Ghana will stick to its policy on drug peddlers - Official
Donkro-Nkwanta food sellers screened
Children’s Commission says mandatory HIV test for rape culprits unnecessary
Ghana will stick to its policy on drug peddlers - Official
Accra (Greater Accra) 12 Nov. ’99
The Director of Legal and Consular Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Thomas Quartey said on Friday that even though the government is concerned about the plight of prisoners in Thailand, it is committed to its policy on drug peddlers.
He was speaking in an interview on complaints by Ghanaian Prisoners in Thailand who claim that the government is insensitive to their plight.
The prisoners have therefore written to the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) to help them achieve freedom and justice.
Mr Quartey said the ministry is making efforts to find a solution to the problem but stressed that "the ultimate decision lies with the Interior Ministry."
He said he has been receiving similar letters from the 500 Ghanaian prisoners serving jail sentences across the globe on drugs related offences.
He expressed concern about the tone of such letters saying they are pleas and not a right.
The government has been championing stiff penalties for drug peddlers, including jail terms and confiscation of assets.
The letter from the prisoners was signed by Sadji Kamara and John Jones, Welfare Committee Chairman and Secretary respectively.
The prisoners, most of whom were arrested for drug offences and forged documents, said they have had difficulties in gaining justice because the government failed to sign the "Prisoners Transfer Treaty" with the Thai government, which would enable them to be transferred to their native country for prosecution.
They also claimed that the government has refused to officially support and guarantee their individual "Royal Pardon Petition" through the government of Thailand to the King of Thailand.
The prisoners, who contend that their fate is permanently tied to Ghana government's intervention, say they have become "political punching-bags" and
would respond to any attempt, which would ensure their "freedom and justice".
A source at the Narcotics Control Board said the country's prisons are full and cannot take more prisoners. He said most of those foreign-based prisoners have contracted several strange diseases, which cannot be tolerated in the country.
NUGS said they have petitioned the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the Interior, the Director of Ghana Prisons Service and Commissioner for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) on the issue.
GRi../
Donkro-Nkwanta food sellers screened
Nkoranza (Brong Ahafo) 12 Nov.’99
More than 60 cooked food sellers from Donkro-Nkwanta in the Nkoranza District have been screened by officials of the environmental health division of the Ministry of Health (MOH) to ensure that they are free from communicable diseases.
The Donkro-Nkwanta area council chairman, Mr Peter Nsoah-Kwakye, told the Ghana News Agency at Nkoranza that the people have been advised to prepare their meals in a hygienic way to avoid the outbreak of epidemics in the area.
He said members of the unit committees have been charged to monitor the activities of the food sellers to ensure that they perform to expectation.
Identification cards have been given to those who have undergone the screening exercise, he said, adding that it will be an offence for anyone to engaged in the business of selling cooked food without first being cleared through screening.
GRi../
Children’s Commission says mandatory HIV test for rape culprits unnecessary
Accra (Greater Accra) 12 Nov. ’99
Mr. Pearce Biney, chairman, Child welfare fund of the Ghana National Commission on Children(GNCC) on Friday described as unnecessary the mandatory testing for HIV/AIDS of persons accused of rape or defilement.
"Whether an offender in a defilement case is HIV positive or has a Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) has no bearing on that person's guilt or otherwise".
He said the tests have the tendency of detracting attention from the fact that defilement itself is a heinous crime, adding that such detraction belittles the crime of defilement.
Mr. Biney said this when he presented a cheque for two million cedis each to the Women and Juvenile Unit of the Police Service in Accra and Kumasi on behalf of the (GNCC) at a ceremony in Accra.
He said of all the cases reported to WAJU and monitored by the GNCC, child defilement poses the most disturbing problem as far as child welfare and protection are concerned.
Mr. Biney explained that the GNCC is interested in ensuring that child offenders receive the maximum legal penalties. "We are even more concerned about the victim who must be helped to overcome the trauma".
He appealed to the police administration to train and open more of such units in all regions so that people will have access to their services.
Mr. Godson Aggor, a Commissioner of Police, said defilement is a serious crime and called for public support in checking it, saying; "without this, the work of the police will be ineffective and difficult."
GRi/