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Under 400,000 Ghanaians pay water tariffs

Weija, March 05, GNA - Only about 400,000 Ghanaians nationwide " who are connected to the Ghana Water Company metering system " pay water tariffs...

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•  09.03.2008

Parked trains serve as brothels in Accra

Coaches of the Ghana Railway Company (GRC) are believed to have been turned into mini brothels by commercial sex workers in the capital.

They coaches are also serving as sleeping places for head porters in the Central Business District in Accra.

This follows a three week long strike by the workers of the company to back demands for their unpaid salaries and improved conditions of service.

The workers have insisted they would only go to work if the management of the company agrees to pay them a 150 per cent salary increase.

While the management and workers of the company try to resolve the issues to enable work to resume, the coaches, which are sitting idle on the rails are serving a purpose for some miscreants.

The Managing Director of the GRC, Mr. Rufus Quaye told JoyFM he was not aware that the trains had been turned into brothels and sleeping place s for some people.

He however gave the assurance that measures will be taken to rid the coaches of any criminals.

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East Gonja District gets ICT centre

Salaga (NR), March 9, GNA - The East Gonja District Assembly in partnership with the Ministry of Communications have built an Information, Communication Technology (ICT) Centre at the cost of GH¢11,600 for the people of Salaga and surrounding communities.

The centre is equipped with 15 computers and fully connected to the Internet services to ensure that students had adequate knowledge and training on computer and the Internet.

Mr Amadu Musah Abudu, East Gonja District Chief Executive (DCE), told the GNA at Salaga after inspecting some development projects, that the centre would offer computer training to people of the area at  subsidised rates to ensure that many people became computer literate.

He said the centre had space for about 45 computers and that the Assembly would source more computers to equip it to enhance teaching and learning and advised people in the area particularly students to  make judicious use of the centre and acquire computer knowledge.

Other projects that the DCE inspected included the about GH¢320,000 Salaga Storm Drainage System and the newly constructed police station built at the cost of GH¢152,000 and the renovation of the District Chief Executive's residence.
At the Salaga Storm Drainage System, the DCE appealed to the contractor, Klass Ghana Limited to speed up work to complete before the rains set in as the project was behind schedule. Mr Abudu expressed concern about the poor nature of the road from

Tamale to Salaga and appealed to government to tar it to facilitate movement and to boost businesses. He said it was necessary for the government to also tar the road from Salaga to Makango which many vehicles plied with foodstuff to feed the southern sector of the country.

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• 08.03.2008

Government warns demonstrating Liberian refugees

Accra, March 8, GNA - The government on Friday expressed concern about the on-going demonstration organised by some Liberian refugees at Buduburam and said they should not overstretch the goodwill and protection the government and people of Ghana had accorded them over the past 18 years in their time of need.

A statement signed by the Minister of the Interior, Mr Kwamena Bartels, made it clear to the refugees that the demonstration was in breach of the Public Order Act of 1994 and urged them to comport themselves and to channel all their grievances through the appropriate and relevant authorities for redress.

Liberian refugees, who flocked into the country at the height of the civil war in their country, have petitioned the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, listing a tall order of demands. They said they are against local integration into the Ghanaian society, want to be resettled in a western country and each refugee opting to voluntarily repatriate to Liberia be paid 1,000 dollars.

The statement expressed regret that some elements amongst the demonstrators have forced the closure of all schools at the camp by intimidating and preventing children from going to school. They have stopped the distribution of food by the National Catholic Secretariat and other non-governmental organisations to the elderly, sick and children.

"These acts are clearly against the laws of Ghana and the government wishes to advise all refugees, those involved in the illegal demonstration at the Buduburam camp that it has a duty to maintain law and order in the country." The statement reminded the refugees that they have a duty under international refugees' conventions to respect the laws of Ghana

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Rampant robberies at Sakumono attributed to individualism of residents

Sakumono, March 8, GNA - Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Simon Afenyadu, Sakumono District Police Commander has attributed the recent spate in armed robbery at Sakumono and its environs to the individualistic nature of residents in the area.

DSP Afenyadu observed that the culture of individualism of residents had made it difficult for the police to effectively control criminal activities in the vicinity.

He made the observation on Friday at Sakumono when he briefed the press on criminal activities in the areas.

According to him even though the police had put in measures to curb criminal activities in Sakumono, Larshibi, and Batsonaa, the police often received information of robberies after the crime had been committed.

DSP Afenyadu explained that victims of robberies could not call the police during robbery incidents as their attackers deprived them of their phones stating further that it was therefore the responsibility of neighbours to report such attacks to the police for prompt action. Commenting on some of the measures the security services had put in place to control the crime rate in the area the District Commander said three night patrol teams consisting of the police and military personnel.

