| HOME | | | | NEWS ARCHIVE 2009 | | NEWS ARCHIVE 2008 | | NEWS ARCHIVE 2007 | | PHOTO REPORTS | | VIDEO REPORTS | | AUDIO REPORTS | | EDITORIAL | | LATEST WORLD NEWS | | ARTS in GHANA | | Food & Drinks in Ghana | | Africa Cup 2008 | | Ghana Hotels | | Links / Websites | | Ghana Districts | | Ghana Tourism | | Ghana Classifieds | Names in Ghana | | | | * 06.09.2009 | | Ghana to tap energy from human waste | Dr. Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive on Friday called on stakeholders to support the assembly’s efforts in the successful development of waste energy.
“The waste to energy approach would require the involvement of all stakeholders because it embraces community participation, which is an innovation in managing waste. This approach would require a paradigm shift or a new way of thinking,” he said.
Dr. Vanderpuije made the call when he launched the Ghana Innovation Marketplace (GIM) 2009 competition, which is aimed at developing innovative strategic solutions to the country’s problem of solid waste management.
GIM, which was a collaborative effort between the government, World Bank and development partners, was on the theme: “Solid waste: Big problem, big opportunity.”
Contestants from Accra, Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi, Tamale and Tema are expected to explore how to convert waste into energy in an economically sustainable manner while creating employment opportunities for the youth.
Dr. Vanderpuije urged Ghanaians to adopt the initiative as a way of life and promote it through advocacy and awareness creation in schools, workplaces churches, homes and media communication.
“Some have argued that the waste to energy project is not feasible in Ghana because 70 per cent of our waste is organic in nature and that the main alternative to landfill would be recycling. But is recycling the best solution? Not if there is no demand for recycling materials.
“It is time to put myths and falsehoods aside and take a fresh look at what we do with our rubbish. Let us not waste any more opportunity, time and energy because the time for energy from waste is now,” he said.
Dr. Vanderpuije said although lands for dump and landfill sites were being acquired, citizens had not been protected from the hazards related to the inefficient management of these sites.
“Land fills and dumping sites on their own do not solve the sanitation hazards because it comes along with its attendant high cost of collection, disposal and remnants, as well as creating mountains of refuse all over the city. From all indications it holds true that the city of Accra would benefit from this type of energy because the source of fuel is readily available in large quantities.” he said.
He said under the project, landfill spaces would be reclaimed and pollution reduced while a ton of garbage would generate about 525 Kilowatt of electricity.
Mr. Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development gave the assurance that government would strengthen the Metropolitan, Municipal and District assemblies’ by providing them with the required resources to enable the environmental health officers to effectively perform their traditional duties of premises inspection and enforcement of sanitation bye- laws.
Ms Hannah Tetteh, Minister of Trade and Industry said her sector ministry would collaborate with the winner of the competition to speed up efforts to get rid of filth in the country.
| | * 05.09.2009 | | Immigration officers undergo training on crime identification | Navrongo (UER) Sept. 5, GNA Immigration Officials in the Upper East Region have been asked to be more vigilant and look out for people who enter the country to perpetuate crime.
"All sorts of criminal acts including cyber fraud are on the increase and need to be controlled and to a large extent reduced so that the country can maintain its reputation of good hospitality, peaceful and investor friendly," Mr. Peter Defie Regional Director of Immigration said on Saturday.
The Director, who was addressing 50 immigration officers at Navrongo in the Kassena Nankena District at the end of a three day workshop on "Countering Document Fraud and Intelligence Gathering", said the officers were being trained and equipped to enable them to detect fraudulent documents, illegal and unwanted materials at all the entry points in the region.
Mr. Emmanuel Andema, District Chief Executive, urged the officers to be committed to their work and collaborate with other security agencies to enhance national security.
Speaking on diseases that could easily spread from one country to the other, Mr. Andema called on the officers to be alert and report all cases suspected to be HINI influenza to the health facilities for the patients to be kept under surveillance and treated.
He expressed concern that HIV/AIDS was highly prevalent in the district, saying the test carried out on 320 persons this year, showed that 90 of them were HIV and Hepatitis B positive as compared to the 17 people who turned out to positive from the 242 people tested for the same disease last year.
Mr. Kwabena Somuah Amponsah, Deputy Superintendent, Immigration, who led a team of seven facilitators at the workshop, explained that the service saw the need to improve the skills of the personnel and equip them with modern tools to be able to carry out their work efficiently, hence the training programme, which would be carried out in all the 10 regions.
He said the officers were trained to enhance security to be able to detect security features in documents, passenger assessment, impostor detection, document examination and the identification of the new birth certificate and the national identity card.
The training programme, called the Aeneas Programme, is being sponsored by the European Union Commission and would eventually set up a National Document Expertise Centre in Accra for the training of all immigration officers to improve their skills and empower them to meet new challenges. Mr. Amponsah presented modern equipment for documentation and currency detection to the Regional Director, to be used at all the entry points in the region. | | * 03.09.2009 | Gambia to exhume bodies of 44 Ghanaians | President John Evans Atta Mills has promised that Ghana will co-operate with the Gambian Authorities to exhume the bodies of 44 Ghanaians killed in the Gambia. This is part of the recommendation of the joint UN-ECOWAS Commission Report that they should be given a fitting burial and compensation paid to the families.
He said the unfortunate period is over and the two countries should cooperate for the benefit of their people.
President Mills said this when he received letters of credence from four envoys designate to Ghana at the Castle, Osu.
The first to present his letter of credence was the Zambian High Commissioner, Cecil Holmes, followed by Ackah Emmanuel Auguste of Cote D’Ivoire, the Gambian High Commissioner to Ghana, Angela Colley and the Swedish High Commissioner Per Lindgarde.
President Mills said doubts associated with the unfortunate incident which occurred in 2005 and nearly marred relations between the two countries would be dealt with and called on the new High Commissioners to work hard to erase such doubts.
