| 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 Tourism | | Ghana Classifieds | Names in Ghana | | | | | | * 10.03.2009 | | Mills Appreciates EU support for Ghana's democracy | Accra, March 10, GNA - President John Evans Atta Mills on Tuesday lauded the European Union (EU) Commission for its role in the entrenchment of democracy in Ghana.
He commended the EU for its observer role in the last general election, and said it also worked very hard behind the scenes to make Ghana a "bastion of democracy and political stability". President Mills made the remarks when the out-going Head of the Delegation of the European Union Commission, Filiberto Ceriani Sebregondi, paid a courtesy call on him at the Castle, Osu, in Accra. After almost four years of duty tour of Ghana, Mr Sebregondi is leaving for Brussels, Belgium, which has the headquarters of the EU. President Mills said Ghana would miss the outgoing Head of Mission for his creditable performance, explaining that he had been instrumental in initiating many projects and activities as well as showing keen interest in Ghana's political development.
President Mills expressed the wish that Mr Sebregondi would use his experience in Ghana wherever he found himself and assured him that he had a friend in Ghana, which was ever ready to receive him. The President reiterated that Ghana was interested in having greater co-operation and strengthening of ties with the EU. "Feel free, whenever you feel like coming back. Well done and may the good Lord grant you travelling mercies," President Mills said. The president presented "asesedwa", a traditional stool, as a symbol of commendation to the outgoing Ambassador. Mr Sebregondi, who has been in Ghana since October 2005, said he was really honoured to have served in Ghana. During his stay, Ghana marked its 50th anniversary of independence celebration and Mr Sebregondi said the anniversary was significant because it coincided with signing of the Treaty of Rome, which established the European Community.
Mr Sebregondi praised the achievements of Ghana-EU co-operation under the Kufuor Administration under which the EU committed 350 million euros and announced that the Union was starting another commitment with 367 million euros. He said during the period of his stay, EU also participated in a number of important partnership programmes and the EU was satisfied with the way Ghana's last elections were conducted in a peaceful manner. | | * 09.03.2009 | | Replacing Kufuor's BMWs pose security Threat? | Security Analyst Dr Kwesi Aning has described as pure intimidation and empty talk comments that changing the vehicles of Mr John Agyekum Kufuor would pose a security threat to the former President.
Government has requested the office of the former President to return all BMW luxury vehicles in his possession to be replaced with Chryslers.
Spokesman for the former President has described the move as a security threat as well as varying conditions of Mr Kufuor to his disadvantage, which he said is unconstitutional.
The vehicles were among some 250 vehicles which were imported into the country during the African Union Summit and the Golden Jubilee anniversary celebrations in 2008 for use by foreign dignitaries.
But reacting to the issues on Monday, Dr Aning argued that suggestions that the Chryslers which are to replace the BMW luxury cars do not meet standard security features, is moot.
He insisted that the BMWs equally did not meet any unsurpassed security features, stressing Mr Agyekum's concern over the security of the former President is rather untenable.
Security experts say the best amoured vehicle could have a driver’s window tough enough to withstand an amour-glencing bullet. The body work made of a combination of dual-hardness steel and ceramic material to break up possible projectiles, with puncture and shred-resistant steel-rimmed tyres that allow the car to continue moving even if the tyre is missing or deflated.
But Mr Aning said the current state of these BMWs miss out on all these features.
Dr Aning also added that the country is gradually becoming politically fixated on issues of state vehicles while the citizenry struggle to make ends meet.
The genuine threat both to President Mills, the sitting president, and to President Kufuor is not whether they have amour-plated cars; it’s as to whether they can fulfil the dreams and aspirations of ordinary Ghanaians. If they don’t, no amount of amour-plated vehicles can save them.
“Let us deal with the realities of our genuine security challenges and not the flimsy issues of protecting an individual,” he emphasized.
Meanwhile National Security Coordinator Col. Larry Gbevlo Lartey in an earlier interview with Joy News’ Cyrus De-Graft Johnson insisted that the vehicles could not be used by the former President because “they were purchased for the Presidency and not for any individual.”
He said the BMWs have long been under the VIP protection unit and could only be for the use of the sitting president.
“There are vehicles which were purchased for the presidency and they are on the inventory of the VIP protection unit. And we are saying that we want all those vehicles back and handed over properly,” he insisted.
Government’s ultimatum to the office of the former President demands that the vehicles be returned to the national security outfit by close of Monday, March 09, 2009.
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| Please note: Some links may open in a new window! | * 15.03.2009 | | Pupil Dies After Caning | | Go to WEEK 12 / 2009 (16.03.2009 - 22.03.2009) | A packed Akim Oda Magistrate’s Court was filled with shocked silence, when the prosecution read a charge of provisional murder against a teacher who allegedly administered two strokes of the cane on a 14 year-old pupil who died later in the day.
The teacher, Kwabena Gyan of Oda Nkwanta Local Authority Primary ‘B’ School was said to have punished the pupil, Victoria Ampofo, and others for lateness to school.
Some of the teachers and relatives began to weep and had to be helped out of the courtroom, while others wiped their faces with handkerchiefs when Gyan was remanded in police custody for felony.
His plea was not taken and he is to appear again on March 19.
The trial judge, Mr Albert Owusu Annor, said the adjournment was to allow the police to complete investigations into the circumstances that led to the death of the pupil.
The body has been deposited at the mortuary of the Oda Government Hospital awaiting autopsy. The court heard that Gyan, was the teacher on duty on March 3. In that capacity he punished some of the class five pupils who came to school late.
Chief Inspector Osei Kwadwo, the prosecutor, told the court that Gyan gave each of the pupils two lashes on their buttocks and thereafter instructed them to pick leaves littered around the school compound.
Later, the girl became unconscious and fell down while getting out of her desk in the classroom. She was rushed to the Oda Government Hospital where she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
> BACK to TOP < | | NDC, NPP must co-operate - Church Leader | Gomoa Nyanyano(C/R), March 15, GNA- The General Spiritual Head of the Saviour Church of Ghana, Elia Asirifi, has called on the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) to bury their political differences and cooperate to ensure national development.
He said the nation needed love, unity and peace for an accelerated socio-economic and political development of all to reduce the poverty confronting Ghanaians. Addressing elders and pastors of the Church at Gomoa Nyanyano in the Central Region, Elia Asirifi noted that, the ruling and opposition parties must fight for a common goal instead of antagonising each other in the media. He said the leaders of the country must learn to tell the truth to Ghanaians in order to receive God's abundant blessings to ensure prosperity for the nation. The General Spiritual Head said the leaders of the nation must avoid cheating because it bred conflicts and war, adding that, many countries on the Africa continent had been plunged into wars and conflicts due to parochial interests on the part of their leaders. He stated that the opposition could offer useful suggestions and plans to the ruling NDC government despite their political differences, especially on the current economic recession that had hit the world's economic giants.
The General Head of the Church stressed that the ruling NDC should also learn to listen to the calls from the other political side so that the people of Ghana would not suffer from the world economic downturn. He called on church members, elders and pastors to endeavour to attend the pastors conference schedule for Nyanynao on March 27 this year to take stock of past.
