Rawlings, Konad, Mills sign Fathia book of condolence
Accra, June 11, GNA - Former President Jerry John Rawlings, his wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings and Professor John Evans Atta Mills, flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Monday signed the book of condolence in memory of the late Madam Fathia Nkrumah in Accra.
The former President who stood before Fathia's picture observed a minute's silence and wrote in the book: "She was a befitting and elegant political partner and wife of our most revered leader. May her soul rest in peace."
Clad in black to signify the Ghanaian way of mourning, former President Rawlings said paying tribute to Madam Fathia would be meaningless if the country did not continue to struggle for the ideals that Dr Kwame Nkrumah stood for.
"As we mourn, we must consider how much effort we have put in as a country to ensure that the vision of Nkrumah would be watered to bear fruit."
He said it was in the cause to support such ideals that Madam Fathia together with her family had to endure challenges that spouses and relatives of political figures were often confronted with after the death of her husband.
The former President expressed his sympathy to the family, the Convention People's Party (CPP) and the nation as a whole for the loss. Prof. Mills said Madam Fathia's support to Dr Nkrumah's ideals for African unity must continue to bear signi7ficantly on the minds of all Ghanaians.
He described Madam Fathia as a woman of many qualities saying, "a nation that does not recognize the contribution of heroes (and heroines) is not worth dying for".
Nana Konadu also narrated her encounter with the first of Ghana's first ladies in 1982, when Madam Fathia came to her to inform her that she was relocating at Egypt.
She said she encouraged Madam Fathia to live up to the challenges and perform her role well as the mother of the nation. "We must use her death to re-unite as a country," Nana Konadu added.
Dr Edmund Delle, CPP Chairman who led the party's entourage, said Madam Fathia's death must empower all women to join the struggle for a united Africa to continue Nkrumah's legacy.
Professor Francis Nkrumah, eldest son of Dr Nkrumah, on behalf of the family expressed gratitude to the delegation for honouring the memory of Madam Fathia.
Among other members of the NDC present were Mr Doe Ajaho, Deputy Minority leader, Mr Victor Gbeho, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Mr Ato Ahwoi, former Energy Minister.
The CPP entourage included Mr George Aggudey, 2004 CPP flag bearer as well as other executive members of the party. Mr Sekou Nkrumah, son of Fathia, was also present.
Freddie Blay, First Deputy Speaker, Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom, Minister of Public Sector Reform, Alhaji Asoma Banda, leading CPP member and Antrak Air Chair and several parliamentarians and individuals have also signed the book.
Madam Fathia died on May 31 in Cairo, Egypt after suffering a stroke.
Madam Fathia would be buried on Tuesday, according to a statement signed by Ms Rosemary Pabbi for the Director of State Protocol. Her mortal remains would be conveyed from the 37 Military Hospital to the forecourt of the State House at 0630 hours on Tuesday June 12. Between 0700 hours and 0900 hours Government officials, political party representatives, Ambassadors and High Commissioners and the general public would file past the body to be followed immediately by the funeral service.
Burial at the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park would follow immediately after the memorial service during which the family, CPP officials, Government and other designated officials would read tributes in her honour.
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GNA
Advocacy group disappointed at child labour
Accra, June 11, GNA - Challenging Heights, an advocacy group against child labour, has expressed disappointment at the increasing rate at which young children are being engaged to work under the worst forms of child labour, several years after the promulgation of the Children's Act (Act 560).
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency on Monday ahead of the celebration of the World Day against Child Labour on June 12, Mr James Kofi Annan, Founder/Executive Director of Challenging Heights, said it was disheartening to see children as young as five years engaged in fishing, quarrying, mining and selling on the streets. Section 89 of the Children's Act pegs the minimum age at which a person could be engaged in hazardous work at 18 years. "Yet under our watchful eyes, we see children as young as five years engaged in fishing, quarry, farming, mining, selling on the streets, among others," he said.
Mr. Annan added that an estimated six million children were believed to be engaged in child labour in Ghana. According to him there was the urgent need to enforce laws governing the employment of children if the country wanted to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
Mr Annan commended government for the institution of the school feeding program and capitation grant, saying they would help to encourage child enrolment in schools and thereby prevent child labour. He said since these two policies were in place, there was no need for parents to cite poverty as an excuse in hiring out their children for exploitative labour.
