| News Home (Main Page) | | African Newspaper | | LATEST WORLD NEWS | | | | | NEWS ARCHIVE 2009 | | NEWS ARCHIVE 2008 | | NEWS ARCHIVE 2007 | | PHOTO REPORTS | | VIDEO REPORTS | | ARTS in GHANA | | Food & Drinks in Ghana | | Africa Cup 2008 | | Ghana Hotels | | Links / Websites | | Ghana Districts | | Ghana Tourism | | Ghana Classifieds | Names in Ghana | | | | * 01.02.2010 | NPP man cries foul over demolition of clinic * Source: Daily Guide | A sympathizer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and resident of Manet Estate on the Spintex road in Accra, Joseph Boakye Danquah Jr, has described as illegal and unfortunate an action of a task force team from the Ledzokuku-Krowor Municipal Assembly which pulled down a clinic and a pharmacy shop he was constructing in front of his house.
Mr. Danquah Jr told DAILY GUIDE that he believed the task force team specifically ignored other structures which were on the same line as his and pulled down a clinic and pharmacy he was building for residents of the area, because he was a sympathizer of the NPP.
Taking DAILY GUIDE round the demolished structure, Mr. Danquah explained that after living abroad for some time, he decided to return home where he could contribute to the development of his locality, adding that he was motivated to build the clinic because an expectant mother died in front of his house before she could be rushed to the hospital.
“You see, this was the exact spot (pointing to a spot in front of his house) where the woman died before a car could arrive to send her to the hospital,” he claimed.
The demolished structure was meant to be a clinic with dispensing rooms and a pharmacy to be handed over to the Ministry of Health for the use of residents.
He observed that it was unfortunate that certain persons in government were looking at things with a political lens, adding that he obtained building permits for the structures about a year ago and therefore did not understand why the task force had to pull the structure down.
He added that what was surprising about the whole thing was the fact that the Municipal Chief Executive for the area, Daniel Amartey Mensah, was well aware of his intention to put up the structures.
He said the task force, some time ago, notified him by writing on a wall to stop work on the structures but they never came back until their visit to his site on Saturday, questioning the rationale behind their action when they failed to ask him for his building permit.
“You don’t expect me to do things that are considered illegal. I got building permits for these structures about a year ago after which I mobilized funds to start them only for these people to come and demolish everything here,” Mr. Danquah Jr intimated.
He also disclosed that he had spent over GH¢ 46,000 on the two structures prior to their demolition, emphasizing that the action of the taskforce was illegal and uncalled.
Mr. Danquah Jr said he has in his possession a building permit for the structures; therefore, he is readying himself for the law court.
When this paper contacted Hon. Daniel Amartey Mensah for his side of the story, he denied that the structures were demolished because Mr. Danquah Jr was an NPP sympathizer, explaining that it was carried out because the structures and others which were demolished were situated in an area where building was permitted.
He continued that he personally went to Mr. Danquah’s house some time ago and met some young men who were undertaking some construction work at the site.
According to him, he handed his call card to them and asked that it should be given to Mr. Danquah to call him for a discussion on the issue.
The MCE remarked that later, Mr. Danquah came over to his office where he (Mr. Mensah) requested the building permit. He noted that Mr. Danquah explained to him that the permits were at his hometown and would produce them later, which he did not.
“What we have done is not illegal. The area where the buildings were sitting are places where no one is supposed to build. That is why we demolished those ones and others which we have served them with notice,” he said.
Asked if he was aware that Mr. Danquah was readying to meet his outfit in court, Mr. Mensah remarked that he was, adding that the assembly was equally ready to meet him in court. | | ______________________ |
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| LATEST GHANA NEWS Monday, 01 February 2010 WEEK 05 - 2010 |
| * Monday, 01 February 2010 | Govt has no intention of abrogating the Vodafone deal- Veep * Source: GNA |   | Addis Ababa, Feb 1, GNA- Vice President John Dramani Mahama on Monday gave the assurance that the government had no intention of abrogating the deal with Vodafone Ghana despite some few concerns expressed about it. "There had been concerns on the deal, but as a government we are looking forward to streamlining those concerns to pave way for effective connectivity and industrial growth through Information Communication and Technology(ICT)."
The Vice President gave these assurance when a World Bank ICT delegation called on him at the Ghana Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to negotiate for investment in the sector in Ghana.
He said although there were Telecommunication networks in the country, there was the need to consider accepting other companies in the ICT sector to promote competition and quality services.
"We will make sure that Broadband internet services and other areas of ICT become accessible to Ghanaians everywhere and that is why partnership with experts like you is crucial and useful for our development". Mr. Mahama said Ghana was positioning herself to become the ICT hub on the entire African continent and called on its partners in that direction to respect their roles and responsibilities towards the achievement of that goal.