He noted that the police had also held several meetings with residents to educate them on police operations and how to prevent such criminal attacks.

The District Commander stated that out of such meetings residents of Tema Community 16, 17, 19, and 20, Larshibi as well as Batsonaa had formed neighbourhood watch committees to augment the work of the police. Chief Superintendent of Police (CSOP) Joshua Dogbedah, Tema Regional Crime Officer, said the police believed that most of the armed robbers were people who might have worked in the areas as labourers, caretakers or land guards. He said such criminals hid around the Nungua beach adding that the police arrested a number of them during two swoops a few weeks ago.

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Opinion: The Great African Tourist Scam Of 2008

... GIA Knew They Weren’t Returning To Barbados!
... GIA Has ONE Leased Airplane…
... And It Was Not Available On February 15, 2008!

Ladies and gentlemen, there is an excellent argument to be made that when Ghana International Airlines flew 149 charter passengers from Africa to Barbados on February 1, 2008 - both the airline and the charter company already knew the airline probably wouldn’t be returning to Barbados on February 15th.

It turns out that an aircraft exchange was to take place - and did take place - during the time when Ghana International Airlines was to pick up passengers in Barbados. (Read on for the details.)

And here we are over five weeks later and still no aircraft in sight.

Let’s review all the pieces of this puzzle, and then you can make up your mind as to whether or not you agree that it should have been no surprise when Ghana International Airlines didn’t show up to take those 149 passengers back to Africa.

There are five areas we can think of that should have warned authorities in advance that this specific African flight was going to be a disaster…

1/ Poor financial condition of Ghana International Airways (GIA)

2/ GIA’s scheduling & aircraft limitations and their poor service record.

3/ Incomplete paperwork filed by GIA prior to the flight.

4/ Lack of visa requirements for visitors from Nigeria and Ghana.

5/ Demographics and luggage load of the passengers.

I’ll cover points one and two now, and then get to the others later after our staff meeting this afternoon.

1/ Poor financial condition of Ghana International Airways (GIA)

2/ GIA’s scheduling & aircraft limitations and their poor service record.

Ghana International Airlines has been having a rough time of it lately. They are down to a single leased aircraft, and, as any pilot can tell you - no airline can operate with just one aircraft. There is no time for maintenance and when something breaks (a normal happening with any machine) it totally destroys the flight schedule. Sure, you can always lease a back-up aircraft for a week or so… if you can find one available exactly when and where you need it.

Until the replacement aircraft shows up though, passengers who are stranded in some far-off place like (for instance) Barbados, have to, well, remain stranded. Such is the business of running a one-airplane “International Airlines”. But it is not like the folks at GIA don’t have experience running a dying airline. The company was largely reincarnated from the ashes of their failed predecessor: “Ghana Airways”. During the last gasps of Ghana Airways in late 2004 and early 2005, all but one of their aircraft were seized by creditors. So how did Ghana Airways operate with only one aircraft back in 2005? Apparently not very well. As Dr. Richard Anane put it on GhanaWeb… “With only one DC10 in service, delays and cancellation of flights took its toll on the entire Airline and it became common sight to find passengers demonstrating at the airport or vandalising Ghana Airways property.”

Ghana - Last Stop For Airliners Before The Seats Are Ripped Out To Haul Freight According to all the research I’ve managed Ghana International Airlines - GIA currently operates a single 14-year-old Boeing 757-256 (Boeing serial number 26245) registration TF-FIS - on lease from Icelandair since February 20, 2008.

The aircraft that brought the Africans to Barbados on February, 1, 2008 was an eight-year-old Boeing 757-256 registered TF-FIY (Boeing serial number 29312). This was leased from Icelandair in August of 2007 and formally handed back about February 18, 2008 in exchange for the much older TF-FIS that is the current aircraft.

We are told that Ghana International Airlines had no aircraft available for almost a week in February - when they were supposed to return to Barbados.

In the last few years the airline has gone through a few aircraft - to the point where they don’t even bother to paint them in the airline colours anymore. All those pretty photos in the promotional materials and on the Ghana International Airlines website are of two aircraft that are long gone.

Now, GIA simply tapes over the “IcelandAir” name on the tail and throws the word “Ghana” on the fuselage. It isn’t pretty, but it is all an airline on its last legs can manage. The top photo

GIA simply tapes over the "IcelandAir" name on the tail and throws the word "Ghana" on the fuselage. It isn`t pretty, but it is all an airline on its last legs can manage.