Gambia High Commissioner, Angela Colley said Ghana and Gambia have a lot in common and the unfortunate incident which occurred in 2005 should not strain the relationship.
She pledged to work hard to strengthen relations between the two countries.Receiving the Ivorian Ambassador, Ackah Emmanuel Auguste, President Mills said African countries should work to invigorate their economies.
There is a lot to be derived when Africans pool their resources. President Mills remarked “let the ideals of the African Union stimulate African leaders for such cooperation”.
He congratulated the Ivorian President, Laurent Gbagbo for the successful completion of the voter registration exercise paving the way for elections to be held.
President Mills Assured the Ivorian Ambassador of Ghana’s support to ensure successful elections.
The Ivorian ambassador on his part called on President Mills to continue to support Cote D’Ivoire for the country to have total peace.
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| Please note: Some links may open in a new window! | | LATEST GHANA NEWS 31.08. - 06.09. 2009 WEEK 36 - 2009 |
| | * 06.09.2009 | Daer visitor, over the next weeks - we change the style of our news website., For latest news, please CLICK HERE | | Tourists pour into Kpetoe for Agbamevorza | Kpetoe(V/R), Sept. 06, GNA-Hundreds of local and foreign tourists on Saturday tasted the cultural and artistic elegance of the chiefs and people of Agotime Traditional Area at a grand durbar to climax this year's Agbamevorza (Kente Festival) of the Area. Donned in various distinct Kente designs and prints, the people; old and young, including chiefs performed artistic and warrior dances all day to showcase their rich culture as hordes of people scrambled to capture the spectacle on their digital and mobile phone cameras. A procession of chiefs dancing in palanquins heralded the occasion drawing crowds to the durbar grounds where all business activities had shifted to.
Two chiefs in separate palanquins danced into each other to exchange copies of the New Testament to symbolise and act out the theme of the festival: "Unity in Development" All the 37 communities forming the Traditional Area displayed distinctive cultural style and skill to portray the diversity of the area.
The town was virtually bathing in music, dance, arts and culture with the people demonstrating high levels of tolerance and hospitality as locals and strangers mixed and interacted with glee.
Mr Alex Asum Ahensah, Minister of Chieftaincy and Culture, who represented the Vice-President, commended the people for initiating the festival and expressed asked the youth to uphold the nation's cultures to protect their diverse identities for posterity.
He however warned communities especially those with tourist potentials against child trafficking and child labour. Mrs. Juliana Azumah-Mensah, Minister of Tourism and Member of Parliament for the Area, who was clad in a sophisticated Kente design tailored to perfection said kente originated from Kpetoe. She urged communities all over the country to identify and develop tourist potentials in their areas to attract government support and investment from local and foreign interests.
Nene Nuer Keteku III, Konor of Agotime Traditional Area, appealed for a facelift of Kpetoe to befit its status as a tourist destination and home of Kente.
He also called on government to adopt the Kente Festival as a national event to bring communities in weaving and artefacts together through activities such as inter-cultural exchange programmes. Funds were raised to start the construction of a "Kente Market and Village" > BACK to TOP < | Tourism in Ghana? Akwaaba to Ghana! 
- for more pictures, CLICK HERE Akwaaba to a relaxing beach experience. just behind the National Cultural Centre in Accra you`ll find a cosy place to enjoy the sea breeze on a white sandy beach. Enjoy also a view to Ghana`s most important place, the Independence Square. Also in direct neighborhood - the "Castle". Let your children discover all the toys arround there.. Akwaaba! Welcome to Ghana - Tourist Place... Source: Ghanaweb-News.com / September 2009 > BACK to TOP < | | Sanitation-related diseases hikes cost of health care | Wa, Sept. 6, GNA -An amount of Eight point six (8.6) million Ghana Cedis, was spent in the treatment of sanitation-related diseases, reported at health facilities in the Upper West Region, last year. This, according to the health authorities, strained the finances of the various Mutual Health Insurance schemes in the region. Out of this amount about GHC7, 427,351 were spent on patients on admission, while GHC1,254,117 took care of out-patients. These diseases included malaria, acute respiratory infections and diarrhoea. Alhaji Abu Yahaya, Chairman of the Upper West Regional Health Committee made this known at Wa, at the closing session of a one-week course for sanitation guards, drawn from Wa Municipal, Wa East, Wa West and Sissala East districts.
He said during the period, 208,309 patients reported at these facilities with malaria, while 29,494 and 10,537 patients suffered from acute respiratory infections and diarrhoea respectively. These diseases, Alhaji Yahaya said, were ninety per cent preventable, if the people changed their behaviour and attitudes concerning sanitation.
He called on the government to invest heavily in sanitation in order to arrest the huge money that was constantly expended on medical care and the man-hours lost as a result of diseases that could be prevented.
Mr Emmanuel Volsuri, Regional Operations Supervisor of Zoom Lion Ghana Limited, said 90 Sanitation Guards had so far been trained in the region and that they have been provided with the necessary logistics and bicycles as well as uniforms to enhance their work. He said Zoom Lion organized the training programme to impart in the participants, the relevant skills and knowledge, to enable them to carry out their duties effectively. The Guards are expected to assist Environmental Health Officers in hygiene education and promotion, inspection of premises, dissemination of sanitary information, supervision and monitoring of sanitation services. > BACK to TOP < | | | | * 05.09.2009 | | Asamoah Boateng calls for unity in NPP | Konongo (Ash), Sept. 5, GNA- Mr. Stephen Asamoah Boateng, former Minister of Information and National Orientation has called on members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to unite and work in harmony as the party prepares towards Election 2012.
He said the task ahead required a united front and urged the rank and file of the party to bury their differences not only to make the party formidable but also improve its chances in 2012. Mr. Asamoah Boateng was addressing a large crowd of party followers at Konongo in the Asante Akim North Municipality on Friday whilst on his way to attend the funeral of the late R. R. Amponsah, a stalwart of the NPP.
