MICHAEL DONKOR'S STORIES

Chiefs,Elders and Youth protest against the sale of land at Ningo (August 24,2009)

2009-08-24T07:01:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
The chiefs, elders and youth of Lerwem, a farming community in Ningo near Accra, have protested against the acquisition of large tracts of their land by the Queens Atlantic Resort, a private estate developer, for development into residential and tourist facilities.
They, therefore, vowed to resist any attempt by the private developer to develop 171 acres acquired from Nene Kanor Atiapah III, the Mankralo of Ningo Traditional Area and acting president of the area.
However, the company insists that it genuinely acquired the land for the purpose intended.
According to the chief of Lerwem, Nene Agortey Teffah II, the people inherited the farmland from their forefathers and they had been farming on it to earn a living.
He said their farms and the only cemetery where they bury their relatives, were being destroyed by the developer.
Briefing the Daily Graphic about their predicament, the spokesman for the Lerwem Stool, Mr Tafa Ahadie, said about a year ago they saw pillars being erected on their farmlands and they reported the development to the chief.
He said the chief said he knew nothing about the move and ordered that the pillars be removed, which they did.
Mr Ahadie said later Nene Atiapah came to them and said he had allocated the land to a private developer for development.
Although they kicked against the idea, they saw bulldozers on their land destroying their farms.
Mr Ahadie said they subsequently petitioned the Ningo-Prampram police to intervene to forestall any bloodshed but that did not yield any results only for the developer to deploy land guards at the site to terrorise them anytime they went to farm.
But when Nene Atiapah was contacted, he denied that he clandestinely sold the land. Rather, he said, the land was sold based on the consent of the 14 family heads making up the clan and showed documents bearing the signatures of all the 14 family heads to the Daily Graphic.
He claimed that some people from Lerwem sold portions of the land to a developer for GH¢17,000, a move he kicked against because the due process of land acquisition was not followed.
In view of his position on the sale of the portion of the land, Nene Atiapah said some of the people also decided to create problems for the Queens Atlantic Resort who had acquired large portions of the land for investment.
He said those whose farms were destroyed had been compensated and when the issue of the cemetery came to him, he quickly resolved the problem by ensuring that that portion of the land was not affected by the development initiated by the Queens Atlantic Resort .
He, therefore, expressed surprise at the behaviour of the people of Lerwem.
When the private developer, Queen Irene Cole, was contacted, she showed video footings of all the transactions she had with the 14 family heads in connection with the land.
She produced documents which gave her title to the land in dispute and added that she had paid the owners of the land.
She said what was left for her to pay to Nene Atiapah would be effected after she had developed the land in accordance with the sales agreement.
Queen Cole said she would resist any attempt by anybody to take the land from her, since she went through the right procedure to acquire it.

Japan supports Ghana with US$16.5m grant (August 15, 2009)

2009-08-17T10:45:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THE Japanese government has made available a grant of $16.5 million to support the government’s development projects.
Six million dollars of the grant is to be used to support basic education in deprived areas while the remaining will be used to open a lending facility on very soft terms for small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) to import production equipment, individual goods and raw materials.
Consequently, a memorandum of understanding to that effect has been signed by the two governments.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni, signed on behalf of Ghana, while the Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Keiichi Katakami, signed on behalf of his government.
In a brief statement after signing the document, Mr Katakami noted that private sector development was one of the key challenging issues facing Ghana’s social and economic development.
He said though there had been progress on improving the business environment for the private sector in the country, the difficulties still remained for the SMEs to acquire the necessary inputs for their growth and competitiveness.
It was in view of this, he said, that the Japanese government had decided to channel more resources to support the government.
Mr Katakami expressed the hope that the grant would contribute to the strengthening of industrial development from the grass-roots level in the country.
He said the grant to support the rural educational sector would be used to provide classroom buildings, teachers’ accommodation, toilet facilities and furniture in 21 schools in the Northern Region and 16 schools in the Central Region.
Alhaji Mumuni thanked the Japanese government for the support and gave the assurance that the money would be used for its intended purpose.
He said the gesture was a demonstration of the Government of Japan’s commitment to partner Ghana to make the private sector the engine of growth of the economy.
The minister indicated that the machinery, equipment and other materials to be purchased under this facility would be procured on hire purchase basis upon request from the SMEs and all re-imbursements made would be deposited into an account with the Bank of Ghana.

"Demonstrate High Ethical Standards" Veep urges Ghana Armed Forces August 15, 2009

2009-08-17T10:42:00.000-07:00

Story Michael Donkor

THE Vice-President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, has called on the personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to demonstrate high ethical standards and act with greater restraint even in the face of provocation.
He said the growing popularity of democracy as a preferred model of governance was a challenge to the Armed Forces of many developing nations, including Ghana, hence the need to act responsibly.
The Vice-President made the call at a graduation ceremony of some senior officers at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFSC) in Accra yesterday.
Fifty nine officers from the Armed Forces of 16 African countries graduated.
The countries are Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Senegal and Togo.
The others are Botswana, Congo Brazzaville, La Cote d’ Ivoire, The Gambia, Mozambique, Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia.
The course is aimed at developing the analytical and communication skills of officers.
Mr Mahama said democracy carried with it the responsibility of openness, transparency, accountability, respect for human rights and the rule of law.
In this connection, he said, the conduct of military operations, including training, became increasingly challenging and subject to universal and domestic rules of engagement, human rights and the rule of law.
Mr Mahama, therefore, urged the military to keep abreast of the challenges of the time and seek to justify its existence by proactively evolving strategies to professionally meet these challenges.
He urged the Military High Command to endeavour to pre-empt undesirable situations and come up with appropriate strategies to tackle them.
Mr Mahama assured the GAF of the government’s commitment to mitigate the effects of the withdrawal of the British Military Assistance Training Team (BMATT).
He said the government was working towards more permanent solutions to the challenges arising as a result of the withdrawal.
Mr Mahama said as a short-term solution, being a tertiary institution, the government intended to fill the funding gap by allowing the GETFund to make provision for some logistical requirements of the college.
He said as a start the GETFund was to provide the college with a new bus to cater for the transport requirements of the students who had to shuttle to other campuses for lessons.
The Commandant of the college, Major-General K. Yankson, appealed to the government to adequately equip and improve upon the facilities of the college.
He said admission to the college continued to increase year after year with many countries in Africa seeking for a place for their armed forces.
He appealed to philanthropists and corporate institutions to also come to the aid of the college.
Major W.A. Kwabiah of the GAF was adjudged the overall best student followed by Squadron Leader Ni Ilo of the Nigerian Armed Forces.
For their prizes Major Kwabiah took away a laptop, a book and a trophy while Squadron Leader Ilo had a book, a trophy and GH¢400.00.

New task force to check illegal mining, logging (July 4, 2009)

2009-07-09T10:25:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
AN inter-agency security committee has been set up by the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources to check illegal chainsaw and mining operations in the country.
The 10-member committee is chaired by the Deputy Director-General in charge of Joint Operations of the Ghana Armed Forces, Col. D.K. Mitsio.
Other members of the committee include the Director-General in charge of Police Operations, Deputy Commissioner of Police Mr John Kudalor; Lt. Col. Kodjo Awity of the GAF; Lt. Col. J. Hagan, Army Headquarters; Mr C.N.A. Akrong, Bureau of National Investigations; Mr D.K. Glover, National Security Council; Mr Benjamin Aryee, Chief Executive Officer of the Lands Commission; Mr Alex A. Boadu, Forestry Commission, and Mr G. Omane-Brimpong, National Security Council.
Inaugurating the committee, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Alhaji Collins Dauda, said the move had become necessary in order to address the alarming rate at which the country’s forests were being depleted by illegal chainsaw operators.
He said since the Forestry Task Force was suspended in December, last year, the country’s forests had been depleted and illegal mining operations had assumed a sophisticated level.
He appealed to saw millers to put 20 per cent of their products on the domestic market, as required by law.
Col. Mitsio, on behalf of the committee, gave the assurance that they would work to achieve the set objectives as well as justify the confidence reposed in them.

Fuel Shortage Hits Accra(July 9, 2009)

2009-07-09T10:22:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THERE has been a shortage of fuel in the Accra Metropolitan Area since last Monday.
This has resulted in some commercial drivers parking their vehicles, since they cannot get petrol or diesel to operate.
A visit to a number of filling stations in Accra yesterday by this reporter saw fuel attendants hanging around and only informing motorists who called at their stations that there was a shortage of fuel.
Among the stations visited were the Goil filling station near the Ghana Commercial Bank at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, So Fresh Station near the Glenns Nite Club at Adabraka, Goil station near the Trust Bank at Adabraka, the Total station near Avenue Club at the Farrar Avenue, the Mobil station near the Cedi House at Accra, and the Goil station near the Nima Roundabout.
Speaking to the Graphic in an interview at the various filling stations, the fuel attendants said they did not receive any supplies since last Saturday.
They said the little that they received had been exhausted since last Monday and they were waiting for more supply of the products.
They, however, could not give any concrete reason why there was that much shortage on the market.
At the Goil filling station at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, a fuel attendant, Olivia Azuma, said they had been idling since last Saturday.
At So Fresh filling station, Ernest Gyamfi said they also had run out of fuel since Monday and were thus waiting patiently for the next supply to sell to the public.
Asked whether the station was among those that took supplies from oil marketing companies that were indebted to the Tema Oil Refinery, he responded in the affirmative.
The situation was not different at the other stations which had the inscription “No Petrol” boldly written on their small boards placed on the pumping machines.
The Public Relations Officer of TOR, Mrs Aba Lokko, earlier told the Daily Graphic that TOR had cut off fuel supplies to 11 Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) for their indebtedness to the organisation since 2008.
She said the OMCs bought fuel from TOR for onward supply to petrol filling stations and the withdrawal of the supply to the 11 out of 56 OMCs operating in the country, resulting in a brief fuel shortage in some parts of the country.
She said the cutting down of the fuel supply was part of efforts to retrieve the moneys from the defaulting OMCs.
Mrs Lokko said TOR would not restore fuel supply to the affected companies, if they did not settle their debts.

Businesses within Airport City to be closed down(Front Page) July 8, 2009

2009-07-09T10:18:00.001-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
ALL businesses and offices located within the Airport City in Accra will be closed to the public from Friday evening, when US President Barack Obama arrives in the country, till Saturday, when he departs.
Additionally, flights to the Kotoka International Airport would be temporarily suspended on Friday evening and just before President Obama’s departure on Saturday.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, the National Security Co-ordinator, Lt. Col. Larry Gbevlo-Lartey (retd), said the moves formed part of security measures that had been put in place for the visit of President Obama.
He, however, assured the general public that adequate measures were in place to ensure their convenience during the US President’s stay in Ghana.
Part of the Vision 2020 plan of the government, the Airport City forms part of the gateway programme, with a number of hotels built there to accommodate businessmen and investors who visit the country.
The Airport City project is also one of the many projects that the government wants to embark on to enhance the development of the Accra-Tema area.
The Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) as the landowners are supposed to execute the 'Airport City' Complex and develop hospitality facilities including hotels, shopping malls, offices, parking areas and recreational areas on the 40-acre space.
Lt. Col. Gbevlo-Lartey explained that the closeness of the Airport City to the aviation wing of the KIA made it a security zone and that it was important to temporarily halt commercial activities there till President Obama comes and leaves the country.

Armed robbers ambush patrol team(June 27, 2009)

2009-06-29T03:03:00.000-07:00

Story:Michael Donkor
A GANG of heavily armed robbers yesterday escaped with a military vehicle after they had ambushed some soldiers on an administrative duties between Takoradi and Obuasi.
The robbers later abandoned the vehicle on the outskirts of Obuasi.
Military sources said the soldiers on board the vehicle were on administrative check of armouries in the Central Western and Ashanti Regions when they were ambushed by the armed robbers.
The soldiers had concluded the inspection of the armouries in the Central and Western Regions and were on their way to the Ashanti Region when they were ambushed by the heavily armed robbers.
When the Director of the Ghana Armed Forces Public Relations, Col. E.W.K. Nibo, was contacted, he confirmed the story.
Other sources at the Military Police told the Daily Graphic that there were no arms on the vehicle that was seized by the armed robbers. The sources said that as soon as the news of the robbery got to them at dawn yesterday, personnel from the Military Police joined some infantry men from Accra to cordon off the crime scene and search other areas for the vehicle.
The sources said the robbers, who numbered about 10, wore masks and were armed with heavy offensive weapons and as the vehicle approached, they crossed the road, bringing the military vehicle to a stop, after which they attacked the soldiers in the vehicle, held them hostage and took the vehicle away.
None of the military personnel sustained any injury.
The source said investigations had been instituted into the circumstances of the robbery.