"We have prioritized ICT and several projects, by moving the sector from five per cent to almost 50 per cent in a very short time." He said the government was poised to promote the egovernance and eImmigration ICT programmes to speed up the development needs of the country and also facilitate the activities of migrants in the country. Dr. Mohsen A. Khalil, Director of Global and Communication Technologies who led the delegation said they would be happy to be given the opportunity to invest in the Telecommunication sector in Ghana.
He said their main aim was to provide interconnectivity in the West African sub-region to serve as a tool for rapid socio-economic development. "Currently the communication set ups in most West African countries is not the best and we believe that given the opportunity, we can facilitate the rapid development of the region through ICT." Dr. Khalil promised to collaborate with the government of Ghana to make ICT available to all the sectors of the Ghanaian society. | > BACK to TOP < | Reshuffle: Another To Shake The Country Soon * Source: Source: The Insight | Accra - Tema Motorway Info Link Even before the dust has settled on the recent Ministerial reshuffle announced by President John Evans Atta Mills, there are very strong indications that a more devastating one could hit home between May and June this year.
Usually reliable reshuffle was only meant to be a dress rehearsal and that the real act would be more than dramatic. In the next reshuffle, many deputy Ministers are likely to become unemployed and the government apparatus is to be freed of incompetent hands.
The Insight sources say that the President will move against Ministers who are perceived to be arrogant and some who are alleged to have abused their office.
So far, not many names have been dropped but, there are signals that the President is desirous of strengthening the Ministries of Justice, Energy, Foreign Affairs and all the development planning agencies. | | | New road tolls cause anger among motorists * Source: GNA | Accra, Feb. 1, GNA - Anger and frustration were the expressions on the faces of motorists who plied the Tema Motorway on Monday, as they were stuck in traffic stretching for up to about one-and-a-half kilometres on the Accra end of the toll booth as new road tolls went into effect.
It took motorists from Accra close to an hour to cross the toll booth which is just about two kilometres from the Tetteh-Quarshie Roundabout, compelling some to drive on the shoulders of the road.
The situation was not different at the Tema Motorway Roundabout and Ashaiman ends as drivers had a tough time trying to join the Motorway because traffic was flowing at a snail's pace.
Some drivers who were conversant with other routes, turned to those alternative routes to get to their destinations. The chaos was the result of the refusal of some drivers to pay the new road tolls whose implementation took effect on Monday, February 1. The Parliament of Ghana before recess last year approved new road tolls increasing the amount by almost 1,000 per cent, a situation most motorists consider unfair and too astronomical considering the bad nature of the roads which cause frequent damage to their vehicles.
"When they get to the booths and we demand the new tolls, they refuse to pay and remain at the booths arguing with us thereby causing the congestion," a toll booth attendant said.
The situation is not different across the country, especially on major busy roads where toll booths are sited.
However, Mr Joe Gidisu, Minister of Roads and Highways, who was on the road throughout the morning to witness the situation, told the Ghana News Agency at the scene at about 11:30 hours Monday that the reaction of the motorists was expected and natural, giving that the country last experienced road toll adjustment in 1999.
Mr Gidisu said with the implementation taking off, drivers should expect the best of the roads to drive on as there would be more funds available to government for the improvement of road infrastructure across the country.
"We will deliver value for money. I understand and appreciate the concern of the drivers and I am assuring them that things will change and will be in the right direction," the Minister said. He said government would not reverse or reduce the new tolls adding "this is even below the standard practice across the world and that is the way we should go if we are to change our situation for the better". Mr Gidisu said people should not consider the increase in percentage terms but rather in terms of how it would save the situation, adding that government would soon move to erect more toll booths on other roads that did not have any. | | > BACK to TOP < | Ghanaians should not lump all pastors as bad - Dr Tetteh * Source: GNA | Dr Lawrence Tetteh, an international evangelist, has noted that it is wrong to lump all religious leaders as unruly because of the transgression of one member of the Clergy.
“Let us not crucify all religious leaders because it is not all of them that are wayward,” he told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Accra at the weekend.
Dr Tetteh is in the country for a crusade dubbed: “Ghana for Christ,” scheduled for February 2 at the Ghana International Trade Fair Centre in Accra.
The crusade is being organised by the Worldwide Miracle Outreach and the Oral Roberts Ministries, in collaboration with the churches of Ghana to promote a platform for the promotion of strategic structures for the human resource development of the country.
Reverend Dr Richard Roberts, son of the founder of the Oral Roberts Ministries and 30 other international pastors would confer with President John Evans Attah Mills as a sideline of the crusade.
