| 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 | | | | * 15.02.2010 | Tullow Drops Citylink for Foreign Airline * Source: Public Agenda | Tullow Oil Plc, operators of the jubilee oil field in Ghana, has dropped the Ghanaian-owned Citylink airline company in favour of Noordzee Helikopters Vlaanderen (NHV) of Belgium for the transportation of personnel and cargo of the oil company to the offshore jubilee platform. 
Picture: Secondi, Ghana
Public Agenda's checks indicate that NHV's contract took effect after December 15, 2009 when City Link's contract with Tullow expired. This was after NHV had won an international bid opened by Tullow in the course of 2009.
It is understood that Tullow's decision to engage a foreign airline did not sit well with government officials, especially those of the Ministry of Energy, when the matter came to their attention because government is fervently pursuing an indigenization agenda in the oil and gas sector.
City Link's officials have confirmed their disengagement but have declined to speak further on the matter.
Independent sources have, however, said Citylink appeared dissatisfied at the manner in which it was treated and was consulting with its lawyers on the next line of action. According to the independent sources, Tullow had opened the bid without informing Citylink which was its substantive client. The local airline operator was said to have put in a bid upon learning about the process and eventually lost out to the Belgian operator.
Citylink had a renewable contract arrangement with Tullow which was to run out on December 15 2009.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that, factors such as reliability and safety influenced the selection of NHV.
Gayheart Mensah, Communications Manager of Tullow Ghana Limited, could only confirm the disengagement of Citylink when contacted by phone.
Observers of the emerging oil and gas industry believe Tullow's decision jolts the vision of government to entrench local content and participation principles in the oil and gas sector. Local content and participation refers to the level of use of Ghanaian local expertise, goods and services, people, businesses and financing in oil and gas activities.
A yet-to-be-finalised 'Local Content and Local Participation in Petroleum Activities - Policy Framework', which cannot be enforced presently, conveys the desire of government to ensure the control, as well as, the benefits in the oil and gas discovery and production will remain with Ghanaians.
According to the document, the vision of government is to achieve "full local participation in all aspects of the oil and gas value chain of at least 90% by 2020."
An objective of the policy is to increase capabilities and international competitiveness of domestic business and industrial sectors. Apparently, CityLink was muscled out due to its comparative disadvantage to compete. But government could have avoided this situation had it hastened the development of institutional and regulatory frameworks that will govern the oil and gas sector.
NHV was established on 16th of May 1997 at Kortrijk, Belgium. The company indicates on its website that it is specialised in all kinds of helicopter transport and helicopter work in Belgium and surrounding countries. It provides flights for the Belgian and Dutch Shipping Pilot Service, VIPs, hospitals, oil and gas, etc. NHV has a Belgian Helicopter Transport Certificate issued by the Belgian CAA.
According to the company, it has "several contracts with the Oil and Gas Industry to transfer personnel and/or cargo from land to offshore platforms or to transport personnel and cargo between the platforms. Such operations take place from Norwich (UK) and Takoradi (Ghana). Helicopters used for this operation are the Eurocopter EC155 and the AS365N3 Dauphin."
| Robbers Gun Down Chief * Source: Saeed Ali Yaqub/LUV FM | Suspected armed robbers have shot and killed the chief of Amoamang in the Barekese area, near Kumasi. The chief is also reported to be a sub-chief of the Gyaase division of the Manhyia Palace.
Amoamanghene Nana Amoah Gyame was shot last night just outside his house at Ejisu-Asamang where he lived, by people believed to have trailed him to the spot. Another person, who was attracted to the attack, was also shot at but later rushed to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital where he is on admission.
Luv News sources quote residents as saying, on spotting his assailants, the chief surrendered a bag he was carrying to them, but they went ahead to shoot him. Sources at the Manhyia Palace have confirmed the incident though details are yet to emerge from police.
