Tamale NGO calls for review in utility tariffs

Tamale, Nov. 10, GNA - The Northern Ghana Aid (NOGAID) a Tamale based international development NGO has appealed to the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) to review the utility tariffs in the country to favour the poor to enhance their economic survival.

In a statement issued in Tamale and signed by Mr. Mustapha Sanah, Executive Director of NOGAID said numerous questions were left unanswered by the PURC in justifying the reality underpinning the need for tariffs increases.

The statement said removal of subsidies meant that consumers pay realistic tariffs for utilities and services in a way that enables recovery of the full cost of production.

Mr. Sanah said however, that the policy had given little consideration to the majority of Ghanaians particularly the poor who patronise these services and that reviewing the tariffs would mean having the plight of the poor at heart. The statement said the country's utility industry needed more and vigorous attention than just adjusting tariffs in relation to increases of crude oil in the world market adding that despite the country's economic gains there was still high unemployment rate and low income levels.

This, the statement, said would defeat the country's move to eliminate extreme poverty saying, "Poverty reduction is a key national economic strategy therefore blatant increases in tariffs without careful consideration of other competing national objectives would negate the gains so far made under the GPRS I and II.

"Majority of the people in Ghana, particularly those from the three Northern Regions are trapped in the poverty web and can not afford to pay high tariffs," it said and that there was the need to introduce Discriminating Pricing Policy to allow the rich and corporate community to pay more tariffs.

The NGO challenged the PURC to widen the search for long lasting solution to the country's utility problems in line with the National Poverty Alleviation goals as a means of reducing poverty for sustainable development.

Source:
GNA

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• 09.11.2007

 Women Flock Parliament For Breast Screening



FOR the first time in its history Parliament House yesterday took on the semblance of a medical facility, when hundreds of women took part in a breast-screening exercise organised by women parliamentarians.

By 7: a.m., women drawn from religious organisations and other identifiable groups from the Greater Accra Region began trooping to the House to take part in the exercise, which formed part of efforts to step up breast cancer awareness in the country.

As a prelude to the exercise, breast cancer was the subject of discussion on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday.

The usual sitting of Parliament lasted for about an hour, after which some of the men MPs, some of whose wives took part in the exercise, joined their female counterparts and later attended a seminar which followed the exercise.

The women were also educated on how to look for changes in their breast and seek early medical examination for the detection of the disease.

The exercise is a collaboration by the women’s caucus in Parliament, the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) Breast Clinic, and Reach For Recovery Ghana, an Accra-based breast cancer support and counseling centre.

Breast cancer which can spread to other parts of the body is ranked the fourth leading cause of death in the country.

Although it affects mainly women, medical research has shown that men, too, are at risk but less likely to be infected.

Available statistics indicate that the disease is alarming with over 400 new cases of the disease diagnosed at the Breast Clinic annually. Dr. Clement Edusa of the Department of Radiotherapy at the KBTH told the Times that the message about breast cancer must be spread "and Parliament House being a place for policy makers, we are trying to hook them on to the awareness creation of the disease."

Dr. Edusa said he was overwhelmed by the attendance. "We were not expecting so many, now we see women from all aspects of life, we hope to have the energy to attend to them all."

Ms Elizabeth Sackey (NPP-Okaikwei North), a member of the Planning Committee, said they expected to reach out to about 700 women.

She said the cost of the screening has been borne by the caucus, adding that the women will undergo further mammography screening and those found to be affected by the disease will be assisted to undergo treatment.

She said the high turnout of the women showed that the message had gone down well and expressed the hope that the women will embark on follow-up medical examinations from time to time.

Ms Mercy Agye- pong, a medical superintendent at the Parliament Clinic, who took part in the exercise, said it was useful for her. "As we are growing we have to go through such screening to know what is wrong with us."

The seminar, held after the screening had the theme: "Be breast cancer aware and not breast cancer scared," with Mrs. Betty Hughes, wife of the Speaker of Parliament as the special guest.

Source:
Times

Ghana lags behind in Community Radio stations - FreeVoice


Accra, Nov. 9, GNA - Mr. Babah Tarawally, Africa Programme Officer of FreeVoice, a Dutch non-governmental organization that supports media development in developing countries, on Friday noted that Ghana lags behind in the establishment of community radio stations.

He said community radio stations were the best in promoting developmental issues since they focused on the development of the community through the media and every member of the community had access to them.

Mr Tarawally pointed out that media coverage in most developing countries was focused in the urban areas and city centers even though majority of the population in Africa lived in the rural areas.

He made the observation in an interview with the Ghana News Agency while commenting on a proposal to be discussed in the Dutch Parliament about the need to develop independent media organizations in Africa and how that could improve good governance.

Mr Tarawally said deregulation and liberalization of broadcasting in Ghana began in 1995, about the same time as in South Africa at the end of apartheid in 1993. "Yet out of an estimated 145 radio licenses issued in Ghana, the community radio sector has only eight. "This compares woefully with the over 100 community radio stations in South Africa."

Mr. Tarawally explained that the disparity was a reflection of the different policies of the governments of the two countries with regard to radio and its role in development.

The lack of a supportive policy and regulatory environment are the biggest challenges faced by community radio sub-sector of broadcasting in Ghana, he said.

He added that in South Africa, the post-apartheid Government saw community radio as an important tool in former townships where, as a legacy of apartheid, many residents still cannot read or write. Mr Tarawally who revealed FreeVoice's intention to support the creation of community radio stations said they were used to bridge the information gap between the literate and non-literate in South African communities.

"Unfortunately, it seems the Government of Ghana does not have a similar vision of seeing the potential of community radio in bridging the information gap between the urban and rural areas of the country." Quoting the Ghana National Telecommunication policy's definition, Mr Tarawally said: "Radio that is about, for, by, and of a specific, marginalized community, whose ownership and management is representative of that community, which pursues a participatory social agenda and which is non-profit, non-partisan and non-sectarian." He said the gap between media and human aspects of information that

related to common people in the rural areas had been widening. "Increasingly, news that communities and individuals could use to transform their lives is lost to stories about politics, celebrities, crime, violence, sex and other stuff that dominate the media." He called for "development communication" in Ghana and said development communication had to take on board the needs and situation of the poor majority who live in rural areas. "By development communication we are not only looking at the views of the policy makers and the planners, but also the kind of journalism that motivates the active participation of the affected people and advocating for their interests and progress," he held.

Source:
GNA

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Makola Market annex gutted by fire



Accra, Nov. 9, GNA - Traders of the Makola Annex II Market in Accra woke up on Friday morning to the shocking news of the total destruction of their wares by fire.
The fire, which destroyed items worth hundreds of millions of cedis, started around 12 mid-night.

Mr. Kofi Agyakwa, Financial Secretary of the market, told the GNA that the market lacked a proper security system, which contributed to the total destruction of the market.He lamented the pathetic nature of the incident and called on the government to come to their aid by putting up new structures for them and improving upon security in the market by using police officers instead of people employed by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA).

Mr. Agyakwa said this was the second time the Makola Annex II had been razed down by fire since its establishment in 1990, adding that, all markets across the country should be fortified with security personnel from the police or the army.

Division Officer II Michael Gabianu, Metro Fire Officer at the Accra Fire Station, told the GNA that he had a call about the fire at 0200 hours and quickly mobilized his staff as well as other personnel from the Ghana Prisons Service and Ghana Immigration Service to help. He said initial access was difficult since there were no security men at post to open the gate to the market.

"We had to struggle for 20 minutes just to break the entrance to the market." DO II Gabianu observed that due to intensity of the fire, one Fire Officer, Godfred Ofori fell unconscious and was admitted at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. He has since been treated and discharged.

He said the market also lacked fire hydrants, which could have been used to extinguish the fire. DO 11 Gabianu advised occupants of the various markets in the country to always put off fire properly after use and avoid use of multi-gadgets in one socket.

He expressed gratitude to all those who assisted to put the fire under control, especially personnel from the Ghana Prisons Service and Ghana Immigration Service.

