| HOME | | NEWS ARCHIVE 2009 | | NEWS ARCHIVE 2008 | | NEWS ARCHIVE 2007 | | PHOTO REPORTS | | VIDEO REPORTS | | AUDIO REPORTS | | EDITORIAL | | LATEST WORLD NEWS | | | | Ghana Districts | | ARTS in GHANA | | GET FREE STUFF | | Food & Drinks in Ghana | | Africa Cup 2008 | | Ghana Hotels | | Links / Websites | | Ghana Districts | | Ghana Tourism | | Ghana Classifieds | Names in Ghana | | | | | | * 07.02.2009 | | Energy drinks cause diabetes in Ghanaians | Concentrated carbohydrate beverages popularly referred to as “Energy Drinks” have been found to be contributing to the high rate of diabetes in the country.
These drinks, according to Dr Francis Ofei, a medical doctor at the Department of Medicine and Therapeutics of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, have high calories that increase one’s risk of being diagnosed with diabetes. -
Speaking on the theme of General Emergency Care, but specifically on the topic of Diabetic Ketoacidosis in Adults (DKA), Dr Ofei said DKA was one of the commonest causes of death among diabetic patients in Ghana.
“We are supposed to be eating wisely and properly. Instead of eating three times daily we could eat once, with all the essential nutrients in the diet,” he argued.
He also warned that new developments in youth culture were affecting their health and pointed out that Ghanaians in general, if tested, could be found to be positive candidates of type-two diabetes.
Habits like the use of cocaine and processed milk for young infants, he indicated, were other causes of diabetes.
He cited the problem of urinary tract infection as one major cause of diabetes and described some symptoms associated with diabetes as chest and abdominal pains, loss of breath, fever, infections, vomiting and dehydration.
Dr Ofei, therefore, advised doctors, particularly surgeons, to always check the insulin content or sugar levels of patients before they performed surgery on them, in order to avoid complica tions afterwards.
“We need to change our attitudes, towards modern emergency care in Ghana,” he stated, and urged that “everything you do, you do with caution and backed with knowledge.”
He recommended treatment through regular intake of insulin via an IV drip; regular medication and appropriate monitoring of blood and urine test results to check for balancing of glucose levels in patients.
| | * 06.02.2009 | | DOVVSU denies political considerations in "Mame Dokonu's" case | Accra, Feb. 6, GNA - The Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service on Friday denied that there were political considerations in the closure of the Peace and Love Orphanage owned by Ms Grace Omaboe, popularly called Maame Dokono, after an eight-year-old boy allegedly sodomised a six-month-old baby.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Owusua Kyeremeh, Regional Coordinator of the Unit, told the Ghana News Agency that the closure was meant to protect children in the orphanage.
Ms Omaboe, who was a staunch member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), switched allegiance to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the run-up to the 2008 elections.
Pictures of the six-month old baby showed a hole in the baby's anus making him pass faeces and blood. She said DOVVSU had charged Ms Omaboe with exposing a child to harm as stipulated by the Children's Act. Her self cognizance bail has been revoked and replaced with a bail of GH¢1,000 Ghana cedis with one surety to report to the Police Station three times a week due to new revelations coming up in the investigations.
Mrs Kyeremeh said under the Act, a person under 12 years cannot be charged with a criminal offence but the parent or guardian of the child could be charged because of negligence. She said the orphanage was operating illegally as its license had expired since March 2006.
Mrs Kyeremeh said on Thursday she went to the orphanage in the company of the Public Relations Officer of DOVVSU and the investigator to invite Ms Omaboe for questioning because she had failed to attend a planned meeting to face her accuser who wanted to confront her on some issues concerning her orphanage. She said a scuffle ensued when Ms Omaboe refused to cooperate with them and this triggered insults from Ms Omaboe. Mrs Kyeremeh said Ms Omaboe was not even detained but she was questioned. She said Ms Omaboe had admitted that she had not visited the orphanage frequently for some time and it was the assertion of DOVVSU that Ms Omaboe had been negligent.
Mrs Kyeremeh expressed surprise at the turn of events saying Ms Omaboe had cooperated since the baby was sent to the Police Hospital for treatment and the case was referred to DOVVSU. The police said Ms Omaboe even asked for assistance from the Department Social Welfare to take custody of the children because she could longer cater for them after which a caution statement was taken from her. Mrs Kyeremeh said the unit agreed and with the help of the Department of Social Welfare transferred seven of the inmates with the intention of the Department managing the home till all the children were relocated to be followed by the closure of her orphanage. The Regional coordinator denied claims by Ms Omaboe that attempts were made by the officials to forcibly arrest her even though she had informed them of her willingness to come to the office with her lawyer. | | Poverty preventing people of Asante Akim South from pursing justice | Juaso-Ashanti, Feb. 6, GNA - Most people in Asante Akim South District are unable to take advantage of free services of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), and pursue justice due to poverty.
Some victims of human right violations for instance cannot afford transport fare to the district capital to report such cases to CHRAJ and other appropriate institutions.
Mr. Isaac Kwame Acheampong, the District Director of CHRAJ, who disclosed this in an interview with GNA at Juaso-Ashanti, expressed worry that the rights of the vulnerable, especially women and children were violated with impunity and culprits were unpunished. He said the District Directorate of CHRAJ recorded 69 human rights violations last year out of which 56 were either settled or referred to other State agencies with 13 pending. Mr. Acheampong said 12 cases concerning children, made up of one defilement case and 11 child maintenance and custody cases, were reported to the Commission.
He said the lack of adequate transport, logistics and funds for public education, mainly in the rural areas, militated against the operations of CHRAJ and called for urgent steps to solve the problems. Mr. Acheampong stressed that that the dispensation of justice in the district was becoming the preserve of a few people because most residents, including those in the hinterland could not seek redress to human rights abuses. | | * 03.02.2009 | | Wood carvers call for gov’t help | Accra, Feb. 3, GNA - Mr Tanko Amadu, a Wood-carver at the Arts Centre, in Accra, on Tuesday urged the government to initiate financial and skill development programmes for handicraft makers. He said those working in the industry had not had any direct help in the form of training or loans from any government, making it difficult for the sector to grow.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Amadu said in the past craftsmen were informed about exhibitions and helped to participate to attract markets both locally and internationally. "These days they don't inform us about such exhibitions, it is foreigners that come in to exhibit and they get all the orders while we suffer to cater for ourselves," he added. Mr Amadu also complained about low tourists turn out at the Centre and said his colleagues were sometimes forced to sell their products at a loss since the market was so slow.
He said one big drum should normally sell at about GHc35 but local businessmen take advantage of their low sale and sometimes bought it for GHc20 or even less while the same size of drum is sold in South Africa for GHc 95.
Mr Amadu further said he used to train street children in the trade for free but had to stop due to the challenges he faced in the industry. In another development, Mrs Janet Bekoe, a trader at the Arts Centre, who sells Kente Cloth and beads, expressed concerns about the multiplicity of taxes collected from different revenue agencies from them.
She explained that the traders paid taxes to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, the Arts Centre and the Internal Revenue Service, in addition to paying for the services of a cleaner and security personnel. Mrs Bekoe said prices had gone up resulting in low sales and attributed that to the depreciation of the cedi. "The Kente weavers import thread into the country and that results in the increased prices of the cloth," she said but admitted that a lot of Ghanaians patronized their products.
Mr Kwasi Ntiamoah, also a Kente Cloth seller at the Centre, said the government should host more international conferences in the country since that brought in a lot of tourists and also helped to promote their products and Ghana to the international community. Mrs Bridget Katsriku, Chief Director of the Ministry of Tourism, in an interview, urged people in the tourism industry to strengthen collaboration with the handicraft sector. She said even though there was already an informal collaboration between the two sectors there was the need to formalise procedures and put together a clear cut policy. "Tourism has direct impact on the growth of the arts and craft industry," she added. With support from the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund, the Ghana Journalists Association in collaboration with the KAB Governance Consult has been working to bring out the challenges of the Small Scale Businesses under a project which is on the theme: "Using the Media to Promote Business Advocacy." 03. February 2009
| | Ghana records new polio cases | Accra, Feb. 3, GNA - Ghana has recorded eight cases of wild polio after successfully recording no case for three continuous years, thus disrupting efforts made towards declaring Ghana and the African continent polio free by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The cases, all imported from Benin, were detected in the eastern part of the Northern Region, during last year's national immunisation exercise.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency, Dr Kwadwo Antwi-Agyei, Programme Manager for the Expanded Programme on Immunisation of the Ghana Health Service, described the eight confirmed cases as paralysis in children, which were being managed clinically since there was no treatment for the disease.
He said the specimen were confirmed positive after being sent to South Africa for further sequencing to determine the source of the polio virus after the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research had done some analysis.
"There is no drug for diseases caused by the virus, therefore, what we need is prevention and this should be a coordinated effort, involving our neighbouring countries and the continent as a whole. "If we in Ghana put in our interventions and other countries around us do not, then we always experience imported cases, he stated." In Africa, Ghana, Mali, Benin, Nigeria and Burkina Faso are the only countries recording wild polio cases.
Dr Antwi-Agyei explained that it was Africa that would be certified as a polio free continent and not individual countries and "that will be after the various countries have successfully recorded no wild polio cases for three continuous years". It said that throughout the world, it is only Africa and Asia that have not been certified as polio free continents.
He said the first round of national campaign to immunise children under five years against polio and other childhood diseases would begin on February 12-14, 2009 and the second round on March 26-28, 2009. He gave the assurance that the GHS would continue with its interventions and even intensify efforts in declaring Ghana a polio free country and ensure a concerted effort with the neighbouring countries to eliminate polio from the continent.
"We will also be strengthening and intensifying our immunisation efforts to ensure that every child is immunised".
| | Two workers electrocuted at Tema PSC Shipyard | Tema, Feb 03, GNA - Two men, working on a vessel at the Tema PSC Shipyard were electrocuted on two separate days last week. The names of the workers were not immediately known and the Contractor, for whom they were working for, was not available for comment when the GNA visited the PSC Tema Shipyard on Tuesday morning. Management staff of the company was in a meeting and none of the workers would volunteer any information when pressed and referred the untimely death early last week when he was pulling a naked cable while the second whose case occurred late in the week was also working on an electrical appliance.