The body has since been deposited at the KATH Mortuary. | | ______________________ |
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| LATEST GHANA NEWS Monday, 15 February 2010 WEEK 07 - 2010 |
| * Monday, 15 February 2010 | | Queen Mother Sprays Pepper Into Woman’s Eyes * Source: Daily Guide | The youth queenmother of Shia in the Ho municipality, Mama Sohefia, has poured hot pepper mixed with water into the eyes of one of her subjects; Comfort Bosso.
Daily Guide gathered that Mama Sohefia also used a torchlight to assault Comfort, which has left her with a swollen face and a deep cut on her forehead. Known in private life as Gladys Kemetse, the queenmother, after the act, was reported to have quickly rushed to the Tokokoe Police Station to lodge a complain that the victim had rather assaulted her, asking the police to arrest her.
The police, Daily Guide gathered, upon reaching the house of Comfort realised that her situation was so bad that she could not have been the one who attacked the complainant but was rather the victim.
They therefore asked her to report at the Police Station at her own convenience, subsequently arresting the queenmother. According to Ms Bosso, she was insulting her son who had been disrespectful to her but the queenmother took offence that the insults were indirectly meant for her; thus picking up a quarrel with the victim.
In the process, she mixed grounded pepper with water and poured the mixture on Ms Bosso’s face and while the victim was screaming for help, the queenmother allegedly used a torchlight to hit her forehead several times, leaving the woman helpless on the floor until people came to her aid.
Police report confirmed the assault and referred the victim to the Ho Municipal Hospital. When Daily Guide contacted the queenmother for her side of the story, she was reluctant to speak and only questioned this reporter as to where he got her mobile phone number from. | | > BACK to TOP < | Cocoa Industry In Danger * Source: Business Guide / Ghana | About 40,000 metric tonnes of cocoa have been lost through smuggling to neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire and Togo since the beginning of the Main Crop season in October last year, Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has said.
“There may be a deficit because just as we did the forecast, people are telling us that we might be close to 800,000 because of smuggling. If we are able to seal some of these leakages, we will be able to mop up whatever we get from the field,” the regulator of the country’s cocoa industry has stated.
COCOBOD’s Chief Executive Tony Fofie said in an interview last week that the upsurge in smuggling could dent the target of 700,000 metric tonnes projected for the 2009/10 cocoa season.“We are saddened by the upsurge in smuggling. Although the price differential is there, we believe there is more to this sort of smuggling,” he said.
Government has already increased the producer price of cocoa twice in an effort to keep a tight rein on smuggling. Mr. Fofie said apart from increasing producer price, security and patrols must be stepped up along the country’s western and eastern corridors to stem the menace. Already, teams of security personnel have been dispatched to areas along the western and eastern borders. He said management was also working on incentive packages to farmers and interventions such as pest and diseases control, spraying and enhanced subsidies on fertilizer to boost incomes.
Mr. Fofie said management would continue to seek the welfare of farmers and provide incentive to enhance increased production and its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product. Currently, cocoa contributes about six per cent to the country’s GDP.
He announced that management was making efforts to ensure that the benefit that accrued from cocoa were equitably distributed throughout the country through focusing on cocoa farmers in the rural communities. “COCOBOD has over the years, assisted in the establishment of educational institutions, training and development of the country’s human resources and would continue to do so,” he said. | | > BACK to TOP < | Fire Explodes In JJ House * Source: NeDaili Guide | The Accra Ridge residence of ex-President Jerry John Rawlings and his family was rocked on Saint Valentine’s Day yesterday by loud explosions and a raging fire.
The blazing fire and subsequent pall of smoke which lasted several hours, also left behind mounds of ashes, debris, and smoldering personal belongings- the cause of which curious Ghanaians wait for the Ghana Fire Service to disclose. Aside a wrapped wooden stool, a boxer’s punching bag and a few household items including a Ghana-must-go bag, everything was devoured by the ‘merciless’ fire.
The early morning inferno raged in the midst of an unexpected heavy downpour which flooded some parts of the nation’s capital, Accra.
Journalists were initially barred from entering the premises because the residence of the former president was said to be a security zone. The lighting system in the house completely went off, as explosions reverberated through the area, and eventually the headlight of the first Fire Service water tender that arrived at the scene was used for illumination.
