Stanbic Bank opens branch in Takoradi
Takoradi, May 20, -GNA- Mr. Anthony Evans Amoah, Western Regional Minister, at the weekend called on Stanbic Bank Ghana Limited to take advantage of the favourable economy climate in the region to assist businesses to grow. He made the call at the opening of the Takoradi branch of the bank at Takoradi.
Mr. Amoah hoped the bank would impact positively on the economy of the region and the country to move the national economy forward. He commended the bank for coming to the region and assisting in the education on the re-denomination of the cedi. Mr. Amoah said since its inception in 1999, Stanbic Bank has seen steady growth in terms of market share, customer base and branch network, culminating in the commissioning of the Takoradi branch.
He said, "It is also heartening to note that the improved macro-economic environment evidenced by declining inflation, stable interest and exchange rates and increased confidence have given impetus to the branch expansion of the bank".
Mr Amoah said, "With the ever increasing competition between local and international banks on the Ghanaian market for personal, business and corporate customers and high calibre, dedicated staff, branch expansion initiatives by any bank should be commended". Mr. Alhassan Andani, Managing Director of Stanbic Ghana Limited, said the bank has position itself to help develop Western Region, Ghana and Africa.
He said the bank is committed to employment and offering integrated business based on African values. Mr. Adani said the bank'S 114 billion dollars assets make it by far the biggest bank in Africa. He said the bank would carry the best in the region to the rest of the country and beyond.
Miss Joyce Aryee, a member of the Board of the Bank and Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, who presided, said the bank is determined to resource entrepreneurs in the region to be the best and exploit business opportunities in the area. She said the bank would assist people in the region with entrepreneurial skills to develop and help the region to develop a business culture to enable It to tap its rich resources to support national development. 20 May 09Source:
GNA
Fast Track Police Reform
A GNA feature By Francis Ameyibor
Accra, May 18, GNA - The growing agitation for the deepening of democratic governance across Africa has in recent times brought to the fore the urgent need to reform policing, detach it from the colonial ideological braining washing and direct it towards democratic policing. Democratic Policing, therefore, is a normative framework within which the specific structures of a Police Force and its operational strategies may vary, even as they adhere to basic principles.
It embraces not only Police practice, but also the place of policing in relation to the government and governing institutions as well as to the general public. Police Services should recognise and operate according to the basic tenets of democratic governance, the principles of accountability and transparency.
Police Officers are authorized to conduct themselves in a way compatible with a democratic constitutional regime through the appropriate guidance and support from the Police Authorities, and other administrative mechanisms that ensure adherence by Police Officers to democratic principles.
POLICE POTENTIAL DANGER TO DEMOCRACIES
Emphasizing the urgent need for Police reforms, Professor Sonnin G. Tyoden Vice-Chancellor of the University of Jos, Nigeria, recently hypothesized that the effort of African countries to introduce and consolidate democratic governance would be a mirage "if we fail to reform the Police systems that we inherited from Colonial Rulers". According to him, the Police have been used by many autocratic post-colonial African governments to protect their own selfish interests rather than to promote national development and the rights, safety and security of citizens and called for a paradigm shift. In practical terms, the Police are critical to the protection of human rights; safety and security in society, "but history has shown that the Police can also be abused by the rulers and made to violate the rights of citizens with impunity".
Prof Tyoden described the Police institution as one of the most important instruments of government that could be used either to advance or subvert democratic rule.
He, therefore, called for all-encompassing Police reforms, which should aim at reviewing the legal framework of policing to ensure that it satisfied the requirements of democratic governance to ensure effective governmental and non-governmental mechanism for Police accountability.
The Reform should also enhance the capacity and legitimacy of the Police Officers through adequate training; equipping; professional intelligence and investigative capacity; operational professionalism and efficiency; planning and research; supervision and motivational rewards; responsiveness and civility in relating to the citizenry.
"There is no doubt that the Police need to be effective and efficient. Otherwise they and the government would lose public confidence. Efficiency and accountability are not incompatible, they complement and reinforce each other", he noted in a paper presented at a recent three-day regional Conference on Police and Policing Reform in West Africa in Abuja, Nigeria made available to the Ghana News Agency.
THREAT TO GHANA'S DEMOCRACY
In Ghana, politicians, especially opposition figures during the National Democratic Congress led government and those under the present New Patriotic Party dispensation have accused Police personnel of indulging in partisan politicking.
They accused Police personnel of hindering the smooth operation of opposition parties, while creating enabling condition for the ruling party to operate. The Police have been accused of the misuse of the Public Order Act and manhandling of demonstrators. Civilians, who are dissatisfied with the Police, had on some occasions attacked Police stations and Police personnel.
These are worrying signals as the nation prepares for Election 2008 viewed in line with recent Police Administration's operational challenges, where Senior and Junior Officers were alleged to have compromised their professional standards in combating crime and involvement in partisan politics.
These accordingly have impaired the Administration's efforts to combat activities of social deviants, as serious crime continue to permeate both urban and rural communities.
IMAGE OF POLICE
Incidences of armed robbery; rape; burglary; assaults; auto theft; murder; drug trafficking; fraud; bribery with alleged tacit involvement of some Police personnel continue to attract media coverage on a daily basis.
Sad to say, despite Government's efforts at enhancing the professional integrity and competence of the Service, the attitude of the minority criminal elements, who have found their way into the Service, have eroded public confidence and undermined Police credibility and integrity.
Public sentiments and attitude towards Police Officers have deteriorated giving way to many communities resorting to meting out instant justice instead of turning over suspected criminals to the Police.
The courts have also been accused of not being fair and just in the dispensation of justice. Many cases remain pending in the courts and the cost of seeking justice in the courts is becoming increasingly high for the common man.
With all of these lapses, it is clear to see why most citizens though unjustifiable, would elect to render quick justice to suspected criminals instead of turning them over to a system they have less confidence in.
It is, therefore, imperative for the Police Administration to go through drastic reforms; build its public image before the processes for the crucial Elections 2008 warm up. The need to reform policing is, therefore, very crucial if Ghana were to sustain the democratic peace the citizens now enjoyed in a tumultuous West Africa Sub-Region.