Prez revokes ban on Nunoo-Mensah, others(June 25, 2009)

2009-06-25T06:31:00.000-07:00

Story; Michael Donkor.
PRESIDENT John Evans Atta Mills yesterday revoked the ban imposed on certain retired service commanders of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) which barred them from visiting military installations and facilities throughout the country.
He also announced an increment in the allowance of Ghanaian peacekeepers from $27 to $30 a day.
According to him, the ban smacked of high handedness and vindictiveness, which he emphasised would not be tolerated during his term of office.
Indeed, some of the officers, such as General Arnold Quainoo and Brigadier-General Nunoo-Mensah, who were affected by the ban were present at a durbar of the GAF at Burma Camp where the President made the announcement.
It would be recalled that the government of former President Kufuor issued the ban on Generals Quainoo, Nunoo-Mensah, the late Rear-Admiral Kwadwo Owusu-Ansah and others from visiting any military installation or facility in the country.
President Mills said it was preposterous for the former regime to ban persons of such integrity who had devoted their entire lives to safeguard the country’s territorial integrity from visiting their friends and relations at the various barracks dotted across the country.
Again, the President said, it was also inhumane to restrain such high-ranking retired officers who posed no threat to the country’s security from seeking medical attention from the military hospitals.
He said the retired service commanders of the various sectors of the GAF had paid their dues to the building of the nation and should be treated with respect and not humiliation and contempt.
President Mills donated six buses to the GAF to be used to support the training of personnel in the service.
The buses will be distributed to the Ghana Military Academy, the Ghana Army, the Air Force, the Navy Recruit Training School, as well as the Army Combat and Armed Forces Training School.

Gov't won't interfere with Force's professional integrity, Prez Assures (Front Page) June 25 2009

2009-06-25T06:29:00.001-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THE President, Professor John Evans Atta Mills, yesterday paid his first official visit to the headquarters of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) at Burma Camp and assured the soldiers that the government would not undertake any covert or overt actions that would tamper with their professional integrity.
He noted that considerable political interference and tempering with the GAF’s activities in the past created factions and deep-seated animosity between the officers and the other ranks which, in the long run, compromised professional integrity and threatened the country’s democracy.
Addressing a durbar of the GAF held in his honour, President Mills explained that the government would always accord officers, men and women of the respective security agencies in the country respect and dignity and not arrogance and contempt.
The durbar also attracted retired service commanders, including General Arnold Quainoo, General Joshua Hamidu and General Erskine.
“I have never doubted the professional integrity of the GAF and I will strive within the constraints of the national economy to enhance their pedigree,” he said.
According to him, the government had initiated a number of measures intended to provide logistical support and basic social and economic facilities for the various units of the GAF.
Those, President Mills explained, included potable water, accommodation, rehabilitation of clinics at the various barracks and improvement in their wages and salaries.
“The government has to implement far-reaching policies to boost the morale of personnel of the GAF and we have taken measures in that direction,” he said.
He said it was important for the government to equip personnel of the GAF to discharge their obligations and responsibilities of safeguarding the country against aggression and upholding and protecting the Fourth Republican Constitution.
President Mills paid glowing tribute to the GAF for the impartial role they played during the 2008 presidential and parliamentary elections.
He said their steadfastness went a long way to prevent the polls from degenerating into confusion and plunging the country into conflict.
“We are proud of our Armed Forces. You remain the life insurance of our nation,” the President emphasised.
He reminded the gathering that the oil find in the country would bring in its wake a lot of challenges and the GAF would be prevailed upon to play a monitoring role to avoid plunder and abuse of the resource.
In his opening remarks, the Minister of Defence, General Henry Smith (retd), said the GAF had a unique role to play in the country’s social and economic development.
“ It is the resolve of the GAF to pursue this agenda with all the urgency and professionalism at their disposal,” the minister said.
He said in view of the enormous challenges facing the GAF in the present century, especially with the oil find and the need to protect the country’s marine resources, the institution was embarking on a major review to redirect its scope of activities.
That, General Smith pointed out, included restructuring in order to deal holistically with the complex defence and security issues that existed today.

PURC committed to ensuring quality service’(June 25, 2009)

2009-06-25T06:28:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) says it will continue to ensure that utility providers offer quality services to the public.
In view of that, it will continue to intensify its monitoring role for the delivery of effective and quality services to the public, Mr Stephen Adu, the Executive Secretary of the commission, has disclosed.
Addressing a workshop organised by the PURC for stakeholders at Akosombo in the Eastern Region at the weekend, Mr Adu said although the utility providers were faced with some constraints and challenges, that did not constitute a ground for them to provide services below standard.
He gave the assurance that as part of its objectives, the commission would assist the utility providers to overcome their challenges and be able to deliver up to standard.
The Director of Legal Affairs of the PURC, Mr Emmanuel Sekor, said the commission would soon come up with guidelines to regulate the operations of water tankers.
He said that was to ensure that water tankers provided quality services for the public.
He explained that the guidelines would include monitoring and inspecting the water tankers before they delivered water to their prospective customers.
The Chief Manager in charge of Operations at the Ghana Water Company Limited, Mr E. K. Garbah, said the Accra Tema Metropolitan Area (ATMA) rural projects to supply water to Somanya, the Akwapim Ridge, Atimpoku, Frankadua, Dawhenya, Dawa, Kpone, Michel Camp and Dodowa would begin this year.
He said the projects were expected to be completed in the middle of 2011 at the a cost of $71 million.
An official of the Volta River Authority (VRA), Mr Abdul Noor Wahab, said the construction of the second transmission line between Kumasi and Obuasi would be completed in September this year.
He said the VRA would also construct its third bulk supply point for Accra at Agyirigano and it would be completed in 2011.
The Operations Manager of the Ghana Grid Company, Mr Mark Baah, gave the assurance that the company would continue to improve on its services of supplying power to the Electricity Company of Ghana for distribution.
A media consultant, Mr Berifi Apenteng, called on the media to endeavour to be accurate in their reportage, particularly what concerned utilities in the country.
He said utilities were the lifeline of the general public and any inaccurate or alarming reportage on them could create problems for the entire nation.
He said the role of the media was to educate, inform and entertain and added that those roles should not be undermined or underestimated by the people.

Gov't gives support to 50 assemblies(June 24, 2009) Centre Spread

2009-06-25T06:21:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
The government has allocated $31.9 million to be disbursed to 50 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) for the development of their respective areas.
The MMDAs were selected to benefit from the district development facility because they met the minimum conditions of a performance assessment which was conducted in 2006.
The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Joseph Yileh Chireh, announced this when he took his turn at the Meet-the-Press Series held in Accra yesterday.
Mr Chireh explained that the first tranche of the facility would be disbursed next month while the second would be in the last quarter of the year.
He said the assessment for 2007 had been compiled and distributed to MMDAs while the next assessment would be conducted in September this year and represent the assessment for 2008.
Mr Chireh hinted that the revised Environmental Health and Sanitation Policy would soon be approved by cabinet to pave the way for its implementation.
He said when approved, some of the key challenges such as capacity development, information, education and communication, legislation and regulation, sustainable financing and cost recovery would be addressed.
Mr Chireh said the government had identified deepening local-level democracy, accelerating decentralisation and local-level development and empowerment as three main areas to promote in order to achieve good governance at the local level.
He said the ministry would also introduce a concept to be known as “ Town Hall Meetings” which would aim at creating a platform for continuous interaction between the government and communities in the districts.
He explained that the concept was to enable municipal, metropolitan and district chief executives (MMDCEs) to hold periodic meetings with people in their communities to educate them on the government’s developmental programmes and policies, and also listen to their concerns.
He said it was also to enable people at the grass roots demand accountability from those at the helm of affairs in the districts.
Mr Chireh said a broad national stakeholders conference on decentralisation would soon be held to review the 20 years of decentralisation implementation and make proposals for the way forward.

Board members should stick to their roles (Page 32) June 11, 2009

2009-06-11T02:43:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THE Minister of Transport, Mr Mike Hammah, has charged board chairmen of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to stick to their roles and not to take over the day-to-day running of the institutions.
He said the situation where board chairpersons and members virtually took over management and the day-to-day running of such institutions should be avoided.
Mr Hammah made the call when he inaugurated three reconstituted boards under the Ministry of Transport in Accra at the weekend.
They were the board of directors of the Airport Company Limited, Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA).
He noted that the boards served as chaperons of management but cautioned that care should be taken so that as of a ship, the boards would stick to their roles as captains whiles the steering of the ship was left to the rest of the crew.
He said the realisation of the mission and vision of the ministry for the benefit of the people and the country could be possible only by a co-operative spirit.
Mr Hammah urged the GCAA board to ensure that the aviation sector was restored to the “FAA category one status”, seek title to all aviation lands and adopt strategies to effectively operationalise the hub concept, as well as ensure the implementation of the Kotoka International Airport phase III rehabilitation project.
For the Maritime sector, he urged the board of directors of GPHA to dredge the ports of Tema and Takoradi to cater for modern generation cargo vessels and review the port master plan.
Mr Hammah also urged the board to develop Boankra near Kumasi to serve as a distribution and consolidation centre for cargo for the northern part of the country and their landlocked neighbours.
He said it had come to his notice that a lot of misprocurement had taken place in some of these establishment and urged them to critically look at these issues and address them as quickly as possible.
He said a critical point worthy of note was that of the social democratic nature of the current administration.
He urged them to be guided by this in the formulation of their programmes, plans and policies, always bearing in mind that the government’s development plan was informed by the welfare of the people.
The acting Executive Chairman of the State Enterprises Commission, Mr Yao Klinogo, appealed to the board of directors to be guided by the Companies Code, 1963, act 179; Companies Act, Act 461, 1993 and Subvented Agencies Act, Act 706, 2006 in their operations.
He urged the board members to bring their individual expertise to bear on all their leadership and direction during their tenure.
The Board Chairman of GCAA, Wing Commander Andy Mensah, on behalf of his colleagues pledged their commitment and readiness to work assiduously to turn their various establishments around.

Develop framework for use of ICT-Health experts urged

2009-06-11T02:40:00.001-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor

Vice-President John Dramani Mahama has called on health experts in Africa to develop a framework that will enhance the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to make health service accessible to the people, particularly those in the rural areas.
With the advent of mobile telephony, he said simple health messages could be devised and communicated to the people on daily basis.
He said Africa needed such a framework to review its policies and strategies for achieving its major health goals beyond the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Mr Mahama made the call at the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Annual Ministerial Review Conference in Accra yesterday.
The two-day conference is being attended by members of the Economic Commission for Africa, African Ministers of Health, and representatives of United Nations (UN) bodies.
Mr Mahama, therefore, called on all the members of ECOSOC to consider the meeting as one that would define how they in Africa would deploy electronic health solution for the sake of their people.
He said there was the need for an African position on the way and manner ICT must be deployed on the continent.
The Vice-President charged them to avoid a situation where solutions were not based on African problems and challenges but rather on other systems which did not have identical challenges.
Mr Mahama said he had seen proposals that aimed at high-end telemedicine technology but which did not take into account the existing human and technical resource at both ends of the set-up, the cost involved, and whether they addressed their priorities.
He said most African countries had regrettably made slow processes in the application of electronic health solutions probably because investments in this area had been misdirected by hard talking technology-oriented vendors who did not understand their circumstances and yet claimed to hold the solutions to their problems.
The Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Madam-Sherry Ayittey, stressed the need for ICT to be used to improve the healthcare needs of women and children.
She said such technology should also be cost-effective and affordable and urged the government to collaborate with ICT experts to explore the power of the technology for the benefit of all.
The Minister of Health, Dr George Yankey, appealed to health experts to make ehealth a necessary facilitator in healthcare delivery.
The President of ECOSOC, Madam Sylvie Lucas, said the objective of ehealth was to improve primary healthcare delivery.
She urged African governments to seek the opportunity of ICT to advance health care in their countries.
The Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Mr Thomas Stelzer, observed that ehealth could be used to address challenges such as lack of infrastructure, heavy disease burden and brain drain, in a comprehensive manner.
It could help scale health care appropriately to each economy and also enable a transformation from disease management to a focus on proactive wellness, he added.