An eyewitness, one of the first to arrive at the scene, spoke to DAILY GUIDE and said he was jogging in the area around 4:30 am when he noticed fire burning in the residence.
He told Daily Guide: "I was one of the first people to get to the residence when I saw flames of fire shooting high above the newly-built Olympic building on the Castle road. At first I thought the Olympic building had been torched due to the in-fighting which has caught the media headlines recently.
"To my horror, I realized it was the residence of the former president. I therefore curved off the main road and went towards the residence and noticed that both gates were open and these huge dogs were running helter-skelter.
One of the men in the compound was trying to restrain the dogs from fleeing outside, and at this time, some policemen and soldiers arrived on the scene as well as a fire tender. "I asked if Mr. Rawlings was inside the house but no one answered. A man was desperately trying to move cars from the path of the raging fire. "At that time the first fire tender had arrived and moved to douse the flames but was obviously struggling.
"Suddenly we were startled with sounds of explosion, like bullets, explosives or a bomb, ‘pow, pow, pow’, then one big ‘booom’ and with this, we all took to our heels - policemen, soldiers, security guys, we all fled for dear life.
"Some of the policemen jumped into their vehicles and drove towards the Ridge roundabout and never returned, but others went and parked their cars at a safer distance and walked back to the compound.
"A man, obviously with some authority, soon arrived and parked his vehicle, the latest VW saloon car with metallic gray colour, across the gutter in front of the burning house. "This man attempted to give some orders to the firemen, when suddenly another round of explosions went off.
While everyone took to his heels, he jumped back into the vehicle and tried to take off, but the back tires of the car were stuck in the gutter. He revved his car and started yelling to the fleeing policemen to help him out, but the situation was like ‘each man for himself and God for us all. "The pow, pow, went on for about 5 to 10 minutes and I once again asked if bombs were exploding and if the former first family were safe, but answers were not forthcoming. "Eventually, the explosions subsided, and then I noticed that Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings and two girls came outside to the gate, stood for a while and went back inside".
According to the eye-witness, as he was leaving the scene, the unexplained explosions continued for a while and could be heard from a distance.
President John Evans Atta Mills made a quick dash to the place, expressing shock at the fire outbreak at the residence of his political god father.
The President tasked the Chief of Staff to, as a matter of urgency, secure what will be a holding place for Rawlings and his family while steps are taken to relocate or find a permanent abode for them. The Chief of Staff is also to ensure that investigations are carried out to ascertain the cause of the fire.
More fire tenders from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) responded to the fire alarm, and eventually subdued the inferno but were unable to salvage any valuable item, as virtually all had been transformed into ashes.
Speculations are that the fire/explosion initially started in the living room of the former President, spreading to other apartments within the residence.
Between three to four hours after the fire had been extinguished by firefighters, palls of smoke could still be seen some distance from the fire scene. Ex-President Rawlings was at his riverbank villa in Vume, Sogakope, Volta Region, when the fire started, but was able to reach the scene within a few hours of receiving word about the inferno.
His wife, Nana Konadu, and daughter Nana Yaa Asantewa were both within the premises, but safely ensconced in the ex-president’s office next door when the fire ate away the valuables.They had taken cover when the fire started, unable to do much about the unfolding eventuality.
Pictures, mementoes, documents and awards et all were reduced to ashes and it was certainly the thought of some of these irrecoverable items which drew melancholy on Rawlings’ countenance as he beheld the destruction.
Present to solidarise with the Rawlingses were Betty Mould-Iddrisu, Attorney-General and Justice Minister; Alhaji Rashid Pelpuo, ex-Minister of Sports; the Mayor of Accra, Alfred Vanderpuye; Dr. Hannah Bisiw, deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing who broke down in tears; Victor Smith, former aide to Rawlings; and other government officials, as none wanted to be left out of the sympathizers’ list.
The Vice President, John Dramani Mahama who was on an official visit to the North, cut short his visit to join the retinue of sympathizers. A bottle of water in his grips, pensiveness was clearly showing on his countenance as Mr Rawlings occasionally gave instructions, the kind the owner of a place would give under such circumstances.
