14.07.2007
Editorial: African Union, is it a waste of time?
Before the Accra Summit, Africans all over the world had high hopes in the knowledge that, at long last, the African dream, a Unified Africa, was going to be achieved. But this hope was quickly dashed by comments from some Pan African activists, who have analysed current trend of events on the continent and come to the conclusion that a United African Government was not feasible, at least not now.
One of the activists, Gamal Nkrumah, the son of the first President of Ghana, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was very emphatic when he said, African Unity, as envisaged by his father, is only a dream, judging by the current political atmosphere on the continent.
Even as some Africans were pessimistic of the summit achieving its goal of a United African government, there were those who were optimistic in their expectation of seeing a continental government for Africa by the end of the summit in Accra.
One of such people was the Libyan Leader, President Muammar Gaddafi, who came to the Accra summit with a slogan for his colleague African Leaders “Unite or die”.
But even as the Accra summit was going on, did events in African countries give any indication that African Unity government was achievable by the end of the Summit? No!
No because while Nigerian citizens keep trooping into Ghana and are here in their numbers without any documentation, the Nigerian authorities from time to time have been deporting Ghanaians, who they consider illegal immigrants and yet Nigeria is a country that claims they want a United African government.
No because at the time President Muammar Gaddafi left Tripoli, the Libyan capital for Accra, there were over one thousand black Africans, all from south of the Sahara, including Ghanaians in Libyan jails and their only crime is that they do not have proper documentation in that country.
No because even as the debate on African unity and free movement of Africans is raging on, the Angolan authorities are deporting some 25,000 Congolese back to the Democratic Republic of Congo, because they are considered illegal immigrants in that country.
No because as at the time the Accra summit was struggling with what answers to give Africans at the end of the summit, over 300 Africans were reported to have died trying to cross the Red Sea into Yemen and about 200 reported missing all because of the uncertainty of the future they face in their countries.
No because in far away Sudan, Darfur to be precise, millions are dying in that country while African leaders wine and dine with their colleague who could not identify with some of his own people because of the colour of their skin.
So why wouldn’t the pessimists say African Unity is a dream that is not achievable.
For any integration to take place in Africa, there must be the free movement of people and goods but currently it looks like even that basic rule, that should be the basis for a continental unity has not been accepted by our leaders so how do we unify the African continent?
In Ghana today, foreigners praise us for our hospitality. It is because Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, who conceived the African Unity idea, never closed the doors of Ghana to Africans on the continent and the Diaspora. That is the reason why we have a large number of Africans here and nobody cares about their documentation.
The European Union started with the free movement of their people and goods. It enhanced their trade and their human resources circulated within the union. This also enlarged their economies making it a force to reckon with.
It is not as if our leaders are not aware of this, they are, but greed and their desire to be Presidents for life have blinded them and they would have nothing to do with a United Africa but would pretend they want it so much.
“Africa must unit or die”. We agree completely with the Libyan Leader but how committed is he to the African Unity cause?
It is our firm belief that the only way forward towards an African Unity government is for our leaders to open their borders for Africans and their goods to move freely on the continent. That is how we can strengthen our economies and make Africa a better place to live so that our brothers and sisters would not go dying, seeking greener pasture in the white man’s land.
Source:
Palaver
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Akosombo Dam to be closed down next week?
Unless there is divine intervention, the Akosombo Dam, Ghana’s economic heartbeat and most valuable asset will be closed down next week.
This follows the alarming rate of the daily drop in the level of water that turns the turbines to generate electricity for domestic and industrial use. Mr. Kwesi Amoako, the Plant Manager of VRA confirmed on Citi FM on Wednesday that there’s been a 0.03 daily drop in the water level for sometime now, which left the dam with just 235.24 feet as at Wednesday, July 10.
At this level, the water was only strong enough to turn two turbines, which has been the case for almost a year now. The minimum operating level of the dam is 240 feet; below this, the dam is at worse, operating at what Mr. Amoako called “the extreme minimum.”
At the current level of 235.24, the dam is operating at its lowest level since 1984, when the water dropped to 235.76. Unlike in 1984 when there was a countrywide drought, this time the rains are falling alright, but the inflows are still too low for the dam to operate at full capacity.
