Ghana @ 50 needs more money
... 241 Saloon cars not fully paid for yet
... souvenir cup for school children not paid for
Accra, March 22, GNA -
The Ghana @ 50 Secretariat on Thursday said it needed more money besides the 20 million dollars allocated to it by Parliament and other donations from corporate organisations to enable it carry out its activities throughout the year.
Dr Charles Wereko-Brobbey, Chief Executive Officer of the Secretariat briefing the media on "Ghana @ 50; Beyond The Birthday" said there were a number of activities lined up after the successful Mach 6 parade and that more money was needed to carry the activities more successfully.
He said about 5.4 million school children were to receive a souvenir cup next week at a cost of 14,000 cedis each totalling 70 billion cedis explaining that the souvenirs were received late. Dr Wereko-Brobbey said the public funds the secretariat got were spent on infrastructure and that rehabilitation works at the Independence Square alone was 2 million dollars and a durbar ground was built in each of the nine regional capitals.
He said each of the Regions received 200 million cedis while each District got 100 million cedis in addition to the 40 public toilets built along some selected highways.
Dr Wereko-Brobbey said a lot had been done and there was value for money which reflected the success achieved so far to bring more success.
"We want to move the country from its polarity to peace and unity; we want to sustain the peace and oneness of the country." He said: "before the 6th March, it was as if Ghanaians were at the end of daggers drawn with each at each others throat ready to slit it, that is why it is important to keep the jubilee flame ablaze."
He said the 241 Saloon cars, including Mercedes, Chrysler, Jaguar and Peugeot cars bought at a cost of 62 billion cedis with payment spread over three years were not only meant for the Golden Jubilee celebration.
Some of the cars would be used for the African Union (AU) summit this year, and African Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA) meeting that Ghana is hosting as well as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)12, and CAN 2008.
Dr Wereko-Brobbey noted that after the AU Summit 110 of the Mercedes Benz cars would be sold to fetch about 120 billion cedis making up for the cost of all the cars and that the 50 buses would be used for CAN 2008.
He said the Secretariat was also providing sponsorship for the Ghana Brazil match to be screened live on March 27 as another unifying sport for Ghanaians.
He urged Ghanaians to patronize other activities that the Ghana@50 Secretariat had lined up for the year and to have the feel that they are Ghanaians.
Source:
GNA
Presidential Palace to cost 41 million dollars
Accra, 21.03.2007 , GNA -
The Presidential Palace under construction at the Flag Staff House in Accra is estimated to cost about 41 million dollars instead of the original 30 million dollars.
The additional 11 million dollars is the result of a rehabilitation project for warrant officers currently resident at the site and a new sewage system needed at the site.
The extra cost is also due to the rehabilitation of the Old Nkrumah House, which was also not originally part of the project. This came to light when Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, some Members of Parliament and Finance Committee in Parliament visited the site to see progress of work.
The Project under the supervision of Shapoorji Pallonji and Co. Limited of India, is about 55 per cent complete, according to Mr S.K. Singh, Assistant General Manager of the Project. It is expected to be completed in December 2007.
The building has two phases, the Presidential Offices, which would house the Offices of the President and Vice President, conference halls, banquet halls, waiting rooms, offices and the Presidential Villa, which would be the home of the president.
The offices in the building can house about 200 workers. It also has a spacious car park.
Mr Baah-Wiredu expressed satisfaction about progress of work and noted that it was about time that Ghana had her own presidential palace like other countries.
He said such an edifice could also attract a lot of tourists that could earn Ghana a lot of respect from foreign countries. Mr Kofi Frimpong, Member of Parliament for Kwabre East, noted that it was in the national interest that Ghana built her own presidential palace.
He said the project sought to maintain the residence of the first president, Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
Mr Maxwell Kofi Jumah, Member of Parliament for Asokwa, expressed happiness about the quality of work.
He noted that it was sad to wait till this time to construct a presidential palace but said it was better late than never. Mr Jumah said he will agree to the additional funds being spent on the project.
Mr Kojo Opare Hammond, Member of Parliament for Adenta, reiterated the need for parliament to approve additional money needed for the project.
He said the Presidential Palace would not be of benefit to the current president but to other presidents and the nation as a whole.
Source:
GNA
Stop "Begging Bowl" Syndrome
A distinguished academic, Professor S.K.B. Asante, has urged African countries to abandon the 'begging bowl' concept of development and endeavour to be self-reliant and self-sustaining.