Meanwhile, the Tema Regional Police Crime Officer, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Joshua Dogbeda confirmed the incidents and said the Railway and Harbours police are investigating it. The bodies of the two men have been deposited at the mortuary for autopsy. | | * 02.02.2009 | Shipyard workers to lose pay for embarking on illegal strike | Accra, Feb. 2, GNA - The National Labour Commission (NLC) said on Monday the 219 workers of the PSC Tema Shipyard who went on strike over a dispute on a bonus tax in November 2008, will forfeit three day's salary. It had further directed the management of the Shipyard and the Union to report back to the Commission, the implementation of its decision on Wednesday, February 11, 2009.
A statement from the NLC signed by Mr. Mohammed Affum, Public Affairs Officer, on Monday, said the action by the workers, which started from November 18 to 20 2008, was illegal and therefore the forfeiture would enable management of the company defray part of the cost it incurred during the illegal strike. It explained that the Commission gave the ruling after it had considered a compliant by the Maritime and Dock Workers Union last year that, management of PSC Tema Shipyard had locked out workers for having embarked on an illegal strike action. It said the ruling was in accordance with Section 168 (2) of the Labour Act, which states the consequences of embarking on an illegal strike action.
On the status of workers on duty on December 2, 2008, who were interdicted following an assault on the Head of Finance of the company, the Commission decided that they should remain interdicted for investigations to be conducted in accordance with their collective agreement, adding however that interdiction letters issued to all workers who were not on duty that day should be withdrawn according to the ruling. The Commission also asked the management of the Shipyard, to be mindful of the "good faith" negotiations to ensure industrial peace and harmony in the enterprise. | ESB for executive, legislature was sponsored by UNDP | Accra, Feb. 2, GNA - The end-of-service benefits of the Executive and Legislative arms of government, which have generated a heated public debate, was sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a possible yardstick to resettle former African presidents, a communications expert said on Monday.
"The work of the (Chinery Hesse) Committee was sponsored by the UNDP who regarded it as a governance project which could be used as template for other African and developing countries on how to resettle their former presidents," Mr Peter Akakpo, the communication expert said in a statement to the Ghana News Agency. He said the Committee therefore consulted widely throughout the world and especially, in West Africa and other developing countries to enable them to gain insights of "best practices" elsewhere.
The Committee reviewed the Greenstreet report which had been compiled under the first government of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government and whose provisions have been applied to former President Jerry Rawlings when he was leaving office.
Mr. Akakpo said the current public discourse on the end-of-service benefits of the Executive and Legislative arms of government seemed to have been "characterized by deliberate falsehoods and at times intentional distortions". "People seem to have lost sight that the Report covered a lot more than ex-gratia awards and concerned the conditions of service of more than 600 constitutional office holders," he said.
Mr. Akakpo noted that one particular sore point was the view in some quarters that the benefits were demands of former President John Agyekum Kufuor. "This view is unfortunate, far from the truth and unfair. The records must be set straight."
Mr. Akakpo said the Committee worked on two reports. The first one which was completed in 2005 was on emoluments of all categories of workers under Article 71 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and its recommendations have since been implemented for all beneficiaries, including former President Rawlings and Members of Parliament. The second report on Facilities and Privileges was completed in June 2008 and the executive summary was made available to the appropriate parliamentary committee. "The full report was released to the President in December 2008 and has been the cause of intense, sometimes misguided public debate, because it appears that many people speaking on the issue have not gone through the whole 181-page report." He noted that many people do not even seem to be aware that there was a first volume which set out in even greater detail the justification of the recommendations made in the second volume, which clearly stated that the two reports should be taken together.
Mr Akakpo said it was important to note that Dr (Mrs) Chinery-Hesse was appointed to the job in 2004 just when she had retired from the International Labour Organization (ILO). He said she was then not part of the Kufuor administration and it was not until May 2006, after the guiding principles in the first volume had been endorsed by the appropriate constitutional bodies that Mrs Chinery-Hesse was made Chief Adviser to President Kufuor. Justifying the recommendations on the vehicles, Mr Akakpo said of the three salon cars, one was intended for the use of the President for travel in town and one as a back-up by his security detail.
The third, he said, was for the use of the First Lady while the two cross-country vehicles were provided for when the former President was travelling outside Accra to the regions, with same configuration. "The sixth, an 'all-purpose' vehicle, is for use for sundry functions in the former president's house-hold as well as for his office. The 'all-purpose vehicle was meant to be a pick-up and not an armoured vehicle as falsely peddled about."
He said security for former presidents was important in order to avoid the fate that befell former Vice President John Nkensen Arkaah, who was killed by a hit-and-run driver. The culprit he said even as of today has not been apprehended. On the establishment of a Foundation, Mr Akakpo said it would "draw on the wide experience and knowledge of former presidents gained while in office".
"Apart from keeping the former presidents busy and contributing to the national effort, the Foundation has the further advantage of keeping them busy, and maybe, out of mischief and undue interference in national affairs, after a life of prominence and importance. "The Foundation which would be affiliated to a tertiary institution was to be started with a one million-dollar seed money form government. The Foundation when established would deal with issues of a developmental nature that would be beneficial to society."
On the two houses, one of which would be in Accra and the other, a chalet, in his village, Mr Akakpo said reasoning behind this was that a former president should not run the risk of an undignified existence when he travelled to his hometown, especially, because he was likely to receive people there as well as keep the image of his office intact. "As for the emoluments package, it is in keeping with ensuring that that a president out-of office does not suffer a lowering of standards and is sufficiently resourced to enable him to play his rightful role in society."
He said it was important that society looked beyond the two current former presidents into the future on how former presidents should be resettled and the role expected of them. "It is also important to compare standards in other countries, even poorer ones than Ghana and see the rising trend where former heads of state are being resettled comfortably to encourage them to continue to use their experiences to benefit their countries and also to increase good governance and end the spectre of sitting president hanging on to power by all means which has been the blight of Africa," Mr Akakpo said. > BACK TO TOP < | | ______________________ |
| Please note: Some links may open in a new window! | * 08.02.2009 (Sunday) | | Go to WEEK 7 / 09.02.2009 - 15.02.2009 | | TOP STORY for Monday, 09.02.2009: | Graphic: NPP functionaries share affordable houses Seven hundred and nineteen out of about 3,000 housing units which are yet to be completed under the government’s Affordable Housing Scheme at Borteyman and Kpone in the Greater Accra Region have already been allocated to persons believed to be well connected to the immediate past government. READ MORE at WEEK 7 MORE NEWS: - Six MPs pick ex-gratia cheques | | The big game: Kotoko 1-2 Hearts | | Accra Hearts of Oak won their first league derby against arch-rivals Asante Kotoko in Kumasi, for the first time in 10 years, to go seven points clear at the top of the league table. Hearts have recorded 22 points from nine matches while second-placed Kotoko are on 15 points, same as Heart of Lions, Real Tamale United and Tema Youth. Goals from Eric Gawu and Obed Ansah gave Hearts a 2-1 victory at a jammed, 40,000-capacity Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi on Sunday. Kotoko's consolation goal was by Stephen Oduro in the 77th minute. The Belgian coach of the defending champions, Maurice Cooreman, blasted referee William Agbovi for his team's loss, while this victory further enhanced the growing reputation of his opposite number, Kosta Papic, among the Hearts fans. Under the former Orlando Pirates of South Africa coach, Hearts are playing a lot better than they did last season. Other League results
| RTU | 4-0 Tema Youth | | St Mirren | 1-1 Arsenals | | Hasaacas | 3-1 All Blacks | | Bechem Chelsea | 0-0 Lions | | Ashgold | 0-1 Faisal | | Wa All Stars | 2-0 Wise | | Liberty | 1-1 Kessben | Source: goal.com | |
> BACK TO TOP < | | Sales girl murdered in cold blood | Kumasi, Feb.7, GNA - The Race Course in Kumasi was on Saturday thrown into a state of mourning following the murder of a sales-girl identified only as Mary.
The deceased is believed to have been stabbed several times on her neck by an unknown person resulting in her death.
When the Ghana News Agency (GNA) got to the scene the deceased, who is believed to be in her 20's, was lying in a pool of blood in the boutique store where she worked while traders at the Race Course area wailed.
Police Inspector Paul Mensah of the Suame Police District told the He noted that no arrest had been made and appealed to the public to cooperate with the police in their investigations to apprehend those behind the gruesome murder. > BACK TO TOP < | | * 07.02.2009 | | Three Jailed 30 years for possessing Indian hemp | Bibiani (W/R), Feb 07, GNA-The Bibiani Court Circuit, presided over by Mr. Emmanuel Ankomah has sentenced three people to 30 years imprisonment for possessing Indian hemp. They are Akwasi George, a 30 year-old Mason, Fani Kalim, a
26 year-old Drivers mate, and Sulemana Bukari, a 35-year-old farmer. They all pleaded not guilty and each was to serve 10 years imprisonment.
Giving the facts of the case, Detective Chief Inspector Alex Asamoah, told the court that, the accused persons were staying at Garo, a village near Ghana-Togo Boarder.
Chief Inspector Asamoah said, on August 12, 2008, at about 10 pm, police at Bibiani received information that the accused persons were in possession of large quantities of substance suspected to be Indian hemp at Sefwi-Bekwai in the Western Region.
Prosecution said Policemen were therefore detailed to the town, arrested the three accused persons and after searching them five cocoa sacks full of the substance was found on them.
Detective Chief Inspector Asamoah added that the three accused persons were later charged with the offence after police investigations. > BACK TO TOP < | | Consider Chiefs for Ministerial Appointments-Foundation | Kumasi, Feb. 7, GNA- The Atta Mills Foundation, a pro-democracy Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), has underscored the need to consider Chiefs for ministerial appointments to accelerate the nation's socio-economic development. It also called for the institution of proactive measures to allow traditional rulers to take active part in Ghanaian politics in the future.
Togbui Mawufeame Fugah, Life Patron of the Foundation, made the call at
a meeting in Kumasi at the weekend.
He explained that traditional rulers, by their training, knowledge and expertise were in a position to contribute effectively to the national development process and that, "it would not be out of place to give them ministerial positions or allow them to take active part in politics for the realization of the nation's development goals". The Life Patron said, since traditional rulers were also very in tune with the people at the grass roots, it would be easier for them to explain government policies effectively to the people if they were made to take active part in politics.
Madam Beatrice Adongo, a leading member of the Foundation, congratulated the new government for living up to expectation since being given the mandate last month, stressing that the nomination of young and dynamic people coupled with experienced ones had testified that President John Evans Atta Mills would deliver on his campaign promises.