The Plant Manager said currently only two turbines are in use during week days, while one is switched on during weekends with power imports from Cote d’Ivoire to beef it up. He says if the trend continues, the VRA will be compelled to operate one machine, which can generate only 135 megawatts, which could worsen the load shedding.
Available information indicate that the Akosombo Dam had the capacity to generate1,020 megawatts. But it is currently producing a mere 270 megawatts with two turbines. The fear is that if the water level does not improve by next Wednesday, the dam could be shut down. But Mr. Amoako put on a brave face in trying to convince the public that all is well with the dam.
When asked at which point the dam would be shut down he said “until signs indicate that we are overstretching the machines beyond their design limit.” He unconvincingly explained that the dam will bounce back by the end of July when the rains are expected to hit the highest point.
Against all odds, the Plant Manager remained optimistic that the dam could still operate on two machines; even worse, operate on one machine during weekends. “We have been doing this as and when it becomes necessary. We believe that sooner than later, there will be a turnaround, Mr. Amoako assured Ghanaians.
Asked to be definite about the exact time the dam may have to shut down, he said the two turbines that are currently operating are at a lower elevation and can operate below the extreme minimum of 235.00. But considering the fact that for the past one week, the water level has been dropping by 0.03 feet, it may take divine intervention to save the dam from total collapse.
It is not for nothing that the Akosombo Dam, arguably the most famous landmark of Ghana’s independence has been embossed on the back of the One Ghana cedi note. It was due to its immense contribution to Ghana’s economic growth. But as things stand now, the significance of Akosombo, in the national development agenda is beginning to wane, a fact Mr. Amoako quite reluctantly agreed with. So at a point Ghanaians may have to learn to live without our beloved Akosombo. Perhaps, when that happens, load shedding, as in Nigeria will become a permanent feature of Ghanaian lives, considering the fact that current long and short term plans are not giving a clear indication of when the crisis will end. Even as Akosombo struggles, plans are afoot to construct the Bui Dam, which will also depend on the Black and White Volta Rivers. The Bagri River is the source of the Volta River and has been the source of potential conflict between Ghana and Burkina Faso; but for years the two countries have failed to map out a strategy for mutual use of the water.
Though government officials are unwilling to publicly admit that Ghana is losing out to Burkina Faso in harnessing the Black and White Volta Rivers, it is clear that the decision of that country to construct a dam on the Bagri River is the cause of Akosombo’s distress.
So is hydroelectric power a solution to Ghana’s long term energy needs? The answer depends on who is talking.
Source:
Public Agenda
No Extradition For British "Coke" Teens
Accra, July 13, GNA - The British High Commission in Accra would not seek the extradition of two British teenage girls arrested in Accra with cocaine to London for trial, an official told the Ghana News Agency on Friday.
The two girls, aged 16 years each, are in police custody, awaiting trial after they were arrested at the Kotoka International Airport on July 2, carrying laptop cases stuffed with six kilograms of cocaine on their way to board a British Airways flight to Heathrow, London. They have been charged with illegal possession and attempting to export drugs and if convicted, they face at least 10 years in juvenile detention.
"We have no bi-lateral agreement with Ghana for the transfer of British criminals to London for trial. When you commit a crime in Ghana you have to face the legal system of Ghana no matter your nationality," Gary Nicholls, Second Secretary, Political, Press and Public Affairs of the High Commission said.
Mr Nichols said the High Commission had confidence in the Ghanaian legal system and would therefore not interfere in the girls' case. He said however that, the High Commission is mandated to provide assistance to British citizens arrested outside the United Kingdom in terms of welfare, counselling and also facilitate contact with families or next of kin.
"In that regard, we have been providing the girls with food, clothes, fruits and magazines since their arrest."
"We are also mandated to give them a list of local lawyers to choose from and when they do, we would ensure that the lawyers would explain the implications of the case to them to give them a good understanding of the situation they are in," Mr. Nicholls said. According to Mr Mark Ewuntomah, deputy Executive Secretary of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB), the girls had accepted to carry the cases containing the cocaine to London in return for cash reward of 3,000 pounds each and a paid holiday.