He said the conference would discuss matters, including the repair of the Headquarters building and Mission house as well as the construction of new bungalows for pastors of the Church. He warned pastors, elders and members that those who would fail to attend would cease to be members of the church. The General Head of the Church cautioned any group of members who would hold church services without the consent of the leadership to stop since the church had been duly registered with the Registrar General's Department. > BACK to TOP < | | AMA warns public about unhygienic food | Accra, March 15, GNA - The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has warned the public not to patronize foods which are displayed on the ground and or exposed to flies and dirt. "We would like to warn the general public to desist from patronizing unhygienic foods from our vendors," Dr. Simpson A. Boateng, Metropolitan Public Health Officer of the AMA, warned. Dr Boateng told the GNA at the weekend that food safety was a priority of the AMA and food safety was a fundamental public health concern.
He said these concerns were the result of effects of food-borne diseases like cholera, typhoid fever, pesticide poisoning through beans and vegetables, diarrhoea and food poisoning which further posed risks to health. Dr Boateng stressed that consumers "bought" diseases which they could not see with their bare eyes and later used their meagre resources for treatment.
Research by the Food Research Institute showed that salads, re-heated soups and sauces, and dishes served with bare hands contained high levels of potentially dangerous enteric bacteria. He reiterated that the AMA would intensify their education to enlighten the public on hazards associated with unhygienic foods. Dr Boateng said the problem rested on the attitude of the public, adding that in the course of educating them on food safety they tended to insult the officials. Mr William Lomo-Tettey, Assistant Chief Environmental Health Officer of the Food Safety Unit of AMA, said every food item which was for consumption mustm at least, be displaced on a table one-and-a-half meters from above the ground. Mr Lomo-Tettey said the emerging food safety concerns called for effective collaboration with the Traditional Caterers Association, Food and Drugs Board, Ghana Standards Board, the Food Research Institute to train the sellers as well as market queens and educate the public on food safety.
He said the AMA would use public announcement systems, drama and the electronic media to educate the public on behavioural change. Mr Lomo-Tettey urged food vendors to comply with this regulation of the AMA but if they proved adamant, they would be prosecuted. He advised the public to refrain from patronizing foods that were displaced on the ground to discourage the sellers and report those who were not complying with the regulation. He said the AMA would sanction officers who oversaw markets which had been assigned to them and vendors had not changed their bad attitudes and practices. > BACK to TOP < | | * 14.03.2009 | | GIA Owes $55million | ...Taxpayers supporting airline with $1.5m per month
The government of Ghana is worried about the current state of Ghana International Airline (GIA) but is in no hurry to take any quick decision. The Transport Minister, Mike Hammah has said the government is deeply concerned about the state of affairs at GIA and would undertake a diagnostic study before taking any decision about the airline which owes over 55-million dollars. The debt incurred by GIA came as a result of government’s decision to forcibly remove management of the airline without recourse to agreement. He announced that the government has been supporting the airline with one million and five hundred thousand dollars monthly and pointed out that he does not understand why an airline established over five years ago could incur such a huge debt while Ghana Airways which came into being at Independence was also owning over 184million dollars . GIA-USA is battling the government over the management of the airline in the International court of justice based in the Hague.
Government of Ghana has 70 percent shares whiles GIA-USA controls the remaining 30 percent but the GIA-USA under the agreement manages the company. Hon Mike Hammah said the government would take a decision after they have completed their investigations into the state of the airline.
Unconfirmed reports have indicated thay staff of the airline have not been paid their February salary because the government has not released the money meant for the running of the company.
> BACK to TOP < | | | | * 13.03.2009 | | NPP Restored Country's Economy - NPP | Takoradi — FORMER Western Regional Minister, Joseph Boahen Aidoo has expressed strong views that the economy of Ghana was restored by the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the last eight years of its control of the country's economy; "Our party was able to rescue Ghana's ailing economy which it inherited from the erstwhile National Democratic Congress (NDC) government in 2000," he said.
According to Mr. Aidoo, the economy at the time was in shambles and on a slippery path of near collapse until the Government came in to rescue the situation. But for the prudent economic policies that were put in place by the NPP administration immediately it assumed power, Ghana 's financial sector and all areas of the economy could have come to ground to a standstill, because they were facing serious challenges.
Speaking on Good News FM, a local radio station in Takoradi, last weekend, during a review of the 2009 budget, he said as at the time the NDC was leaving office, inflation rate in Ghana was galloping as it was in Zimbabwe.
Therefore, Mr. Aidoo, a former Geography lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and currently a Member of Parliament for Amenfi East, said since Ghana's economy, particularly her inflation rate was racing like that of Zimbabwe, when her inflation rate stood at 48%, with Ghana's inflation around 41%, his prognosis would not be far from the truth, when he stated that the two countries would have by now been in the same situation if the NDC had continued to be in office after the 2000 election.
Apart from the high inflation rate, he said the growth rate of the country at the time was not the best, since it was constantly fluctuating from 3.4 to 3.7. However, as the NPP took over power, he said they managed to grow the economy of the country from 3.7% that it inherited to 4.5% which was further grown to 5.3% and subsequently to 6.5%.
He said though the country's growth target as envisaged by the NPP was around 7%, it could only manage to reach 6.2% in 2008, even when the world's economy was in recession with the infamous credit crunch hitting many developed and underdeveloped countries globally.
Despite these challenges that confronted the administration, he said the NPP also managed to hand over to the NDC a much stronger economy that was resilient to external pressures. Continuing, Mr. Aidoo noted that inflation as at 2008 when the NPP was leaving office was around 18.2%, which in his view was far better than the inflation the latter inherited from the former in 2000.
The country's reserves he said also grew significantly under the NPP as against the slight growth that Ghana experienced under the erstwhile NDC government. Instead of 253 million dollars inherited from the NDC by the NPP, he said when they were leaving office they had expanded the economy, growing the country's reserves to about 2.3 billion dollars. An achievement that he believes would complement the performance of the current administration.
Meanwhile, the Western regional Youth Organizer of the NDC, Mr. Solomon Yaw Nkansah who was also a panel on the programme dubbed "Npanyin Ehyea", stood on his grounds, disagreeing entirely with the views expressed by the legislator.
According to him, the former NDC government handed over a strong economy to the NPP government. He said most of the infrastructure that the NPP inherited was as a result of the prudent economic management of the NDC.
He mentioned hospitals, roads and schools that were constructed by the NDC regime and challenged the former Minister to also mention visible infrastructure development that could match the NDC's achievements. To this end, he rubbished the figures being presented by the Minister, saying "you don't know NPP members, they can present any figure just to confuse you"
Known in private life as Solo, the Youth Organizer also debated with the Minister on the nature of the roads in the western region and blamed the NPP for its failure to maintain the feeder roads in the region, a system he said the NDC had adopted to help farmers to ply on the good roads in transporting their farm products from the farming communities to the towns and cities for accessible and ready markets.
This stance of Solo did not go down well with the former Minister who rather accused the former NDC government of its failure to tar the feeder roads in the region. The two men, however, mentioned the number of roads that their parties rehabilitated, constructed and maintained during their tenure of office.
> BACK to TOP < | | NPP chairman arrested | A Cape Coast circuit court presided over by Berexford Acquah yesterday granted bail in the sum of GH¢3,000 to the Assin North constituency Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Fiifi Baako, who was arrested in connection with a robbery case.