This is how TF-FIY appeared in September, 2007 and this photo is how the same aircraft appeared on February 1, 2008 when it was at Grantley Adams International Airport in Bridgetown, Barbados.

Classy tape job on the tail, don`t you think?

 

 

 

• 07.03.2008

NDC gov't will establish University in Sunyani- Mills

Sunyani, March 7, GNA - Professor John Evans Atta Mills, National Democratic Congress (NDC), on Thursday said if he won power in the 2008 elections his government would establish an Energy and Renewable Resource University in Sunyani.

Speaking to hundreds of NDC supporters at the party's office in Sunyani, Prof. Mills said in line with that the capitation grant would also not be selective but would cover every Ghanaian pupil under the Free Compulsory Basic Education (FCUBE).

Responding to the applause that met this suggestion, Prof. Mills said every pupil would be provided with free school uniform. Prof. Mills who is on a 10-day tour of six regions said education was so vital to the survival and future of progress of the nation that efforts should not be made to give the best education to children who were the future leaders of the nation.

Repeating the same sentiments at the palace of Sunyanihene Nana Boboma Asor Nkrawim II, Prof. Mills said providing food for the children alone would not make education achieve the desired result.

That was the reason why teachers would not only be motivated through adequate remuneration, restoration of study leave with allowance to them but also the improvement of other areas that would make teachers to expand their knowledge.

Those accompanying the NDC leader include, Mr. Johnson Asiedu-Nketia, General Secretary of the Party, Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo and Mrs. Ama Benyiwa Doe National and Women Organisers respectively and Alhaji Muhammadu Mumuni, 2004 running mate for Prof Mills.

Professor Mills had already visited the Central, Eastern and Ashanti Regions and he is now heading towards northern Ghana.

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Nduom seeks Islamic intercessory prayers

Accra, March 7 GNA - Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, flagbearer of the Convention People's Party (CPP), on Friday joined Moslems at Abossey Okai national mosque for special intercessory prayers for his party.

The prayers began with Quranic reading led by the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuru Sharubutu followed by slaughtering of a bull. Dr Nduom said his visit was to show respect to the Moslem community and to deepen the strong relationship between the party and Moslems, which the founder, Dr Kwame Nkrumah established.

He said the CPP, which fought for independence for Ghana, had no intention to bring division to the Moslem community, but sought to bring peace and unity which would help development.

"We the CPP will not come to your Zongo communities and deploy the youth to engage in violence, rather we are prepared to sit down with all factions to see how best we can help solve your problems," he added. Dr Nduom said although he was a Christian, he recognised that prayers from the Islamic faith could help the CPP to stand, adding, "We human beings can do whatever we want, but it is only God who can decide the king."

The CPP flagbearer donated 650 Ghana cedis to the Imams. 7 March 08

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• 06.03.2008

36 people collapse at Independence Parade

Accra, March 6, GNA - At least 36 people made up of school children and security personnel collapsed at the Independence Square in Accra during the 51st independence anniversary parade on Thursday. Madam Laurencia Dzisam, a member of the National Ambulance Service on the parade ground, said she recorded 25 people while another medical team from the 37 Military Hospital had in their care 11 others who collapsed out of fatigue.

The condition was due to tiredness, hunger, heat or nervousness. Some of the people were also sick before attending the parade, she said. Ghana marks her independence on the 6th of March every year with a parade of security services and school children at the sea front Independence square with the President in attendance to take the salute. Madam Dzisam said the number of casualties recorded during Thursday's event was less than the number of such persons treated during rehearsals ahead of the occasion.

When GNA visited the camp of the National Ambulance Service, some of the people were being taken to hospital while others were treated and discharged.

Alongside the parade were shoemakers and food vendors, especially cold water sellers, who took the opportunity to do business. 06 March 08

Source:
GNA

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Court orders sale of Ghana @ 50 assets

A Takoradi High Court, presided over by Justice B.K. Ofosu Quartey, has granted an order of fife to sell both movable and immovable property of Ghana@50 secretariat, to offset a GHc39,370 debt it owed Mr. George Osei, the Originator of the Freedom Flame Journey. The order follows the inability of the Ghana @50 secretariat to pay the said debt as ordered by the court.

George Osei, who is the plaintiff in the case sued the Ghana@50 for the recovery of the money, which should have been paid to him for coming out with the Freedom flame. The court's order was given in August last year. On February 23 this year, a bailiff from the High Court went to the premises of the secretariat at the AU village at Cantonments in Accra, where he attached the necessary notices for the execution of the order.

