MP ( NPP ) accused of NY limo scam
... charged with stealing money for Ghana election
U.S. Department of Justice works on Extradition
A member of parliament(MP) and former head of a limousine service in New York has been indicted in the United States on charges of helping to loot his business of more than $1 million and spending it on a political campaign in Ghana. > READ MORE
Guinea Worm still high in Northern Region
Tamale, June 08, GNA - Dr. Seidu Korkor, National Coordinator of the Guinea Worm Eradication Programme has observed that the ever rising reported cases of the disease in the Northern Region is as a result of the constant breakdown of water supply sources to inhabitants. He therefore appealed to the authorities responsible to response swiftly to emergency cases, especially regarding the supply of water in the Northern Region to ensure that the disease was eradicated. Dr Korkor said this when he addressed stakeholders in the guinea worm eradication programme at an inter-Agency Coordinating Meeting in Tamale on Thursday.
The meeting was for members to deliberate and dialogue to seek lasting solutions that would help reduce the incidence of the disease in the country, particularly from the Northern Region. Dr Korkor said for instance that, there was a breakdown in the water supply system in both the Tamale Metropolis and in Savelugu, which needed an urgent attention to as a measure to prevent people from contracting the disease.
Giving the statistics on the guinea worm situation in the region, he said at the end of May this year, the Northern Region alone, recorded 2,705 reported cases as against 2,098 cases the same period last year. He said the figure could be compared with the national figure of 2,799 cases of guinea worm, a 17 per cent increase in cases compared to 2,400 cases reported during the same period in 2006. Dr Korkor called on stakeholders, community members and partner organisations to collectively collaborate and seek lasting solutions to the problem.
Mr. Issah Ketekewu, Deputy Northern Regional Minister called on the District Assemblies to implement the newly enacted bye-laws on the disease with effect from June this year. He said the by-laws were drawn by the guinea worm eradication outfit in collaboration with the District Assemblies and expressed the hope that, if they were enforced the fight against the disease would have a positive impact in the region.
Mr. Ketekewu appealed to the District Assemblies not to hesitate in sourcing funds from any available quarters to enable it carry out effective programmes on guinea worm eradication. He called on chiefs and community members of the guinea worm endemic communities to commit themselves to combating the disease. Mr. Gilbert Dery, Regional Guinea Worm Eradication Coordinator, said the United Nation's Children's Fund (UNICEF) had donated four mechanised pumps to be installed in Bimbilla to replace the broken down water system that supplied the area with water.
He, however, called on the Ghana Water Company, as a matter of urgency to install the pumps to improve the water situation avoid any reemergence of the disease in the area. Mr. Dery also identified the activities of the Fulani herdsmen as having contributed to the alarming increase of the disease in the Region since they move from one community to the other with the possibilities of infecting water sources.
08 June 07
Source:
GNA
CPP opens book of Condolence for Fathia
Accra, June 8, GNA - The Convention Peoples Party (CPP) on Friday announced the opening of a book of condolence for Madam Fathia Nkrumah, wife of Dr Kwame Nkrumah, first President of Ghana from June 8, 2007 at 0900 hours at the Party's Headquarters. A statement signed by Mr Kwesi Pratt, Jnr. Chairman of the Publicity Committee of the CPP said the book would be opened to the general public every day from 0900 hours to 1800 hours, till Monday, June 11, 2007.
It said the party had set up a special funeral committee under the Chairmanship of Dr. Edmund Delle, the National Chairman to give Madam Fathia Nkrumah a fitting burial.
Source:
GNA
Traffickers Cautioned of Severe Punishments
Senya Beraku (C/R), June 7, GNA- Recalcitrant child traffickers in coastal communities in the Awutu-Effutu-Senya District of the Central Region, have been cautioned of dire consequences when trapped by the law.
Mr. Solomon Kwashie Abam-Quaye, District Chief Executive for the area who gave the warning at Senya Beraku said such people would not be given the option of a fine when they appear before the law court on child trafficking offences.
He said that reports reaching his office indicated that certain recalcitrant wicked people in coastal towns and villages in the district were still bent on influencing parents faced with abject poverty with a few hundreds of thousands of Cedis to give the children out for strenuous labour work alongside the Volta Lake.
Mr. Abbam-Quaye was addressing a ceremony organized by officials of the Awutu-Effutu-Senya district secretariat of the Centre for Rural Enterprise Development (CRED) to distribute free school uniforms, shoes and bags to over 40 children in Senya township who were rescued from indirect slavery conditions at Yeji and surrounding fishing communities by the Government.
He recalled the bad name the illicit child trafficking business had carved for the district in recent years, and said effective measures had been put in place to deal with criminals who, in spite of the tireless efforts by the government to redeem victims of child traffickers, were determined to undermine such moves.
Mr. Abbam-Quaye expressed appreciation to directors of the Centre for Rural Enterprise Development for the immense contributions they were making to sustain the interest of the rescued children in education in order to build them to become useful to the society in future. He charged parents and guardians of the beneficiary children to seriously supplement the efforts of CRED by taking advantage of the free uniforms to encourage their kids to attend school regularly. Mr. Abbam-Quaye cited himself as an example, saying that even though he was born in a small community in the Awutu Traditional Area, because his parents attached great importance to his education he has been blessed with the appointment as a District Chief Executive. He stressed the need for parents not to allow poverty to undermine the future of their children because it is possible that some of these children might grow to become ministers of state, doctors, educators, engineers scientists and powerful administrators and judges to handle the affairs of the country in future.