Baako, who was charged with abetment of crime, pleaded not guilty and is to re-appear on April 1, 2009.
The other two accomplices who are now at large, James Kweku Acheampong and Julius Nyamson, were charged with robbery.
Granting the bail, Mr Acquah said since Mr Baako was only charged with abetment, the court could grant him bail for the police to do their investigations.
The lawyer for the accused, Rev Ato Mills Graves, said it was not necessary for the police to arrest Mr Baako since it was the responsibility of the Member of Parliament (MP) to provide cars for supporters to monitor the election.
Rev Mills said the accused did not know anything about the case and that the police should do their investigations.
The Chairman, who was picked up on Tuesday by the Central Regional Police Command to assist with investigations into an alleged robbery case reported against some NPP supporters in his constituency, had some freedom that same day.
Mr. Baako, who reported to the police on Tuesday around 10am, was detained till 5pm and was granted GH¢5,000 bail to report at the station on Wednesday at 2pm.
He was however arrested again on Wednesday and processed for court yesterday.
Presenting the facts before the court, Superintendent Kwadwo Antwi Tabil said the complainants in the case are Madam Ama Benyiwa Doe and Dr. Percival Kurankye, both members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Superintendent Tabil noted that on December 7, 2008 during the general elections, the complainants were on a campaign tour in the Assin North constituency to monitor the elections at various polling stations.
Prosecution explained that when the complainants got to Assin Akropong, some NPP adherents who were using cars with registration numbers ER1981W (Toyota Land cruiser), a Range Rover and Ford bus, allegedly attacked the now Central Regional Minister, Ama Benyiwa Doe and collected her money valued at GH¢5,850.
According to Superintendent Tabil, Madam Benyiwa Doe, who doubles as Women’s Organizer for the NDC, and Dr. Kurankye had their two Nokia mobile phones, a lady’s bag and an Ecobank cheque book belonging to the latter, stolen.
Resisting the attack, Madam Doe was allegedly hit on the right hand by the accused persons, who are currently at large.
Subsequently, a report was made at the Assin Foso Police Station where they were arrested but jumped police enquiry bail.
Superintendent Tabil said further police investigations revealed that the constituency chairman distributed the vehicles for the NPP youth, who undertook such an act.
Meanwhile, the Regional Commander said because the security was busy during the election, his outfit suspended investigations on the case and had now taken up the case.
Reports indicated that one of the cars belonged to the Assin-North MP, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong.
Baako has been ordered to produce the alleged perpetrators or would be sent to court and charged with conspiracy to robbery since he is the constituency chairman and must be held responsible for that.
> BACK to TOP < | | I'm a cabinet Minister - Zita | Sarbah Zita Okaikoi, Minister of Information, has stated that she is considered to be a cabinet Minister in the current President Mills government because she is invited to cabinet meetings.
"I have not been taken out of cabinet; I do attend cabinet meetings,' the Minister stressed.
The Information Minister was reacting to a question by this reporter when she paid a visit to The Statesman, as part of her familiarization tour of the media houses in the capital.
Oboshie Sai Cofie, former Minister of Information and National Orientation in the previous New Patriotic Party government, upon assumption of office, embarked on a similar media tour, where she paid visits to media houses including those perceived to be anti-government then.
The move was hailed by many commentators such as Kwesi Pratt Jnr, Managing Editor of The Insight.
Asked whether she felt peeved about not being named as a cabinet Minister, Mrs Zita replied, "It's the President"s decision, my dear.'
On the much talk about her being inexperienced, the Minister was of the view that acquisition of knowledge and skills are important considerations for a person to be able to carry out his or her job successfully.
'What do you term inexperience? Well, I have knowledge; inexperience is nothing. If you are going to look for a job and somebody does not give you the experience, how do you move on to get a job?' she wondered.
Interacting with the staff of the paper, the minister expressed her readiness to establish good rapport with members of the fourth estate of the realm, to ensure effective collaboration towards the development of the nation.
She exhorted the media to continue to effectively play their watchdog role in society, especially by keeping those in authority on their toes, and further help to deepen the nation's democratic dispensation.
'Africa looks up to Ghana for every positive conduct as far as the practice of democracy is concerned on the continent.
Let"s all help to maintain the place we occupy in the comity of nations as far as democracy and good governance are concerned,' Mrs Zita advised.
She announced that she had initiated moves to get resources to offer training for media practitioners, as part of efforts to enhance their skills and efficiency.
The minister called on players in the media industry to be fair and objective in the execution of their work, stressing 'let's put the interest of the nation first in every thing we do.'
> BACK to TOP < | | | | * 12.03.2009 | | Kufuor to be stripped of security gadgets | The National Security Coordinator, Col. Gbevlo Lartey has vowed to retrieve all security cars and gadgets meant for the protection of the sitting President, but have been taken away and still in the possession of former President Kufuor.
He said he would not sit down unconcerned for the former President to take away security customised cars meant for the protection of the sitting President, because he would be the one who would be held responsible should anything untoward happen to President Mills.
The National Security Coordinator, who dismissed allegations of pay back time against the former President, told The Chronicle in an interview on Wednesday that his outfit was just doing a professional job. "As a former President, you don't just stand up and take cars (or equipment) meant for the presidency.
“It is not done any where in the world. When President Bush left office, he did not take any equipment that belonged to the presidency away. He has not done it. Former President Rawlings did not also do it. When he left office, he left the equipment meant for the presidency behind," he said.
According to him, the former President was ill advised into taking those security cars that belonged to the VVIP outfit of the presidency, saying that Mr. Kufuor should rather blame his advisers for giving him such a bad advice that has generated a lot of hue and cry.
"What I am saying is that the matter is simple. People should stop embarrassing the former President. If he had known, he would not have taken it."
Col. Gbevlo Lartey said Mr. Kufuor would be feeling embarrassed by now, due to the current situation. "In my view, I believe that there is no need to continue with this issue because President Kufuor was ill-advised.
“I think that he should feel sorry that he did that because it is not done anywhere in the world where an outgoing President carries away items that belonged to the presidency."
When his views were sought on the issue of President Kufuor objecting to the provisional three Chryslers for him, he stated that it was not part of his problem and that this has to do with State Protocol and the former President. "We are doing our professional job to protect the presidency. Whether he declined or accepted the provisional arrangement, then that is his problem. It is between him and the State Protocol to work out the issues," he submitted.
Giving a scenario to back his claim, he said when President Kufuor had his unfortunate accident, assuming he was then driving in any ordinary car without security features, it would have been a big blow to the nation, and that in order to secure the safety of the presidency, there was the need to protect him.
It would be recalled that Mr. Kufuor has been in the news for taking three BMW cars meant for the presidency, and State Protocol has had to write to the former President to return the cars meant for the use of the presidency.
The issue bas become albatross to the extent that President Kufuor has declined to accept the temporary arrangement of three luxurious Chryslers through a letter written by his former Chief of Staff, Mr. K wadwo Mpiani.
> BACK to TOP < | | | | * 11.03.2009 | | 1320 Security Men Dismissed | ...800 National Security, 100 Police, 420 Army Recruits
The recent change of political guard in a Ghana of 52 years has brought in its wake a freeze on the operations of approximately 800 National Security personnel, a100 Police capos, 420 Armed Forces recruits and a mass of Foreign Service Personnel thought to be in three digit figures.
