Increase penalty for illegal use of military uniform – Churcher
Accra, 23.03.2007, GNA - Ms Christine Churcher, Member of Parliament for Cape Coast, on Thursday called for a stiffer penalty to persons who use military uniform to commit crimes.
"What is six or 24 million cedis to an armed robber," she queried, in a contribution to a motion for the amendment of the "Restriction on the Use of Military Uniforms and Equipment Bill" on the floor of Parliament.
Ms Churcher said the range of penalty between six million and 24 million cedis as proposed in the amendment was nothing to write home about compared to the lives lost and severe effects victims suffer at the hands of armed robbers who don military attire for nefarious activities.
In an apparent certificate of urgency, the Minister of National Security, Mr Francis Poku, moving the motion, which was considered and passed the same day said the amendment sought to make pecuniary penalty more realistic in view of the fact that people were using military uniforms to commit armed robbery and other acts of intimidation.
The Bill seeks to amend Section 4(1) of the parent Act National Liberation Council Decree (NLCD) 177 of 1967, to increase the penalty for the contravention of provisions under the Decree to deter and prohibit the sale, purchase and use of military uniforms and equipment without authorization.
Punishment amounting to not less than three months and not exceeding 12 months or a fine or to both is imposed in the proposed amendment Bill for the breach of any of the provisions.
Ms Churcher said there had been road blocks in the night by unidentifiable people in military and police uniforms on the Accra- Cape-Coast road, and reiterated the call to ensure maximum security on the country's highways.
Military and Police uniforms were not fashionable attires and Ghanaians should condemn in no uncertain terms anybody, apart from the security personnel who wore them.
Alhaji Abubakar Sumani, NDC-Tamale North also spoke of harassment of travellers to the extent of stripping women naked on the highways in the Brong Ahafo Region and endorsed the suggestion to increase the punishment for people who illegally wore military uniforms and handled military equipment.
Mr Edward Doe-Adjaho, Deputy Minority Leader said the amendment provided an opportunity to review the whole legislation to include the illegal wearing of uniforms of other state security agencies such as the police and the immigration services.
The House, however engage in a length debate on whether the Ghana Armed Forces included all the state security agencies since each had its own council.
Mr Joseph Boahene Aidoo, NPP-Amenfi East observed that the uniform of some private security agencies was not different from that of the state security agencies and endorsed calls by other members for clear cut distinction between the two.
Mr William Ofori Boafo, Deputy Minister of Defence, called for intensive education on the use of the uniforms of the state security agencies.
Alhaji Collins Dauda, NDC-Asutifi South, said it was not absolutely true that the security agencies illegally gave uniforms to civilians for criminal activities but rather such uniforms could be imported into the country.
He called for thorough scrutiny of the moral backgrounds of applicants into the state security services, adding that there must be stringent checks at the country's entry points to prevent any influx of illegal military uniforms.
Earlier, the House adopted the Report of the Committee of the Whole on the Proposed formula for Sharing of the District Assemblies' Common Fund for the year 2007.
The Report recommended the setting up of a committee by Parliament to look into the modalities and processes of MPs accessing their share of the Fund with least difficulty.
It also recommended that 67 per cent of the 15 per cent allocation for sanitation should be set aside for sanitation management under the National Youth Employment Programme.
The Committee also suggested that steps should be taken "to urge the Executive on the need to increase the Common Fund from five per cent to seven per cent."
The House had earlier passed the Customs and Excise (Duties and Other Taxes) (Amendment) Bill 2006 and the Internal Revenue (Amendment) Bill 2007.
Source: GNA
Ghana marks World TB Day
Accra, 23.03.2007, GNA -
Dr. Frank Adae Bonsu, Programme Manager, National TB Control on Friday said TB incidence rate has levelled off at 57 per 100,000 over the last three years.
This he attributed to the combined effort made at combating it and expressed his gratitude to partners in the fight for assisting in the effective treatment of 123,000 patients since 1996, which had averted 26,000 deaths.
Speaking at this year's world TB Day in Accra on the theme: "TB anywhere is TB everywhere", he said 702 deaths were recorded in 2005 averaging two deaths per day while nearly 250,000 people had been protected from acquiring new TB infections in the country at the cost of over 10 billion cedis.