An official of the secretariat was said to have destroyed the notices and broke into the office to work. The action has irked the plaintiff and his solicitor, Amua-Sekyi who are now threatening to file contempt charges against the secretariat. George Osei, the plaintiff, a reporter of the Chronicle that barring any hitches his lawyer would initiate the contempt proceedings before the end of this week.

George Osei had also petitioned the office of the president drawing his attention to the fact that his con¬tract money has not been paid to him.

In the petition headlined "Payment for Organizing Freedom Flame Event", the petitioner wrote, "I am petitioning your good office as president of the republic on account of an incident of blatant non payment of our contract by the Ghana@50 Secretariat. I am the originator and creator of the flame journey, an event which traveled over 3000 kilometers across the length and breadth of the country lasting 15 days".

Osei subsequently appealed to the President to use his good offices to compel the CEO of the secretariat, Dr. Charles Wereko-Brobby to respect the court order and pay him his money.

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Police unhappy about reportage on shooting incident

Koforidua, March 6, GNA - The Eastern Regional Police Command has described as unacceptable media reportage on a shooting incident involving a Police constable at Bunso. In a statement released to the GNA, it condemned the secret recording of a conversation between the commander and a Joy FM reporter on the payment of hospital bills of the victim.

The Command also expressed concern about an editorial in the Daily Guide Newspaper that suggested that the Police was not caring for the victim, who was inadvertently shot by a policeman while in custody. Last month one George Larbi, a farmer, who was in police custody was shot in the thigh by a police officer on duty and was operated upon at the Koforidua Central Hospital. The statement said a reporter went to the regional Commander, Deputy Commissioner (DCOP) of Police Felix Asare-Darko, to enquire if the police administration would pay the medical bills incurred by the victim.

It said the Commander told the reporter that the police would pay all bills relating to the treatment of the victim, provided they were presented by the hospital administration. The statement said the Command was surprised to read news reports that the police had refused to pay the bills. The statement therefore reminded the media of their role of ensuring peace in Ghana and appealed to reporters to cross-check their facts on sensitive issues before going to press.

Source:
GNA

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• 05.03.2008

Under 400,000 Ghanaians pay water tariffs

Weija, March 05, GNA - Only about 400,000 Ghanaians nationwide who are connected to the Ghana Water Company metering system pay water tariffs.

Mr Kwaku Botwe, a Director at the Company told the Ghana News Agency that the situation was serious and had to be holistically addressed to find a solution to the water problems in the country.

He said, even if the population of Greater Accra alone was three million with an average of five people living in a house, then about 600,000 housing units could be identified to pay water tariffs in the region.

Mr Botwe said these when the Minister of State in-Charge of Water Resources, Mrs Cecelia Obeng Dapaah visited the Weija Water Treatment Plant Station and the Weija Dam to find out how work on the expansion of the facilities was progressing.

Mr Botwe said if there was an increase in the number of consumers who paid for water then the tariffs should rather be reducing.

"But as it is now, we are now dividing the entire cost of water production to the 400,000 consumers."

The facilities at Weija were being upgraded to increase the volumes of water produced at the station from the current 40 million gallons a day to 55 million gallons a day.

Mrs Dapaah expressed happiness with the progress of work but reiterated President's Kufuor's interest in the project and urged the engineers to complete it even before schedule.

She said when completed it would, to a large extent, cushion the difficulties many people go through now to get water, especially in Accra and its environs.

Mr Daniel Momallah, Regional Chief Manager, Ghana Water Company Accra East said currently those in Accra East such as Cantonment, Labone, La, and Osu were supplied with water from Weija only at the weekends.

He said with the additional 15 million gallons of water a day, the supply would be improved tremendously. He said other areas that Weija would serve under the Accra West-East Interconnection project would be Legon, Madina, Ashongman, Kwabenya and Adenta, and Ashaley Botwe.

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Fight Over $200.000 "Cashback"

...Osafo Maafo, Chairman at each other's throat

The open declaration by the NPP Member of Parliament (MP) for Akim-Oda in the Eastern Region, Mr. Yaw Osafo Maafo not to contest his seat again last week, has triggered a verbally ferocious brawl between himself and his Constituency Chairman, Mr. A. K. Ofori. Probably not conscious of their statements, the two NPP gurus scandalized each other and their party by way of trading accusations bordering on a 10% “kickback” money from over GH¢200,000 (= $200,000 or ¢2 billion) contract for the construction of classroom blocks in the constituency.

The anger of the two also gave them out and exposed the NPP as a divided party on the lines of Asantes and Akyems, when Mr. Osafo Maafo stated that his chairman and organizer were unwise and rebels to have followed Mr. Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen during the party’s flagbearership race last year, after they had taken a decision to support an Akyem man, even if not him (Osafo Maafo).