Painfully, this experience has happened in a nation-state where society`s interdependence on bread winners knows no ebb in spheres ranging from the payments of siblings school fees right through to funding funeral budgets. Altogether, information pieced together by THE SUN points to a freeze on 800 or so National Security personnel for one reason or the other, obviously because the current dispensation is not comfortable enough finding room for them in the present scheme of things.
Also thought to be in that hot, boiling soup of trouble are a 100 Police personnel who were drivers and body guards to former Ministers of state, now temporarily retired from the heart of executive political power, at least for the next four years. Then follows the case of the 420 young and able-bodied lads, who were only recently recruited into the Ghana Armed Forces under the last government, who have been dispersed to various neighbourhoods within the regions under the strangest circumstances as out-and-out civilians yet again. Even the officer who handled the recruitments, a Col. Kwabena Damoah, a native of the Brong Ahafo region is almost on his last hours of proceeding on forceful retirement. His crime? Well no-one knows except that suspicions fly helter-skelter as regards his political leanings. However THE SUN`s major headache which is gradually growing into a migraine is that, with the energies of these gentlemen and women sitting idle and cold, will harm, in concert with other agents not plot schemes and evil machinations whose overall negative effects should be felt by the larger society? So far no plausible reasons have been supplied expectant individuals so bothered, even though political inclinations are being read into the freezes all around.
Also thought to be affected is the recent crop of personnel recruited by the Foreign Service in triple digit figures. The powers-that-be have since frozen their appointments on the flimsiest of excuses and may never really get a look-in under the present dispensation.
So far, the ruling Party`s officers have been tight-lipped but what remains to be seen is whether there will be any truism in the rumour mill to the effect that have pro-government recruits from every Constituency in the nation, are to be drafted to replace all those frozen numbers.
That should be substituting polarization with polarization, just as robbing Peter to pay Peter, one very disturbed member of the public told THE SUN.
> BACK to TOP < | | NDC Government will fulfil promises - Gyampoh | Kwamoso(ER), March 11, GNA - Mr Anthony Gyampoh, Eastern Regional Secretary of National Democratic Congress (NDC), has assured Ghanaians that President John Evans Atta Mills' administration would fulfil all its electoral promises.
He therefore urged activists and supporters of the Party to unite and take advantage of policies and programmes to be implemented in fulfilment of the electoral promises.
Mr Gyampoh gave the assurance at a thanksgiving service organised by members of Akropong Constituency branch of the Party at Kwamoso in Akuapem North District on Sunday.
Mr Gyampoh who was also the NDC Parliamentary Candidate for Election 2008 in the constituency called on the people to exercise patience while government implement its "A Better Ghana" agenda for the country.
Mr Maxwell Awuku, staff at the Presidency said government would ensure its socio-economic programmes benefited all Ghanaians irrespective of one's political affiliation. He said under the government's agricultural policies, the abandoned oil palm plantations established in the 1960's at Kwamoso would be re-activated to generate employment for the people especially the youth.
Mr Addo Willy Brown, Akropong Constituency Chairman of NDC, called on the people to give the necessary support to development projects that would be initiated in the area to enable them benefit from the government's "A Better Ghana" agenda. Mr Anagli Jibrine, Assemblyman for the area, appealed for more low tension electricity poles to the community to complete their connection to the national grid.
He appealed to Ministry of Education, to rehabilitate the Kwamoso Junior High School "B" which collapsed in 2006 and the establishment of a vocational institute to provide skill training for the youth and revamping of agriculture in Kwamoso. > BACK to TOP < | | * 10.03.2009 | | Nkrumah Mausoleum decays / Kwame Nkrumah`s 100. birthday in September 2009 | About seven months from now, the nation will observe the Centenary birthday of Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana.
September 21, the birthday of the Osagyefo, has been proposed by President Mills to be declared a public holiday in his honour.
But all is not well at the mausoleum... > READ MORE < | | Kufuor releases BMWs, rejects Chryslers | Former President John Agyekum Kufuor yesterday averted what could have been a showdown between his office and the Presidency by asking the government to take back three luxury BMW cars which the National Security Coordinator and Mr. Victor Smith had harangued about.
Yesterday was the deadline given by President John Evans Atta Mills to his immediate predecessor former President John Agyekum Kufuor to release three luxury BMW cars to the state.
The directive was characterized by an abrasive exchange of explanations and interpretations from both sides.
The shadows of what could have been a showdown were cast by Mr. Victor Smith, Head of Protocol at the Presidency, who emphasized to a radio station that “he cannot continue to use those vehicles and they are going to be retrieved”.
Whereas former President Kufuor considered the replacement of the cars with Chryslers as unconstitutional and so unacceptable, President Atta Mills set his officers out to retrieve the vehicles which had earlier been left in the custody and for the use of the out-gone President.
However, Mr. Victor Smith, seeming adamant on the issue, appeared to be ready to take the fight to another level considering his position on the subject.
Mr. Frank Agyekum, Spokesperson for former President Kufuor, considered the action unconstitutional because according to him, it amounted to varying the terms of conditions as spelt out in chapter 8, article 68 of the 1992 Constitution.
A government directive to the office of the former President asked that the three cars be returned to the Office of the National Security by the end of yesterday.
The cars, a correspondence to the office of the former President indicated, are part of the VVIP protection fleet under the direction of the National Security.
In view of the foregone therefore, the correspondence added that former President Kufuor cannot continue to keep the cars.
Hitting back, Mr. Agyekum maintained that the said cars were part of his boss’ fleet while in office and so changing them at this time will be detrimental to his comfort and at variance with the tenets of the Constitution.
The Chryslers, which government seeks to replace the luxury BMWs with, according to Mr. Frank Agyekum, are of a lesser value than the German-made cars.
Mr. Victor Smith who has never been a fan of the former President’s, found this the appropriate time to hit back and therefore said Mr. Frank Agyekum’s position on the subject was not tenable.
While some thought he could act untowardly on the issue, others expected he would tread cautiously because of the repercussions of any wrong step.
Victor Smith’s earlier involvement in the seizure of state vehicles soon after the assumption of office of the Mills government, earned him a certain notoriety in a section of the political terrain.
Speaking on the subject, he said the former President’s spokesperson does not have the facts about the custody of the said cars.
The wrong information, according to him, stems from what the head of security of the former President fed his boss about the custody of the cars.
The incumbent National Security Coordinator, Lt. Col Gbevlo-Lartey (rtd), he said, told him (Victor Smith) that former President Kufuor could not keep the cars because they were specifically imported for the protection of the President.
Sounding belligerent in a chat with Joy FM yesterday, Mr. Victor Smith stated, “These particular vehicles we are talking about are specifically brought in for the President’s security so he cannot continue to use those vehicles and they are going to be retrieved.”
The Chinery-Hesse report which could have clarified issues such as these is not being implemented, as President Mills has placed an embargo on it.
The dispossession of cars from former government officials made the headlines in the early days of the Mills Administration, attracting mixed reactions from Ghanaians.
