• 10.07.3007

• Food crisis looms in the Upper West
• Swiss President arrives for two-day visit
• NDC Is A Bastard Party -Boakye-Gyan
• Dismiss charges against me - Kwame Peprah
• Spraying gangs call for replacement of machines
• Two drivers jailed for slave dealing
• New Ministers List Out!
• Broadband service extended to Wa
• Apraku campaigns in Volta Region
• JJ's Kids In Court
• Minister Faces Death Threat
• NPP to force candidates on constituencies
• Parliament ends energy debate

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• 14.07.3007

• Editorial: African Union, is it a waste of time?

• 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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• 13.07.2007

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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• 12.07.2007

 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

Farmers anticipate hunger in Northern Ghana


Tamale, July 11, GNA - Farmers in the Tamale metropolis are anticipating hunger this farming season as their crops have failed due to the prolonged drought in many parts of northern Ghana.

Alhaji Ibrahim Abdulai, Managing Director of A. A. Ibrahim Cotton Farms, told the GNA in an interview in Tamale on Tuesday that almost all the cotton crop on his 600-hectare farm at Gushiegu in the Gushiegu District had failed to germinate and the few that had germinated had died off due to the drought.

He said as a result of the lack of adequate rainfall he had prematurely harvested groundnut on his 25-hectare farm adding: "Maize on my 15-hectare farm have all withered".

Alhaji Ibrahim who is also Chief of Tugu Yapalsi, near Tamale, appealed to the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) to come to the aid of farmers in the region as a matter of urgency. Alhaji Abraham, who was almost in tears, described the situation as "total disaster" that had befallen the three northern regions and called on the MOFA to take immediate measures to address the situation. Mr. Dominic Pokperlaar, the Northern Regional Meteorologist, described the situation as "very terrible" for farming this year.

About 20 farmers also told the GNA that almost all the crops they had planted this farming season were dying off because the ground had become patched rendering their efforts fruitless. They wondered what they would subsist on till the next farming season and appealed to the government and its development partners to come to the aid of farmers in northern Ghana.

Source:
GNA

Tamale NGO reacts to NORPA's demonstration in Wa tomorrow


Tamale, July 11, GNA - The Northern Ghana Aid (NOGAID), a Tamale-based international NGO, on Tuesday described as unnecessary an intended demonstration on July 11 in Wa by a group of people. Mr. Mustapha Sanah, Executive Chairman of NOGAID, told the media in Tamale that the use of demonstration as a method to put pressure on governments to address some of the imbalance and inequalities between the north and the south was not the best.

Mr. Sanah was reacting to a press statement issued in Accra by a group calling itself The Northern Patriots in Research and Advocacy (NORPA) that the group was organising a demonstration to address lapses in development pattern between the north and the south.

He said "I would rather encourage the organisers of the intended demonstration to advise citizens of the north to concentrate in constructive analysis and engagements with key players in the development industry to redeem the situation."

He said it was necessary for all to contribute towards addressing development imbalance of the north and advised the NORPA not to use any means to further worsen the situation but rather strive to create national cohesion and stability.

Mr. Sanah said all northerners were law abiding and were ready to support any group that was development oriented rather than groups that would not like to use the negotiating table to address problems. He said poverty in the north and the inequalities between north and south needed the collective effort of all northerners and with the support of central government and stakeholders to address the problem.

Source:
GNA

Absence of coins counting machines remain a major headache


Akyem Oda, July 11, GNA - Ten days after the introduction of the new currency by the Bank of Ghana (BOG), the absence of coins counting machines remains a major headache for almost all the banks in Oda. The banks have since the introduction of the new currency been counting coins using the manual system and this has proved to be time consuming and difficult.

This delays transactions at the banks and has been a major bother to customers.

A visit to almost all the major banks in Oda by the Ghana News Agency revealed that none are of them is using coins counting machine. Among the banks visited by the GNA are Akim Bosome Rural Bank, National Investment Bank (NIB), Barclays Bank, Ghana Commercial Bank and SG-SSB.

Information gathered by the GNA revealed that one of the banks rejected an attempt by a customer to lodge 4,000 GHC all in coins after withdrawing it from the Ghana Commercial Bank.

An official of one of the banks who wants to remain anonymous told the GNA that the situation was creating problems for the banks and appealed to the Bank of Ghana to ensure that more of the notes especially One GHC are put into circulation.

The official said the rejection followed some customers' refusal to accept large quantities of coins. However the initial rush for the new currencies has died out as transactions in most of the banks have returned to normal.

Source:
GNA

Nkwanta Assembly records poor revenue collection


Nkwanta (V/R), July 11, GNA - The Nkwanta District Assembly performed abysmally in revenue generation from its local sources, collecting only 36,157 Ghana cedis of its target of 112,130 Ghana cedis, representing 32.2 percent of projected revenue.

Mr Joseph Denteh, the District Chief Executive, who spoke at the assembly's first general meeting on Monday, attributed the poor performance to the unfenced market, inactive revenue collectors and unexploited revenue sources.

He said the area councils would be tasked to compile nominal rolls of rateable items to facilitate revenue collection, engage national service personnel in revenue mobilization, the provision of logistics and to pursue and sustain awareness creation. Mr Denteh said since the internally generated funds (IGF) were critical in the determination and allocation of the District's Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), the assembly would employ strategies including licensing of motorbikes and bicycles that are abundant in the area to increase its revenue.

He said its first allocation of the DACF of 25,359 Ghana cedis had been received.

Under the European Union Micro-Project programmes, Mr Denteh said, the district was benefiting from 160,000 Ghana cedis support with counterpart funding from the assembly and the communities amounting to 46,000 Ghana cedis in materials and labour.

Eight projects spanning sanitation, education infrastructure, warehouses and culverts are under construction.

He said under the Community Based Rural Development Projects, three three-unit classroom blocks with offices and storerooms, four-seat KVIPs and urinals had been completed at Jumbo, Cheri, Obunja and Kabre-Akura. Two boreholes fitted with pumps and the construction feeder roads were going on at Nagingong.

On the water, Mr Denteh said to date there were 274 boreholes functioning with hand pumps in 124 communities, 89 under construction in 55 communities.

Mr Joseph Nayan, the Deputy Volta Regional Minister and also MP for Nkwanta-North, appealed to all stakeholders to evolve strategies to improve revenue mobilization.

Mr Gershon Gbediame, the MP for Nkwanta-South, said attempts to sideline him from activities in the area had political repercussions that could undermine the peace of the area and requested the revival of dormant communication links.

Mr Jakaye Jackson, the Presiding Member of the Assembly, called for a wider tax net since the over reliance on the common fund was holding back the development of the area.

Source:
GNA

Introduce artificial rainfall technology to Northern Ghana- SARI


Nyankpala, (N/R), July 11, GNA - The Savannah Agriculture Research Institute (SARI), has urged the government to introduce artificial rainfall technology to Northern Ghana to save the area from imminent famine as a result of the prolong drought facing the area. The SARI noted that since the year 2003 a trend of reduced rainfall had been observed in Northern Ghana and this had resulted in the near droughty conditions in most of the area for the past few years. Dr Abdulai Salifu, Director of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) of the SARI made the call at a press briefing on the drought situation in the Northern Ghana at Nyankpala on Wednesday.