When he finally gave in to media pressure to say something for their channels, all he could manage was: "Naked we came and naked shall we go", adding, "It is a painful loss". Hordes of policemen were on hand to keep curious onlookers at bay as they surged forward to catch a better glimpse at the unfolding development.
For those in town, far away from the Ridge residence, all they could engage in was speculate about the cause of the fire even before the professionals, GNFS, make public their findings.
The fire, coming at the heels of the ex-president’s recent "who born dog" outburst, could only fuel the spate of speculations, in addition to the spate of fire incidents that has characterized the Mills Administration’s one-year-old tenure. When he addressed the media afterwards, Kofi Adam, the ex-president’s spokesperson, said the fire started between 1.00 and 2.00am but firefighters reached the location at about 3.00am.
The cause of the fire, he noted, was unknown at the time he was addressing the press. As for the ex-president, he disclosed that he was away at Vume where he frequents because of an ongoing health project to stem the high incidence of a dangerous water weed (hyacinth) in that area. News about the fire filtered through mobile phones, gossip corners and a few radio station reports when it started. | | > BACK to TOP < | More Ghanaians Steal Electricity * Source: Business Guide | The Severe electricity shortage gripping sub-Saharan Africa, especially Ghana, is bringing fresh attention to a longstanding problem which has to do with organized and widespread theft of electricity.
Despite the success of the pre-payment metering system, Ghana is still believed to loose us much us one quarter of its electricity revenues due to theft complicating efforts to upgrade service. 
Workers of the the Electricity Company of Ghana.
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has two million customers but it is currently making a loss of 25 percent, representing GH¢6 million in monetary value. Mr. Cephas Gakpo, Managing Director of ECG, said as a result of obsolete machinery, the company incurred 12 per cent technical losses and an additional 13 per cent commercial loss (electricity theft).
Mr. Gakpo said the situation has compelled his outfit to engaged consultants to inspect the meters of 10 000 customers in order to check their accuracy and integrity He further stated that personnel from the Loss Control Units of the company occasionally pay surprise visits to ECG customers to check whether their meters are functioning well.
Apart from Ghana electricity theft is a problem all over the world and utility companies have been struggling to find ways to combat it. In South Africa alone, Eskom, the chief power provider, is believed to loose hundreds of millions of dollars of revenues a year to thieves. Some of the losses are due to non-payment of bills, but a significant amount comes from unauthorized tapping of electricity lines.
Theft of electricity in Africa worsens the shortage by robbing companies of revenue needed for expansion. Sometime the thefts take place with the assistance of employees of electricity companies. Poor service by electricity companies also can fuel resentments that can be expressed through forms of customer protests which include theft or non-payment of bills.
In Uganda for instance, reports say customers are frustrated with an electricity provider who routinely blames high theft for poor service. Last year the government-owned New Vision newspaper published on article by an energy expert who argued thus: ''It is not fair for an innocent power consumer to pay exorbitant tariffs because the service provider has failed to stop thefts."
Efforts to crack down on scofflaws can be difficult. In Cameroon, where the U.S. electricity company, AES, is the national provider, raids on organized theft are common. The company's security officials come prepared to tear down illegal networks and even raid businesses suspected of tapping lines.
Because losses to theft can be so high in some places, some African electricity providers have experimented with pre-paid services, offering a discount to new customers if they agree to accept meters that require an electronic debit card to work. In Ghana the national electricity company was said to have sharply reduced losses due to non-payment of bills by requiring most new customers to accept the pre-pay meters. The pre payment cards are refilled by paying cash at offices of the electricity company.
Mr. Gakpo however urged the public to report persons who have connected electricity illegally for a handsome reward. | > BACK to TOP < | Fire at JJ's Crib: Don't Rule Out Saboteurs - Kufuor * Source: Citifmonline.com | Following Sunday’s fire outbreak that swept through the official residence of former President Jerry John Rawlings, the immediate past President, John Agyekum Kufuor has advised government not to rule out the activities of Saboteurs and detractors of the former first family as it tries to unravel the root cause of the fire.