> BACK to TOP < | Farmers and landlords demonstrate for the payment of compensation | Abipotia(ER), March 10, GNA - More than 500 farmers and landlords from 12 communities whose food crops and buildings were destroyed during the construction of the 15-kilometre Nkawkaw by-pass on the Anyinam-Kumasi Highway last week-end, demonstrated against the management of SONITRA Construction Company limited, contractors on the project for the non-payment of their compensation since 2006. The demonstrators wearing red arm bands and singing war songs at Abipotia, near Nkawkaw, were from Oframase, Ampekrom, Kofi Sika, Domeabra, Asubone, Abipotia, Amanfrom, Damisikrom, Kwaaman, Awendade, Saafi and Asona.
Mr Semenyor Michael, a Spokesman for the demonstrators told Ghana News Agency, that they had no response from several petitions sent to the former Chief of Staff, Minister of Roads and Transport, Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Highway Authority (GHA), the contractors, former Eastern Regional Minister and Kwahu West Municipal Chief Executive last year.
He said although some compensation were paid to some landlords and farmers during the construction of the first phase of the project, no compensation had been paid for the second phase and appealed to the authorities involved to ensure early payment of their compensation. Mr Victor Annan, an Engineer of GHA, consultants on the project when contacted at Asona project site, said the valuation department of GHA had valued all the properties involved and approved by Land Valuation Board for payment but had delayed due to lack of funds. He said some certificates presented by the contractors to Government for payment since July last year, had not been honoured to enable them pay the compensation.
Mr Annan appealed to the demonstrators to exercise patience for Government to release funds for the payment of their compensation. > BACK to TOP < | | Foreign Minister to attend Nordic-Africa meeting | Accra, March 10, GNA - The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni, would this week attend a two-day meeting of Nordic-Africa foreign ministers in Copenhagen, Denmark. The meeting slated for March 11-12 would bring together all the foreign ministers of the five Nordic countries - Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland - and their counterparts from 10 African countries - Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, Senegal, Benin, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Botswana.
A statement issued by the sector ministry on Tuesday said the objective of instituting the annual forum was to create an environment in which Nordic and African countries could network, view and share ideas related to foreign policy challenges affecting their regions and the international community.
"The meeting, which was instituted in 2000, would also afford the ministers an opportunity to identify stumbling blocks to close cooperation and ways of removing such obstacles." The statement said the 10 African countries were selected due to their commitment to democratic governance.
The meeting would discus peace and security in Africa, security implications of climate change in Africa, security challenges of piracy, Sudan/Darfur and Zimbabwe. > BACK to TOP < | Police warns against dangerous driving on Kasoa-Winneba road | Winneba (C/R) March 10 GNA - The new Kasoa Police Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Jordan Quaye has warned that his administration would not tolerate any act of indiscipline, that might lead to destruction of life and property within Kasoa or on the Kasoa-Winneba-Cape Coast road. He has therefore appealed to passengers and transport union executives to educate drivers on the causes of accident that include over speeding, over loading, dangerous driving, drunk driving and non observance of traffic regulation.
DSP Quaye gave the warning in an interview with Ghana News Agency in Winneba soon after handing over the Administration of the Winneba Police Command to ASP Francis Yiribaary. DSP Quaye who expressed concern over the increasing number of accidents on the Accra-Winneba-Cape Coast roads in recent times and said the police in the area would continue to do their best to bring the situation under control. He said five accident prone areas have been identified on the Winneba Kasoa road but drivers still ignored signals around those areas, resulting in accidents. For the past three months about eight accidents have occurred on the Apam-Winneba-Accra road claiming so many lives and properties, with the one at Gomoa Okyereko this March alone claiming eleven lives.
Touching on crime fighting at Kasoa, the new Kasoa Police Commander said day and night patrols would be intensified and called for public cooperation to help reduce crime in the district. > BACK to TOP < | | Work on KNUST Teaching Hospital to commence | Kumasi, March 10, GNA - Work on the ultra-modern Teaching Hospital of the Kwame University of Science and Technology (KNUST) would soon commence to help facilitate health care delivery in the country, Professor Kwasi Kwafo Adarkwa, Vice-Chancellor of the University, has disclosed.
He told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview in Kumasi on Monday that, the project is being funded by the Ghana Education Trust (GET) Fund and that the University Council had decided to construct the Out-Patient-Department (OPD) and other related units first.
The Vice-Chancellor hinted that the project whose actual work commenced some two years ago had been delayed due to lack of funds. He expressed the hope that the project when completed would go a long way in training medical students of the university as well as pharmacists and nurses to beef up workforce in the health sector. "With Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) as the only fully fledged teaching hospital for the whole Northen Sector of Ghana, we cannot get the best out of it if we leave it alone to carry the burden of training health personnel which is getting heavier by the day," Professor Adarkwa stated.
He was not happy that in spite of the many initiatives and policies instituted by Government to enhance the health care delivery system in the country, there were still several challenges facing health care provision especially in the rural areas, which sometimes compromise on the level of quality of health care delivery. Consequently, the Vice-Chancellor urged co-operate bodies to invest in the health sector since a healthy nation always remained wealthy. He appealed to KATH to expedite action on the release of a suitable space for the Dental Clinic School of KNUST to help the project take off smoothly. > BACK to TOP < | | * 09.03.2009 | | Editorial - No budget for a better Ghana | Yesterday, new Finance Minister Kwabena Duffuor read what the NDC government says is a Budget Statement meant to ‘rescue’ Ghanaians from economic doldrums and build the Better Ghana it promised during its electioneering campaign and contained in its manifesto.
But, even a cursory glance a t Dr Duffuor’s maiden budget reveals a document weighed down with rhetoric and very little substance. It is notable for its modesty – in economic growth (5.9%), government receipts (2.7% more than 2008) – and vague in its bold proclamation of investing in people.
Indeed, apart from offering soft loans of about GH¢10m for reforestation, it is difficult to see where else it seeks to create the kind of jobs it offered to Ghanaian youth. It promises to make NYEP permanent, but financial quiet on investment in skills training to offer them some level of permanency in job security.
Described variously as ‘Sakawa’, ‘vague’ ‘contradictory’ ‘cosmetic’ and ‘empty,’ the NDC budget makes broad promises but fails to back it up with actionable plans. For instance, in one breathe the budget promises to increase national revenue but fails to name specifics and in the next promises to reduce taxes.
The only seemingly 'positive' populist policy is reduction in fuel taxes. But even there, petroleum taxes were reduced last year, recording an outturn of GH¢386.2 million, 21.2 per cent lower than the budget estimate of GH¢490.0 million and 4.2 per cent lower than the outturn recorded in 2007. The underperformance of petroleum taxes was mainly a result of the downward revision of some petroleum taxes and levies, as well as a decline in the volume of petroleum products consumed.
Per information reaching this paper, a five percent reduction in petrol prices, a gallon of which now goes for GH¢3.6 will sell for GH¢3.42, a reduction that is so marginal that the difference will go to transport owners rather than passengers.
There is also the pledge to cut down on government expenditure, especially on the Ministries, Departments and Agencies. But a look at the actual figures reveals an increase in expenditure of 28%, from GH¢5,066,113,327 to GH¢6,461,698,073.
The least said about the cosmetic reduction in the number of Ministries and Ministers, the better.
