Gri NEWSREEL 20-1-99

Accra, (Greater Accra) 20 Jan.  

The National Insurance Commission (NIC) will this year review insurance laws to make health, fire and other insurance schemes compulsory.

The commission will also see to the enactment of a law that will compel all employers in the public and private sectors to purchase insurance policies for all their employees Mr Samuel Ampofo, Chairman of the NIC, told newsmen in Accra on Monday.

He observed that motor insurance has remained the only compulsory scheme in this country since independence, and it was time it changed to meet with international standards.

Mr Ampofo said the move to revise the insurance laws forms part of efforts by the commission to engender public confidence in the insurance sector adding that it was meant to shield workers against the high cost of health services, occupational hazards, and the recent increasing spate of domestic and bushfires which usually consume expensive property and farms.

Mr Ampofo said the NIC would work hard to complete modalities for the privatisation of the State Insurance Corporation (SIC) and Ghana Re-Insurance Enterprise (Ghana-RE), the only state-owned insurance companies.

He described the performance of the insurance sector for 1998 as successful, saying: "though the statistical indicators are not yet available, the NIC hopes to record not less than 25 per cent growth, which is higher than the growth in inflation and other factors militating against economic growth".

Mr Ampofo pledged that the commission would intensify its public education programme and also continue to ensure that all insurance companies meet the basic requirements of proper capitalisation and management capacity before they operate.

He said due to the discipline instilled in the sector, "some foreign investors, including big financial institutions and banks, are now at the discussion table with the NIC ready to invest and operate within the legal framework of the country's insurance sector this year."

Mr Ampofo, however, conceded that the commission can only minimise the number of non-compliant companies, adding that some fraudsters would remain in the system forever.

"The sector also had its share of the adverse effect of the energy crisis and was also faced with the problem of claims against unlicensed companies which were removed from the scene in the last year.

"We need government support in our policy review initiative the public must make insurance part of their business and domestic planning and patronise available insurance policies to move the sector forward."

He assured the public of the NIC's support through its ever-growing compensation fund established to assist victims of accidents involving non-insured vehicles. "We would also insist that all licensed insurance companies should be serious and law-abiding to safeguard public interest and the image of the sector," Mr Ampofo said.  

Mr George Kuntu Blankson, District Chief Executive for Mfantseman, has cautioned market queens who prevent visiting traders from selling their wares directly to consumers to stop the practice or have their associations dissolved.

Mr Kuntu-Blankson told a meeting of traders, assembly members, market queens and executives of Mankessim Town Council at Mankessim that Ghana is practising a free market economy which calls for competition in production and marketing of goods.

It is unacceptable for market queens to insist that goods brought to the market should be sold through them, he said adding that nobody has been authorised to collect monies ranging from 500,000 to one million cedis from traders before allocating them with of stalls or stores.

Mr Dag Akyeampong, chairman of the Town Council, said the formation of a watchdog committee in the market has minimised robbery and other crimes and appealed to the traders to help the council to provide some stipends for volunteers.

 Juaso MP appeals to police to expedite investigations

Kumasi, (Ashanti Region) 20 Jan. 

Mr Alex K. Korankye, Member of Parliament for Asante Akim south, has appealed to the police to expedite investigations into the disturbances at Juaso in Ashanti on Sunday, January three.

He said this would enable the Ashanti Regional Tribunal hearing the case to deal with it expeditiously and deliver its ruling for justice, peace and tranquillity to prevail in the township and its environs.

Mr Korankye said Kumasi yesterday, that he was away on a parliamentary delegation outside when the disturbances occurred.

He appealed to the residents of Juaso and its environs to remain calm and go about their normal duties while the tribunal does it work.

"The police personnel at Juaso should also exercise maximum restraint in order not to bring about any breach of the peace now prevailing in the town", he added.

