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26.02.2007 This PAGE : 1. Doctor, patient ratio in Brong Ahafo alarming 2. Accra streets to be cleared of mental patients 3. IMF Managing Director congratulates Kufuor 4. Mpianin to face Parliament over Ghana@50 money 5. Accra Gears Up For Ghana@50
6. Rawlings To Boycott Ghana@50 Credible information gathered by The Chronicle newspaper indicates that Former President,
Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings
would not honour the invitation extended to him by President John Agyekum Kufuor to join in the celebration of the country’s jubilee anniversary scheduled to take place on March 6, this year.
According to sources close to the Former President, he is likely to turn down the invitation due to the soured relations existing between him and the incumbent government, coupled with the accusations that he has left a messy legacy and that he’s soliciting for funds and support to topple the ruling government and many others.
This would obviously shatter the hopes and aspirations of most Ghanaians, who would have wished to see the two leaders on the same platform, especially during this historic Jubilee anniversary of Ghana’s independence to chart a new course for unity and reconciliation.
This paper has gathered from the grapevines of both the leading members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and sources close to the office of the former President that though the NDC founder would have loved to attend the gathering, various comments have come up for a second thought and consideration.
According to the sources the questions being asked are whether or not the invitation to Mr. Rawlings, who was accused of being a serial coup maker in addition to recent allegations by the President, Mr. Kufuor to the effect that he (JJ) had solicited for funds from an oil-rich country to topple the current administration, should be taken seriously.
Considering his reservations about how he was ignored at all State functions, over the period, including being ignored at a dinner in honour of President Laurent Gbagbo of Cote d’Ivoire in 2001 by President Kufuor, Mr. Rawlings is said to have contemplated deeply on whether or not to join the President to celebrate Ghana @50 at the time that Mr. Kufuor continues to accuse the NDC administration that he led of leaving a messy legacy for the NPP to inherit.
Another major sentiment the former President is reported to be agonizing over is how the first President,
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, has been completely shoved aside,
and his name not being made to occupy where he belongs in our history by the current administration.
According to our sources, Rawlings is angered that in a Jubilee State of the Nation Address, Dr. Nkrumah’s name did not come up at least once in the address.
“All monuments are rehabilitated but Nkrumah’s monument is completely left out; even his mausoleum has been left and government is rather asking for donation of $2m with donors’ name being inscribed on the mausoleum.
If even the founding father has been so shabbily treated, is it any wonder that Mr. Rawlings, who led us for nearly 20 years has been completely ignored,” a party member told this paper. Besides other reasons why the NDC founder would turn down the invitation, this paper learnt was how he was not invited to take part in one of the major programmes outlined for the Ghana @ 50 celebrations - the lecture by Mr. Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary General and above all, the late invitation at a time all other heads of state had been invited ahead of schedule.
This paper has also gathered that close aides to Mr. Rawlings are stating that the first time their boss attended a state function, the platform was used by President Kufuor to chastise J.J’s administration and to discredit his legacy and are now wondering if such castigations of President Kufuor against Rawlings’ administration will not be the case again. According to reports, the NDC members and the Former President are asking Ghana @ 50, “Are we to celebrate the contributions of all Ghanaians and governments of what we have done? President Kufuor says the NDC regime under J.J left only a mess behind. Is J.J then being asked to celebrate his 20 years of misrule and messy contributions to Ghana?”
Another source close to the NDC gurus indicates that the latest straw to break the camel’s back was a statement reportedly made by a Minister of State at the Office of the President, a couple of days after the Council of State Members met the former President to the effect that Mr. Rawlings would no longer be invited to the function lest he takes the shine away from Mr. Kufuor.
It would be recalled that in the name of national cohesion, unity and reconciliation as the nation prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary, the President delegated a group led by Chairman of the Council of State, comprising religious and traditional leaders to officially invite the former President and update him with the activities of the programme. The former President was reported to have given the delegates his conditions but some NPP faithful and others chastised him over them. When the special aide to the Former President, Mr. Victor Smith was reached he said he was in a meeting and therefore could not comment.