She expressed the hope that a lot more women would be given other key positions for the betterment of women's empowerment. Madam Adongo appealed to traders, especially those in the Ashanti Region to shun arbitrary increase in food prices and also urged Ghanaians not to defame the character of innocent ministers-designate with the intention of scoring cheap political points to foster national unity and social cohesion. > BACK TO TOP < | Atta Mills commended for nominating PNC MP for Ministerial appointment | Bolgatanga, Feb. 7, GNA - President John Evans Atta Mills has been commended for nominating Mr. Azong Alhassan, People's National Convention (PNC), Member of Parliament (MP) for Builsa South for appointment as Minister at the Presidency.
A statement signed by Mr. Henry Fatchu, Upper East Regional Secretary of PNC, appealed to the President to appoint more competent PNC members to responsible positions in his government to enable them to contribute to national development.
It expressed optimism that Mr. Alhassan, a versatile person, would work hard to justify the confidence reposed in him by President Mills and the National Democratic Congress (NDC). The statement requested the Appointments Committee of Parliament to give Mr. Alhassan the nod to enable him to bring to bear his experience on President Mills' Administration. | | * 06.02.2009 | | Robber, Girlfriend Arrested | A motorcycle riding armed robber hit the end of the road yesterday when after robbing a woman under the King Tackie Tawiah Overhead Bridge in Accra, he was stopped when he attempted another robbery mission nearby.
Abass, the suspect who claimed to be 18 but looked older, upon dispossessing the woman of her mobile phone, descended on another victim nearby. This second victim however called in a police patrol team which responded quickly and nabbed him.
His accomplice escaped arrest though, according to the Nima Divisional Police Commander, ACP Awuni Angwubutoge.
The Commander gave a bizarre narration of what happened when he said that Abass was identified by the woman he had robbed a while ago when she came to the Nima Police Station to report her ordeal.
Upon identification, the suspect was searched and the mobile phone he dispossessed the owner of was found on his body.
Interestingly, his girlfriend, a certain Fawzia, turned up at the Police Station to demand why her man was being detained.
She flared up and bit a policewoman on duty at the counter who has since sought medical attention.
The arrest has turned a blessing for the Greater Accra Regional Police Command headquarters after they had identified Abass as a suspect on their wanted list for the past three years.
The Police, according to Mr. Angwubutoge, are investigating another robbery incident also involving two motorcycle riding robbers near the Kotoka International Airport.
In the operation, he said a decently dressed lady attracted the attention of the robbers who robbed her of a handbag which turned out to contain only GH¢15.
It is too early to link Abass to that operation but investigations are on to find out whether he had a hand in it.
The Divisional Commander has served notice that his outfit would soon embark on a massive seizure of unregistered motorcycles in his area of jurisdiction and beyond.
It has been observed that many of such unregistered motorbikes are used for robbery operations by some youth in the Nima and Accra Newtown areas.
While not all these bikes are used for robberies, others when they are engaged in accidents some fatal, cannot be traced as the riders disappear without trace.
Source: Daily Graphic
> BACK TO TOP < | | Mills withdraws nomination of Asaga | Accra, Feb. 6, GNA - President John Evans Atta Mills has withdrawn the nomination of Mr Moses Asaga as Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing.
This was contained in a statement on Friday signed by Mr Mahama Ayariga, Presidential Spokesman.
No reason was given for President Mills' action. Mr Asaga, MP for Nabdam, served as Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) under former President Jerry John Rawlings.
He was also for several years the spokesman for economic issues of the NDC in parliament during the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration. > BACK TO TOP < | Old Parliament building reverts to Ga Traditional Council | Accra, Feb 6, GNA - Although the previous government announced it had given Parliament House to the Ga Traditional Council, occupants of the building on Friday said they were yet to be informed officially.
The old Parliament House is occupied by the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justices (CHRAJ) and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), both state institutions. The building was one of many public assets reported to have been returned to the Ga people by the previous government before they left office last month. Mr. Agyeman Duodu, Director of SFO, told the GNA that he got the information from the media and that the SFO had not been formally informed. | 
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"Because we have not been formally informed, we have not made arrangements regarding tenancy agreement with the new owners - besides we do not know whether the new government will decide to move us into another premises," he said.
Mr. Duodu said the SFO had an uncompleted three-storey building behind the old Parliament House that they could move into when completed.
"What we need to do now is probably to look for money to complete that building so that in case we are asked to move out we can use that one," he said.
He said actions of that nature should have followed a certain procedure where "we the occupants would have been given early notice and probably ample time to reorganize ourselves."
Mr. Richard Ackon Quayson, Deputy Commissioner of CHRAJ, told the "We are waiting to receive a formal notice from the government on the matter before we decide on the next line of action - until then take it that we have not heard anything yet," he said.
> BACK TO TOP < | | Husband fined GH¢ 200 for assaulting wife | Nyinahin (Ashanti), Feb. 5, GNA - The Nyinahin Magistrate Court, presided over by Mr Augustine Essah, has imposed GH¢200 fine on Paul Ayabigya a 27 year-old farmer for assaulting his wife Abena Lucy, 20. In default, he will serve another six months imprisonment. The accused who pleaded guilty was also asked to sign a bond of good behaviour for 12 months and in default serve another 24 months imprisonment.
Prosecuting, Police Inspector Francis Kpoafah told the court that the complainant Lucy is the wife of the accused and they have two children.
He said the accused was in the habit of beating the wife without any provocation and that on December 18, 2008, the complainant sought permission from the husband to visit the accused senior brother, Kwame Kusaase to collect some foodstuffs.
Chief Inspector Kpoafah said when the complainant returned three days later, the accused confronted her that for having stayed that long with his brother, she had sex with him. He said, the complainant denied the allegation but the accused did not accept the explanation and beat her mercilessly which resulted in her eyes getting swollen. The Prosecutor said a report was made to the police and the accused was then arrested and after investigations charged with the offence.
> BACK TO TOP < | | | * 05.02.2009 | | Soldiers Open Fire On Civilians | Another Case of Military brutality and abuse of duty have once again been witnessed at Takorase, a small mining community in the Amansie West District, when a team of military personnel opened fire at defenceless civilians in the village, for protesting against the arrest of the assembly member of the community. > READ THE FULL STORY < | Two alleged armed robbers remanded in prison custody | A Goaso Circuit court has remanded two alleged armed robbers in prison custody for robbing seven houses at Goaso.
The plea of Alfred Boakye Acheampong, also known as JB 28, and Amankwa Marfo 29, were not taken and would re-appear on February 27.
Police Chief Inspector Charles Arthur, prosecuting, told the court that at about 0130 hours on November 13, last year Acheampong, a citizen of Goaso based in Accra led a gang of armed robbers from Accra to Goaso to rob.
He said they robbed the inmates of seven houses and fled before the police was informed of the robbery and made away with a Benz saloon car, some mobile phones and money from their victims at gun point.
The victims were, Mr Michael Agyei, an UNILEVER Distributor and Managing Director of Success FM, a private radio station at Goaso, Mr George Baryeh, a timber merchant, Mr Idi Omaro, a businessman, Mr Kingsley Asante, banker, Veronica Adoko, Emmanuel Tuffour and Kwame Boakye.
Police Chief Inspector Arthur said the police in Bibiani were informed about the robbery, they mounted a barrier and succeeded in arresting Marfo.
He said during a search four mobile phones, 25 dollars and some Ghana cedi notes were found on him and during interrogation mentioned Acheampong as the leader of the gang and he was arrested at Nungua in Accra on November 25, last year.
Police Chief Inspector Arthur said the victims identified the accused persons during an identification parade at Goaso and after investigations charged with the offences.
In another development, a Goaso Circuit court has remanded Kwasi Yeboah, who allegedly shot and robbed a taxi driver of GH¢95 in prison custody.
Yeboah’s plea was not taken and would re-appear on February 27, this year.
Prosecuting, Police Chief Inspector Alex Anderson told the court presided over by Mr Osei Kwame Gyamfi that the victim, Kwaku Acheampong, lived at Hwidiem whilst the accused and his accomplices, now at large, were farmers living at Amamfrom, near Goaso.
He said at about 1400 hours on December 11, last year, the accused and two others requested the victim to send them from Goaso to Hwidiem.
Police Chief Inspector Anderson said the victim obliged but on the way he was attacked and shot on his left shoulder while they took the money and the taxi away.
He said the victim was rescued by some passengers returning from Kumasi and sent to Goaso Government Hospital where he was admitted and discharged three weeks later.
Police Chief Inspector Anderson said on January 26, this year, the victim spotted the accused at Hwidiem and informed the police who immediately arrested him and after investigations charged with the offence.
Source: GNA
> BACK TO TOP < | | * 04.02.2009 | | Twenty five die of cholera in three regions | | Cholera could be transmitted through ingestion of water contaminated with faeces, vomitus of patients, contaminated foods, fruits and vegetables. | Accra, Feb. 4, GNA - The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has recorded 25 deaths since the last quarter of 2008, in some parts of the country, a statement in Accra said on Wednesday.
The first cases were reported in the Accra Metropolitan area. "The situation has become a bit worrisome with similar outbreaks being reported in parts of Eastern and Volta regions," said the statement signed by Dr Elias Sory, Director-General of GHS. Giving the breakdown of the cases and related deaths, the statement said the Accra Metropolitan area in Greater Accra recorded a total of 1,112 cases, resulting in seven deaths while Akuapem North in the Eastern region had 188 cases with four deaths.
In the Volta Region, Keta Municipality reported 310 cases with 11 deaths; Krachi East, 63 cases with three deaths, and Nkwanta, 17 cases without any death.
Cholera is an acute bacterial disease caused by Vibrio Cholera. The disease is characterized by sudden onset of profuse painless watery diarrhoea, occasional vomiting, rapid dehydration, acidosis and circulatory collapse.
Cholera could be transmitted through ingestion of water contaminated with faeces, vomitus of patients, contaminated foods, fruits and vegetables.
The statement said cholera is preventable, adding that it could be effectively prevented if populations have access to adequate excreta disposal systems, potable water and safe food. 4 Feb. 09
> BACK TO TOP < | | Robbers in shootout with police | A gun battle between a gang of four armed robbers and a police patrol team at Manhyia in Kumasi last Sunday morning led to one of the robbers dying from gunshot wounds.
The others escaped and the police have mounted a search for them.
Fearing a situation where innocent residents could be hit by stray bullets, the police had to cease firing, enabling the armed robbers to escape.
The bullet-ridden body of the deceased, who is yet to be identified, has been deposited at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATR) morgue for autopsy.