The budget is notable for its modesty. Like one analyst puts it, “It's like a doctor diagnosing cancer and prescribing paracetamol for the patient. Either the diagnosis was wrong or the medication woefully prescriptive as a cure.” Total receipts for 2008 was 9.54bn cedis. Projected for 2009 is 9.78bn cedis! A better budget for a better Ghana indeed! Inflation should ensure that actual receipts and spending this year would be lower than next year. In the coming days The Statesman will be going over the budget with a fine toothed comb, and serialising aspects of it as well, to give the ordinary Ghanaian the opportunity to do his own analysis of the budget meant to build a Better Ghana.
But, this budget is worse than the job of the Sakawa Boys – because at least those 419 boys who work from internet cafes at least have ‘clever’ but criminal ways of making money from greedy fools. This budget even lacks ideas on how to raise funds by stealth taxes from Ghanaians.
It is better termed “We’ve voted for change and regretted”. Translate that in your local languages.
> BACK to TOP < | | | Minister of Information visits two media organisations | Accra, March 9, GNA - Mrs. Zita Okaikoi, Minister of Information, on Monday paid a familiarisation visit to Graphic Communications Group Limited and New Times Corporation to observe their mode of operations and ascertain their problems.
The Minister was welcomed to the Graphic Communications Group Limited by Mr Ibrahim Awal, Managing Director, and conducted round the various sections of the Editorial Department.
Mr. Kwesi Asare General Manager, Marketing and Public Affairs, also led the Minister round other parts of the facility including the Graphic Packaging (G-PAC) Limited, which is the main subsidiary of the Graphic Communications Group Limited, and the printing press.
Mr. Charles Obeng Antwi, General Manager, G-PAC, told the Minister that the company had state of the art machines and equipment for all forms of commercial printing jobs.
Mrs. Okaikoi commended the Management and staff of Graphic for the long outstanding record of objectivity and hard work, especially during the December 2008 general elections.
She expressed satisfaction at their level of operation and said she would collaborate with the management to ensure that the company performed at its maximum to help create the needed impact in its pursuit to educate and inform the public on government policies and programmes. Mr Kofi Asuman, General Manager, New Times Corporation (NTC), said the corporation was currently in distress, having to compete with the host of newspapers currently on the news stands under unfavourable conditions.
He said the Corporation needed a replacement of most of their equipment and computers that were outmoded to facilitate news reporting and facilitate their ability to compete with other media organizations. Mr. Asuman appealed to the Minister to also support the Corporation in any other form that would enable it to meet its objective as a media organisation.
Mrs. Okaikoi was conducted round the various sections and departments including the Times Editorial, Weekly Spectator, Times Sports, Advertising Department and printing press.
The Minister pledged government's commitment towards ensuring that the Corporation stood on its feet to perform, saying the NTC was a credible organisation that should not be allowed to collapse. "We will later meet with the management to see how best to help improve your situation and also look at ways of strategising to ensure that the Corporation stands on its own feet to support its operations," she said. Source: GNA > BACK to TOP < |
___________________________________________________________________ | LATEST GHANA NEWS 09.03.2009 - 15.03. 2009 WEEK 11 - 2009 | | | * 15.03.2009 - Pupil Dies After Caning - NDC, NPP must co-operate - Church Leader - AMA warns public about unhygienic food - Inflation highest in five years | * 14.03.2009 - GIA Owes $55million - Mills approved of Kufuor's use of new office - P.V. Obeng | * 13.03.2009 - NPP Restored Country's Economy - NPP - NPP chairman arrested - I'm a cabinet Minister -Zita - I wish Ghana were a prayer camp - Mills | * 12.03.2009 - Kufuor to be stripped of security gadgets - Withdrawal of Kufour's Cars Illegal - NPP man | * 11.03.2009 - 1320 Security Men Dismissed - NDC Government will fulfil promises - Gyampoh - Create awareness about tourism potentials - Azumah Mensah | * 10.03.2009 - Nkrumah Mausoleum decays > READ MORE < - Kufuor releases BMWs, rejects Chryslers - Farmers and landlords demonstrate for the payment of compensation - Foreign Minister to attend Nordic-Africa meeting - Police warns against dangerous driving on Kasoa-Winneba road - Work on KNUST Teaching Hospital to commence - Mills Appreciates EU support for Ghana's democracy - NDC Officials take "Ghana for a ride" | * 09.03.2009 - Editorial - No budget for a better Ghana - Replacing Kufuor's BMWs pose security Threat? - Minister of Information visits two media organisations - Kumasi Boils - Daily Guide | | | Your REPORT Your STORIES * Your PHOTOS PUBLISH NOW! |  | | All about the Ghana Election 2008 | | |  |  | | | | * 15.03.2009 | | Inflation highest in five years | Ghana's annual inflation rate increased to 20.34 per cent in February, from 19.86 per cent in January, the highest in more than five years.
The continuous rise in inflation is the result of food price increases and the depreciation of the cedi against the major international currencies such as the US dollar and the UK pound.
Dr. Grace Bediako, Government Statistician who announced this at a news conference in Accra on Friday, said February's inflation rate was the highest since January 2004, when it was 22.4 per cent.
However, she said, the increase in the inflation rate was "not unexpected" as annual price increases announced in December usually continue in the first two months of the year.
The Bank of Ghana in February, increased its key lending rate by 1.5 points to 18.5 per cent at its last monetary policy committee meeting.
Dr. Bediako noted that, the government, in this year's budget, outlined a series of policies aimed at controlling the depreciation of the Cedi, and said, "we hope the policies outlined would arrest the situation and ensure the stability of the local currency".
The cedi has dropped 18 per cent against the dollar in the past six months, in reaction to concerns that the country will struggle to finance its widening current account and fiscal deficits.
Asked if the government's target of reducing inflation to 12.5 per cent by the end of the year was achievable, Dr Bediako said "it is a target and it depends on the various policy initiatives that the government will take; it would be hard to say whether the target would be met."
Presenting the budget last week, Finance Minister Kwabena Duffuor announced measures to rein in government spending in many areas, while also trying to create jobs and improve some social provisions in line with President Mills' election manifesto.
Giving the regional inflation figures, the Government Statistician said inflation rates recorded in the regions range from 14.37 per cent in the Volta Region to 28.61 per cent recorded in the Upper East and West.
"Four regions recorded inflation rates above the national rate of 20.34 per cent," she said.
When the Times contacted Dr. Robert Osei, Senoir Fellow at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), on the implications of the surging inflation on Ghanaians, he said "the heat is being felt by Ghanaians already, as prices of foodstuffs on the market are on the increase”.
He said the disposable income of the poor, particularly those in the urban areas, would be put under severe pressure if the trend should continue.
"In the rural areas, the effect would not be felt too much as the urban poor because most of the country's foodstuff comes from the rural areas," he said.
Source: Times
| | * 14.03.2009 | Mills approved of Kufuor's use of new office - P.V. Obeng | Head of Government's transition team, Mr. Paul Victor Obeng, has expressed surprise at the raging debate over the propriety of ex-President J.A. Kufuor's acquisition of a state property for his private office.
PV told Asempa FM in Accra that the former president officially informed President J.E.A. Mills of his desire to use the office and received the president's due blessing for its use.
Mr. Obeng said he personally conveyed ex-President Kufuor's request to President Mills orally, who he said readily agreed to the request provided his predecessor was comfortable with it.