Source:
Ghanaian Chronicle
Mpianin to face Parliament over Ghana@50 money
The Chief of Staff and Minister for Presidential Affairs, Mr. Kwadwo Mpiani is to be invited by Parliament within the week.
Mr. Mpiani will be expected to apprise the House of what uses the National Planning Committee of Ghana’s Golden Jubilee has put the $20 million voted for the celebrations by Parliament.
He chairs the National Planning Committee which disburses and approves projects through the Ghana@50 Secretariat.
The Finance Committee of Parliament originally invited the Chief Executive of the Ghana@50 Secretariat, Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby to provide the answers but he deferred to the Chief of Staff in a letter to the Committee.
The Chairman of the Finance Committee of Parliament, Nii Darku Adu Mantey said the invitation would be directed to Mr. Mpiani.
He however dismissed suggestions by some minority MPs that Dr Wereko-Brobby’s response constituted a disregard for Parliament.
He said the invitation was not the intention of the Committee to audit the Council’s accounts but to be appraised of the uses to which the money approved by Parliament had been put.
The Chief of Staff on Saturday acknowledged that he instructed Dr. Wereko Brobby to write to Parliament to redirect their invitation to his office.
Source:
jfm
| < BACK GO to > 25.02.2007 Editorial: What Are We Celebrating? Source:
Public Agenda
Garment and textiles workers have not taken kindly to the government’s decision to award the printing of the anniversary cloth to Chinese companies.
Last Tuesday the Minister of Presidential Affairs, Mr. Kwadwo Mpiani told the whole country live on Ghana television that the government took the decision due to the inability of local textile companies to produce the anniversary cloth in huge quantities to meet demand.
But the garment and textile workers say the government actually ordered the cloths from China before submitting the designs to local textile companies. This delay in submitting the designs to them made it hard for them to meet the deadlines.
In fact the General Secretary of the Ghana Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Union, Mr. Abraham Coomson stressed that GTP, GTMC, PRINTEX and ATL together could have produced any quantity of cloth needed for the entire country if they had been given the designs ahead of time.
If even somebody stood to benefit from awarding the contract to Chinese companies, the broader interest of the manufacturing sector should have outweighed all other considerations
The argument that the contracts were given to Chinese companies due to the low capacity of local firms does not hold water for the simple reason, if the contracts had been awarded several months ahead of time, the local industries would have met the deadline.
If we are celebrating 50 years, at least we should be able to print our anniversary cloths, otherwise what are we celebrating.
The so-called talk about efficiency of the Chinese textile industry did not come out of the blue. But was the result of a consistent policy of investment in the sector by the Chinese government over the years. The government’s decision to import a chunk of the anniversary cloths from China is in fact an endorsement of the dumping of cheap products on the Ghanaian market to the detriment of local industries.
The immediate consequences of side stepping the local textile firms would be job losses. No one needs any reminder that Ghana’s clothing industry has fallen victim to a flood of cheap Asian textiles, mostly from China.
Now the sector that used to employ around 25,000 workers employs a mere 3000 workers countrywide in the 70s and 80s. The Ghana Textile Manufacturing Company, for instance, which used to employ 3,000 workers, now has a mere 150 on its payroll. The main casualties of the unbridled trade liberalization that has hit the textile sector are Freedom Textiles Ltd., Tema Textile and lately Juapong Textile.
The onus is on the government to act quickly to save the textile industry which has the potential to create new jobs. And if it must do so, contracts like the printing of anniversary cloth should be the starting point. Sadly, the decision to import Ghana’s anniversary cloth from China is ample demonstration of how unresponsive government is to the plight of the textile sector. What then are we celebrating if after 50 years we cannot produce even our own anniversary cloth?
Accra Gears Up For Ghana@50
A number of projects are being executed in the Accra metropolis as part of plans and programmes to turn the physical and aesthetic outlook of the city for the country’s 50th independence anniversary.
Various organisations including the Ghana at 50 Secretariat, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) are funding these projects.
Among the projects being undertaken by the Ghana at 50 Secretariat are the rehabilitation of the Independence Square, Freedom and Justice Arch and the Military Monument at the 28th February Crossroad.