Lance Corporal Godwin A. Ahianyo of the Ashanti Regional Police Public Affairs Unit told the Daily Graphic Yesterday that intensive investigations were already underway to arrest the other suspects.
He said the police suspected that the escaped robbers had sustained gunshot wounds and consequently asked hospitals and clinics to be on the look-out for persons who might seek treatment for wounds of that nature.
According to Lance Corporal Ahinyo, about l2 noon on February 1, this year, the police patrol team was on duty in the Krofofrom area in Kumasi when a young man, in a distressed mood, reported to it that a group of four armed robbers operating in a taxi had robbed him of his mobile phone a few minutes earlier.
Before the team could trace the suspects, more people went to complain about similar attacks by the said robbers.
After fruitless attempts to trace the robbers in the Manhyia area, the team proceeded to an area in Ashanti New Town where they spotted a KIA Avello taxi, with registration number AW 515 Y, parked by the roadside.
The team attempted to draw closer to find out what could be happening in the taxi but before it could get any closer the taxi sped off, raising suspicion.
The police gave the taxi a hot chase for about an hour until they got to an area behind the Manhyia Fire Service Station where the occupants abandoned the taxi and attempted to escape while firing at the police.
The police returned fire and succeeded in hitting one of the gunmen but the other three escaped.
A search in the taxi by the police revealed a locally made pistol, 10 rounds of ammunition, 25 mobile phones and GH¢ 250.
Lance Corporal Ahianyo advised members of the public not to put their lives in danger by running to crime scenes the way they did during the shoot-out with the robbers, saying, "A stray bullet could hit you to cause your sudden death."
Source: Daily Graphic
> BACK TO TOP < | | * 03.02.2009 | | Science community welcomes the establishment of science ministry | Accra, Feb. 3, GNA - The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has welcomed and commended President John Evans Atta Mills for bringing back the Ministry of Environment Science and Technology (MEST), and said it was "a sign of commitment to science and technology". The Ministry, which used to be MEST under the former National Democratic Congress (NDC) regime, was dissolved by the New Patriotic Party with science going to the Ministry of Education and Sports whilst Environment was added to Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development.
Dr. Abdulai Baba Salifu, Director-General of CSIR told the Ghana News Agency that the reversal of the ministry would give science and technology a new focus and concentration. He explained that the reversal would also give the science community the opportunity to showcase the achievements of the Council and other institutions and its value for money. He noted that the Council had 13 research institutions which had done a number of research findings that could be used to contribute to the development of the nation.
Dr Salifu said Ghana would need new and innovative ideas to run the economy. He said the new government and its agencies needed to be aware of the knowledge and new ideas the Council had to guide them in their plans, strategies and activities. He said it was unfortunate that there were some research findings by the research scientists that were not being utilized and called on government and its agencies to access and utilize the research findings relevant to the purpose of public and private organizations. The Director-General noted that science and technology was the bedrock of development for every nation and science should be seen as less obscure and mysterious but very essential for the emergence and development of a scientific cultural in the Ghanaian society. "We need to harness the potentials of other tools or concepts to enable us overcome the many challenges we face in our development drive".
Dr Salifu noted that science and technology when appropriately applied could enable a developing nation make strides to catch up with the developed countries. "Exploiting the benefits of science, technology and innovation to all facets of our economy will accelerate our stride to middle income status, reduce poverty, achieve universal education, reduce under five infant mortality, reduce maternal deaths and conserve the integrity of the environment", he added. He noted that the Science and Technology Fund had 75,000 Ghana Cedis, which he described as inadequate and called on industries and corporations to invest in the fund for the rejuvenation of industry, agriculture, health, commerce and the construction sector of the economy. > BACK TO TOP < | "Bullying and harassing tourists" at Cape Coast & Elimina Castle | Cape Coast, Feb. 3, GNA - Mr Nicholas Ayivor, Central Regional director of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board (GMMB), on Monday expressed grave concern about residents in the Elmina and Cape Coast townships who defecate on the premises of the castles and attack security men who attempt to stop them. > CLICK HERE and READ THE FULL STORY < | | Defilement & Rape on the rise - Plan Ghana | Mankessim (C/R), Feb 3, GNA - Plan Ghana, an international child-centred development organization, has expressed concern about the upsurge of cases of defilement and rape and appealed to the government, traditional rulers and the district assemblies to help to protect children. > CLICK HERE and READ THE FULL STORY < | | > BACK TO TOP < | | Mills condemns discrimination against women | Accra, Feb. 3, GNA- President John Atta Mills on Tuesday reaffirmed Government's commitment to gender equality and condemned all forms of discrimination against women.
He repeated the determination of his administration as contained in its manifesto to be fair to women and said attention to women's issues was not partiality but a response to the realities on the ground to empower women to give of their best towards nation building. The President made the observation when a delegation of the Ghana Chapter of African Women in Law and Development paid a courtesy call on him at the Castle, Osu, in Accra, at which the group congratulated him on his assumption of the high office of President President Atta Mills said his administration was committed to tackle women's issues holistically and seriously, and nobody deserved to be maltreated.
He said everybody could contribute positively to the development of women, and expressed regret that some women had initiated or contributed to the perpetration of violence against women. The President said the policies on the empowerment of women contained in the manifesto of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) was not for want of trial, but would be worked on with the needed seriousness as other policies contained in the manifesto. The Government promised in its manifesto to give 40 percent of top political positions to women and since its assumption of power, has for the first time in nation's history appointed a woman Speaker of Parliament, nominated a woman for the position of Attorney General, and appointed a woman to act as Inspector General of Police. Additionally, it has maintained the Ministry of Women's and Children's Affairs.
President Atta Mills said as Ghanaians agreed on a common national agenda, it was necessary to throw their weight behind Government, create a nation that all would be would be proud of and where people would be proud to be compatriots. Bernice Sam, National Co-ordinator of the Chapter in a statement, said the Association noted with appreciation the interaction the Government, when as a political group, had with women groups prior to the last general elections. The Chapter recognized the President's appointment of women to top national positions.
It however appealed to the President to make the implementation of the Domestic Violence Act, passed in 2007, to address the violation of women's rights in the home, a top priority. The Chapter also recommended passage of the Property Rights of Spouses and the Intestate Succession Bills listed before Parliament before the end of 2009, and called on Government to criminalize the labelling of old women as witches, and further banished into witches camps in parts of the country. The women also advocated a comprehensive programme to be instituted by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice and the District Assemblies within the areas of Northern Ghana where witches camps were located to bring the women back to their homes and restore their dignity. Government, the women said should also make specific budget allocation to women's issues. 03. February 2009 > BACK TO TOP < | | Kumasi is ungovernable | … As traders, drivers have field day
… Residents want tough MCE to take charge THE CITY of Kumasi is ungovernable. Traders have taken over the streets, especially in the Central Business District of Adum, while drivers stop and park anyhow and at will with impunity, making nonsense of previous attempts by the authorities to decongest the city. Not even the police and the city guards have control over the defiant drivers and hawkers.
Sanitation is worsening, as the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) is indebted to contractors engaged to provide waste management services, and the problems continue to compound on a daily basis, as ZiomLion Ghana Limited is managing to grapple with the mounting filth in the city.
Observers, including members of the Assembly, have attributed the situation to a breakdown of assembly structures, and lack of political will on the part of the city authorities to address the situation.
They also pointed to an act of sabotage, saying the problem had to do with deliberate attempts to manipulate the system by past chief executives, who made sure assembly structures, as provided by Local Government Act 462, did not work effectively, thus depriving the assembly of its deliberative, legislative and executive powers, rendering Kumasi into the status of a district, instead of a metropolis.
During a radio talk show on Angel FM recently, the discussants, including Mr. Peter Anarfi, a former District Chief Executive (DCE) in the previous National Democratic Congress (NDC) regime, Mr. Kwabena Senkyere, a government appointee and former Assembly Member for the Dichemso Electoral Area, and Nana Kofi Senyah, a former Presiding Member of the KMA, called for the appointment of a Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) who is courageous, bold, and has the political will to take decisions, and correct the situation in the interest of residents and development.
Their position was corroborated by callers who phoned into the programme, hosted by Kwame Adinkra.
Referring to a letter, purported to have been issued in September last year by the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC), which instructed the KMA boss not to elect a PM until the Decembers elections were over, the panelists accused the RCC of contributing to the current state of affairs in Kumasi, saying, “it is unfortunate that the RCC, which had no mandate or executive powers, could issue such a directive, as if the Assembly was run on a partisan basis.”
It was indicated during the programme that in spite of the provision of Local Government Act 462, which regulates Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, and make them corporate bodies with perpetual succession, the KMA had been rendered ineffective since January 2008.
The withdrawal of 30% government appointees of the House, said to be in breach of Act 462, had created a vacuum in the operations of the KMA.
Since October last year, the KMA has gone without a Presiding Member, and there is no indication that it would have one soon.
Mr. Anarfi suggested that the KMA needed somebody to promote popular grassroots participation in the running of the Sub-Metro Councils, while Mr. Senkyere nominated Alhaji Sanni Mohammed, Ashanti Regional NDC Vice Chairman, to head the KMA.
Sanni’s nomination was endorsed by Nana Kofi Senyah, who defended his choice, in the fact that as a former Assembly Member and one time Chairman of the Manhyia Sub-Metro Council of the KMA, Sanni Mohammed was in the best position to implement Local Government structures.
Nana Senyah also vouched for Sanni’s experience, saying he was best suited to wield political authority, and bring sanity to the KMA.
The former Presiding Member cautioned the government against the imposition of an MCE on the KMA, because the reconstituted Assembly would not tolerate any MCE who would run the authority on partisan lines.
He said the choice of the people would be more preferable, in order to enhance development of Kumasi.
In the face of the situation, residents including, the Assembly Member for the Krofofrom (New Tafo) Electoral Area, Mr. Patrick Frimpong, have called on the government to appoint someone who had the experience, and was conversant with the District Assembly concept to make things tick in Kumasi.
Meanwhile, residents have called for the intervention of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, to institute an interim body to ensure the orderly running of the metropolis and restore sanity in Kumasi, before a substantive MCE is appointed by the government.
> BACK TO TOP < | * 02.02.2009 ( Monday) | | Kufuor rocks Kumasi | For the first time since stepping down as Ghana’s leader, former President John Agyekum Kufuor has stormed Kumasi, the Ashanti regional capital. A native of the region, Mr. Kufuor, whose second
 (c) EventPicture.co.uk / ghana-net.com | term as president officially ended on January 6, 2009, arrived in Kumasi via road on Friday.