Siege at BNI as Security officials quiz Kwadwo Mpiani(June 3, 2009) Front Page

2009-06-10T07:15:00.000-07:00

Michael Donkor

WHAT began as an invitation of former Chief of Staff, Mr Kwadwo Mpiani, by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) yesterday turned into a political stand-off at the office of the BNI.
Scores of former New Patriotic Party (NPP) ministers and Members of Parliament, as well as hundreds of their supporters, thronged the BNI headquarters to express solidarity with the former Chief of Staff who was being questioned on what was described by the Information Ministry as “wide range of issues”.
By press time yesterday, the vigil was on with the defiant party faithful ignoring all pleas to vacate the scene.
The former ministers and the loyalists blocked the main road chanting and singing war songs and demanded the whereabouts of the former Chief of Staff.
As the interrogation went on, scores more of the party loyalists arrived in buses creating a scene at the entrance of the BNI.
At the Ministry of Information, a deputy Minister of Information, Mr Samuel Okudzeto-Ablakwah, obliged Graphic with some explanation indicating that the agitation of the former ministers and party loyalists was unnecessary and that the questioning of the former Chief of Staff was being carried in a friendly atmosphere.
He said what was being done was in line with the government’s policy to ensure that certain matters that bordered on national security were properly clarified.
According to him, Mr Mpiani was invited somewhere last week by the BNI to answer questions on a variety of issues.
He said he failed to honour the invitation but told the BNI that he would instead report on Monday but failed again.
He said the former Chief of Staff reported at about 11 a.m. in the company of 20 former ministers and his counsels, Mr Yoni Kulendi and Mr Egbert Faibille Junior, and were later joined by a female lawyer whose name was given as Ms Hamida Nuhu.
He said minutes after, the 20 former ministers left the former Chief of Staff in the company of his counsels
According to the deputy minister, Mr Mpiani rejected the food offered him by the BNI but accepted that which was brought later by the female lawyer, Ms Nuhu.
Asked why Mr Mpiani was being held by the BNI for that length of time, he said Mr “Mpiani was answering questions on wide range of issues and that there were intermittent breaks in the interrogation of the former Chief of Staff.
Other security sources, however, hinted that Mr Mpiani was being interrogated on his tenure as the Chief of Staff in the Kufuor administration and his role in the handling of Ghana@50 funds.
The Greater Accra Police Regional Commander, ACP Rose Atinga, later joined the security at the place and addressed the gathering and appealed for calm, assuring them of the security of Mr Mpiani.
However, her appeal for them to leave the security to do their work, made little impression.

Rawlings witnesses June 4 wreath-laying ceremony(June 5, 2009) Political Page

2009-06-10T07:09:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor

FORMER President J.J. Rawlings yesterday joined scores of dignitaries at a wreath-laying ceremony held at the revolutionary square to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the June 4, 1979 uprising.
Other dignitaries who witnessed the event were the former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings, Alhaji Huudu Yahaya, former Minister of State and leading member of the NDC, Mr Vallis Achianu, the former Chief Fire Officer, Lt Col. Tagoe (retd), the Secretary of the Greater Accra Market Women Association, Madam Mercy Needjan, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Armah Ashietey.
The rest were Lt. Gen. Arnold Quainoo, former General Officer Commanding the Ghana Armed Forces, and Madam Roberta Hoppenba.
A number of cadres and some retired soldiers as well as functionaries of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) were also present at the ceremony.
As early as 7 a.m., people from all walks of life started gathering at the revolutionary square, opposite the Flagstaff House, to witness the ceremony.
The grounds for the ceremony were also decorated with ribbons, while the national flag and four flags, bearing the colours of the June 4 were hoisted at the venue to give more meaning to the event. Wreaths were laid at the Revolutionary Square.
Mr Vallis Achianu, a leading member of the NDC, laid one of the wreaths on behalf of the security agencies, Lt Col. Tagoe (retd) laid one on behalf of the fallen heroes, the Secretary of the Greater Accra Market Women Association, Madam Mercy Needjan, laid one while the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Ashietey, laid the last one on behalf of the people of Ghana.
Lt Gen Quainoo and Madam Roberta Hoppenba jointly lighted the perpetual flame.
The cadres then embarked on a route march while the other members continued to Kasoa in the Central Region for a public lecture on the occasion.
Thirty years ago, former President Rawlings, then a junior officer of the Ghana Air Force, led a group of soldiers to overthrow the Supreme Military Council led by Lt General F.W.K. Akuffo.
The June 4 uprising ushered into the country’s history a revolution which lasted for 11 years.

Industrial Activities in CBD to be relocated(June 9, 2009) Centre Spread

2009-06-10T07:07:00.000-07:00

Story:Michael Donkor
SOME commercial and industrial activities in part of the central business district (CBD) of Accra are to be relocated to Adjen Kotoku to facilitate the completion of work on the Korle Lagoon Ecological Restoration Project (KLERP).
Places to be affected include the Agbogbloshie Market, parts of the Timber Market and squatters around the KLERP.
The Chief Technical Adviser at the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Sam Baidoo, who disclosed this, explained that the exercise was to halt the dumping of waste into the upstream canals and the catchment areas of the Korle Lagoon.
He said the main work on the KLERP had been completed and would be handed over to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) in June next year after the redevelopment of 800 acres of the land at Adjen Kotoku for the resettlement exercise.
Previously a clean stretch of water that flowed into the Atlantic, the Korle Lagoon was, at a point, described by environmentalists as one of the most polluted places on earth as the natural depression was converted into a cesspool for most of the city's industrial and human waste.
Owing to the pollution, no living thing, animal or plant, has been able to grow in it for years and its stench has enveloped adjoining suburbs whose inhabitants, because they have no sanitation facilities, have turned the lagoon into a giant latrine.
Speaking during a working visit to the project site by the sector Minister, Mr Albert Abongo, yesterday, Mr Baidoo said what the contractors were doing was just a maintenance of the lagoon.
He said a unit would be established by the ministry by June next year which would be placed under the AMA to maintain and manage the lagoon.
He said as part of the overall project master plan, the ministry, in collaboration with the Ministries of Tourism and Local Government, acquired about 800 acres of land at Adjen Kotoku, about 25 km from the CBD on the Accra-Nsawam road to develop a new commercial and industrial area to facilitate the relocation of commercial activities from Old Fadama.
He explained that the location was chosen for the project because of its proximity to both the Accra-Nsawam road and the railway line, as well as the availability and fairly level nature of land.
He said when completed, bulk food transported from the northern part of the country would be intercepted at Adjen Kotoku to help ease the traffic situation in the centre of the capital.
Briefing the minister, the Project Engineer, Mr Ewan Techblanche, said the redevelopment of Adjen Kotoku, which was the fourth stage of the project, was being tackled in earnest.
He said the main components of the fourth stage of the project were the construction of roads, the provision of potable water and the extension of electricity and underground sewerage infrastructure.
He said currently the construction of roads was near completion and the entire project was expected to be completed in June next year.
Mr Abongo commended the contractors for good work done so far and urged them to speed up work for the early completion of the entire project.
He gave the assurance that the government would assist in any to ensure that the project went on smoothly.
The project is being undertaken with funds from Kuwait, BADEA and the government.
The original objective, as captured in the terms of reference for consultancy services in 1994, was to address the main cause of extensive and widespread flooding which had affected the entire drainage network in Accra, resulting in serious perennial flooding for the past 20 years, leading to loss of lives and property.

Ghanaian Peacekeepers for Chad(Page 43) March 16, 2009

2009-03-19T05:17:00.001-07:00

Story:Michael Donkor
THE Ghana Armed Forces will deploy its first battalion of peacekeepers to Chad next month to maintain peace and security there.
Consequently 70 personnel, made up of three officers and 67 other ranks, were expected in Chad last Saturday to prepare the grounds for the advance party to arrive.
The Commanding officer of the Ghanbatt, Lt. Col. Barima Brako Owusu, announced this last Wednesday when the Minister of Defence, Lt. Gen. J.H. Smith, toured the Bundase Camp where the battalion is undergoing training exercises for the trip.
He said the deployment would form part of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission (MUNICRAT) undertaking peace support operations in Chad.
Lt Col. Owusu said 800 soldiers made up of 43 officers and 757 other ranks would be deployed to Chad.
He said the advance party of 130 all ranks would be deployed on April 15 and would be followed by the rest of the troops.
Lt Col Owusu said among the duties that the soldiers would be tasked to undertake were patrols, escort of very important personalities, force protection and building of civil military relations.
He said prior to their preparations, a six man team visited Chad to recce the area of operation.
Lt Col. Brako said the reports brought by the team indicated that the general situation was calm but that of Eastern Chad tended to be precarious and unpredictable.
He said there were allegations of both Chadian and Sudanese governments sponsoring rebels in neighbouring countries.
Earlier during the tour, Lt Col. Owusu said the firing range and the grenade/small arms training grounds at Bundase were being elevated to the status of a modern hi-tech shooting range for the Ghana Armed Forces.
Lt. Gen. Smith assured the Ghanbatt that they would be provided with the necessary logistics for the team to perform well.
In another development, the German Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Marius Haas, called on the Minister of Defence, Lt. Gen. Smith, in his office at Burma Camp in Accra.
During the visit, the minister recalled the relations between the two countries which he said dated back to the 1960’s.
He said the past few years had however been fruitful, and called for the relations to be deepened.
The ambassador pledged the continuous support of Germany to Ghana.
He said German Development Co-operation was based on the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy, adding that the focal areas of assistance were in good governance, employment-oriented private sector development, food security and agriculture.

GJA goes to the polls on July 9 (Page three) March 14, 2009

2009-03-19T05:12:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THE Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has fixed July 9, 2009 for the election of a new President and other executives for the association.
This has become necessary because the tenure of office of the current president of the association has come to an end.
Consequently, it has appointed an Election Committee, which will organise the election, and an Election Dispute Adjudication Committee, which will sit on appeals against the decisions of the Election Committee and adjudicate on post-election disputes, should there be any.
The committee is chaired by a member of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) Board, Mr Benedict Assorrow, while the members are Mrs Betty Apau-Oppong of GTV News and Mr Mawusi Afele of the Ghana News Agency (GNA).
The Election Dispute Adjudication Committee is made up of Mrs Jeanette Quarcoopome as Chairperson, Alhaji Razak El-Alawa, a veteran journalist and media consultant, and Mr M. Addoquaye, the Greater Accra Director of Elections of the Electoral Commission.
The President of the GJA, Mr Ransford Tetteh, announced this at an emergency general meeting of the association at the Ghana International Press Centre (GIPC) yesterday.
He said the meeting was organised in fulfilment of the constitutional requirement to hold an annual general meeting and elections in the first quarter of the year, which could not be done because of the national general election.
The framers of the GJA constitution, when they shifted the tenure of office of the executive from two to three years and ruled for elections to be held in the first quarter, obviously did not envisage that it would from time to time clash with national elections, he added.
He said last year was a tedious year for the media, saying that had even started a year earlier with the coverage of the primaries of the political parties, through the electioneering, the elections and the run-off.
Mr Tetteh said they were hampered by the fact that the GJA Secretariat and the GIPC had to play roles in the successful coverage of election programmes to promote peaceful and credible elections.
He said that was why the emergency meeting was called to enable the members, as the highest decision making body, to chose a date for the election.
The GJA President expressed the hope that there would be a smooth transition after the election and a hand over of power, which was being planned to coincide with the 14th GJA Awards ceremony scheduled for Saturday, August 15, 2009.
He said the event would climax the 60th anniversary celebrations of the association.
He said the GJA was encouraged by the declaration of President John Evans Atta Mills in his State of the Nation Address to Parliament that his government was very committed to transparency and accountability and his commitment to work towards the enactment of the Freedom of Information Law.
He expressed the hope that President Mills, who, by his presidency, automatically becomes the GJA’S Chief Patron of Press Freedom, would help to ensure that the law was formulated to enhance the free flow of information and satisfy best practices in democracies as they pertained elsewhere in the world.
The General-Secretary of the GJA, Mr Bright Blewu, said the association, in collaboration with the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), would, in April 2009, launch the “Ghana Media Standard Improvement Project”.
The two-year project, which will be jointly managed by the MFWA and the GJA, is being funded by DANIDA.
He said the GJA, in collaboration with the National Media Commission and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES), would organise a roundtable forum to evaluate the performance of the media in the coverage of the 2008 general election.