PRESIDENT KUFUOR'S AGENDA
It was, therefore, refreshing and timely for President John Agyekum Kufuor, who is gradually cruising to the end of his second two-term, to advise Police Officers to conduct themselves in a manner that was conforming to internationally acceptable operational standards to win the confidence of the public.
"As Officers, you are aware that security challenges facing the world today are enormous such that the cooperation of society is needed. Indeed, the general security of our Nation is the collective responsibility of all us", he stated in an address to Police personnel in Accra.
Affirming his determination to protect and defend the citizenry of Ghana and Africa, President Kufuor advocated for reforms aimed at strengthening African security forces to form closer partnership with civil society to prevent the recurrence of wars and conflicts and their negative effects on the socio-economic development of the Continent. President Kufuor, the African Union Chairman's recognition and need for reforms in policing was welcoming news to civil society and State actors the Ghana News Agency interviewed on the subject.
They said even though it was long overdue the President Kufuor's statements created a new platform for collective responses from all Ghanaians for the promotion of broader participation in Police reforms; identification of priority areas for programmatic intervention on Police and policing reform and helping to create a supportive network for the reform.
WHAT IS NECCESSARY
They urged the Government and the Police Administration to muster the political and operational will to implement the reform, since there were many more reforms on the shelves than on the ground.
President Kufuor explained that Ghana was considering a Five-Year Strategic Document, which would provide for far-reaching reforms; including a new Disciplinary Code; the Police Service Administration Regulation and Conditions of Service, which should brighten the career prospects of the entire staff of the Service.
Other areas worth noting include; defining political context and legal framework of policing; strengthening internal control systems and building community partnerships for policing.
He said even though globalization was inevitable, he stressed the need for Africa to prepare her citizens appropriately, not only to cope with it but to harness it for national development. He called on the Police Service to come out with new strategies to confront the increasing trans-national crime, which was posing danger to African governments.
The AU Chairman also disclosed a joint Police operation to be launched soon in the Sub-Region to combat the increasing trans-national crime.
Police Reforms should, therefore, be geared towards making the Police more effective and accountable - in line with international notions of democratic policing.
FRONTIERS OF DEMOCRATIC POLICING
Expanding the frontiers of Democratic Policing, Mr Sean Tait, Director of Criminal Justice Initiative of Open Society Foundation for South Africa, said it referred to the governance as well as the conduct of policing.
He mentioned in particular the protection of human rights, especially those that were required for the sort of unfettered political activity that was the hallmark of democracy as priority areas of democratic policing.
Central to the protection of human rights and of democracy is the protection of democratic political life itself. Police practice itself must thus be geared to this end, and must support and protect the political rights of citizens, including the rights of assembly and free speech.
He also urged Police Officers to recognize that they were also citizens of a democracy. As such they enjoyed the rights bestowed on them by law, and as members of the community needed to be treated in a manner consistent with their dignity and to enjoy decent conditions of service.
Contributing to the debate on Police Reforms, Mr Innocent Chukwuma, Executive Director of CLEEN Foundation, a non-governmental organisation based in Nigeria, noted that the demand for Police reform in Africa took place in difficult contexts, prominent among these was the transition from authoritarianism to liberal democracies and reform in post-conflict settings.
He, therefore, called for an effective advocacy mechanism for Police reform in the Sub-Region, which should focus on such critical issues as: The enforcement of legal accountability, civilian control and oversight of policing in the Sub-Region.
President Kufuor has spoken; the Media, Civil Society Actors; Academia; Politicians; Security Operatives and the general public need to adequately join forces to galvanize support for the immediate prosecution of the reform. 18 May 07
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GNA
Traders call for military and police patrol on Wa-Techiman road
Wa, May 19, GNA- Traders and the travelling public in the Upper West Region have expressed grave concern about the activities of armed robbers on the Wa-Bole-Techiman road, which had claimed lives and robbed several of them of their property.
The fear of armed robbers among the travelling public, especially traders who ply their trade between the region and the south, had discouraged them from transacting their businesses, a situation which was impacting negatively on the socio-economic progress of the people. The remoteness of communities along the road, some traders said, makes the road suitable for robbers to operate at will to the detriment of the travelling public.
The pathetic situation has become an everyday discussion forum for the people of the region, especially at the Ghana Private Road and Transport Union terminal in Wa where passenger group to board vehicles to the south. The Industrial Relations Officer of the Wa Regional Branch of the GPRTU, Mr. Nuhu Mahama, told the GNA that its outfit was considering daytime as the departure time for all passengers travelling to the south.
He noted that even though travelling during daytime could not make the road secure from armed robbery, it would help reduce their activities.
Mr. Mahama, on behalf of the travelling public appealed to the government to show sympathy to the people of the region who are already deprived by deploying a joint military and police patrol team on the road to secure it to enhance brisk business transaction. He also appealed to traditional rulers and the Regional Police Command of the Upper West, Northern and Brong Ahafo Regions to pool their resources and efforts by forming Community Watchdog Committees along the road to weed out all people of suspected characters.
"Fighting crime should be of concern to all and we must not relent in our efforts at ensuring the security of our people", he said.
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GNA
Govt discussing establishment of Trade Fair City
Accra, May 18, GNA - Mr Alan Kyerematen, Minister of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and PSI, on Friday announced that discussions were far advanced with a strategic investor from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to transform the current Trade Fair Centre into a Trade Fair City.
He said the new project would comprise offices blocks for corporate organisations, a financial centre, a commercial hub, hotels, exhibition centres, a premier residential project and shopping malls. He also said an overpass would be built across the road to link the fair to the hotels along the beach area.
Mr Kyerematen announced this during a visit to the Trade Fair Round Pavilion, whose massive superstructure caved in and collapsed on April 16.
This is the second time the Minister has visited the place to ascertain the cost of the damage and assess moves by government to rehabilitate the whole Trade Fair Site since the place has not seen any major renovation for the 45 years that it has been established. Mr Kyerematen said in spite of the fast growth in information technology and e-commerce, trade fairs and exhibitions remained a major important means for goods promotion and services in the global market. He called for regular and comprehensive renovation work at the site to preserve the buildings.