Mr Korankye, who said he had interviewed most of the residents, the police, the district administration and other opinion leaders in the town, expressed his appreciation to the Ashanti Regional Security Council (REGSEC) and the police for the able manner they handled the situation to prevent a possible chaos.

He also appealed to the youth in other towns in the district where such Chieftaincy disputes are likely to degenerate into clashes to exercise restraint and to avoid acts which retard progress and development.

Mr Korankye said efforts are being made to locate the body of Mr Kwame Morvey, a carpenter who died during the disturbances and appealed to the police to co-operate with relatives of the deceased whose name was previously published as Kwame Amevor and described as a settler farmer.

Fuelmax, a device to reduce fuel consumption and pollution, was launched in Accra on Tuesday, making Ghana, the 61st country in the world where it has been introduced. The product, manufactured in the United States by International Research and Development (IRD), also boosts engine performance and extends the life span of engines. The simple and portable device sold at 120,000 cedis each is fitted on petrol or diesel engines and is used by vehicles, motorcycles, generators and any engine that uses hydrocarbon fuel. Mr Kwabena Appiah Pinkrah, Management and Economic Consultant, who launched the product described it as money saving and cost effective adding that the government's trade liberalisation policy has brought a variety of goods and services into the country and urged Ghanaians to embrace the policy.

Mr Ramos Freeman Kemevor, Managing Director of Uncle Ray's Enterprise, West African distributors of Fuelmax, urged motorists to patronise the product to save money adding that efforts are under way to set up distribution points at filling stations.

The Green Earth Organisation (GEO), an environmental non-governmental organisation ( NGO), yesterday urged the government to set up a river basins authority to co-ordinate development along river banks.

At a press conference in Accra, Mr George Ahadzie, Executive Director of GEO, said the problems of the Densu river had been studied and recommendations made some 10 years ago.

He said "there is no need to investigate the Densu issue again" but rather to implement the recommendations already available and in existence. " The Densu menace has come about as a result of environmental neglect and ignorance on the part of communities living in the basin and our inability to enforce statutory regulations concerning our water bodies. What remains is the financial resources for the implementation of the recommendations.''

Mr Ahadzie also asked the eight district assemblies through which the river flows and other stakeholders to take immediate steps to see to the implementation of the recommendations since the Densu river problem can only be solved if there is a political will. Mr Ahadzie recalled that between 1989 and 1991, the erstwhile Institute of Aquatic Biology of the Centre for Scientific Research ( CSIR ) led a study in the basin with representatives of eight districts through which the river flows.

He said at the end of the study, funding from central government was to be sought to enable the district assemblies to solve their sewage and garbage disposal problems, but this was yet to be done .

Among some of the recommendations were that settlements along the basin should make proper provisions for the disposal of refuse and waste and the government was to set up a river basin authority to be responsible for co-ordinating development activities in river basins.

Mr Ahadzie noted that " those recommendations have been there for almost a decade and they are still relevant today. 'There is an urgent need for the government through the district assemblies to take immediate steps to implement them. 'The Densu problem is only a fraction of what is happening to our water bodies all over country .There have been several reports of pollution and drying up of water bodies in some parts of the country.

" There have been further reports of pollution of rivers especially by mining companies , examples include the rivers Birim, Pra and Ankobra on which the lives of hundreds of thousands of people depend, yet nothing concrete seems to be going on to halt the abuse of these rivers."

The Densu river serves about three million people in three big towns, -- Koforidua, Nsawam and parts of Accra. Its catchment area covers 2,564 square kilometres and the river traverses New Juaben, Akwapim North and Akwapim South, Awutu- Effutu-Senya, Suhum-Kraboa/Coaltar and the Ga districts.

The other districts are East Akim and West Akim.

Some of the problems are wrong agricultural practices and deforestation along the banks, garbage and sewage disposal into the river.

Koforidua, (Eastern Region) 20 Jan.  