According to him, all persuasions and admonitions for Mr. Ofori to rescind his decision to support Alan’s bid proved unsuccessful as he went ahead to collect money from his mentor, which he later ‘smeared’ it all over the area. Charged with bobbling fury, the Akim-Oda MP told Hello Fm in Kumasi on its programme - “Boho bio” - last week Wednesday that Mr. Ofori was not recognized as the Chairman of the constituency after suffering a vote of no confidence in 2007, prior to the NPP December congress by 86 out of 109 polling station chairmen.

He averred that Mr. Ofori was an opportunist who went undercover to collect the contract sum from an unnamed contractor, without their knowledge and consent which act he said triggered the vote of no-confidence passed against him by the polling station chairmen. Mr. Osafo Maafo leveled these allegations against his embattled chairman when the latter sought to indict him over some funds raised by the former Minister of Education, Science and Sports in 2004 for his parliamentary bid.

According to Mr. Ofori, Mr. Osafo-Maafo had not been transparent to them over the amount accrued out of the fundraising held at Trade Fair in Accra, thereby impugning his sincerity and character as a trusted fellow. He also suggested that the Akim-Oda MP knew very well that he would lose the NPP primary election because he had made disparaging comments about the constituents and the polling station chairmen in particular, thus making him unpopular in the area, hence his decision not to contest this time round saying the explanation given by Osafo-Maafo for his exit is false.

This sent the failed NPP Presidential aspirant on a ‘character-assassination’ spree, describing Ofori as a fool who is a greedy, self-centered person who he considered to be a rebel and defiant ‘boy’ in the constituency. The MP disclosed that he single-handedly financed both the fundraising event and his parliamentary campaign, and therefore, did not owe anybody any accountability, using the blend of Akan proverbs and folktales to justify his action.

According to him, his chairman was only engaging in what he termed as “ugly noise” by 5% minority in the constituency, affirming his determination to ensure that his favourite candidate is elected during the primaries. Mr. Ofori, on the other hand, confirmed that a decision was taken for the NPP delegates in the Eastern Region to either support Nana Akufo-Addo or Yaw Osafo. He said in spite of the collective decision he preferred Mr. Alan Kyerematen and therefore rooted for him. He, however, parried all the allegations leveled against him, describing them as false claims intended to dent his image.

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Ghana Gets Chinese Fighter Jets

The Ghana Armed Forces has taken delivery of two fighter jets to augment its flight of fighter jets of the Ghana Air Force.

The Minister of Defence, Mr. Albert Kan-Dapaah said the jets were particularly necessary in the wake of the discovery of oil.

He said the government was committed to equip the Armed Forces to adequately protect the country from external aggression.

The delivery is in line with the “government’s intention to enhance the operational capabilities of the Ghana Air force to optimum levels”, he added.

The aircrafts were built by the Chinese National Aero-Technology Corporation.

The Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr. Yu Wang Ze said the planes were a demonstration of the giant strides made in Aviation in that country.

He said many first class aviation products had been manufactured by the corporation destined for the international market.

The delivery of the fighter jets forms part of a trade-in for the Golf Stream 3 Presidential jet.

Under the agreement, Ghana will receive four fighter jets and a flight simulator.

The additional cost incurred by Ghana in the deal has not been disclosed but Zimbabwe two years ago acquired 12 less sophisticated jets at the cost of $20 million each.

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Akufo-Addo urged to choose Alan "Cash" 

Accra, March 5we, GNA - Mr Yaw Mort, former chairman of the Nabdam Constituency of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Upper East Region, has appealed to Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the presidential of the party, to choose Mr Alan Kyeremanten, a defeated presidential aspirant, as his running mate.

Mr Mort said in a statement that if this was done the popularity of the two men would put opposition political parties on the defensive. He said it would render the NPP's campaign virtually "fairly easy" for the party's foot soldiers and that "it would make the work of the opposing parties extremely difficult". Mr Mort said luckily for the party, there had been no known rancour or bitterness between the two during the campaign to choose the NPP presidential candidate.

He said even though the two of them could win the election for the NPP, the party would have to still work hard to guarantee victory. He said it was time Ghanaians discarded the so called geographical or religious factor in politics.

Mr Mort said the late US President Ronald Reagan picked former President George Bush as his running mate after defeating him in the Republican Party primary.

He said the two rival candidates came together and defeated the Democrats in the general elections.

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Prof. Mills calls for total unity within NDC

Odumase-Krobo (E/R), March 5, GNA - The flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Professor John Evans Atta Mills, on Tuesday called for total unity within the party as it prepared towards the 2008 Election.