Soldier in Fraud Case(Front Page) March 4, 2009

2009-03-04T04:02:00.000-08:00

Story:Michael Donkor
THE military officer in charge of payments to the Ghana Battalion on peacekeeping in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Capt Daniel Nikyi, has been arrested in Morocco and brought down to Accra to answer charges of misappropriating $300,000 belonging to the peacekeepers.
Capt Nikyi, who had been sent on another mission in Morocco upon his return from Congo on United Nations observer duties, was repatriated to Ghana to face the charges immediately the issue was raised.
Military sources said upon his repatriation, Capt Nikyi was put under close arrest at the 37 Military Hospital Army Mess in Accra.
According to the source, Capt Nikyi had also been arraigned before a Court Martial empanelled by the Military High Command.
The source said he had gone on a spending spree and acquired a lot of properties with the stolen money.
The military authorities also moved to locate some of the assets bearing Capt Nikyi’s name which it believed were acquired with the money.
It gave the breakdown as a three-bedroom self-contained house on the Spintex Road estimated at $70,000; another at Kasoa, estimated at $35,000, and a store at Kasoa, estimated at $32,000.
Other properties are two Kia trucks valued at $20,000; a water tank which is mounted on a Kia truck, costing $1,000; a canopy for a Kia truck at $400; two sets of spinning equipment valued at $14,000; canopies for hiring, $8,000; mattresses for hiring, $7,000; a store at Mallam Atta Market in Accra, $10,000; a building materials store at Kasoa, $15,000; one plot of land at Kasoa, $5,000; a 42-inch plasma TV, $2,500; a home theatre, $1,000; three water pumping machines, $1,500; a generating set, $600; water hose for tanker, $400; poly tank, $300; two split airconditioners, $1,300; a set of furniture, $600, and commission to agent for search of building at Spintex, $3,500.

Japan assists road construction, SMEs(February 2, 2009) page 21

2009-03-03T07:34:00.000-08:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THE Japanese government has provided a grant of $12.2 million for the government to rehabilitate some trunk roads and support small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in the country.
The Chief Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Mr John E. Aggrey, and the Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Keiichi Katakami, signed an agreement to that effect at a ceremony in Accra last Friday.
Mr Katakami said $1.2 million of the amount was to be used to rehabilitate the Anwiankwanta-Yamoransa road, as well as the Assin-Praso Bridge, while $11 million was to be used to support SMEs in the country.
He said the gesture was in line with the objective of the Japanese government to support Ghana in its developmental efforts.
He said the Japanese government also wanted to help improve infrastructure in West Africa, hence the grant for the rehabilitation of the Anwiankwanta-Yamoransa road and the Assin-Praso Bridge which served other landlocked countries.
Mr Aggrey thanked the government of Japan for the support and gave the assurance that the grant would be used for its intended purpose.
He said part of the $1.2 million would be used for detailed designs of the project, noting that it was expected that rehabilitation works could start as soon as the detailed designs had been completed in November 2009.
He said the $11 million grant, which was a sector-non-project grant aid for the support of SMEs, was, indeed, a great boost to the private sector.
Known as the ‘Japanese grant’ by the public, it was said to be one of the most popular of government’s on-lending financial facilities to the private sector, he said.
Mr Aggrey said the funds accruing from reimbursement from beneficiary firms were to be utilised to provide public goods and services in the country.
He said to that end, various ministries, departments and agencies, including the Electoral Commission of Ghana, the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs, the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Cocoa Board, had benefited from the funds over the years.
He said the signing of the agreements was a testimony of Japan’s commitment to assist Ghana to alleviate poverty and enhance the lives of its people.

Surveyors mark 40th Anniversary

2009-03-03T07:29:00.000-08:00

Story: Michael Donkor
Surveyors in the country have urged the government to let the advice of professionals be its guide in removing the chaos that has characterised development in the cities.
Stating the case for surveyors at a banquet in Accra, the President of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors, Mr Kwadwo Osei-Asante, said the role of professionals was key to the re-structuring of cities in the country.
He said the instructions and advice by surveyors, engineers, architects and planners were often ignored with impunity, noting that hardly did clients, including the government, pay for services rendered, resulting in the rot that the cities were in today.
Mr Osei-Asante made the call at the 40th anniversary and induction into office of new executive members of the institution in Accra on Saturday night.
He expressed regret that only a handful of professionals were of relevance in the country today and identified them as politicians, journalists, lawyers or judges, doctors and pastors.
He identified another emerging group which he said was coming out of the politicians and journalists called "social commentators", adding, “Ironically, most of them are uninformed.”
He said many professionals were currently not allowed to work in accordance with their professional abilities and judgement but to political whims, caprices and expediency.
Mr Osei-Asante said Ghana was one of the few countries in the world that carried both its dry and liquid cargo, including gas, by road.
He said the Ghana Institution of Surveyors had the technical skills to assist should the policy of rail transport come up for implementation.
He said some of them had observed the recent transition with extreme depredation, noting that the predominant and contentious issues were purely assets and properties and added that the country had men who would professionally manage those resources which would make the call for the rather expensive extension of the constitutional transition period unnecessary.
In a solidarity message, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Alhaji Collins Dauda, said pragmatic policies would be put in place to propel the country to the anticipated middle-income status.
He said achieving that objective would require massive infrastructural improvement, efficient land administration in terms of ownership and titling, agricultural development, a fair justice system and efficient urban management.
Alhaji Dauda said the practice of surveying was unique and demanding and called for the exhibition of high professional standards.
Consequently, he said, no opportunity should exist for non-professionals to carry out surveying practice, as such people were incompetent to do so.
He, therefore, challenged the surveyors to ensure that the activities of non-professionals were weeded out.
He said those non-professionals were creating a negative image for surveyors and that should not be allowed to continue.
The occasion was used to launch a jacket for the surveyors that would distinguish them from the non-professionals.

Brig-Gen Winful cant constitute Board of Inquiry - Effah-Dartey(Feb 2, 2009) Page 55

2009-03-03T07:28:00.000-08:00

Story: Michael Donkor
CAPTAIN Nkrabea Effah-Dartey (retd), the lead counsel for Col Kwadwo Damoah, the former Director of Manpower and Personnel Administration of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), has objected to the convening authority of the Board of Inquiry (BOI) set up to investigate the alleged malfeasance characterising the recruitment of the first batch of 420 would-be soldiers in March 2008.
Capt Effah-Dartey, who led Col Damoah, one of the witnesses in the case, in evidence, raised the objection at the sitting of the board at the weekend.
He made references to the Armed Forces Act, 1962 (Act 105), the Armed Forces Regulations (Administration) Volume One, the 1992 Constitution, as well as the Evidence Decree, 1975, (NRCD 323) and said it was only the President, the Chief of the Defence Staff and the formation commander who had the authority to convene a BOI.
He, therefore, objected to the authority of Brig-Gen Robert Winful to convene a BOI in the GAF.
That, consequently, forced the board to suspend sitting.
Capt Effah-Dartey said Section 10 of the Armed Forces Act provided that "The President or any person authorised in that behalf by him or any prescribed person may, where he or such person thinks it expedient that information on any matter connected with the government, discipline, administration or functions of the Armed Forces or affecting any officer or men of the said forces is necessary, convene a Board of Inquiry for investigating and reporting on such matter. That Board of Inquiry shall be constituted, and its procedure shall be governed, in accordance with regulations made under this act."
He said Chapter 21 of the Armed Forces Regulations (Volume One) covered summary investigations and BOIs .
Capt Effah-Dartey said Article 21.07(2) of the Armed Forces Regulations stipulated persons or authorities that could convene a BOI in the GAF as follows: The President, the Chief of the Defence Staff, an officer commanding a command, an officer commanding a formation, a commanding officer.
He said Chapter One of the Armed Forces Regulations which covered introduction and interpretation defines a formation under Article 1.02 as follows, "Formation means a number of stations or units, including a headquarters, grouped under a single commander."
Capt Effah-Dartey said clearly Brig-Gen Winful was purporting to be a Formation Commander, since he is not the President, the Chief of the Defence Staff, an officer commanding a command nor a commanding officer.
He submitted that on the totality of the provisions of Section 10 of the Armed Forces Act and articles 21.07 and 1.02 of the Armed Forces Regulations, Brig-Gen Winful did not qualify to convene a BOI in the GAF unless there were other legislation, regulations, orders and rules that he might wish to see to advise himself appropriately.
He expressed the hope that his humble action would be seen as one of his duties as a lawyer to see to the development of the law for the establishment of a just and free society required of a democracy and not an attempt to delay an inquiry.

Military High command prososes special unit for oil fields (page 28) February 28, 2009

2009-03-01T06:38:00.000-08:00

Story:Michael Donkor

THE Military High Command has proposed the establishment of a special unit for soldiers who will be well equipped and permanently positioned to protect the country’s oil fields.
It has also presented to the government its proposals to acquire new ships for the Navy and increase the fleet of aircraft for the Airforce ; a long term measure to address the country’s security needs.
The proposals are contained in a report prepared by the Ghana Armed Forces and presented to the government through the Minister of Defence.
The high command identified some security threats to the country as the drug menace, the traffic in arms, smuggling, pair trawling and pilferage of the country’s natural resources and outlined the means to address them.
The Director-General in-charge of Joint Operations of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), Brig-Gen. Richard Debrah told the Daily Graphic that the document was to provide a comprehensive guide for the new government to ensure maximum security for the country, particularly in its territorial waters and oil fields.
He talked about medium, short and long term measures to protect the country's natural resources and maintain internal and external security.
Brig-Gen Debrah noted that the country's approach to the challenges faced by the country’s fishermen against foreign vessels on the country’s seas and also in its oil discovery was not the best.
He mentioned the medium term plan as rehabilitating the ships of the Navy to continue to patrol the coastal line of the country and proposed for the Battalion to be supported with vehicles to enhance their mobility in the oil producing areas.
For a long term plan he proposed that new ships be acquired for the Navy while the fleet of aircraft was increased for the Airforce.
On pair trawling, which he said posed a serious threat to the country’s fishing industry, Brig-Gen. Debrah said not much had changed since news about the state of logistics of the Navy was put in the public domain last year.
He said the United States of America came to their aid with four speed boats to be used in the interim to patrol the seas and were yet to brief the new Defence Minister, Lt Gen Smith on that and the urgent need for adequate logistics to be provided for the Navy to address the situation.
Brig-Gen. Debrah said the patrol exercise embarked upon by the Military at the country's borders were still going on.
He explained that they undertook the exercise in collaboration with other sister security agencies.
Brig-Gen Debrah said for instance that "operation hunter" which was being conducted by the two battalions along the Western borders of the country was to check the smuggling of cocoa while three Battalions was also in-charge of patrols in the Brong Ahafo Region.
He said the way the country's borders were created ,created some problems but quickly said that had been taken care of by the security agencies.
Brig-Gen Debrah said most of the borders were only lines that had been drawn through the houses of people and could not be barricaded because of the international implications it would generate.
He said the only way to make these borders secure was to frequently have foot soldiers and other security agencies patrol there.
Brig-Gen Debrah explained that what they were doing at the moment was to concentrate on full -proof borders and depended on tips to clamp down on criminal activities associated with cross border trades.
He explained that policing borders were the duties of the immigration but they only came in to support them whenever the situation was getting out of hand.