A four-man delegation led by the chief linguist of Amanokrom-Akwapim, Okyeame Osei Manu, has formally informed the Eastern Regional Minister, Miss Patience Adow, of the death of Nana Afua Nyarkoa the second, queenmother of Amanokrom and Gyasehemea of the Akwapim Traditional Area.

The delegation, which represented the Okyehene, Osagyefuo Kuntunkununku the second, included Oseadeayo Addo Dankwa the third, Okuapehene and Oyeeman Wereko Ampem the second, Akwapim Gyasehene.

The delegation, customarily, presented two bottles of schnapps to the Minister.

Miss Adow paid tribute to the late Gyasehemea for her contribution towards the development of Amanokrom and the Akwapim traditional area and expressed government's regret at her death.

Through her instrumentality in initiating development projects, Miss Adow said, Nana Nyarkoa endeared herself to the people of Amanokrom and beyond in addition to the relative peace enjoyed during her reign.

The late Nana Nyarkoa, 61, was enstooled in 1973 and celebrated her 25th anniversary on the stool during last year's Odwira festival. She was survived by a husband and four children.

She will be laid in state from Thursday, January 28, to Saturday January 30, at Amanokrom.

Present at the meeting were Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, Deputy Eastern Regional Minister, and other officials of the Regional Co-ordinating Council.

Wa (Upper West), 20 Jan.

 Mr Ken Dabuo, Upper West Regional Director of Education, has called on teachers to wake up from their slumber and work harder to raise the falling standards of education in the region.

"We must start to propel the education delivery high and stop producing failures every year," he said.

Mr Dabuo made the call when heads of senior secondary schools met to select successful Basic Education Certificate Examination candidates into their schools at Wa Secondary School. He said government's efforts to provide quality education for the youth in the region will come to nothing if the teachers do not change their attitude towards work to justify the salaries they take home at the end of every month.

Poor results discourage parents from sending their children to school and also reverse the progress of development of the region, Mr Dabuo said, adding, there is no justification on the part of district supervisors, who always use lack of means of transport as excuse for not doing their work.

"If that is the case, why is it that both urban and rural schools are performing poorly in the region?", he asked. The director called on district assemblies to assist in the provision of hostels for newly established senior secondary schools in their areas to ease the pressure on schools that have boarding facilities.

Koforidua, (Eastern Region) 20 Jan. 

The New Juaben Municipal Assembly has declared 1999 a year of ''discipline'', which will cover all spheres of endeavour in the municipality.

The New Juaben Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Emmanuel Adu Boateng, said this at the ordinary meeting of the first session of the assembly at Koforidua on Monday to discuss the 1999 fee fixing/development budget estimates of the assembly.

According to him, the assembly is expected to generate a total revenue of 1.1 billion cedis this year from its traditional sources of revenue.

He explained that, increases in some rates and licences were aimed at mobilising more revenue to enable the assembly to meet its developmental programmes.

By the end of this year, the MCE said, all pan latrines in the municipality would be phased out and, advised the residents to take advantage of the domestic toilet scheme under urban three project to enable them to construct water closets in their homes.

The Presiding Member of the assembly, Mrs Felicia Otchere Darko, called on the assembly members to continue to support and co-operate with her.

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) today explained that the 400 BECE candidates in the Upper West Region who did not find their names on their cards did not qualify for SSS programmes.

A statement signed by Mr Richard Osei Anane, Public Relations Officer of WAEC, in Accra said the Council does not print results on cards and has never been involved in that exercise.

"Heads of institutions enter the grades of candidates who have been selected. Cards without results on them cannot therefore be placed at the doorstep of WAEC."

The statement said WAEC, after processing the results of the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE), issues two types of results.

The first is issued to all participating schools and contains particulars of all candidates who registered and wrote the examinations regardless of whether they scored the required grades for admission to the SSS or not.

"Individual result slips are dispatched to schools. These results are issued to the heads of participating schools, District Directors of Education as well as the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES)."

The second is the Order of Merit by School of First Choice and programme.