He said it was only through that shift that the continent could lift itself out of the economic quagmire.
Prof. Asante was speaking on the topic; "Ghana: An advocate of Pan-Africanism as an integrative force and as a movement of liberation"�, on the second day of the J.B. Danquah Memorial Lectures in Accra on Tuesday.
The lectures were instituted in 1968 in memory of Dr J.B. Danquah, a foundation member of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS), who died in prison in 1965.
Dr Danquah, described as the doyen of Gold Coast politics, was a lawyer, philosopher, scholar, novelist, dramatist and journalist.
Prof. Asante, who is also a member of the Local Governing Council of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), said Africa could generate the 'requirements' of economic development on the continent and that what was required most to attain it was discipline.
"We must change the economic and governance destiny of our continent. We must have a united political and socio-economic approach to deal with our problems,” he said.
Recounting the role of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah and Ghana in the Pan-Africanist struggle, he said events in Africa had fully demonstrated the need for African unity.
He paid tribute to Dr Nkrumah for championing African unity and the concept of the African Personality and said although he was opposed by the likes of Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, when he espoused the idea, he (Nyerere) many years later became a champion and apostle of Nkrumah's unity stance. That, he said, demonstrated the foresight of Nkrumah's political leadership.
Prof. Asante described the period 1950-1965 as the age of Nkrumah, adding that by words and action, he mobilised African leaders and people for the Pan-Africanist cause and brought Pan-Africanism to the African soil.
While many African leaders paid lip-service to Pan-Africanism, he said, Nkrumah worked for it and gave impetus to it. Prof. Asante noted that the ideas put forth by Nkrumah in the 1950s and 1960s had resurfaced in various forms today.
He said continental integration which never had a chance at the 1963 Addis Ababa Summit of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), was reflected in the 1980 Lagos Plan of Action and the Final Act of Lagos, which called for the establishment of an African common market leading to an African economic community. Nkrumah's dream, he added, was also translated into reality with the establishment, in June 1991, of the African Economic Community.
"The transformation of the OAU, in 2001, into an African Union with economic, political and social objectives is indeed a revival of the Pan-African and continental economic and political integration dream of Kwame Nkrumah. The call for a standing AU force reminds us of the call for an African High Command by Nkrumah," he added.
Source:
Graphic
"Cocaine Tape" Fails Yet Again
The much-talked-about secret tape recording of the conversation between Assistant Commissioner of Police Kofi Boakye, and some suspected drug dealers was yesterday played in court as promised, but the disappointment of the large audience soon became obvious.
Contrary to high expectation of the public, the tape, which took exactly one hour and two minutes (11:08 am to 12:10 noon) to play was of such poor sound quality that nothing was audible and many left the Fast Tract High Court room before proceedings ended.
The recording was originally to have been played on Monday but the compact disc player could not function, compelling the court to postpone it to yesterday.
Two of the people whose voices are supposedly on the tape, Kwabena Amaning, (popularly called Tagor) and Alhaji Issah Abass are being tried for their involvement in the missing parcels of cocaine from the MV Benjamin vessel at the Tema Port in April last year.
Tagor and Abass were among 14 people recommended for prosecution by the Justice Georgina Wood Committee, set up by the Ministry of the Interior to investigate the missing 76 parcels of cocaine and another quantity seized from a house at East Legon in Accra.
Tagor is facing four counts of conspiracy, engaging in prohibited business related to narcotic drugs, buying of narcotic drugs and supply of narcotic drugs while Abass has been charged with three counts of conspiracy, engaging in prohibited business relating to narcotic drugs and supply of narcotic drugs.
They have pleaded not guilty and are in prison custody.
Detective Inspector Charles Adaba, seventh prosecution witness, resuming his evidence told the court that he secretly recorded the voices of the accused persons and the others to enable him to authenticate their voices on the original tape recorded at Mr Boakye’s house by an unknown person.
He said that when he took over the case, as the investigator, he listened to the tape and realised that there were statements made by the accused persons that needed further investigation.
“From the statements made, I wanted voice expert to help identify who said what, so I discussed it with the Attorney-General who assisted us to seek the services of an expert from outside the country.”
Inspector Adaba further told the court that when he forwarded the tape to the experts, J.P. French Associates, a forensic speech and acoustic laboratory in the United Kingdom, they requested for fresh voice recordings of all the participants whose voices were on the tape for comparison.
