Panic hits Dansoman resident as cabbie goes missing
B/A civil servants threaten demonstration
Students threaten to demonstration if negotiations are not resumed
Establishments asked to employ disabled
Education service assures teachers of better deal soon
Women advised to pursue higher education
Military extends medical assistance in the North in mock exercise
Regional minister fetes pupils to mark anniversary
Delle calls for dedicated leadership for CP
Taxi driver gaoled six months for traffic offences
Women advised to pursue higher education
Accra (Greater Accra), 28th October 99
Women in the media have been urged to undertake higher educational programmes to equip themselves to meet the challenges of the next millennium.
Mrs. Rebecca Adotey, a deputy Minister of Communications made the call at the inauguration of the Ghana News Agency Ladies Association (GNALA) in Accra on Wednesday.
She said women, as wives and mothers often neglected when it comes pursuing educational programmes but added that "higher intellectual capacities are being required for most jobs and this has made it necessary for the education of women and the girl-child to be taken seriously".
She said added to this, information technology is moving at a galloping pace and chief executives and their secretaries have taken advantage to work through inter-linked computers towards a new age of 'paperless offices'.
"For this reason, new and higher courses for secretaries and allied fields have been designed at our Universities and Polytechnics for which degrees and higher level diplomas are awarded."
The Deputy Minister therefore urged the association to take up the challenge and encourage members to undertake various programmes for self improvement as well as better development of their children.
Mrs. Adotey said GNALA is being out-doored in an era of Ghana's history where inhuman treatment as well as physical, psychological and sexual harassment meted out to girls and women are on the rise.
She noted that "these days, we still have gender stereotyping and discrimination against girls in education and women at work places" and expressed the hope that the association, belonging to ladies, would join in the campaign for the elimination of violence against women.
Women organisations such as the National Council for Women and Development, West Africa Media Network-Ghana, Association of Women in the Media and the International Federation of Women Lawyers are spearheading the campaign.
"In this direction, members of the association, through their medium should sensitise women towards the achievement of gender balance in whatever field they find themselves."
Another role they can play will be to provide direction in the development of attitudes, production of information and display of practices that would portray positive aspects of girls' and women's role in the society.
"You have to take and accept challenging roles at your work place and not shy away from assignments because you feel they should be given to men."
In this direction, the Deputy Minister appealed to the management of the Ghana News Agency (GNA) to protect the women in for example, proving vehicles to wait on them when they attend late assignments.
In a welcoming address, Mrs. Fiona Araba Twum, the President, said the association has a membership of more than 50 ladies.
The President appealed to the Ministry of Communications to expedite action on the proposed restructuring of the agency to help boost the morale of workers.
She noted that sister agencies such as Reuters, a British news agency, began operations the same way as the GNA with its major aim being to provide wire service but have now ventured into new areas like radio, television and recently, into news magazine.
Mrs. Twum advocated that the GNA go into profitable ventures to generate more income to meet growing demands and to retain its best journalists.
"This, we believe, will help improve the remuneration of workers and prevent the current mass exodus for greener pastures."
Mr. Sam Quaicoe, General Manager, GNA, appreciated the contribution of the women to the work of the GNA and urged the present women staff to continue to work hard.
He assured them that management would do everything possible to ensure their promotion.
He said the agency recognises the competition in the working environment in view of the emerging alternative sources of news for subscribers and management is making all efforts to meet the challenges.
"It is therefore crucial that we break new grounds and among other things, our rural reporting has to take on a new dimension."
To address the situation, re-training of editorial staff including stringers would continue to cover the news from the grassroots.
Mr. Quaicoe reiterated the need to provide the agency with computer systems and communications network and urged stakeholders to resist the pressure to kill the agency through neglect saying, "once we kill the agency, it will be difficult to revive it".
It also covers local news for the New China News Agency (XINHUA), Reuters, the German Press Agency and the Pan African News Agency (PANA) which is another means of publicising Ghana.
On foreign news, the agency is widening its sources in order to remain the major suppliers of relevant but moderately priced news to the less well endowed media houses.
Sister associations from the National Council for Women and Development, the Registrar General's Department and the Barclays Bank among others gave solidarity messages in which they called on the GNALA to foster unity among its members.
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Military extends medical assistance in the North in mock exercise
Sang (Northern Region), 28th October 99
A military training exercise organized by the Airborne Force for the Second Infantry Brigade Group code named 'Ex-Starlight Stretch 99,' has offered free medical assistance to remote villages in the Yendi district of the Northern Region.
Some of the beneficiary communities included Sang, the base for the exercise where 36 officers and 385 men had pitched tents at Sanzee and Kulkpegu.
The officers and men were drawn from the Airborne Force, Sekondi Recce Squadron, and other units of the Second Infantry Brigade Group, the Mortar Regiment and 48 Engineer Regiment.
Brigadier Henry Kwame Anyidoho, Commander of the Second Infantry expressed satisfaction with the exercise being carried out by the officers and men.
He told newsmen that the three week exercise organized annually included general military training, battle fitness test and passing out test.