He said what gave them away was the weight of their laptop cases, adding that NACOB operatives at the airport found a false compartment in their cases, which they cut open to reveal white powder.
He said the girls mentioned a London-based 'Jay', who had paid for their return ticket to Accra and further promised them an all expenses-paid vacation in return for delivering the cases.
On arrival in Accra, they were met by two men - Kwame and Emmanuel - who took them to a hotel in the airport area, Mr. Ewuntomah said, adding that the night before the girls' departure, the men threw a party for them in Dansoman, an Accra suburb, before seeing them off.
Source:
GNA
Acute food shortage looms in northern regions
Nanton (N/R), July 13, GNA - Mr. Sylvester Adongo, the Northern Regional Director of Food and Agriculture, has said the three northern regions would experience an acute food shortage if it failed to rain within a week in the Northern Region.
He said the prolonged drought in 10 districts of the region and some parts of the Upper East and Upper West regions was affecting the growth of crops.
Experts have described crops on some farms as "being at their permanent wilting point" and no amount of rainfall can bring them back to life.
Mr. Adongo said this when he conducted Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, the Northern Regional Minister, to inspect crops that had been badly affected by the prolonged drought in the region.
The Regional Director explained that if the rains set in now farmers could still plant fresh crops such as maize, groundnuts and millet and these could be harvested in three months' time. "But no crop would survive after July 20, no matter how extensive the rain falls."
Mr. Adongo said the region had never experienced drought such as this year's apart from the "1983 national drought" that affected cocoa and food crop farms, bringing in its wake hunger in the country. He said losses in maize production ranged from 50 to 100 per cent, groundnuts from 70 to 100 per cent, soybean 70 to 100 per cent and yam from 10 to 15 per cent.
Alhaji Idris expressed regret at the rate of crop damage caused by the drought and called for early intervention to address the situation. He appealed to religious bodies to step up their prayers for rain to avert an acute food crisis.
Source:
GNA
Algerian Director Terrorises Ghanaian Employees
At a time when both civil society organisations and governments within the continent are struggling on the way forward in bringing Africans closer, an Algerian Director of the Ghana-Lebanon Islamic Secondary School (GLISS) here in Accra, Mr. Hajj Ali Soualah, has brought to fore the suspicion of racial superiority complex that north Africans are perceived by many black Africans to suffer from.
Just about four years into his appointment as the Director of GLISS, an educational institution set up by the Ghana Society for Islamic Education and Reformation to build bridges between Arab Muslims and their Ghanaian colleagues, Soualah is reported to have turned the school into a slave yard, where he rountinely abuses Ghanaian workers.
Aside the verbal and physical attacks that some of the Ghanaian teaching staff have had to endure, Mr Soualah is also accused by staff of deliberately refusing to increase their basic salaries for the past four years.
Instead, he chose to increase their transport allowance as a way of avoiding high payments in SSNIT schemes.
According to some of the staff this paper spoke to, the practice has been going on for years and whenever any employee decides to draw Soualah’s attention to the anomaly, the person is either dismissed or harassed to resign. Whether you would be dismissed or harassed to resign, however, depends on the number of years the person has worked for the school.
As per the Service Conditions and Code of Conduct for the teaching staff as seen by this paper, an employee has to undergo three months probation, after which a two year appointment contract is automatically confirmed for newly appointed staff who come out successfully. After going through the two steps successfully, an employee is entitled to a permanent appointment as long as he or she wishes.
But the Algerian Director is accused by some staff of manipulating sections of the employment contract to his advantage.
According to them, the contract partly stipulates that a permanent employee of the school shall be paid an End of Service Benefit (ESB) after serving a minimum of four years at the school.
“When some of us recently sent a delegation to Mr. Soualah to draw his attention to an anomaly in our salaries in respect of the T&T and basic salary, he targeted us as his enemies and has used frivolous reasons to terminate our employment when we are only left with the end of this term to attain the four years minimum requirement for the ESB” said an employee.