Already the Government has begun full scale investigations to ascertain the root of the destructive inferno.
Although it is not yet clear what caused the fire, some people have blamed power fluctuations in the early hours of Sunday for it; an assertion the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCO) is not amused about.
The company on Sunday stated that it is too early and baseless for people to ascribe the cause of the fire to them.
There are those who also hold the view that the fire might have been caused by some detractors of the former first family.
In an interview with Radio Gold on Monday February15, Former President Kufuor said it is “very elementary (for investigators) not to rule out anything” including the activities of saboteurs as it seeks to unravel the mystery behind the blaze.
“The former President is a responsibility on the state security system. He is a public figure who must be protected always. Once you are privilege to get that high in any society you become a target somehow, so when you are checking on a list of probabilities, you never rule out the possibility of some miscreants doing something bad to that family.” He said.
The former President who earlier consoled the Rawlingses through a press statement bemoaned the poor maintenance culture of Ghanaians saying he would not be surprised if the NDC founder’s residence has not seen maintenance over the last couple of years.
He disclosed that the Ridge residence of the Rawlingses was his (Kufuor’s) official apartment during the second republic.
Mr. Kufuor called for a “public policy to start a programme of auditing the electoral system and the fire service so as to modernise our system to save us from such fires." | | > BACK to TOP < | Women urged to take active part in district level elections * Source: GNA | Agona Swedru, Feb 15, GNA- Mrs Rose Bimpong, Deputy Central Regional Women Organizer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has advocated the need for women to take active part in the forth coming District Level Elections.
She said the involvement of the women in such elections could serve as a stepping stone for them to become abreast with the trends in modern politics.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview at Agona Swedru, Mrs Bimpong noted that women continue to play a significant role in the country's political development and it was important to encourage them to get to the highest level.
The District Level Elections would be held in August this year. She called on government, non-governmental organisations and foreign donors to prioritize the support of women's activities in the areas of politics to assist them to contest both the District Level and Parliamentary elections. The Deputy Women Organizer said "because many women do not have sound financial positions, they decided to stay aloof and eventually relegated to the background".
She therefore suggested to the political parties to start putting in place measures that would encourage their women's wings to present themselves for political appointments.
Mrs Bimpong said many women could be appointed as ministers when there is enough number of women in parliament. Mrs Bimpong urged the government, parents and other stakeholders in education to take steps to address the issue of girl-child education in the country to enable many women to be educated up to the tertiary level. | | > BACK to TOP < | 2 Killed In Toll Booth * Source: Daily Guide | Two persons died on the spot while another sustained serious injury when an articulated truck with registration number GR2301J, heading towards Cape Coast from Takoradi, crashed into the toll booth at Beposo, near Sekondi at about 3:00am Sunday.
The two killed included the driver of the articulated truck whose name was not immediately known, and an assistant toll booth attendant who was identified by some community members as Thomas.
The bodies of the two deceased person had been deposited at the Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital morgue at Sekondi pending autopsy and the injured person, who was also a toll booth attendant, was on admission at the same hospital.
Narrating how the accident occurred, Police Sgt. John Buah, who was on duty at the charge office near the toll booth and the only eye-witness in the case, alleged that the articulated truck driver was over-speeding.
According to him, the truck was travelling at top speed and on reaching the toll booth at about 3:00 am, it veered off the road and crashed into the main wall of the booth. The wall fell on the assistant toll booth attendant, killing him on the spot; and the driver also died.
The eye-witness noted that the one who got injured sought refuge under a table in the booth at the time of the accident but got injured and was rushed to the hospital.
Daily Guide gathered that at about 8:30am yesterday morning, Bismark Boakye, Western and Central Regional Officer of the Road Safety Commission and his team, were at the scene to help clear the debris. When Daily Guide got to the accident scene at about 10:00am yesterday, it was revealed that the toll booth was destroyed totally and the articulated truck was also damaged beyond repairs; but the container on top of it was intact.