“In order that the participants, including the accused persons, did not disguise their voices, I recorded them without their knowledge and forwarded them to the experts.
“I secretly recorded the voices of Tagor, Abass, Alhaji Moro, Kwabena Acheampong and ACP Kofi Boakye,” witness said.
At this point, Ms Gertrude Aikins, Acting Director of Public Prosecutions, applied to the court for an adjournment to enable the prosecution to tender the new recordings in evidence.
The trial judge, Justice Jones Dotse of the Court of Appeal, obliged and adjourned to today but said, “I will now take absolute control over the pace of the trial since it is the court that takes the bashing for delays.”
Source:
Times
Minister gives ultimatum to Contractors
Wiamoase (Ash) 22.03.2007, GNA-
Paapa Owusu-Ankomah, Minister of Education, Science and Sports, on Wednesday called on contractors working on projects to upgrade second cycle schools into model ones to endeavour to complete their task by the end of April this year. He said he would contact the Consultants of the various projects and that contractors who failed to meet the deadline would have their contracts terminated.
The Minister gave the ultimatum during inspection of projects being executed at Adu-Gyamfi Secondary School and Okomfo Anokye Secondary School in the Afigya-Sekyere District.
Paapa Owusu-Ankomah was on a three-day working tour of educational institutions in Ashanti Region, inspect on-going projects to upgrade schools, interact with staff and students and to meet the youth to explain government educational programmes and projects to them. He expressed concern about shoddy works he detected on a dining hall project being executed by Oyoko Contractors at Okomfo Anokye secondary school and said under no circumstances would he allow certain people to enrich themselves at the expense of the people.
Addressing students and staff of the schools, the Minister said government was committed to providing quality development of the education sector. He urged the students to be disciplined and to take advantage of the opportunities being offered them to study hard to become useful citizens.
Paapa Owusu-Ankoma advised not to haste in life but to prepare fully to be able to face the challenges of the world adding "the global competition is keen and we cannot transform the nation if the generation is undisciplined and believed in short cuts to success.
The Minister who had earlier visited Adventists Girls' Secondary School at Ntonso in the Kwabre district and asked the students to be guided by religious values and work assiduously to realize their potentials. Accompanied by Mrs Belinda Serwaah Addo, Ashanti Regional Director of Education and other educationists, Paapa Owusu-Ankoma ended the tour at Offinso where he inspected development projects and addressed students of Dwamena Akenten Secondary School.
The Minister announced that the School was among the schools to be upgraded under the third phase of the programme. He said efforts were being made in soliciting for more funds from foreign donors to facilitate the full completion of projects under the first and second phases.
Source:
GNA
MPs calls for better living conditions for army
Accra, 22.03.2007, GNA -
Members of Parliament on Thursday urged government to seriously tackle the welfare concerns of the Ghana Armed Forces to ensure peace and stability in the country.
The members said security was key to development and the army needed reasonable comfort to secure peace in and out of Ghana. Members were contributing to a debate to adopt a report of the Finance Committee for a 20 million-dollar credit facility for the Ghana Armed Forces housing project.
Mr Edward Doe-Adjaho, Deputy Minority Leader, said it was important for the House to be furnished with more information detailing the number of housing units to be built in each region and each district. Defence Minister, Dr Kwame Addo-Kufuor, said when soldiers, due to lack of accommodation, were made to live among civilians, it hindered troop mobilisation, security and discipline, among others. He said the level of enlistment had gone up and there was the need to increase the stock of dwelling units for the troops.
The Committee's report said the disbursement of the loan would be made in tranches and recommended to parliament to grant the required waiver all taxes, duties, license fees, stamp fees and other applicable charges relating to the agreement between the government and the Social Security and National Insurance Trust The loan has an eight-year repayment period, 10-year maturity period and 0.05 per cent processing fees.
Source:
GNA
The President is back
Accra, 22.03.2007, GNA -
President John Agyekum Kufuor was met with a hero's welcome when he arrived this afternoon at the Kotoka International Airport after a three day state visit to the United Kingdom.
The thousands of people, who gathered at the arrival point, greeted the President with miniature Ghanaian flags amidst drumming and dancing. Nana Akuffo Addo, Minister of Foreign Affairs and NEPAD who briefed the press at the airport said upon the invitation of Queen Elizabeth 11, the President first visited the UK where he held bilateral talks with Tony Bair, British Prime Minister.