What President Mills requested however, according P.V. Obeng, was for a speedy completion of all formalities in relation to the request, and the government therefore had been looking forward to documentation to that effect.
P.V. Obeng wondered where all the agitations, accusations and counter accusations had emanated from and said such unnecessary conducts only set the present government against the former, suggesting also that perhaps the issue would not have erupted if due documentation processes had been completed in time.
Pronouncements from some members of government have sought to reprimand the former President for wrongfully appropriating the state bungalow, previously occupied by a minister of state, and while his officers have insisted that proper procedures were followed, public debate over the acquisition particularly in the media, have largely been reduced to insults across the political divide.
Ex-President Kufuor has since late January, 2009, been using the state property located at Ridge in Accra, as his office.
| | * 13.03.2009 | | I wish Ghana were a prayer camp - Atta Mills | ...and when do we work, Mr President
President John Atta Mills Thursday reacted to criticisms that he has turned the Castle, the seat of government into a "prayer camp," saying, "I have no apologies and regrets to offer."
Determined to place God first in the affairs of his administration, he said, he wished that the whole of Ghana was turned into a prayer camp.
Speaking during a courtesy call on him at the Castle, Osu, in Accra, by the leadership of the Ghana Pentecostal Council, a grouping of Pentecostal and charismatic churches in Ghana, President Mills stressed the need for Ghanaians to continue to seek the face of God at all times.
He said the country was being sustained by divine providence through prayers, stressing that he did not see why he should not associate himself with religious people who preached peace, honesty, fear of God and love for one another, which are required for a peaceful and successful society.
“Such Men of God are allies who can support the success of my administration and the progress of the nation through their intercession," he stated.
President Mills urged the delegation, led by the council's president, Apostle John Annan Adotey, to continue to continue to pray for the government for divine direction and guidance to enable it to effectively lead the nation, saying, "where a building is not on solid foundation, it crumbles."
He commended the council and the religious community in general, for the intercessions that took the country through the December elections successfully, saying that their contribution to the elections yielded results.
President Mills, who had, since assumption of office been receiving the leadership of various Christian and Islamic groups at the Castle, recently proposed an annual national prayer and thanksgiving day by Muslims on every last Friday in January and first Sunday in February for Christians.
Apostle Adotey, in his remarks, lauded the President's faith in God and assured him of the full support of the council.
He said apart from the prayers that would be continuously offered fort the government, "we will educate our constituents on government policies to ensure their success.”
He said the council would use the same vim with which they prayed for the nation before the election, to pray for the government "so that you will have a peaceful and successful tenure."
Apostle Adotey presented a large Bible to the President, and asked him to consult it anytime he was faced with challenges, irrespective of the fact that he had already had a number of bibles. As part of the visit, a special prayer was offered for God's guidance and favour for the Presidency and the nation.
| | | | * 12.03.2009 | | Withdrawal of Kufour's Cars Illegal - NPP man | Tema — Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus-Glover, a former parliamentary hopeful of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has described as illegal and unconstitutional, a decision by the government to withdraw the three BMW cars, which were in the custody of ex-President John Agyekum Kufuor.
"The withdrawal of the cars from the house of the ex-President is illegal and unconstitutional, and if they continue to flout the constitution, the good people of Ghana would speak against the action' he disclosed.
According to him, the constitution of the Republic scowls on any decision that tends to take away or vary facilities available to a former President to his disadvantage. Quoting from article 68, section 9 of the constitution to buttress his point, Titus Glover who is also one of the vocal NPP activists said it was wrong for the NDC government to withdraw the cars from the ex-President.
Article 68, section 9 of the constitution states that; "Pension payable to the President and the facilities available should not be varied to his disadvantage during his life time". He disclosed that the Chenery Hesse report, part of which states that ex-President Kufour should be given six cars, has been approved by parliament and most beneficiaries have already received their packages.
He therefore, expressed shock as to why the NDC government has decided to embarrass the ex-President over the withdrawal of the cars, after state security apparatus had gone to his house to pick three, out of the six cars which were there initially.
The Tema East NPP firebrand revealed that he was fully in support of ex-President Kufuor's decision not to accept the Chrysler cars been offered to him by the Mills administration.
He noted that when ex-President Rawlings was leaving office eight years ago, he took along with him 17 cars, as his ex-gratia award. Mr. Titus Glover went further to state that later, the ex-President's office was allowed to select 12 of the cars and Victor Smith, who was then ex-President Rawlings' special assistant, wrote to the former Chief of Staff, Kwame Mpianim and returned five of the cars.
He hinted that Ghanaians appreciate the tenets of democracy and the role of ex-President Kufour in our democratic dispesation, and are therefore prepared to buy the same type of cars with similar specifications for the ex President. He however, intimated that the actions of the NDC government was a diversionary tactics to sidetrack the attention of Ghanaians from what he described as their 'Sakawa Budget', because according to him the budget lacks vision and hope for the citizens of Ghana.
He wondered how a budget that is envisaging total receipt of GH¢ 9.793.1 million would be achieved. "Historically, our budget had been supported by the donor community and with the global financial melt down, they will not have the full commitment of the donor community".
He further disclosed that the NDC had not brought anything new to the budget because most of the projects in the budget are NPP projects for which funds have already been sourced.
On the government commitment to supporting the private sector, Mr. Titus Glover averred that if indeed it believes that the private sector partnership helps in development as it claims, then why did it fail to provide them funding and cushioning. He noted that the NPP government committed US$ 4,881,000 to support the private sector when it was in office.
He also lashed at the NDC for withdrawing the scholarship scheme for cocoa farmers in the country from the budget, saying the NPP gave ¢2 billion to support the scheme.
| | * 11.03.2009 | | Create awareness about tourism potentials - Azumah Mensah | Accra, March 11, GNA - Mrs Juliana Azumah Mensah, Minister of Tourism, on Wednesday, expressed concern about the lack of awareness of the potentials the tourism sector contributes to the national economy. She therefore called on sector players to intensify the awareness on the contribution of the sector for the industry to receive the necessary support and attention it required from government and development partners. Mrs Azumah Mensah was inaugurating sub-committees tasked with the planning and management of the celebration of this year's World Tourism Day.
World Tourism Day is celebrated on 27th September every year to create awareness about tourism and its contribution to other sectors on development especially the economy. Ghana has been selected to host the global celebration of the Day this year on the theme: "Tourism Celebrating Diversification." The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) selects one country to host the International Tourism Day Celebration making Ghana the ninth country to host the event and the first African country. Mrs Azumah Mensah therefore urged members of the committees to plan interesting and exciting programmes that would leave a lasting memory on "our citizenry as well as international guests who would visit Ghana to participate in the event".
She said the theme for the celebration gave the country an opportunity to re-examine the catalytic role tourism played in developing other sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, mining, construction and transportation. "It is also to create awareness about the contribution of tourism in the preservation and conservation of our cultural, historical and natural resources." The Minister said the event would give Ghana a unique platform to champion the agenda of creating public awareness of the importance of tourism to the national economy, communities and individual businessmen and entrepreneurs.