The Western Regional Minister, Paul Evans Aidoo, who was at the scene to assess the situation, complained bitterly about the accident. He indicated that he had information that the police at the Inchaban Barrier near Sekondi asked the driver who was allegedly over-speeding, to stop, but the driver paid no heed.
The Regional Police Commander, DCOP Hamidu Mahama and his second in command, ACP Robert Mark Azu, were also at the accident scene to ensure that calm was restored, as there was heavy traffic on the road after the accident since both ends of the road had been blocked. | > BACK to TOP < |
_____________________________________________________ ----- | | Monday, 15 February 2010 | - Queen Mother Sprays Pepper Into Woman’s Eyes - Cocoa Industry In Danger - Fire Explodes In JJ House - More Ghanaians Steal Electricity - Fire at JJ's Crib: Don't Rule Out Saboteurs - Kufuor - Women urged to take active part in district level elections - 2 Killed In Toll Booth - Tullow Drops Citylink for Foreign Airline - Robbers Gun Down Chief - World Bank Warns Ghana - I Lived In Rawlings' Ridge Residence In The 70s - Kufuor - Tension Looms At National Security - Salt producers taken through salt iodization process | | Your Opinions | Give Your Opinion:
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| | | | * 15.02.2010 | World Bank Warns Ghana * Source: Business Guide | The World Bank says the continuous dependence on aid by developing countries especially Ghana will not lead to economic growth and therefore there was the need for the country to diversify its economy in order to raise more revenue to meet its expenditure.
Over the last decades, the nation had been highly dependent on aid from donor countries and the two Bretton Wood institutions, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – but the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) government weaned itself of the IMF and went onto the international capital market to raise sovereign bonds for infrastructural projects which was highly subscribed.
However, with the high fiscal deficit recorded in 2008, the new administration had no option but to return to the IMF to borrow money to help improve the fiscal state of the country.
Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Managing Director of the World Bank Group, in an interaction with some journalists at the end of her three-day working visit to Ghana last week, said the country should do more to raise revenue from luxury items so as to bridge the gap between spending and revenue mobilization.
According to her, though the country had over the last few months done well to realise a stable macro-economic environment, there was the need for more to be done for the country to improve the fiscal space. The Government targeted a fiscal deficit of 10.4 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2009 after the budget deficit had reached a high of 14.9 percent of GDP in 2008; but it only managed to achieve about 11.6 percent of GDP.
The World Bank Group MD called for exploration of other sectors such as the agricultural sector where only 44 percent of land was used for agriculture with only 11 percent of farmers using improved seeds since the socio-economic development was underutilized.
“In the area of horticulture, Ghana exports only $100 million, but it can do about $300 million. We need to develop infrastructure, improve irrigation and add value to agriculture to create more jobs for the people.
“The issue is to diversify the Ghanaian economy and not focus too much on oil and gas since they are non-renewable products. We have the means here to develop the services, manufacturing and industrial sectors,” she stressed.
On how to manage the oil resources and revenue well, she called for transparency, accountability, human resource development and use of local content in the oil and gas industry since it was key in managing the resources for development.
“The resources should be managed as a catalyst to development. This is a country that can develop.”
Regarding the accessibility of the $450 million from the World Bank by Government, she noted that Government would have to meet certain requirements before the Bank would give out the money. Meanwhile, the World Bank has stated that it would commit GH¢450 million at zero interest, with repayment period of 30 years to Ghana but it has to meet certain basic requirements.
According to Isaac Diwan, Country Director, World Bank, his outfit has initiated some pro9jects such as water improvement, capacity building in oil and gas and irrigation at Afram Plains, among others. She expressed concern about the huge difference between lending and deposit rates, hoping in the future the situation would improve. In Ghana, interests on lending rates are three or four times higher than deposit rates. | I Lived In Rawlings' Ridge Residence In The 70s - Kufuor * Source: Cityfmonline.com | Former President John Agyekum has disclosed that the Ridge Residence of Former President Rawlings which was gutted by fire Sunday Morning was his official residence during Ghana’s second republic.