During the talks, the UK Premier announced a 10-year development plan, which would enable UK increase the quality of its development support to the country.
He said from UK the President went to Portugal following an invitation by President Anibal Vacacosila and held discussions with the leadership of that country.
The Portuguese President said he was looking forward for a long lasting relationship between the two countries.
Nana Akuffo Addo noted that the President from Portugal headed for Algeria where he attended the NEPAD Summit.
President Kufuor proposed the establishment of a NEPAD Fund which, when instituted, would be used as counterpart fund of leverage sourcing to speed up development in Africa.
Among the dignitaries who met the President were Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, Ministers of State, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Inspector General of Police, Patrick K. Acheampong, Chief of Staff as well as traditional leaders.
Source:
GNA
Campaign materials on illegal migration launched
Accra, 22.03.2007, GNA -
Campaign materials were launched to promote the benefits of legal migration and sensitise the public on the dangers of illegal migration.
The materials, which would serve as information guides to help migrants to make informed choices, would be packaged and disseminated in various forms such as documentaries, TV and radio programmes, posters, flyers, banners, seminars as well as community durbars. Mrs Oboshie Sai Cofie, Deputy Minister of Information and National Orientation, who launched the materials at a brief ceremony in Accra on Thursday, reiterated President John Agyekum Kufuor's call during the 50th anniversary at Independence Square that the youth should stay in the country and support development.
She stated that recent dramatic occurrences such as drowning of African migrants in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean called for effective information campaigns that would promote the benefits of safe migration. She said it was important that the youth were educated on the intricacies of illegal and irregular migration to help avoid some of the calamities that could befall them on their journeys.
The campaign was jointly initiated by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), European Union, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Ministries of Interior, Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and NEPAD and the Ministry of Information and National Orientation. Mrs Sai Cofie said the campaign was in line with efforts of the government of Ghana, intergovernmental agencies and Non-governmental organizations to counter human trafficking and illegal migration and noted that while illegal migration could not be totally stopped, it could be managed to minimize casualties.
She said the Ministry of information and National Orientation had taken delivery of the first batch of brand new cinema vans in fulfilment of governments' efforts in reinforcing the information dissemination policies to keep the public informed, especially at the grassroots.
Mrs. Sai Cofie said government had put in place programmes such as the youth employment schemes, National Health Insurance and current educational reforms to help improve the human resource base of the country.
She called on all stakeholders to be vigilant and further play their civic roles by raising public awareness of the dangers of illegal migration.
The Deputy Minister of the Interior, Mr Kwaku Agyeman Manu, acknowledged the fact that emigration from Ghana had become an integral component of the survival and mobility strategies of some individuals and families.
He said although the country received huge benefits from remittances from abroad, as evidenced by the proliferation of money transfer institutions, the need to regulate migration from and into the country was urgent.
He stated that as any other nation, Ghana abhorred illegal entry of migrants and also recognized the Palermo Protocol, which was against the smuggling of migrants by land, sea or air, supplementing the United Nations' Convention against Transitional Organized Crime (TOC). The protocol, he said, was aimed at safeguarding the rights of migrants and the reduction of the power and influence of organized criminal groups that abused migrants.
"It also put emphasis on the need to provide migrants with humane treatment, and of the need for comprehensive international approaches to combating smuggling, including socio-economic measures that address the root causes of migration," he said.
Mr Agyemang Manu said the GIS had established a Migration Information Bureau with a primary objective of helping migrants access the right information on safe migration.
Mr Davide Terzi, IOM Country Representative, said the campaign would follow a six-week intensive education and sensitisation of the youth in tertiary institutions, second cycle institutions, youth associations as well as community leaders.
He mentioned the target communities as Accra and Tema, Sunyani, Dormaa, Berekum.
Mr Terzi said within the framework of the project the GIS and the IOM with support from the UNDP would also activate telephone hotlines at the Migration Information Bureau at the GIS Head office in Accra and consultation centres in Accra and Sunyani as accessible tools to inform victims and potential migrants of the dangers and risks involved in such journeys.
He stated that the information campaign was also expected to enhance the expertise of the Migration Information Bureau of the GIS with regard to providing relevant information regarding issues on legal or safe migration.
Source:
GNA