Mr Annan called for stiffer punishment for parents who hired the children out for exploitative work as well as for employers who used them.
"As an adult, and several years after running away from Yeji, I am still yet to completely overcome the trauma I went through at the hands of adults who handled me at the time. And as a victim of such exploitation, I say with firm conviction that exposing children to early work is not the best way to grow," he added.
He referred to his experience as a child fisherman, who endured one of the worst forms of child labour - fishing - from the age of 6 to 13 years but was able to break the cycle through perseverance and hard work to obtain university education.
"If I can rise to become a University graduate and a banker, winning global awards at Barclays Bank of Ghana, then every child is capable of rising to any height of his/her choice," he stressed.
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GNA
Catholic priest appeals for help for AIDS patients
Koforidua, June 11, GNA - The Rev. Fr Bobi Benson, the Director of the Matthew Chapter 25 House, a Catholic AIDS care centre at Koforidua, has appealed to the government to assist the centre by paying salaries of the supporting staff.
He said he managed the centre that takes care of several persons living with HIV/AIDS from towns in the Eastern Region and other voluntary workers assist him.
The Rev Fr Benson said this on Friday when the Deputy Eastern Regional Minister, Ms Susan Mensah, visited the centre. "The house depends on donour funds but these are inadequate due to the high cost of taking care of the patients."
He said the patients had been trained in income generating ventures to support themselves but people refused to buy their products due to the stigma attached to the house.
"Any thing or person that comes out of the centre is stigmatized and that has affected the sales of products such as palm oil and even charcoal they produce."
Ms Mensah praised the reverend father for embarking on such "a huge ministry to care for such persons who are even neglected by their families."
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GNA
President arrives after three-nation tour
Accra, June 10, GNA - President Kufuor returned home on Sunday after a three-nation tour.
President Kufuor attended the 33rd Summit of the world's most industrialised nations, the Group of Eight (G8) from 6th to 8th June. The President visited Geneva where he addressed 96th conference of the International Labour Organisation.
He also met with President Nicholas Sarkozy of France in Paris. Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and NEPAD, described the President's trip as very successful.
He said the G8 Summit was not attended by only members of the G8 but also by other countries from Africa and Asia and that it was agreed that the mechanism for accountability would be put in place to ensure that all parties played their roles.
The Foreign Minister said the G8 leaders promised 60 million dollars for the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa.
He also said President Sarkozy expressed the view that Africa did not need to be seen strictly as being either Francophone or Anglophone. He said President Sarkozy said what he saw to be most important was how best France could forge good relations with Africa.
Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama, Ministers of State and the top brass of the security services met the President who was away for a week.
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GNA
Pay Back your Education Loans -High Commisioner
Addressing a gathering of Ghanaian professionals who are old students of Achimota, now residing in Greater Toronto Area, the Ghana High Commissioner to Canada, H.E. Dr. (Mrs) Margaret I. Amoakohene advised all Ghanaians in the Diaspora who enjoyed Ghana Government scholarships both at home and abroad to pay back their loans.
The High Commissioner lamented that many of the bright and smart Ghanaians who are now working or living abroad were given financial help by Ghana with their education but have woefully failed to give back to Ghana. She remarked, "there were many of us who were given direct government financial support in the form of loans to enable us complete our education in Ghana with the hope that we would, at least, pay back our loans but we simply absconded."
H.E. Dr. Margaret Amoakohene who paid back her loans in 1998 challenged all other Ghanaians who haven't done so to do so.
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Ghanaian News Canada
MP Denies Scam Allegation Again
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The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Upper East Denkyira in the Central Region, Nana Amoakoh is fighting the battle of his life, as he reiterates his innocence in a $1million theft allegation leveled against him by a United States court.
At present, the court is pushing for his extradition.
The MP has been accused of stealing over $1 million from the account of his former employers, Fone-A-Car in Brooklyn, New York, in the United States.
Nana Amoakoh, also known as Augustine Asiedu, former president of a limousine service company in New York, together with three others, has been indicted on charges of helping to loot the business of more than $1 million and using much of that for a successful political campaign.
However, in a follow-up interview with DAILY GUIDE on Saturday, the Upper East Denkyira MP maintained his innocence, wondering how he could have used $1million to finance a parliamentary election.