Mr. Abam-Quaye assured CRED officials in the Awutu-Effutu-Senya District of his administration's continued support and co-operation to enhance their work. Mr. A. S. Nkrumah, Project Officer of CRED in-charge of the district, had earlier outlined the aims and objectives of the organization and strongly advised parents of children who benefited from the gifts to make sure that their wards remained in school. That is the best reciprocal gesture directors of CRED expects from the parents of the beneficiary children, adding that this way, they would be offering CRED the much needed inspirations to extend more benefits to children in other deprived communities in the country. According to Mr. Nkrumah since the project started more than 70 children had been given school uniforms, shoes, bags, while others were being trained to acquire knowledge in various vocations to make them self-reliant in future.
07 June 07
Source:
GNA
Highway robbers kill trader and rob passangers
A 45-year-old woman was shot dead, while three men, including a soldier, sustained serious injuries when suspected armed robbers opened fire on them on the road between Akyem Asanteman and Asuboa on the Oda Accra road on Tuesday night.
The deceased, whose body has been deposited at the morgue of the Oda Government Hospital, has been identified as Madam Mary Akua Boadua, a Kasoa-based trader in foodstuffs and native of Upper Agona Bobikuma.
Two of the injured persons, Cletus Kluvi, a 50-year-old teacher of the Asanteman Presbyterian Primary School, and Corporal William Agbenyagah, who is on course at the Jungle Warfare School at Akyem Achiase, are responding to treatment at the same hospital.
The driver of a 207 Mercedes Benz bus, with registration number GR 5374 W, Mr Jafaru Zachariah; who was shot in the head at close range, resulting in the loss of an eye, is in critical condition and has been transferred to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.
The masked robbers, numbering about eight and wielding pump-action and locally-manufactured guns, blocked the road with logs and ordered more than 100 passengers on board 12 vehicles to lie down in the middle of the road, after intimidating and robbing them of huge sums of money, mobile phones and other belongings.
Briefing the Daily Graphic at Akyem Oda on Wednesday, the Oda Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Ben Atadana, said at about 9.50 p.m. on Monday, policemen on barrier duty at Asanteman near Oda reported to the police station that eight suspected armed robbers had attacked and robbed passengers on board a number of vehicles from Oda towards Accra and vice versa of their cash, mobile phones and other personal belongings, shot dead a woman trader and seriously wounded three other passengers.
According to Chief Supt Atadana, when he despatched a team of policemen to the scene, the robbers had fled into the bush with their booty.
He said at about 9.20 p.m., the robbers stopped a Mercedes Benz bus, with registration number GT 356 X, on which Madam Boadua and Mr Kluvi were travelling from Oda to Accra.
He said the robbers opened fire on the pas¬sengers, although they offered no resistance, resulting in the death of the woman.
The Divisional Commander said even though no arrest had been made, the police had intensified their search for the robbers and, therefore, appealed to the general public to provide them with vital information on any suspicious elements in the area for them to be apprehended.
When the Daily Graphic team visited two of the injured persons at the Oda Government Hospital, arrangements were being made to transfer the soldier to the 37 Military Hospital in Accra after he had survived a surgical operation to save his life.
The grief-striken 53-year-old husband of Madam Boadua, Mr Samuel Nyarko, who learnt of his wife's death only the following day, could not control his tears when he found the wife lying motionless at the mortuary of the hospital.
Two of the victims, Mr Twum Barima Bredu, also known as Okyeman, the Communications Manager of Engineering and Logistical Services of the Ahafo Gold Project, and Mr Fiifi Aboagye, the managing director of an Oda-based timber firm, told the Daily Graphic that they narrowly escaped death when the robbers shot at them but missed their target.
Meanwhile, the Birim South District Chief Executive, Mr Frank Kwame Busumtwi, has lamented the fact that the police were operating under difficult conditions, including the lack of vehicles and communication equipment.
He, therefore, made a passionate appeal to the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) for assistance to enable the police in the area to operate more effectively.
Source:
Daily Graphic
Ghana Health Service in firm control of new malaria drug
Ho, June 7, GNA - The Ghana Health Service has addressed the lapses that accounted for the initial adverse side effects of the new malaria drug, Artesunate Amodiaquine, which has come to replace chloroquine in malaria treatment.
Dr Samuel Abudey, the Jasikan District Director of Health, said this at a one-day training programme for journalists in the Volta Region on the new anti-malaria drug policy.
He explained that the initial problems were as a result of wrong packaging and dosage instructions, which did not take account of the weight of patients.
Dr Abudey said now that Artesunate Amodiaquine has become the new malaria treatment drug in the country, the Food and Drugs Board would have to discourage the manufacture and sale of chloroquine and the use of Artesunate as a monotherapy discouraged.
He said Malafan (sulfadosine-pyrimethamine), should be reserved for malaria prevention in pregnant women.
Dr Atsu Seake-Kwawu, the Keta District Director of Health, said the new drug was also safe in managing malaria in pregnant women but must be administered by qualified health workers.
