Utility watchdog to start rating customer service centres
Metro TV offers Police Service one-year promotion package
Accra (Greater Accra) 20 September 2001 - The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) said it is concerned about reports of expatriates assaulting Ghanaians and made it clear these acts constitute injustice and violation of human rights.
"The commission is pretty concerned about the increasing violation of the dignity and rights of Ghanaians", Dr Ken Attafuah, Head of Operations and Chief Investigator at CHRAJ told the Ghana News Agency on Thursday.
''We believe that the integrity and dignity of Ghanaian citizens should not be violated by anyone irrespective of race or colour." Dr Attafuah, also the Head of Public Education and Research, said although the Commission is cautious not to whip up anti-foreigner sentiments, individuals who have suffered such injustices should report the perpetrators whether they are Ghanaians or foreigners to the appropriate authorities.
"We must foster a lawful society; both foreigners and locals have the responsibility to adhere to the rule of law to ensure that their conducts do not violate individual rights."
The CHRAJ, he said, would deal decisively with offenders in accordance with Human Rights Laws if their conducts infringe on the rights of others. Dr Attafuah said human rights abuses are universally repugnant wherever they are committed.
He said most assault cases in the media in recent times have not been reported to the Commission because the victims are not aware that such actions violated their rights.
Dr Attafuah said although it is the Commission's responsibility to educate and investigate issues on human rights violations, "it cannot force people to file complaints. What we can do is to advise whether or not what they are reporting constitutes a violation''.
He said in special cases of alleged violations at witches' camps and Trokosi shrines, the Commission could take action without complaints from sufferers because they are broad based.
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Ghana not represented at ECOWAS Parliament
Accra (Greater Accra) 20 September
2001 - Ghana has failed to present its representatives to the ECOWAS
Parliament almost one year after the institution of the sub-regional
legislative body. Ghana’s Parliament has since January this year, not been able
to take a final decision on its eight representatives because the Majority New
Patriotic Party (NPP) group in the House has not selected its representatives.
The
Minority side’s nominees include the Independent Member for Anlo, Victor Gbeho;
NDC member for Lambussie, Alice Boon; NDC Member for Amenfi West, Kofi Asante
and PNC Member for Bolgatanga, David Apasara.
Minority
Leader Alban Bagbin says inability of the NPP side to nominate representatives
is affecting the swearing-in of Ghana’s members of the sub-regional Parliament.
– Joy FM.
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Oxford (UK) 20 September 2001 - President John Agyekum Kufuor was on Wednesday honoured by the Exeter College of Oxford University with a college crest and a flying tie on his election as the President of Ghana.
Professor Marlilyn Butler, Rector of the College presented the honour to President Kufuor, an Alumnus of the college.
President Kufuor visited the College as part of his one-week visit to Britain.
Professor Butler said it is an honour for the College that a past graduate, should be elected to such a high position in a country that has been a torch- bearer in Africa.
President Kufuor studied Philosophy, Political Science and Economics at the College between 1962-64.
Mr Christopher Kirwan, a former lecturer in Philosophy and President Kufuor's tutor, overwhelmed by his presence said "it is a great privilege to teach a head of state."
He said President Kufuor, the only Ghanaian among the 16 students at that time, was a good and brilliant student who had great affection for mankind. "President Kufuor had the ability to achieve great heights, a good student, an intellectual who had an important future", he added.
President Kufuor who went into the college as a law student in the first year changed his course because, like he put it, “I felt I would need everything in terms of studies to achieve my objective in life."
He said he had to change the course to understand the nature of man to enable him serve his country better. "The course was packaged in a manner that made the student think in a holistic way".
President Kufuor said all problems have many facets and the lecturers helped the students to have the minds to tackle problems in a special manner.
Dr. Jonathan G.C Snicker, head of the Development Office took the President round the college.
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London (UK) 20 September 2001 - Ms Elizabeth Ohene, Minister of Media Relations on Wednesday said the governments' open policy places an onerous responsibility on journalists to report on factual issues on policies and programmes.