Moves to make NACOB independent(Page 12) February 28, 2009

2009-03-01T06:37:00.000-08:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THE government has intensified moves to restructure the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) to become an independent commission with the appropriate structures to enhance the execution of its mandate.
Among the moves are the amendment of Legislative Instrument 1507 of 1990 which established NACOB and the review of the conditions of service for its personnel to the standard befitting NACOB’s new status.
The Minister of the Interior, Mr Cletus Avoka, announced this at the launch of the 2008 International Narcotics Control Report in Accra last Thursday.
He said the move formed part of the government's efforts to fight the drug trade in the country.
He said it had been realised that the board under its current status was handicapped in carrying out its mandate to the fullest.
Mr Avoka said some portions of the Narcotics Control Sanctions and Prevention Law, PNDC Law 236 of 1990 were also being considered for amendment.
He said this was to ensure that drug dealers were hit from the angle where it hurts most, by confiscating the wealth they acquired from drug trafficking.
Mr Avoka said the decision was being informed by the difficulties currently being experienced when it came to the confiscation of property illegally acquired by convicted drug dealers.
He observed that the war on illicit drug trafficking had assumed a sophisticated dimension aided by technological advancement, adding that in view of that, drug law enforcement officers also needed to be properly equipped to enable them to counteract the clandestine activities of perpetrators of drug-related crimes.
Mr Avoka said the ministry would source funding for the procurement of user-friendly equipment and gadgets that could facilitate the detection of concealed narcotic drugs at the entry and exit points of the country.
He said as a ministry, they were more than committed to putting in place co-ordinated structures among the various law enforcement agencies to avoid the existing loopholes that were being exploited by drug dealers.
He said they were determined to eliminate all forms of antagonism among enforcement agencies to combat the hydra-headed drug menace.
A member of the International Narcotics Control Board, Dr Joseph B. Asare, said the report suggested that to ensure a more effective implementation of the international drug control conventions, the board invited governments to consider how best to ensure the efficient functioning of the 1961, 1971 and the 1988 conventions.
He said it also suggested that governments should make greater investments in prevention, especially with regard to youth and vulnerable groups, and to utilise the experiences and best practices tested in a variety of settings.
Dr Asare said the report also invited governments to study the discrepancies between international and domestic law with a view to fulfilling their obligations under the international drug control conventions and in that context, to consider their good faith in pursuing the aims of the conventions.
The Executive Secretary of NACOB, ACP Robert Ayalingo, said the board was procuring a software that would have all shipments coming from South America to the country put on it for monitoring.
He said adequately trained personnel would also be stationed at all the ports to conduct proper checks and scanning of all containers that arrive there.
ACP Ayalingo said the country would soon send some personnel of the Ghana Navy to be trained in Europe on how to monitor and properly search ships suspected to be carrying drugs.
He said Ghana recorded the highest number of arrests of traffickers in 2005, adding that the fight against illicit drug trafficking and abuse was an uphill task that needed concerted and multi-sectoral approach.
The United Nations Country Representative in Ghana, Mr Dauda Toure, called on the government to intensify its steps to address the issue of illicit drug trade in the country.

Facilities at Nsawam Prisons’ female ward over-stretched(Regional News) February 26, 2009

2009-02-27T07:20:00.000-08:00

Story: Michael Donkor, Nsawam
FACILITIES at the female ward of the Nsawam medium security prisons are overstretched, exposing the inmates to health hazards, an Assistant Director of Prisons in charge of the ward, Araba Magnusen, has disclosed.
She said for instance that there were not enough mattresses for the inmates.
She said as a result of this situation some of the inmates were being compelled to sleep on the floor.
Madam Magnusen disclosed this to the Daily Graphic during a presentation of 30 bags of rice by TV 3 to the Female Ward at Nsawam last Friday.
She has, therefore, appealed to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other philanthropists to go to their aid.
Madam Magnusen said currently there were 132 inmates made up of 96 convicts, 25 remand prisoners, six who were serving life sentence and two who were on trial, while three were condemned prisoners being kept at the ward for various offences.
She said the remand prisoners were made to sleep on the floor due to lack of mattresses.
Madam Magnusen said the President’s Special Initiative on Distance Learning at the ward had also suffered a setback, since there were only two computers for the inmates to use.
The country’s prisons authority, during the last quarter of 2008, called on the government to rehabilitate the prisons and equip them with facilities that would enable them to achieve their objective of rehabilitation and reformation of inmates.
Presenting the items, the Public Relations Manager of TV3, Madam Janet Carboo-Danquah, said the donation was in line with the company’s objective to support needy institutions like the prisons.
She gave the assurance that the company would continue to support them.
Madam Carboo-Danquah said TV3 had now been listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange.
She said by the end of this year, TV3’s transmission would cover the entire country.

Military reconstitute investigative team(Page 3) February 16, 2009

2009-02-24T10:01:00.000-08:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THE Military High Command has reconstituted the Board of Inquiry (BOI) set up to investigate alleged irregularities that characterised the recruitment of 420 would-be soldiers in March 2008.
Consequently, the command has issued a new Convening Order signed by the Chief of Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), Brig-Gen R. Winful, with reference number GHQ/1002/13/COS.
The new order excludes Lt Col R.S. Nyaka, whose membership caused a stir at the first sitting of the board, forcing it to suspend proceedings.
That was after Capt Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey (retd), lead counsel for Col Kojo Damoah, one of the witnesses in the case, had challenged the composition of the board and raised objection to the membership of Lt Col Nyaka during the sitting.
Col Damoah was the Director of Manpower and Personnel Administration (DMP) of the GAF but he was relieved of his position at the weekend and re-posted to the Army Headquarters without any portfolio.
The letter transferring Col Damoah was signed by the Military Secretary, Commodore T.S. Appiah, and issued to all the Service, Formation and Unit Commanders of the GAF.
No reason was assigned for his removal.
The letter named Col T.N. Ba-Taa-Banah as the new DMP of the GAF.
The recomposed BOI now has Col B. Musah as its President, while Col S. Odoi-Gyampo of the General Headquarters of the GAF; Lt Col J. Hagan of the Army Headquarters and Lt Col T. Ampofo-Gyekye, a Defence Intelligence Officer at the General Headquarters, as its members.
It has Lt Col R. Adwini of the General Headquarters of the GAF as its Secretary.
The order said the board might co-opt any other person(s) it might consider necessary for its work.
It said its terms of reference were to determine whether the proper procedures were followed in the selection of the potential recruits, whether the bids for the various services, corps and units were met and whether the requirement of regional balance as prescribed by existing policy was satisfied.
It said the board would also determine whether the list of 420 potential recruits selected for training had been infiltrated by unqualified persons and if so the extent of infiltration, as well as any other matters of relevance to the whole recruitment exercise.
The letter said the board should record its findings and opinions and make specific recommendations, while all evidence would be taken on oath and recorded.
The witnesses to appear before the board are Air Commodore C.E.K. Dovlo, the Director-General of Personnel Administration of the GAF; Col Damoah, Lt Col R.A. Gyane of the Army Headquarters; Lt Commander E.O. Nyarko and Dr P.G. Agbenohevi, both of the 37 Military Hospital, and Major J. Vander-Pallen of the Records Department at the General Headquarters of the GAF.

Illegal chain saw operators destroying forest resources(centre spread) February 9, 2009

2009-02-13T09:16:00.000-08:00

Story:Michael Donkor
ACTIVITIES of illegal chain -saw operators are destroying the country’s forest at an alarming rate causing the government to lose millions of Ghana cedis.
The Forestry Commission (FC), has therefore appealed to the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), to provide them with soldiers to check illegal lumbering.
A letter written and signed by the Head of Operations of the Forestry Commission, Mr A.A Boadu, to the Ghana Armed Forces, which was sighted by the Daily Graphic said “following the suspension of the National Task Force Team, which undertook an exercise code named; ‘Operation Halt”, to check illegal lumbering, the chain saw operators have had a field day and were plundering the country’s forests”.
Among the areas that illegal lumbering was being done included the natural high forest zones in the south-western and southern regions of the country.
The letter said these operators were normally armed to the teeth and carried out most of their activities in the night.
It also said their officers were helpless without the presence of the military.
It, therefore, appealed to the military to provide the Forestry Commission with security to effectively check illegal lumbering.
The military and officials of the Forestry Commission formed a task force somewhere last year, known as “Operation Halt”, to check illegal lumbering but the soldiers were called for other duties on December 24, 2008, during the general election which resulted in its collapse.
When the General Officer Commanding the Southern Command, Brig-Gen. Emmanuel Okyere, was contacted, he confirmed that the operation had been suspended because the personnel were needed to beef up security and peace during the December general elections.
Brig-Gen. Okyere said now that the elections were over and the Forestry Commission was requesting for the operation to be started, their request would be forwarded to the army headquarters for action.
He explained that the Forestry Commission was responsible for the cost of operations and that once they were prepared to start the operations the military would work that.

Capt Effah-Dartey challenges composition of board(Centre Spread) February 13, 2009

2009-02-13T09:08:00.000-08:00

Story: Michael Donkor
CAPTAIN Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey (retd) has raised objections to the composition of the Board of Inquiry (BOI) set up to investigate the alleged malfeasance characterising the recruitment of the first batch of 420 would-be soldiers in March 2008.
Capt Effah-Dartey, who is the lead counsel for the Director of Manpower and Personnel Administration (DMP) of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), Col Kojo Damoah, one of the witnesses in the case, raised the objection at the first sitting of the board at Burma Camp in Accra yesterday.
Consequently, he tendered in a 17-point petition on behalf of his client to the Chief of Staff of the GAF, Brig-Gen R. Winful, who set up the BOI, through the president of the board and called for the board’s recomposition.
Sitting was, therefore, suspended for the petition to be carefully studied.
The objection centred on the membership of Lt Col R. S. Nyaka of the Army Headquarters on the grounds that he was a member of the subcommittee charged with the recruitment of Army sports personnel.
Col Damoah, in his submission to the board, said Lt Col Nyaka had demonstrated special interest in his (Damoah’s) appointment as DMP and shown malicious bias against him in advance before the convening of the board.
He said Lt Col Nyaka was a member of the subcommittee set up by the Director-General of Training at the General Headquarters to co-ordinate the recruitment of quality sportsmen and women for the GAF.
Col Damoah said by that position, Lt Col Nyaka became part of the recruitment process and had been deeply involved in the 2008 recruitment exercise.
He explained that it was the subcommittee on sports that had been charged with the responsibility of recruiting the best 30 sports persons for each of the three arms of the GAF, which comprised the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.
He said Lt Col Nyaka was reported to have told Lt Col J. H. K. Buntuguh of the GAF some time in January, 2009 to stop forwarding the names of recommended sportsmen and women to the DMP for consideration in the selection of the 2008 first batch of potential recruits for training at the Armed Forces Recruits Training School (AFRTS).
He told the board that Lt Col Nyaka was alleged to have intimated to Lt Col Buntuguh that the training of the 2008 first batch of potential Army recruits would be suspended, as a BOI would be instituted against Col Damoah for recruitment malpractice to pave the way for his eventual removal from the appointment.
He said the fact that Lt Col Nyaka made those statements to Lt Col Buntuguh and predicted that there would be a BOI as a prelude to his (Col Damoah’s) removal to pave the way for his (Lt Col Nyaka’s) appointment as DMP made him an interested party in the case.
On the other related matters, Col Damoah stated that Paragraph 1 (B) of the convening order of the BOI contained very serious factual errors which would be of material relevance to some of the proceedings and findings of the board.
He said that paragraph contained an erroneous impression that the 2008 general recruitment exercise had been conducted in July 2008 when the general screening had actually been conducted in March 2008.
He said 2008 was the only year that the general recruitment exercise had not been conducted in July.
Col Damoah said additionally, paragraph one of the convening order indicated that 420 potential Army recruits were to commence training at the AFRTS, instead of the Army Recruits Training School (ARTS).
He added that the same paragraph stated that the training of the potential Army recruits was to commence on January 15, 2009 when in fact the letter was dated January 23, 2009, eight clear days after the purported training had commenced.
He said it was not for nothing that January 15, 2009 was featured in the Convening Order of the BOI and added that it held one of the keys to the conspiracy to use a BOI, whose outcome was already predetermined, to achieve political and ethnic objectives.
He said the date for the commencement of the training on the letters given to the potential Army recruits was January 31, 2009 and not January 15, 2009.
Col Damoah quoted Article 33(5) of the 1992 Constitution which provided that the rights, duties, declarations and guarantees relating to the fundamental human rights and freedoms specifically mentioned in Chapter Five shall not be regarded as excluding others not specifically mentioned which are considered inherent in a democracy and intended to secure the freedom and dignity of man.
He said consequently, the composition of a BOI could adversely affect the fundamental human rights of a witness or a person under investigation if, on the balance of probabilities, a reasonable mind could conclude that there was the likelihood of prejudice or bias against or in favour of a witness or a person under investigation.