Dr. Bonsu said 70 percent of patients were in the economic productive age bracket of between 15 and 45 years, adding that the age group was sexually active and risk contracting HIV.
Despite the 73 percent success rate compared to 15 percent in 1996, TB still remained a public health problem in Ghana.
The theme, he said, was a wake up call for all not to be complacent, especially with new deadlier forms of TB being reported elsewhere in the world.
"With this emerging trend, we face a challenge as we work towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for TB, reducing by half, prevalence and death rates by 2015, he said.
"We use this occasion to also remember all those who have succumbed to TB, a preventable and curable condition", he said.
In a speech read on behalf of Regional Director of World Health Organization, (WHO) Dr Luis Sambo, Dr Joachim Saweke WHO Representative in Ghana said despite good progress with implementing the Direct Observation Therapy Strategy (DOTS) TB cases had continued to rise in many countries in the sub-region of Africa.
He said access to diagnostic and treatment services was not yet universal and the quality of available services remains low with only half of the existing TB cases being identified and put on treatment. He noted that where HIV prevalence was high, TB incidence had increased making TB and HIV co-infection with the main epidemiological factor driving the TB epidemic in the region, adding that in some areas in southern and east Africa, over 50 percent of TB patients had HIV with 40 percent AIDS deaths due to TB.
He said the gravity of the situation had enabled Ministers f Health of the African Region to declare TB a public health emergency and to accelerate the fight against the epidemic. He called on Political leadership in all member states to dedicate adequate resource to fight against TB and to champion the call to attain universal access to high quality TB services. The Regional Director pledged the commitment of the regional office to provide technical support for countries to promote implementation of effective TB control programmes capable of reducing suffering and death towards the MDGs' targets.
Source:
GNA
Asantehene pledges support for tourism
Kumasi, March 23, GNA -
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene, has pledged to support the promotion of tourism in the country as a tool for socio-economic development.
He has therefore expressed his happiness towards the positive trend shown in tourism participation by Ghanaians and asked that more could be done to expose the cultural values of the country to the outside world.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu said this in a speech delivered on his behalf by Daasebre Osei Bonsu II, Mamponghene at the first West Africa Tourism Union (WATU) Tourism Fair and Exhibition at the Centre for National Culture (CNC) in Kumasi on Thursday.
He charged the Ministry of Tourism and Diasporan Relations to establish a separate secretariat for WATU in the country to enhance its work of promoting tourism in Ghana.
The Asantehene assured the stakeholders of his readiness to provide an office in Kumasi for the secretariat, saying, 93Kumasi is a region with rich cultural heritage in promoting tourism in the country".
Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Minister of Tourism and Diasporan Relations, praised the effort of WATU in promoting tourism in Ghana and the sub-region as a whole and pledged the support of his ministry to WATU in the attainment of the objective.
He expressed concern about the poor finishing stage of artifacts in the country and advised that much should be done to improve the finishing stage to meet the world market standard.
Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey said the country stood to gain much from tourism in foreign exchange earnings and urged Ghanaians to work together in promoting the rich cultural values of the country. Nana Prempeh Annin-Bonsu, WATU President, announced that the current seven per cent growth of tourism in the sub-region was a sign of positive response towards the cultural values of Africans. He said, in respect of the growth there was the need to build on it in reaching higher level next year.
Nana Annin-Bonsu said the sub-region should see tourism as developmental tool for its economy and asked that more investments be channeled to tourism promotion.
Mr Osei Assibey-Antwi, Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister, who chaired the function, expressed gratitude to the organizers for hosting the first ever WATU tourism fair in Kumasi since it is at the forefront of tourism in the country.
Ghana, Burkina-Faso, Benin, Togo and Nigeria are participating in the fair and items such as painting works, batik products, pottery, kente cloths and sculpture are on display at the exhibition.
Source:
GNA
Hawa Yakubu was not poisoned – Coomson
Accra, 23.03.2007, GNA - The late Hawa Yakubu, former MP for Bawku Central, did not die from poisoning as being speculated. ”Food poison or any sort of poison is definitely ruled out as has been widely speculated,” a statement signed in Accra on Friday by Kofi Coomson, owner of the Chronicle newspapers, on behalf of the family and children said.