Source:
GNA

 Traders cry over lost goods


Accra, Nov. 9, GNA - Traders were thrown into uncontrollable tears when they woke up to witness the destruction of their goods at the Makola Annex 11 Market through a fire outbreak on Friday.

At the time GNA got to the scene around 0900, most of them, especially women were combing through the debris to salvage any of their wares, most of which were burnt to ashes. Their facial expression did not only show signs of wailing, but how to start life all over again. The men and women who believed that CAN 2008 could have been a rear opportunity to boost sales wept uncontrollably as they narrated their stories to the GNA.

One of the traders who spoke to the GNA condemned the security apparatus in the market, which she believed was a contributory factor to the disaster.

Meanwhile, people who seemed to have no sympathy for the fire victims made brisk business as a result of the disaster by collecting scraps from the waste.

The fire outbreak was the second market disaster in one week after the one at the Kasoa market which also destroyed item worth millions cedis on Tuesday, Nov 6

Source:
GNA

The Govt Is Full Of Corrupt Men - Mills



Kufuor was silent on the massive corruption
The former Vice President and flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Prof. John Evans Atta Mills has stated that ever since NPP assumed power corruption has been on the ascendancy in the country because the government is full of corrupt officials. He said because corrupt officials have been put at the helm of affairs they have succeeded in plundering national coffers to the detriment of the masses.

He has therefore appealled to Ghanaians to vote for him and his NDC party back to power to stop the rot and also free the country from nepotism, which is gaining currency in the country. Prof Mills was speaking to a group of people at Komenda, a fishing community in the Central Region as part of his door-to-door campaign on Monday this week. He urged Ghanaians to read former national premix fuel coordinator’s book on premix entitled, “Premix: Avenue for Political lies and deceit,” which portrays how some NPP officials stole billions of cedis from the premix business at the expense of fishermen in the country.

Prof Mills commended Mr Kojo Mbir, who hails from Komenda, for his bold step in writing the book that has exposed the corrupt activities engaged by some NPP government officials and party activists in the distribution of premix fuel. He again advised Ghanaians to emulate Mr Mbir for his patriotism by resisting all attempts to corrupt him. Prof Mills was very serious about the current spate of corruption that has rocked the country and pointed out that the NDC was going to monitor closely, the outcome of the oil discovery in the Western Region in order to prevent the NPP from pulling corrupt mechanisms into it.

He added that President John Agyekum Kufuor was silent on the massive corruption going on in the sale of premix fuel because he was the same person who put the corrupt officials there and knew that was going on. Prof Mills appealed to the fishermen to help the NDC regain power to fight corruption to the barest minimum, repeating his stance that he would make corruption a risky commodity, which only fools would risk to patronize.

He promised that under his government, he would ensure that Komenda, which taught fishermen in Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast fishing techniques, got to the position that President Kufuor and his administration had failed to get them. Prof Mills also noted that the ‘positive change’ slogan the New Patriotic Party (NPP) used to lure Ghanaians into voting for them had rather come to frustrate and worsen the plight of the poor. According to him, the NPP instead of reducing poverty through job creation as promised, had rather made the poor poorer just to enable them (NPP) buy their votes to win political power always.

The National Women’s Organizer of the NDC, Ms Ama Banyiwa Doe, described NPP as the worst government Ghanaians had ever had after Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the First President of Ghana. The vociferous Women’s Organizer appealled to Ghanaians to reject the NPP in the 2008 elections.She therefore called on the people to ensure that they vote massively for Prof Mills to rule the country 2009, adding that they should not reject Prof Mills this time as he was one of them. She made it clear that Prof Mills would not disappoint them should he become President and advised them to discard any negative propaganda that would come from NPP quarters.

Source:
The Chronicle

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 Farmers to benefit from export deal


Accra, Nov. 9, GNA - Members of the Ghana National Association of Farmers and Fishermen (GNAFF) are to benefit from a 60 million-dollar a year deal to export groundnuts to a major buyer in the European Union. Mr Charles K. Annan, Executive Secretary of GNAFF, told the GNA that the deal would benefit several thousand members in all the regions. "We have the capacity to satisfy the buyer. Groundnuts are produced all over the country," he said.

He said the export was set to commence this month and set to expand to 210 million dollars a year by 2009. "The association is currently finalising negotiations for the export of other agricultural products." Mr Anaan said GNAFF, in conjunction with various service providers, had put in place an agricultural producers' credit society network, for the provision of enhanced financial services to its members and an Agricultural Produce Inspection and Certification System to ensure quality in the production and marketing of Ghanaian agricultural produce both on the local, as well as the international market. He said from January next year, an Agricultural Traceability System and Good Agricultural Practices Audit System would be progressively introduced to members who would benefit from a serviced agricultural land lots scheme.

Source:
GNA

Second Africa Economic Conference takes off next week


Accra, Nov. 9, GNA - The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) are organizing the Second African Economic Conference from November 15-17 at the UN Conference Centre in Addis Ababa.

The conference is being convened under the theme: "Opportunities and Challenges of Development for Africa in the Global Arena." A statement by AfDB received in Accra on Friday said it would provide an opportunity for African academics and policymakers to exchange views on economic development problems and challenges facing Africa.

Speakers at the three plenary sessions would include economists Prof. Ernest Aryeetey, Prof. Paul Collier and Prof. Robert Wade. The President of the AfDB, Donald Kaberuka and the Executive Secretary of ECA, Abdoulie Janneh, would also address the conference. About 400 participants are expected to attend and 65 papers will be presented at the parallel sessions.

In 2006, AfDB and ECA agreed to organize annual conferences of African and development economists to provide a forum for exchange of ideas among African economists and policymakers with a view to improving access to information and research on economic issues and improving the quality of economic policy-making in the region. It is expected that the annual conference will give participants a welcome opportunity to present their work, interact with other professionals in the field and learn about the most recent developments in economic techniques, policies and analyses.

Source:
GNA

Psychiatric Hospitals Alarmed At Influx Of Cocaine


The rampant cases of cocaine in and out of Ghana and the serious health risk it poses has attracted concerns from the country`s psychiatric hospitals notably the Accra Psychiatric hospital.

The Chief Psychiatrist at the Accra Psychiatric hospital Dr. Akwasi Osei has warned of the rising incidence of mental illness in the country.

"The recent wave of seizures of cocaine and the extensive cultivation of cannabis in the country are all issues that should engage the attention of everybody that our mental health is in jeopardy", he said.

In an address at the launching of Well-Mind Centre for Mental health in Accra on the theme: a sound and healthy woman, a happy home, Dr. Osei indicated that violence and crime had a vicious circle relationship with drug abuse and mental illness, just as poverty and mental illness, asking that those need to be dealt with for society to continue to enjoy freedom and peace.

Children, he said are suffering daily abuse of sexual defilement, trafficking among others.

According to the chief psychiatrist, the country`s life expectancy has risen from 45 years 50 years ago to 57 explaining that more people are now expected to live to old age adding that that also has its own health and mental health problems. Dr. Osei noted that when patients are treated, they need to provide after care services by way of rehabilitation, provision of jobs and reintegration into the community adding that all those situations mean preparing for increasing mental health issues.

In spite of all the need for mental health care, he said the resources for dealing with them are inadequate.

He further added that the country`s three psychiatric hospitals are all located down south in the country leaving the northern parts of the country underserved. The Acting Psychiatrist in charge of the Panteng Hospital Ama Pukl-Deadey also raised concerns about the state of mental illness in the country saying that the rate of drug abuse in the country was alarming.

She called for a holistic approach towards bringing the situation under control and advised that mental health cases should be taken seriously and basis facilities and needed equipment provided to make the living conditions of the inmates at the hospital conducive and worth living.

The Minister of health, Major Rtd. Courage Quashigah also in a speech read on his behalf said the high incidence of poverty had culminated in a low adult literacy rate of 32.5% with male/female ratio of 42:23 according to the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy of 2002-2004.