"This lists only candidates who have qualified according to the criteria laid down by the GES. These lists are made available to all heads of SSS and regional directors of education for the purposes of selection into SSS to read a specific programme."

The statemet said these lists were sent to all regional directors and the Director-General of GES to enable the regional directors and heads of institutions to conduct the selection exercise successfully.

The Ghana News Agency reported that more than 400 BECE candidates in the Upper West Region could not trace their names on the WAEC computer list.

During the selection of candidates, it was found that many examination cards received from WAEC were without results thereby making selection difficult for heads of SSS.

The region presented 4,556 candidates out of which 77 scored aggregate six while 1,165 failed.

Accra, (Greater Accra) 20 Jan.

Eight ministers of the gospel last night passed out at a graduation ceremony at the Accra Bible Institute with a call on them to be steadfast and hold on to their calling.

The eight, five church leaders and three pastors, were respectively given certificates of recognition and diplomas after their respective two and three year pastoral training.

The Rev. Divine Jorry Mankye Jnr., Principal of the Institute, advised them to practise what they have been taught and avoid using their certificates for dubious ends.

The Guest Speaker, Col. E. K. T. Donkoh (rtd), deputy Minister of Defence, noted that there is too much crime despite the numerous churches throughout the country and attributed it to the habit of some pastors telling their congregation what they want to hear instead of propagating the word of God.

President Jerry Rawlings yesterday called for a sincere and productive co-operation between Muslims, Christians and other faiths as they prepare to enter the new millennium.

"Let us respect each other's beliefs and convictions and let us give honour and esteem to members of our communities, not because of wealth or position, not because they belong to this or that sect or faction, but because they are upright, compassionate, truthful and responsible."

President Rawlings was addressing a mammoth gathering of Muslims at the Independence Square to mark the end of the Moslem holy month of Ramadan.

Among the large crowd of Muslims who trooped to the square were Alhaji Mumuni Bawumia, Chairman of the Council of State, Diplomats representing Muslim states, politicians including MPs and Ministers.

The Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu, led prayers to commemorate the event, calling for peace and stability for the nation. He urged Muslims to use the annual Eid celebrations to foster unity among themselves.

President Rawlings said "I trust that by Allah's grace, you have emerged from the month of Ramadan stronger and ready to face the challenges ahead with clean hearts and love for your fellow citizens."

He expressed regret that Muslims in a few localities have still not taken the good examples of their leaders' and continue to engage in factionalism, leading to conflicts between sects and the destabilisation of some communities.

"Let us all hope that in 1999 there will be no incidents of conflicts between fellow Muslims and that, all will live in harmony, he said."

President Rawlings tasked the people to ensure quality education for their children.

"It is especially important that we ensure that our children, both boys and girls, go to school and gain the education needed to succeed in this modern world, even if it entails some sacrifice on our part.

"Our daughters in particular need our support and encouragement to put education before any thought of early marriage. ''In the long run, they will become better wives and mothers, in addition to having the ability to contribute to the wider development of our society''.

He further called on them to keep their environment clean and healthy, saying "no Muslim approaches Allah in prayer without first cleansing his or her physical body."

Koforidua (Eastern Region), 20 Jan.

A total of 10,947 out of the 12,323 successful Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates who vied for placement in public secondary and technical schools in the Eastern Region have gained admission into various schools of their choice.

The remaining 1,376 students are to be absorbed into the private technical and vocational institutions in the region.

Mrs Susan Rosemary Kennedy, acting Eastern Regional Director of Education, told newsmen in Koforidua yesterday, that the number of students who gained admission into the 73 senior secondary and six technical institutions in the region this year, was about the same number admitted last year because there was no major infrastructure development in the schools.

On the just-ended selection of successful BECE candidates entering senior secondary schools, the Regional Director said ''we did not experience any hitch nor was the issue of missing cards and candidates' names not appearing on the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) computer list registered crop up ''.