He said in 2005 for example, the total rainfall recorded was 74 per cent of a 50-year average of 1,016 millimetres; which was regarded as normal, while that of 2006 was 78 per cent. Dr Salifu said June and July were the key rainy season months for good crop establishment in Northern Ghana, but noted, however, that the rainfall assessment data for June 2007 indicated that there were five rainfall events with only two of them equal to or greater than 10 millimetres.

He noted that it had been two weeks into July and the rainfall situation was no better, while at the same time forecasts from the Meteorological Services and NASA sites for the month indicated no rainfall precipitation for at least up to the third week of the month.

Dr Salifu said the situation as at now was not encouraging and presented a major potential setback for food security and poverty reduction in Northern Ghana. "There is the dire need to mitigate the current state of affairs with respect to the absence of rain", Dr Salifu stressed and advocated the introduction of artificial rainfall technology to Northern Ghana to save the situation.

Dr Salifu said Ghana had the ability and capacity to apply artificial rainfall technology to increase rainfall and crop production in Northern Ghana such as countries like China, the USA, Canada, Australia and Burkina Faso. He said it was estimated that cash earnings from agriculture in Burkina Faso increased by 10-15 per cent since it introduced artificial rainfall in 1998.

The additional rainfall created in Burkina Faso, Dr Salifu said had helped to fill reservoirs, allowing irrigated cultivation to continue during the dry season in many areas that were not able to grow one crop a year during the rainy season. "Production has therefore increased and imports, particularly of cereals have dropped. In some parts of Burkina Faso, fresh tomatoes are now available all year round as a result of the artificially induced rain", Dr Salifu said.

Dr Salifu said the operational area of the Burkina Faso induced rain extended well into Northern Ghana (250 km radar range with Ouagadougou as centre).

Dr Salifu said as a result of this, in recent times portions of the Upper East and Upper West Regions had been experiencing favourable rainfall regimes and there were speculations that these areas were benefiting from cloud seeding in Burkina Faso. He said artificial rainfall had proved so successful in Burkina Faso that discussions were on going between West African countries in the Interstate Committee Against Drought in the Sahel (CILSS) about extending cloud seeding to cover all the nine member countries. The nine member countries include Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Gambia, Guinea Bissau and Senegal. Dr Salifu suggested that Ghana could either adopt the artificial rainfall technology on its own, just like Burkina Faso, or seek membership into the CILSS and formulate a program for the northern part of the country.

He noted that radar systems were in use in Ghana, so some capacity already existed for participation, saying that in addition Weather Modification Incorporated in the USA provided technology transfer training in weather modification including cloud seeding technology which Ghana could benefit from.

Dr Salifu said the adverse impact of drought on the country's economy in terms of drop in agricultural production; industrial output, reduced purchasing power and the concomitant rise in unemployment, particularly of the rural labour force would be considerable. "Ghana needs to demonstrate its ability to absorb shocks to its agricultural system such as drought. Cloud seeding can be deployed in the North to positively influence rainfall; the lack of which, up country, is a major reason for our current energy crisis", Dr. Salifu said.

Source:
GNA

Volta Region gets GEPC zonal office


Ho, July 11, GNA- Mr Kofi Dzamesi, the Volta Regional Minister, on Wednesday commissioned the Volta Region Zonal Office of the Ghana Export Promotion Council (GEPC), to promote the export of non-traditional products in the Region. He said the establishment of the Office was as a dream come true and called on businessmen and women in the Region to take advantage of the facility to improve their work towards the development of the Region.

The Minster observed that the Region abound a wide range of exportable agriculture, craft and textile products, and expressed the hope that the Office would serve as a catalyst to increase production of such products to reduce poverty in the Region. He also said the GEPC office was expected to assist in the production of non-traditional products such as local alcohol, akpeteshie and ethanol for the manufacturing of cosmetics and medicines, saying, cassava was being cultivated for export.

Mr. Dzamesi also announced that plans were far advanced for the establishment of a garment factory in the Region and asked the people to visit the Office regularly to be abreast with its operations. He urged staff of the Office to assist the people and cautioned that he would not hesitate to sack any staff that would be found misbehaving.

Mr. Kwadwo Affram Asiedu, Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and Presidential Special Initiative, expressed worry about the country's inability to meet the large export orders received for various exports products due to supply constraints. " Low production capacity, poor infrastructure and inadequate financial support for the private sector, as well as weak export managerial capacity continue to the plague of the sector", he said. Mr. Asiedu, therefore, said the country would be expected to remove constraints in the export sector, especially in non-traditional subdivision.

He said government was aware of challenges posed by financing enterprises and gave the assurance that measures were being taken to improve the export sector, including the establishment of the Export Development and Investment Fund.

Mr. Asiedu urged all enterprises in the sector to keep proper financial records to enable them to access financial support from the Fund towards the expansion of their operations to create more jobs. Mr. Collins Boateng, Executive Secretary of the GEPC, advised people who needed assistance from the Council to approach staff of the Zonal office before contacting the Head office in Accra. He said the Office would work in collaboration with the Regional Branch of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture to improve the production and marketing development component of the Council.

Source:
GNA

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• 10.07.2007

Food crisis looms in the Upper West

... the GOVRNMENT ROAD

Wa, July 10, GNA - Usually, they come by air but this time round, the number two man, Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama came by road on July 5 to the Upper West Region to have a feel of what it takes to be in the countryside, have a fair knowledge of problems people face and to hear from them what they think about the policies and programmes of the government.

Perhaps, the trip is to test his strength on the rough and bone-shaking roads as he is gunning to be the presidential candidate of the NPP in Election 2008.

He came through Kumasi, bypassed Sunyani before linking Techiman to Bamboi to inspect work on the ongoing 53-kilometre Bole/Bamboi road that links the region to the southern part of the country. Vice President Mahama would have been a happy man while on his way from the south because it has been raining there. But this writer guesses his heart bled throughout his five-day official visit to the Upper West Region looking at the withering vegetation and crops caused by drought in the three northern regions.

As the number two father of the nation and a farmer, he would be miserable throughout his tour, one on the failure of crops to perform and two, the energy situation.

His first experience would be at Bamboi where the Black Volta showed its depth to His Excellency. There is no water in the river. Parts of the river have dried up, a sign that the energy crisis in the country would persist for long.

It is not only the Black Volta that has no water; one of the tributaries of the White Volta, the Wahabu River, also has no water. Indeed, all rivers and streams in the Upper West Region are empty. Right from Bamboi, one could see from both sides of the road large tracts of maize withering. The situation is worse in the some parts of the Upper West Region where some farmers cannot even go to their farms because all their crops had withered. Some of them had re-ploughed their crops and awaiting rain to sow new crops.

There is therefore the likelihood that the people in the region may experience hunger next year if the rains continue to fail them. The new yam and beans are not yet out, a situation never experienced in the region. The government must get itself prepared to send food aid to the people if the situation fails to change.

Some of the communities the Vice President toured included Bamboi, Bole, Sawla and Tuna in the Northern Region, Wa, Funsi, Kaleo, Tumu, Gwollu, Suke and Lambussie in the Upper West Region where traditional rulers had demanded for the provision of good roads, electricity, potable water and health facilities. 10 July 07

Source:
GNA

Swiss President arrives for two-day visit

Accra, July 10, GNA - The President of the Swiss Confederation, Mrs. Micheline Calmy, arrived in Accra on Tuesday for a two-day visit during which she would meet her host, President John Agyekum Kufuor and members of the Swiss business community.