He encouraged the teeming supporters to remain calm and embark on membership drive, adding that the party stood a better chance of winning the 2012 elections if the appropriate measures were put in place ahead of time.
He charged the constituency executives of the party to work hard to increase the support base of the party to complement efforts of the national executives to wrest power from the ruling National Democratic Congress. > BACK to TOP < | | Kenyan Chief Judge to visit Ghana | Accra, Sept.06, GNA- Mr. Justice Johnson Evan Gicheru, Chief Justice of Kenya would pay a familiarization visit to the country from September 6 to 13.
He would be accompanied by Mr. Justice Alnasir Visram, a Judge at Kenya's Court of Appeal. In a statement signed by Mrs.G.A. Tagoe, Director of Communications, Judicial Service, the two who visit at the invitation of Mrs. Justice Georgina Wood, Chief Justice, would draw lessons on the operations of the Ghana Judicial Service Training Institute as well as share ideas on matters of common concern.
"Their itinerary will include visit to the specialised courts i.e. Commercial, Human Rights, Land and Financial Administrative Courts. They will also visit the Family and Juvenile Courts." According to the statement, the Kenyan Chief Justice would interact with Supreme and Appeal Court Judges and also engage the Director of Ghana School of Law.
"Justice Gicheru would visit places of interest including the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, Akosombo Hydroelectric Dam, Cape Coast Castle and Kakum Park." Mr Gicheru was appointed a High Court Judge in 1982 after service six years as a Puise Judge. He was appointed a Judge of the Appeal Court in 1988 and served until 2003, when he was appointed the Chief Justice of Kenya. > BACK to TOP < | | | | * 04.09.2009 | | Discharge of sugar on "Cocaine Vessel" begins | Tema, Sept. 4, GNA - The discharge of 14,000 tonnes of sugar on MV St. Efrem, the vessel that was intercepted on Tuesday for carrying quantities of whitish substance suspected to be cocaine, started on Friday morning at about 0900 hours.
The discharge of the 280,000 bags of sugar labelled "Copersugar" would enable the Security Taskforce to ascertain whether the consignment contained more of the substance.
A Member of the Special Security Taskforce in-charge of the operation, who spoke under condition of anonymity, told the Ghana News Agency at the Port that it would take them about 20 days to fully discharge the consignment.
Hundred and sixty thousand bags representing 8,000 tonnes of the sugar consignment on the vessel were expected to be off-loaded in Ghana, while the remaining 120,000 bags or 6,000 tonnes were to be delivered to Port Matadi in Angola. The vessel came into the country on Tuesday from Brazil.
The Member said the discharge involved the loading of hired trucks with the bags of sugar from the vessel by a stevedoring company, which would then be escorted by armed military personnel to the scanner. After scanning, another escort would accompany the trucks to a designated custom bonded warehouse.
He further stated that security officials would continue to guard the warehouse until a decision was taken on what should be done with the consignment, including those to be discharged at Port Matadi. The Member confirmed that tests carried on the five sacks of cocaine weighing 165 kilogrammes, which were retrieved from MV St. Efrem on Tuesday by the Narcotic Control Board (NACOB), tested positive. He, however, stated that the Taskforce was yet to receive the test result from the NACOB on the two other sacks of substances, found floating on the sea on Wednesday. > BACK to TOP < | | Ho - Yam Festival | PRESS RELEASE- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The President of the Volta Region House of Chiefs and Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State Togbe Afede X1V wishes to invite all Ghanaians to join with the Asogli people in celebrating the 2009 Yam Festival. This year’s festival has activities for all age groups and is being celebrated under the theme uniting For Development. It is the time of year when the people of Asogli and the Volta Region give thanks and praise to God for turning this small seed into a big tuber of Yam which helps to feed everyone.
The highlights of the celebration will be the grand durbar and launch of the Tourist and Business Guide at the Jubilee Park, Ho. The Programme is attached. For further information, Please contact: Togbe Kasa 111, Chairman of the Yam Festival Committee- 0246148228; The Secretary, Asogli State Council, 09125444 Representative Asogli State -United Kingdom: Appiah Kufuor -07919586710.
Source: Togbe Kasa > BACK to TOP < | | * 03.09.2009 | Ghanaians in Ireland need representation and a voice | Credible information reaching Ghanaians in UK and Ireland indicates that the NDC government has decided to close down the Embassy in the Republic of Ireland and revert it to a Consulate as it was before President Kufuor raised it to the status of an embassy.
No reason has been given for such a reversal.
We in NPP UK and Ireland are not necessarily against a policy of rationalization and cost cutting if there is any sincerity in that. However we are concerned about the plight of our Ghanaian folks in Ireland who may not have a voice and adequate representation when it comes to not just passport and consulate issues but also welfare matters.
The High Commission in UK has never been genuinely interested in Irish matters and has always left Consulate matters to the Consulate staff in Dublin, who are not Ghanaians, to manage. We do know that the Kernan family (Irish) who have profound affiliation with the (P) NDC and who have business interests in Ghana managed the Consulate. They controlled the Consulate until its elevation to an embassy status. The reason why we campaigned for an embassy in Ireland was because non-Ghanaians do not understand and know much about the 419 spearheaded by non-Ghanaian nationals. They had free access to Ghanaian passports so we wanted a situation where Ghanaians would be there to help in stopping this abuse but alas! We are back to square one. At the moment the reason why many non-Ghanaians are in possession of Ghana travel documents is because the Consulate did not appreciate the difference between Ghanaians and other Africans. Many crimes are being committed in the name of Ghanaians because these fraudsters are often caught with Ghanaian passports.
We in NPP UK and Ireland, stand by the Ghanaian people in The Republic of Ireland in their fight for voice and representation. We will continue to highlight your plight in such a careless decision by the government of the NDC in this matter.