Brigadeir Anyidoho said the humanitarian aspect of the training programme was given a boost when the exercise coincided with the floods in the region, making it necessary for his men and officers to airlift supplies to flood victims in the Zabzugu/Tatale district.
The Commander said apart from airlifting the relief supplies made up of blankets, mats, mattresses, scondhand clothing and maize provided by the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), the Engineer Regiment used assault boats to ferry stranded victims to safety.
He said Sang, which falls within the operation 'Gong-Gong' area created by the military to restore peace during the 1994 ethnic conflict, was deliberately chosen as the base for the exercise.
The objective was to further instill confidence in the people that peace had returned to the area, adding, "the exercise has made the desired impact".
Brigadier Anyidoho said logistically, the exercise was successful and "we have proved to the people here that we are always ready to support them.
"Any difficulties encountered have helped my officers and men to prepare psychologically for the future".
The main thrust of the exercise revolved around an imaginary invasion of the country through one of its borders during which the enemy had kidnapped some key personalities.
Available intelligence information indicated that the enemy wanted to destroy some key installations and annex some of the country's territories.
Under the exercise, the men and officers were to rescue those who had been kidnapped, protect the country's key installations by firing heavy artillery at the advancing enemy to repel them.
Major Isaac Tetteh, Commanding Officer of the Airborne Force, who together with Brigadier Anyidoho conducted newsmen round the exercise base, explained that although the exercise was to respond to an imaginary attack, the tactics used could be employed in the event of an actual attack.
He said the exercise was a continuous demonstration by the military of their commitment to national development.
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Regional minister fetes pupils to mark anniversary
Sunyani (Brong Ahafo), 28th October 99
The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr. Donald Adabre, on Tuesday hosted about 300 selected pupils as part of activities marking the 40th anniversary celebration of the creation of the region.
The children were treated to drinks and music and had fun with the dignitaries, after which the deputy Regional Minister, Alhaji Kwadwo Mama Adam recounted the history behind the creation of the region on 4th April,1959.
Mr. Adabre stressed the importance of education and urged them to achieve higher academic laurels to enable them to become useful citizens.
He stated that examination results in the region were not the best and called on all stakeholders to assist in halting this trend.
Mr Adabre expressed concern about environmental degradation and asked the pupils to educate both their colleagues and parents to refrain from unhealthy environmental practices.
He stated that the wealth and knowledge that have been bequeathed by the forefathers who fought gallantly for the creation of the region should be harnessed for development.
Mr. Adabre therefore urged the youth to tap the potentials of the region to better their lot, rather than to drift to other urban centres in search of non-existing jobs.
GRi
Delle calls for dedicated leadership for CP
Koforidua (Eastern Region), 28th October 99
An aspiring National Chairman of the Convention Party (CP), Dr. Edmund Delle, has called on members of the party to elect a leadership of integrity, dedication and courage to lead it to win next year's general elections.
He was addressing a meeting of the regional and constituency executives of the party in the Eastern Region at Koforidua as part of his nation-wide campaign tour.
Dr. Delle is expected to contest with Dr. Abubakari Alhassan in a run-off election at the forthcoming national congress of the party following the inconclusive election last July.
He said the Nkrumaist tradition, which won independence for the country, has the ''obligation to redeem Ghanaians from their current deplorable conditions to enable the country to recapture the leading role in Africa's search for economic development''.
Dr. Delle said it was his determination to lead the party to achieve victory in next year's election through a ''leadership of truth, service and integrity''.
An aspiring flag bearer of the party, Mr. George Agudey, said if elected, he would be able to convince the majority of the electorate to vote the CP into power.
He said a CP government under him would re-introduce free education and medical care and agricultural subsidy, which according to him, could be achieved through the revamping of the tax system to be proportional to the population and increasing productivity.
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Taxi driver goaled six months for traffic offences
Cape Coast (Central Region), 27th October 99
A 25 year old taxi driver, Alfred Azuma, has been sentenced to six months imprisonment by a Cape Coast regional tribunal for negligently causing harm and careless driving.
Azuma failed to pay a fine of one million cedis each on four counts of negligently causing harm, careless driving, failing to renew his licence and roadworthiness certificate imposed on him last Monday.
He pleaded guilty on all the charges and the fines were to run concurrently.
The prosecuting officer, inspector Richard Doku told the tribunal chaired by Nana Baffour Adjei, that on July 25 Azuma, who was driving a taxicab failed to stop at a junction while driving within the campus of the University of Cape Coast.
He then drove into another lane and ran into a vehicle being driven by Dr. Augustine Asmah, Executive Director of the Central Region Development Commission (CEDECOM), injuring Dr. Asmah and two passengers in the taxi cab.
Dr. Asmah and the other injured passengers were sent to the Cape Coast hospital, treated and later discharged.
In another development, Emmanuel Baakum, a 31 year-old driver of Legna Construction Works in Cape Coast was also fined 500,000 cedis or in default six month's imprisonment for careless driving.
He is also to pay a compensation of 500,000 cedis to the owner of the vehicle he damaged in the accident.
GRi