Mrs. Calmy, who is accompanied by a nine-member delegation, was met on arrival by a welcoming party led by President Kufuor, which also included members of the Diplomatic Corps and senior military and police officers.

She was presented with a bouquet by Ms. Sarah Baba, a KG2 pupil of Pati's Cr=E8che in Accra.

President Kufuor then accompanied her to the dais where she took the salute as the national anthems of the two countries were played and a 21-gun salute boomed in the background.

Mrs. Calmy inspected a guard of honour mounted by three officers and 96 men from the First Battalion of Infantry under the command of Captain Jacob Sedzro with the Ghana Armed Forced Central Band in attendance.

Mrs. Calmy, who leaves on Wednesday, would also visit the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Centre in Accra, attend a luncheon to be hosted by civil society organisations and hold a meeting with members of the financial sector.

Source:
GNA

NDC Is A Bastard Party -Boakye-Gyan

The Spokesman and head of government for the erstwhile Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC), Osahene Major (Rtd) Boakye Djan, had said, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as a political party has no parentage and no identity. Speaking to newsmen in an exclusive interview at his residence in Tema, he mocked the NDC saying, it is not a social democratic party as it is now describing itself and if you describe yourself as what you are not then you have no identity.

Osahene Boakye Djan pointed out that, looking at the NDC, the best way to describe them is that, they are ‘social liberals, and so describing themselves as social democrats mean they do not know who, they are.

That is not too surprising judging from the way they came into being, he explained then changed gears immediately to state that, the differences between former President JJ Rawlings and former (NDC) Attorney-General and now co-founder of the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), Dr Obed Asamoah, has been set down to personality differences, but that is not all there is to it.

He said, the core issue of disagreement between the two men is one of personal ideology rather than personality differences. Dr Asamoah is at heart a liberal, while Mr Rawlings is a social liberal, and as long as each kept his ideology to himself they could work together, he explained.

When each began to assert his ideology the differences were out in the open and the canyon that opened up between them was inevitable, he added.

Osahene Boakye Djan also told The Independent that the NDC as a political party has no parentage.

He explained that, because it has no parentage, the NDC is blindly searching for something to hold on to. It thus claims as its tradition December 31, which, unfortunately, violated the collective rights of the people of the Republic of Ghana to choose their own leaders by overthrowing the constitutionally-elected government of Dr Hilla Limann in 1981.

Since that is unbecoming of a political party in a constitutional democracy as we currently have, they also claim their tradition is in June 4, 1979, but that cannot be, Osahene Boakye Djan scoffed.

How can people whose tradition is overthrowing the collective rights of the people to elect their leaders and blood-letting, as we saw in the PNDC era, claim to have roots in June 4, which has the noble character as the only coup against anti-constitution coup makers, he wondered.

As you can see therefore they have no parentage, “the NDC is a bastard party that gate-crashes other people’s parties (June 4),” he charged.

Source:
The Independent

Dismiss charges against me - Kwame Peprah



The former Minister of Finance, Mr. Kwame Peprah, who is standing trial with the former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, and three others for allegedly causing financial loss to the state in the divestiture of the GIHOC Cannery at Nsawam, has filed an application praying the Accra Fast Track High Court to dismiss the charges levelled against him.

Peprah, who has pleaded not guilty to the charge of intentionally causing loss to public property, said "the decision to divest the interest and the Presidential approval were made and given before I became Chairman of the Governing Body of the Committee".

"This honourable court must acquit and discharge me of charges in this case and make a further order prohibiting the government, the Attorney-General and all governmental agencies from disturbing me in matters relating to the performance of my functions as Chairman of the Governing Board," he continued.

According to the applicant, he was indemnified against court proceedings in respect of any act or omission arising out of the disposal of the GIHOC Nsawam Cannery by reason and operation of Section 15 of the Divestiture of State Interests (Implementation) Act, 1993 PNDCL 326.

Peprah, who is also the former Chairman of the Divestiture Implementation Committee (DIC), described the charges as illegal and said "the duty I performed with regard to the divestiture of the Nsawam Cannery was a duty commended by law and a refusal to do it would have been unlawful".

Peprah and the former First Lady are being tried alongside three others, namely, Emmanuel Amuzu Agbodo, the former Executive Secretary of the DIC, Thomas Benson Owusu, a former accountant of the DIC, Sherry Ayittey, the Managing Director of Caridem Development Company Limited, and Caridem as an entity.

The accused persons are facing various charges of conspiracy, causing financial loss to public property, conspiracy to obtain public property by false statement and obtaining public property by false statement.

All of them have pleaded not guilty to all the charges and are on self-recognisance bail.

They were alleged to have caused financial loss to the state running into billions of cedis in respect of a public property following the acquisition of GIHOC Cannery, a government cannery, by Caridem Limited, which was owned by the 31st December Women's Movement (DWM), in 1995 when the cannery was divested.

The prosecution said the accused persons failed to pay interest which accrued on an outstanding balance of ¢7,069,640,664.86, amounting to ¢2,191,588,606.11, to the DIC in respect of the sale of GIHOC Nsawam Cannery and as a result had caused financial loss to the state.

An affidavit accompanying the application, which was expected to be heard on Thursday, July 12, 2007 stated that the applicant was obliged to sign instruments once the President had approved recommendations.

At the court's sitting in Accra on Monday, hearing of the application had to be adjourned to Thursday to enable the prosecution to obtain a copy of the application which it (prosecution) said it had not received.

The accused persons, together with their counsel, were in court and the former First Lady was, as usual, followed by some women sympathisers who were held behind the court fence, amidst singing.

Three persons, namely, Georgina Okaiteye, a Director/General Manager of Caridem Development Company Limited, Larry Adjetey, a Director/Secretary of Caridem, and George Mould, a Director of Caridem, who were among the accused persons, were discharged following the withdrawal of charges against them by the prosecution.

Source:
Daily Graphic 


 

Spraying gangs call for replacement of machines


Nyinahin (Ash), July 10, GNA- Mass cocoa spraying gangs and supervisors in the Atwima-Mponua District of the Ashanti Region have appealed to the Ghana COCOBOD to replace machines being used for the exercise to ensure efficient spraying in the next season which begins in August this year.

They complained that all the 37 spraying machines which were distributed to the 60 gangs in the District were old and not functioning well.

The gangs made the appeal at a day's training programme, organized by Chemico Limited and CODAPEC, dealers in agro-chemicals for members of cocoa spraying gangs and their supervisors at Nyinahin in the District on Thursday.

They gangs also mentioned inadequate chemicals and the lack of spare parts as some of the problems affecting their operations. Dr. Anthony Richmond Cudjoe, the Acting Head of Entomology Division of the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) at Tafo, advised the gangs to wear protective clothes during spraying exercise to prevent injuries. He said the new "Akate Master", which had been approved by the COCOBOARD was very effective and urged them to store the chemicals in their original containers and create special disposal sites for the containers. Mr. Paul Amo Korang, the District Cocoa Officer, warned the gangs against pilfering of the insecticides and urged them to form taskforces to check malpractices among members.