Though the visit was not publicised, Mr. Kufuor, according to witnesses, was given a rousing welcome as curious people who learnt of his arrival lined up the streets to catch a glimpse of him.
The shouts by joyous people reportedly drew others to the scene as more people, |
notably women, struggled to shake hands with Mr. Kufuor.
Security personnel who accompanied the former President had a hectic time controlling the crowd.
Former President Kufuor was said to have visited the Manhyia palace where he paid homage to the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
Though they had a meeting behind closed doors, sources at the palace hinted DAILY GUIDE that the two personalities had fruitful discussions.
There was merrymaking when the former President visited his family home, the Apagyafie, around Dr. Mensah, a suburb of Kumasi, on Saturday afternoon.
Mr. Kufuor, sources indicated, exchanged pleasantries with all including family members, women and children who besieged the place.
The source disclosed that the former president was in Kumasi with only his bodyguards and is expected to leave on Monday.
Source: Daily Guide
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| Consider disable in all-inclusive government - GAAB President | Kumasi, Feb. 2, GNA - Mr Yaw Ofori Debrah, National President of the Ghana Association of the Blind (GAAB), has appealed to the government to consider people with disabilities in the all-inclusive administration.  (c) EventPicture.co.uk / ghana-net.com | He noted that people with disabilities have over the years been marginalized in society and discriminated against in employment opportunities. He said discrimination against the disable must give way to encouragement so as to enable them to play positive roles in socio-economic development. "Since disability is not inability," he added. |
Mr Debrah was addressing the opening of the 16th Annual Delegates Congress of the Youth and Students' Wing of GAAB in Kumasi on Thursday. The three-day congress being attended by 60 delegates selected from all over the country is under the theme: | "Advocating and Lobbying for the Educational and Employment needs of Blind and Partially Sighted Youth in Ghana, the Role of Government and other Stakeholders". He regretted that many people with disabilities have also been denied their right to education and that the situation had seriously affected them and appealed to the government and other stakeholders to address the situation.
The National President stated that most of the disabled persons had been teachers before and advised them to enter into other professions including law, journalism, nursing engineering and others in their efforts to achieve higher academic laurels. Mr Jacob Ature Adongo, National President of the Youth Wing of GAAB, said lack of textbooks and other teaching aids have affected blind students in their education and called on the Ghana Education Service and others to provide them with the necessary logistics in their education. He commended the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) for its continuous support to the association towards the execution of its projects and appealed to individuals, churches and organizations to come to their aid at all times.
Mr Peter Obeng Asamoah, Director of GAAB observed that the role of the youth in society was crucial to development and urged the youth of the Association to continue to play advocacy roles to champion the cause of the members. Mr Fred Sakyi Boafo, Kumasi Metropolitan Director of the Department of Social Welfare called on the media to educate the people on the Disability Act (Act 715 of 2006). Mrs Juliana A. Osei, Special Education Co-ordinator at the Kumasi Metropolitan Education Office announced that arrangements were far advanced for the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) to commence a special programme for people with disabilities in September 2009. She urged them to take advantage of the opportunity and apply for the course. > BACK TO TOP < | | Arthur Kennedy 'blasts' Kufuor ... | ... but denies it
A former presidential aspirant of the main opposition NPP, Dr. Arthur Kennedy, says former President John Kufuor’s decision to build a presidential complex was totally out of place and one of the main factors which scuttled the party’s chances of winning the 2008 presidential election.
Dr Arthur Kennedy told Citi News the NPP would have been better of without such a decision.
Intense public debate and controversy erupted over the need for a presidential complex christened “Golden Jubilee House”.
It was constructed with an initial 30 million dollar grant from the Indian Government and an additional 6.9 million dollar support from the Government of Ghana.
Dr Arthur Kennedy noted that “as a Ghanaian and as a politician, I wish we hadn’t built the Presidential Palace”.
He noted that considering the fact that it was an “Election year, all this hullabaloo and all that kind of thing. We had enough troubles without this adding to them. Would I have built a Presidential Palace? Hell no!”
He explained however that it was “not because we don’t need one but because we don’t need the flack of doing that. Maybe it could have been built at another time”.
“When someone is sitting in Buprungu and Bripro and they can’t have access to a clinic or their children can’t go to good schools or they can’t drink good water. It is very difficult to let that person understand that you are spending 80 million building a Presidential Palace”, he added.
Meanwhile, Nana Ato Dadzie in an interview with Citi News said the Golden Jubilee House is expected to cost a total of 135 million dollars if Government decides to implement the second phase of the project.
It is however not clear if the new Government will implement the second phase of the project.
The member of the Executive Assets sub Committee of the NDC transition team told Citi News the first phase of the complex is estimated to cost about 80 million dollars eventually.
He says the transition team found that 69 million dollars have so far been sunk into the building with an additional 10 or 12 million dollars needed for its total completion.
Nana Ato Dadzie also told Citi News the estimated 80 million dollars expected to be the final cost of the first phase of the project could be exceeded since there are currently outstanding cheques of over 7.5 million dollars yet to be paid for works already done.
He explained that the 7.5 million dollars is totally different from the 10 or 12 million dollars estimated to be needed for the completion of the first phase of the project.
Immediate past Chief of Staff, Mr Kwodwo Mpiani, admits there are outstanding bills to be paid some contractors for work done on the building but disagrees with Nana Ato Dadzie that about 12 million dollars is needed to complete the first phase of the project. Arthur Kennedy Denies Condemning Kufuor The former presidential aspirant and the communication director of the New Patriotic party (NPP) denied the allegation that he has condemned ex-president Kufuor for building the Golden Jubilee House. Speaking to Peacefm news Mr. Kennedy said, “I did not condemned Kufuor, I said he is a good man, but he should not have build the Golden Jubilee House in the election year”
According to Mr. Kennedy, the building is one of the things their opponent used to campaign against them “some parole in the rural areas lack social amenities and we went ahead to use money to build such an expensive house, so our opponent used that against us”
Mr. Arthur Kennedy made it clear to Peacefm news, that this is not the first time am talking about this issue, I spoke against it in 2007”
Mr. Arthur Kennedy concluded that, they lost the elections because his government took some initiatives during the election year which were not favorable and such initiatives includes the Gloden Jubilee House, “things that made us lost the elections includes the building of the Golden Jubilee House , that is what I am talking about not to condemn the ex-president”
> BACK TO TOP < | Declining resources confronts Sunyani Regional Hospital | Sunyani, Feb 2, GNA - Dr Daniel Asare, Medical Director of the Regional Hospital, in Sunyani, has noted that the greatest challenge facing the ultra-modern health facility is the dwindling financial support and other resources from the central government and other agencies.
"We are faced with the Herculean task of managing the hospital with only revenue generated internally"... |
> CLICK HERE and READ THE FULL STORY < | | > BACK TO TOP < | The KILLT GHANAIAN in LONDON.. LOVE ROW CLUE TO DAD KILLING |  | POLICE are investigating a possible love triangle motive for the tragic killing of a new dad. - John Nil Kacau Abbey, 26, was stabbed as his three-year old daughter looked on while waiting at a bus stop to travel to see his newborn son in hospital. But the we can exclusively reveal that the tragic dad - known to his friends as King - knew the man now being quizzed over the murder and had fought with him before. |
A pal in Croydon South London said: "King and the guy in custody were good friends. "But recently they had a falling out over King’s girlfriend.King accused the other man of seeing her behind his back. They had already had one fight." Last night, a Scotland Yard Spokesman confirmed they Were looking at the Love triangle motive He said "This is a line of enquiry." Source: ghanaweb-news.com /LondonInfo > BACK TO TOP < | | £10m worth of cannabis from Ghana seized in UK | The concern of many that Ghana has become a central point of drug trafficking was confirmed again Friday January 30, 2009, when a consignment of Indian Hemp from the country was seized in a port in the UK.
The media in the UK report of the seizure of cannabis (Indian Hemp) worth £10 million at the port of Felixstowe, in Suffolk. Customs officials discovered the 3.5 tonnes of drugs hidden under the false bottom of a container in a consignment on a ship from Ghana.
There were hundreds of packets of the consignment hidden in the container, officials say.
The media quoted an official of the UK Border Agency, saying the seizure is one of the biggest hauls intercepted in the UK.
"Officers at Felixstowe examining the load were expecting personal and household effects, as the documentation described.
"However, when they opened the container a very powerful smell indicating large quantities of cannabis hit them," he said.
The official told the media that no arrests have been made but inquiries are continuing.
Source: Ghana Business News
> BACK TO TOP < | | Voice from a far: A thing of beauty is a joy forever | When I was at school, there was only one Architect, T. S. Clerk, in the whole of the Gold Coast. Houses were designed and built by draughtsmen. But building regulations were enforced, and town plans respected.
Charles Deakin, who taught R. P. Baffour and our first engineers at the Achimota Engineering School, paid tribute to the country's craftsmen and technicians without whose skills and competence many buildings would not have survived the 1939 earthquake.
Today, we have many architects and town planners who are as competent as any in the world. But I do not like what I see. Accra is a virtual concrete jungle. I do not see frozen music in many of the buildings around. There are no places for our children to roam, stare and explore. Land is only a commodity to exploit and make money. We seem to regard anything that does not make money as valueless.
I feel that the 15th Century English poet and social critic, Matthew Arnold, was addressing us when he wrote in his "Culture and Anarchy" that "Our society distributes itself into Barbarians, Philistines and Populace."
Our populace go to church or the mosque regularly but they do not seem to believe in the religious teaching that man does not live by bread alone. We tend to believe that the acquisition of the appurtenances of the consumer society is sufficient to make the man. We have no time for or understanding of culture and the arts and are indifferent, if not hostile, to them. But material things alone do not make man happy and satisfied, and a society without values is without direction.
We need our artists; we need our poets.
The products of our workers by hand and brain should inspire us to high realms.
It is not sufficient to be provided with just any shelter. If that were so, we would continue to live in our mud huts. The place where we spend most of our lives should be a place of comfort, inner satisfaction and edifying contemplation.
I am, therefore, surprised that with so many brilliant minds engaged in Architecture, Town and Country Planning, and allied subjects, so much offends the eye and mind in our habitat. It is necessary in such a situation, to remind ourselves that we can do better and indeed have done better in the past. It is necessary to remind ourselves of the stock from which we have sprung.
David Wilberforce Kwame Dawson would have been 100 years on February 6, 2009. He was one of the four architects at independence. He was an illustrious forebear of our distinguished architects and it is right and proper that we should praise him as one of the great and famous men, who beckon us from beyond the grave to stand tall and act.