The health minister said research had shown that the interplay of related factors such as social isolation due to poverty, experience of childhood sexual abuse, domestic and sexual violence, overburden of domestic marital household family responsibilities among others are due to extreme [poverty and the application of cultural definition of the married woman tc "PSDYCHIATRIC HOSPITALS ALARMED AT INFLUX OF COCAINE"

Source:
Palaver

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Removal of weeds in Volta Basin to begin soon


Accra, Nov. 9, GNA - The removal of aquatic weeds from the Lower Volta Basin is expected to begin by the middle of next year. Mr. Kwadwo Adjei-Darko, Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment, told Parliament on Friday that procurement of equipment for the manual removal of weeds has been initiated.

The Minister was responding to questions from Mr. David Tetteh Assumeng, NDC-Shai Osudoku, on when removal of aquatic weeds from the Volta River would begin.

"Mr Speaker, aquatic weeds infestations have become a nuisance affecting many West African countries."

"Due to the serious adverse impact of the weeds on the socio-economic activities and livelihood of the affected communities, ECOWAS approached the African Development Bank for funds to regionally control aquatic weeds in the five most affected shared water bodies," the Minister said.

He said funds have been made available to seven ECOWAS member states and Mauritania, adding that in Ghana the project is being implemented over a period of five years beginning from 2006 to 2011 in the Tano and Volta rivers.

He said seven areas are involved in the project, namely, the North and South Tongu districts in the Volta Region and Asuogyaman and Manya Krobo districts in the Eastern Region.

He said the Dangbe East and West districts in the Greater Accra Region and Jomoro districts are also part of the project.

"I am glad to say that reconnaissance survey to assess the status of weeds coverage for the project intervention has been undertaken in the seven districts.

In response to another question, the Minister said the district assemblies have no mandate to account directly to Parliament on the use of the statutory financial allocations made out of the District Assemblies Common Fund.

He said district assemblies do account to the District Assemblies Common Fund office through the submission of monthly cash returns. The Minister was responding to a question on systems put in place to oblige the district assemblies to account to Parliament the disbursement of statutory financial allocation involving the Poverty Alleviation fund, the District Education fund and the District Response Initiative on HIV/AIDS.

Source:
GNA

Man Beheads Boy for 12,000 cedis


Sunyani, Nov. 09, GNA - For 12,000 Ghana cedis a 34-year-old farmer at Bechem in Brong Ahafo Region allegedly severed the head of an eight-year-old boy, Emmanuel Agyei for sale to a spiritualist at Enchi in the Western Region.
Assistant Superintendent of Police Emmanuel Lartey-Lawson, Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Crime Officer told Ghana News Agency in Sunyani that the suspect Thomas Kwame Amponsah, had been placed in police custody to assist in investigations and would appear before court soon. He said the suspect who formerly resided at Bechem left for Enchi to undertake farming but returned about three months ago after a deal with Yaro, a spiritualist to get him(Yaro) a human head for 120 million cedis

ASP Lartey-Lawson said on Sunday, November 4, this year Amponsah, a very close neighbour to the boy's parents invited the deceased to accompany him(Amponsah) to the bush for oranges.

He said the suspect on the way struck the boy's neck with a club, making him unconscious, after which he severed the head with a kitchen knife he had hidden on him.

ASP Lartey-Lawson said the suspect then wrapped the head with a black polythene bag and hid it in a travelling bag and set off for Enchi.

He said at Dadiesoaba, a village near Enchi, a witness in the case became suspicious when the suspect approached him and asked of Yaro, the spiritualist.

ASP Lartey-Lawson said the witness reported to the Dadiesoaba community police who arrested Amponsah and handed him over to the police at Tarkwa who searched the bag and discovered the human head. He said during interrogation the suspect initially claimed he had the head from Dwenewoho, near Techiman but following an appeal on radio by the police for identification of the head, the deceased's uncle, Reverend Stephan Edward Aning went to Tarkwa and identified Amponsah as a neighbour at Bechem.

ASP Lartey-Lawson said it was then that the suspect confessed that he brought the head from Bechem and was that of the missing boy, Emmanuel Adjei.

He said the police at Tarkwa then handed the suspect and the boy's head to their counterparts at Bechem to continue with investigations. ASP Lartey-Lawson said because of the tension at Bechem the police sent the suspect and the head to the Brong Ahafo Regional police headquarters.

He said Yaro who is in police custody at Tarkwa would be brought to Bechem to assist the police in investigations.

In another development, police sources at Tarkwa told GNA that the suspect Amponsah who was arrested at Dadieso near Enchi in the Aowin-Suaman District in the Western Region misinformed the police. The source the suspect gave the name of the deceased as Kwame Berko aged 15 but an uncle of the deceased Reverend Aning who heard the news on air travelled to Tarkwa gave the correct name of the deceased as Emmanuel Agyei alias Koo Emma who was eight years old.

It said the incident occurred at Bechem and not Dweneho near Techiman as claimed by the suspect and he (suspect)lived at Breme near Bechem and not Mile 4 near Tafo in Kumasi, also the incident occurred on Sunday November 4 and not on Saturday November 3.

The source said the suspect threw the beheaded body in a bush after the act but suspect said it was buried.

It said the deceased was playing with his friends at Roman Catholic Cluster of Schools last Sunday at about 1:00 pm when the suspect called the deceased to assist him (suspect) to plug oranges and on the way killed the deceased.

The source said sometime in July this year, the suspect went to Dadieso to visit his uncle but did not see him and contacted one Yaw Ankonah a motor repairer for a loan but was refused.

It said the suspect alleged that Ankonah told him there was Yaro, a spiritualist who could assist in selling a human head if suspect could secure one for 12,000 Ghana cedis and left for Bechem.

The source said the suspect alleged that from July until the day of the incident Yaro usually called him on his mobile phone to enquire whether he had secured the human head.

It said the suspect a divorcee with two children, a boy and a girl decided to kill the deceased and after the act returned to Dadieso where Ankonah welcomed him and was going to inform Yaro but rather returned with the police to arrest the suspect.

The source said Rev. Aning told the police that the deceased went out to play but did not return until he heard on the air that he had been murdered.

It said the suspect used to send the deceased because they lived in the same vicinity.

The source said the severed head that was deposited at Tarkwa Government Hospital together with the headless body had been sent to Brong Ahafo Regional Hospital, while the suspect was sent to the Sunyani.

Source:
GNA

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• 08.11.2007

 TOR Wants Squatters Off the oil Refinery

08/11/2007 - Richard Attenkah



Management of the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has indicated its readiness to evict loiterers and squatters, especially food vendors who are operating at the corridors of the company and others they refer to as 'Belebele Boys' to quit the place with immediate effect.

The 'Belebele Boys' are a group of young men who siphon fuel from the refinery and tanker trucks that load fuel from the Refinery to other parts of the country and sell at cheap prices to the general public. The 'Belebele Boys' after siphoning the fuel, hide them inside makeshift wooden structures they have erected around the Refinery, where they sleep, cook and live as well as the food vendors who have turned the place into their places of residence and business.

Speaking to members of the media at a press briefing at Tema last Thursday, the Acting General Manager (GM), in charge of Health, Safety and Environment (HSE), Kingsley Kofi Ditsa said the activities of the food vendors and the 'Belebele Boys', which include using fire to cook, selling and smoking of cigarettes among others, threaten the very existence of the refinery since it could result in fire outbreak. He stated that since activities of the food vendors and the 'Belebele Boys' are mainly done with fire and the refinery, being highly inflammable, if not checked now, could cause a huge disaster to the nation, should the unforeseen happen.

Mr Ditsa indicated that management of the company is collaborating with the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) to help pave the way for the ejection exercise since the area does not fall directly under its jurisdiction. '"Much as we believe that people should make meaningful living, we would not accept the fact that the food vendors and 'Belebele Boys' should do that at the detriment of the only refinery we have in this country," he explained.