"An open government is one with hazards and journalists have an onerous responsibility to check on their facts particularly on policies and programmes." Miss Ohene was addressing journalists in London at a reception held in her honour.
She said her Ministry is a new one and it needed time to put most of the required structures in place to perform efficiently.
"My doors are opened for 24 hours and would not have all the necessary information available, if I have they would be made available if not, I shall do so when they are ready" she said.
Miss Ohene said it would be easier to get information on Ghana from many sources over the globe but it is better to cross-check whether the facts were credible.
Mr Chris Kpodo, Acting Head of the Ghana Mission said, the government was happy with the coverage of events in Ghana by the media, adding that it would continue to facilitate through the information department of the mission prompt delivery of vital information to the media.
Mr Kpodo commended journalists both at home and abroad for their contribution to national development. "Your contributions have no doubt facilitated the formation of government policies that has enabled Ghanaians to discuss political issues including open and transparent government".
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Accra (Greater Accra) 20 September 2001- The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) will soon start a survey to test the levels of courtesy of employees of utility companies' towards customers.
Utility companies with low rating in their relationship with the public would have their names published in the media and sanctioned, Mr Stephen Adu, Executive Secretary of the commission, said on Thursday.
''Common courtesy to consumers goes a long way to induce them to pay their bills promptly," he told a public forum in Accra organised for residents of Mamprobi, Chorkor and Korle Gonno to educate consumers on recent developments in utility
Services.
Mr Adu said the commission is appalled by the unfriendly attitudes of some customer service providers, adding that the PURC has tasked the utility service companies, especially the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), to improve upon their metering ratios as a way of reducing high bills caused by numerous people using a single metre in large households.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 20 September 2001 - Four armed robbers attacked a security officer of the University of Ghana, Legon on Tuesday night while he was on patrol duty at the African Studies Chalet at the South Legon residential area.
Speaking to The Ghana News Agency, the victim, Mr John Bawa said the thieves pounced on him from behind, gagged and blindfolded him.
They tore the lanyard of his uniform, tied his feet and hands with it and dragged him to the bush. One of them was left to guard him while the others went to the residential area. They came back after some time for their colleague and left him to his fate.
Mr Bawa said he managed to untie his legs, went to the chalet and knocked at the door of a neighbour who assisted him to remove the gag and the rope tied to his hands. The thieves took his 12,000 cedis from him.
The same gang is believed to have burgled the residence of the Rev. Dr Elom Dorvlo of the Department of Religious Studies that night, taking away personal effects and a his laptop computer.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 20 September 2001 - Alhaji Malik Alhassan Yakubu, Minister of the Interior, on Wednesday assured the United States that Ghana would step up security at US installations to ensure the safety of both workers and infrastructure.
"The responsibility of my ministry is to maintain internal security and ensure that everybody is safe", he said and added that agencies under his ministry are co-ordinating to meet this goal.
Alhaji Yakubu was interacting with Ms Nancy Powell, US Ambassador, when she called on him in Accra to officially introduce herself. Ms Powell assumed office early this month.
He said Ghana shares the sorrow and trauma the US is going through following last week's terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. "We shall do all in our power to assist to find the perpetrators of the heinous crime which has resulted in the loss of many lives."
Alhaji Yakubu commended the US for its tremendous support in curbing the serial murder of women and for training Ghana's security personnel.
"We shall use the experiences gained to provide the security needed especially on all US installations''. He said the era when para-military and quasi security personnel took over the security of the country is over.
He said security agencies under his ministry are constitutionally mandated, but said most of them lack the basic resources to make them function effectively.
Alhaji Yakubu said the police, especially have been neglected for so many years and a lot of their facilities are woefully inadequate to make their work efficient.
He said the government is taking steps to provide the necessary resources to the various security agencies and as part of this effort a Police Endowment Fund would soon be launched for the public to contribute to help the police perform their duties better.
Ms Powell commended the minister for the additional security the ministry has provided at US installations after the terrorist attack in New York and Washington.
"It is very painful to lose so many lives including civil servants whose efforts have made America what it is today."