Source:
GNA
Revision of puberty rites advocated
Kodie (Ash) June 7, GNA- Mr. Samuel Atta, Kwabre District Cultural Coordinator, on Thursday called for the revision of puberty rites to help curb the increasing rate of social vices such as teenage pregnancy, early marriage and the prevention of HIV/AIDS among others problems. He urged Ghanaians to appreciate the importance of cultural values to the socio-economic development of the country.
Mr. Atta was speaking at the opening ceremony of a day's cultural festival competition, organized by the Kodie Circuit of the Ghana Education Service (GES) at Kodie in the district.
The festival that was attended by children from some selected schools in both the primary and junior secondary schools was aimed at inculcating the nation's cultural heritage in the children. The schools competed in choral music, poetry recitals, drumming and dancing, drama, drum language, singing and craft exhibition. The participating schools for the primary level included Aduamoa, Akrofuom, Afrancho, Ntiribuoho and Nkukua-Buoho, Sasa, Akrowa and Apagya and those of the jss level were Ntiribuoho, Nkukua-Buoho, Apagya, Afrancho, Kodie and Osei Kwadwo.
Mr. Atta said culture was dynamic and advised parents to teach their children the culture of the country to enable them to be abreast with the customs and traditions of the country.
The District Cultural Coordinator said the competition would help in selecting school children to join a team to represent the circuit in the district cultural festival to be held at Ntonso next week. Nana James Mensah, Kodie Circuit Supervisor, said the competition would be held periodically to educate school children on the importance of culture to development. 7 June 07
Source:
GNA
Kufuor, G-8 Leaders hold annual summit
Heiligendamm, Germany, June 7, GNA - Leaders of the Group of Eight top industrialized nations (G-8) on Wednesday gathered in the German Baltic seaside resort of Heiligendamm amid tight security, for the annual three-day meeting to discuss the political and economic direction of the world.
They include United States (US) President George Bush, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Vladimir Putin of Russia, Prime Minister Tony Blair of the UK, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, German President Nicolas Sarkozy and Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe.
Key issues on the agenda are the promotion of worldwide economic recovery, making globalisation socially equitable and delivering on aid pledges to Africa.
Climate change, the row between the US and Russia over the deployment of a missile shield in Europe and the controversy over Iran=B4s Nuclear programme are also likely to dominate the discussions. President John Agykum Kufuor is attending the meeting alongside five other African leaders.
They are South African President Thabo Mbeki, newly inaugurated Nigerian President Umaru Musa Yar,dua, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade and Algerian President Abdul Aziz Bouteflika.
The G-8 leaders according to a programme released by the summit organisers would have a special session with the African leaders on Friday.
President Kufuor is also scheduled to hold bilateral talks on the sidelines with the leaders of Germany, Italy and Russia. German Chancellor Merkel whose country holds the Presidency of the G-8 said the goal was to identify solutions to the challenges of security, environment and development policy issues confronting humanity.
Source:
GNA (From Kwaku Osei Bonsu, Heiligendamm, Germany)
Addo Kufuor under fire over "soldiers land"
"…tell Addo Kufuor that he should be honest and stop misleading Ghanaians. If he cannot honour his promise to us, in this small village, I mean for the past two years, how can he be President of the whole country. Addo Kufuor can't be President. He will say things he cannot do and when the media goes to him, he will give reasons that are not true. He has done it to us. He can do it again ..."
That was an excerpt of an observation gathered when The Crusading GUIDE visited Apremdo, a town near Takoradi in the Western Region to interact with members of the seven principal families who own the farmlands that were seized for a military Buffer Zone for the Apremdo 2BN Barracks, without a pesewa being paid to any person.
The people are mostly farmers and, according to them. "depriving them of their farmlands means depriving them of their livelihood".
Their plight was worsened when the soldiers went beyond the buffer zone and seized other lands that the landlords had already sold out to private estate developers.
Some of these private developers after being harassed by the soldiers had no option but to drag to court those from whom they bought the land. Consequently, some of the landlords have faced varying periods of imprisonment and are now bending over backwards to return the money to the estate developers.
After a series of reports on military brutalities meted out to the land owners, any time they visited their farm lands as well as a litany of petitions to the Government, the Defence Minister Dr. Kwame Addo Kufuor was compelled to move down to Apremdo to ascertain the true state of affairs.
The Defence Minister at a meeting with the landowners, the Commanding Officer of the Apremdo Military Barracks, the Western Regional Minister and high profile authorities from the Western Region, said the Government had made a compensation package of One Billion, Five Hundred and Forty Eight Million Cedis (¢1.548.000.000) - 18 million cedis per plot for 86 plots of the said buffer zone - and that the said money was ready for disbursement to the land owners. This assurance was contained in the minutes of the said meeting which was dated 7th March, 2005.
Two years later the money remains unpaid yet the sufferings of the landowners keep increasing. What has angered the land owners now was Dr. Addo Kufuor's comment to the media to the effect that the money had not been paid because the landowners were litigating among themselves and that there was no legitimate person to receive the money.
"It is unfortunate for a Minister and someone who wants to be President to talk this way. It is not true. We are seven principal families, we use the same lawyers and have even formed a committee to help us get the compensation. We have the same spokesperson and the same executive members. We feel insulted by his statement. It makes us sound foolish to the public. We are hurt and deserve an apology unless he can prove where the division lay and who is fighting who", Mr. Stephen Tandor a member of the said Committee told The Crusading Guide last Saturday.