"The incident which happened exactly a month ago without any warning signs should be a wake up call for all of us to take a second look at the building complex," he said.
Mr Kyerematen also tasked the Architectural and Engineering Services Limited (AESL) to undertake a technical assessment of the collapsed structure and expand their scope of work to cover detailed technical audit of the entire trade fair to help pave way for comprehensive and thorough renovation exercise on all structures and facilities.
Ms Esther Dzifa Ofori, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Trade Fair Limited (GTFL), called for the immediate removal of the collapsed structure to avoid injury or loss of life and damage to property especially during the storms.
She said the structure was not damaged by any strong wind or storm but came down because it had outlived its lifespan since as it had seen any major rehabilitation for a long time.
Ms Ofori said even though there was no injury or loss of life the damage caused was colossal and constituted a major national tragedy particularly at a time when the promotion of trade and investment through fair and exhibitions was high on government's agenda.
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GNA
Our Phones Are Bugged – Mrs. Rawlings
The President of the discredited women’s wing of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), 31st December Women’s Movement, Mrs. Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, has accused the Kufuor-led government of acquiring phone-bugging machines for journalists to tap into her and the husband’s phones.
She said as part of its campaign to mount around the clock surveillance on the Rawlingses day-to-day activities, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government imported sophisticated and phone bugging machines from Israel at the cost of several thousands of dollars of the Ghanaian tax payer’s money.
Speaking on a number of commercial radio stations in Kumasi as part of her working visit to the Ashanti region, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings disclosed that three times they had information about the purchase from an Israeli official and soon after that information was relayed to them, the conversation became public. She said some New Patriotic Party journalists have access to those phone tapping machines which they persistently use to dub private conversations between her and her husband as well as other NDC functionaries.
The former first lady said President Kufuor and his NPP government bought those gadgets with the tax payers’ money at the time they claimed the NDC had plunged the economy into chaos and anarchy. She said it was during the same time that President Kufuor called for the adoption of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative.
She said all the machinations of the NPP government to destroy the NDC and its functionaries had so far failed and that peddling of lies had become its stock in trade. Nana Konadu renewed her strong hatred for President John Agyekum Kufuor and all that he stands for, describing the Ghanaian leader as the most corrupt, incompetent, a liar and a President who has presided over the worst form of human rights abuses in the county.
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Weekend Crusading Guide
First phase of Mampong Market to be inaugurated Wednesday
Mampong (Ash), May 18, GNA - The first phase of a multi-million cedi new market complex at Asante-Mampong is to be inaugurated next Wednesday in spite of some of market trader's unwillingness to move from the old market to the new one.
Mr Haruna Oppong Boateng, Sekyere West District Chief Executive, who made this known in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on Wednesday, said he and his staff were very busy supervising extension of electricity, water and other rehabilitation works on the new market. The DCE explained that the Assembly was making every effort to fence the market but said until that was done, day and night watchmen would be employed to provide security, which was the major concerned of the traders who complained that the place was a den of thieves and drug-addicts.
He said a five-member interim Management Committee would meet the various market queens and other leaders to discuss allocation of 260 market stalls and 20 lockable stores, 10 of which would be used as warehouses.
The first phase of the market, which was started in 1994 under the Village Infrastructure Project (VIP) has 260 stalls, 20 lockable stores, meat house, open space for vehicles to off-load goods, toilet facilities and refuse pad. The DCE said the second phase of the project comprising a three-storey, offices and health facilities would be commenced under the Community Based Rural Development Project (CBRDP) as soon as funds were made available.
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GNA
Two arrested in online scam
Edmonton RCMP uncover elaborate fraud based in Ghana
EDMONTON - An online fraud investigation by the RCMP has led to the arrest of two men in Ghana.
A western Canadian company reported numerous fraudulent charges on its credit cards. An investigation, led by the Edmonton RCMP commercial crime section, uncovered what police call a romance re-shipping scam.
The scam starts with people posting fake profiles on online dating sites. They build relationships very quickly with other unsuspecting people, before claiming that their favourite shopping site won't ship to the west African country. The scam artists then buy merchandise with stolen credit card numbers and ship it to the unsuspecting victim, who re-ships the products overseas, Cpl. Rob Moore said. By the time credit card companies and online retailers catch on, the products are gone and the victims are left with creditors on their doorstep.
A Canadian company reported a series of similar charges, Moore said. After an investigation revealed victims who had re-shipped the merchandise, the RCMP alerted Ghanaian officials. In this case, the scam had led to the shipment of a wide range of products, including TVs, DVDs, clothing, shoes, herbal remedies and computers.
"We're talking everything," Moore said.
The investigation led to the arrest of two Ghanaian men, ages 21 and 23, at an airport in the capital city of Accra, RCMP said today. They will be charged by the Ghana Serious Crime Office, said Moore, adding an arrest overseas is a rare success in these cases.
RCMP remind people to beware of such scams online. Anyone who asks to have something re-shipped by a third party may be involved in a similarly illicit operation.
Similar scams can be reported online at www.recol.ca.
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Edmonton Journal
Veep inspects works on Gushiegu District hospital project
Gushiegu, (N/R), May 18, GNA- Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama on Thursday inspected the 7.3 million- Euro expansion works on the Gushiegu District Hospital, which is due for completion by December, this year. The project, which is replicated in Begoro and Sokakope comprises a center pavilion, three wards for males, females and children, kitchen, laundry, doctors' bungalows, nursing quarters and a temporary accommodation facility for people accompanying patients. The expansion works also include a mortuary, public toilet, incinerators and transformer house and a security post. Vice President Mahama was at Gushiegu, in the Northern Region as part of his four-day official visit to Region, as well as the Upper East Region.
He expressed satisfaction about the quality of works and urged the contractors to strive to complete the project ahead of schedule. Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris Northern Regional Minister said the ruling New Patriotic Party, had bridged the development gap between the Southern part of the country and the North. He announced to the ecstatic crowd who besieged the project site to catch a glimpse of the Vice President that the government is proposing a sports stadium for Gushiegu.