Freeze on Land Transfer(front page) February 12, 2009

2009-02-13T09:03:00.000-08:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THE process of transferring government lands which have been reallocated by the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing to private developers has been suspended with immediate effect.
Letters to that effect, signed on behalf of the Chief of Staff by the Chief Director at the Office of the President, Mr L. B. Tusoe, have been dispatched to the relevant agencies which deal with government lands.
The heads of the relevant agencies which have been served with copies of the letter include the Chief Registrar, Land Title Registry; the Executive Secretary, Land Valuation Board; the Director of Surveys, the Survey Department; the Director, the Geological Survey Department; the Executive Director, the Wildlife Division, and the Director of Mines.
The letter, with reference number SCR/A.26/38, said any violation of the directive would attract severe sanctions.
The Executive Secretary of the Lands Commission, Alhaji H. I. Baryeh, confirmed to the Daily Graphic that the commission had received a copy of the letter and explained that by the directive, issuance of allocations and execution of leases relating to specific government land holdings had been frozen.
He said some of the lands, which he said were strategic, were at Cantonments, Ridge and Roman Ridge, all in Accra.
He said the directive also applied to strategic government lands in all the regions.
The directive followed revelations at the sittings of the Government Transitional Team on the transfer of executive assets during which it was realised that some government lands, as well as houses, some of which were under construction, had been allocated to former ministers of state and other private individuals.
The letter to the relevant state agencies indicated that the transfer of public lands to private individuals defeated the purpose for which those properties were acquired in the first place.
It said on the part of the lands, they were government lands which were not meant to be shared among ministers of state and other individuals.
It said all the allocations would be reviewed after a new board for the Lands Commission had been put in place.
Other government sources explained that currently there was no Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing to re-examine and review the allocation of such lands.
It said most of those lands, particularly those in Accra, had generated a lot of controversy, with the original owners calling for the lands to be returned to them.

Network to harmonise election standards(Political page 14) January 31, 2009

2009-02-01T04:34:00.000-08:00

Story:Michael Donkor

A REGIONAL network of electoral commissions has been established in the West Africa sub region to harmonise election standards among ECOWAS countries.
Known as ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions, it is made up of heads of institutions responsible for managing elections in ECOWAS member states.
A director at the African Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr William A. Awinador-Kanyirige, who confirmed this in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said the body would ensure the promotion of transparent and credible elections in the region and help entrench the culture of democracy.
He said the establishment of the network, which was agreed at the end of a two-day meeting of the heads of electoral management bodies in the region, would also contribute to the emergence of independent and impartial electoral management bodies in member states.
He explained that the proposal for the creation of the network, emanated from a joint workshop held in September 2005 by ECOWAS and the Pan African Strategic and Policy Research Group (PANAFSTRAG).
Mr Awinador-Kanyirige said the body was mandated to also promote public confidence in the electoral process through transparent and credible electoral procedures, as well as the employment of electoral officials with integrity, probity and a strong sense of public service.
He said according to its eight-page statute, the network would also serve as a platform for cooperation in improving electoral laws and practices, the exchange of experiences and best practices, as well as pooling and sharing of electoral resources to ensure cost-effectiveness.
Mr Awinador-Kanyirige said the operations of the network, which had three organs including a General Assembly and a Coordinating Committee, would be coordinated from a Secretariat located at the ECOWAS Electoral Unit.
He said the meeting endorsed two documents, one of which was the 34-page ECOWAS handbook on election observation that would serve as a guide for the proper assessment of genuine democratic elections in member states.
He said the first section of the handbook placed election observation within the mandate of ECOWAS, while the other sections comprised practical guidelines for observation missions and sampled observation forms.
Mr Awinador-Kanyirige said about 60 participants, including academics, electoral experts and civil society representatives, attended the meeting which was organised in collaboration with the European Union and Open Society Initiatives for West Africa (OSIWA).

Chief Director Takes Temporary Charge of Defence(Centre Spread) January 28, 2009

2009-01-30T01:52:00.000-08:00

Story:Michael Donkor
THE Chief Director of the Ministry of Defence, Mr Ofosu Appeah, has been directed to take responsibility of the Ministry until the appointment of a substantive Minister.
A source close to the Transition Team of President Mills said this had become necessary following the death of Vice Admiral E.O. Owusu-Ansah who had earlier been appointed by President John Atta Mills to represent him at the ministry.
Vice Admiral Owusu-Ansah died on January 17, 2009.
Meanwhile some officers and men at the General Headquarters of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) have welcomed the news of the retirement of Lt.Gen. J.B Danquah and the appointment of Rear Admiral A.R.S Nuno as a refreshing one.
They described Rear Admiral Nuno as a professional naval officer dedicated to his duty.
The officers and men, who pleaded anonymity, expressed the hope that Rear Admiral Nuno, having gone through all the military rudiments, would bring his rich experience to bear on the GAF.
They were of the belief that although he was only in an acting position, he would improve upon discipline in the GAF.

Armed Forces Investigate Shooting of Cyclist(Page 31) January 16, 2009

2009-01-16T05:02:00.000-08:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THE Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) yesterday confirmed that it had launched a full-scale investigation into the shooting incident at Ekumfi Dunkwa in the Central Region on January 2, 2009 which claimed the life of 33-year-old Samuel Tetteh.
In a release signed by the Director of the Public Relations Unit of the GAF, Col E.W.K. Nibo, the GAF confirmed that investigations were underway to establish the circumstances that led to the death of the motor rider and the extent to which the military was involved.
The release said the military enquiry was in addition to the investigations being conducted by the police and advised the media to exercise restraint in their publications and commentaries while they awaited the results of the investigations.
A military source said the GAF received information that on January 2, 2009, Tetteh, who was riding a motor bike in the company of some friends, was allegedly shot dead by some soldiers from the 64 Infantry Regiment.
It said some of the soldiers involved in the incident had been asked to assist in the investigations.
It said the vehicles which were used, with registration numbers 39 GA 74 and 38 GA 32, were also being checked to establish their movement on that day.
The source said the investigative team was expected to invite those friends in whose company the deceased was to help in the investigations.
Meanwhile, Lt Col Thomas Oppong Peprah, the Commanding Officer of the 64 Infantry Regiment, has been assigned to the Defence Intelligence Unit as a Deputy Director and his place at the 64 Infantry Regiment taken over by Lt Col F.D. Arthur.
A short ceremony was held at the General Headquarters at Burma Camp last Wednesday to effect the change.
When Lt Col Peprah was contacted, he confirmed the change but said it was in line with routine military changes that had nothing to do with the ongoing investigations into the shooting incident.
The source advised all officers and men of the GAF to offer their support to the government of Prof John Atta Mills for it to undertake its programme of building a robust Army of a modern standard.

Changes imminent in GAF. Maj-Gen Odotei, 2 others to be considered for CDS(Front page) January 15, 2009

2009-01-15T07:57:00.000-08:00

Story: Michael Donkor
A CHANGE within the top brass of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) which will see the appointment and retirement of some senior officers is expected to be announced soon.
Daily Graphic sources indicate that three of the four service chiefs of the Military High Command will be affected.
Those being considered for higher appointment include Major-General Carl Modey, Major-General Samuel Odotei and Major-General A.K. Abdulai, one of whom would be considered for the position of Chief of the Defence Staff.
According to highly placed sources in the transition team of the new government, the names had already been submitted to the President, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the GAF, for consideration and approval.
Others are Brigadier-General Emmanuel Okyere, Brig-Gen T.K. Opoku and Brig-Gen R.O Sackey, one of whom is to be considered as the Chief of Army Staff.
Commodore G.M. Biekro, the Chief Staff Officer at the Navy Headquarters; Commodore F. Daley, the Navy Commander in Takoradi; Commodore Michael Quarshie of the Eastern Naval Command and Commodore Muniru Tahiru are being considered for the position of Chief of Naval Staff, while Air Commodore Michael Sampson-Oje, the Air Force Base Commander in Takoradi; Air Commodore E.R. Krakue, the Air Force Base Commander in Accra, and Air Commodore I.S. Kadiri are being considered for the position of Chief of Air Staff.
The sources said Brig-Gen K. Oppong Kyekye and Brigadier-Gen R. Debrah are being considered for the position of General Officer Commanding the Northern Command, while Brig-Gen John Fokuo and Brig-Gen H.W Agbenuza are being considered for the position of General Officer Commanding the Southern Command.
Major-General Modey is currently the Deputy Force Commander serving with the United Nations Mission in Liberia, while Major-General Odotei is the current Chief of Army Staff.
The sources disclosed that the most favoured for the position is Major-General Odotei, who has demonstrated a high sense of professionalism, competence and loyalty to the Constitution of the country.
They said apart from that he had had several training programmes and courses, both in the United States and the United Kingdom, and served on numerous United Nations Peacekeeping Missions, the latest of which was as a Sector Commander with the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone.
He was also appointed the Chief Staff Officer at the General Headquarters of the GAF.
Brig-Gen Okyere is the General Officer Commanding the Southern Command, while Brig-Gen Opoku is the Commandant of the Support Services Brigade.
Commodore Tahiru is currently the Chief Defence Adviser in Cairo, Egypt, while Brig-Gen Sackey is the Commandant of the Military Academy and Training School.
The sources said the change in the command structure was being quickened in conformity with the regulations of the GAF and in fulfilment of the 1992 Constitution.
They said presently the service commanders had finished preparing their handing-over notes and were waiting to hand them over.

WITHHOLD PROMOTIONS AND RECENT DEFENCE POSTINGS TRANSITION TEAM RECOMMENDS(FRONT PAGE) January 14, 2009

2009-01-15T07:56:00.000-08:00

Story: Michael Donkor
Recent promotions made in the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), as well as defence attaché postings made to foreign missions, are likely to be put on hold as a result of complaints of irregularities.
Sources close to the transition team on National Security disclosed to the Daily Graphic that this and other recommendations were to be made to President John Atta Mills, who is also the Commander-in-Chief of the GAF, after the transition team had reviewed the new promotions and postings and received complaints of irregularities about some of the postings and the manner in which the exercise was undertaken.
The postings and promotions were made on December 22, 2008, two weeks before President Mills was sworn into office, and that of the promotions took effect on December 31, 2008 while the postings takes effect on January 31, 2009.
The promotions and the postings had already been published by the GAF in their restricted letters and copies given to all the service chiefs, according to service regulations.
Consequently, National Security has requested for all the documents pertaining to the processes of the postings for further scrutiny.
At the time of filing this report, National Security had received most of the documents covering the postings and promotions from the Military High Command and had held discussions with the military leadership to discuss the irregularities found.
The source said the meeting affirmed that as a disciplined entity, it was important for the GAF to maintain such discipline within the rank and file of the officers and men of the service, for which reason acts that were likely to break down that discipline and create disenchantment among the personnel were not supposed to be entertained.
It said President Mills’s administration was poised to maintain a high level of discipline and fairness and meet the needs of the Armed Forces to enable them to perform creditably and hold the flag of Ghana very high among the comity of nations.
It said, for instance, that some of the officers being posted as defence attaches were junior to those who were going to serve under them.
Another source close to the Military High Command, however, told the Daily Graphic that the due processes were followed in making those promotions and postings and that there was no cause for alarm.
It said all the service chiefs signed the lists for the promotions and postings, after which the then Commander-in-Chief of the GAF, former President John Agyekum Kufuor, gave his assent to it on December 29, 2008.
The source said the postings and promotions were also in order and in accordance with GAF regulations, adding that they met all the constitutional requirements of the GAF and that the announcement of the appointments and promotions had been delayed because of presidential run-off which had diverted the attention of the whole country.
The source explained that promotions and postings within the GAF were a routine and that every year two of such moves were undertaken.
It stated that this was not the first time that the announcement of such moves had been delayed, citing the year 2000 when the National Democratic Congress was about to hand over power to the New Patriotic Party and said similar postings and promotions were announced a day before the handing-over ceremony.