Mr. Nat Panyin, spokesperson for the landowners and chairman of the Committee was completely taken aback by the Minister's comment. He said the seven principal families include Anona, Asona, Ebirateye, Ntwiwa, Akona, Ekusi and Abratuo.
"If he wants to divide us, he should be bold to say so but as at now we are not and he should stop the political talks of which regime seized the lands and pay us our money. Already, the current value has gone to about 25 million cedis per plot and anybody can check from the Land Valuation Board. Our elders are wise people and we will never fight among ourselves over what belongs to us", he posited.
Meanwhile, Dr. Addo Kufuor. in an interview with the Crusading Guide newspaper maintained that the families were and are still divided and that once that division was solved and he was furnished with the names of the people who owned the land he would disburse the money.
Source:
The Crusading Guide
Editorial: Asa B is just talking
Accra is once again flooded. Lives have been lost. The cost of the damage caused to properties is counted in billions of cedis. The blame game has started. Building inspectors are the number one targets. Loud threats are coming from the Minister of Local Government.
But, The Statesman is prepared to bet its printing machines on it that the threats from Stephen Asamoah Boateng (aka Asa B) to sanction negligent building inspectors would not be carried out - it's much emptier than the Akosombo Dam was some months ago. Now, as reported today, there are statutory moves to grant NADMO the powers of demolition, too.
This is a country that in the last 25 years a whole area from Abeka Lapaz to Awoshie has developed without much of a plan, under the watchful eyes of Jerry John Rawlings – an era that was noted for the deepening of the culture of disregard for rules.
The culture of haphazard developments is too entrenched to be washed away by an emotive, transient flood of threats, Mr Minister. The laws may be there, just like they were there in the past and nothing was done.
If Government is to enforce the rules and regulations to the letter then government must also consider that it is a very sensitive and serious political decision that ought not be left alone to the very building inspectors who failed to do their work in the past to suddenly change over and enforce. It goes much deeper than that, we are afraid.
How is this new policy of demolition of illegal structures to be enforced without it being discriminatory? Is the enforcement going to be retroactive or pro-active? Are there going to be different scales of consequences for different kinds of infringement, depending on the situation of an illegal structure, whether it is in a waterway or not, for example?
Would it mean pulling down every structure in the country that is illegal? What would that do to homelessness? Is Government even in a financial position to find alternative accommodation for some? Or would Government just bury its head beneath the ballot box and say it is not its responsibility to house illegality?
What about the innocent victims, like tenants, whose only crime may be one of want? Would years of an illegal structure being left in peace by the authorities make it legal? Are you ready for the domestic and international backlash, from human rights advocates that would automatically come your way if you go ahead with your radical enforcement programme without any kind of a social safety net? Do you even have a plan?
Talk is cheap, our good friend, Asa B. We understand the strict enforcement change of heart emanated from Cabinet. But, we are not convinced how well Cabinet has thought through the matter. We admire your enthusiasm and your commitment to changing the phase of our chequered development. But, we are not convinced you really know what you are letting yourself into. Perhaps, you can begin by explaining the guidelines of enforcement.
At the bottom of this Ghanaian phenomenon of putting up illegal structures with impunity is this country"s jaundiced regard for law and order, rules and regulations. Those to enforce don’t, creating in their wake of negligence a predictable expectation of enforcement non-expectation on the part of society. Are we as a people and our government really ready to change that old, back-tracking, progress-retarding culture?
Certainly, there is hardly any conscious policy direction from the part of government to indicate that Ghana is now set on an enforcement drive of its rules and regulations.
If we are about to begin, then Kwamena Bartels and go have a lot of re-orientation to do.
Source:
Statesman
Attempts to fake new currency
The National Security network has identified syndicates in some foreign countries that are trying to fake the new Ghana Cedi which is due to become legal tender from July 1.
The Minister of National Security, Francis Poku, has therefore charged the security agencies, especially those at the country's points of entry, to be extra vigilant to prevent the inflow of the fake currencies.
Mr. Poku was speaking at the opening of a training workshop held in Accra on Wednesday, to sensitise personnel of the security agencies on the security features of the new currency.
He said "the new currency has become a major target of syndicates. If we are not careful, such bad practices can weaken the economy."
To address the problem, he said it would be necessary for the security services to coordinate their strategies and develop effective ways of monitoring the redenomination exercise.
"Various syndicates are already working," he said, but gave the assurance that the national security network was up to the task.
He commended the redenomination exercise, saying it was a legitimate exercise which required the maximum support of the security agencies.
He urged the Bank of Ghana to upgrade the national security on the redenomination activities so that the transportation and distribution channels for the new currency could be effectively monitored.
The workshop was organised by the Central Bank, and attended by personnel from the Ghana Police, Immigration, Customs, Excise and Preventive Services, Armed Forces and the Bureau of National Investigations.
Van Lare Dosoo, Deputy Governor of the bank, stressed the need for security personnel to be educated on the features of the new currencies to enable them to protect the integrity of the currency.
Source:
Ghanaian Times
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Security agencies on alert for counterfeit syndicate
Accra, June 6, GNA - The security agencies have identified a syndicate trying to print counterfeit of the new currencies that come into circulation on July 1, Mr Francis Poku, Minister of National Security, disclosed on Wednesday.