K warne Dawson became an architect through hard work and tenacity of purpose. He was trained briefly as a sanitary health inspector before joining the Sekondi/Takoradi Municipal Council. His creativity and industry attracted attention and he was posted to the Drawing Office of the Railway and Harbour Administration as a draughtsman.
David Dawson was not deterred by the scanty educational facilities. He improved himself by studying on his own and enrolling in a correspondence course with Bennet College in England. His talents and learning won him a scholarship to Leeds University in 1944 and he graduated as an Architect in 1946. In the same year, he became a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects.
Returning home in 1948, Kwame Dawson was employed as an Assistant Town Planning Officer at the Public Works Department. He designed many projects and influenced many young architects and planners. It was he who designed the celebrated Roof Loan Scheme.
In 1956, David Wilberforce Kwame Dawson became Director of Rural Housing and thus began his fruitful collaboration with Prime Minister Nkrumah, who was keen on working with competent Ghanaians to develop the country. Thus it was that Kwame Dawson, R. P. Baffour (later to become Vice Chancellor of the then University of Science and Technology (UST) in Kumasi), J. S. Annan the engineer and other technocrats, who toured the country on specific assignments by the Prime Minister. Extensive knowledge of the country opened Dawson's eyes widely and he worked effectively with Kwame NKrumah on rural and town planning and on architecture.
Stroke robbed Nkrumah of Dawson's collaboration in 1958 but the Prime Minister, later to become President, never stopped mentioning Dawson when he talked about making Accra a metropolis of character and beauty. Accra Ring Road was to enclose an easily accessible city with beautiful and functional parks and gardens.
Accra would not be allowed to sprawl aimlessly and the municipal Boundary Post near Afrikiko would separate the city from conurbations beyond Kokomlemle and Cantonments. Nkrumah was fascinated with the functionalism of the French architect and town planner, Le Corbusier, and he envisaged towns purposely designed like Chandigarh was for the new capital of the Punjab in India. Nkrumah believed that Dawson could do it and he regretted the architect's affliction.
Now that we have got many talented architects, I expect Ghana and especially Accra, to be a town of beauty. But I am greatly disappointed in what I see.
Osu RE is congested and yet a tall building is allowed near the busy Koala shopping area to add to the jam of traffic and pedestrians.
.
You go to the Cantonments area and it appears that all that concerns us is to maximise the return or profit from every inch of ground. Houses do not have space for the way the Ghanaian lives. There is no concern for the availability of water and electricity for the people who would live in the ugly conglomerates. Surely Ghanaians deserve better. Our architects and planners should save us from the greed and anarchy that undermine beauty and culture.
Authority in Ghana often frowns upon rules and regulations and professionals and public servants who conform to the laws of the trade often suffer. But the slide must be stopped somewhere. Our architects and planners are among the most highly educated and trained in the country. They must resolve as we celebrate 100 years of Kwame Dawson's birth to save us from the barbarians and Philistines. We are a cultured people and things would not go right and we would not be happy in our innermost selves until we embrace the values that inspired Dawson and the great men and women of the past. Our architects should stand up to be counted. They should save us from future un-Ghanaian Presidential palaces. They should help us to appreciate that a thing of beauty is a joy for ever.
Source: Daily Graphic
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| LATEST GHANA NEWS 02.02.2009 - 08.02. 2009 WEEK 6 - 2009 | | | * 08.02.2009 - The big game: Kotoko 1-2 Hearts - Sales girl murdered in cold blood | * 07.02.2009 - Three Jailed 30 years for possessing Indian hemp - Consider Chiefs for Ministerial Appointments - Foundation - Atta Mills commended for nominating PNC MP for Ministerial appointment - Energy drinks cause diabetes in Ghanaians - Vetting of five nominees rescheduled | * 06.02.2009 - Robber, Girlfriend Arrested - Mills withdraws nomination of Asaga - Old Parliament building reverts to Ga Traditional Council - Husband fined GH¢200 for assaulting wife - Five ministerial nominees appear before Appointment Committee - Full military honours for late Vice Admiral Owusu-Ansah - Pastor fakes robbery case? - DOVVSU denies political considerations in "Mame Dokonu's" case - Poverty preventing people of Asante Akim South from pursing justice | * 05.02.2009 - Soldiers Open Fire On Civilians > READ THE FULL STORY < - Two alleged armed robbers remanded in prison custody - GTV fires Egbert | * 04.02.2009 - Twenty five die of cholera in three regions - Robbers in shootout with police - Teachers threaten strike action over unpaid salaries | * 03.02.2009 - Science community welcomes the establishment of science ministry - "Bullying and harassing tourists" at Cape Coast & Elimina Castle >FULL STORY< - Defilement & Rape on the rise - Plan Ghana > CLICK HERE and READ THE FULL STORY < - Mills condemns discrimination against women - FRAUD? Pressure group wants Minister- Nominees investigated - Lawyers asked to submit addresses on GT sale to Vodafone - Kumasi is ungovernable - Wood carvers call for gov’t help - Ghana records new polio cases - Two workers electrocuted at Tema PSC Shipyard - Politically dangerous to endorse Nana-Akufo-Addo now - CJA demonstrates against Ex-President's ex-gratia | * 02.02.2009 - Kufuor rocks Kumasi - Consider disable in allinclusive government / GAAB President - Arthur Kennedy 'blasts' Kufuor ... - Declining resources confronts Sunyani Regional Hospital > FULL STORY < - The KILLT GHANAIAN in LONDON.. LOVE ROW CLUE TO DAD KILLING - £10m worth of cannabis from Ghana seized in UK - Shipyard workers to lose pay for embarking on illegal strike - ESB for executive, legislature was sponsored by UNDP - Voice from a far: A thing of beauty is a joy forever - TOTAL’s profit slumps, GOIL reports marginal rise | | | Your REPORT Your STORIES * Your PHOTOS PUBLISH NOW! |  | | All about the Ghana Election 2008 | | |  |  | | | | * 07.02.2009 | | Vetting of five nominees rescheduled | Accra, Feb. 7, GNA - Supporters and well-wishers of ministerial nominees who came in their numbers and journalists who gathered at Parliament House for the vetting of the nominees by the Appointments Committee were disappointed after a long wait.
The vetting of five nominees, which was to begin at 1000 hours, was called off at around 1330 hours when the Chairman of the Committee, Mr Edward Doe-Adjaho and members of the Committee informed the gathering that the meeting had been rescheduled.
Mr Doe-Adjajo, who began by apologizing profusely, said the vetting of the nominees had to be called off because they had to build consensus over certain issues relating to the nominees appearing before them. The Chairman of the Committee, who did not go into specific details, said they had to do some negotiations to ensure that the nominees meet the test when they finally appeared before the Committee.
The nominees are Alhaji Collins Dauda for Ministry of Lands and Forestry, Ms Sherry Ayittey, for the Ministry of Science and Technology, Dr Oteng Adjei for the Ministry of Energy, Alhaji Mohammad Mumuni for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs the Regional Integration and Mr Joe Gidisu for the Ministry of Roads and Highways.
The vetting has been rescheduled for Monday. Mr Mike Hammah, nominated for the Ministry of Transport, would join the other nominees to bring the list to six.
| | | | * 06.02.2009 | | | | Five ministerial nominees appear before Appointment Committee | Accra, Feb. 06, GNA - Mr. Alex Tettey-Enyo, Minister of Education-designate, on Friday told Parliament's Appointments Committee that more resources must be channelled into basic education to strengthen the Junior High Schools (JHS) and improve upon the performance of the students. He said the idea that, by extending the duration of the Senior High Schools to four years to bring up the performance of JHS students who enrol in second cycle schools was not the answer to correcting the low academic performance of JHS students.
The nominee was responding to questions from the committee on some reports that the NDC government would want to change the four-year period of the SHS to three years.
He said it was better to strengthen performance, through the provision of infrastructure, teachers and learning materials at the basic level rather then prolonging the stay of students in the SHS. The nominee said his priority, when given the nod by Parliament would be to improve upon teacher education and upgrade the teacher training institutions.
When Mr Cletus Avoka, Interior Minister-designate took his turn before the committee, he said he disagreed with some petitioners from the Upper East Region who are calling for the withdrawal of his ministerial appointment because he, as a Kusasi, was an interested party to the Bawku conflict involving the Kusasis and Mamprusis. He said, although he had offered legal services to the Kusasis and was an opinion leader for his side, he had helped to promote a peaceful resolution of the conflict.
Mr Avoka said his track record when he once served as a Minister was impeccable and therefore it was wrong for any one to petition against his nomination based of fears that, he may compromise his position by taking sides against the Mamprusis. In response to questions on what to do to stem the illicit drug trade, he said the Narcotics Control Board should be changed into a commission and security should be stepped up at the ports and harbours. On measures to help empower the Police Service to make it more effective in dealing with armed robbery and other crimes, he said the district assemblies should be encouraged to put up facilities to accommodate police officers.
Ms. Akua Sena Dansua, Minister of Women and Children-designate, when she took her turn, told the committee that it would be wrong for any person to think that the 31st December Women's Movement would take over the running of the Ministry under the NDC. She said the Ministry was a national women's machinery and was going to work with all non-governmental organisations and all stakeholders.
In response to another question, she said laws on children should be enforced to improve upon child care and welfare. When she took her turn, Mrs Juliana Azumah-Mensah, Minister of Tourism-designate, told the committee, that local tourism should be encouraged to generate more funds from the sector. She said a clean environment was critical to promoting tourism to the outside world but efforts should also be directed at discouraging sex tourism which served as an avenue to lure innocent Ghanaian children into illicit sex with its attendant health implications.
Mr Joseph Yieleh-Chireh, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development-designate, the last to appear before the committee, said accountability and the transparency of the district assemblies was critical to making the assemblies responsible to the people in the community. | Full military honours for late Vice Admiral Owusu-Ansah | Accra, Feb. 6, GNA- President John Evans Atta Mills has directed the Ghana Armed Forces to give full military honours to the funeral of the late Vice Admiral Emmanuel Owusu-Ansah, former Chief of Naval Staff, who died last month.
He paid tribute to the late Naval Officer, appointed caretaker Defence Minister in very early days of the Atta Mills' Administration, describing his death as loss to the entire nation.
President Atta Mills gave the directive when the family of the late naval officer called on him and his Vice Mr John Dramani Mahama, at the Castle, Osu, to formally inform him about the funeral arrangements of the officer.