She said figures were not yet available on the number of females intending to pursue science-biased courses at the institutions but said she was happy that schools such as Ghana Secondary School, Koforidua, Ofori Panyin, at Kukurantumi and Okuapeman School, Akropong-Akwapim, offered over half of their placements to qualified girl applicants.

Sunyani, (Brong Ahafo) 19 Jan.

Majority of senior secondary schools (SSS) in the Brong-Ahafo region are having tough time getting students to fill their first year classes because entry requirements had been raised from aggregate 36 to 30.

This has drastically cut down on the number of qualifiers to the schools in the Brong Ahafo region, according to sources at the regional directorate of education.

The source said apart from the Sunyani Secondary School (SUSEC), form one classrooms of most of the remaining schools will be empty because few JSS students selected them as their first choice for admission. The source told GRi at Sunyani yesterday that the gravity of the situation is shown by the fact that only one student each qualified for admission to Menji, Kajeji and Nkrankwanta Secondary Schools.

The Menji Secondary which is expecting 30 students who selected it as first choice had only one of them who passed while Kajeji Secondary School also had only one out of 36 candidates who selected the school as their first choice.

The source said though the 52 secondary schools in the region have places for between 80 and 300 students for first year students, half of them have between one and 30 students choosing their schools.

The situation has been compounded by the overwhelming preference for the few so-called "urban good schools" by most JSS graduates.

The source appealed to those who could not get admission in their preferred first-choice schools to seek for placement in the region.

"The situation in the region is ironic. While schools in other regions do not have vacancies due to lack of infrastructure, schools in the region have all the facilities but no students to fill them", the source added.

The Department of Feeder Roads and the World Food Programme (WFP) are undertaking a six million-dollar labour-intensive road rehabilitation in the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions.

The five-year project starting this year will involve patching, resurfacing and gravelling of about 930 kilometres of roads in three selected districts in each of the three regions.

Nii Klemesu Ashong, National Co-ordinator of Labour-based Projects, said this in Tamale on Tuesday when he and three officials of the Department, called on Mr Joshua Alabi, Northern Regional Minister.

The officials are on an appraisal tour of the beneficiary districts of Saboba-Chereponi, West Mamprusi and East Mamprusi.

Nii Ashong said the project will offer job opportunities to the beneficiary communities who are also to benefit from a one million-dollar food-for-work programme by the WFP as well as acquiring the latest road maintenance technique.

He announced that 56 of the 93 contractors trained in the technique have been provided with equipment.

Mrs Jessie Arthur, National Programme Officer of the WFP, said the project has been designed to offer women employment opportunities to improve on the quality of life of their families.

The food package is also targeted at needy communities where food deficiency is common.

Tamale (Northern Region), 20 Jan.

The Northern Regional Minister, Mr Joshua Alabi, has called on youth associations to come out with proposals and suggestions that would create an enabling environment to facilitate the peace and development of the Tamale Municipality and the region as a whole.

They should, for instance, focus their attention on activities that will help market the region and attract investors, Mr Alabi said when he met youth associations and their leaders in the municipality at Tamale today to solicit their support in addressing the indiscipline and the problem of under development of the municipality.

About 30 groups attended the meeting.

He said it is imperative for the youth to let their leaders and elders realise that they have had enough of conflicts and that they should all allow peace and development to prevail.

On education, Mr Alabi called on all stakeholders to inject new ideas and re-orient their thinking and tackle the falling standards of education in the north, adding that parents should show their commitment by selling part of their livestock to meet expenses on their wards.

Members of the youth associations should move away from the tendency to interfere in the administration of district assemblies.

Mr San Nasamu Asabigi, Deputy Northern Regional Minister, said the time has come for the people to stop complaining of poverty and rather resolve to get involved in achieving their own socio-economic development before seeking outside help.

He called on youth associations not to let rumours determine their decisions or sway their emotions.