"We are monitoring their activities and security personnel at the various entry points are vigilant," he said.
He was speaking at a trainer of trainers workshop organised by the Bank of Ghana for the security agencies in Accra to educate security personnel on the use and features of the new currencies to enable them to detect fake ones easily and apprehend perpetrators. Mr. Poku noted that the preoccupation of criminals was how to fake the new currency and praised the Bank of Ghana for following regulatory requirements in introducing the new currency.
The workshop is being attended by the Police, Immigration, Customs, Exercise and Preventive Service (CEPS), Armed Forces and the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI).
Mr. Poku urged the BOG to collaborate with the security agencies at all levels by providing them with the necessary information to ensure a smooth transition period.
Mr. Alex Bernasko, Chairman, Re-denomination Steering Committee of BOG, said there would be no time limit for the exchange of the new currency after the parallel circulation of old and new currencies in six months.
"After 2008, the old currency cannot be used for any form of transaction but can be changed at any time for the new one," he said He said the unbridled time for the exchange was to allay fears that after sometime the old currency would not be changed. He assured the public, especially individuals domiciled abroad that they could change their old currency into the new one any time they were ready for transaction.
Mr. Bernasko urged the business community to continue with dual pricing to make it easier for transactions and avoid opportunistic pricing and rip-offs.
Source:
GNA
Fathia To Be Buried In Accra Tuesday
FATHIA Nkrumah, wife of Ghana’s first President, will be buried in Accra, next Tuesday, June 12, at the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, beside her husband.
Sekou Nkrumah, one of her sons, yesterday confirmed this to the Times and added that the body will be brought to Accra on Saturday aboard an Egypt Air flight.
He said the burial date was settled on following an agreement between the family and the government.
Sekou said the remains will be accompanied by his uncle Fekry Halim Ritsk, 80, and his other siblings, Gamel and Sania Nkrumah as was reported in the Times yesterday.
Madam Fathia, who died last Tuesday in a Cairo hospital after a protracted illness, was said to have expressed the wish to be buried beside her husband, to serve as a symbol of unifying the nation.
Earlier a consecration ceremony was held last Friday at the Coptic Orthodox Church in Cairo, which was attended by a large gathering that included officials from the Ghana Embassy in Cairo and Sedig Mahdi, a former Prime Minister of Sudan.
Source:
Times
Mills' walkabout hits roadblock
...Abossey Okai parts dealers query his health
.... Central University bosses snub NDC flagbearer
The door-to-door campaign strategy embarked upon by the Presidential candidate of the opposition National Democratic Congress, Professor John Evans Atta Mills might after all not be yielding the desired results.
Young exuberant mechanics at the ever busy Abossey Okai hub of car parts dealers who were recently visited by Prof. Mills told The Chronicle yesterday that they could not understand why the good old professor was still struggling to capture political power.
They premised their arguments on their convictions that upon seeing Prof. Mills on his door- to-door campaign trail there last Thursday, they realized he was not in the best of health conditions. They insisted that even though they were mechanics and not health officers, they did not think it was advisable for the Professor to be engaged in the vigorous political activities he was currently involved in.
The Chronicle had visited the busy trading center to find out from the traders their impressions about Prof. Mills’ visit and whether or not they had been in anyway influenced as far as their thoughts on local politics were concerned.
Most of the people who spoke to the paper were particularly concerned about the health conditions of the NDC presidential candidate and stated that though they appreciated the visit by the former Vice president, it did not influence them politically.
“The man really looked weak and he had grown lean as well. So I asked myself, what at all is in the presidency that motivates Mills to continue with his struggles to lead this country.
He had his time as Vice President and I think he did the best that he could for this country and I think that for health consideration he should step down,” a young man who gave his name as Kwaku Asare and works around the Okonko shop area told reporters while his colleagues kept cheering him on.
Traders around the Father and Sons shop shared similar views as their colleagues at the Okonko area. Mr. Francis Nii Ayitey told the paper that he liked Prof. Mills’ humility and therefore gave him the necessary support but added that if he had his way to advise the Professor, he would have asked him to give way to an energetic person to lead that party.
Nii Ayitey said judging from the looks of the Professor at the time of the Visit, it was likely that he may not be able to embark upon vigorous nationwide campaigning ahead of the 2008 to be able to, “give the NPP stiffer competition and possibly get it out of government, because these days, we don’t get sales at all.”
Another spare parts dealer, Nsiah Poku, who identified his business area as the ‘Odasani area’ said if the NDC can win in 2008 it has to choose an energetic person to partner Mills for that person to do all the vigorous rounds required in political campaigning.
“Look my brother, the man is weak and has to rest. Maybe he would have to take some kinapharma blood tonic so that he would look strong. In fact, he would have to take some rest and regain his body before starting to campaign again otherwise he will lose despite his door-to-door campaigns which is a good thing and shows the respect he has for we the ordinary ones,” Martey Commodore, another spare parts dealer told the paper.
In a related development that was not helpful to the campaign goals of the NDC flagbearer, authorities of the Central University College who had been notified by the Protocol officers of the NDC presidential candidate and had fully acknowledged the notification, did not make time for the Professor’s visit as they went about their normal daily business, snubbing him in the process.
Most students of the University who were expected to turn up to listen to the NDC man also snubbed the event leaving a handful of students who gathered at a small auditorium as the audience of the Professor.