According to him, TOR officials called on the leaders of the food vendors to submit names of their members to them so they could allocate spaces for them at the canteen they were to attach to the new Operational Tanker Park (OTP) at the time it was being built. He explained further that based on the list submitted to them, they selected some of the food vendors to sell food to the tanker drivers.

However, he continued, the rest of the vendors and the 'Belebele Boys' are still living there and since their activities pose a danger to the refinery, they have to be kicked out of the area for the sake of the refinery and for that matter, the country. Mr Ditsa however pointed out that they want to give a human face to the exercise that is why they are appealing to the squatters to act in accordance with the order and move from the place in order to ensure their own safety and that of the company and the country as a whole.

But the food vendors claim that the TOR officials acted in a discriminatory manner, because after the completion of the OTP canteen, they brought some food vendors from some places including Ashaiman to sell food to the tanker drivers. Speaking in an interview with The Chronicle, Madam Martha Simmons, president of the Food Vendors Association explained that TOR officials did not inform them of the intended exercise, instead, after the completion of the canteen, four out of the 35 members in the association were invited to sell food there. According to her, they lived there with their parents before the refinery was constructed and her mother cooked and sold food to the workers till the completion of the project.

She said since then they have been staying there and selling food to the tanker drivers, and therefore did not see why they should be evicted from the place because they have no where else to go to.

Source: © Reborn Radio Africa ( Germany )

 Remove Dery Now!



Minority Leader, Alban Bagbin, has called for the immediate removal of the Volta Regional Commander of Police, Deputy Commissioner Of Police Bernard Guyiri Dery, from the region in order to win the confidence of both factions in the Anlo chieftaincy crisis. "Am saying this in toto," he added.

Bagbin alleges that the Commander had taken sides by his article in the media that exposed him and his interest in the crisis that is looming, adding that it would be prudent that DCOP Dery goes to another region. "He is behaving like a politician," he said.

The Minority Leader said this while contributing to a statement made by the Interior Minister, Kwamena Bartels, on the recent clashes at Anlo in the Volta Region. He also called for the withdrawal of the police personnel on the ground and proposed the assignment of the military since the police had now become a part and parcel of the problem after loosing their colleague.

Briefing Parliament on the security situation, the Interior Minister said the crisis in Anlo was a delicate one and called on the people to put suspicions aside in the interest of the Anlo state.

He reiterated that the issue of who is the rightful heir to the throne should be settled through the Regional and National House of Chiefs or the courts and not on the streets of Anlo or in the media. Kwamena Bartels said government still maintains its stance of non-interference in chieftaincy issues but with its overriding responsibility of ensuring law and order.

According to him, due to the volatile nature of the conflict and the refusal of both factions to appreciate the role of the security agencies, particularly the Police in the maintenance of law and order, the government had taken steps to ensure peace in Anlo.

Some of the steps taken include invoking the authority of the Public Order Act, 1994 (Act 491) by instructing the Traditional Council to halt all further processes leading to the installation of the Awoamefia for the people of Anlo. This was contained in a letter from the Inspector General of Police to the traditional authorities through the Volta Regional Police Command.

The letter was issued at 07:25hrs on November 2, 2007 and was brought to the attention of the traditional authorities by 08:00hrs the same day.

The government also successfully sought and obtained a court order restraining the kingmakers of the Anlo Traditional Area from proceeding with the installation of the new Awoamefia.

By Executive Instrument, the Minister of the Interior on November 2, 2007 imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew, running from 6pm to 6am each day, on Anloga and Keta with a directive to the Police and Military detachment to ensure strict compliance.

Government also beefed up the presence of security on the ground.

He noted that presently, they have about one hundred and sixty-one (161) Police Officers and a detachment of Military Personnel in the Anlo Traditional Area. Also by Executive Instrument, the Minister for the Interior prohibited all persons in the Keta and Anloga areas from carrying arms or ammunition.

A high-powered government delegation jointly led by the Ministers of the Interior, Defence and Justice visited the area, and based on the findings of the delegation, the government decided to maintain the measures already taken and continue to monitor the situation closely.

Mr Bartels told members that security intelligence later indicated that kingmakers of the faction supporting the candidature of Togbui Sri III as substantive Awoamefia, had initiated processes towards his installation as the new Awoamefia during the course of the Cultural Festival celebrations. As such on November 1, 2007, the kingmakers attempted to move this process forward by performing some customary rites at the Yorxoenu Shrine at Anloga, which was opposed by the other faction and which then resulted in the violence.

The Police's intervention to restore law and order was initially fiercely resisted by both parties. However, after re-strategizing, through reinforcements and with the support of a military detachment, the Police were able to restore peace at the shrine and its environs by the evening of the same day. Mr Bartels maintained that there was no injunction restraining the holding of the purported cultural festival or the installation of the Awoamefia but rather an order of substituted service granted by Justice G. K Adzagli of the Ho High Court.

"As far as the police were concerned there was no such order," he stated.

Contributing to the statement, the MP for Anlo, Clement Humado, called for an independent Commission of Enquiry to investigate the issue and look at the way forward. He wondered why in September this year, another faction that went in for an order to go ahead with an installation were refused but shortly afterwards another faction was given the permission to go ahead with a similar ceremony.

Source:
Ghanaian Chronicle

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  Lithuanian teenagers in court over cocaine


Accra, Nov. 8, GNA - Two Lithuanians juveniles, who were arrested at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) with cocaine in one of their bags, on Thursday appeared before an Accra Circuit Court charged with drug-related offences.

The two teenagers also expelled pellets of the drug they had swallowed.

Dilys Audrius, 19, is said to have expelled nine pellets of cocaine while his 16 year-old accomplice swallowed 45. They are charged with possessing narcotic drugs without lawful authority. The court did not take their plea. They are to reappear on November 21.

The facts narrated by Mr Asiamah Sampong, a State Attorney, said the accused persons who were domiciled in London arrived at the Kotoka International Airport on November 3 to board a Ghana International Airline flight to London.

While going through departure formalities they were suspected of carrying drugs because of their bahaviour.

When their traveling bag was examined it revealed a false compartment, which had a powdery substance.

A search was conducted on them and six pellets of whitish substances were retrieved from Audrius' socks and three in his underpants. The 16 year-old confessed that he had also swallowed 45 pellets.

The two were escorted to the 37 Military Hospital for medical examination, which proved that they had foreign material in their stomach.

Audrius expelled nine pellets and his accomplice expelled 45 pellets.

The two accused persons who said they were in Ghana for holidays said on their arrival two people - Jim and Sparky - took them to Clenato Guest House where they stayed for three weeks. According to them, Jim and Sparky visited them daily, took them out and gave them cannabis to smoke and before their departure, brought them the bag to pack their clothes into it. They said Jim and Sparky also gave them the cocaine to swallow. Two British teenage girls are also being tried for drug offences after their arrest at the Kotoka International Airport while attempting to smuggle drugs out of the country.

Source:
GNA

Student shot dead

Kumasi -- A 25-year-old final year Mechanical Engineering student of the Kumasi Polytechnic was shot dead by an unidentified gunman in Kumasi last Saturday night.

The deceased, Sammy Martins, was said to have visited his girlfriend, Abigail Abbey, at Atafowa, a Kumasi suburb, and while in the house, he had an urgent call directing him to collect an important item from the caller.

Minutes after he left the house in a hurry to collect the item, he was shot in the chest and died at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) where he was rushed for medical attention.

The body has been deposited at the hospital for an autopsy.

The Suame Divisional Police Command have so far arrested two suspects, including Abigail Abbey, 21, to assist in their investigations. The police refused to give the name of the other suspect for security reasons.

The police are also hunting for a taxi driver who was alleged to have rushed the deceased to the KATH and dumped him there without giving any clue as to how he was attacked.

Briefing the Daily Graphic on the incident, the Suame Divisional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Kwakye Ntiamoah, said around 6 p.m. on Saturday, the deceased called her girlfriend and indicated that he would visit her at Atafowa.