She said it is her duty to ensure the safety of all Americans in the country and called for a closer collaboration between the US and Ghana to help her achieve this objective.
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Ho (Volta Region) 20 September 2001- The Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) on Tuesday burnt 125 cartons of unwholesome frozen poultry products at Ho.
The products suspected to have been smuggled from the Republic of Togo, included 10 cartons of chicken gizzard, 60 cartons of chicken thighs, five cartons of chicken wings and 50 cartons of turkey wings. They were estimated to attract 283,125 cedis in custom duties.
Mr Anthony Sewor, Deputy Sector Commander of CEPS, said the Food and Drugs Board declared the products unwholesome and ordered their destruction.
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Zugu (Northern Region) 20 September 2001 - Rice farmers in the Northern Region have appealed to the government to provide silos at major rice producing centres to help reduce post-harvest losses.
The government should also set-up rice milling facilities at those areas to enable the farmers to add value to their produce, the farmers appealed at the commissioning of a one-billion-cedi water harvesting structures for the lowland rice development project by the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Major Courage Quashigah (Rtd) on Tuesday at Zugu in the Tolon/Kumbungu District.
They said lack of facilities had always prompted them to sell their produce to middlemen at cheap prices resulting in their inability to repay loans.
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Keta (Volta Region) 20 September 2001 - Citizens of Keta District resident abroad are gearing up to start businesses on the land to be reclaimed on the completion of the Sea Defence Project.
Emmanuel Vorkeh, Keta District Chief Executive (DCE), who said this at the second ordinary meeting of the District Assembly last week, therefore, appealed to local residents to support those abroad to tap the investment opportunities in the district.
He said industrial salt production in the Keta Lagoon, which is the largest in West Africa, has the singular potential of boosting economic activity in the district if properly harnessed.
Mr Vorkeh said 69 million cedis European Union (EU) fund had been released for various micro-projects in the district this year.
He called for adherence to laid down development plans to make Keta district a model.
Squadron Leader Anthony Segbefia (rtd), Presiding Member, urged the Assembly members to commit themselves to its development programmes.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 20 September 2001 - A number of research reports on Climate Change Activities in Ghana (CCAG) show that the trend of climate change would have adverse effects on the country’s economy between now and 2020.
The reports, which cover energy, agriculture, forestry, industry, waste management and water resource sectors, pointed to a decrease in agricultural production, water availability and management crisis, loss of coastal land due to rise in sea level, earthquakes, and a fall in hydropower generation.
The report said the research conducted over a 30-year period, points to acute increase in atmospheric temperature and reduction in rainfall. "From the socio-economic point of view, there may be secondary impact on health, nutrition and energy-based industrial activities, if proper adaptation measures are not embarked upon," the report said.
William Agyemang-Bonsu, Senior Programme Officer of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), disclosed this on Wednesday when he presented research results at a day's workshop organized by the agency for policy makers.
The workshop deliberated on the global effort at addressing climate change problems under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) initiative.
He noted that the adverse climate change, which is a global problem, is caused by emission of green house gases into the atmosphere, mostly from the energy sector.
Agyemang-Bonsu said preliminary assessment of the impacts of sea level rise shows that two-thirds of the coastal land area is potentially at risk of flooding.
Much of this is likely to occur on the east coast that falls between Keta and Anloga in the Volta Region. In essence, the sea threatens to claim 1,110-km square of coastal land and render 132,200 people homeless.
He added: "the estimated cost of protecting all shorelines at risk with sea walls is 1,144 million US dollars, which could reduce to 590 million US dollars when limited to important areas''.
Agymang-Bonsu said there is a projected reduction in hydropower generation of about 60 per cent by 2020, adding that irrigation water demand would increase to 40 per cent in 2020 from the base year.
"Research on the impact of current climate change on the production of maize, rice, millet and sorghum shows that maize would reduce by about seven per cent by 2020," he said.
He said whilst green house gas emission is on the increase, Ghana's capacity to absorb them from the atmosphere is on the decrease. The EPA has chosen forest protection, reforestation and the use of LPG gas over other options to reduce green house gas emissions into the atmosphere.