“While the official autopsy is yet to be released, it is safe to say that she died from cancer and had gone through chemotherapy sessions,” the statement said. Chemotherapy is used to describe medications that treat cancer.
The statement said the condition of Madam Hawa “stabilised for a while before the onset of a crisis on Monday and she died at the Barnet General Hospital".
It said she would have loved a special song composed for her by Sly Collins – Sweet Mother Feat – on the Total Unity CD to be played for her on her birthday which falls on Saturday.
The statement said Madam Hawa Yakubu, who died a few days before her birthday, would be buried in Pusiga, in the Upper East Region.
“Her senior brothers will be leaving to London in the next few days to help her sisters living in London to bring the body back to Ghana.”
Madam Yakubu, popularly known as "Iron Lady" for her resilience, forthrightness, determination to fight, died in a London Hospital after a battle with cancer.
She was a former MP for Bawku Central, Minister of Tourism and Member of the ECOWAS Parliament.
Madam Yakubu, a native of Pusiga in the Upper East Region, was born in Tarkwa in the Western Region on March 24, 1948 to Mr Yakubu Awinaba and Hajia Azore.
She attended the Zebilla Middle School, Navrongo Secondary School and Accra Polytechnic where she obtained a certificate in Institutional Management. She recently obtained a Master's Degree in Leadership and Governance from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration.
Madam Yakubu's political career started in 1979 when she was elected into the Local Council, which in turn elected her to the Constituent Assembly that wrote the 1979 Third Republic Constitution.
Although her mother was an activist of the Convention People's Party (CPP), she joined the late William Ofori-Atta when he formed the United National Convention (UNC) for the 1979 election won by Dr Hilla Limann of the pro-Nkrumah People's National Party (PNP).
She fled to London when the Provisional National Defence Council came to power on December 1981 and lived in the United Kingdom and Nigeria before returning home in 1991.
Madam Yakubu contested the 1992 parliamentary election as an independent candidate in Bawku Central, which she won.
She lost the seat in controversial circumstances and after conceding defeat, left for Cotonou, Benin, where she worked as Executive Director of the GERDDES, an NGO that observes elections.
She returned in 2000 to win back the seat but lost it again in 2004. She had four children, two sons (Felix and Derek) during her first marriage to Mr Amadu Ayebo and two daughters (Amanda and Dieudonne) during her second marriage to defunct Nigeria Airways pilot Hodge Ogede. Felix passed away in 2000.
Source: GNA
Eight ministers to resign?
Current issues in government suggest that at least 8 Cabinet Ministers are on their way out of Government.
The eight are :
Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, Water Resources, Works and Housing
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Foreign Affairs, Regional Cooperation and NEPAD
Kwame Addo-Kufuor, Defence; Mike Oquaye, Communications
Jake Obetsebi Lamptey, Tourism and Diasporan Relations
Alan Kyerematen, Trade, Industry and PSI
Felix Owusu-Adjapong, Majority Leader, Parliamentary Affairs and Acting Road Transport Minister
Papa Owusu Ankomah, Education, Science and Sports.
This is because all eight are actively working to become the ruling party's next flagbearer, who will be elected before the end of this year.
An amendment to the NPP constitution, passed in 2003, states "Any Minister, National Officer, and District Chief Executive who files to contest to become a Presidential Candidate of the Party shall resign his/her position.”
Ofosu Asamoah, Kade MP, speaking to The Statesman on the conditional resignation of Minister-aspirants sees it as fraught with potential disaster.
Another founding member, I A Omane, is pleading that the Ministers, with their years of experience and overseeing vote-winning pet projects at their various portfolios, must be allowed to finish off in 2008.
Nana Obiri Boahen, Brong Ahafo NPP Regional Chairman, has called for another amendment of the new provision, describing it as counter-productive to the party"s own programme of ensuring that they return to the electorate in December 2008 with a very good track record of delivery.
He says the situation calls for a review since the framers appeared not to have envisaged a situation where such a sizeable number of the best materials in government would be required to all quit within a period of two months.
The Brong Ahafo NPP Chairman, has therefore, called on the party leadership against taking a neutral position on the matter and sticking to the status quo, for fear of being blamed for tempering with the party’s constitution.