Source:
GNA

Two drivers jailed for slave dealing

Takoradi, July 10, GNA - A Takoradi Circuit Court on Monday sentenced Ekow Condua, 35, and Maxwell Asabil, 34, both drivers at Axim, to 12 months imprisonment each for attempting to sell their two children for 200 million cedis each.

They pleaded not guilty to slave dealing.

Prosecuting, Police Chief Inspector Theophilus Agbemordza told the court presided by Mr Justice George Koomson that on January 15 2005, the convicts went to the house of Mr Enoch Tando, the Chairman of the Cargo Section of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) at Agona Junction, who deals in cars, for financial assistance.

They told Tando that they wanted a car to buy but they did not have money and as such they were prepared to sell one child each to raise money.

Chief Inspector Agbemordza said after the accused persons had made the proposal, Tando asked them to excuse him, left the room and informed the police about it.

He said some policemen who were dressed in mufti went to the house of Tando and pretended to be guarantors of the transaction. Chief Inspector Agbemordza said the accused persons told Tando that they would be selling their children aged 7 and 9 years to Tando at the cost of 200 million cedis each.

Tando agreed to pay 180 million cedis for each of the children during the negotiation and the accused persons accepted the offer and after the transaction the policemen arrested the convicts.

Source:
GNA

New Ministers List Out!


Ntim replaces Kyeremanten; Kan-Dapaah for defence
Shirley Botchwey is foreign minister
The Speaker of Parliament late last night received President Kufuor's nomination of ministers who are to steer the policies of what could be the last phase of the President's eight-year tenure.

Interior Minister, Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, is to replace Dr Addo-Kufuor at the Ministry of Defence.

Mr Stephen Ayesu Ntim, who lost to Mr Peter Mac Manu in his bid to become the National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), is to become the Minister of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and President's Special Initiatives (PSIs), to replace Mr Alan Kyerematen.

The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, returns to his earlier portfolio as Water Resources, Works and Housing Minister, to take over from veteran Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang.

Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, a Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and NEPAD, is to be elevated to the substantive position of Foreign Minister, to take over from Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Alhaji Boniface Abubakar Saddique, the Minister of Manpower, Youth and Employment, moves to the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment, where he is to swap positions with Mr Stephen Asamoah Boateng.

The Assin South Member of Parliament (MP) and Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines, Professor Dominic Fobih, moves to the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports to replace Papa Owusu-Ankomah.

Source:
Daily Graphic

Broadband service extended to Wa

WA, July 10, GNA - Telephone subscribers in the Upper West Region owe Ghana Telecom (GT) 1.5 billion cedis (150,000 GH cedis) whose recovery is urgently required to ensure that the region gets the best of services and coverage of the new products that are being introduced by the company.
Officials of GT said this to newsmen at Wa on Monday at the launch of Company's Broadband 4U service, a new product designed by the company to offer high-speed Internet access to its clients through a fixed phone line.
Alhaji Issahaku Alhassan, Upper West Regional Deputy Coordinating Director who launched the facility on behalf of Mr Ambrose Dery, the Regional Minster, urged prospective subscribers not to use the facility to engage in fraud and other cyber crimes. Development in modern society, he said, was technology based and therefore the crave for Internet facilities should be used to acquire knowledge and skills in all spheres for advancement. He appealed to GT to extend the facility to other districts in the region.
Mr Dela Kayi, Media Manager for Fixed Networks Services of the Company, said the new product was part of GT vision to bring Internet services to schools, churches, and communities to enable them access a wide range of resources that could have positive impact on their lives. He said it has been designed to take care of a broad spectrum of activities at various service levels and packaged to meet specific needs such as revitalization of E commerce, information about government policies, attracting new industries and creating new jobs. Mr Emmanuel Ayettey, Upper West Regional Manager of GT, said subscribers to the new product who have no fixed telephone lines would have them installed without any cost to them.


Source:
GNA

Apraku campaigns in Volta Region


Jasikan (V/R), July 10, GNA-Dr Kofi Konadu Apraku, one of the NPP presidential aspirants has stated that it was imperative for the Party to choose a leader with a clean record to lead the to victory in 2008.

He said the Party's flag bearer should be the one who had gone through the political mill and had gained enormous experience to bring good results to the Party after the elections. Dr. Apraku, who was interacting with the Buem Constituency executives of the Party at Jasikan said anything short of the above qualities could spell doom for the Party because the 2008 elections would be "a hard to fight one".

He stated that he had been deeply involved in the formation of the Party, including the writing of the Party's manifesto, constitution and designing of its symbol and had got a lot of experience, by virtue of the various positions he occupied in Parliament thus the right person for the Party.

Dr Apraku revealed that he had toured nine out of the ten regions and was convinced that he had the largest support from the Ashanti Region and hoping to get that of the Volta Region to be sure of victory.

Source:
GNA

JJ's Kids In Court


Accra (Daily Guide) -- There were exciting moments at the premises of an Accra Fast-Track High Court yesterday when three children of the former first couple appeared in the courtroom in the company of their mother, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings.
Amina and Yaa Asantewaa, along with their younger brother, Kimathi, arrived at the court premises in a four-wheel Toyato Landcruiser in solidarity with the life-president of the 31st December Women’s Movement (31st DWM), who is standing trial with five others on nearly 30 charges including causing financial loss to the state.

Notably absent were the eldest daughter, Ezenator, her father, JJ Rawlings, and his special assistant, Victor Smith, who frequently accompanied the former first lady to court. Also present were Mrs. Agyeman, Konadu’s mother and one of her sisters, who were both in court to give moral support.

Accompanying Konadu were a dozen young men dressed in ‘Stop Aids’ T-shirts, who served as the drummers and dancers for the occasion.

However, more noticeable were a group of men and women wielding placards, some of which read,

“KONADU, GHANAIAN WOMEN ARE PROUD OF YOU”

“4 NEW PORCHE 4 WHEEL DRIVE AT 180,000 EACH FOR K4 AND CHILDREN. WAA WAA WAA”.

“K4 IN 4 YEARS HAS BOUGHT 6 HOUSES. JUST IMAGINE THIS THIEF! WAA WAA WAA WAA!”

“GEORGINA WOOD, THIS IS A TEST CASE FOR YOU”

“CHIEF KUFUOR LOANS? ARE THEY ALSO CRIME?”

“STOP HARASSING HARD WORKING WOMEN”

“KUFUOR’S POVERTY, THE VALUE IS THE SAME.”

Friends and sympathizers of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as well as red-bereted members of the 31st December Women’s Movement (31st DWM) were not left out, as they thronged the court premises wearing red bands on their heads and on other parts of their bodies.
Those who could not get access to the courtroom stood outside, as the ‘jama kpanlongo’ group drummed, to which they danced while extolling the virtues of the former president and his wife throughout the proceedings, which were eventually adjourned.

Meanwhile, at the Fast-track court presided over by Justice Baffoe-Bonnie, Mr. Adjei Ampofo, counsel for the fourth accused person, Kwame Peprah, former Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Divestiture Implementation Committee (DIC), informed the court that he had filed an application for the charges against his client to be dropped.

However, the acting Director for Public Prosecution (DPP), Miss Gertrude Aikins told the court that she had not been served, and so would need a few days to go through the application and respond to it appropriately.