Perhaps we need to remind President Mills of his own words when he addressed his newly appointed diplomats at the end of their induction course when he said they must not condone the violation of the immigration laws of our country, but be concerned about the plight of its compatriots in the countries of their accreditation, and to explore ways of collaborating with their host authorities to find ways of ameliorating their plight. He said their effectiveness as representatives of the nation will be measured by the extent to which your tenure leads to job creation, helps us invest in our people.
We therefore call on President Mills and the NDC government to understand the motive behind the elevation and how that could serve better the plight of Ghanaians in Ireland and help save the abuse of our immigration laws through the wanton issue of Ghanaian passports to foreigners. We appeal to him in the supreme interest of Ghana to maintain the elevation rather than the reversal. We do know that the NDC might want to reverse the decision of the NPP administration in many matters but they must never lose sight of the fact that the security of our nation and nationals abroad especially in the validity, respectability and acceptability of our passport were the main reason why Ghanaian ambassador and staff were required to be present in Dublin. The president must therefore be seen as using our foreign missions to support all Ghanaians abroad including our people in Ireland and we urge him to tear down those partisan walls.
Hayford Atta-Krufi On behalf of NPP UK and Ireland
| Source: Hayford Atta-Krufi |
> BACK to TOP < | | Dealer owes Ghana @ 50 Secretariat over one million cedis | Fairllop International Limited, dealers in luxury cars owes government over one million Ghana cedis being the cost of 35 Jaguar saloon cars it purchased from the Ghana @ 50 Secretariat after the 50th Independence anniversary celebrations.
Incidentally, the company which sold the vehicles to the Secretariat in 2007 for the celebrations opted to purchase 35 out of the 40 vehicles it supplied based on an advertisement by the secretariat offering to sell the vehicles.
Mr Eric Agyemang, Managing Director of Fairllop, testifying at the Ghana@50 Commission of Inquiry in Accra on Thursday, said the company had not settled its liability to government because Fairllop had encountered “certain difficulties” since December last year, which had mired the sale to offset the debt.
When a member of the Commission, Mrs Marrietta Brew Appiah-Oppong asked about the nature of the difficulty that prevented the sale, Mr Agyemang said the rumpus that characterized the transition process after the 2008 Election made people apprehensive of buying the vehicles.
He said apart from the transition process brouhaha, Fairllop had also never dealt in second-hand vehicles and was finding it extremely difficult to sell the cars because those who had the money to purchase such luxury cars preferred to buy brand new ones.
This drew a sharp rebuttal from Mrs Appiah-Oppong who retorted “You cannot put your failure at the doorstep of the transition process”.
“In any case the contractual agreement did not say you should sell the cars before paying for them,” she said.
Mr Agyemang then said ”My Lord when we have buyers for the vehicles we would pay or government should take the vehicles back.”
Mr Justice Duose, Chairman of the Commission, asked Fairllop to pay what it owed government or take steps to negotiate on terms of settlement, which Mr Agyemang said the company was doing.
Giving the background to the deal, Mr Agyemang said that in 2006 the Secretariat at a meeting with car dealers, asked Fairllop to submit a proposal for the supply of 40 Jaguar saloon cars for the Jubilee celebration.
Subsequently, Fairllop sent a Memorandum of Understanding to the Secretariat stating interest in the transaction, after which the Secretariat requested the company to supply the vehicles.
He said the contractual agreement was that the Secretariat was to make a 50 per cent down payment of the cost of the vehicles and spread the remainder over a period of 12 months, which the Secretariat observed after taking custody of the vehicles and paid the remainder in May 2008.
However, Mr Agyemang claimed that the Secretariat was also indebted to the company to the tune of 93,684 dollars, explaining that the Secretariat made the initial 50 per cent payment in dollars but subsequent payments were made in Ghana cedis, which made Fairllop register the shortfall as a result of exchange rate differentials.
When Justice Duose asked Mr Agyemang to subtract what he claimed the Secretariat owed from what Fairllop owed government, he said his company after that deduction would then be liable to pay government 908,000 dollars.
Mr Justice Duose asked why Fairllop had taken 35 out of the 40 cars it supplied the Secretariat, to which Mr Agyemang said the remaining five vehicles were involved in accidents “and my Lord I would not touch such cars”.
Mr Paul Pepera, Managing Director of PHC Motors, who also accounted for his company’s involvement with the Secretariat, said that on April 11, 2006, PHC received a letter from the Office of the President requesting them to supply 35 Chrysler 300 saloon cars for the Jubilee celebration.
He said that after an agreement was reached, PHC made delivery of the cars to the Secretariat in January 2007 after an initial payment of 40 per cent of the price of the vehicles was made in November 2006.
Mr Pepera said the Secretariat had paid the outstanding balance on the contract to PHC.
When he was asked during cross examination whether PHC went through the appropriate tendering process, he said the company made a quotation to the Secretariat and won the bid.
Officials from the African Union (AU) Development Consortium Limited (AUDCL), the company that constructed the Ridge Presidential houses, Chief Executive of the Ghana@50 Secretariat, Dr Charles Wereko-Brobbey and the Chairman of the National Planning Committee, Mr Kwadwo Okyere Mpiani and their counsels were present at the sitting.
> BACK to TOP < | | | * 02.09.2009 | | Mills Bounces JJ | EX-PRESIDENT Jerry John Rawlings has revealed and is grousing that not a single advice or suggestion from him to President Atta Mills has been taken or treated as something important.
Jerry Rawlings, in narrating the matter, insinuated that all advice and suggestions he had personally given to President Mills were rubbished by some unnamed persons who spoke to the President later on, adding that he was so disturbed about the development that at a point, he had to inform the President about his reservations.
Speaking yesterday to Adom Fm, Jerry Rawlings said though Atta Mills had consulted him several times on various issues, nothing came out of those consultations, expressing his discontent with those “calling the shots” in the current administration.