To bustress their point, three teaching staff whose contract have been terminated by the Algerian, presented copies of letters emanating from the directors office on the June 18, 2007 notifying them of management’s decision to terminate their employment when one of them served notice to the management of his intent to resign at the end of the term as required by the service condition.
Per the calculation of Soualah, the resignation by Mr. Jamil Mustapha Swedor would have entitled him to his ESB. Conwequently, he quickly wrote to inform him last month that the school’s management has rather terminated his contract. He then ordered him and two other colleagues to perform their functions until the end of the term or lose their salaries for the month.
Ironically, the dismissal letters written by Soualah to the three teachers on June 18, 2007 were all based on the same reasons: Poor commitment, negative response to the administration’s directives, poor human relations and irregularity to work.
In essence, he accused all three teachers of the same behaviour, sins, thoughts and posturings. Contacted, the Head master of GLISS, Alhaji M. B. Alhassan earlier requested to seek permission from the school board as the Director at the centre of the controversy was out of the country.
At a later meeting between him and this reporter in the presence of his assistant and three other staff, he requested to answer questions on the three staff whose appointments have been terminated, and the under-declaration of tax and social security contributions of staff.
According to him, though the three teaching staff dismissed are among the best teachers the school has had, their recent misbehaviours have compelled the school’s administration to terminate their appointments.
Source:
Asare Konadu for GYE NYAME CONCORD
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CPP prepares for congress
Accra, July 12 GNA - The National Secretariat of the Convention People's Party (CPP) on Wednesday reminded all the Regional Steering Committees (RSCs) to be guided by the relevant provisions of the party con stitution and directives by the Central Committee in respect of the conduct of elections at the ward and constituency levels in preparation for the National Party Congress.
A statement issued in Accra and signed by Professor Nii Noi Dowuona, General Secretary of the CPP said the Central Committee at its meeting in June, 2007 directed that Constituency Steering Committees (CSCs) with the support of the RSCs must supervise the branch organisation and elections in accordance with Article 24 and 25 of the CPP constitution.
It said the constituency conferences must be constituted under the supervision of the RSCs to elect officers after all the branches have been duly organised in each constituency with District Electoral Officers authenticating the results.
The statement said accurate records, especially the lists of members mobilised and who shall attend the branch general meeting and constituency conference must be recorded in the register. It said the Central Committee would subsequently supervise the elections of regional officers at properly constituted regional conferences once elections in all constituencies in each region have been conducted. It said progress on the preparations will be monitored by the national secretariat in collaboration with the RSCs. In this connection party officers and members are entreated not to do anything to undermine the rules of conduct of the on-going activities to ensure an uninterrupted progress towards the national congress.
Source:
GNA
Army Prepares For Insurgencies
A major military exercise by the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to adequately prepare the service personnel to deal with any insurgency in the country is underway in the Achiase forest reserve of the Birim South District.
The four day exercise, code-named Exercise Tiger’s Path, is aimed at testing a platoon-size sub unit of the Navy, the Air Force, Northern and Southern Command as well as the Support Service Brigade Group in jungle operation on a competitive basis.
Twelve officers and 116 men and women of the GAF as well as six observers from the Nigeria Armed Forces are involved in the exercise.
Performing the opening ceremony, Major-Geneneral A.K. Abdullai, Commandant of the Military Academy and Training Schools, noted that dissidents and non-conformists in the society, over the years, have utilised their mastery of the jungle to destabilize the government and carry out atrocities against the citizenry.
"It is therefore vital for the GAF, which has a sizeable forest terrain to be masters of the jungle if it is to preserve the hard won freedom and independence we are presently enjoying," he said.
"The Armed Forces, is by this exercise also serving notice to would be detractors that they are poised to defeat any insurgency in any part of Ghana irrespective of the terrain", he added.
Major- Gen Abdul-lai said the exercise, the seventh in the series would also enhance the professional capabilities of Ghanaian peacekeepers engaged in peace support operations to forestal countries worldwide against hardened rebel factions who operate in the jungle.
He explained that, the presence of the Nigeria officers was to ensure a common doctrine and enhance inter-operability in regional peace support operations.