The international evangelist asked Ghanaians not to relegate to the background the role Christianity had played in nation building, saying the crusade would provide religious transformation for individuals and the nation at large and disseminate information on economics, education, among other issues to enhance the human resource base of the country.
He asked politicians not under estimate the power of religious leaders considering their role in promoting a serene atmosphere for socio-economic development.
Dr Tetteh in a related development congratulated the Black Stars for making it to the finals at the Nations Cup, Angola 2010. | | > BACK to TOP < | APRM delegation dissatisfied with dictatorial leadership * Source: | The Ghanaian African Peer Review Panel of Eminent Persons (APRM) Delegation currently attending the APRM Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Saturday expressed its dissatisfaction with the dictatorial leadership of Professor Adebayo Adedeji, chairperson of the body.
They cited the cancellation of discussions on the re-constitution of the APRM Panel; restructuring of the APRM Secretariat and status of country financial contributions as some of the issues, which created dissatisfaction among members at the summit.
These came to light, when the leadership of the delegation, led by Professor S.K. Adjepong, Chairman of the Governing Council of APRM briefed Vice President John Dramani Mahama, who is also in Addis Ababa to attend the 14th Ordinary Session of the African Union Heads of State and Government Summit, about the activities going on.
Professor Adjepong explained that the meeting was going on smoothly until Professor Adedeji half-way announced the withdrawal of the named issues from the agenda.
He said the sudden withdrawal of those issues, which formed the core business of the discussions, did not only create a lot of room for suspicion, but could also create chaotic and negative repercussions for the Mechanism.
The Chairman of the Ghana Governing Council of APR said Ghana had played a meaningful role in the implementation of APRM on the Continent and would do everything possible in its jurisdiction to save it from undergoing negative challenges.
"There is the need to evaluate and review the APRM structures, processes and Mechanisms in order to uphold the principles and ideals enshrined in the founding documents as well as to ensure the integrity and credibility of APRM".
In his response, Vice President Mahama urged the leadership of APRM to stick to its ideals of good governance; transparency and openness and to serve as a rallying point for the development of the African Continent.
He said Ghana had the moral authority to sustain the vibrancy of APRM and commended the Delegation for coming out with a memorandum to point out some of the issues they perceived dictatorial.
Meanwhile, Professor Adedeji in his report among other issues said the work of APRM was progressing smoothly as countries such as Mali; Mozambique and Lesotho were recently reviewed, increasing the number to 12.
He noted that the introduction of APRM had inculcated good governance and promoted democratic participation on the African continent and called on member countries to continue to support its activities. | | | > BACK to TOP < |
_____________________________________________________ ----- | | | Monday, 01 February 2010 | - Govt has no intention of abrogating the Vodafone deal- Veep - Reshuffle: Another To Shake The Country Soon - New road tolls cause anger among motorists - Ghanaians should not lump all pastors as bad - Dr Tetteh - APRM delegation dissatisfied with dictatorial leadership - Cardinal appeals to Ghanaians abroad to come home - NPP man cries foul over demolition of clinic | | | Archived News for 2010 | Go to 02.02.2010 Go to 31.01.2010 Go to 30.01.2010 Go to 29.01.2010 | | 
| | All about the Ghana Election 2008 | | | | * 01.02.2010 | Cardinal appeals to Ghanaians abroad to come home * Source: GNA | Accra, Feb. 1, GNA-Cardinal Peter Appiah Turkson, Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Coast, has appealed to educated Ghanaians living abroad to come home to contribute their quota toward socio-economic development of the country.
Cardinal Appiah Turkson, who is also the President of the Pontification Council for Justice and Peace Vatican in Rome, said highly skilled young professionals are heading toward developed countries, where quite a number were already working; creating what is popularly called the "brain drain." He was speaking on Monday at a ceremony organized by Taylor and Taylor Company Limited (TTCL) to commission an ultra modern building for the company in Accra.
TTCL is a private Ghanaian company which manufactures, refurbishes and supplies medical equipments to clients throughout the country. Cardinal Appiah Turkson observed that poor working conditions and the lack of opportunities for career advancement were factors that pushed many qualified Ghanaians to seek greener pastures abroad but he maintained that the Ghanaian could succeed with determination and proper planning in his own land.
He lauded the management of TTCL for their innovative ideas and business initiatives and encouraged other Ghanaians to imitate their example.
Cardinal Appiah Turkson alluded to the initiatives of exemplary educated and skilled Ghanaians in the country who had returned after pursuing higher education abroad and appealed to others to return home to pay back what was invested in them.
The new ultra-modern building is equipped with a conference room, storage facility, clinical laboratory, restaurant and bars and a lecture hall to train technicians and field engineers. | | | | | | |
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