“I was not going to comment on this but I guess I have no choice but to say that several consultations have been taking place over the years but I have had the occasion to once ask the President, just on one-on-one, that I would like him to give me one instance when I have given him a suggestion and he has taken it over the last eight years since we left office; just one instance, but the President could not give me one instance.
“In other words, is my suggestion, my advice, of no value to him? Who are those around him? It led to a situation where I was suggesting to the President that whenever we are going to have these discussions, those who make you see another point of view after we have discussed the issue, why don't you bring them here so we can argue it out in front of you?” Jerry Rawlings narrated.
When asked to mention what things he would have wished the current administration had done differently, Jerry Rawlings indicted the Mills Government on the choice of officials and probe of the Ghana @ 50 Secretariat.
He explained: “We have very glaring examples of misdeeds that took place, with human right abuses and killings, and yet we give priority to the materialistic things like investigating Ghana @ 50 when Mobilla's issue…does it mean that human life can be treated like chicken?
“What should have been done from day one, let's say with the Transitional Team, we lost some measure of goodwill on account of some of the personalities that the public had concerns with.
As good as they may be, a lot of those characters were suffering from prejudicial perceptions created by the NPP and in politics perceptions are probably even more important than the reality and until you can change these perceptions for the public to see the true nature of who you really are, they will continue to see you in the light that had been created for them.
“So characters like this should not have been brought into the frontline; they should have been kept at the back. No names for the moment but a good number of them are the ones calling the shots and I think they should not have been brought in the frontline in the first place,” the ex-President fumed.
> BACK to TOP < | Ghana to ratify two Conventions on small arms | Accra, Aug 29, GNA - Ghana is to ratify the Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS) Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons and Convention on Cluster Munitions to quell robberies and armed-violence in the West African sub-region.
Mr Cletus Avoka, Minister of Interior, gave the assurance at the opening of a two-day workshop organized by government and co-supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ghana, and the ECOWAS Small Arms Control Programme (ECOSAP), in Accra on Saturday. The Interior Minister, who did not disclose when the Conventions would be ratified, said preparations were far advanced for cabinet to consider the issue.
Mr Avoka said the ratification could enable Ghana to play a leading role in regional and sub-regional initiatives on small arms control, peace building and security sector governance. He reiterated government's commitment to improving the enforcement capacity of security services as well as offering alternative livelihoods to the local manufactures of small arms and to undertake other legitimate and viable businesses. Mr Avoka said "We as a nation have resolved to ensure that the right environment is created so as to make committing crimes less attractive to our people".
He expressed the hope that the workshop would address the menace of exchange of illegal small arms for goods and services across borders and within ECOWAS states as well as to curb incidence of smuggling of arms through the ports.
Dr Kwasi Apea-Kubi, Deputy Minister of the Interior, called for concerted efforts, especially among people in West African countries where small arms and light weapons were easily trafficked across borders, in order to combat and eradicate the illicit trade. "It is when concerted efforts are harnessed from national, sub-regional, regional and the international community that the small arms menace can be effectively tackled on a sustainable basis," he said. Mr Baffour Amoa, President of the West African Action Network on Small Arms (WAANSA), expressed concern that the proliferation of small arms and light weapons could stifle African governments from meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.
"How can we attain the MDGs when conflicts in Africa continue to be fueled by small and light weapons," he asked.
Mr Amoa called on the participants to brainstorm in order to "produce workable ideas that would improve control strategies and policies on illicit arms."
Mr Mohamed Coulibaly, Programme Manager of ECOSAP, lauded government's efforts at providing border surveillance equipments for the Ghana Immigration Service as well as supporting the Ghana Police Service in recovering illicit arms to strengthen security in the country. The workshop, under the theme: "Capacity Building for a Better Control of Small Arms," is expected to help participants produce an annual action plan as well as to identify projects aimed at reducing armed violence and proliferation of illicit weapons among ECOWAS member states. > BACK to TOP < | | > BACK to TOP < | | * 01.09.2009 | | NDC demands $1.5 Billion from BOG | | Read HERE a PRIVAT COMMENT | News available to The Statesman indicates that the National Democratic Congress is putting pressure on the Bank of Ghana to print extra money in excess of 2 billion Ghana cedis. This was contained in an unusual letter from the Minister of Finance to the Governor of the Bank of Ghana. But, The Statesman can report that outgoing Governor, Paul Acquah, is resisting every pressure to print such high amounts of cedis to worsen the country`s already bad inflationary pressures. Year-on-year inflation was 20.5 percent in July and government has even revised its end-of-year inflation target upwards by 2 percentage points to 14.5 percent.
But, officials of the BoG are nervous that Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, who takes over Tuesday, September 1, as Governor may succumb to the pressure from his party. He was a campaign aide to President Mills during his presidential bid.
Ironically, he also served as Deputy Minister of Finance in 2000 when Kwabena Duffuor was Governor of the Central Bank. That year ended with Ghana`s macroeconomic indicators seriously destabilised, with inflation at 40 percent and interest rates at 50 percent, and the cedi losing its value to the dollar by 97 percent.
The letter, requesting for the money, explains that Government is under pressure to pay off arrears owed to contractors and money is urgently sought for that purpose. In the past eight months alone, the NDC government has sourced out contracts valued at half a billion Ghana cedis. Checks made by this paper raise serious issues about the integrity of many of these contracts.
Already, there were some one billion Ghana cedis worth of contracts performed but payments of which were suspended by the Mills administration. Reading his supplementary budget last week, Finance Minister Kwabena Duffuor made a controversial claim that Ghana`s budget deficit for last year has to be revised to 24.2 percent of gross domestic product. He got this figure by including debts of 1.7 billion cedis ($1.16 million).
The compares with an earlier estimate of 12.1 percent (including divestiture receipts) and comes after “arrears and commitments had been taken into account,†Duffuor told Parliament.
However, deficit is calculated as the difference between the money government takes in, called receipts, and what the government spends, called expenditure, each year. Debt, on the other hand, is an accumulated flow of deficits. Thus, whereas deficit is a flow, debt is a stock.