He argues that as far as the NPP is concerned there is no aspirant and therefore an amendment cannot be seen to favour any individual.
The party constitution says the national delegates’ congress to choose the next leader should happen three months after the notice inviting nomination applications is given and the election itself should be held not later than 11 months before the national general elections.
Also, aspirants have two months to file, which could see a Cabinet losing eight of its members in the months leading to the 2008 home run.
“What then happens to government machinery,” Nana Obiri Boahen asks
According to Nana Boahen, a lawyer, there is an urgent need to revisit the constitution to avoid any crisis.
“We need to find a way out before the NPP opens itself to public ridicule and contempt,” he stressed.
He supports a suggestion that the National Executive Committee and the Council of Elders of the party should hold an emergency meeting to deliberate on the proposed constitutional amendment.
This should be done soon in the best and supreme interest of the party, he says.
The suggestion for the party leadership to convene a joint meeting “to deliberate on the conditional clause, which requires Minister-Aspirants to resign their positions,” is coming from Ambassador I A Omane, a founding member of the NPP.
“One may not be far from wrong to suggest that the framers of our party’s constitution did not envisage that a situation will arise where a chunk of Cabinet Ministers fall prey to this provision,” argues the one-time ambassador to Cuba.
Writing from his base in Asokore, Koforidua, he lists all the eight names above, stressing that they all “hold very important and key portfolios in Kufuor’s government. All the Ministers mentioned above have been in the Government for a very long time and accumulated mountains of rich experience but also have been stalwarts of the party.”
He tells the NPP, “Let us not forget that together they have contributed enormously to the success and accomplishments of the present Government.”
The Cabinet Ministers, he points out, “have contributed a lot: and these last two years of NPP Government’s administration will have a lot to offer to cement a lasting imprint on the minds of the electorate. They should be around to help with the last lap. Their individual and collective contributions will count a lot.”
He says he is not suggesting that there are no capable people who can replace them, “but it will just be prudent, knowing that most of these Ministers have brain-child programmes that are being implemented.”
In a related constitutional issue, Nana Obiri Boahen decries the arrangement in the NPP where MPs, DCEs, constituency and regional executives are not automatic voters at the congress to elect a flagbearer.
He has called for a constitutional review of the selection criteria of delegates.
He attributed the current concern for the party’s constitution amendment to the fact that there is no succession plan by the party.
He proposes that the NPP set standards and limits for aspirants.
On the resignation, the Kade MP, was of the view that it should be optional but suggests that an aspirant who wishes to stay on should be made to campaign on weekends.
Source:
The Statesman
National Commission on Small Arms Bill passed
Accra, 23.03.2007, GNA -
Parliament on Friday passed the National Commission on Small Arms Bill after taking it through the Third Reading. The bill seeks to establish a national commission to deal with small arms and lights weapons.
It would also provide a framework for programmes of action to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons and educate the public on these matters.
A report of the Committee on Defence and Interior said Ghana was obliged under Article 24.1 of the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms to establish through regulation or legislation a commission on small arms in accordance with Article 51 of the ECOWAS Protocol on the Mechanism for Prevention, Management and Resolution of Conflicts and Keeping Peace and Security.
The report said it has been noted with concern the recent increases in small arms in the West African sub region, which was responsible for most conflicts.
Over 600 million illicit weapons are in circulation worldwide with Africa accounting for 30 million of these weapons, the report said. "About eight million illicit weapons are currently circulating in West Africa. The baseline assessment of illicit small arms indicates that there are at least 220,000 in civilian hands in Ghana, " the report added.
Source:
GNA
NPP International Conference in London ...
... resolves to march on to victory in 2008.
The first ever NPP International Conference ended in London on Saturday 17th March with a resolution by all the international branches to march on in support of the mother party to victory in 2008. The conference which had as its theme “Building on the successes of the NPP Government and positioning the NPP as the natural party for government in Ghana” drew on the New Patriotic Party’s contribution towards national development over the medium to long term, and their overriding objective to build a free, just and prosperous society that will be a true beacon for Africa.