“Do you know what $1 million means?” he asked.
According to him, how could he have spent that amount of money when he was not contesting a presidential election.
Though Nana Amoakoh conceded he worked with the auto firm for 15 years, he said he never misconducted himself until he voluntarily resigned in 2005 after his elected to serve his constituents in Parliament.
The unassuming MP stated that his tenure was thoroughly audited, wondering why the persecution now. He did not rule out insiders as the source of allegations of fraud.
The back-bencher MP denied also allegation that he transferred $30,000 to his girl friend, a certain Sebastina Paul, who has also been indicted.
The woman in question, a native of Grenada, Nana Amoakoh said, had never been his girl friend, except that they did “susu” together.
He told Daily Guide that he would come out at the appropriate time to formally react to the allegations, pointing out he has to follow the Parliamentary procedure in doing so.
However the spokeswoman for the US court, Jennifer Kushner, said the court would file extradition requests through the US Department of Justice.
The US has an extradition treaty with Ghana, but it is strongly doubtful if an MP could be extradited, especially since MPs enjoy immunity.
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Daily Guide
Robbers Strike Ghana High Commission
A gang of armed robbers on Thursday raided Ghana’s High Commission Offices in Pretoria, South Africa, and made away with undisclosed sums of money and other valuables.
A source at the High Commission told the Ghanaian Times newspaper, by telephone, that the attack occurred around midday, during office hours.
The men, numbering about eight, stormed the High Commission and overpowered the security man at the gate. They took the security man and the driver hostage and proceeded to the main building where they attacked about five officials in their offices. Even though no one was hurt, it was learnt the robbers took away undisclosed sums both in dollars and the local Rand, as well as mobile phones.
Officials were tight-lipped on the amount involved, but it is believed to be thousands of dollars.
Soon after the robbery, the office had to close because most of the officials were traumatized.
The South African police are investigating the matter while security has been beefed up at the premises. Attempts to reach the foreign Affairs Minister and his deputy for confirmation proved futile.
South Africa has one of the highest crime rates in the world, which is one of the challenges facing the government as the country prepares to host the 2010 World Cup.
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Ghaiana Times
Konkombas reaffirm commitment to peace in N/R
Accra, June 10, GNA - Mr Daniel Bugri Naabu, President of THE Konkomba Development Association, at the weekend affirmed the commitment of Konkonbas to access all peaceful channels to address their concerns in the Northern Region.
Mr Bugri Naabu made the affirmation in a press statement in Accra, in reaction to a public statement purported to have been read by Vice President Alhaji Mahama during a Damba festival at the Mamprugu Traditional Area, which asked Konkombas to use laid down procedures to address their concerns.
The statement said Konkombas at Gbintiri in the East Mamprusi District followed established procedures to petition the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment for the re-demarcation of the boundaries of the District for the people to be part of the Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo District.
"Gbintiri was already part of the Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo Sub-District in the Second Republic. Konkombas thus exercised their franchise in the Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo Constituency."
The statement said the people of Gbintiri would enjoy accelerated development if they joined the Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo District.
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GNA
NCCE calls on banks to assist in education
Nkoranza (B/A), June 10, GNA - Mr. Sammy Asumah, Nkoranza District Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has called on financial institutions to devote part of their working hours to educate customers to fully understand the re-denomination of the cedi.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, he said uneducated customers might have problems in doing business in the new currency.
Mr. Asumah urged opinion leaders including assembly members, teachers, religious leaders and 'susu' collectors to assist in educating the people on the exercise. He said staff of the district office of the Commission would carry the exercise to churches, schools, durbar grounds and association meetings.
Mr. Asumah appealed to the government to resource the NCCE district offices to enable the staff to reach remote communities to educate the people.
He said communities including Anama, Nsugum, Makyinmabre, Mangoase, Dinkra Betoda and Pienyina were far to reach and urged the Information Services Department to continue to collaborate with the NCCE for the success of the exercise.
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GNA
Liberian refugees repatriated
Accra, June 9, GNA- A total of 300 Liberian refugees were on Saturday repatriated to their country by air and sea. The exercise, which saw 70 of them going by air and 230 by sea was a collaboration of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Ghana Refugee Board and the International Organisation for Migration.