Vice President Mahama earlier interacted with the chiefs of Nanton, Tampion and Gushiegu, where he appealed to them to live in peace and unity in order to attract more development projects. He assured the Nanton-Naa Alhaji Sulley Alhassan that the area would get their quota of the multi-million-dollar Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) being extended by the US to Ghana.
Vice President would address the West Mamprusi District Assembly on Friday and travel to the Upper East Region where he would be the Reviewing Officer at the passing out ceremony of a Community Corps at Bolgatanga.
He would also attend the 60th Anniversary celebration of St. John Bosco Training College at Navrongo.
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GNA
Police storm 31st DWM meeting
The election of regional executive members for the Ashanti regional branch of the December 31 Women's Movement (DMW) at the Salisburg Hotel in Kumasi was nearly marred on Wednesday when two uniformed Police Officers in crash helmets arrived at the premises.
They came in an Urvan bus with registration No. AS 3085 Q at exactly 3.30 p.m. in the company of 12 young men.
Hardly had the vehicle pulled up than a police officer and two of the boys rushed into the building at a time when the former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings was swearing the newly elected executives into office.
Without speaking to anyone, the intruders started picking up the sound equipment and compact discs of the spinning group - Georgino Soundz with Mr. Manu, a resident of Atonsu in Kumasi, as the DJ for the occasion.
When questioned about their rude interruption which was hardly noticed by media men present the group claimed they were from the Copyright Administration Office and that they were on their routine checks to ascertain whether the spinning group was using genuine CDs or pirated ones.
Nothing was however, carried away as they realized Manu was using genuine CDs.
Mr. Kofi Lawson, an Assistant Director in the office of the former President in charge of protocol condemned the intrusion, describing it as uncalled for. He wondered if the intruders were indeed from the Administration and if it was not a calculated attempt to mar the programme.
The elections formed part of activities marking the Silver Jubilee celebration of the DWM in the Ashanti Region under the theme: "Women for Empowerment and Development in Ashanti".
Miss Alice Konadu was elected Regional Chairperson with Grace Aboagye Yeboah and Veronica Antwi Adjei as the Regional Organizer and Secretary respectively.
The President of the Movement, Mrs. Rawlings urged the new executives to be dedicated and work hard to assert their loyalty to the Movement and the cause of women.
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Ghanaian Chronicle
Nana Konadu slams re-denomination
... move is an NPP diversionary tactic
Kumasi, May 18, GNA - Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings, former First Lady, has appealed to Ghanaians to be vigilant and guard against what she described as attempts by government to shift the attention of the masses from the harsh economic situation in the country by re-denominating the cedi.
She said re-denomination of the cedi did not amount to stability of the economy, alleging that the move was one of the diversionary tactics by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government to cover up its failure to restructure the nation's economy.
Nana Konadu cited the energy crisis, mass industrial actions by workers, high incidence of armed robberies and guinea-worm cases in the country as some of the failures of the NPP since it was given the mandate some seven years ago.
She was speaking at the Ashanti Regional Delegates' Conference of the 31st December Women's Movement (DWM) in Kumasi on Wednesday. Nana Konadu, who is the National President of the Movement, pointed out that since the government had failed to deliver on its campaign promises, the citizenry should muster courage and vote the NPP out of office in the 2008 elections.
She said it was regrettable that in spite of the numerous development projects undertaken by the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to improve the living conditions of Ghanaians during the past years, the "NPP continues to discredit the immediate past government for doing virtually nothing".
The former First Lady said contrary to these assertions and criticisms however, the PNDC/NDC were on record to have chalked a major breakthrough in restructuring the nation's economy, citing the economic recovery programme initiated by the PNDC in the early part of the 1980s.
"It is worth mentioning that this recovery programme received commendation from the World Bank as the initiative transformed the growth rate of Ghana's economy from below zero to about 5.5 per cent", she noted.
Nana Konadu challenged well-meaning members of the DWM to be proactive and work hard to improve upon the status of women since they remained one of the vulnerable groups in the society. The former First Lady said the Movement believed in democratic principles and as such entreated members to be tolerant of divergent views and also strive to foster unity among the Movement and other women's groups in the country.
Mr Daniel Ohene Agyekum, Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NDC, noted that despite the numerous challenges the party was facing, it was optimistic to chalking a landslide victory in the 2008 elections. Mrs Evelyn Konadu was elected new Regional Chairperson of the Movement while Mrs Grace Aboagye-Yeboah and Madam Veronica Antwi-Agyei were elected as Organizer and Secretary respectively.
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GNA
419 con falls on his own dagger
The stench of ‘free’ cash proved too powerful a lure in the nostrils of a conman, and after duping a victim of $48,000, he ended up in a police-knitted web crafted for his arrest as he went for more.
Akpomofune Omamurhumu Lewis, a Nigerian national who has been living in Ghana for over a year and a half, is putting up with the police and is due for court soon after he succeeded in defrauding a Mexican lady to the tune of $48, 000.
A CID source at the Police Headquarters said on April 10, 2007, the unit received a complaint from the victim through the Police website.
Lewis, who has been living in Ghana for about one-and-half years, began communicating with his victim in 2006. He assumed the name Jude Mensah and told his victim that he was a Liberian Refugee whose parents and siblings died during the Liberian war and left behind trunks of boxes containing $38 million, which had been kept in a security company called "Secure Global Security".
Through the internet, he requested help from the victim to enable him claim the money and transfer it to a foreign country. He also assured the victim of a commission of 20 percent for her assistance.
Along the line Lewis assumed a new identity as Mark Kofi, Director for Secure Global Security. And as the victim became interested, Lewis demanded money on different occasions to pay to the secu¬rity company, prepare power of attorney and for change of ownership among others.
The victim sent several sums of money totaling $48,000 but never received the $38 million dollars promised. The victim became suspi¬cious and sent a complaint to the CID.
