations were a major contributory factor to the spread of cattle diseases from neighbouring countries into Ghana.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 11 September 2001 - A Ghanaian police officer has been named as the best peacekeeping official in community policing with the UN peacekeeping mission in Bosnia.
Assistant Superintendent of Police Joseph Sarfo Agyeman emerged as the best out of peacekeepers from 43 countries, including the US and several other Western countries, serving in the troubled Balkan state. He received eight certificates for his performance.
Miss Joanne Black, a US expert in community policing, said at a seminar on community policing at the Police College in Accra that Mr Agyeman could compress a 40-hour lecture into an eight-hour paper and then present it in a very comprehensible way.
Ms Black who is a resource person at the nine-day seminar, which opened on Monday, said Mr Agyeman, who was stationed in the district of Parle in Sarajevo, Bosnia, visited many war-torn areas and interacted with the indigenous people and relayed their needs to the appropriate quarters.
Miss Black said she counted on him when they were together in Bosnia. Another US resource person, Mr Steve Mann also praised Mr Agyeman describing his skill in community policing as fantastic and excellent.
The seminar, which would be in four series, was organised by the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Programme (ICITAP) of United States with support from the US Embassy.
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Queen Mother denies
relationship with Apraku
Tema (Greater Accra) 11 September 2001 - A Tema-based
businesswoman, Nana Offei-Nkansah has denied any relationship with Trade and
Industry Minister, Dr. Kofi Konadu Apraku.
Nana Offei-Nkansah, who is also the queen mother of Amanokrom was
reacting to a ‘Ghanaian Chronicle’ newspaper report that gave broad hints of an
amorous relationship between the two. In an interview with JOY FM, Nana Ofei
Nkansah explained that she did not travel with the Minister to the Netherlands
as alleged by the Chronicle but rather went on her own.
She,
however, confirmed portions of the Chronicle report, which said she lodged at
the same hotel as the Minister. Nana Offei Nkansah said she has on all her
business trips to the Netherlands, over the past seven years been lodging at
that particular hotel.
She said
her association with Damens Shipyard Company was long before the trade Minister
got into contact with them. Dr. Apraku only got to know Damens in his capacity
as Trade Minster when the company’s management visited Ghana to explore Trade
relations, after which he was formally invited for a visit to the Netherlands.
Nana
Offei Nkansah further explained that it was based on her relationship with
Damens Company, that her opinion was sought on the appropriate hotel that the
Minister could lodge on arrival in Holland. To facilitate business discussions
with the Minister, she recommended her hotel to the management of Damens. The
queen mother denied the ‘Chronicle’ allegation that she is a divorcee saying
that she is still married to her husband.
She dared
the publisher of the Ghanaian Chronicle, Nana Kofi Coomson, to prove that her
action was illegitimate. The queen mother has also threatened legal action
against the paper for tarnishing her reputation. The Chronicle alleged that Dr.
Apraku had pledged a government guarantee to Damens shipyards to build a
fishing trawler for Nana Nkansah.
The
paper also said the Minister put pressure on the Dutch company to award a
consultancy business to Nana Nkansah. Dr. Apraku has also denied both
allegations and has indicated that he will seek redress at the courts against
the publisher, Mr. Coomson. – Joy FM
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Cape Coast (Central Region) 11 September 2001 - The NDC Central Region Parliamentary Caucus on Monday suggested that membership of the proposed National Reconciliation Commission should comprise representatives of all stakeholders.
It should also be subject to the approval of parliament, and not "at the discretion of the President in consultation with the Council of State", as the bill provides.
The MPs described as "unacceptable" that provision in the bill, because according to them, "the Council of State itself is largely not an independent body, neither is the President non-partisan as he represents the Danquah/Busia tradition".
The parliamentary caucus made the call during the first in a series of quarterly meetings with the media at Cape Coast. The meeting was attended by four of the nine members of the caucus - Dr. Ato Quarshie, Mrs. Ama Benyiwa-Doe, Mr. Samuel Adu-Yeboah and Mr. Mike Hammah.