More debates on Kufuor's proposal( centre spread), January 9, 2009

2009-01-13T09:51:00.001-08:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THE proposal by the Immediate Past President, Mr John Agyekum Kufuor, for the extension of the tenure of office of future presidents and the regulation of the term of members of the Electoral Commission (EC) has engendered debate among civil society organisations, academicians and some participants at this year’s New Year School.
Reacting to the proposal in an interview in Accra, Mr Laary Bimi, the Chairman of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), and two senior accademicians of the university of Ghana, Prof Kwame Boafo-Arthur, the Head of the Political Science Department, and Dr Raymond Atugubah, a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, disagreed with the suggestions.
Mr Bimi argued that it was too early to start tampering with the Constitution and explained that since the Constitution came into being, the country had had only two former Presidents so it was too early to start talking about amending it.
Mr Bimi argued that the country needed to test the Constitution against the experiences of more presidents, a situation which called for patience and tolerance, and suggested that more governments should be allowed to practise the Constitution for at least a generation and that the present generation should pass it on to the next generation for it to decide whether they would want to amend it or not.
He noted that the country had more pressing issues, such as poverty reduction and other social challenges, which should be tackled with its meagre resources, instead of spending those resources on constitutional amendments for the extension of the tenure of office of the President or fixing a tenure for the EC.
On the suggestion to elect the chairmen of the EC with fixed tenures through an electoral college, Mr Bimi said it should be considered against the country’s history and made reference to a period during the era of Gen Kutu Acheampong when the Electoral Commissioner, Mr Justice Abban, came under intense pressure from the power brokers and had to escape.
He said that, coupled with other pressures that came to bear on subsequent ECs, might have informed the Constituent Assembly to structure the EC in its current form.
Mr Bimi said if the current EC and Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan had not been so insulated by the Constitution, they could not have exhibited the resolve they displayed and Ghana would not have had peaceful elections.
He said Dr Afari-Gyan’s work and pronouncements before the Tain election were what saved the country from a catastrophe because, according to him, until then there was mutual suspicion that the election results were being massaged in favour of one party and if the results had been declared in full then, the reactions would have been uncontrollable.
He said Dr Afari-Gyan was able to manage the situation successfully not only because of his intellectual capacity but also his secured tenure of office.
He recalled that as Chairman of the NCCE, he himself had served two years under former President Rawlings and eight years under former President Kufuor but neither of them ever tried to influence him.
Mr Bimi said that was the beauty of the democracy the country was endeavouring to build.
He said one did not need to be on a job for six years to win public trust and that one could be in a job for a day or a week and still win public trust.
Prof Boafo-Arthur said the four-year term of office had worked very well for the country since democracy was re-introduced in Ghana in 1992 and should be maintained.
He noted that presidents were human beings and fatigue, as well as shortage of ideas, could set in during their tenure and so the four-year, two-term arrangement was enough.
He said Ghana was imitating other democracies, such as that of the US, which also had four-year terms for their presidents and it had worked very well for them, explaining that if Ghana was imitating the US, then there was no need to extend it.
Prof Boafo-Arthur said personally he felt that the four-year, two-term tenure was enough to ensure that no President stayed in office too long to begin to think that the seat was his personal property.
He said once the country’s democracy had been institutionalised, there would be continuity.
He, however, commended former President Kufuor for making those suggestions but said if they were desirable, they should not come from one person.
He said although the proposal was coming from someone who had been the President of the country and served his two terms, with his party losing the 2008 presidential election, it was necessary for it to be looked at from a very dispassionate angle.
On chairmen of the EC, Prof Boafo-Arthur said there might be a reason President Kufuor called for a fixed term of office for them and also be elected by an electoral college.
He said the current Chairman of the EC, Dr Afari-Gyan, was doing his work to the best of his ability.
He said that could be justified from the way he had conducted elections in the country which had seen one government handing over power to the opposition on two occasions.
He said if there was no security and independence of members of the EC, their neutrality would have been compromised by politicians by now.
For his part, Dr Atugubah said one should not be a President if he did not have an agenda.
He said that agenda should be known to Ghanaians and once it was good and followed by a sitting President, he would be successful and his mandate would surely be renewed by the electorate when it ended for him to complete the two terms.
He said it was only when a country had a bad President that he would be voted out of office after his first term and argued that the four-year two-term tenure was enough.
Dr Atugubah noted that if the term office of a President was extended unduly, considering the country’s recent history, one might be inviting other means to change an unpopular government other than constitutional means.
He referred to the US and said the tenure of office of the President there was four years and that it was doing very well.
He said on members of the EC, their independence and security of office were very important for the development of the country’s democracy.
He said electing them and giving them a fixed term of office would only produce a lean commission and commissioners, adding that when that happened, there would always be pressure from the Executive on the EC to toe its line.
A Deputy General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Mr John Nyoagbe, said the extension of the term of the presidency from four to five years was a good idea, reports Emmanuel Bonney from the New Year School.
He said with a five-year renewable term, a new government could use the first year of its administration to settle down and use the rest of the period to do the actual work.
He said most often when a government assumed power, it had little time to settle down and had to rush to do things.
Another officer of GNAT, Mr Jacob Anderson, shared a similar view and was of the belief that with a five-year term a government should be able to deliver on most of its promises.
They both, however, kicked against the former President’s suggestion to have a fixed term of office for the commissioners of the Electoral Commission (EC).
Such an idea, they said, was not good, as it would make the commissioners serve the interests of the governments that appointed them.
Mr Theophilus Kojo Hagan, who described himself as a chief citizen, said the Constituent Assembly that fixed the term for the presidency at four years knew what it was about and, therefore, the four years should be maintained.
“The members of the assembly were intelligent people and had good intentions to make the term for the presidency four years renewable,” he said.
Mr Paul Nyarko, a teacher, also disagreed with the idea of a five-year term, adding that “some politicians can take advantage of the situation to amass wealth at the expense of the poor”.
He said the four-year renewable term should be maintained so that politicians would not become power drunk.
For Mr Raymond Ayroe, a retired teacher, the four-year term was good, as it would put politicians on their toes to start delivering as soon as they assumed office so that they could get another mandate from the people.
Mr Mahama Ayariga, the Spokesperson for President John Evans Atta Mills, for his part, said although the NDC administration had a different view of the constitutional reviews suggested by former President Kufuor, it would not dismiss them outright, reports Donald Ato Dapatem.
He said President Kufuor made those suggestions from his observations and experience gathered over the years as President for eight years and 40 years of active political life, as well as an elderly statesman, adding that suggestions from such a personality should not be dismissed entirely.
Mr Ayariga said Prof Mills campaigned on the basis of winning power and fulfilling the promises made within the four-year mandate prescribed by the Constitution and so based on those promises and the constitutional arrangements the NDC would not hesitate to make any such review.
However, he said as was promised during the NDC campaign, the Mills government would institute measures for some constitutional reviews during the early stages of its term and that during discussions if the NPP found it feasible to raise such issues, in addition to what the NDC would bring up,, they would be welcomed.
According to Mr Ayariga, there was nothing wrong with the members of the EC that warranted a specific tenure of office for them.
He argued that the issue with the electoral process was purely acts of lawlessness on the part of some electorate and candidates, which had nothing to do with the behaviour and tenure of any of the EC members.
He said some of the problems associated with election malpractice include under-age voting, double registration, double voting, as well as chaotic behaviour at the polling stations.
He said all those acts were criminal offences which EC officials had little authority to stop.
He said it was the security agencies that had the power and authority to cause arrests in such instances because they were criminal offences.

Security beefed up at national installations(Page three) December 31, 2008

2008-12-31T01:56:00.000-08:00

Story: Michael Donkor
SECURITY has been beefed up at all national installations as part of measures to protect them from potential troublemakers who may engage in some post-election excesses.
The joint police/military patrols have also been intensified, with the Military High Command increasing military presence at some flash points to ensure that lives and property are also protected.
The Chief of the Defence Staff, Lt Gen J.B. Danquah, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic yesterday, appealed for public co-operation to enable the security services to maintain the peace in the country.
He also appealed to the leadership of the political parties to use the law courts to contest any flaws they might have identified with the electoral process and avoid mobilising their supporters onto the streets to protest.
He said for those who might want to jubilate, it was important for them to do so peacefully, without taking the law into their own hands.
Lt Gen Danquah said other security measures had been devised to ensure that the peace and tranquillity that the country enjoyed was sustained.
He gave the assurance that the military would do everything possible to defend and uphold the Constitution of the country at all times.
Lt Gen Danquah reminded Ghanaians that there was no Ghana anywhere for them to go to and that they should all join in the fight to resist any attempt by any self-seeker to disturb the peace and tranquillity of the country.
Meanwhile, the National Elections Security Task Force has warned the public against lawlessness and acts of vandalism.
It said the task force would continue the joint police/military patrols to strengthen security in the aftermath of the election to ensure the safety of lives and property and the promotion of general security.
A statement signed by DSP Kwesi Ofori, the Director of Police Public Affairs, called on the public to remain calm and support the police to maintain peace, law and order in the country.
It said the task force and operational units were being deployed to assist in maintaining public order and urged motorists to co-operate with the police in that respect.
It reminded the public that the Headquarters of the Electoral Commission was a restricted zone and that access to the roads leading to that place would be granted to emergency vehicles, vehicles of the EC, the security services and stakeholders only.
The statement further reminded the public that the Public Order Act required that any group of persons who wished to organise any public event had to inform the police five days before the day of the event.
It commended the public for their support so far in maintaining peace and order in the country.

War on pair trawling attracts diverse views(page three) December 18, 2008

2008-12-18T02:43:00.000-08:00

Story: Michael Donkor
Fishermen in Accra have expressed diverse reactions towards moves by the government to declare war on pair trawling in the country’s territorial waters.
While some of them said the move was a positive step towards addressing the problem in the future others were of the opinion that it would be an exercise in futility, since the peak season during which they made heavy catch of fish had long passed.
According to them, the peak season for fishing was in late July, through to August and September, every year. The fishermen were randomly interviewed by the Daily Graphic.
Nii Lamptey Otu, a fisherman at Chokor, an Accra suburb, said the government’s intervention was a step in the right direction because of its long-term effect.
However, he said fishermen had to wait to enjoy the benefits of the government’s intervention.
Nii Otu said although it took the government some time to come to the aid of fishermen as far as pair trawling was concerned, it was better late than never because some of them had no other business but fishing.
Mr Oko Oblie welcomed the move and said with the new boats secured for the Ghana Navy and the subsequent publicity given, it would ward off those engaged in such illegal practices.
He said what was important now was for the Navy to patrol the sea constantly to ensure that those engaged in pair trawling were arrested and brought to book.
Mr Adjei Tettey said they had long been waiting for the government to do something about pair trawling but to no avail until the fishing season lapsed.
Mr Tettey said now that the government had come out with the intervention, they hoped that the security agencies, particularly the Navy, would live up to expectation.
He urged the government to intensify efforts to correct the situation for them to remain in business.
Mr Lantey Odoi on his part described the intervention as an exercise in futility.
He said what should have been done first was to withdraw the licence issued to some fishing companies to engage in pair trawling.
He said if the licence of those companies were not withdrawn the Navy’s patrolling of the sea would be an empty exercise.
Another fisherman, Nii Ayi Mensah, also said the intervention came too late.
He said he had lost his capital because on many occasions that he went to fishing, he could not harvest fish resulting in the waste of the fuel he had bought.
He said this raised his operation cost and finally the lost of his business capital.
Mr Samson Okaikoi called on the government to take another step to withdraw the licence of those companies that had been permitted to operate pair trawling on pilot basis and support the fishermen financially to bounce back to business.
The government announced last Monday that the Western Naval Command and the Ghana Air Force had embarked on an operation to protect the fish stock in the country’s territorial waters.
It said the move was to ensure that the country’s fishermen derived optimum benefit from the country’s marine resources and halt the depletion of the country’s fish stock by those engaged in pair trawling.
It said the exercise, code-named “Operation Stock Control” under the Anti-Pair Trawling Operations of the Ghana Armed Forces, would ensure policing activities that would stop such activities in the country once and for all.
The government said the programme was also intended to provide the much needed relief for Ghanaian fishermen who had been subjected to severe harassment and considerable loss of income as a result of those illegal activities at sea.
It said under “Operation Stock Control”, the Ghana Navy had been equipped with three speedboats to patrol the country’s territorial waters.
It said the Navy would be assisted by the Ghana Air Force, which would fly its aircraft to prompt the Navy to the activities of pair trawlers.