The Conference was attended by delegates from Ghana, USA, France, Italy, Germany and the UK and was addressed by His Excellence J A Kufuor, the President. He emphasized on the historical significance of the conference as the first of its kind and commended the international branches for not only conceiving the idea but also bringing it into fruition. He counseled the delegates about the choice of the party’s 2008 flagbearer and said that political experience and the ability to hold together the New Patriotic Party (NPP) should be the guiding principles.
He said, whoever emerged winner in the race to lead the party to the elections should not only be a uniting force to the party but must have the ability to carry along with him majority of Ghanaian voters. "It is therefore important that even as we exercise our emotion, we should balance it with good judgment and common sense."
The conference which was attended by the National Executive Committee and chaired by the national chairman, Mr. Peter Macmanu came out with a communiqué which wished Ghana and all the people of Ghana a joyful jubilee year and many happy and prosperous years to come and also noted and commended the government for the many achievements realized in the economy and in the area of good governance over the last 6 years. It called for and agreed to the establishment of a coordinating committee of all overseas branches as well as called for communication links to be established by the HQ by setting up an international desk to be funded with the help of all international branches. The conference again called on the national party to lead in finding effective means of working with the overseas branches through the coordinating committee in the area of generating ideas and resources for the mother party by March 2008. It made a special appeal to the government/parliament to review the dual citizenship Act to allow for true inclusion of all Ghanaians, home and abroad. In the meantime however all the international branches resolved to hold themselves in readiness for the time the Electoral Commission will put in the modalities for ROPAA to become effective. The communiqué finally called for the establishment of a ministry to deal with the affairs of Ghanaians living abroad since they contribute so much towards the national economy.
The conference which started on Friday the 16th and ended on Saturday, 17th March was interspersed with a fund raising dinner dance on the Friday and ended with a mammoth rally at the Broadwater Farm Community Centre in Tottenham.
The Conference was attended by a high-powered delegation from branches of NPP all over the world. The delegates from Ghana were led by the National Party Chairman Mac Manu and the General Secretary, Nana Ohene Ntow. Other delegates from Ghana included the £rd Vice Chairman, Alhaji Musah, the National Women’s Organiser Ms. Rita Asobayire, Mr. John Boadu the National Youth Organiser, regional and constituency party leaders like Sammy Crabbe, Greater Accra Chairman, Kenwuud Nuworsu, Volta Regional Chairman and many more. Delegates from Ghana alone were in excess of 25. The USA party was headed by Kofi Boateng, chairman of NPP USA and which also included Nana Owusu Ansah of the Chicago Chapter. Delegates from France included Nuamah Ansa and Louisa Nti-Berkoh. Italy was represented by Wilbeck Morris while the eleven-strong delegation from Germany was led by Dwamena Yeboah of the Hamburg branch.
The line-up of special guest speakers included the following: Hon Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo MP and Minster for Foreign Affairs on “Ghana role in the AU, challenges for the future”; Hon Joe Ghartey MP and Attorney General on “Responsive, responsible and good governance”, Hon Dr Akoto Osei MP and Deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Planning on “Strategies for achieving the MIE status in Ghana by 2015”; Hon Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu MP and Chief Whip on “The role of the parliamentary party in Ghana’s democratic efforts”; Peter Mac Manu on “Building a strong and effective party for government”
Mr. Kofi Boateng, alias Kofi ROPAA, NPP-USA Chairman made a very powerful contribution on “Ghana’s Diaspora, a case of contested engagement” in which he threw up many challenges for the government and the party in its efforts to deal with the efforts form Ghanaians in the Diaspora. Welcoming delegates to Conference, Mr. Atta-Krufi, Chairman of NPP UK, the host branch thanked the delegates for attending and thanked the planning committee led by Matthew Kyeremeh for all the hard work. He advised delegates to use this conference to resolve and know that each one of them holds the strand of the destiny of Ghana which has been entrusted to the NPP government. He said “our country, Ghana, does not belong to us the present generation but has been lent to us by our children and their children to look after on their behalf. Being a member of the NPP, the natural party to govern and redeem Ghana, history will not be kind to us if we do not double our effort to secure Ghana on a sound economic, social and political footing on behalf of posterity”.
There were many other contributions from the other delegates from the many countries that participated in the conference.
Source:
NPP UK; NPP International Conference Planning Committee.