He said after receiving the call, Abigail told the deceased that she would rather arrive home a few minutes after 8p.m., so the deceased should wait until that time.

He said when Abigail arrived home, the deceased was already waiting and around 9.30p.m, he had an urgent call on his mobile phone, urging him to collect an important item.

He said after the call, the deceased sought permission from Abigail and rushed out of the house to collect the item, but that was the last time he was seen alive.

He said when the deceased did not return home that night, his uncle became alarmed, but before he could act on it, he had a call from his wife informing him that the deceased was said to have been involved in an accident and had, therefore, been admitted to the KATH.

Mr Ntiamoah said when the uncle, Mr Solomon Boadi, arrived at the hospital, he was informed that his nephew was dead from multiple gunshot wounds.

He said it was at the hospital that it was revealed the deceased was dumped there by a taxi driver who did not disclose where the deceased was attacked.

Source:
Daily Graphic

 Red flag over Asafo interchange



As the President, John Agyekum Kufuor prepares to commission the much delayed Asafo Interchange in Kumasi on Friday, trouble is brewing over the choice of name for the project.

The chief of Asem, Nana Ampofo Kyei Baffour, in whose area the project is located has raised objections at the naming of Kumasi's first flyover as Asafo Interchange.

He claims that the people of Asem, which is the traditional authority of the area have been shortchanged and has called on the authorities to name the project after Asem.

Nana Kyei Baffour regretted that the Asem area which is home to several important landmarks in Kumasi has been sidelined over the years. He mentioned the Asafo market, Asafo Commercial Bank and Asafo SSNIT as edifices that have been named after Asafo instead of Asem.

According to the Asemhene, he has made several submissions on the matter to the city authorities but to no avail. He vowed to continue to resist the naming of the project as Asafo Interchange.

"I do not want have any problem if the project is to be named after the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, President J A Kufuor or any other personality with national recognition," Nana Kyei Baffour maintained.

Source:
Statesman

Wives don't know their husbands' names
..."My husband's name is Bra Kwaku"

A number of women who call at the various offices of the Birth and Death Registry in the country are said to be unable to give the full names of their partners during interviews for the registration of their babies.
They would, for instance, give the name of their partner as "Bra Kwaku", which information would be inadequate for the registration of their infants.

Other women are neither able to give information on the kind of work their partners are engaged in nor agree on the spelling of the names of their children.

During a visit to one of the registries at the Ridge Hospital in Accra, a mother who had come to register her infant could not give the name of her partner but said she lived in La and would therefore go home and come back with the required information.

She has two other children with that partner.

The Daily Graphic therefore contacted Mr Kingsley Asare Addo, Senior Assistant Registrar at the head office of the Birth and Death Registry in Accra, for information on the importance of registering deaths and births.

He said what the registry did in situations where the mothers are not able to give the names of their partners was to allow the mother to go back home for consultation but in some cases, they did not return.

He said if the mother was unable to tell who the father of the infant was, the registry would register the infant as one with "doubtful paternity".

Mr Addo said the ideal thing was to have the mother and father present during the registration but "the men seem to have left the registration to the women because they see it as a women's issue".

He described the situation as unacceptable, explaining that birth registration was very important because it established a legal identity for the child.

"Birth registration is the first legal proof that a child exists," he said.

Mr Addo said birth certificates also helped in the dispensation of justice. "It offers protection for the child because it becomes a legal document that would be a reference point for fighting forced marriages and child trafficking," he said.

In this instance, "the certificate would establish the child as a minor and the laws of the land can take their course," he added.

Apart from these benefits, the birth certificate facilitates enrolment in educational institutions, employment and recruitment into the security services, and the acquisition of passports and visas.

"If the employer uses the birth certificate as a reference point, there will be no argument on the date for proceeding to retirement for instance," Mr Addo said.

On death registration, Mr Addo said it was necessary because it was needed when making Social Security claims in the event of the death of a partner.

He said the certificate was also needed before the contents of a will would apply or the Intestate Succession Law under PNDC Law 111 could hold because it would be evidence that the partner was dead.

Giving some statistics, Mr Addo said the Birth and Death Registry had from January to June this year, registered 131,928 infant births.

Of this number, 67,858 were males while 64,070 were females.

Last year, 391,841 infant births were registered. The males were 201,369 while the females were 190,472.

Registered infant births for 2005 were 476,251.

The Birth and Death Registry has information on births in the Gold Coast dating from 1912.

Source:
Daily Graphic

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Ho Municipality hit by water shortage


Ho, Nov. 8, GNA- An acute water shortage has hit the Ho Municipality for the past four days and people including school children are seen with containers traveling long distances in search of water. Consequently, the price of sachet water has shot up from 4 Ghana pesewas to 5 Ghana pesewas and the commodity is even hard to come by. Mr. Eric Bansah, Ho Municipal Manager of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) told the GNA that the shortage was due to maintenance works being undertaking by the Volta River Authority (VRA) and the Electricity Company of Ghana at their substations at Kpeve. He said the maintenance work had caused power outage at the Kpeve head-works of GWCL, which necessitated the shutting down of taps for the period.

Mr. Bansah however expressed the hope that the situation would be normalized before the weekend.

Source:
GNA

 Mason remanded for defiling his daughter's friend


Kumasi, Nov.7, GNA - A Kumasi circuit court has remanded a 32-year-old mason for allegedly defiling his daughter's playmate aged 10. Isaac Ankamah Turkson, who pleaded not guilty, will re-appear before the court tomorrow. Prosecuting, Police Chief Inspector Comfort Baffour-Kyei told the court that the accused person lured the victim into his room after she had run an errand for him and sexually abused her. He afterwards warned the victim not to disclose it to anyone or he would kill her. The girl fell ill and when her mother questioned her she told her what the accused person had done to her. A report was made to the police and Turkson was arrested.

Source:
GNA

Ghana Experiencing Rapid Capital Inflows - IMF



Ghana is experiencing rising capital inflows in the region according to the World Economic Outlook report released at the just ended annual meeting of governors of financial institutions among its 185 member countries.

It said the country was experiencing the phenomenon because of its increased policy credibility in the region.

The Economic Outlook also highlighted Sub-Saharan African countries benefiting from globalization with an overall growth projected to rise from 5.7 percent in 2006 to 6.1 percent in 2008.

The growth acceleration reflected largely on the coming onstream of new production facilities in oil-exporting countries such as Angola and Nigeria.

According to the report, risks to the forecast were however, titled somewhat to the downside reflecting mainly the possibility of a weaker global out turn, which would weaken demand for African commodity exports and tighten financial constraints, as well risks from domestic political developments in individual countries. It said Sub-Saharan African Countries were enjoying the period of sustained growth since independence.

It put faster growing countries in making substantial progress in reducing poverty rates in the region.

It said the growth success reflected a potent combination of a favourable external environment, sound policy implementation and rising openness of the region's economies.

It continued that due to its massive improvement in the economies, it has attracted rising capital inflows as well as benefiting from some step-up in aid inflows and rising remittances.

The report put oil-producing countries to have made large terms-of-trade gains from recent fuel price increases and international reserves had risen.

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It therefore warned countries producing oil in the region to be careful and spend oil gains in prudent manner without staining domestic absorptive capacity and saving appropriately for future generations.

The report also advised countries in the sub region to be vigilant in avoiding crowding out other productive activities through upward pressure on scarce domestic resources although such increased inflows would provide an important opportunity for poverty reduction.

It again advised countries in the region to build institutions that would help sustain improved macroeconomic management, push through governance and other reforms to strengthen poverty alleviation and develop the infrastructure and business environment to foster the rising productivity and investment needed to sustain high growth.

Source:
Ghanaian Chronicle

 Judicial corruption to be reduced



Accra, Nov. 08, GNA - The Chief Justice Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood on Wednesday said the Judicial Council would use all available resources at its disposal to ensure that Judicial corruption was reduced to the barest minimum.