The President said he had least expected the death because they were scheduled to be meeting when the sudden death of the Real Admiral occurred, and asked the family to rest its hope and find comfort from God. The President extolled the services of the late officer and asked for prayers for good repose of his soul in the arms of God. Vice President Mahama described the late Real Admiral as a fine gentleman in demeanour, with a distinguished service. The family, led by Naval Captain Yaw Mensah, the funeral of the late officer would come off from the 18 through 22 March 2009, at his hometown Antoa in the Ashanti Region.
The body would be conveyed to Antoa on March 18, 2009, followed by a burial on the March 19 and funeral gathering on March 20, 2009. The funeral would then continue with a memorial service by the Presbyterian Church on March 22, 2009. The late Vice-Admiral was one-time Chief of Naval Staff (Oct. 1996 - Mar. 2001) and served in the Army for 37 years. He was appointed into the Defence caretaker position on January 8, 2009; barely 24 hours after the new administration took office.
His appointment came along with those of Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni as Interior Minister and Brigadier-General Nunoo Mensah as National Security Adviser among others.
Until his last appointment, Vice-Admiral Owusu-Ansah was a close confidant of former President Jerry John Rawlings and was regularly in the latter's entourage during his nationwide campaign tour for Election 2008.
The family was accompanied by Defence Minister Designate Major General J.H Smith 06. February 200909
Attention recipients, item 030 ends final cast. | | Pastor fakes robbery case? | Mr. Moses Asitorkor, a 37 year-old used clothes dealer was on Thursday arrested after confessing at a stage-managed prayer session of his involvement in a burglary that took place at an Ecobank branch in Madina, Accra.
Mr Anthony Darkey, Hohoe Divisional Crime Officer, told the GNA that one Prophet Michael Bosompra, who presided over the session during a crusade, had requested to pray for people with problems.
He said Asitokor stepped forward and oil was sprinkled on him, adding that in the midst of the prayers, Darkey, in response to a question, admitted to the crime.
Mr Darkey said the congregation became alarmed and alerted the police who arrested the two.
Asitorkor and Prophet Bosompra reportedly met at a crusade at Dzemeni earlier and agreed to help each other.
He said Asitokor reportedly asked for financial help to boost his second-hand clothes business and was tasked by the prophet to “act” to pull the crowd at his maiden crusade in Hohoe.
Mr Darkey said further investigations were being conducted to unravel the truth.
Source: GNA
| | * 05.02.2009 | | GTV fires Egbert | The ruling National Democratic Congress is gradually but steadily getting rid off its perceived political opponents from all spheres of our national life.
Egbert Faibille Jnr, Managing Editor of the Ghanaian Observer , has been relieved of his job as host of Talking Point , a popular analytical current affairs discussion programme on Ghana Television.
According to our reliable source, the seasoned journalist cum lawyer was officially told that management wanted to redesign the programme, hence the instruction for him to stay away from the station.
Interestingly, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, Managing Editor of The Insight , who for a long time, had stayed away from the state-owned television, has become a regular panelist on News Review segment of the station's Breakfast show. He comes on every Wednesday.
Other institutions from which the NDC government has either sacked or suspended workers include the Foreign Affairs Ministry, National Disaster Management Organisation, and the Security Services.
Now, it appears the ruling government is also desirous to get hold of the media and this is beginning to manifest both in the print and electronic.
Even the much-listened programme on Joy FM, Newsfile , has taken a new dimension in its discourse, as well as panelists" composition.
Last Saturday, three NDC activists were invited as panels on the programme, against Kwaku Baako Jnr, Managing Editor of The Crusading Guide and a known sympathiser of the opposition New Patriotic Party.
| | * 04.02.2009 | | Teachers threaten strike action over unpaid salaries | Accra, Feb 4, GNA - Some 43 teachers posted to the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District in the Northern Region have threatened to embark on a sit-down strike over unpaid salaries.
A statement in Accra on Wednesday signed by Mr Yabang Bruno Cyril Clovis, the District Information Officer, said the affected teachers had informed the local Directorate of Education about their intended action, if anomalies relating to their salaries were not rectified immediately. The statement said since the completion of a three-year Diploma Programme in Basic Education in 2007, only 12 of the teachers posted to the district had received their salaries and wages.
It regretted that due to the uncertainty over the payment of salaries to their senior colleagues in the district, only 25 out of the 63 teachers with Diploma Certificates posted there in 2008 had reported. According to the statement, Alhaji Sampson Abudu, Accountant at the District's Directorate of Education had tried to resolve the problem at the district level without success. | | * 03.02.2009 | FRAUD? Pressure group wants Minister-Nominees investigated | Accra, Feb. 3, GNA - Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG), a pressure group, on Tuesday called on Parliament to thoroughly investigate allegations of fraud raised by various audit reports and unlawful conduct of some four Minister-Nominees. The Ministers-Nominees in question are: Mr Haruna Iddrisu for Communications; Ms Hannah Tetteh for Trade and Industry; Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni for The Interior and Ms Sherry Ayittey for Environment Science and Technology.
Mr Godfred Dame, Spokesman for AFAG, told a news conference in Accra on Tuesday that the various allegations made against the four bordered on criminality, illegal conduct and dishonesty.
He said in the case of Mr Iddrisu, Member of Parliament for Tamale South, he had his Master of Philosophy (MPHIL) withdrawn by the University of Ghana because he was found to have plagiarized another person's intellectual property and presented it as his own to obtain his Masters Degree.
Mr Dame said the current CV of Mr Iddrisu indicated that he now holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree an indication that he has been stripped of his Masters Degree.
Mr Dame said Ms Tetteh, who was the Member of Parliament for Awutu-Senya from 2001-2005 refused to resign from her position as Human Resource Manager and Head of the Legal Department of the Ghana Agro Food Company (GAFCO) whiles she was a Member of Parliament, as required by Article 98(2) of the 1992 Constitution.
He alleged that as a result, Ms Tetteh continued to enjoy full salaries and benefits of a Member of Parliament as well as that of a Senior Management Staff of GAFCO over the period.
Mr Dame said in the case of Alhaji Mumuni, forensic audit into the operations of National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) in 2004, found that through the gross negligence of Alhaji Mumuni, the State had lost a colossal Gh1.5 million cedis through his involvement with the NVTI alone.
Mr Dame also made reference to Alhaji Mumuni's recent appointment by President John Evans Atta Mills to the office of Acting Minister of The Interior as unconstitutional and by extension Alhaji Mumuni's actions in that position as equally illegal, since his appointment had not been approved by Parliament.
Mr Dame noted that Ms Sherry Ayittey also has allegations of financial impropriety hanging around her neck and for that she could not be qualified to occupy the high office of a Minister of State. Mr Abeku Dickson, a Member of AFAG said the conduct of the four persons could not be set aside when considering them for ministerial positions.
They said they would present a formal petition to the Clerk of Parliament and Chairman of the Appointment Committee of Parliament for a comprehensive inquiry to be conducted.
Meanwhile, Ms Tetteh has stated that the Privileges Committee of Parliament granted her permission and has threatened court action against AFAG.
| | Lawyers asked to submit addresses on GT sale to Vodafone | Accra Feb. 3, GNA - An Accra Fast Track High Court (Commercial Division) has ordered parties in the case in which a number of people are seeking the revocation of the agreement for the sale of Ghana Telecom (GT) to Vodafone International to submit their addresses on February 9.
The plaintiffs made up of Dr Nii Moi Thompson, Mr Kwame Djantuah and three others are also seeking the restoration of the optic fibre network to the Volta River Authority and an order for the true revaluation of the assets of GT. |  | The court further tasked lawyers to also file and attach their affidavits clarifying the sale and purchase agreement of GT. The court therefore, adjourned the matter to February 9, for further direction in relation to the trial.
According to the court since the matter was of public interest there was the need to deal with it expeditiously. The court noted that issues concerning its jurisdiction had been raised during the pre-trial, pointing out that, if plaintiffs convinced the court on matters surrounding jurisdiction, it would be able to determine their capacity.
Earlier, lawyers for all sides informed the court that they had not been served with pre-trial issues which had been agreed on. The lawyers were Mr Bright Akwetey, who represented the plaintiffs, Mr Festus Kayi for GT, Mrs P.J. Naana Dontoh, a Chief State Attorney who represented the Attorney-General.
The issues settled in the pre-trial were whether or not the plaintiffs had any locus standi in the matter and whether or not the process adopted prior to and leading to the placement of Sales and Purchase Agreement before Parliament were in accordance with the procedures provided under the Companies Code and the Constitution.
Other matters were whether or not Articles 6 (1), (6), Articles 10 (7), 12 and 13 (21) of the Agreement contravened the Constitution and whether or not the High Court had the jurisdiction to determine the constitutionality of the Agreement ratified by Parliament. The plaintiffs instituted the legal action against the previous government to halt the sale of the state-owned Ghana Telecom to Vodafone International. On July 3, last year government announced an agreement on the sale of GT to Vodafone. In the agreement, government retained 30 per cent share. | | Politically dangerous to endorse Nana-Akufo-Addo now | A Kumasi-based legal practitioner, Mr Yaw Boafo, has said it is too early for some people within the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to call for the retention of their defeated presidential candidate as the party's flag bearer for the 2012 elections.
"Having failed to win elections less than two months ago, it is politically dangerous for some people within the NPP, especially leading members, to call for the retention of their defeated presidential candidate in the 2008 elections as the party's flag bearer for the 2012 elections," he stated.
Mr Boafo, a member of the NPP and son of former Chieftaincy Minister, Mr S.K. Boafo, told the Daily Graphic that, "It is sheer naivety to think that Nana Akufo-Addo is the most popular person to lead the party to victory in 2012 and should therefore be the candidate at all cost."
Already, party giants such as Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo and Prof. Mike Oquaye have publicly announced Nana Akufo-Addo as the best person to lead the party to battle in the next elections.
Mr Boafo, however, thought that such pronouncements were not in the interest of the party, stressing that, "We have to wait for the appropriate time, and not now."
The legal practitioner emphasised that at any given period, there should be a contest to elect the presidential candidate.
He said the NPP needed to learn its lessons from the developments in the last presidential and parliamentary primaries, so that the mistakes were not repeated.
In selecting the presidential and parliamentary' candidates for the party, the lawyer stated that parochial interests should be put aside.
"We should select flag-bearers who should be able to win beyond the core NPP areas," he said.
Lawyer Boafo stressed the need for the amendment of the party's constitution to ensure that every card-bearing member in good standing should be able to vote in the presidential and parliamentary primaries.