The MPs said the NDC is not against reconciliation, but stressed that the modalities have to be clear and all stakeholders must be consulted. They proposed that the commission should comprise three members of parliament representing the main political parties, a representative each of the national house of chiefs, the Christian and Muslim communities and NGOs.
The MPs reiterated the NDC's stand that the commission's mandate should cover all and not just the military regimes. They asked the government to let the people also know how much would be involved in the exercise, to determine " if it is justifiable to reconcile the nation that way" in the face of the current economic constraints.
Touching on issues in the region, the MPs renewed their call on the government to show commitment to its policy of zero tolerance for corruption by instituting a probe into the activities of the Central Region Development Commission (CEDECOM).
They alleged that the Institute of Chartered Accountants or any professional accounting body in the country does not know Mr. David Forster-Forson, the Executive Director and his company, Venture Consult, which audited CEDECOM.
They expressed concern that earlier representations made on the issue to the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, have received no response.
The caucus called on the people of the region to rally behind them in their bid to ensure that all those found to have acted wrongfully are brought to justice. The MPs also called on the President to appoint a deputy regional minister as soon as possible.
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Yamoussoukro (Cote D’Ivoire) 11 September 2001 - Six African leaders in the West African Sub-Region on Monday stressed the need to accelerate the process of political and economic integration on the African continent.
They are President John Agyekum Kufuor of Ghana, President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, President Gnassingbe Eyadema of Togo, President Laurent Gbagbo of La Cote D'Ivoire, President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal and President Pedro Pires of Cape Verde.
The call was made in a communiqué issued at the end of a day's informal meeting attended by the leaders at the invitation of President Gbagbo at Yamoussoukro to discuss issues that would push the ECOWAS agenda forward.
The closed-door meeting discussed issues that have affected political and economic integration and the full realisation of the aims and objectives of ECOWAS.
The Leaders said such periodic informal meetings would strengthen fraternal relations and the bonds of bilateral co-operation among them, adding "such informal meetings afford mutual benefits and the exchange of political and economic issues affecting various countries".
They commended President Gbagbo for the bold initiative to pursue a national reconciliation in his country as a means to promote peace and stability in the Sub-Region.
President Lansana Conte of Mali and Chairman of ECOWAS, who was absent from the meeting, was reported to be on a state visit to Cuba.
The President Agyekum Kufuor has since returned home.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 11 September 2001- A human rights organisation, International Prisons Watch (IPW), Ghana Chapter, has drawn a programme to visit all the 34 walled prisons and eight settlement camps in the country to educate and inform prisoners about the prevalence of HIV/AIDS and how it is contracted and spread.
It also aims at championing the cause of how it could be prevented and encourage prisoners to voluntarily avail themselves for free testing to know their HIV status and offer those infected counselling to withstand the psychological distress.
Mr Eric Fianu Amedume, General Secretary of IPW, said in an interview on the latest reports of HIV/AIDS among prison inmates.
IPW, he said, was engaged in raising awareness among the inmates on the need to alert prison administrators on the existence of HIV/AIDS and how to prevent and minimise the spread of the disease in the prisons.
Mr Amedume said the IPW intends to work in partnership with private and public sector institution as well as international organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) committed to the same goals.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 11 September 2001 - The Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) on Tuesday accused the People's National Convention (PNC) of undermining the Nkrumaist unity talks by adopting an entrenched position.
The GCPP said, "A propaganda material being circulated within the Nkrumaist family by PNC indicates a rigid position adopted to absorb other members of the family into the party under its leader Dr Edward Mahama."
Mr Daniel Lartey, GCPP presidential candidate in the 2000 general election, made the accusation in an interview in Accra on the progress of the unity talks started in June this year.
Political parties who identify with the Nkrumaist tradition are involved in the talks to unit the factions.
They are the Convention People's Party (CPP), the National Reform Party (NRP), GCPP and the PNC. These parties are seeking to form one party to contest the next election.
The tradition won only four out of 200 seats in the last parliamentary elections. PNC won three seats and CPP one. NRP and GCPP did not win any seats.