She said the judiciary would also draw knowledge and experiences of judiciaries worldwide and the integrity of best practices and benchmarks of other institutions to enhance its image.

Mrs Justice Wood was speaking at the launch of Ghana Integrity Initiative's (GII) report on "Corruption Monitoring Exercise in Ghana" in Accra.

The report based on administering of questionnaires to Judicial staff, judges, lawyers, litigants in Accra/Tema and Kumasi aimed at finding out to which extent judicial corruption was close to reality and find remedy to the canker.

The report concentrated on cases on land and commercial litigation. Mrs Justice Wood said corruption posed a threat to judicial legitimacy and limited their capacity to effectively fulfil their constitutional mandate.

She observed that corruption had wrecked the continent and urged all and sundry to dedicate themselves to fighting the canker. The Chief Justice said she found it a "painful duty" to address the launch of a report that indicted the judiciary and concluded that the phenomenon of judicial corruption was not a perception but real. She noted that there were many honourable men and women on the bench who had over the years served the country tirelessly and had not relented themselves to any untoward practices.

Mrs Justice Wood admitted however, that there were a few of them who had dragged the name of the judiciary in the mud but urged the hardworking ones not to "loose heart over the report which unfortunately has put everyone in one basket".

She reminded judges that high integrity was crucial to their existence and survival of constitutional democracy.

The Chief Justice told the judges that government had improved the conditions of the judiciary adding, "This gives no excuse whatsoever for any judge to misconduct himself or herself on the basis of poor conditions of service".

"I have already started enforcing rigorously the rule and these would be based purely on integrity, industry, independence and not on some other consideration such as relationship, friendship or kinship," the Chief Justice said.

She appealed to government to address the service conditions of the staff of the judicial service and said to earn promotion and appointment to the bench, integrity was going to be used as the number one criterion.

Mrs Justice Wood stressed the need to develop an effective comprehensive integrity programme and action plan and asked for cooperation from all.

She indicated further that the judiciary was into negotiations with an international institution for sponsorship and training in Judicial Integrity and Ethics for Judges and all level of staff. "Violation of and non compliance with our laws and our code of conduct would not be taken lightly, but be appropriately dealt with". To dissuade court officials and litigants who were determined from corrupting the judicial system, she said the judiciary had designed brochures and posters with clear mission and ethics based value statements aimed at discouraging the practice of bribe payment to judges and court staff.

Mrs Justice Wood entreated members of the Ghana Bar Association and the public to desist from corrupting judges and staff.

Dr Audrey Gadzekpo, GII Board Chairperson noted that issues about corruption remained controversial as most Ghanaians believed that it existed but were not certain about its dimension with regard to its prevalence in governmental institutions and agencies.

She explained that GII chose the judiciary because it was one of the most important institutions in the fight against corruption adding "the judicial power of the state remains a key resource in the development and enforcement of anti-corruption policies.

"A corrupt judiciary cannot preside over the prosecution of other corrupt public official," she said.

However, Dr Gadzekpo said to be able to hold other public officials accountable, the judiciary itself must possess the requisite moral and ethical integrity as well as financial, technical and human resources. Dr Mechthild Runger, German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) Programme Manager on Good Governance said prevention of corruption was not a matter of prosecuting individual perpetrators, as many named underlying causes were structural and institutional in nature.

Source:
GNA

Red carpet for visiting Sierra Leone Leader


Accra, Nov. 8, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Thursday rolled out the red carpet for the newly sworn-in leader of Sierra Leone, President Ernest Bai Koroma, as he arrived in the country for a two-day official visit.

The visit is his first to Ghana since his election on September 8, 2007.

President Kufuor was on hand to receive him when the Nigerian Air Force plane, carrying him and his delegation touched down at the Kotoka International Airport at exactly 1350 hours.

After the exchange of pleasantries and traditional presentation of the "Akwaaba" bouquet, the two leaders mounted the saluting dais. The military band then struck the national anthems of Ghana and Sierra Leone and the booming of the 21-gun salute filled the air.

The visiting leader later inspected a guard of honour formed by the Ghana Navy amidst melodious rendition of some popular Ghanaian tunes by the band and a spectacular performance by a cultural troupe. The Leaders thereafter drove in a convoy to the Castle, Osu, the seat of Government, for bilateral talks.

President Kufuor in his welcoming remarks before going into talks with President Koroma, said he was impressed with the temperament he had brought to bear on his office.

"Your good conduct within the few days comes ahead of you. The statesmanship adoring you and the positive manner with which you have launched yourself must be sustained."

President Kufuor said it was his prayer that the Sierra Leone leader would try and implement the findings of his country's Reconciliation Commission to heal the wounds and soothe the pains and injuries of its ruinous civil war, as he laid the foundation for rebuilding the nation.

He said he was confident that the West African state would find itself back with the dignity it deserved within the sub-Regional grouping, ECOWAS.

He also expressed the hope that the historic relations that had existed between the two countries would be further strengthened under his leadership.

President Koroma said he was in the country to confirm the confidence and re-affirm their relations with Ghana.

He said having just come out of the just recently held elections, he was aware of the responsibility to stabilize the peace back home and to strengthen relations within the ECOWAS.

Another challenge was how to rebuild the infrastructure and economy torn out by the devastating civil war. He said there was a lot they could learn from Ghana's experience.

"We are here to learn from your leadership and the direction you have shown in the sub-Region to put our development agenda on a proper perspective."

President Koroma, who expressed his gratefulness to President Kufuor for the wonderful reception accorded him, also conveyed his country's gratitude to Ghana for the support during the difficult days of the war. He returns home on Friday.

Source:
GNA

 China to encourage credible investment in Ghana


Accra, Nov. 8, GNA - The Chinese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr. Yu Wenzhe on Thursday said his government would continue to encourage credible Chinese entrepreneurs to invest in Ghana.

He said the long-standing traditional friendship between the two countries had developed rapidly and positive achievements had been made in all fields of co-operation.

Mr Yu, who was addressing a press conference to mark the seventh anniversary of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), said the direct investment by Chinese companies was over 70 million dollars.

The FOCAC was instituted in 2000 as a platform by China and friendly African countries for collective consultation and dialogue, and a cooperation mechanism between the developing countries, which fell into the category of South-South cooperation.

The forum, which is organised every three years, is also to promote both political dialogue and economic cooperation and trade, with a view to seeking mutual reinforcement and common development.

The Ambassador said 283 Chinese enterprises registered with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre from September 1994 to June 2007, making it the biggest investor.

Mr Yu added that 97 were manufacturing enterprises, 59 general trading companies, 44 service providers, 15 construction companies and 48 tourist agencies.

He mentioned the Bui Dam, Afefi Irrigation, Dangme East District Hospital, Police Apartments, Beijing Village Barracks at Burma Camp and the 17.4-kilometre Ofankor-Nsawam stretch of the Accra-Kumasi Highway projects as some the projects that China supported. "Projects yet to be completed since 2006 include an office block of the Ministry of Defence, two stadiums to serve Ghana CAN 2008, National Communication Backbone Project and the Youth Cultural Centre in Kumasi."

Mr Yu said China was also constructing a hospital in Accra and three rural schools to be donated to the country. He said under the framework of FOCAC, more than 700 Ghanaian professionals and officials participated in various training programmes or seminars in China including, trading, agriculture, education, fishery, communication, energy and auditing.

Mr Yu said since the establishment of FOCAC, economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa had entered a new era, with comprehensive, rapid and stable development. "Two-way trade volume rocketed to 55.5 billion dollars in 2006 after breaking the mark of 10 billion dollars in 2000," he said. The Fourth Ministerial Meeting of FOCAC would be held in Egypt in 2009.

Source:
GNA

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• 07.11.2007

Police hunt for robbery gang


Tepa (Ash), Nov. 6, GNA- Police in the Ahafo Ano North District of Ashanti have launched an intensive search for a gang of armed robbers who had for some time now been operating in the district.