The Project Officer in charge of Public Affairs at the secretariat, Mr Henry Wellington Okyne said, the secretariat was funding the construction of 10 jubilee rest stops on major highways throughout the country, adding that the projects were at various stages of completion.
The Very Important Person (VIP) lounge at the Kotoka International Airport is also being rehabilitated.
Mr Okyne, however, could neither immediately give the cost of the projects, nor could he mention the exact locations where the projects were being undertaken.
Some residents have already been gripped by the jubilee anniversary fever as they have displayed paraphernalia including Ghana flags on their vehicles, while others are seen wearing clothes made from the colours of the Ghana flag, which are red, gold and green with a black star in the middle.
One could also get bangles, hats, key holders and other items which have all been made with similar colours.
According to Mr Okyne, although the secretariat was producing some of the paraphernalia, there were other individuals and companies who were manufacturing these items.
The AMA has also initiated a number of projects and programmes to leave a lasting impression on the minds of the thousands of people who will throng the city for the jubilee celebrations.
Some of the programmes are the introduction of security numbers which are embossed on taxis operating in the metropolis, the wearing of uniforms by all taxi drivers to give them a professional look, clearing of hawkers, petty traders and street vendors from unauthorised selling points to ease congestion and enhance the flow and movement of human and vehicular traffic, as well as cleaning and rehabilitation of the Agbogbloshie Market.
The Department of Parks and Gardens in collaboration with the AMA and with support from some private companies such as Scancom Ghana Limited, Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited, Forwin Ghana Limited, and Autoparts Ghana Limited is undertaking beautification projects on all the ceremonial roads in the city and five roundabouts.
This involves landscaping and planting of ornamental plants on the medians of the major roads, as well as the rehabilitation of some selected roundabouts in the capital.
The Obetsebi Lamptey and the Danquah circles rehabilitation works, which started last year, have been completed but yet to be inaugurated, while that of the Kwame Nkrumah Circle was yet to be completed at the time of filing this report.
The Metro Director of the Department of Parks and Gardens, Mr Cefas Osafo, who made this known to the Daily Graphic, also cited the Akuafo intersection near the 37 Military Hospital and the Airport Roundabout as new projects which the department was working on with financial support from Lintax Ghana Limited
Source:
Graphic
| IMF Managing Director congratulates Kufuor
Accra, Feb. 26, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor continues to receive goodwill messages on his election as Chairman of the African Union (AU).
Running through these messages is the acknowledgement of his outstanding leadership qualities and inspiring role on the continent. The latest to congratulate the President are Mr Rodrigo Figarero, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and Archbishop Njongo Ndungane of Cape Town, South Africa, successor of renowned Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
The IMF Chief noted in his message that President Kufuor was assuming leadersship of the Union at a time Africa was facing some of its greatest opportunities and challenges.
He pledged that the Fund would work with the AU and its members to build on the on-going discussions towards increased financial support and technical assistance to address the challenges ahead.
Mr Figarero underscored the need for countries in the region to pursue economic reforms in support of poverty reduction and other Millennium Development Goals as espoused by the United Nations (UN). On his part, Archbishop Ndungane said the achievements of Ghana gave hope to all Africa that the struggle for total emancipation could indeed be achieved.
Source:
GNA
Accra streets to be cleared of mental patients
Accra ,26.02.2007
The Minister for Presidential Affairs and the Chief of Staff, Mr. Kwadwo Mpiani has given directives to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to ensure that, by the end of this February, all mental patients and beggars wandering within the national capital are cleared.
Speaking in an interview with the ADM last week in Accra, Mr. Mpiani who is the Chairman of the National Planning Committee for Ghana @ 50 Celebrations said "We have asked the AMA to make sure they are removed before the end of this month. They have assured us they are going to do that."
Exactly a week from tomorrow, Ghana would be 50 years. A number of Heads of State and other important dignitaries including the Duke of Kent, who would be stepping in for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, would be in town to honour the 50th birthday celebrations. Ghana is the first colonial country in the Sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence.
The AMA, Mr Mpiani said, would be working in consultation and collaboration with the Social Welfare Department and the Ministry of Health to undertake the exercise successfully.
The Chief of Staff said the mental patients would be sent to the mental hospitals, but, he envisaged that there might be a bit of problem with the physically challenged beggars on the streets because, "I believe it is a sort of business".