The Chronicle gathered that on the appointed day for meeting the authorities and students of the school, Mills and his team went to the Mataheko campus of the school only to be told that virtually all the authorities of the school had left for a meeting at the School’s new site.
The paper gathered that, but for the timely intervention of a Senior Assistant Registrar who was contacted by some students upon the arrival of the Professor and his team, he and his men would have been left stranded on the campus of Dr. Mensah Otabil’s University.
In the end, a number of students gathered to listen to the Professor who told them that when given the nod to lead the nation he would make education a priority and give teachers what they deserved.
Professor Mills also talked about the current energy crisis facing the nation and dilated on how the NDC government had prepared to deal with any energy situation like what the country was now facing.
Responding to the developments at the Central University College, the Public Relations Manager of the school, Rev Tetteh Djanmah, said it was unfortunate that the authorities could not accord the Professor the necessary reception he deserved as a former Vice President.
He explained that on that fateful day, by sheer coincidence, almost all the authorities including the President, the Registrar and himself left the campus for a Board of Regents meeting at the School’s new site at Prampram. “It’s not that he came unannounced. I was the one who was supposed to receive him. I feel sorry I was not here to welcome him,” he lamented.
According to him, Prof Mills’ Protocol had written formally to the school demanding an opportunity to reach the authorities and the students which they had no objection to except that he was advised to use 95% of his time to lecture the students on career development and 5% for his campaign since the school could not be used as a political platform.
Rev Djanmah indicated that he saw no problem with welcoming the former Vice President since he had already visited the University of Ghana, Legon and the Takoradi Polytechnic.
Asked whether the authorities had apologized or intended to apologize to Prof Mills, he responded that he did not think so, in view of the fact that at least, a Senior Deputy Registrar of the school had welcomed him and led him to address a cross section of the students.
A member of Prof Mills’ Campaign Team, Mr. Koku Anyidoho, however said they had no qualms with the reception that was given them at both Abossey Okai and CUC adding that during the year 2000 electioneering campaigns, the NDC was hooted at when officials of the party visited Abossey Okai but this time around, no one raised his voice against Prof Mills when they visited that place. He said the leadership of the spare parts dealers rather shared ideas with Prof. Mills.
When asked about the rationale behind the door-to-door campaign strategy adopted by Prof Mills, he elaborated that after Prof. Mills was given the mandate to lead the NDC in the next elections, he realized that he could not be a leader without knowing what was on the ground.
He stressed that their visit to Abossey Okai was purposely to observe what was happening since the dealers there always voted according to the prevailing conditions during election.
Mr. Anyidoho said they would resume the door-to-door campaign this Thursday in Ablekuma Central and then move to Ashanti Region.
Source:
Chronicle
Parliament divided over suitable punishment for FGM
Accra, June 6, GNA- The question of whether to deal harshly with practitioners of female genital mutilation or not, took centre stage on Wednesday with divisions over what was a suitable jail sentence for offenders.
Some members called for a minimum of five and maximum of 10 years jail sentences for offenders, while others said the degrading cultural practice could result in the death and urged for a minimum of 10 and maximum of 25 years to deter the practitioners and accomplices of female genital mutilation. The House came alive with sharp divisions and a heated debate causing a lot of members to stand to their feet to catch the Speaker's eye, to state their position.
The matter came up when the Chairman of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Committee, Mr Kofi Osei-Ameyaw, moved an amendment proposing that a four-year jail sentence be deleted and substituted with 10 years as minimum sentence and 10 years be replaced with 25, as maximum for offence of the Criminal Code (Amendment) Bill. The Bill was being taken through the Consideration Stage and it seeks to amend the Criminal Code to change the reference female circumcision to female genital mutilation to widen the scope of the actual nature of the offence and alter the scope of responsibility to include all other accomplices to the practice.
Mr. Osei-Ameyaw said stiffer punishment was needed to discourage the practice and 10 years minimum and 25 years maximum was in order. Mr. Haruna Iddrisu, (NDC-Tamale South) disagreed, saying countries were moving towards custodial sentences, besides there was the need to focus on reformation of offenders and therefore the 10-25 years was too violent.
Both Deputy Majority Leader, Mr. Abraham Osei Aidooh and Deputy Minority Leader, Mr. Edward Doe Adjaho, supported Mr. Iddrisu's call for a minimum of five years and maximum of 10 years. They said cultural factors and the education of the culprits should be considered in the discussions.
Other members who contributed could still not agree on the best custodial sentence, while some called for a dispassionate debate and urged for softer punishment others said victims of the practice could die and therefore a harsh and deterrent sentence was in order. The Speaker, Mr. Ebenezer Sekyi Hughes, ruled that proposed amendment for stiffer punishment be looked at again and stepped down the proposal for further consultation and consensus.
Source:
GNA
Chief decries slow pace of development in Northern Region
Nakpanduri (NR), June 6, GNA - A traditional in Nakpanduri in the Bunkpurugu/Yunyoo District, has decried the slow pace of development in parts of the Northern Region, particularly the newly created Bunkpurugu/Yunyoo District.
Naba David Kansuk, the Paramount Chief of Nakpanduri Traditional Area, mentioned the lack of good roads, communication facilities in the district, lack of electricity in Bunkpurugu township and surrounding communities, poor radio and television reception and unavailability of potable water in the area as some of the problems facing the people.