The robbers said to be numbering about eight had within the past months succeeded in robbing passengers who commute between Anyinasu-Jacobu in the district of several millions of cedis and valuable items.

The latest of such robberies occurred on Sunday November 4 at Agyei Kwame Junction when the gang was said to have robbed some passengers travelling from Kumasi to Goaso of an unspecified amount of money and other items.

Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Mr Stephen Awuah-Baffour, Commander in-Chief of the district told the Ghana News Agency at Tepa that the latest incident occurred at about 23:20 hours and that the robbers used some beams and logs to block the road. He said this compelled the driver of the vehicle to stop, adding that, the robbers then come out of bushes where they had laid ambush to attack the passengers.

ASP Awuah-Baffour stated that the robbers who were in mask and spoke Twi and Hausa ordered the passengers to surrender everything they had on them.

The Police Commander said the robbers shot and wounded some of the passengers during the operation and that all the injured were treated and discharged at a hospital.

He urged the residents to be vigilant and volunteer information that would lead to the arrest of the culprits.

Source:
GNA

 Tension High As Fifth Person Dies in Chieftaincy Violence

07/1172007 - UN Integrated Regional Information



Tension is high in Anloga District in Ghana's Volta Region after a man died in police custody -- the fifth person to die since 1 November when violence linked to a decade-old chieftaincy dispute rocked the district.

Five days after police exchanged gunfire with a group who reportedly raided a chief-naming ceremony carried out by a rival family, human rights groups say fear pervades in the district, about 150km east of the capital Accra.

Since the death of the last paramount chief 10 years ago two royal families in the area, both of the Anlo ethnic group, have been fighting over who should succeed him.

In the 1 November incident, one group was carrying out ceremonies leading to the nomination of a new paramount chief, known as the 'Awoamefia' in the Ewe language, when the other clan -- reported to have been armed with AK-47s and clubs -- raided the site. Three died in the gunfire between the group and police; there is a dispute over who opened fire.

The body of a policeman kidnapped during the mayhem was found in a lagoon the following day.

Residents told human rights groups that mass arrests followed in the area. A police official told IRIN that 74 people had been arrested following the clash, seven of whom remain in custody in Ho, the capital of the Volta Region.

It is not yet clear how the 32-year-old detainee died on 5 November while in custody. Police and a lawyer for the detainees told IRIN they are waiting for the results of an autopsy to determine whether the death was linked to police brutality.

The lawyer, Alfred Agbesi, told IRIN many detainees reported being beaten by the police. "They all talk of being beaten, slapped, hit by police officers," he said.

While visiting the detention cell with a member of parliament, he said he saw a policeman kicking a detainee. "We protested and the officer in charge apologised," he said.

Patrick Timbilla, Ghana's director of police operations, confirmed that a man died in police custody but he warned against rushing to conclusions. "It is an unfortunate happening but my caution is don't let us start pointing accusing fingers and laying blame and assigning reasons for his death," Timbilla said.

"We are waiting for the results of a post-mortem on the body and that will help us tell exactly what killed him. I promise that if there is any police complicity in his death no one will be spared. They will face the full rigours of the law."

But Nana Oyé Lithur, regional coordinator of the Africa office of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), said Ghana has a history of police brutality. "Through police negligence and brutality we're losing lives in Ghana, and [the police] are supposed to be protecting lives," she told IRIN from Accra.

A team from CHRI and the Accra-based Legal Resources Centre conducted a fact-finding mission to the Anloga area on 5 November. "The objective was to find out exactly what happened," Lithur said. "From media reports we were concerned about possible human rights violations."

Lithur said residents told the human rights team that after the chieftaincy clash and ensuing deaths, police terrified residents with house-to-house raids.

"People were scared to talk to us," Lithur told IRIN. "It was very quiet; there were not many young men around," she added, saying that it appeared some people had abandoned their homes.

She said the human rights team was there on market day but that there was little activity in the marketplace. "One woman told us they are scared to go to out to buy food."

A police official in the area would not comment on whether police carried out house-to-house arrests. Alhaji Hamidu, assistant commissioner of police in Volta, told IRIN only that the police had followed "normal police procedures".

Lithur said that at one point during the fact-finding mission, police officers stopped the human rights groups' vehicle, two officers momentarily pointing their guns at the occupants.

Government role

Recent events have raised questions not only about possible police abuses in Ghana but also about the extent to which the government should be allowed to intervene in chieftaincy disputes.

The Ghanaian constitution holds that the government cannot interfere in chieftaincy matters, but following last week's violence Interior Minister Kwamena Bartels said the government "has an overriding responsibility to ensure peace, tranquility, and law and order."

One government official has called for an amendment to the constitution to allow the government to intervene directly in chieftaincy affairs.

The controversial ceremony in Anloga was known about before it took place and some observers in Ghana say the government should have done more to prevent the violence.

CHRI's Lithur told IRIN that the authorities must improve intelligence and early warning mechanisms. "We have to look at early warning systems and find out why law and order is breaking down."

Source: © Reborn Radio Africa ( Germany )

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 Nigeria Promise Football war with Ghana - Pledge by Siasia

07/11/2007 - Vanguard (Lagos)



FLYING Eagles Coach Samson Siasia has vowed to pick the ticket to the Olympics at the instance of Ghana's Meteors in their crunch tie in Accra on November 16. Siasia who is still begging Clubs to release players for this weekend's cracker said that he has no favourites for the game against Ghana.

"How can I have favourites for the game that means everything to me. I want to be in the Olympics and the only way to be there is by fielding the best players that can shock Ghanaians when we meet", the Silver-winning coach said. There have been hisses among the local players that the Coach wants to use them as training materials as he has reserved shirts for foreign-based players.

"It is strange for them to say that. They should know that the Olympics means more to me than me. My camp is open to all and only the fittest, those who prove themselves can grab shirts for the match against Ghana. There is no favouratism. There is nothing like reserving places for foreign-based. They should come and prove themselves", Siasia emphasised.

He agreed that the match against Ghana's Meteors would be an acid test but urged Club Owners to help him realise the dream of taking Nigeria to the Olympics. "We are talking of national assignment. We are counting days before the match. They should release these players for a national assignment", the Coach pleaded.

Meanwhile, former Golden Eaglets goalie, Oladele Ajiboye has promised to stop Ghana Meteors Olympic Games soccer ticket quest.

"I am in the U-23 camp to contribute my quota to the qualification for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and by God's grace we shall beat Ghana,"he said.

"I want to add to my U-17 World Cup attainment an Olympic honour and this is the opportunity for me to do that," he added.

Ajiboye said he would put on hold his contract signing with Kwara United F.C until after the Olympic qualifier.

Source: © Reborn Radio Africa ( Germany )

 NGO supports 500 girls in three districts in N/R


Tamale, Nov. 7, GNA - The Regional Advisory Information Systems (RAINS), a Tamale development oriented NGO, is supporting 500 girls in three districts of the Northern Region with educational materials to improve education in those areas. As part of the support, 50 girls who ply long distances to attend school are to receive bicycles while the remaining 450 girls would be given textbooks, exercise books, school uniforms, sandals and other teaching and learning aids.

Mrs. Christiana Yakubu, Project Officer at RAINS, announced the package at a ceremony in Tamale on Tuesday to present 50 bicycles to girls from the Gushegu, Karaga and the West Mamprusi districts. Forty bicycles would go to beneficiaries in Gushegu and Karaga while the remaining 10 would go beneficiaries in the West Mamprusi District.

Mrs. Yakubu said RAINS was collaborating with the American Jewish World Service (AJWS), an international NGO, to promote the education of girls in those districts.

She said RAINS had been promoting the welfare of both girls and boys but that this particular package skewed towards the girl-child because of the social barriers to girl-child education in the three districts.

Hajia Azara Telly, a Board Member of RAINS, presented the bicycles to representatives of the beneficiary girls. She said RAINS had given support to more than 6,000 girls since 2000 and gave the assurance the NGO would continue with its humanitarian services to ensure that education disparity between girls and boys was closed.