Counsel for Peprah hoped to use the indemnity clause in the DIC laws to free his client, since according to him, all the duties the former minister performed in his capacity as Chairman of DIC was a duty by law and refusal to follow through with it would have been unlawful.

Tony Lithur, counsel for Konadu, also stated that an application for stay of proceedings had been filed. But he did not elaborate further before the case was adjourned to July 12, 2007 for the motions to be argued.

DAILY GUIDE had a hint that Konadu had appealed for a stay of proceedings until a civil suit she filed against the Attorney-General and DIC last year which was thrown out by the trial Judge, was determined.

Other persons standing trial in the case include Hanny Sherry Ayittey, Managing Director of Caridem, Emmanuel Agbodo, Former Executive Secretary of DIC and Thomas Benson Owusu, an accountant. The accused persons are facing 30 charges including conspiracy to commit crime, stealing, use of false statement to acquire public property and willfully causing financial loss to the state.
Their alleged role in the divesture of GIHOC Nsawam Cannery to Caridem, belonging to the 31st DWM of which Nana Konadu is the President, was said to be fraudulent as the signatures on the documents used in the transaction were forged. They have pleaded not guilty to all the counts and are on self-cognisance bail.

Source:
Daily Guide

Minister Faces Death Threat


Accra (The Independent) -- "Credible" information reaching The Independent speak of attempts by some supporters and activists of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) to assassinate the sitting Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, who doubles as the Deputy Minister for Finance and Economic Planning.

Investigations have revealed that some personalities have in the past three weeks been attending secret meetings in Kumasi to ostensibly plot the assassination of Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei.

“Our investigations also established that, the game plan is still at the preparatory stages, but The Independent can reveal that, as part of their strategy the plotters have recruited some security personnel as assassins to give their game plan a professional touch.”

The paper says those involved in the diabolical scheme have been holding the secret meetings at different venues so as to avoid being uncovered, and one such venue includes a prime hotel in Kumasi.

The Independent also failed to establish the motive behind the assassination plot but said its sources in the Old Tafo Constituency hinted that "The motive is political, and that some people believe Dr. Akoto Osei has blocked their political fortunes, and that the way out of that situation is to eliminate him, period."

Dr. Akoto Osei confirmed the story when contacted. "I have been hinted about the assassination plot on my life," he said adding, "I have been informed that some people have been meeting in Kumasi and plotting to eliminate me." The paper also quotes him as saying he has also heard that the meetings were held within the last three weeks.

Asked whether he believes what he was told, he said, “Previously I heard it in the form of a rumour but now I have been told straight to my face that there is such a plot against me by my party people.”

Asked whether he thinks the information is credible, he told The Independent "Even if you think that it is not true you still have to take precautionary measures” and cited what happened to the Deputy Managing Director of Ghana Commercial Bank, Rokko Frimpong as an instance saying, “I have taken a cue from what happened to him and have advised myself accordingly.

Dr. Akoto Osei told the paper that he would inform the police about the threat of assassination to his life in order not to be overtaken by events. He expressed shock that security personnel in the Ashanti Region could be recruited for such a diabolic plot without them seeing anything wrong with it.

In an interview to cross-check if he had heard of the assassination attempt, the Old Tafo Constituency Chairman of the NPP, Moses Donkor, said, “Yes, I have been told but that move to kill a whole MP and Deputy Minister is indeed unfortunate.”

He told The Independent that he was informed by Dr. Akoto Osei on Sunday about the plot to eliminate him (Dr. Akoto), and that he has immediately put in place contingency measures to ascertain the veracity of the information, and to move to arrest the situation, and to establish the identities of those behind the plot.

To the Old Tafo Constituency Chairman, “That move to eliminate Dr. Akoto Osei will not help,” he said and added, "I have put in place a strategy to find out the accomplices and to see how best to deal with them.”

“God will not allow that to happen," he said and added, "because Dr. Akoto Osei has not done anything wrong. He has been of great help to all of us and the constituency. If you cannot beat your opponent you should not plot to kill him, but rather join him."

Source:
The Independent

NPP to force candidates on constituencies



It seems the National Organiser of the New Patriotic Party, (NPP) Lord Commey, more than ever, is poised to break all obstacles in his way and implement his party's decision to boycott the holding of primaries to elect its parliamentary candidates in some constituencies.

Lord Commey lambasted his critics who oppose the proposed "consensus building" strategy and emphasized that there was nowhere that his party’s constitution explicitly states that at all cost, preliminary elections must be held before a parliamentary candidate could be selected.

"It’s quite disturbing that though I keep explaining this simple issue, some people who do not understand our party’s constitution keep saying we want to impose candidates. They are two different things.

"The misinformation they are giving can rather land our party in crisis. And if they have other hidden motives for saying so, then they should spit it out. There are some in our party who understand the issue but because of cowardice, have left Lord Commey to do all the talking as if I took the decision alone", Lord Commey complained.

The National Organiser explained that in politics, "there comes a time when without compromising on laid down principles, common sense should be applied".

Asked to explain, Lord Commey said ''just as how people are complaining that the multiplicity of the aspiring flagbearers can split the party, the same applies to the multiplicity of interested aspiring parliamentary candidates in our constituencies dividing the party at the grassroots. And in constituencies where our research shows that holding of primaries would not be in our interest, we would build consensus by getting the interested parties to agree on a single candidate.

“Is that imposition? Please we are not stupid to hold useless primaries that would divide us".

Citing a scenario to underscore his position, Mr. Commey gave an example where the sitting MP in a constituency was interested in the seat, the District or Metropolitan Chief Executive has started undermining the sitting MP because he was also interested in the seat, and the Constituency Chairman had also expressed interest and started forming camps.

The National Organiser explained that if such a situation was allowed to prevail and the various interested parties allowed to form camps and campaign, past records in the party have shown that it is always a difficult challenge to unite the various camps after primaries are held and other influential power blocks within the party do not win.

"The Media can write what they think, but we are the politicians and we understand the game and what can make us win or lose", Lord Commey stated, adding that "For the fact that a party member qualifies to contest the seat does not mean the person has what it takes to win the seat."

He said though the NPP would not compromise on its democratic principles, the party could not afford to sit and watch people who were not marketable and "winnable" candidates contest.

"Our Constitution is such that you can even come from another political party but once the National, Regional and Constituency Executive Committee agree that you can win us the seat, we would come for you, and we've done that before", he said.

The National Organiser expressed misgivings about party members who though had not filed their nomination to contest the parliamentary seat, had started forming camps to advertise themselves and campaign as if they were given the nod.

Source:
Crusading Guide

Parliament ends energy debate


Accra, July 10, GNA- Parliament on Tuesday ended debate on the energy crisis by voting massively on an amended motion filed by some NPP members of parliament supporting government's plans towards generating more power and urging it to implement those plans on schedule.

The majority vote of 104 against 60 from the minority NDC defeated an original Private Member's motion filed by three NDC members of parliament.

The motion expressed disappointment over government's inability to end the crisis, urging it to adopt an effective programme to address the situation.

Debate on the energy crisis in Parliament was initiated some weeks ago through a motion jointly filed Mr Haruna Iddrisu, NDC-Tamale South, and two others, which condemned government's way of handling the energy situation.