He recounted how some able-bodied persons have organised these physically challenged individuals, and placed them at vantage points to beg for alms. "I have myself witnessed an occasion like that before," he emphasized.
However, he said, measures would be put in place to ensure that their activities are controlled for the smooth celebration of Ghana's 50th anniversary. When ADM contacted the Mr. Ali Baba, Special Assistant to the Chief Executive of the AMA, he confirmed what Mr Kwadwo Mpiani had said, and stated that the AMA is assiduously working on it.
"We will be organizing a swoop on them", he said, "we are now discussing with Pantang and Asylum Down mental hospitals but the cost involved, they are asking as to buy beds, soaps and all other things."
He said by the end of last week consultations would have been concluded and appropriate date set for the swoop, which he said would definitely take place before March 6. On the upkeep of the mental patients and other categories that would be taken off the streets, he said, "The responsibility for taking care of them is with the Ministry of Manpower and Social Welfare, they are directly responsible, we are only to help out because of the impending exercise".
He said three years ago when the AMA carried out such exercise, it cost ¢24 million to keep them in the mental hospitals for two months and were also asked to pay the allowances of the nurses who would take care of them.
Source:
Accra Mail Doctor, patient ratio in Brong Ahafo alarming
. , 26/02/2007
by Isaac Appiah Kubi, Sunyani
In what appears to be a national crisis on the inadequacy of health personnel in the country, the situation in the Brong Ahafo Region is becoming increasingly alarming. The doctor patient ratio presently stands at one doctor to 31,000 patients, whilst in the case of nurses the ratio is one nurse to 1,700 patients.
As a result, health experts in the region have hinted at the possibility of a rise in the number of deaths in the next few years, if the current ratio is not addressed immediately by the government.
Speaking at the 2006 Annual Performance Review of the Region's Health Directorate in Sunyani, the Regional Director of the Ghana Health Service, Alhaji Dr Mohammed Bin Ibrahim, who made these startling disclosures, said the region was not only beset with a poor doctor patient ratio, but also faced the gloomy prospect that most of its health staff are advanced in age and will soon retire from active service.
Speaking on the theme "Strengthening Community Health Services in the Brong Ahafo Region", Dr. Ibrahim, stated that in spite of the challenges, the Health Directorate was able to chalk up some successes through hard work and dedication on the part of its workers.
He intimated for instance that in the areas of reproductive health, the percentage of pregnant women receiving ante-natal care increased from 90 percent in 2005 to 97 percent in 2006.
According to him, family planning acceptors increased from 39 percent to 43 percent, while supervised deliveries increased from 62 percent to 62.5 percent.
He noted that, post-natal care decreased from 57 percent in 2005 to 53 percent in 2006 and there were 119 maternal deaths (116 institutional and 3 community based) compared to 95 in 2005.
He said the performance in the immunisation against childhood diseases in the year 2006, was excellent as the region with no reported cases of polio or child death due to measles over the past three years.
Touching on the situation of AIDS patients in the region, he observed that the region which started treating people living with the AIDS virus with Antiretroviral drugs in April last year, as at the end of 2006 there were 213 patients receiving treatment at the regional hospital.
According to him, out of a total of 4,600 pregnant women counseled on the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV, 180 of the four hundred tested, were HIV positive.
Dr. Ibrahim stated that the region continues to report cases of guinea worm, particularly in the Atebubu/Amantin, Pru, Sene, Kintampo North and South and Nkoranza districts. According to him, 204 cases were reported in 2006, as against 293 in 2005.
Again, he called on the districts where the rate of infection was alarmingly high to filter their drinking water, abate the use of water bodies, rely on case containment and the provision of potable water to help reduce further, the number of guinea worm cases.
In his address, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Ignatius Baffour Awuah, admonished all health personnel especially those threatening to embark on industrial action, to adopt the appropriate channels to address their grievances. He said the government was making frantic efforts to improve the working conditions of all public sector workers.
He advised them to be good ambassadors of the National Health Insurance Scheme, to help the government achieve the purpose for which the scheme was established.
Source: The STATESMAN |
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