Throwing more light on the exercise, he said it is aimed at accomplishing its objectives of battle procedure, first aid, platoon administration in the jungle, obstacle crossing, jungle navigation as well as vectoring and marshalling of aircraft for air medical evacuation.
Major-Gen Abdullai urged the troops to conduct themselves as true sportsmen and to be guided by the virtues of determination, team spirit and the instinct of jungle survival.
Lt-Col Robert Nyaka, Commanding Officer of the Jungle Warfare School, said for the GAF to effectively perform its constitutional mandate, its members should be adequately trained.
"There is therefore the need to acquire training and exercises from time to time to freshen up our troops in all skills and crafts to our calling," he said
Source:
Ghanaian Times
Free surgery for cleft babies in Brong Ahafo
Sunyani (B/A), July 12, GNA - The Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in collaboration with the Sunyani Regional Hospital would provide free surgical services for cleft babies at the children's ward of the Sunyani regional hospital.
In a statement on the programme, scheduled to begin July 16 to 20 this year, Professor Peter Donkor of KATH appealed to parents of cleft babies in Brong Ahafo to take full advantage of the programme and make their babies with deformities available for correction. He explained that cleft babies were born with split lips and deformed palates, which if not corrected through surgery usually impaired their feeding and speech.
"A number of babies affected by this abnormality fail to thrive due to feeding difficulties and susceptibility to infections", Prof. Donkor added.
He said the KATH cleft clinic was made up of paediatricians, nurses, speech therapists, maxillofacial and plastic surgeons, who would join their Sunyani counterparts to undertake the programme. Prof. Donkor noted that most parents of cleft babies were unable to access cleft services due to the cost involved, which ranged between two million and three million cedis (GHC200-300) per surgery, adding, the first day of the programme would be used for screening whilst the remaining days would be devoted to surgeries.
"The KATH-Sunyani regional hospital collaboration will help bring smiles on the faces of families who will only pay a token fee of 100,000 cedis (GHC10) to cover the cost of laboratory investigations", he said. Prof. Donkor said a similar exercise was held last year at KATH where more than 100 babies benefited and expressed the hope that parents of cleft babies would patronize the programme to ensure its success.
Source:
GNA
TB cases on the decrease in Nkwanta District
Nkwanta (V/R), July 12, GNA- The Nkwanta District Health Directorate has recorded a steady decrease in cases of tuberculosis since 2004.
Dr Koku Awoonor-Williams, District Director of Health Services told the Ghana News Agency that tuberculosis cases had dropped from 50 cases in 2004 to 42 in 2005 and 37 in 2006.
He attributed the achievement to continuous awareness creation and intensive education in the communities by health teams saying only 14 cases had been recorded for the first half of this year. Dr Awoonor said the District was committed to reducing tuberculosis to the barest minimum in the District with the cooperation of patients by adhering to the Directly Observed Treatment Short course (DOTS) treatment regimen.
He said the District Directorate was also taking measures to avert cases of increase severe anaemia and malaria cases, which had already killed 10 children below the age of five in the District.
Source:
GNA
Suspected murderer, kidnapper refused bail
Tamale, GNA - Mr. Justice Victor C. Doegah, a Supervising High Court Judge in Tamale, on Wednesday refused to grant bail to Abdul-Samed Seidu, a chemical engineer resident in Canada, who is standing trial in a case involving the disappearance of a man in Tamale since May 14. Seidu is charged with kidnapping and murder.
The judge said the circumstances surrounding the case gave the court good reasons to deny the accused bail.
Mr Doegah said the accused travelled to Accra under a false name, changed his airline ticket date and attempted to escape and that these were some of the factors the court took into consideration in refusing him bail.
Also, the accused was found to be in possession of some items belonging to the man who had disappeared.
Nana Adjei Ampofo, counsel for the accused, told the court that the charge of kidnapping and murder could not be justified because the police had not provided evidence that the victim was dead. He argued that the police in one breath said the victim was kidnapped and in another said the victim was murdered, indicating uncertainties in their investigations.