Mr. Kufuor served under Victor Owusu as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in1969 during Prime Minister Busia’s administration until 1972 when the military overthrew Busia's government and imprisoned several high-ranking officials, including Kufour.
He revealed to Radio Gold in an interview on Monday, February 15, that the Ridge Residence of ex President Rawlings, (who he later served under as Minister for Local Government during the PNDC regime) was his official residence in 1970/71.
That building was unfortunately burnt into ashes on Valentine’s day, February 14.
Mr. Kufuor bemoaned Ghana’s poor maintenance culture saying, he wondered if the house has ever been renovated since he vacated the residence in 1971.
“Let me tell you a bit of history, that was my residence in the second republic, 1970-71, so I know the house a bit; of course I also knew that my predecessor President Rawlings lived in it for almost twenty years...I think we all admit that our maintenance culture is rather poor so I wouldn’t be surprised if it has not received much attention. As you drive in the neighbourhood, you see many bungalows like this, same designs, I believe same materials so I wouldn’t be surprised if not much have been done to any of them | Tension Looms At National Security * Source: The Sun/Ghana | Deep throat sources at the heart of the National Security apparatus have hinted that, massive numbers of staff are resigning daily which is so unhealthy for the growth of the set-up and, could therefore spell doom if nauseating goings-on are not addressed in quick time.
Last week when a dozen or so of the most efficient officers folded up and said Bye-Bye to the set-up under the cosmetic phrase A LACK OF JOB SATISFACTION, smart lads who had craned their necks rather inquisitively could not help but put it to the disgraceful lengths, at which the National Security has been polarised into an ethnic powder-keg said to be dwarfing targeted progress.
THE SUN has learned from skin-on-head sources within the security set-up that several sensitive positions that should have been offered to be best qualified personnel on merit, have been falling to a particular ethnic group irrespective of whether they were on top of the job or not.
Speaking to The Sun under the cloak of anonymity, one such resigned security capo who hails from the hinterland complained that for months on end, most personnel have been assigned schedules unrelated to their job descriptions and to worsen matters their economic emoluments due them have been slashed in arithmetic figures by several months.
Checks have hinted that rather than a countdown from January to September of last year when the NDC took over the reigns of government, the National Security list begun from April which means a whole four month’s windfall of the sweat of the eyebrow of some 800 personnel have landed elsewhere.
The source told The Sun how personnel are used to run errands for chiefs and other authorities by big bosses, some of whom retired from the Ghana Police, and the set-up collected their emoluments and still managed to somersault into positions all by themselves in the National Security list begun from April which means a whole four months’ windfall of the seat of the eyebrow of some 800 personnel have landed elsewhere.
The source told The Sun how personnel are used to run errands for chiefs and other authorities by big bosses, some of whom retired from the Ghana Police, and the set-up collected their emoluments and still managed to somersault into positions all by themselves in the National Security during the change in government last year.
“The polarisation along ethnic lines in the National Security gives so much room for concern and the relevant authorities better do something about it before it escalates to indescribably worrying levels,” yet another resigned security capo told THE SUN. | | > BACK to TOP < | Salt producers taken through salt iodization process * Source: GNA | The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in collaboration with UNICEF have taken 113 people from major salt producing areas in the country through series of training on salt iodization.
The participants were drawn from communities around the Ada Songhor Lagoon area, Keta and Ketu districts.
The aim of the training was to equip salt producers, winners and traders with the requisite know-how on salt iodization for domestic purposes.
Mr Mawuena Aggey, a research fellow at the CSIR told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that after the exercise the participants would be given capital and tools to begin operating salt iodization as profit making venture.
He said the trainees would be engaged to iodize salt for a fee.
UNICEF distributed one Knapsack sprayer machine, goggles, hand gloves, receipt books, shovels among other items to each participant.
Mr Raymond Tettehfio, a member of Dangme-East Salt Producers Association and Queen Mother Naana Korlekie Korle I of Terkperbiawer clan, lauded CSIR and UNICEF for their initiative, saying it would go a long way to boost salt production and trading in the country. | | |
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