He expressed these concerns when Mr. Stephen Asamoa-Boateng, Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment, paid a courtesy call on him at his palace at Nakpanduri, during the Minister's just ended official tour to the district.
Naba Kansuk called on the Government to do something positive to transform rural communities to motivate the youth to stay there to help in the development of such areas.
He appealed for the upgrading of the Nakpanduri Secondary School so that teachers could accept postings to the school towards the improvement of education in the area.
Naba Kansuk also called for the rehabilitation of the Nakpanduri Police station, which was built in 1961 and had since not seen any renovation.
Mr. Stephen Asamoah-Boateng indicated that the NPP Government was in the process of developing every sector of the country. The Minister, therefore, appealed to the chiefs and people of the area to remain patient since development would never elude them under the NPP administration.
He said road construction was also high on the agenda of the Government and assured the chief and people that their concerns would be discussed at Cabinet and that priority attention would be given to the Bunkpurugu/Yunyoo district.
Mr. Asamoah-Boateng later addressed similar durbar of chiefs and people of Bunkpurugu and Yunyoo where he explained the Government development's agenda and appealed to the people to ensure peace towards the development of the area. He also commissioned a residential accommodation for police personnel in Bunkpurugu and addressed the Bunkpurugu/Yunyoo District Assembly.
Mr. Asamoah-Boateng was in the Northern Region to interact with staff and members of the district assemblies and visited ten out of the 13 districts in the region, which included the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, Savelugu/Nanton, West Gonja, Tolon/Kumbungu and East Mamprusi districts. The rest are Gushiegu, Karaga, Bunkpurugu/Yunyoo, Nanumba North and Nanumba South Districts. Mr. Asamoah-Boateng promised that district assembly members would be given motorcycles on loan basis to facilitate their work.
Source:
GNA
Energy crisis: World Bank to release US$50m to Ghana
Accra, June 6, GNA - Mr Gordon Wetherell, the British High Commissioner in Ghana, has announced that the World Bank (WB) is due to release a sum of US$50 million to Ghana to resolve the energy crisis. He stated that subject to the approval of the WB Board, "the World Bank would release US$50 million for Ghana's energy sector under its Africa Catalytic Growth Fund (ACGF)."
Mr Wetherell said this at a special reception he hosted in his residence to mark the birthday of the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II.
He noted that over the past 50 years Britain had and continued to be Ghana's largest bilateral donor and development partner, contributing 70 million pounds sterling a year directly through the Department for International Development (DFID).
This is besides the over 120 million pounds sterling Britain contributed to multilateral agencies such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund European Commission and the United Nations from which Ghana also benefited.
Mr Wetherell recalled that in 2006, Britain signed a 105 million pounds sterling 10-year agreement with Ghana for the support of primary education, saying it was the first of its kind in Africa.
He said the 50 million pounds sterling grant given to Ghana during the recent historic State Visit of President John Agyekum Kufuor to the Buckingham Palace was a follow-up to the agreement in 2006 and it was to specifically help Ghana to tackle the issue of child and maternal mortality.
Mr Wetherell said: ".our latest figures show that bilateral trade between the UK and Ghana rose by 25 per cent to 340 million pounds sterling."
Mr. Wetherell assured Ghanaians that Britain would continue to remain Ghana's largest donor in future saying, "just as Ghana can look forward to the next 50 years of its existence as a free, sovereign country with confidence, so can our bilateral relationship."
He touched on climate change, saying that Britain was committed to ensuring that countries like Ghana and others in the developing world were properly positioned to adapt to the inevitable change going on. He acknowledged that British-Ghana relations had over the years been strengthened through people-to-people contact and through Ghana's commitment to the principles of democracy, good governance and the rule of law.
Prof. Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, Minister of Ports and Harbours who led the Ghana Government delegation to the reception, expressed government's gratitude to the UK for hosting President Kufuor and for sending the Duke of Kent, Prince Edward to participate in the Golden Jubilee on March 6, 2007.
He also thanked the British government for the cancellation of Ghana's debt under the HIPC initiative and expressed the hope that the UK would continue the kind gesture towards Ghana even after the tenure of office of British Premier Tony Blair.
Prof. Ameyaw-Akumfi said Ghana would continue to uphold the principles of participatory democracy, good governance and the rule of law and also pledged Ghana's commitment use her position as chair of the AU to find lasting solutions to the conflicts in Dafur, Cote d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and Zimbabwe.
He noted that the duty tour of Mr Wetherell was coming to an end this December and thanked him for the numerous development projects and aid packages he helped to execute in Ghana. 6 June 07
Source:
GNA
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8 Prez. Aspirants To Step Down
The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has set September (three months hence) as the time for its potential aspirants for the 2008 flagbearer slot. That is when nomination forms and the appropriate fees (said to be between ¢250 million and 300 million) will be sent to the national headquarters of the part. Once the person’s scale through the party’s vetting, then their names and pictures would be placed on ballot papers for delegates to elect one in mid-December this year.
As at close of business last Friday (June 1), the Daily Dispatch had picked up credible reports of horse trading and bargaining between many of the eight of the potential aspirants would step down and throw their support behind some of those they consider as favourites. The Daily Dispatch is currently rounding up a series of opinion polls involving over 77% of voters. The polls involve over 5,500 respondents nationwide on various questions like the radio stations they listen to in the over 160 constituencies; which political party they think will win if elections were held today; the factor they would consider most important in voting for a presidential candidate in 2008.