Opposing the motion for bail Mr. Salia Abdul-Qudus, a State Attorney, told the court that the accused possessed one Ghanaian and two Canadian passports, making him a citizen of Canada. He said under such circumstance, if bail was granted, he could seek refuge in the Canadian High Commission in Ghana or any neighbouring country where Canada has a mission.
Mr Abdul-Qudus said the accused also made efforts to leave Ghana through unapproved travelling procedure including bringing his return ticket date forward to facilitate his exit from the country. The State Attorney had told the court that on May 10 the accused arrived in Tamale and stayed with the friend at Kalpohin Estate. A misunderstanding arose between them over the value of a building project that the accused had asked the victim to undertake on his behalf.
Mr. Abdul-Qudus said the victim disappeared on May 14 and when his relatives contacted the accused about his whereabouts, the accused told them that he did not know where the friend was.
Source:
GNA
British teenagers arrested in Ghana over drugs
Two 16-year-old girls from London were arrested in Ghana after being discovered with an estimated 300,000 pounds' worth (443,000 euros, 610,000 dollars) of cocaine, customs officials said Thursday.
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs said in a statement that the teenagers, both college students, were detained at Accra Airport by Ghanaian Narcotic Control Board officers working on a joint British-Ghanaian project targeting drug smugglers.
The head of the Operation Westbridge project, British customs officer Tony Walker, said: "The use of such young girls as couriers vividly illustrates the ruthlessness of the criminal drug gangs involved in this traffic.
"The dedication of UK and Ghanaian drug detection officers has prevented deadly Class A drugs from entering the UK."
The girls had been in the process of boarding a British Airways flight to London and were allegedly in possession of 6.5 kilos (14 pounds) of cocaine, HMRC said.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman in London said British embassy officials had been called to support the girls.
"We are aware of the arrest of two British national minors on July 2 at Accra airport," a spokeswoman said.
"Next of kin have been informed and we are providing full consular assistance. We are unable to confirm any personal details due to their age."
Operation Westbridge was launched in November 2006 to curb a rise in cocaine smuggling from Ghana.
Britain provides technical and operational expertise to counterparts in Ghana, including training and use of scanning equipment.
The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime Annual Drug Report 2006 identified West Africa as a key staging post for drugs mules coming to Britain.
Source:
Guardian Unlimited
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Ghana's foreign debt now $2.7 Billion
The Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, on Tuesday told Parliament that Ghana’s total foreign indebtedness stood at $2.7 billion as of April 30, 2007.
According to him, the debt stock consisted of $2.2 billion long term and $462.8 million short term debts, which was a sharp drop from the debt of $6.6 billion debt that the country owed in the year 2000.
Mr Baah-Wiredu who said this in answer to a question by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Jomoro, Mr Lee Ocran, explained that the long term debt of $2.2 billion consisted of a $1.3 billion debt owed to multilateral agencies and $931.24 million owed to bilateral development partners.
The MP had asked the minister what the country's total foreign indebtedness was by the end of April, 2007.
The minister further explained that the country also owed $95 million to foreign commercial banks and export credit agencies.
In another development, the MP for Sefwi Wiawso, Mr Evans Paul Aidoo, enquired from the minister when cocoa clinics would be established in the cocoa growing areas.
Replying, Mr Baah-Wiredu said the Ghana Cocoa Board had been actively involved in the provision of health facilities in the cocoa growing areas.
He said the board constructed clinics at Nkrankwanta in the Brong Ahafo Region, Tepa and Trabuom in the Ashanti Region.
These clinics were handed over to the Ministry of Health under the restructuring of the board carried out in the early 1990s," the minister said.
He informed the House that the chief and elders of Sefwi Debiso had released 3.64 acres of land to the board for the construction of a hospital.
Mr Baah-Wiredu added that the board was in the process of engaging consultants for the development of a 24-bed hospital on the land.
The minister said a contract had also been awarded for the expansion of the clinic at the Cocoa Research Institute to cater for the surrounding communities.
"Mr Speaker, the board is in the process of providing health facilities in other cocoa growing areas within its budgetary limitations," he said.