He noted that the situation would be a fair reflection of the popularity of the candidate who won.
"It would also take away all those people who only woke up to say that they wanted one person or the other to become President," he added.
Mr Boafo said even though his suggestion could also be opened to abuses, they would be minimal, compared to the prevailing system.
On the party's failure to retain political power, Mr Boafo said that Nana Akufo-Addo and his campaign team should be held responsible.
"Let's face facts. When generals go to war, they don't fight, but take the blame for defeat and the glory for victory," he explained.
Mr Boafo said any objective observer could easily establish from the beginning that the campaign strategies were bound to fail.
"It is, therefore, surprising that some people in high authority within the party blamed fonner President Kufuor for the party's defeat," Mr Boafo said.
He said some party members had gone to the extent of saying that some of the policies of the Kufuor administration were counterproductive, which contributed to the defeat of the NPP.
"This is absolutely false, and that if anything, we have to congratulate Mr Kufuor on the great efforts he put into the campaign, sometimes leaving his national assignments to be on the campaign trail for days," he said.
Mr Boafo said it was time for the party to sit down and have a dispassionate discussion on the way forward, adding that, "Now, we have to begin looking at things differently, because we have to fight for power from opposition."
In looking at the way forward, the lawyer suggested that the party must tap into the experience of former President J.A. Kufuor.
"Kufuor is the greatest asset the NPP has now, and we can tap into his experience rather than destroy such an asset," he noted.
He emphasised that the name Kufuor had now become a tradition and suggested that the name be added to the old tradition to make it Danquah-Busia-Kufuor tradition.
He pointed out that while Danquah always lost elections to Dr Nkrumah, Busia could not hold on to power and was overthrown in a coup d' etat.
"It was only J. A. Kufuor who won election in opposition and went ahead to retain power four years later, so we have to give all due respect to the man," he said.
| | CJA demonstrates against Ex-President's ex-gratia | Accra, Feb.3, GNA - The Committee for Joint Action (CJA), a pressure group on Tuesday embarked on demonstration to kick against what it termed the "profligate retirement benefits" for ex-presidents and other public office holders contained in the Chinery-Hesse Committee report.
The group said the payment of this ex-gratia to few public officials would cost the nation several trillions of cedis at a time when resources were needed to cater for the needs of the people such as good health, education, jobs and portable water.
At about 7.00 am some of the demonstrators had gathered at the Holy Gardens, Kwame Nkrumah Circle carrying placards whiles others came in groups drumming and singing.
Some of the placards carried by the marchers read, "President Mills make Ghana corruption free", "Kufuor, there is only one President", Kufuor wants to kill us, We no go sit down", and "The abaa for Rawlings the same for Kufuor".
Even though the number of marchers of were not as huge as previous demonstrations organized by the CJA, those who came were determined to send the message home.
At around 9.00 am the march took off from the Obra Spot with heavy police security through the Kwame Nkrumah Avenue to the Farisco traffic light, Tudu, the TUC headquarters through to the National Theatre, the Ministries traffic light, the Ohene-Djan stadium and to the Castle junction.
At the Castle junction some members of the leadership of the CJA and journalists were allowed into the Castle to send their petition to the government.
Dr Omane Boamah, who led the group, asked the Mills-led administration to review the Chinery-Hesse Committee report on facilities and privileges for office holders Article 71. He said the CJA was deeply concern that in the face of the poor state of the national economy and the high levels of poverty among the people, the Chinery-Hesse Committee recommended such high levels of emolument and retirement benefits for some categories of public office holders.
He said public service should not become a self-serving exercise designed to feather the nests of the elite but rather to serve the interests and aspirations of the people, especially the poor. The group asked the Atta Mills administration not to implement the Chinery-Hesse Report but rather set up a new committee to review that report with a view to recommending reasonable retirement benefits for public officials including ex-Presidents. The CJA said the government should send the approved report to Parliament for consideration and institute a broad framework for pay and benefits for public officers for the long-term. Mr Martey Newman, the Chief of Staff who received the petition on behalf of President John Evans Atta-Mills assured the group that the President would act decisively on their petition. He said President Atta Mills is there to serve all Ghanaians and bring prosperity to all. | | * 02.02.2009 | | TOTAL’s profit slumps, GOIL reports marginal rise | TOTAL’s profit slumps, GOIL reports marginal rise
The global crisis that saw oil prices jump to a record $147 per barrel in July 2008 did have serious impacts on Ghana’s Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) operating in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry, reflecting in unimpressive financial performances for the past year.
Financial reports for 2008 released by two of the major OMCs, TOTAL Petroleum Ghana Limited and Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL), all listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE), indicates that the past year had been very challenging for the industry.
TOTAL, that had in 2007 posted an impressive 113% increase in profit after tax from GH¢ 3,833,000 in 2006 to GH¢ 8,167,000, saw a 30% fall in its profit position to GH¢ 5,689,000 in 2008.
Even though the profit after tax position for 2007 had been boosted by gains of GH¢ 1.56 million from sale of surplus assets after the TOTAL – Mobil merger, eliminating that item would still give the corresponding changes in profits to 98% and -14% for 2007 and 2008 respectively.
Turnover increased 41% to GH¢ 571,499,000 over the 2007 figure, but cost of sales soared even higher to GH¢ 538,778,000, reflecting a 44% rise in operating costs in 2008.
Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL) also clearly experienced its share of the difficulties, with its bottom line appreciating just by 3%. Profit after tax increased slightly from GH¢ 4,044,515 in 2007to GH¢ 4,156,348 in 2008. The performance appears unsatisfactory against the backdrop that the company had recorded over 16% jump in profit levels for the previous year.
GOIL’s gross profit increased by 19% for 2008, but a 45% jump in sales cost dwarfed these gains. Administrative expenses went up 23% for the year in question.
Even though the performance of the two companies in 2007 had been impressive, they were achieved at a time when the nation went through nine months of power rationing and fluctuating crude prices.
The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) had adjusted retail pump prices once a month and latter twice monthly and in line with increasing world crude prices throughout 2007. Price adjustments continued for most parts of 2008 until oil reached $147 in July, when the process was halted to forestall excessive increases in the prices of basic commodities, including food.
The oil marketing companies had as a result of the frequent pump price changes and the increasing cost of operation asked for an increase in the fuel margins, but these demands were not met by the petroleum authority.
After oil prices eased in the last quarter of 2008, Mr John Attafuah, the Chief Executive Officer of the NPA announced his outfit’s intention to support OMCs along the petroleum production and distribution chain to recoup their losses during those difficult early periods. Many had argued that those at the retail section were better off, but the financial positions of two of the largest OMCs who control a combined market share of about 50% indicate that their cries were genuine.
Mobile companies struggle for technological superiority Tigo to follow MTN and Zain on 3.5G
By the touch of a button, Ghanaian mobile phone users can now see their loved ones they communicate with via their handsets, provided they are abreast with the changing technologies.
During their launch onto the Ghanaian market last December, Zain Communications promised Ghanaian mobile phone users exciting times as they were launching on 3.5G, the latest technology on the cell phone market.
At that time, only Zain possessed the technology in Ghana and Sub-Saharan Africa, and so with the promises that accompanied the launch, many were those who started acquiring Zain lines.
In an ambitious drive to compete closely with the existing companies for a fair share of the Ghanaian market, Zain started investing in physical infrastructure in the capital, Accra, opening ultra-modern customer service centres and magnificence offices across the city, erecting masts, and recruiting thousands of vendors to market their brand.
One of the marketing strategies has been to get people use their existing mobile phone numbers from other operators with the 026 pre-fix of Zain or let people create their own numbers using dates of birth in a pre-registration drive.
However, just as the newest entrants had completed their first ever video call via Ghana Television last week, MTN, who are noted for their quick response to new challenges also busted onto the 3.5 G space.
This promises to make the competition on the Ghanaian market even keener, as Zain would like to catch up with MTN who have a 6.4 million subscriber base in the country already, thanks to the ground-work done by their predecessors- Spacefone and Areeba.
At the time of their launch, since the new technology was exclusive to them, they attracted many subscribers, some of who were getting frustrated by the relatively unreliable services provided by some of the existing companies.
Many were those who expected to benefit from the advanced technology, which is in vogue in Europe, Asia and other advanced markets, offering speeds of up to 14.4 Mb/s, making the Zain network the fastest in Ghana – and West Africa.
Currently, subscribers would be able to access much faster download speeds and a more impressive range of services with an overall better experience. For example, an MP3 of 1Mb will take 20 seconds to download on a 3G network, which at the time was not even in Ghana, but about 5 seconds on a 3.5G network.
The network also promised Ghanaians a new lifestyle option. The ability to make and receive video calls with high quality visuals will usher in a new age in communication. Not only can customers hear their loved ones, but they can see them with amazing clarity allowing for a better emotional connection.
Media practitioners could also capture and report stories in real time with a live stream back to their networks, or send pictures back to the newsroom along with their report. The possibilities of video calling are limitless, from a mother working late video calling their children to say goodnight to receiving a video call from a long lost schoolmate.
MTN in particular promises, in addition to existing services, content services such as Mobile TV and Video on demand, “enabling you to view The English Premier League, News, Music, Video and many more.
In addition to the launch of the new technology, MTN also a fortnight ago launched a second network code-054 which has started attracting many more subscribers onto the Yellow -branded company.
This technology, which nearly made MTN loose a chunk of its clients to Zain now puts the two in a higher category above the likes of Tigo, OneTouch the two other GSM users and Kassapa which uses CDMA respectively.
It also leaves the Promotions-Happy GLO, which promised in 2008 to launch on 3G a lot of work to do in order top launch on an even keel if they must make headway in the Ghanaian market which promises to see more stringent regulations under the young Communications minister designate, Haruna Iddrissu, the Tamale South Law Maker.
It also looks a tall order for the Nigerians because, according to insider sources, Tigo operated by Ghana’s premier mobile phone operators, Milicom Ghana Ltd are also set to launch the 3.5 G any moment soon.
The soon-to-be reviewed Vodafone/GT contract notwithstanding, it is expected the Britons would also soon introduce some technological advancement into the operations of OneTouch owned partially by the state.
At the end of the day while the service operators will rake in more profit, government is also encouraging these expansions since it stands to gain from the corporate tax paid by the companies and the Talk-Time Tax paid indirectly by subscribers.
Industry watchers’ only worry is the regulatory role of the National Communications Authority (NCA) which has hitherto not proven to be up to the task in the ever expanding market.
Source:
Financial Intelligence |
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