Mr Lartey said: "GCPP is the only party capable of leading the tradition to victory in the 2004 elections with the domestication philosophy. "Domestication has been accepted throughout the country and even the NPP government has been called upon to consider implementing the concept for accelerated national development."
Mr Lartey said with such national acceptance, he could not abandon his teaming supporters in the middle of the river, adding: "We must strive for an electoral victory to make domestication operational."
He said the NRP has credibility problem; the CPP presidential candidate is dating with the NPP government and PNC is politically bankrupt.
Mr Lartey blamed some leading members of the Nkrumaist tradition for the overthrow of the regimes of Dr Kwame Nkrumah and Dr Hilla Limann. "These same people are fighting to lead the unification for reasons best known to them."
A PNC document signed by Mr E. A. Halm-Quartey, Greater Accra Regional Chairman said: "Dr Edward Mahama is firmly on the ground more than any other Nkrumaist party hence the need to unite under him."
It said the United Party (UP) tradition originated from the UGCC to Progress Party to Popular Front Party and now NPP. The CPP sprang from the UGCC to PNP and the tradition needs to continue to PNC.
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Adidome (Volta Region) 11 September 2001 - Volta Regional Minister, Kwasi Owusu-Yeboa, said on Monday that the government would adopt fast track approaches in solving developmental problems of the region.
"Your demands and requests are long over-due. We will not allow projects to stay on the drawing boards but promptly expedite action on them," he said at a sod-cutting ceremony for a 101.3 million-cedi school block at Adidome in the North Tongu District.
The three-unit classroom block for the local junior secondary school, is being built under the European Union (EU) Micro Project programme.
Owusu-Yeboa said the government is committed to an equitable distribution of development projects to check the rural-urban drift of the youth, stressing that this could only be achieved in an atmosphere of peace and unity.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 11 September 2001- Ernest Owusu-Poku, Inspector General of Police, on Monday stressed the importance of community policing, saying the Police could only operate effectively with the involvement of the public.
"There is no doubt that the Police need the public just as the public need the police in the fight to prevent crime, reduce the fear of crime, deal a fatal blow to lawlessness, ensure the prevalence of peace, stability and sound order."
Mr Owusu-Poku was speaking in Accra at the opening of a nine-day seminar on community policing in Accra.
The seminar, which would be in four series, is being organised by the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Programme (ICITAP) of United States with support from the US Embassy.
The IGP announced the formation of a 10-member Task Force to implement community policing which, he said, would become the central point of information related to community policing in Ghana.
The IGP said success in this direction would depend on the methods and approach used to get the communities along.
The public had been criticised for not volunteering information to the police to combat crime.
Mr Owusu-Poku assured the task force of his full support to ensure the complete implementation of the programme throughout the country.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 11 September 2001- Vivian Baah, a Freelance Journalist of the League of Environmental Journalists, is the grand prize winner of the "Bio-diversity
Reporting Award 2001" in Ghana.
Winners of other awards would be announced on Wednesday at a ceremony to be held at the British Council.
A release signed by Haroldo Castro, Vice President of International Communications Conservation International, said this was the first edition of the award in Ghana in which eight journalists submitted 20 articles covering bio-diversity issues.
It said Miss Baah whose winning article was "Guess what's cooking for dinner" would be invited to attend the Ninth World Congress of Environmental Journalists to be held in Lage-Hoerste, Germany, from September 29 to October 4.
The second and third prize-winners would receive cash awards of two million cedis and one million cedis, respectively.
All the journalists to be honoured at the ceremony would also be awarded a two-year membership to the International Federation of Environmental Journalists (IFEJ) together with a professional resource kit from the International Centre for Journalists (ICFJ), the release said.
The Bio-diversity Reporting award was launched in 1999 to promote better coverage of environmental news.
The contest was created to recognize the work of journalists covering bio-diversity issues to stimulate their interest in covering such issues and to develop their reporting skills. It is an initiative of Conservation International (CI) in collaboration with IFEJ and ICFJ.
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