In a pre-departure interview with journalists, Jabateh Marah, a 60-year-old refugee who had been living in Ghana for the past six years, said he looked forward to a new life with lots of hope.
Touching on the civil war, he said tribalism and lack of understanding was the main cause and advised Liberians to cooperate with each other, as well as the new government in order to sustain the peace they were now enjoying.
"I will miss Ghana and I hope to be back some time," said 16-year-old Gabriel Sallor who came to Ghana when he was seven years old.
He said although it hurt to leave, Liberia was his country and it was only appropriate for him to go back there. On June 30, 2007, the three year organised repatriation of Liberian refugees comes to an end.
Until then, the UNHCR and its partners would continue with a combination of air and sea movements to assist all those wishing to return. A total number of 100,000 Liberians have returned home from the sub-region with UNHCR assistance whilst 50,032 have gone back on their own. Ghana currently hosts some 26,000 Liberian refugees. 7 June 07
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GNA
Change of govt would be a disaster - Former Speaker
Accra, June 9, GNA - The Former Speaker of Parliament, Mr. Peter Ala Adjetey on Saturday stated that any change of government in Elections 2008 would be a disaster for the nation's socio-economic development.
"As a nation and New Patriotic Party (NPP) supporters, we must guide against losing Elections 2008, we know the calibre of people who would take over the rains of government should NPP loss and it would be catastrophe for these people to form a government in Ghana again," the Former Speaker told NPP constituency executives in Accra.
He therefore encouraged party activist to focus on the general strategy for retaining power instead of focusing on personal gains, "some of you have sacrificed a lot for the party and have every cause to feel disenchanted for not enjoying anything for the past six- and-half years that we have been in government.
"But that should not force you to jump out of the boat, should National Democratic Congress (NDC) win power most Ghanaians would walk in perpetual fear...we know them and what they are capable of doing."
Mr. Ala Adjetey was addressing Constituency executives of the party at a capacity training workshop organized by the Greater Accra Regional Secretariat of the party to prepare for Elections 2008.
The Workshop seeks to focus on party organization, preparing for elections, structure and administrative authority. Mr. Ala Adjetey who was a former NPP Greater Accra Regional and National Chairman explained that, "we have tasted both - a party in government and out of government for 30 years but the later is distasteful.
"For the past six and half years I must admit things had been different but if we failed to guard the power we now have, we would loss it like it happened to NDC in Elections 2000, we must not allow self-centered spirit, pettiness and jealousy to destroy party unity and cohesion, which we needed to win the next elections."
He advised party executives, ministers of states and members of parliament to manage internal conflicts and assist activists who are increasingly becoming disgruntled due to perceptions that they had been neglected.
"Disgruntlement leads to people progressively distancing themselves from party activities and eventually not voting...if it happens we would lose Elections 2008 by default," he stated.
Dr. Glover-Quartey former Head of the Civil Service reminded NPP activists that Elections 2008 would be a difficult battle, "to win it we require the support of every member on board for its good to have your father in control of affairs than your enemy."
He urged party executives, parliamentarians and the rank and file to recognize that, "NPP is the only party with a family understanding; therefore we must not wash our dirty cloths in public; as we do that to arm our opponents."
Mr. Samuel Crabbe the regional chairman disclosed that Omanye Capital Venture Fund through the J. B. Danquah Employment Resource Center had taken delivery of 40 sets of mobile car washing equipment and ten out of 300 cars to be made available to all constituencies. He urged the constituencies to contact the Resources Centre for details of the agreement to enter for the use of the facility which aimed at equipping party activists with a source of income. He said the region through the J. B. Danquah Resource Centre have created enough employment for all party members in the region who were willing to work, irrespective of their qualification.
Mr Crabbe therefore urged members to contact the secretariat for directions, "those days when we cry for jobs are over in this region." Dr Roger Oppong Koranteng a Senior Lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) who was the resource person urged member activists to respect the party's constitution. He took the participants through the membership structure of the party, rights of a member; duties of a member; resignation, suspension, expulsion and forfeiture of membership procedure.
Dr Koranteng also explained appointment of Disciplinary Committees, their Term and Jurisdiction, Structure and Organization at the regional and constituency levels of the party. 09 June 07
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GNA