"Adaptation project concepts are geared towards replacing some fuel wood and charcoal with LPG gas at the relatively low cost of 32.22 US dollars per Gig gram of green house gas absorbed.
"Increased surveillance of forest and wildlife reserves as well as increased reforestation to claim lost forest lands would be used as measures to absorb more carbon-dioxide from the atmosphere," he said.
"Education and sanctions would be used to reduce the incidence of uncontrolled bush burning and chain-saw activities."
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Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 20 September 2001 - The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) is to sign an agreement with a US-based company to use garbage in the metropolis to generate electric power.
Maxwell Kofi Jumah, Metropolitan Chief Executive told the Ghana News Agency in Sunyani that negotiations are going on with the sanitation recycling technology firm in New York for the project to commence soon.
A site has been acquired at the Kaase industrial area in Kumasi and "we are only waiting for Cabinet's approval for the project to take off", he said.
Mr Jumah said though the sanitation situation in the city has improved considerably, the best solution would be the recycling of waste matter for the socio-economic benefit of the two million-plus residents.
The project would reduce the cost of sanitation management in Kumasi by about 50 per cent. The assembly spends more than 100 million cedis monthly on sanitation and waste management.
Computerisation has improved the assembly's internal revenue generation mechanism tremendously, he said, adding that towing of vehicles alone fetches 100 million cedis monthly.
Mr Jumah said there has also been a drastic reduction in expenditure, citing the allowances of the Chief Executive, assembly members and administrative staff, all of which have been reduced.
"Whilst the assembly consumed 5,000 gallons of diesel between August and December last year, only 2,800 gallons were used from January to August this year''.
The KMA boss said one of the assembly's pre-occupations is to ensure that the unit committees and town councils work effectively.
Mr Jumah said the assembly has set up a task force to rid Kumasi of illegal structures on waterways and access roads with the support of Otumfuo Osei Tutu, Asantehene.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 20 September 2001 - The Volta River Authority (VRA) on Wednesday said a blackout in parts of Accra on Tuesday night was due to the melting of a disconnection switch at the Achimota sub-station and not a fire outbreak.
"The melting of the switch caused the smoke which people mistakenly took as fire outbreak at the station," Mrs. Ellen Essilfie, Director of Organizational Services told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra.
She said it was a minor fault and it was immediately corrected, adding that the situation is under control and there is no cause for alarm.
Mrs. Essilfie said the whole of Accra would have been out of power if the sub-station were actually on fire. She said VRA has made available a spare disconnection switch, which would be used to replace the old one by the weekend.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 20 September 2001 - Metropolitan Television (Metro TV), a private broadcasting station, on Wednesday offered the Ghana Police Service a one-year promotion package worth 750 million in support of its crime prevention awareness campaign.
The package comprises TV and public announcements, awareness messages, press releases, crime watch and alert programmes, crime prevention tips, police public relations statements, promotion of Police endowment fund and other activities.
Mr Talal Fatal, Managing Director of Metro TV who announced the offer to the police administration in Accra, said the package is to bolster efforts being made by the Police to maintain law and order. It forms part of Metro TV's social responsibility to prevent crime.
"We should not look on as bystanders, and expect the Ghana Police Service to accomplish this turn-around on their own. We owe it to society, our families and the nation to extend a hand", he said.
Mr Fatal said private business, as a major source of livelihood, thrives best in an atmosphere of peace, order and stability and that the society should aid the police in its quest to rid the country of crime.
"Simply put, we have to put the police service in business so that it can put us back in business."
He said Metro TV would be responsible for the production of all TV commercials and broadcasting to support police programmes. The package, he said, would immediately cover the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions and would be extended to the Western, Central, Volta and Eastern regions by the end of the year.
The Inspector General of Police, Mr Ernest Owusu-Poku, commended Metro TV for the package describing it as a "laudable gesture" that should be emulated by all media organisations to support the fight against crime.
He said the offer would enable the police to educate the public and promote a better understanding of police work. "We all owe it as a duty to rid the country of crime. Police alone cannot do this. All should help to check the incidence of crime."
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