When there is a deficit, the Finance Ministry must borrow the money needed for the government to pay its bills, usually by selling Treasury Bills or bonds. Yet, the NDC, by the letter to the Governor, seeks to have more money printed.
> BACK to TOP < | | Nearly a Thousand Wrongfully Imprisoned | ...Based On Expired Warrants
The Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Madam Betty Mould Iddrisu, has revealed that nearly a thousand people have been wrongfully imprisoned eventhough their warrants had expired.
Madam Betty Mould Iddrisu, who was clearly repulsed at aggrieved at the plight of the these people, disclosed that the problem had arisen as a result of poor tracking system and permanent lack of efficiency on the part of those who in charge.
“There must be some thousand people in prison at the moment whose arrest warrants have expired but they are still in jail. Under the Criminal Justice System, there is no basis under the law for them to be where they are,” she lamented.
Madam Betty Mould Iddrisu was speaking on ‘Kokrokoo’ following CHRAJ’s visit to the Nsawam Medium Security Prison yesterday and subsequent revelations that the Nsawam Medium Security Prison, built in 1960, has exceeded its ideal average capacity by 2,233.
The prison currently holds 2950 inmates instead of the original capacity of 717.
She however disclosed that her ministry will as a matter of urgency, look into various lapses at the prisons and “reinforce a more restorative justice system.
“The system we have currently is more punitive than reformative, and it’s out-moded. Restorative system of justice is much better….Taking Judges and Prosecutors to see the living conditions in the prisons is not the way, it won’t solve it. It’s a systemic and endemic problem, and we must fashion out ways of addressing them,… it’s a deplorable situation, it is absolutely deplorable… it should not happen in Ghana, she said.
> BACK to TOP < | | | | * 31.08.2009 | | Ghana @ 50 Inquiry, must be wake up call for public servants | Cape Coast, Aug. 31, GNA - Ms Ama Benyiwa-Doe, Central Regional Minister, on Monday said revelations at the on-going Ghana @50 Inquiry, should served as wake up call for public servants.
She said they should see it as "food-for-thought and wake up call" for them to ensure competence, accountability and probity in their duties and responsibilities.
Mrs Benyiwa-Doe made the remarks when she opened a day's workshop on public financial management for District Co-ordinating Directors, Finance and Budget Officers and heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAS) in the region.
The Ghana Audit Service, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Accountant Generals Department, the Internal Audit Agency and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development with support from DANIDA jointly organised the workshop.
It was to review the findings of the Auditor-General's report on central and local government financial processes.
Ms Benyiwa-Doe said it was unfortunate that due to fear of superiors, most administrators and financial managers lacked the courage to provide advice on sound administrative and financial management practices needed to propel economic growth and development.
She noted that funds allocated by government and the country's development partners to Regional Co-ordinating Council and the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) were mostly to reduce poverty and should therefore be managed efficiently. Ms Benyiwa-Doe expressed concern that previous reviews and evaluations revealed among others, many lapses such as inadequate cash management and contract records, delayed execution of contracts, difficulty in accounting for the use of imprest issued, and absence of contract certification, particularly with MMDAs and improper stock and assets accounting.
She urged participants to be guided by the principles of legality, fairness and accountability and as professionals, helped redeem their "fast sinking image" and ensure the effective and efficient use of the country's limited resources.
Mr Cudjoe Nani Quarshie, Regional Auditor said, the workshop was timely because it was being held at a time that the world was facing global economic recession which has reduced Ghana's foreign remittances.
This, he said, posed a challenge to the country to urgently enforce strict fiscal discipline that would facilitate prudent public funds management by all entities that depended on the public treasury. 31 Aug. 09 | | | > BACK to TOP < |
_____________________________________________________ ----- | * 06.09.2009 - Tourists pour into Kpetoe for Agbamevorza - Tourism in Ghana? - Sanitation-related diseases hikes cost of health care - Ghana to tap energy from human waste | * 05.09.2009 - Asamoah Boateng calls for unity in NPP - Kenyan Chief Judge to visit Ghana - Nkrumah's centenary anniversary should promote peace - Mr Bonsu - Germany supports Kofi Annan Peace Centre - Choice FM Closed Down - Immigration officers undergo training on crime identification | * 04.09.2009 - Discharge of sugar on "Cocaine Vessel" begins - Ho - Yam Festival - Use proper channels for investigation- NPP official | * 03.09.2009 - Ghanaians in Ireland need representation and a voice - Dealer owes Ghana @ 50 Secretariat over one million cedis - Gambia to exhume bodies of 44 Ghanaians | * 02.09.2009 - Mills Bounces JJ - Ghana to ratify two Conventions on small arms - Govt. to set up committee to draft Public Broadcasting Bill | * 01.09.2009 - NDC demands $1.5 Billion from BOG - Nearly a Thousand Wrongfully Imprisoned - Glo Mobile Ghana unveils Ambassadors | * 31.08.2009 - Ghana @50 Inquiry, must be wake up call for public servants | | | | Your REPORT Your STORIES * Your PHOTOS PUBLISH NOW! |  | All about the Ghana Election 2008 | | |  |  | | | | * 05.09.2009 | | Nkrumah's centenary anniversary should promote peace - Mr Bonsu | Accra, Sept. 5, GNA - Mr Kwabena Osei-Bonsu, Chief Executive Officer of Kick Malaria Out of Africa, a non- governmental organisation has called on Ghanaians to use the centenary celebration of the birth of the country's first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, to promote peace and unity. Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, he noted that since Dr Nkrumah stood for one nation with a common destiny, Ghanaians should emulate his commitment to promote nationalism.
He said "a house divided against itself cannot stand", and therefore asked the people to approach issues confronting the nation with a common purpose devoid of partisan consideration to promote development. Mr Osei-Bonsu said partisan politics did not augur well for the country and asked the citizenry to consider the good and well being of Ghana above all other considerations.