On May 5, Akpomofune Lewis, aka Mark Kofi, aka Jude Mensah, was lured from his hide out to a spot at the Shining Beach at Nungua with the promise of more money from his victim and arrested.
In his caution statement the suspect admitted having defrauded his victim while investigations have established that Secure Global Security Company does not exist.
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Public Agenda
Pastor bribes Police
The Police Administration has interdicted two police officers in the Brong Ahafo Region in connection with an alleged bribery scandal in a cocaine deal.
Deputy Superintendent of Police T.K Tindow, Wenchi Divisional Police Commander and Inspector J.K Tandoh, an investigator allegedly collected about 15 million cedis from a pastor who was arrested with a quantity of a substance suspected to be cocaine last month.
Confirming this, DSP Kwasi Ofori, acting Head of the Police Public Relations Directorate said the Police Administration was stunned by reports that Mr Tindow himself tested the substance by tasting it, after which he allegedly set the pastor free, having concluded that the substance was not cocaine.
Mr Ofori quoted the IGP as saying “This is a signal to all officers of the service to sit up and do the right thing as we will not cover up anyone.”
He said it was wrong for the police officer not to have sent the substance to the forensic laboratory for testing. He expressed concern that in spite of the crusade against improper handling of drug related issues, "this should happen at Wenchi".
Mr Tindow is already under investigations following an allegation by the suspected marijuana (wee) farmer, Alexander Kufuor Frimpong that he had been paying the Divisional Commander c25 million bribe monthly to keep the police away from his farm.
Frimpong, wanted by the Police in connection with the discovery of the four hectare “wee” plantation at Ehiamankyere in the Wenchi district reportedly made the allegation against Mr. Tindow from his hide-out and threatened the life of Brong-Ahafo Regional Police Commander, Kwaku Ayesu Opare-Addo, “for destroying my 120,000 dollar farm.”
Mr. Opare-Addo declined to comment on Mr. Tindow’s interdiction when the Times contacted him. “I don’t have any information for you, you should contact the police public officer,’ he said yesterday.
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Ghanaian Times
Childhood mental disorders to rise
Accra, May 18, GNA - Childhood mental disorders will rise by over 50 per cent globally by 2020 to become one of the five common causes of morbidity, mortality and disability among children.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), mental health problems in children were becoming common with some of them experiencing depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic, post-traumatic stress phobias, attention deficit hyperactivity, eating disorders and manic depressive illness.
Mr. Joseph Osafo, a lecturer at the Psychology Department of the University of Ghana, said this on the second day of the Ghana Medical Association's Eighth Annual Public Lecture under the theme: "Home Environment and Health" in Accra.
The annual lecture was to provide a platform to enable stakeholders deliberate on issues that affect the environment and determine one's state of health.
Mr Osafo who spoke on the topic: "Psychological/Mental Environment for Growth" explained that the period from birth to the age of 12 years of every child was when many physical, emotional and intellectual changes occur.
The environment the child is born into either enhances normal growth or exposes the child to all possible developmental or mental health problems.
He said though the family was the first unit a child was born into to offer the needed support, "the increased stress and fracturing of the life today make it difficult for children to receive quality support in the home that count towards the development of health mental life". He mentioned other risk factors in the home that expose the growing child to mental problems as severe parental discord, parental depression, stressful life events, economic hardships and lack of parental attention.
Mr Osafo urged parents to create the right environment for the child's mental health by vaccinating them against measles to prevent neuro-behavioural complications, practicing safe sex and maternal screening for the prevention of syphilis and HIV, which also have neuro-behavioural manifestations.
Showing them unconditional love and giving them the needed attention, encouraging them to develop their social skills, taking active interest in what the child enjoys doing in school and encouraging children to talk about what is happening in their lives would also help address mental problems in children.
He called for a mental health policy to address the developmental needs of Ghanaians and map out strategies to curb debilitating psychological factors that can disrupt health mental development of children.
Mrs Gladys Peprah Boateng, Chief Dietician of the 37 Military Hospital, speaking under the topic: "Nutrition-Common Practice and Health" said over-consumption of food accompanied by relatively sedentary lifestyles could result in obesity and pose an increased risk for major health problems.
She said the choice of food should be based on the various food groupings such as energy, body building and protective foods whilst timing of meals should be taken into consideration. Mrs Peprah Boateng cautioned that handling and preparation of food should be done in a manner that would ensure safety and maintenance of the integrity of nutrients to ensure maximum benefits. "Proper nutrition education coupled with behaviour change is critical to adopting the right practice that will impact positively on health", she added.
Dr Francis Adu-Ababio, President of the Ghana Medical Association, said avoidable home injuries such as burns from boiling water or food had children as the main victims, yet, "we do not take preventive measures to protect the vulnerable in the homes".
He noted that "environmentally mediated" disease burden was much higher in developing countries than in the developed world and called for better management of the environment which came up for discussion under the seventh Millennium Development Goal.
"Since the home is a projection of our environment, it is obvious that by improving our homes, our health status would be improved," he said.
18 May 07
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GNA
Ghana still suffering from mental slavery
Koforidua, May 18, GNA- The Eastern Regional Director of the Centre for National Culture (CNC), Mr Kingsley Obeng, has observed that although mental slavery is the last vestige of the colonialism yoke Ghana experienced, it has been the most enduring of that unfortunate legacy.
He said whi le political freedom has been won, that of mental slavery continue to assail the people, adding that the nascent effects of the phenomenon will persist unless concrete steps such as revising the nation's school curriculum are taken to allow for the formation of new mental attitudes.
He was emphatic that without a revision of the educational curriculum in Ghana to allow for pedagogical instructions in Ghanaian heritage studies, not much will be achieved in terms of mental freedom. Mr Obeng was speaking on the topic: 'the Relevance of Emancipation Day in Ghana: the Cultural Perspective' at an Emancipation Day celebration organized by the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB) for secondary schools, media practitioners and players in the hospitality industry at Koforidua on Wednesday.