Even though NPP’s Congress in December will be for it’s delegates to elect a flagbearer for 2008, the respondents are asked to state which of the more than 17 potential aspirants they would prefer. This is because many of the delegates in case of indecision will vote for the aspirant who appeals most to the floating voters.
Another aspect of the polls is to talk to potential delegates about who they would vote for. Whilst some of them were very frank, others were hedging, referring to the September event of picking of nomination forms and payment of filing fees. Others were giving alternatives, for example, one of the candidates, A, B, or C. The computations were so uniformed that they sort of confirmed the reports of the ongoing intense negotiations.
One of the leading candidates (name withheld) is said to be close to getting the public endorsement of three of the aspirants who have come out openly. Another shocker will be how one of the late entrants to the race will benefit from the support of the aspirants who started out in 2005.
Source:
Daily Dispatch
I Will Win In 2008 - Atta Mills
NDC Presidential Candidate, Professor John Evans Atta Mills, has for the first time since he started working towards the electoral victory of his party in the 2008 elections, made it emphatically clear that he knows for a fact that Ghanaians would give him the nod to be the next president.
Prof Mills made the point last Thursday when he interacted with teachers and non-academic staff of the Great Lamptey Mills School around the Gaskia Cinema at Zongo Junction, as part of his community-to-community approach to reaching out to the electorate.
The former Vice President, who is known to exude humility in his approach to politicking, told his captive audience that it is very obvious that Ghanaians are currently up to their brow with the gross inefficient rule of Kufuor and his NPP government and that come December 2008, there is no way he and the NDC would not be given the mandate to restore hope to the people of Ghana.
“I have been going round for sometime now and I can assure you that Mills will win in 2008” a confident Prof Mills said.
“And it is precisely because I know I will win that is why I have decided to intensify my new style of campaigning to not only acquaint myself more with the issues, but to also look the people in the eye and promise them an honest and humble leadership that would seek first the interest of the have-nots before seeking the interest of those who have” the professor added.
On the specific issue of how the NPP is not making any effort to address the problem of teachers, and how pro NPP SSS dropouts are being recruited as teachers by the NPP under the so-called Youth Employment Programme, the NDC Presidential Candidate, himself a teacher of repute, assured the teachers that a Mills government would stretch every sinew to make sure that teachers, and problems associated with the teaching profession, are given the attention they deserve.
“I am a teacher just like you and I know the sacrifices that you are making to give the future generation a solid educational foundation and I can assure you that a Mills government would not keep teachers out of the classrooms for months un-end because of an obstinate approach to dealing with your concerns” the former university don said.
“When in 2000, I said that university graduates should consider going into teaching, the NPP run a series of advertisements on TV and radio with some young men and women saying that when they want proper work to do Mills is asking them to go and teach so they would show Mills. Well, they showed me but we are all aware of what is now happening to the teaching sector” the professor said further.
“I tell you, it is the NPP’s mentality that teaching is not a proper job that is making them treat teachers in such an unacceptable way and you can rest assured that a Mills government would give every attention to the teachers” the law professor added.
Excited, and full of admiration for Prof Mills, the teachers on their part thanked Prof Mills for making it a point to interact with all categories of persons including teachers so that he can hear and see things for himself.
Indeed, one of the teachers, who is a known staunch supporter of the NPP, after the interaction with Prof Mills, pledged his total support for the professor and promised to swing whatever support he can swing from the NPP to the NDC.
The teachers also wished Prof Mills well, and hoped that the professor’s strong conviction that he would be the next president would come to pass so that the teacher that he is, he would pay the needed attention to the teaching profession.
At the Central University, where Prof Mills interacted with Staff and Students, the NDC Presidential Candidate further reiterated his conviction that Ghanaians were in the mood to give him the nod next year and that as somebody who was closely associated with education for close to thirty years, his presidency would continue from where the NDC left off as regards the establishment of the GETFUND which was meant to cater for educational infrastructure at the tertiary level in both the private and public universities.
Source:
Office Of Professor Mills
People in Awutu-Effutu-Senya asked to pay counterpart funding
Winneba, June 5, GNA - Mr. Stephen Opoku Tufuor, the Central Regional Director of Community Water and Sanitation Agency, has appealed to members of the Awutu-Effutu-Senya District Assembly to educate their people on the need to pay their counterpart funds to ensure smooth execution of projects.
He said this at a day's orientation workshop for members of the Awutu-Effutu-Senya District Assembly at Winneba organised by the Water and Sanitation Agency in collaboration with the district assembly. Among issued discussed were strategies to be adopted for communities to honour their five percent counterpart funds on projects such as hand dug wells, boreholes and public places of convenience. He said out of a total of 155 million cedis to be paid by communities as counterpart fund for development projects, only 49 million cedis have been settled.
Mr. Tufuor said this had resulted in the projects that started in 2005 to be at standstill.
Mr. Solomon Abbam-Quaye, the District Chief Executive, urged the assembly members to step up education to enable their people to pay their counterpart funds. He said the assembly did not have the capacity to pay the full cost of development projects.
Source:
GNA
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