Madam Margaret Adisatu Haruna, Northern Regional Girl-Child Education Officer who received the bicycles on behalf of the beneficiary districts, expressed concern about low education rate of girls in the region and that the bicycles would boost their morale to stay in school.

Source:
GNA

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Tarkwa police arrests a man with human head


Tarkwa(WR), Nov. 07, GNA - The Tarkwa Police has arrested a 34-year-old trader, Kwame Amponsah for attempting to sell a human head to one Yaw Ankonah at Dadieso near Enchi.

Briefing Ghana News Agency at Tarkwa, Chief Superintendent of Police and Tarkwa Divisional Police Commander, David Sampana said Amponsah, a native of "Mile 4" near Tafo in Kumasi, in need of money allegedly beheaded 15-year-old Kwame Berko, son of Madam Ama Boahemaa for rituals to make money.

Chief Superintendent Sampana said during interrogation, Amponsah confessed killing the boy at Dweneho near Techiman in Brong Ahafo Region on Saturday, November 3.

He said Amponsah told the police that after killing the boy, he heard a gunshot and therefore bolted leaving the headless body. Chief Superintendent Sampana said Amponsah was sending the head to Ankonah for sale but Ankonah alerted the police and the suspect was arrested.

Meanwhile, the victim's head has been deposited at Tarkwa Government Hospital.

Source:
GNA

8-year-old girl beaten to death over $10

A 50-year-old kenkey seller, who could not bear the agony of losing her GHC10 (Ce100,000 = $10), has visited her anguish on her eight-year-old ward, leading to her death. The suspect, Hagar Sakah, alias Adorkor, a resident of Soko, a suburb of Lartebiokorshie in Accra, allegedly used a piece of firewood to hit the head of Sarah Darkey, the deceased, and refused to send her to hospital for medical attention, when she started bleeding from her wounds.

The girl was said to have been sent by Hagar on October 20, 2007 to buy cooking oil to fry fish for the next day�s business. Sarah was said to have returned after sometime without the oil and told Hagar that she had lost the money on the way.

According to the Accra Regional Crime Officer, Chief Superintendent Boi-Bi-Boi, this infuriated Hagar so much that she picked a piece of firewood and started beating Sarah.

Sarah�s screams attracted some people to the scene, who pleaded with Hagar, but she persisted in beating Sarah till she fell and started bleeding. Mr Boi-Bi-Boi said Sarah was left unattended to for five hours after which she collapsed and neighbours called Hagar to send her to hospital.He said she first took her to the Mamprobi Polyclinic where she was referred to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital for further treatment but she was pronounced dead on arrival.

He said at the hospital, Hagar lied to the medical personnel that Sarah�s injuries were the result of a fall into a gutter.The crime officer said the doctor then advised her to go to the Korle-Bu Police Station and report the incident before the body would be sent to the mortuary.He said Hagar went to the police and told a different story that she returned from town and found the girl with bruises all over her body.

She told the police that she was only a guardian to the girl and that she had to go and inform Sarah�s parents about the incident so she was asked to go and return the next day but she bolted. She was later arrested at Quarshie, a village near Kade in the Eastern Region, upon a tip-off. The suspect was today arraigned before the City Engineers Court, presided over by Mr Alex Okraku, remanded to appear again on January 10, 2008.

Source:
Daily Graphic

Parents demand 30 percent admission to secondary schools


Agona Nsaba, C/R, Nob7, GNA- The Agona District Chief Farmer, Nana Kofi Agyemkum II, has called on the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports to maintain the policy of reserving 30 percent of admissions for the communities the Senior High schools were located.

Addressing Cocoa farmers at Agona Nsaba at the weekend, Nana Agyekum expressed regret that the policy had been cancelled and said farmers were demanding from the Ministry the rational for abolishing the privilege that had been enjoyed by parents mostly farmers since the independence of the country.

Nana Agyekum who is also Adontenhene of the Agona Nsaba Traditional Area, said even though the computer selection and placement system (CSSPS) was introduced to curb corruption in the system it had been abused to frustrate some parents especially those in the rural areas. According to the Chief Farmer in 2005 and 2006 parents enjoyed the 30 percent intake earmarked for communities there had been "a different ball game all together" this year.

The Adontenhene stated that enquiries he made at the Nsaba Presbyterian Secondary School, Swedru School of Business and Nyakrom Secondary/Technical Schools indicated that the 30 percent reserved for communities had been abolished. He noted that farmers leaving in and around these institutions whose children had aggregates 19, 22, 24, 26, 27 and 30 at the BECE did not gain admission even though they chose the schools as their first and second choice.

The Chief Farmer alleged that, "people at the high positions bulldozed their ways into the CSSPS before results were released by the West Africa Examination Council to the disadvantage of our children", he said.

Nana Agyekum said two of his grandsons who recorded aggregates 27 and 28 respectively and had chosen Nsaba Secondary School as their first and second choices were not placed by the computer and called for a review of the CSSPS to ensure "fair distribution of secondary education for every Ghanaian child".

The Chief Farmer said students who had better grades and qualified for the Ghana Cocoa Board scholarship scheme attended private schools and urged the government to take serious view of the situation. The Adontenhene advised parents to check their children from attending film shows and funerals and to rather concentrate on their studies.

Source:
GNA

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 Organized prostitution makes inroad into Ho municipality


Ho, Nov. 7, GNA - Organized prostitution is making inroads into the Ho Municipality and there are fears there might be upsurge in HIV/AIDS cases.

Hitherto, sex peddling was done by girls and women described as roamers, sitters and others who were "on call" at some hotels and guesthouses.

Ghana News Agency investigations have shown that now the practice seems to be centred on a popular drinking spot in the heart of Adablakordzi at Ho Bankoe where girls and women loiter around to solicit for commercial sex.

The girls, mostly Senior High School leavers and women in their middle and late twenties, dress in seductive dresses to attract the attention.

Mr. Barnabas Addin, Volta Regional Director of the Department of Social Welfare, said the development was as a result of the increased population of the town.

He said migration of young people, especially girls from the surrounding villages to the town, was high. The Director said because of unemployment young people from surrounding villages migrate on daily basis, some for pleasure and others for survival.

Mr Addin said the repercussion for the town would be the upsurge of HIV/AIDS and called on all to be on the alert.

Source:
GNA

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Netherlands community assesses support for Twifo District


Twifo Praso (C/R), Nov. 6, GNA - The European Union (EU) is supporting the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to construct a 'Cocoa Museum' in the Twifo-Hemang-Lower-Denkyira District near the Kakum National Park. In addition, potential investors in the US have expressed interest in the establishment of a hotel of international standards in the vicinity of the park to boost tourism in the area. The District Chief Executive, Mr Samuel Agyeibie Kessie, said this at a durbar in honour of a three-member delegation from Wormerland in the Netherlands.

The delegation was on an exploratory visit to the area to assess how best Wormerland municipality and the district could be of mutual benefit to each other.

"Potential investors in the US have shown interest in investing in housing at Twifo-Praso, the district capital, to help provide accommodation for its growing population that now stands at 11,853." Mr Agyeibi-Kessie said the assembly was also embarking on a complete renovation of the capital with a new market, a lorry park and a storey building for stores.

Nana Ato Arthur, the Central Regional Minister, said in an address read on his behalf that the exploratory steps made by the municipality of Wormerland to liase with the district was a golden opportunity that should be utilized.

He said although the district was making headway, it was faced with many developmental issues and to have a partner with whom it could team up with to deal with existing and new challenges and opportunities would be most welcome.

Nana Arthur expressed the hope that the "giant step" being taken would lead onto mutually beneficial strong relations for Wormerland and the district.

Nana Appiah Nuamah II, Omanhene of Twifo Traditional Area, pledged his people's readiness to release land for investment to help improve the standard of living in the district. In appreciation of the friendship, the delegation was presented with kente stoles and a stool.

Source:
GNA