Mr Obeng premised his expos=E9 on the legendary Bob Marley's hit reggae song of which excepts reads 'emancipate yourself from mental slavery,' noting that subject matter of that song is as relevant for the present generation as it was to the audience for which it was composed. Mr. Obeng marveled at the voluptuous appetite for foreign products, including second-hand panties while very few people patronize local fabrics manufactured to promote national identity.
According to Mr Obeng, many Ghanaians have become de-personalized and dominated by foreign values and in the case of the youth, they have developed a false perception which did not see anything attractive about Ghanaian cultural products. He said not only were such attitudes false and misplaced, but in addition the proponents tended to exhibit a certain ignorance about Ghanaian culture such as equating everything African to juju practice.
The Registrar of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs, Mr Kwesi Sarkodie Opoku, in a contribution, said although the Pan-African Historical Theater Festival (PANAFEST) has the capacity and potential of attracting a huge number of international and domestic tourists, the event has often been plagued with poor organization and staffing. He stressed the need for a salaried Director and staff to be appointed to oversee the affairs of festival and as well enable them to develop a strategic plan for fund raising to enable the PANAFEST secretariat become a self-financing institution.
In a welcoming address, the Eastern Regional Director of the GTB, Mr Sampson Donkor, appealed to the media for support to enable the board to sensitize the people of
the region and propagate its activities.
Source:
GNA
Schools plastic recycling launched
Accra, May 18, GNA - A new schools plastic recycling initiative aimed at encouraging school children to dispose of their plastic properly through a school collection process was on Friday launched in Accra with the hope that the initiative would help reduce the plastic waste menace in the city. The initiative, designed by two female foreign interns from The Hague University in the Netherlands on attachment to the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment (MLGRDE), is also aimed at increasing awareness on the benefits of recycling to schools.
The various classes within selected schools for the pilot are expected to compete within their schools with the best school selected at the end of the term through a daily collect, weigh and record process. The project is linked to a private recycling industry, Blowplast, which is expected to collect the waste from the schools and reward the schools financially. Waste to be collectd include all plastic wares regarded as waste, particularly water sachets and black carrier bags. Lauding the two interns, Ms Jennifer Visser and Ms Marijke Boonstra, for the initiative, Mr Stephen Asamoah Boateng, Minister, MLGRDE expressed the hope that the project would be sustained and expanded to the regions
after the initiators had returned to their countries. He said the present state of sanitation in the cities and major towns was not only in crisis but a threat to the health of the people, for which reason all citizens needed to be concerned. In spite of government's efforts to tackle the problem, and the fact that so much resource had been committed to tackle the problem, the waste has kept on engulfing the cities mainly due to the refusal of people to change their attitudes and behaviours, Mr Asamoah Boateng said.
"Our drains are choked with garbage and human excreta; our open spaces and beaches which should serve as recreational grounds have become defecating and dumping sites for all kinds of waste including plastic. "What is worse is to see people pouring out their garbage into the drain with any downpour of rain hoping it would carry it away and without caring if their action was the cause of floods or filth on our beaches," he said.
Mr Asamoah Boateng said if the sanitation laws were enforced with education, there could be a reversal in people's attitudes and behaviours. "It is for this reason that government has brought back the feared "Tankase or Sama Sama to check and bring to book people found to flout the law." He expressed the hope that the project would have the ultimate aim of creating more sustainable awareness among children and the families on proper disposal of plastic waste within the metropolis. "A lot of concern has been expressed about the way and manner plastics are disposed of in the environment and as a ministry we are determined to bring normalcy into the system," he said. Ms Visser said when they first arrived in Ghana in January for their internship with MLGRDE they were touched by the abundance of plastic waste in the environment and therefore decided to initiate a project that would help reduce the amount of plastic waste in the environment. The new initiative is a collaboration between the public and private sector to deal with the problem, she said
Source:
GNA
Police nab five for cutting rail line
Kade, 17, GNA - The Kade police have mounted an operation leading to the arrest of five people for cutting a portion of the disused Kade-Achiase railway line into pieces with intent to trading them as metal scraps.
The five are Samuel Addo, 43, spare parts and scraps dealer, Joseph Mensah, 23, welder, Mohammed Yaya, 24, diamond dealer, Daniel Attah, 21, electrician, and Sulemana Saeed, 40, a welder.
All five have been detained in police cells at Akwatia and Kade to allow further investigations to be conducted. Briefing newsmen at Kade, the District Commander of Police, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Mr Samuel Yeboah said based on a tip-off that some unknown persons had cut a portion of the disused Kade-Achiase railway line on the Kade-Kusi road, he detailed two policemen to go with the informant to verify.
ASP Yeboah said when the police went they found that a portion of the line had been cut into pieces ready for conveyance. The Police therefore laid ambush and during the night, two of the suspects Mensah and Atta alighted from a taxi and walked towards where the line had been cut into pieces.
ASP Yeboah said when his men confronted the two denied any wrongdoing, but upon interrogation, the taxi driver confessed that he was hired by the two to go and convey some metals and cylinders from the bush.
He said when the two were brought before him, Atta initially denied but Mensah confessed that they hired the driver to go and convey the items.
The District Police Commander said when he cautioned Atta to say the truth since his accomplice had confessed, he mentioned Yaya as the one who sent them to go and convey the items. Yaya, he said was arrested in his house at Kade Zongo. According to ASP Yeboah, whilst the three were being escorted to the scene, Yaya spotted Addo near the charge office of the Kade Police Station and pointed him out as their master who engaged them to do the work for him. He said when the police vehicle turned and went to where Addo was spotted he was no where to be found but was later arrested Suleimana Saeed, 40 a welder was picked up at Akwayia as the one who operated the rail-cutting machine machine.
The District Commander said Saeed confessed that he was allegedly engaged by Addo for a fee of 500,000 cedis to execute the job and brought out the welding machine. All the five would be put before court for prosecution after investigations by the police, he said. Meanwhile, the five, whose plea were not taken have been remanded into the Nsawam Prisons for two weeks by a District Magistrate Court at Kade. They were charged on two counts of conspiracy and stealing and are to reappear before the court on May 13, at the court, presided over by Mr Kwaku Baah Frimpong. 17 May 07
Source:
GNA
Ghana Telecom honours loyal customers
Takoradi, May 17, GNA - Ghana Telecom (GT) on Thursday presented awards to 20 of its loyal customers at a ceremony to climax World Telecommunications Day. The Day was on the theme: "Connecting the Young: The Opportunities of ICT".