The Sub-Committees inaugurated included the Media, Publicity, Marketing, Invitations, Protocol, Safety, Security, Health and Transport, Accommodation, Catering and Entertainment, Sanitation and Beautification, Tour Planning and Organization and Tourism Exhibition. | | * 10.03.2009 | NDC Officials take "Ghana for a ride" | ... Pratt lambasts officials
Three days after the 2009 budget was presented to Parliament, with a promise to cut down on government spending, National Democratic Congress (NDC) appointees and officials went on a spending spree with the State picking the bills.
About 20 leading members of the NDC including the Minister of Youth and Sports, Alhaji Muntaka Mubarak, were said to have been flown out in a chartered flight last Sunday for the Ivorian capital, Abidjan, to witness the local Black Stars’ final match with their Congolese counterparts in the African Nations Championship (CHAN). Some of the personalities on the trip were Alex Segbefia, Deputy Chief of Staff; P.V. Obeng, Chairman of the dissolved Government Transition team; Koku Anyidoho, Communication Director at the Presidency; and Dr. Omane Boamah, a deputy Minister designate for Environment, Science and Technology and a leading member of the Kwesi Pratt-led Committee for Joint Action (CJA) who constantly picketed official profligacy. Dr Boamah is yet to be vetted by the parliamentary Appointments Committee. Also on the trip were Ade Coker, a former Deputy Chairman of the Ghana Football Association, who was banned from holding any position in the FA; Kojo Bonsu, who failed to get the nod for the Sports Ministry job; Jones Abu Alhassan, a member of the GFA Executive Council and Kofi Manu, an Accra representative of Ashgold Football Club. DAILY GUIDE learnt that the Mills boys jetted out with the aim of bringing the trophy to the country with a possible intention of playing politics with it. The Black Stars had earlier beaten the Leopards of DR Congo 3-0 in the Group Stages, fuelling hopes that they would crush the Congolese in the finals, but were rather beaten in what has been described as a revenge.
Their foreign travel, coupled with the large entourage, appeared to be at variance with President John Evans Atta Mills’ pledge that his government would reduce its spending drastically this year in a bid to reduce the high fiscal deficit.
Even though statutory allocations to MDAs were drastically cut to save money for the state, allocations for the Presidency strangely increased to about 163 percent, fuelling speculations that the increase was for such trips.
The per diems, hotel and air fares had been described as ‘double-tongued’ considering the position of President Mills on government expenditure.
Government plans to reduce the fiscal or budget deficit from 14.9 percent to 9.4 percent by the end of the year. It had therefore decided to implement cost-saving measures including savings from foreign travels, workshops and conferences of all ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) which the budget says would save the nation GH¢70 million.
However, DAILY GUIDE sources say the large contingent to the Ivorian capital betrayed President Mills’ quest to reduce waste in the system. The trip, which caused the nation several thousands of Ghana Cedis, has been described by some analysts as unnecessary.
What this means is that the nation could accumulate unnecessary debt from trips which would eventually make government’s quest to reduce the fiscal deficit a herculean task.
The Black Satellites had in February won the African Youth Championship hosted by Rwanda and the NDC had planned to use the Black Stars feat and the afore-mentioned exploit of the national under-20 team to score cheap political points.
Pratt lambasts officials The Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Mr Kwasi Pratt has described the 40 NDC Officials trip to Abidjan last Sunday in an air force plane to support the local Black Stars team, as a shame to the government.
Speaking on the Accra-based radio station, Peace FM, Mr Pratt asked: “why 40 people? what benefit will it bring to this country?” He said, the number of people who went for the trip was too much.
According to him, few executives from the Sports Ministry should have gone for the trip not such a large number of people causing the government a lot of money.
He said Mr Segbefia may be saying an untruth, that is why he could not reveal the sponsor on air. He added that, if it was really true that an individual sponsored it “then why didn’t Segbefia tell us who he is, to be given credit?
Mr Pratt was speaking in reaction to Peace FM’s interview with Mr Alex Segbefia concerning a chartered plane for 40 NDC Officials to support the local Black Stars, at Abidjan last Sunday.
Segbefia blasts Daily GuideA Deputy Chief of Staff, Hon. Alex Segbefia has condemned Daily Guide’s story headlined ‘NDC Gurus Fly Out - In Chartered Plane’.
Segbefia said the trip was sponsored by a private individual, not the government.
He confirmed there were about 40 people in the Ghana Armed-Forces plane including pressmen and sports experts.
When the host, Kwami Sefa-Kayi asked him which private individual sponsored the trip, Mr. Segbefia said he was not in a position to reveal the sponsor on air so he cannot tell Peace FM.
| | * 09.03.2009 | | Kumasi Boils - Daily Guide | According to the newspaper DAILY GUIDE supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Kumasi are gearing up for a possible showdown with their colleagues in the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The irate NPP supporters have threatened to announce their presence and might in the city by eliminating any NDC member that they would come into contact with, a source intimated.
The eye-red NPP supporters, the source hinted, would launch their blistering aggression by first attacking the palace of a prominent chief in Kumasi whom they deemed was an NDC loyalist. From there, they would march straight to the residence of the Ashanti Regional NDC Chairman for a show-down, the source noted further.
The hitherto quiet and peace-loving NPP sympathisers in the city are said to have taken that odd stance due to the recent horrific attacks on some of their colleagues by supposed NDC thugs, prominent among them being Linford Owuo aka ‘Cedi’.
DAILY GUIDE gathered that the NPP supporters who intend to embark on the bloody attacks are mostly drawn from the Zongo communities of Yerewa, Sabon Zongo, Aboabo, Nima and Ash Town all in Kumasi.
According to the source, the numerous NPP supporters are planning to launch the horrendous attacks on March 19, 2009 if ‘Cedi’, who is on remand on allegations of brutalizing some NPP supporters, is granted bail by the court on that day.
The 30-year-old ‘Cedi’, it would be recalled, was on Thursday remanded by a Kumasi Circuit Court for attacking and completely burning a Daewoo Lenox saloon car belonging to one Frank Appiah aka ‘Appiah Stadium’ a popular serial caller of the NPP.
The suspect who was hauled to the court on two counts of arson and robbery pleaded not guilty to the charges and is to reappear on March 19 this year.
Furthermore, ‘Cedi’ was alleged to have inflicted cutlass wounds on the head of Ekow Sackey, the assembly member of the Asem electoral area about a month ago for refusing to give him the keys to a toilet facility in the area.
Last week, Chief Inspector A.K. Fandoh of the Ashanti Regional Police Command told the court that the victim was driving the said car along the Asafo Roundabout around 11:30 am on Wednesday when the suspect in the company of four armed persons allegedly stopped him and demanded his car keys.
He said the victim obliged and was subsequently forced into the suspect’s car and driven to Fante New Town around the OA Transport Services area where he was later bundled into a waiting taxi.
Chief Inspector Fandoh narrated that the victim’s seized car and the taxi were afterwards driven to the Asem School Park where the suspect and his accomplices stole GH¢2,750 from it and later set it ablaze, burning it beyond recognition.
He said after the condemnable act, the victim was driven in the same taxi from Asem School through Amakom towards an unknown destination but was rescued by some passers-by who heard him scream for help from the taxi.
Chief Inspector Fandoh said the suspect who operates a gymnasium at the Asem School Park area was previously being sought by the police for his alleged assault on Ekow Sackey.
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