For his part, the MP for Dormaa East, Mr Yaw Ntow-Ababio, enquired from the minister when the Produce Buying Company would re-open the three cocoa district offices which were closed down in the Dormaa District in the Brong Ahafo Region.
Mr Baah-Wiredu said that the three cocoa districts, Amasu, Dormaa and Wamfie, were closed down because of the introduction of the multiple purchasing in the internal marketing of cocoa in 1993.
He explained that it was decided that districts with output below 3,000 tonnes should be merged or closed down, adding that the management of PBC would consider re-opening the districts only when it was convinced their output had improved tremendously.
He said it was not possible for the three cocoa districts to be re-opened now because their total production at the time of the closure had fallen from 2,006 tonnes to 1,395 tonnes.
Source:
Daily Graphic
Lack of political will hindering devt in Upper East
Bolgatanga, July 11, GNA - Participants at a workshop in Bolgatanga organised by the Ministry of Health with the support of UNICEF on food fortification on Tuesday identified the lack of political will on the part of political leaders as a major problem confronting development in the region.
They held that if political leaders had demonstrated much political commitment by infusing developmental issues into messages on their platforms there would have been accelerated development. They cited the High Impact Reproductive healthcare Delivery on Child Survival, which was started in the Upper East and extended to Upper West, and indicated that the programme was yielding more positive results in the Upper West than in Upper East because of the political will demonstrated by the political leaders in that Region. Participants, therefore, urged political leaders in the Upper East Region to show more commitment to developmental issues, saying that it would enhance their political career.
On fortification of food, the participants explained that many people especially those in the rural areas could not consume fortified food such as bread and vegetable oil because they could not afford the cost.
The Upper East Regional Health Education Director, Mr Gampson Bozie, urged the participants to explore and popularise cheap alternative sources of fortified food including vegetables, groundnuts, sheabutter and dawada.
The workshop which drew participants from the Regional and District Health institutions, Food and Drugs Board, and other Heads of Department was aimed at educating people on the need to fortify their food before consumption to energise them for development and prolonged lifespan.
Source:
GNA
GT Extends Internet services to Bolgatanga
Bolgatanga, July 11, GNA- Mr. Boniface Gambila, Upper East Regional Minister, on Wednesday called on the Ghana Telecommunication Services (GT) to help develop the infrastructure of communities that patronised their services.
He noted that Semi-urban communities and their environs like Bolgatanga needed more amenities and infrastructure such as schools and potable water to facilitate their development. Mr. Gambila, who made the call at the launch of the GT 'Broad Band For You' (BB4U) Internet Services in Bolgatanga, noted that such areas were expecting the GT to contribute towards their development to improve the standards of living of the people.
He said "when the people patronize your services and boost your business, you could also provide them with some social amenities and infrastructure that they need to encourage them to patronize more of your products and services."
Mr. Gambila asked GT to expand its services to all the districts in the region for easier accessibility of telephone fixed lines and the one touch mobile phone services.
Mr. Dela Kayi, Media Manager for GT Fixed Network Services, explained that the BB4U Internet services offered an all-in-one access to high-speed Internet services, voice calls, and other interactive delivery services, and was the fastest and most affordable service in the country.
He said the BB4U could facilitate distant education, research, commerce and email services.
Mr. Kayi said GT was striving to overcome all the challenges in modern telecommunication and called on the people to patronise the services of the Company and also buy made in Ghana products. Alhaji Musah Awudu, Regional Manager of GT, advised parents and teachers to ensure that children use the internet services for the acquisition of knowledge to enhance their learning instead of using the facility for immoral activities such the watching of pornography.
Source:
GNA
Venezuelan Denies Being a Cocaine Dealer
Accra, July 11, GNA - A Venezuelan who is being tried in connection with the 588 kilogrammes of cocaine deposited in a house at Mepeasem, East Legon, Accra, on Wednesday denied renting a room in the said house. Italio Gervasio Rosero a.k.a. Italio Cabeza Castillo, 38, a businessman told the Fast Track High Court that he was jogging at the East Legon when one Commey a Policeman beckoned him to enter the house. Rosero said as soon as he entered, he was picked by the Police, adding that nobody offered him a house at Mepeasem and he knew nothing about the drugs found there.