He urged the functionaries and sympathizers of the party to forgive one another and forge ahead in unity to enable the NPP win the polls. Prof. Mills was speaking at a mini-rally at Odumase-Krobo in the Eastern Region, as part of his one-day tour of parts of the Region. Prof Mills was accompanied by Mr Michael Nyaunu, Member of Parliament (MP) for Lower Manya, who recently, called for a special congress of the party to elect a new flag bearer to replace Prof. Mills on grounds of his alleged poor health.

The entourage of Prof. Mills was met by a large crowd of cheering supporters and some youth holding placards demonstrating against the MP. Addressing the crowd, Prof Mills promised to improve upon the condition of service of teachers and re-introduce the study leave with pay policy for teachers if elected as President of the country. He said for teachers to be able to help develop the human resource base of the country, they needed to be given the opportunity to develop academically to the highest level.

Prof. Mills said when government was elected into power, its success was measured by the way it was able to use the resources of the country to satisfy the needs of the people.

The success would not be measured as to how it used the resources of the country to satisfy the needs of the ruling elite leaving the people to their fate, he added.

He said the country was witnessing the use of huge sums of money to build the presidential palace and structures that benefitted the elite in the country while the people had no water to drink.

Prof Mills said if NDC is voted into power it would review its plan to irrigate the Accra plains to help produce food for export, create wealth and employment.

The flag bearer and his entourage addressed mini-rallies at Koforidua, Akuse and Osiem and paid a courtesy call on the Konor of Manya-Krobo as well as Daasebre Oti Boateng, New Juabeng Manhene and Osiemhene.

Source:
GNA

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• 04.03.2008

District Officers arrested for diversion of cocoa

Nsawam, March 4, GNA - One hundred District Officers of Evadox, a private licensed cocoa buying company, have been arrested for the alleged loss of cocoa from their depots. Mr. Benjamin Kofi Nyakoh, General Manager, told journalists on Sunday that their arrest was an attempt to retrieve the cocoa or get back the money.

Mr. Nyakoh said the company started the 2007/2008 cocoa season with the assistance of Barclays Bank to buy cocoa after the Ghana Cocoa Board had granted it a license to operate as a buying agency. He said money and logistics were sent to the District Officers to start buying cocoa at their sectors in the Central, Eastern, Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo regions and weekly reports were received from them that showed the quantity of cocoa at their depots. Based on the reports, the company sent inspectors who confirmed the number of cocoa bags at their depots and sent the figure to the Ghana Cocoa Board.

He said the company sent trucks to evacuate the cocoa to the ports but found their depots empty. A meeting was held and they were given one week to produce the cocoa at the depots but they could not. Mr. Nyakoh said the company would ensure that the lost cocoa was retrieved and sent to the government since the produce was the backbone of the country's economy.

Source:
GNA 

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Paragliding festival enters fourth year

Accra, March 4, GNA - The Fourth Ferdinand Ayim Hang and Paragliding Festival scheduled for March 20-25th was launched in Accra on Tuesday with a call on Ghanaians to patronize the event and experience flying like a bird.

Hang and Paragliding is a sport, which is done with the use of light aircraft, and enables humans to fly like birds with the help of the wind. Take-off is usually done at high altitudes. The festival has been named after Ferdinand Ayim, Special Assistant to the Minister of Tourism and Diasporean Relation, who died in a motor accident two years ago while travelling to Atibie, Kwahu, to help prepare the site for the festival.

Mr Kofi Osei-Ameyaw, Deputy Minister of Tourism and Diasporean Relations, who launched the festival, pointed out that the Paragliding Festival had seen significant improvement in the hospitality and allied industries in Kwahu.

He said: "Last year we had an average attendance of about 500 people daily over the three-day period. All attendees paid gate fees and patronized various vendor services at the take-off sites as well as the landing site that naturally contributed to revenue of the local economy."

The festival would this year attract a fee of 50 GH cedis for adults who want to fly and 30 GH cedis for children, the Deputy Minister announced. There would be a registration desk for all who want to fly to indicate so.

He also said tandem flights, where a professional pilot flies with another persons who cannot fly, would be on March 21-24.

Mr Osei-Ameyaw said the Ministry together with the Kwahu South and West District Assemblies would register food vendors and souvenir sellers and pointed out that members of the general public who wanted to watch the sport as spectators would pay 1 GH cedi as gate fee.

He said 25 international hang and paragliding pilots from South Africa, Germany, United States of America, England and France led by Mr Walter Neser would be attending the event.

He expressed gratitude to Mr Neser who is in the country to help finalize preparations for this year's festival.