He urged Ghanaians to show remorse to the ill treatment meted to Dr Kwame Nkrumah and his family, adding that a lot of bad things were said about him when he was overthrown, after which he was described as the greatest son of Ghana and Africa.
The Chief Executive Officer said the NGO had planted four million trees throughout the country to commemorate the birth of Dr Nkrumah. He expressed the hope that Ghanaians would honour the late president by taking active part in his centenary celebrations. | | Germany supports Kofi Annan Peace Centre | Accra, Sept. 5, GNA - The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany is financing the upcoming West African Police Course at the Kofi Annan International Peace Keeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra at an estimated cost of GHC225,000.
It is in addition, spending GHC35,000 to upgrade the KAIPTC website.
These were contained in a statement issued and signed by Ms Ruth Mensah, Public Relations Officer at the Embassy in Accra. It said Germany had shown its on-going commitment to KAIPTC by contributing to the personnel budget with GHC155,000. The statement said, Germany's support in 2009 included, the rehabilitation of the Gerhard Schroeder Auditorium, estimated at about GHC80,000.
The auditorium was named after Germany's former Chancellor, under whose tenure Germany's support of KAIPTC started.
KAIPTC was established with German support since 2002 and has received regular support in the form of personnel and funding. With German assistance, the centre continues to offer courses for military and civilian personnel who are not members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The statement said the commitment to KAIPTC and other West African training centres represented a key element of German support to the strengthening of West African peacekeeping capabilities, under the G8 Africa Action Plan and the relevant EU strategy.
The German Government declared its willingness to assist KAIPTC in overcoming present financial constraints by allocating additional funds for specific measures.
"Germany plays a major role as lead donor of the KAIPTC and intends to continue doing so in the future, even during severe national budget restrictions caused by the international economic crisis," the statement said. | | Choice FM Closed Down | The GOVERNMENT has ordered Sunshine Radio Limited, operators of Choice Fm, an Accra-based private radio station, to “stop operating its FM radio station” under a claim by the National Communications Authority (NCA) that the company has not renewed its operating licence.
The instruction to close down the media house comes not long after the station was ordered not to broadcast a political current affairs program, ‘Ghana Speaks’ and threatened that it would be broadcasting the program at the risk of the Host losing his life and the station running into problems.
Choice Fm belongs to Fred Oware, who was recently sacked by government from his position as Chief Executive Officer of the Bui Hydro Energy Development Project, and is perceived as a pal of ex-President John Kufuor.
The NCA was established by an Act of Parliament in 1996 to regulate the communications industry and its recently appointed Board Chairman, Totobi Kwakye, was a pain in the neck of many media houses when he served as Minister of Information and later National Security Minister under the Jerry John Rawlings regime.
He presided over the revocation of the licences of a couple of private media houses, especially those that were perceived as being critical of the then government.
The letter from the NCA was signed by the Director, Regulatory Administration, Joshua Peprah, on behalf of the Director General and it stated:
“In the process of updating the records of all authorized operators and service providers in the country, we have noticed that the radio frequency authorization granted to Sunshine Radio Ltd to operate a Commercial VHF-FM radio station in the Accra Metropolis, dated 28th July, 1995, has expired.
In accordance with Regulation 59(1) of the National Communications regulations, 2003 L.I 1719, Sunshine Radio Ltd should have submitted an application for the renewal of its authorization three (3) months before the expiry date of its frequency authorization.
“This means that Sunshine Radio Ltd must cease operating its FM radio station until such a time that the authorisation is renewed,” the letter warned.
Choice Fm’s General Manager, Raymond Afaga-Chie, in an interview with DAILY GUIDE expressed shock at the reason being given by the NCA for the closure of the station because according to him, Choice Fm had actually paid for the renewal of the said licence and that the payment was made to the NCA and an official receipt issued by the same NCA.
“We are aware that every year, we have to renew our licence and we have done that. Now they are saying we were to have filled some forms at the NCA before paying for the renewal but it was the same NCA we paid the renewal fees to and the issue of forms did not come up, so why now?
“If it is the filling of forms, it does not call for an order that we should stop operating…I am hearing very interesting things happening behind the scenes and they may be the reason for the instruction,” Raymond Afaga-Chie noted.
He produced copies of receipts which he said were issued to the station by the NCA after the payment of the said renewal fees.
In a related development, DAILY GUIDE has received reports that a number of officials from a couple of state agencies have been frequenting the premises of Ken City Media, operators of Oman FM and NET2 TV, both belonging to the multibillionaire MP for Assin North, Ken Agyepong; a financier of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The said officials are said to be going through the cash records, bank statements and office files of the two stations in an apparent quest to find the minutest fault with any of the documents.
Source:
By Halifax Ansah-Addo |
| | * 04.09.2009 | | Use proper channels for investigation- NPP official | Sunyani(B/A), Sept. 4, GNA - Mr. Anthony K. Kusi, Brong-Ahafo Regional Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), on Friday condemned the manner and procedure used by some state institutions to invite officials of the NPP administration to answer questions on issues pertaining to their conduct and activities while in office. "The way they invited people for questioning seemed more of using military tactics rather than civilian approach," he said and cited the case of Mr. Asamoah Boateng, former Minister of Information and others as an example.
"When the NPP was in power we did not invite any municipal or district coordinating director for questions as the NDC is doing. Although Mr. Tsatsu Tsikata, Mr. Victor Selormey of blessed memory and Mr. Dan Abodakpi were incarcerated during our time, they were all found guilty by a competent court of jurisdiction," he added. Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Sunyani, the NPP secretary said the way the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) invited certain members of the NPP government for alleged wrongdoing and misconduct was uncalled for.
Mr. Kusi said such actions by the NDC only smacked of political witch-hunting and personal vendetta and that had the dangerous tendency of breeding divisions among the people, and undermine efforts to stabilize democracy in the country.