Rosero is standing trial with Moises Joel Meija Duarte Moises, a 35-year-old machine operator and are being held for conspiracy to commit crime, importing 588-kilograms of narcotic drugs without lawful authority and possessing narcotic drugs without lawful authority. They have pleaded not guilty and have been remanded into police custody by the Court.
The third Venezuelan, Vasquez Gerado Duarte David, a.k.a. Bude or Shamo is at large.
Opening his defence Rosero, denied that the boxes of cocaine retrieved from Mepeasem belonged to him. He said on November 20, 2005 he arrived in Ghana for a tour and as such stayed at a hotel which he could not recall its name at Achimota.
According to Rosero, he was in the company of one lady and one Marko whom he jointly went out for jogging at East Legon. Led by his counsel, Mr Kwablah Senanu, Moises Rosero said he had never been to the house at Mepeasem until the day he was arrested. He said when he was searched nothing was found on him except a paper with some telephone numbers and a mobile phone. Rosero said his passport was with Marko, adding he could produce it at the next adjourned date.
The case of the prosecution is that on November 24, 2005, a team of detectives from the Headquarters of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), acting upon a tip-off that there was cocaine in house Number 348 at Mepeasem in Accra, went to the house where they met Moises.
Moises was arrested and he led the Police to his upper room where three bottles of ammonium used to turn cocaine into crack, a machine used in compressing the cocaine, 13 pieces of gloves and a quantity of plastic wrappers were found.
The Prosecution said brown cellulose tapes, a filtering bottle used in filtering and sniffing cocaine, an exercise book used in recording the names of people who had purchased and those that had been supplied with the drugs and two cell phones were also found. The Case was adjourned to July 13.
Source:
GNA
10 years jail for inserting cocaine in vagina
Accra, July 11, GNA - An Accra Regional Tribunal on Wednesday found Margaret Seck, a Ghanaian resident in London, guilty of inserting 480.7 grams of cocaine into her private parts. She was convicted and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment Mr. Justice Frank Manu, chairman of the tribunal, ordered that the cocaine be destroyed by the Narcotics Control Board. Seck was charged with attempted exportation of a narcotic drug without lawful authority and possession of a narcotic drug without lawful authority.
Ms. Evelyn Keelson, a State Attorney, told the tribunal that on January 1, this year Seck arrived at the Kotoka International Airport to board a British Airways flight to London.
While going through pre-boarding formalities at the airport, the Narcotics Control Board officials suspected her to be carrying narcotic drugs on her body. She was taken to the 37 Military Hospital, where an X-ray examination was conducted.
The Prosecutor said the examination revealed that she had some foreign materials concealed in her vagina and anus. The convict said one John, a Nigerian national, gave the stuff to him to be delivered to someone in London for a fee of 2,000 Pounds Sterling. Ms. Keelson said during interrogation, Seck removed two medium size bag containing cocaine from her vagina and 13 pellets from her anus, adding: "All the substances proved positive for cocaine, a narcotic drug, with a total weight of 480.7 grams".
Source:
GNA
Metro Mass Transit workers threaten strike
Sunyani, July 11, GNA - Workers of the Metro Mass Transit Limited in the Brong Ahafo Region on Tuesday wore red bands to register their displeasure at a delay in negotiating their annual salary increase. When the GNA visited the MMT main station in Sunyani, both the drivers and the conductors were seen wearing red bands on their heads, hands and necks and were going about their normal duties.
Mr. Stephen Boakye, the regional secretary of the union, said they received a directive from the divisional union in Kumasi to join their colleagues in a nation-wide exercise to wear the red bands up to Friday.
Asked as to what action they would take after Friday, Mr. Boakye replied that workers would be compelled to lay down their tools and go on an indefinite strike if the outcome of the negotiation was not fruitful.
Major Gabriel Ankamah (RTD), the Brong Ahafo Regional Manager of MMT, expressed surprise at the union's decision and appealed to the workers to work hard to raise revenue to enable the company to increase their salaries.
Source:
GNA