"The pilots will be made up of 15 tandem pilots and 10 solo pilots. This year, we have increased the number of tandem pilots to enable more people to experience the thrill."

Mr Osei-Ameyaw, who is also the Member of Parliament for Asuogyaman, said a tourist's receptive facility, which had been built by the Ministry, would be in full operation and assured visitors of an excellent time during the period of the festival.

"This year the Ministry will ensure the provision of enough rest places for the expected increase in attendees. We will also ensure greater security, parking space and other side attractions like hiking which will be handled by the Ghana Tourism Development Company." He said the Kwahu South District Assembly would also use the opportunity to launch a brochure on other tourism attractions in the District during the festival.

Mr Abeiku Dickson, Special Assistant to the Minister of Tourism and Diasporean Relations, said the government had started a training programme for Ghanaian pilots at Afienya and urged more Ghanaians to develop interest in the sport.

Source:
GNA 

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Kufuor commends Annan

Accra, March 4, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor has expressed delight at last week's power-sharing agreement brokered by the Kofi Annan-led panel of eminent African personalities resulting in the formation of a coalition government in Kenya.

In separate messages to Mr Annan, President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya and opposition leader Raila Odinga, President Kufuor said he was "filled with a mixture of pride and relief" following the successful mediation which had led to a renewed sense of optimism in the future of Kenya.

He also lauded the tenacity and determination of Mr Annan, the former UN Secretary General, and his team especially for making the negotiations a matter of priority, despite the demand on their time. President Kufuor encouraged President Kibaki and the new Prime Minister, Mr Odinga, to remain resolute in honouring the terms of the agreement and thereby demonstrate a high sense in maturity and compromise in meeting the challenges arising out of the implementation. President Kufuor, then AU Chairman, initiated peace building efforts following the post-election conflict in Kenya by undertaking a fact-finding trip to Nairobi where he extracted the commitment of the parties to end violence and resort to dialogue.

Subsequently, he commissioned Mr Annan and his team to further the process which was characterized by intense negotiations culminating in the fresh accord.

Mr Annan's Team of Eminent Persons members who spearheaded the talks are former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa and the wife of former South African President Nelson Mandela, Graca.

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Robbers murder 72 year-old pensioner

A 72 year-old pensioner, Emmanuel Kwasi Ayeh, was murdered in cold blood in broad daylight by armed robbers last Friday, February 29, at his residence at Dansoman Estate, near the area known as Zodiac.

In carrying out their gruesome act, the robbers tied the arms, legs and neck of the victim with flexible wire and strangled him to death, causing blood to ooze from his nose and mouth.

The robbers are said to have ransacked a couple of rooms and made away with an unspecified number of valuables and personal effects including cloths, a mobile phone and a DVD player. They apparently entered the house through another house behind it, at a time when nobody was at home.

It is believed that a struggle had ensued between the assailants and their victim, a recovering cancer patient, who had returned home from hospital and chanced upon the robbers in the act.

Upon his return from the hospital, around lunch time, Mr Ayeh, who saw the door to his room ajar, is said to have rung his daughter at work and enquired from her as to whether she had been in the house.

After preliminary investigations, the Dansoman police have ruled out a pre-meditated murder and said the motive was robbery.

The police say the deceased's assailants, who were alleged to be four, include a prime suspect.

"In this robbery which occurred in the afternoon, the police are not ruling out an internal orchestration," said Superintendent Alex Yartey Tawiah, the Dansoman district police commander.

Neighbours too believe that Mr Ayeh must have surprised the robbers at work and that they probably thought there was nobody at home and they killed him because he had recognized some one or some of them.

Supt Tawiah told the Times on Monday that "By all intents and purposes, investigations revealed that the robbery/murder occurred in the afternoon but the crime was not detected until about 6 p.m. "That was when Chibike Umanta, grandson of the deceased, had returned home from school.

Herbertta Bonney, a neighbour, whose account was no different from that of the police, told the Times earlier that Umanta, upon entering the room, heard a radio in the room blaring.

He later saw a machete lying on his grandfather's bed and his grandfather lying in a supine position with blood stains on his mouth and nostrils and heaps of clothes piled on the upper part of his body.

Madam Bonney said it was then that the boy rushed to her house to inform her that something had happened to his grandfather.

She said Mrs Felicia Ayeh, wife of the deceased, had at the time travelled. A report was made to the Dansoman Police who came to convey the body to the Korle-Bu Hospital mortuary for autopsy.

The Times learnt that Mr Ayeh, a staunch Methodist, had been preparing to go to Church at Mount Olivet Church, Dansoman, on March 2 to thank God for his recovery from cancer.