A counter motion was, however, introduced immediately by Mr. Maxwell Jumah, (NPP-Asokwa) and others, noting government's plans to end the crisis and urging it to do so on time.

Mr Iddrisu, winding up on the debate on Tuesday, said government should try to solve the crisis through a combination of hydropower, thermal and solar energy.

He said there should be plans to establish a thermal plant in the Northern part of the country to serve those areas.

Mr Iddrisu also called for massive local budgetary investment in energy in the 2008 budget to help address the crisis in the short term. Mr Joseph Adda, the Minister of Energy, summing up, said the NDC did not hand over any solid energy policy to the NPP to help offer solutions to the energy crisis.

Earlier, before the commencement of public business, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, the Finance Minister, told the House that the total foreign "indebtedness of Ghana as at April 30, 2007 stood at 2,712.35 million dollars."

"This debt stock consists of 2,249.48 million long-term debt and 462.87 short term debt."

Mr. Baah-Wiredu was responding to a question on the total foreign indebtedness of the country as at April this year. He said as at the end of 2000, the country's foreign debt totalled six billion dollars.

Source:
GNA

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• 09.07.2007

Ghana For Sale To The Highest Bidders - CPP


“The NPP is for sale to the highest bidder according to the Convention People’s Party (CPP), in radio interviews during the weekend in London, noting that the over 20 contestants for the Presidential nomination are reportedly to pay 650 Million Cedis, about $70,000.00, to be allowed to contest for the nomination.

Various officials of the CPP commented that “the NPP seeks to provide liquidity for their party whilst their poor management of corporate Ghana is bankrupting the country, and those who are suffering most are the poor, the old, women and children”.

As the sums in question are several times that of the salaries of Ministers questions must be asked as to how and where the NPP expects the money to come from, the CPP said. “Is this not a recipe fueling corruption?, one CPP official was heard to ask.

The CPP stated that the New Patriotic party is representing a minority of wealthy Ghanaians who are grabbing everything that they can lay their hands on for themselves under the guise of the “party of business, and property owning democracy”, that they are a well financed greed organisation that is busy robbing the Ghanaian people while giving the appearance of being moral crusaders beyond reproach. “Where is the “Patriotism?” in New Patriotic Party” the CPP repeatedly asked at various radio stations.

“Ghanaians have been reduced to beggars by a free spending, free loading and reckless government that hates the over 80% of the population who are poor. What is even more astonishing is the NPP government’s unwillingness to recognise the gravity of their failed approach especially on the energy crisis, the large youth underemployment and unemployment, the high incidence of arm robbery in the country and the way that the country has been turned into a narcotics transit point by South American drug barons, undermining our integrity and threatening our security as a nation”, the CPP officials said.

The Party called for all stakeholders and political parties to urgently meet and help find solutions to the numerous crises facing the country since the NPP on their own have dramatically failed to solve the problems of Ghana. The final points made by the CPP included “despite the money that the NPP is seeking to raise many Ghanaians believe that money will not help them, and that the government was planning to rig the elections, or intimidate the electorate with the recent reports of arms importation into the country through improper channels”

Source:
CPP Communications Directorate

( cppuk@hotmail.com )

Italian President calls on Parliament


Accra, July 9, GNA - His Excellency, Mr. Giorgio Napolitano, President of the Republic of Italy, on Monday said the European Union (EU) had a role to play in ensuring the unity and integration of Africa. He has, therefore, called for greater cooperation between the EU and the African Union, saying the EU has to make some financial commitment to enable Africa move towards unity.

Mr Napolitano said these when he paid a courtesy call on Mr Ebenezer Sekyi Hughes, the Speaker, and a section of Members of the Parliament.

The Italian President, on a state visit to Ghana, said he had been an MP before, both in Italy and the European Union, adding that parliament should be a place where all political forces could meet, dialogue and listen to each other.

He said it should be possible for the parliament of Ghana and Italy to form a friendship association to exchange ideas. Touching on relations between the two countries, he said Ghanaian immigrants in Italy were doing well and contributing to Italy's economy, and extended a welcome to them in Italy.

Mr Sekyi Hughes, in his response, said it was significant that the Italian President had used his visit, to interact with the representatives of the people by visiting the Ghanaian Parliament. "It shows his belief in parliamentary democracy and Ghana's young democracy," he said.

He said Ghana had, over the years, benefited from Italian assistance in various fields, including technical support and the cancellation of debts running into millions of dollars under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries initiative, which has benefited Ghana tremendously.

The Speaker said a number of African parliaments, including Ghana, had also benefited from Italy under an information communication technology package, which has facilitated the work of legislatures across the continent.

He proposed the established of an association between Ghana and Italy's Parliament.

Source:
GNA

Farmers owe MOFA over GH 100 Million cedis


Mpraeso, July 9, GNA - Over 500 farmers in the Kwahu South District owes the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) over GH( 100 million (one billion cedis) in the form of inputs credit and financial assistance granted them for the cultivation of maize, live stock and poultry production two years ago.

The farmers have failed to pay for the supply of large quantity of agriculture inputs such as seed maize, fertilizers, insecticide, weedicides and financial assistance under the Food and Agriculture sub sector Budgetary Support (FABS).

This was disclosed by the Acting District Director of Agriculture, Mr Moses Banfo in an interview with the GNA at Mpraeso. He said the Assistance was a loan from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to the government to be used as a revolving fund to support farmers in their activities to increase production. Mr Banfo said only 20 per cent of the amount had been recovered and appealed to the farmers to pay up for the district to get assistance for other farmers to benefit.

He said the recalcitrant farmers would be put before court to recover the money to avoid the district from being black listed.

Source:
GNA

Barclays walks in aid of guinea worm eradication

Takoradi, July 9, GNA - Mrs Shola Duodu, Head of Corporate Affairs of Barclays Bank Ghana, has called on Ghanaians to support the eradication of guinea worm in Ghana.

She said this would improve the health status of endemic communities and enables them to contribute to economic development. Mrs Duodu said this at the launch of a walk aid by the Bank in Takoradi at the weekend.

She said Barclays had so far raised 600 million cedis for the project through the sale of raffle tickets and other fund raising activities.

Mrs Duodu called on all Ghanaians to join Barclays in this campaign to make the country free from guinea worm infection.

Source:
GNA

National ID card project delayed


…but officials say they are almost ready for take-off … Ghanaians abroad will be included
The National Identification Authority (NIA) says despite the delay in the commencement of the registration process for the issuance of full-proof ID cards, they are on course and will soon start the process using over 27,000 registration assistants to collect the required data across the country.

Executive Secretary of the Authority, Professor Ernest Dumor says the promulgation of relevant laws required to legalise the process for data capturing for the register, its usage and protection of the date contributed to the delay in the commencement of the exercise.

The draft regulation on date capture and protection has received cabinet approval, and is expected to be laid before parliament soon for approval.

Asked why they have to necessarily wait for a law, Professor Dumor said, it is international practice all over for the world when wanting to capture biometric data it must be done fairly and in conformity with the law.

He explained that while an Act of Parliament has already established the NIA with a mandate to register and issue ID cards to all Ghanaian citizens, the Authority must wait for a law that will allow and authorize the capture of data and also deal with the protection and confidentiality of data as well as sharing it with other governmental agencies in the country.