The customers made up of 10 corporate institutions and individuals were rewarded for their prompt payment of bills and loyalty to GT. They were also treated to a corporate lunch as part of the awards package and presented with other GT souvenirs. Mr John Appiah Boateng, Western Regional Manager of GT said the company was now focusing on satisfying its customers, increasing its capacities, widening coverage and enhancing quality of services and pricing to suit customer's incomes. He said the establishment of the Care for U centres are meant to enhance customer satisfaction and to make services of GT easily accessibly to all.
Mr Boateng said feedback was an essential ingredient in the life of every business and urged customers not to ignore this practice. Mr Anthony E Amoah, Western Regional Minister, said the celebration of the Telecommunications Day coupled with the increasing challenges in the sector must motivate GT to increase and expand its services to other deprived communities. He said ICT was crucial and all stakeholders must make conscious efforts to streamline it to meet the needs of the youth who constitute a greater percent of the population. Mr Amoah, however, cautioned that thefts of telephone cables and other gadgets apart from retarding the progress of the company could also defeat the ICT agenda of the nation. Mr Isaac A Afful, Manager of the Lower Prah Rural Bank in his contribution said the lack of fixed lines services at Shama was hampering the activities of the bank and called on the management of GT to rectify the situation. He appealed to the management of GT to constantly interact with its clients and also conduct outreach programmes in tertiary institutions to win more customers. Mr Joseph A Boakye, Commercial Manager of GT, said presently the company had a total of 18,000 customers in the Western Region alone and expressed the hope to attract more with their new brands. Mr Dayal Hotchand, Managing Director of Lucky Bazaar Supermarket, thanked the management of GT for the awards. He said it was the first time in the history of the company to award its customers, adding that such activities apart from strengthening relationship, enhanced business growth.
17 May 07
Source:
GNA
Ghana Telecom to rehabilitate Care 4U centres
Wa , May 18, GNA - The management of Ghana Telecommunications Company, (GT) has embarked on a programme to rehabilitate and refurbish 48 Care 4U centres nation-wide to improve customer satisfaction of its services.
It is also implementing a strategic programme to increase capacity, widen coverage and enhance quality of service. Mr Emmanuel Ayettey, Upper West Regional Manager of Ghana Telecom announced this at the celebration of World Telecommunications Day at Wa on Thursday.
It was celebrated under the theme "Ayekoo to all our customers for patronizing Ghana Telecom, a truly Ghanaian company." Mr Ayettey said management had initiated a training programme for its employees to develop a more customer- friendly environment and a customer-focused work force.
He said the company had extended its GSM mobile service to Wa Municipality, Nadowli, Lawra, Hain, Tumu, Nandom and Sawla. Mr Ayettey said the service would soon be extended to Jirapa, Bole, Gwollu, Gaa, Wechiau and Wa South. He assured its customers that it would deal with enquiries, complaints and requests promptly and efficiently and act on feedback from customers.
Source:
GNA
TMA Health/Environment Committee destroys unwholesome chicken
Tema Manhean, May 17, GNA - Personnel from Tema Municipal Assembly (TMA) Sub Committee on Sanitation, Health and Environment on Wednesday destroyed 160 cartons of unwholesome frozen chicken being smoked and sold to the public at reduced price.
Silver Platter Company, the warehouse that sold the chicken has been sealed off and the owner whose name was not disclosed would be prosecuted for selling unwholesome meat to consumers.
Mr Peter Amuzu, Tema Municipal Chief Environmental Health Officer (CEHO) told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Tema that the personnel were on special rounds to inspect the handling of meat and fish products in the cold stores and among fishmongers.
He said at Tema Manhean they saw some women smoking the chicken and out of curiosity approached them and realised from the colour that they were unwholesome.
Mr Amuzu said the chicken were seized and compelled the women to lead them to the cold store where they bought them. He said at the cold store, they met one Jacobs the administrator/secretary who informed the personnel that the owner of the chicken was not available.
Mr Amuzu said they ordered them to stop further sale of the chicken and sealed the premises for investigations. He said the women involved would be issued with certificate of destruction to enable them claim a refund from the owner of the chicken. The women, Madam Akua Oforiwaa and Madam Elizabeth Commey claimed that they were not aware the chicken was unwholesome but the management of Silver Platter Company blamed them for not preserving the chicken well.
Mr Amuzu advised the public to desist from buying roasted chicken from the market since they were unsafe and unhygienic for human consumption.Source:
GNA
21,289 sitting for WASSCE in the Eastern Region.
Koforidua, May 17, GNA- The Eastern Regional Controller of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Mr. Stanley Senyo Akuaku, has attributed the incident-free conduct of the West African Senior School Certificate Examinations in the region so far to a number of remedial actions taken by the council to improve on its services.
He said a number of programmes organized for candidates by the council to remind them of examination offences and the punishment that goes with such breaches seem to be bearing fruits.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency at Koforidua on Wednesday, Mr. Akuaku also attributed the smooth conduct of the examination to the adequate security arrangements at the various centers and depots throughout the region.
In addition, he said, the council is constantly entreating supervisors to remind candidates to report suspicious characters who come to them peddling fake examination papers to the school authorities for the necessary action to be taken.
On the number of students sitting for examinations this year, Mr. Akuaku said there had been a near ten percent increase in the number from 19,201 in 2006 to 21,289 this year.
The New Juaben Municipality with eight schools leads the pack with 2,947 candidates followed by the Kwahu South District, which has 2,825 students writing at nine centres.
The Kwahu North district presented the least number of 300 candidates for its two schools sitting at the same centre at Donkorkrom, the district capital.