Police investigations are continuing.

The crime rate in the Dansoman community involving street and residential robbery as well as car snatching is said to be on the ascendancy.

Between February 22 and March 1, a total of 16 of such crimes had been reported, said Superintendent Tawiah.

He said such acts were usually perpetrated by youth between the ages of 17 and 25 years who normally wield cutlasses, cudgels and sometimes locally manufactured pistols to cow their victims before robbing them of their valuables.

Supt. Tawiah attributed the high incidence of crime in Dansoman to the fast rate of urbanisation in the area, saying, "Dansoman is highly populated, elitist, commercialised with the springing up of shops, night clubs and drinking joints, creating a fertile ground for robbers to operate."

As part of measures to contain the situation, he said the police have intensified their day and night patrols. Neighbourhood Watch Committees are also being encouraged.

He appealed to philanthropists and businesses to support them with logistics since the government alone cannot provide such facilities. Supt Tawiah also urged the public to provide them with reliable information to enable the police to track down criminals.

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• 03.03.2008

Bagbin: Akufo-Addo can't be president

Minority Leader in Parliament, Mr. Alban S.K. Bagbin, has stated in no uncertain terms that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flag bearer, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, cannot be President of Ghana.

"As for Nana Addo, he can't be president. He didn't even win NPP flag bearership let alone national elections," he told The Daily Dispatch in an interview in Parliament.

This reporter asked Mr. Bagbin who is also National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Nadowli West in the Upper West Region why Nana Addo, who has done well in all the Ministries he had handled so far, cannot be the President of this nation.

Buttressing his point, the MP said Nana Addo has an uphill task ahead of him. Hear him: "I worked with him as a lawyer, and he is aware of the number of times he had struggled to be the President of Ghana Bar Association (GBA) and never got it. Why is it that after all these sacrifices and supporting Kufuor throughout, he went to support Alan Kyerematen?

Why is it that the NPP people who worked with him all these years and contested in 1998 and was second to Kufuor, now that it is getting to his time, at the Congress he didn't win one-touch? There must be something in him that convinces people that he cannot win and be a good leader. That is because of his violent disposition.

"In his constituency in 1996 during (Owuraku Amofa's time, a Minister in Rawlings’ government), there was violence. As at now the Constituency Vice Chairman of NDC is in clutches. This is as a result of the violence from him and his team. Do you think the people that were killed in the 'Kume preko' demonstration were members of the Alliance for Change? They were the cadres. I am saying Nana Addo cannot win," the Minority Leader added.

Mr. Bagbin maintained that high personalities in the country have confided in him that should the NPP win this year's elections, it will mean that what the government has done is good and an endorsement of the society.

He said "in the near future, the rate of crime, especially violent crime as a result of deprivation, will be on the upsurge.

"People are not born criminals. It is the society that makes people criminals," he intimated.

The Minority Leader therefore appealed to Ghanaians to reject the NPP government by voting massively for the NDC to create an enabling environment for all the people to enjoy but not as few as "we are witnessing under the NPP administration."

Source:
Daily Dispatch

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Manya Krobo chiefs call on Kufuor


Accra, March 3, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Tuesday granted audience to a delegation of chiefs from the Manya Krobo Traditional Area in the Eastern Region which called to convey their appreciation for the creation of the new Upper Manya District Assembly.

(c) EventPicture.co.uk  /  ghana-net.com

Led by Nene Okpatapla Sasraku IV, Acting President of the Traditional Council, the delegation was also at the Castle to plead for Government's intervention in the resolution of some land disputes the Council was involved in.

The Manyas are locked in a dispute with the Yilos over the ownership of the limestone at Odugblaase and with the Osudokus over the Akuse lands.

Nene Sasraku said there was growing agitation in the area as a result of the delay in publishing the Report of the Committee set up by the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council to determine the rightful ownership of the Odugblaase land.

He added that the youth and individual landowners were putting a lot of pressure on the chiefs on the issue. Nene Sasraku said the unresolved dispute with the Osudokus on which traditional council had legitimate title to the Akuse lands was stifling Manya of stool lands revenue.

He said the creation of the new district would undoubtedly help to speed up the pace of socio-economic development of the area.

"We thank you for honouring the promise you made to us at Asesewa in 2004."

President Kufuor counselled amicable resolution of the disputes and said they should ensure that legal processes were used to clear the matter. The Akuse land, he noted, was so fertile for agriculture that its commercial exploitation should not be inhibited by disputes. Touching on the Report on Odugblaase, President Kufuor said it was his hope that its release would help to bring a happy ending to the problem between the Manyas and Yilos.

Source:
GNA

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