In the interim however, field staff of the Authority are out and about mapping out locations, recruiting and training a number of registration assistants for a pilot & testing of the mobile registration workstations (MRWs) that will be used for the exercise.

The testing will be coordinated by the NIA and its technical solution provider, SAGEM of France which has customized the products for Ghana and all issues relating to it have been duly sorted out.

Speaking to journalists in Accra, Professor Dumor confirmed that the Authority is ready and will be registering all Ghanaians living outside the borders of the country.

When he was reminded by the dailyEXPRESS that Ghanaians are and will be scattered all over the five continents, making their registration difficult, the NIA Executive Secretary said they’ve been mandated to do the registration and will go ahead to register nationals abroad.

Source:
dailyEXPRESS

Ministry to organize forums on land administration


Accra, July 9, GNA- The Land Administration Project (LAP) of the Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines (MLFM), on Sunday announced plans to organise regional land forums on the Consolidated Land Act. The proposed Act would pool all the laws and regulations on land that are scattered in over 166 sources into one document. A statement signed by the Communication Specialist of LAP /MLFM Mrs Ama Kudom-Agyeman said, the review of the lands law and the development of a consolidated land Act is part of activities under LAP, aimed at streamlining the land administration system in the country. The statement said, the forums were to ensure that policy development framework is as participatory as possible. The Ministry is taking this consultative approach because it recognizes that managing land is big, it raises lots of issues and has many divergent interests, which must all be collated and taken into account before the Act is drafted.

By this approach the Ministry is building the initial consensus on critical land issues such as the process of accessing land and land rights.

It said, the topics to be discussed at the forums included terminologies in land administration in the regions, land ownership, security of tenure and rights associated with customary grants, compulsory acquisitions and compensation, framework for customary land administration and land use planning and development. It however said, other institutional reform and development of One-Stop Service Center, and as well as women's access to land, land rights of women and women's security of tenure.

The statement said, "The land forums, which will be held in the regional capitals are scheduled to start in Tamale, Northern Region on the 9th and 10th of July 2007 and at Koforidua, Eastern Region on the 21st and 23rd of August 2007".

It noted that, the forums will be climaxed with a three-day national land forum scheduled for October 16 to 18 2007.

Source:
GNA

Genital Search Galore: GES Takes Action


The Ghana Education Service (GES) has demanded a report on the alleged search into the private parts of about 600 female trainees at the St Louis Training College. The search was said to have been conducted by authorities of the college to ascertain whether any of the female trainees had undergone an abortion, following the discovery of a sanitary pad soaked with blood behind one of the dormitories.

Mr Victor Mantey, the acting Director of the Teacher Education Division of the GES, who gave the directive, said in an interview that "I have asked the principal of the college to submit a report on what-exactly took place".

The victims, who are mostly first and second year trainees told a section of the media that their private parts were searched by some female teachers at the college's laboratory.

They said their panties were removed to find out if any of them was bleeding after which their breasts and stomachs were also examined by the teachers.

Mr Mantey, however, said if any of the trainees was suspected of being pregnant or had undergone an abortion, the right thing to do was to take the person to a doctor for examination.

Mr Mantey said, "If you suspect that a person is pregnant, you take the person to a medical officer for examination,” adding that for now I want to hear from the horse's own mouth before I can pass judgement." He indicated that once the report was submitted, it would be forwarded to the Ghana Education Service for the necessary action.

Meanwhile, the African Co-ordinator of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI};Nana Oye Lithur, who called for a full scale investigation into the matter, described the act as a gross violation of the human rights of the trainees.

According to her, the act was an indication of the ignorance of human rights and called for the issue of human rights to be inculcated in the study of education. She stressed the need for the GES to review its disciplinary procedures to ensure that they conform to the laws of the country.

Nana Oye Lithur recounted a number of cases in which students rights were violated by teachers and school authorities. She said the removal of the panties of the teacher-trainees and the examination of their breasts and stomachs by the teachers were violations of the trainees' right to pprivacy, health and human dignity as enshrined in the country's constitution.

She cited Articles 15, 15(2) and 18 and indicated that if the authorities suspected anything unusual they should have handed over the matter to the police, which had the authority to conduct investigations. "The act on the trainees was unlawful and must be investigated thoroughly," N ana Oye Lithur stated.

Source:
Daily Graphic

Man ‘snubs’ kids for television set


The decision by a 36-year old auto-mechanic at Tema Newtown, a suburb of Tema is regretting his decision to rather prevent his 14-inch television from being carried away by floods instead of saving his children.

The two young children- a boy (5) and a girl (3) were swept away by the powerful moving water moments after their father left them to chase the TV set during last Wednesday’s rains which flooded parts of Tema.

Now, the man, Abbey Quaye said the situation has become too heavy a load for him to bear.

Abbey is among many who put up in some wooden structures said to be close to the Chemu lagoon. The rains and subsequent floods destroyed the structures and washed property and at least two persons away.

According to eyewitnesses, the floods swept away lots of properties into the lagoon. Abbey who had already lost most of his properties could not stand the sight of losing his television set as well.

He therefore left the children to chase the floating TV set, resulting in the innocent and defenseless children being carried away. Abbey, witnesses told the dailyEXPRESS began calling out the names of his two children when he returned and could not find them.

A neighbour later told the frustrated and dejected looking father that he saw “some objects that looked like human beings swept away from this very rock.”

As at the time of filing this report the bodies of the two children were yet to be recovered.

Last Wednesday’s down pour caused major damage to property, the roads and razed some structures down. Some small scale fuel service station operators watched as their tanks rolled away in the flood waters.

dailyEXPRESS cameraman Benjamin Adjei managed to take some shots of the devastating effects of the rain. In one of the pictures, residents could be seen clinging to the rooftop of their building while others battled with floating waste which was finding its way into their rooms.

Again, the sorrowful state of the chemu lagoon has become more evident, and dailyEXPRESS checks has confirmed that the metallic bridge has caved in and must be salvaged before another disaster happens.

Source:
dailyEXPRESS

Security experts meet on money laundering



Accra, July 9, GNA - Security experts from five ECOWAS English-speaking countries on Monday converged in Accra to brainstorm on how to tighten the screw on regional crime through money laundering.
Money laundering is often referred to as money from illegal sources, otherwise called "dirty money", which is circulated within society for the promotion of crime and terrorist activities. The seven experts with 17 other participants from The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone are in Accra for the next three days to draft a National Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) Strategy for ECOWAS English speaking countries.

Ms Stella Attakpah(pictured), Programme Officer, Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing in West Africa (GIABA), said it was vital that all member states developed effective AML/CFT strategies in response to the menace of money launderers who were taking advantage of inadequacies in the system.