"Future governments will be tempted to adopt similar methods to victimize and criminalize their political opponents," he stated. The NPP secretary noted that the NDC government "may mean well in seeking to consolidate the country's democracy and enhancing transparency and accountability by such efforts, but they may be painting the wrong picture as such methods seemed more intimidating, harassing and implicating, apart from tarnishing the hard won reputation of such individuals.
"I had a similar experience two months ago. It was a Friday and I was on a bus from Accra to Sunyani when I received a call at around 2300 hours from someone who claimed to be an official of the BNI who wanted to speak to my regional chairman. But the chairman was outside the country. He refused to identify and introduce himself when I demanded, but asked me to report to the headquarters of the BNI in Accra the following morning. How can this be when I had already started this long journey and was mid-way through and would arrive at dawn," he queried. Asked whether President Atta Mills was truly living by his much touted rule of law mantra?" He answered that there was nothing like rule of law in Ghana today and referred to a catalogue of recent violent clashes and cases of assault among a group of NPP and NDC thugs, which took place in Sankore in Asunafo South Constituency of Brong-Ahafo.
Mr. Kusi said in those cases all the suspects were walking freely in the streets of Sankore as no prosecution had taken place. "In one of these cases, a saloon car of one Kwaku Kyere, an NPP activist, was smashed by the thugs, one Saturday in November 2008. His car tape, mobile phones and cash sum of GHC1,500 were stolen. Although some arrests were made at the beginning no prosecution took place on this case and the suspects went free.
"Beyond all possible imagination is the fact that the police in the district have continued to lie on the airwaves as to the real state of affairs at Sankore. Although Sankore has a police post, issues pertaining to these thugs are always referred to the district headquarters for action, which always affords the thugs enough time to beat and destroy before running to their hide-out," he stated. The Regional Secretary appealed to the police to avoid taking sides on issues into which they have not delved, and called on the President to call to order appointees found to be using their positions to trample upon the rights of the people they are to serve.
Mr. Kusi appealed to the law enforcement agencies to ensure that law breakers were dealt with to serve as deterrent to others and for peace to prevail and urged NPP members and sympathizers to stay calm and avoid falling into trouble fomented by their opponents.
Touching on the setting up of a commission of enquiry into the activities of the Ghana @ 50 Secretariat, he said the government had the authority to set up the commission to investigate alleged acts of wrongdoing, but the commission was obligated to use proper channels in its modus operandi.
"We expected that a team of auditors would be commissioned instead by the President of the Republic to independently scrutinize the Ghana @ 50 celebrations and the findings made available to the President for final action to be taken but this wasn't so. We do not like the idea that a group of persons come in and mismanage affairs of government no matter one's political affiliation but we expect the right thing to be done," he stated. | | * 02.09.2009 | Govt. to set up committee to draft Public Broadcasting Bill | Accra, Aug. 31, GNA - Government will soon set up a four-member media committee to fashion out a Public Broadcasting Bill to be submitted to cabinet for consideration.
The Bill will, among other things, look at possible ways to make the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) a self-sustaining public broadcaster as well as review the television licence fee. Mr Huruna Iddrisu, Minister of Communications, said this at a meeting with the Executives of the Ghana Journalists Association, KAB Governance Consult and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation to discuss viable ways to make GBC act as a real public service broadcaster. He said the Atta-Mills led administration would continue to respect the independence of the media adding that the President had already set up a sub-committee to look into issues that will institute GBC as the public service broadcaster that it is supposed to be.
Mr Iddrisu said GBC was at an advantage in terms of coverage, and government would support proposals to make it act as a public service broadcaster, especially where they gave a voice to the voiceless. "The media is a necessary ally," he said, advising the media to continue to support the growth of multi-party democracy in the country. Mr Ransford Tetteh, President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), proposed that the TV Licence fees should be reviewed to GH¢10 a year, and called for the sensitization of the public on the need to pay their TV licence fee regularly. He indicated that the public service broadcasting sector was underdeveloped, hence the need to support GBC to be transformed into a true public service broadcaster, especially in terms of its legal mandate. Mr Tetteh also suggested that cabinet set up a public service broadcasting fund to support public service broadcasting. | | * 01.09.2009 | | Glo Mobile Ghana unveils Ambassadors | Accra, Sept. 1, GNA - Glo Mobile Ghana, one of the latest entrants in the country's mobile telecommunications industry, on Tuesday unveiled 17 personalities as ambassadors to promote their brand. The ambassadors drawn across the music, movie, sports and entertainment sectors is in line with the cellular outfit's corporate policy of recognising outstanding achievements and encouraging enterprise.
They include Black Stars striker Manuel Junior Agogo, Ayigbe Edem, Nii Addo Quaynor 'Tinny', Amakye Dede, Paapa Yankson, George Kwabena Aidoo (Kwabena Kwabena), Gyedu Blay Ambolley and Jackie Appiah. Others are Van Vicker, Irene Logan, Nadia Buari, Nana Wiafe Asante Mensah (ASEM), Pat Thomas, Reggie Rockstone, Sherifatu Gunu and Wutah. At a media briefing, Mr David Naji, National Sales Coordinator of Globacom, the parent company of Glo Mobile Ghana, said the signing of the ambassadors adds up to the company's objective to roll out excellent and innovative telecommunications services that will transform the telecoms sector.
He urged the ambassadors, made of personalities who have made their mark in their respective fields, to continue to be positive role models and good ambassadors of the iconic Glo brand wherever they go in the world.
He emphasized Glo Mobile Ghana's commitment to encouraging best talents in the entertainment, music and sports industries, while urging the younger ones on in their quest to succeed to the level of their mentors.
Mr Naji announced that the signing-on of the ambassadors forms part of the countdown to the launch of Glo Mobile Ghana operations in the country.
He added that within the next couple of days, the Glo-1 submarine cable, which will carry data and internet traffic between West Africa and the rest of the World, will land in Accra. | | | |
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