In an interview with the GNA, the Assistant Headmaster in charge Academics at the Effiduase-Koforidua Pope John's Junior Seminary and Secondary School, Mr. Mathias Kudiabor, expressed his satisfaction with the conduct of the exams so far, saying there had not been any hitches as well as malpractices by the 498 students writing their papers at the school.
The story was similar at the Koforidua Secondary-Technical School where an Assistant Headmaster, Mr. Samuel Foli described the examinations as having been very peaceful.
17 May 07
Source:
GNA
Koforidua Polytechnic sacks ten students.
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Koforidua, May 17, GNA- The authorities of the Koforidua Polytechnic have handed down severe punishments on a number of students for attempting to bring the conduct of its examinations into disrepute. A statement issued by the Polytechnic and signed by the acting Registrar, Nii Annang Mensah-Livingstone, said nine students are to be withdrawn from the school for possessing foreign materials while taking their first semester examinations held in February 2007 and another for being the source of a leak.
Those to be dismissed include David Dotse and Dorothy Koranteng both first year Higher National Diploma (HND) Marketing Students, Alice Asante-Yeboah, of the second year HND Accountancy class, as well as Prince Gyasi Boakye, first year HND Accountancy candidate and Daniel Ofori, HND Accountancy option.
The others are Otuo Acheampong, second year Purchasing and Supply student, Kenny Albert, first year HND Purchasing and Supply, and Adnan Fuseini, first year HND student in Computer science.
The letter indicated that Ebenezer Dolley, a third year HND student in Purchasing and Supply is to be withdrawn from the school for being the source of the leakage of the 'Legal Aspects of Purchasing' paper. Four students are being rusticated for two semesters (one academic year) for either having a fore knowledge of the 'Legal Aspects of Purchasing' paper or for exchanging question papers during a first year marketing paper.
They are Happy Adams Gakpe and Dorcas Ofori, both second year HND students in Purchasing and Supply who are expected to report back to school at the beginning of the second semester of the 2008/2009 academic year.
The other two are first year students in HND Marketing option, Sandra Kyiraa Agyei and Bernice Agyei Asamoah.
Source:
GNA
No market for Upper East tomato farmers
Bolgatanga, May 17, GNA- Tomato farmers in the Upper East Region have appealed to the Government to come out with pragmatic measures to ensure that they get market for their produce.
This was contained in a statement released by the Coalition of Tomatoes Farmers in collaboration with the Trade and Livelihood Coalition, a non-governmental organisation, and signed by Mr. Bismark Ayorogo Adongo, a member of the Tomatoes Farmers.
It stated that whilst appreciating government's concern over the perennial problem farmers' encountered during harvest periods, the authorities certainly needed to do more about their situation. The statement indicated, "This year has been the worst year in the memory of tomato farmers. There have been no factory trucks and there were very few tomato crates. Worst still promises to pay fair prices became a failure, leading to most of the farmers committing suicide". The farmers called on Government to provide them and the general public with information about the revamping of the Pwalugu Tomato Factory.
The statement appealed to government and investors at the Northern Star Company to come to the aid of tomato farmers in the region, by providing them with factory trucks, more crates and purchasing their products at fair prices.
Source:
GNA
Fire destroys property at Nkawkaw.
Nkawkaw , May 17, GNA -Fire on Tuesday gutted a number of shops and tailoring shops at Nkawkaw leaving in its trail an estimated five hundred million cedis loss.
Bails of fabrics, tailoring machines and cash worth over five hundred million cedis were destroyed in the inferno as the fire swept through two containers, a kiosk and a wooding structure belonging to a tailor and two seamstresses in the early hours of last Tuesday.
The items destroyed also include 300 pairs of shoes, 150 shirts, eight electric sewing machines, 25 manual sewing machines, two over-lock machines, 50 jeans trousers, 20 bundles of khaki and polyesters materials, 10 bails of wax prints and school uniforms.
Additionally, a cash of 10 million cedis cash locked up in the two containers and kiosk was burnt.
A shop owner and a victim of the fire, Mr. Kwasi Agyekum of Akonta Tailoring Limited, told the GNA that he received a telephone call at about 1300 hours last Tuesday that his container was in flames. He said by the time he got to the scene, officials of the Ghana National Fire Service were already there trying to put off the fire, but because it took over two hours to bring the fire under control, all the items in his shop got burnt.
According to Mr. Agyekum, he returned from Accra the previous evening with quantity of goods to stock the shop only for it to be destroyed by the fire the following morning.
He appealed to the Kwahu West District Assembly and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) for financial and logistic assistance to enable him and the other victims to start their business again.
Meanwhile the Ghana National Fire Service is investigating the cause of the fire.
Source:
GNA
NPP In Another 419 Scam?
Hackman’s Affordable Housing Project looking Like Another IFC/CNTCI
(Lens) -- The NPP government recently announced that a memorandum of understanding was signed with a US based company, Global Interest LLC for the construction of about 15,000 houses categorized as affordable houses.
Under the agreement, Global Interest LLC, the company in question, is to finance the construction of one, two and three bedroom apartments for onward sale or rental through the Government of Ghana.
Checks by scouts of The Lens on the US Company are revealing startling disclosures pointing to the fact that the housing deal is most likely another IFC/CNTCI-like 419 scam the NPP government is entering into.
The Lens can reveal that there are serious question marks hanging around Global Interest LLC.
Checks with The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts have shown that the company is not even in good standing.
The company is essentially a one man company having only one director who also holds the position of President. The name of the sole director cum President of Global Interest LLC is Steve Ams.
The Houston Texas based company in whose hands the NPP government has placed the country’s dream of the construction of 15,000 affordable homes, our checks reveal, has not even been able to construct an office of its own and operates from a residential premise located at 9807, Hobart DR, Sugar Land, TX 77478.
The Lens can reveal that the reason why the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts has placed the company in the category of “Not In Good Standing” is because the company has not been able to honour its Tax Requirements.
After the massive embarrassment the NPP government has suffered through the IFC/CNTCI scandals, it is amazing that the government can still be committing the nation to a deal without having done the simplest and most basic background checks on parties it wants to deal with.
Source:
Lens 17.05.2007