Their activities, she noted, were becoming serious threats to the peace and security of the international community because their transactions were often across borders in order to disguise the origin of their monies.
Ms. Attakpah said: "The establishment of GIABA in 2000 by the Authority of Heads of State and Governments of the ECOWAS is one of the major responses to deal with this scourge to make sure that crime does not pay and help commit further crime.
"This is a practical demonstration of the strong political commitment of all member states in our region to combat money laundering and possible terrorist financing."
She said to build an effective Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorist Financing regime there was the need for strong government commitment as well as commitment from the private sector. Ms. Attakpah said if the region was able to fight organised criminals, money launderers and terrorist financiers, it would have a sound financial base that would attract genuine investors and investments to the region. Ms. Delphine Schantz, Anti-Money Laundering Adviser, Global Programme against Money Laundering, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNIODC), said because most organised criminal activities, including money laundering and terrorist financing were cross-border activities, effective deterrence, prevention, detection and disruptive measures were needed to be in place at all times at the national levels.
"Developing a fully fledged AML/CFT strategy sets out the framework of measures to deploy to ensure integrity, harm perpetrators and save lives.
"Each country has its own vulnerability to crime and terrorism and each of them needs to determine what are the loopholes or inadequacies in their own systems to clearly define goals and ways to address these challenges in a reasonable time frame," she said. Mr. Gordon Wetherell, British High Commissioner said, putting in place Financial Action Task Force (FAFT) standards needed to be seen as a priority for all countries since financial systems needed to be protected from abuse by criminal and terrorists.
He said looking back at bombings in Kenya in 2002 was enough indication that Africa was not immune to the threat of terrorists and of money launderers who sponsored criminal activities. "Visible and effective legislation will deter and dissuade would-be financiers of terrorism," he said, adding that ECOWAS countries should remain committed to ensure that adequate AML/CFT measures were in place as a matter of priority.
Dr Kweku Addeah, Head Legal Department, Bank of Ghana, expressed satisfaction with Ghana's commitment to the cause, saying there was a bill before Parliament.

Source:
GNA

Reduce number of festivals in area - Gomoa DCE


Apam, July 9, GNA - Paramount Chiefs in the Gomoa District have been urged to come together to plan "one grand festival," to attract tourists and investors to the area.

Madam Joyce Aidoo, District Chief Executive (DCE), made the call at a mini durbar organised by the University of Cape Coast Chapter of the Gomoa Students Association at Apam.

It was to mark the end of their three-week outreach programme to teach in schools, which performed poorly in the last Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

The DCE noted that the Akwanbo festival, the Ahobaketsewa, Ahobakese and the "Gomoa two weeks" were celebrated in what she called, "piece meal" in the communities, adding that, "They are a waste of resources and time".

"No wonder poverty is rife in the District since new clothes are acquired for festivals and citizens working outside the District are compelled to come home for the festivals", she said. Madam Aidoo noted that these activities also contributed to the high rate of teenage pregnancy, HIV/AIDS and the poor standard of education.

She advised parents and guardians to use their scarce resources on the education of their children and wards instead of festivals and commended the students for their efforts.

The DCE assured the students of the support of the District Assembly in the programme organised every semester. Professor Kobina Yankson, Head of the Zoology Department and Director of the Quality Control of the University, who is also the patron of the Association commended the students for spending their holidays on a "profitable ventures".

Prof Yankson, a former Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University urged the students to target parents and guardians to sensitise them to appreciate the importance of education.

He expressed concern about chieftaincy and land disputes in the District, which retarded development and led to poverty. Dr. Samuel Mbroh, a Medical Officer at the University Hospital and also a patron, urged citizens from the District to take interest in the teaching profession to contribute to the raising of educational standards in the area.

Mrs. Augustina King, Deputy District Director of Education, expressed concern about the refusal of Junior Secondary School (JSS) three students to attend classes after they had registered for the BECE and the inability of some parents to care for their children. Mr. George Yamoah, President of the Association, said students noted that absenteeism by teachers and pupils and lack of parental support contributed to the low standard of education in the area.

Source:
GNA

Gospel Music Awards launched

Accra, July 9, GNA - The 2007 edition of the Ceval Gospel Awards scheduled for October this year was on Monday launched in Accra. The event, which is second in a series and is being organised by Ceval Consult, seeks to recognise excellence in gospel music that had won the hearts of gospel music fans.

As part of the entry requirement for this year's award, artists' albums must have an international outlook and should be sold around the globe. Video clips, particularly, must have screen translations, among others.

The requirements also stipulated that any song derived from another artist's copyright work should come with the original composer's written audio and visual recorded consent before it would be accepted. Mr. Cephas Amartey, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ceval Consult, said the notion behind the awards was to raise and maintain the standard of gospel music in the country and beyond.

"We intend to create avenues to upgrade the status and earning of those who will be committed to the standards we set and ultimately endeavour to promote their gospel work on the international scene," he added. He said the awards were designed with very serious and disciplined gospel artists in mind, especially those with an eye for both the national and the international markets. Mr. Amartey stressed that they would work hard to enhance the place of gospel music in the industry and gradually build a brand to grow to hit the top.

He bemoaned the numerous problems confronting the gospel awards initiative in terms of sponsorship and urged corporate bodies and other gospel music lovers to support the project to make it a success.

Source:
GNA

Eighth Pan African Film Festival opens in Accra


Accra, July 9, GNA - Mr. Kwamena Bartels Minister of Information and National Orientation on Monday called for a new breed of film and television professionals, who should be equipped with the requisite knowledge and skills, to prosecute the development agenda of African countries.

"Africa's future depended on the harnessing and utilisation of its resources for social mobilisation, promotion of Africa's cultural values and economic integration.

"The teachers and students of our film and television training centres must appreciate that Africa's future does not depend on unnecessary partisan politics but on the harnessing and utilisation of our resources for social mobilisation, promotion of Africa's cultural values and economic development and integration," Mr Bartels stated. Mr Bartels stated at the opening of the eighth edition of the Pan-African Student Film and Television Festival, dubbed: "ANIWA Africa 2007".

The biennial two-week festival organised by the National Film and Television Institute of Ghana (NAFTI) starts from July 9th to July 21st is under the general theme: "Championing African Excellence Through Film and Television."

Hundreds of students, lecturers and professionals in the film sector from Ghana, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and The Gambia.

Mr Bartels said the choice of the theme was to remind cinema and television professionals of the need to shift emphasis to the production of materials that would enable them to overcome superstition, ethnicity, civil strife, fear, violence and other negative cultural practices that undermined the Continent's search for development.

He said most people in recent times had expressed reservation and disquiet about the quality and content of films being shown on the screens and in theatres.

"The effect on our children and youth is clearly damaging our cultural fabric. Unbridled application of digital technology in the creation of negative images is quite worrying." The Minister, therefore, urged the participants to use the festival to learn new technologies that would support production of materials that would promote health, eliminate poverty and sustain Africa's cultural values.

He said a new Film Development and Classification Act that Ghana was in the process of finalizing was expected to promote national integration, cohesion and development.

Mr Martin Loh, Director of NAFTI, said the festival was to bring together teachers, students and professionals to acquire new knowledge and share experience and skills.

He said film training was very expensive and had, therefore, suffered budgetary problems over the years.

Mr Loh said ANIWA had gained international recognition as a major student film and TV event in Africa and must be sustained. He, therefore, urged African regional groupings such as the African Union and New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) ECOWAS with other international development partners to support film and television institutions with resources for they held the key to development. Mr Jim Awindor, Festival Co-ordinator, said Africa's image had been represented in a way that most Africans themselves did not understand, hence the organisation of ANIWA to help restore Africa's lost image within the international community.

Ghana and Nigeria shares laurels at African film festival Mr. Bill Kwabena Marshall former Director of NAFTI chaired the opening ceremony.

Source:
GNA

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