NATO to Support African Union Standby Force(Page three) 24 September, 2008

2008-12-10T01:03:00.000-08:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THE Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), Mr Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, has announced the organisation’s readiness to support the African Standby Force (ASF).
To that end, he said NATO was in close contact with the African Union (AU) and was ready to offer advice and assistance.
Mr Scheffer said this when he interacted with some senior military officials at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Accra on Thursday.
Mr Scheffer, who is in Ghana at the invitation of President John Agyekum Kufuor, said about two months ago, at the UN General Assembly meeting in New York, he had met with President Kikwete, the Chairman of the African Union, to discuss how to take the NATO-AU relationship forward.
He said NATO’s 26-member countries had already consented to the move to support the ASF.
He said since the start of the AU Mission in the Sudan in June 2005, NATO had provided airlift support for some 31,000 troops and personnel, including almost 600 soldiers, military observers and policemen from Ghana.
He noted that that was truly the start of a new relationship between the AU and NATO.
Mr Scheffer said the military alliance could play an important role in training African soldiers to provide solutions to conflicts on the continent.
He ruled out a direct role for the alliance's troops in Africa and added that it was not in NATO's domain to police the world.
"NATO is not a global policeman and we do not intend to turn the organisation into that," he added.
Mr Scheffer gave the assurance that NATO would make its unique capabilities and expertise available to the wider international community and work with other nations and organisations in a comprehensive approach to come to terms with challenges which affected the world.

Be Worthy Partners of Peace, Security Agencies advised(Centre Spread) 24 September, 2008

2008-12-10T01:00:00.000-08:00

Story:Michael Donkor
A member of the National Security Council, Naval Captain Ignatius Kwabena Ankobiah (retd), has urged personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to be worthy partners for peace and not to be seen as instruments of terror or brutality.
He also charged the officers and men to help in their own way to forge new civilian and military relationships by ensuring that the use of force was always in conformity with constitutional rights.
Naval Capt. Ankobiah made the call at the graduation ceremony of Junior Staff Course 55 at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC) in Accra yesterday .
Those who graduated included officers from Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Togo.
Naval Captain Ankobiah said in the same vein that the personnel should be the instrument of transformation towards the building of a modern military force for the management of the challenges of the 21st century.
He urged them to endeavour to market the GAF as a vital and dependable institution of state.
Naval Capt Ankobiah said the clarion call for democracy and good governance was reverberating through the length and breadth of countries in the sub-region and the rest of the Africa.
He said as security personnel they were the guardians of the constitution.
He reminded them that the oath they took enjoined them to remain loyal to the state.
Naval Capt. Ankobiah asked the potential staff officers and commanders to master the rudiments of the profession and always be one step ahead of their subordinates at all times.
He said this called for self-education and higher academic development.
The Commandant of the GAFCSC, Major-Gen. Richardson Baiden, said the course had been designed to turn out modern officers who were conversant with the needs of the changing paradigm of defence and security matters.
He said the Command aimed at training selected officers to perform staff functions by developing their leadership, analytical and communication skills, while providing the foundation for their career development.

Security in Mock Drill (Front Page) November 17, 2008

2008-11-21T00:45:00.000-08:00

Story:Michael Donkor
A TWO-DAY joint Military /Police exercise aimed at testing the preparedness of the security agencies to handle any election-related crises on December 7 began in Accra on Saturday night.
During the exercise, an imaginary scenario was created and staged at four polling stations at the North Kaneshie 1 and 2 Primary School area and Bubiashie Seventh Day Adventist Church.
It enacted a scene where some machomen seized ballot boxes from those polling stations and attempted to take them away after the electorate had finished casting their votes.
A joint Military/Police task force was called in and it immediately rushed to the scene, and prevented the machomen from taking the boxes away.
The machomen were subsequently over-powered and arrested.
In another scenario, the vehicle carrying the boxes broke down and a group of people pounced on the officials of the Electoral Commission, seized the boxes and were about to take them away when the task force was called in to arrest the situation.
After the exercise, the Greater Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP James Oppong Bonuah, described it as highly successful.
He said the public co-operated with the task force, which made its members to achieve the aim of the exercise.
He said all the scenario’s were executed smoothly without any problems or impediments.
Addressing security agents in the Ashanti Region, made up of the military, the police, the immigration, the prisons, the CEPS and the fire service, who took part in the joint operation, the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, DCOP Kwaku Ayensu Opare-Addo, noted that the security apparatus had the duty to prevent potential troublemakers from creating anarchy before, during and after the December election, reports George Ernest Asare.
He noted that they also had the responsibility to win the confidence of the electorate by defusing tension likely to cause fear.
"There is the need to exhibit the highest sense of professionalism and transparency in the discharge of our responsibility, as well as being fair and firm to enable the election to be held in an atmosphere of peace," he noted.
DCOP Opare-Addo said it was equally important for the security apparatus to be diligent in their operations, stressing, "if some people want to destroy the nation to achieve their selfish interest, it is our responsibility to fish them out and make them face the full rigours of the law without any fear or favour".
The Officer Commanding the 4BN, Major Richard Amponsem Boateng, said it was the duty of the military to join hands with the police and other security agencies to maintain internal peace at all times.
The Regional Electoral Officer, Mr Kofi Asomanin, urged the security apparatus to manage the electoral process in a way that would make the electorate elect their leaders legitimately.
He pointed out that by creating a peaceful environment, the electorate would be motivated to cast their votes in their numbers.
He said it was equally important for them to give the polling officers, as well as the ballot boxes and all materials needed for the conduct of the election, adequate security.
From Koforidua, Nana Konadu Agyeman reports that a number of security personnel drawn from the Eastern Region, as well as the First Battalion of Infantry, took part in the mock drill. The exercise, which would last 48 hours, is being led by DCOP George Anko-Bill, the Eastern Regional Police Commander.
The exercise, joined by the chairmen of the regional and district Task Force Committees, was undertaken at polling stations at Housing Corporation Polling Centre at Adweso, Legion Hall Polling Centre and a polling station at Koforidua Zongo.
It was used to demonstrate and test the preparedness of the security forces to curb any violence during the conduct of the elections in the Eastern Region.

Seminar, exhibition on Airwater opens,November 20, 2008 (inside page)

2008-11-21T00:42:00.000-08:00

Story: Michael Donkor
A one-day seminar and exhibition on airwater making device has taken place in Accra.
The device condenses humidity through a unique stainless steel water tank, filters and purifies it and turns it into potable water and also for irrigation purposes.
The Airwater device is very convenient and safe, custom-made and mobile, as well as highly cost-effective. It is hoped its presence on the Ghanaian market will ensure sustainable water for all, especially in the northern part of the country.
Speaking at the seminar to introduce the machine, the Deputy Minister of Defence, Mr William Ofori Boafo, said considering the daunting challenges facing mankind with regard to water supply, the introduction of alternative sources of water production, such as the airwater making machine, was a welcome one.
He said anything to do with water was something that should concern all.
Mr Boafo said fresh, potable water was the most important natural resource on earth for which there was no substitute.
He said world-wide, over 1.1 billion people lacked access to safe drinking water, making it a precious commodity.
He said it was the lack of access to water and the threats posed by climate change on water bodies that made the machine welcome.
Mr Boafo said water was an essential component of existence and for that reason people should use it wisely.
“We must learn not only the methods and habits of sharing equitably but also the technologies and values of protecting the environment that makes fresh water available to us,” he said.
The Managing Director of CNFSK Consulting, the local agents of Airwater Making Machine Company, Mr Christian Kudonoo, said the machine could generate six gallons of water a day.
He said other machines which could generate more gallons would later be introduced onto the market.
Mr Kudonoo said Airwater machines came in a wide range of sizes and applications, explaining that
those varieties could be used at home, in the factory, at the hospital and building and construction sites.
The Deputy Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Frank Agyekum, expressed the hope that the prices of the machine would be affordable and that a factory would be established in the country to provide back ups.

Poor salaries will undermine new pension-Prof Nukunya (Page 14) November 10, 2008

2008-11-09T23:38:00.000-08:00

Story: Michael Donkor
A former Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Prof G.K. Nukunya, has observed that the proposed three-tier pension scheme will be of no benefit if salaries are not adjusted to reflect the realities on the ground.
He said basic salaries were too low, resulting in low pensions, and called for the situation to be looked at critically.
Prof Nukunya, who is also a Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, made the observation when he delivered a lecture as part of the activities marking the 60th anniversary of the University of Ghana, Legon, in Accra last Thursday.
He said retirement was a situation that brought considerable changes into the life of an individual, saying that it resulted, among others, in a reduction in income, loss of influence and power, loneliness, boredom and sometimes homelessness.
He said of these, the reduction in income appeared to be the most critical because it tended to increase the effects of the other conditions.
Prof Nukunya said despite some improvement in the income levels of university employees in recent years, the basic structure still left much to be desired, as in most cases the increases were in allowances, which were not added when pensions were calculated.
He said the basic pay of the highest paid university employee was about GH¢800 a month for a full professor and added that full professors were few, forming less than one per cent of the workforce.
Prof Nukunya said the bulk of the employees earned less than GH¢250 a month, while the lowest got less than GH¢100 a month.
He said it was, therefore, not surprising that the highest monthly pension for a university employee was just over GH¢400 and the lowest GH¢20, adding that as with the basic salary, the majority of the pensioners fell somewhere between the two extremes.
He said no one could live comfortably solely on this pension, adding that those forced to do so risked a big reduction in their standard of living.
Prof Nukunya, therefore, suggested that employees should be educated on how to prepare for retirement to avoid situations that could lead them to miserable lives when they were on retirement.

AGI supports national security effort(back page) November 4, 2008

2008-11-05T01:34:00.000-08:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THE Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) has presented communication gadgets and security cameras worth GH¢45,200 to the Ministry of the Interior to enhance the operations of the national security apparatus.
The gadgets, including Motorola radio handsets, close-circuit cameras and monitors, were received by the sector minister at a ceremony in Accra yesterday.
Presenting the equipment, the President of the AGI, Mr Tony Oteng-Gyasi, said the move was in line with the association's objective to support the police to enable them to continue with the good job they were doing in the country.
He said the AGI was happy with the positive developments at the security front in the past few months, adding that
security had improved and wherever its members went they were greeted with that good news.
Mr Oteng-Gyasi expressed the hope that the security situation would continue to improve in the coming months for the country to have peaceful elections.
The Minister of the Interior, Dr Kwame Addo-Kufuor, expressed the government’s appreciation to the AGI for its support.
He said the government had put ample resources at the disposal of the police to enable them to work effectively but added that there was the need for public-spirited persons and institutions to support the police as well.
He said the police had taken their responsibilities very seriously in recent times and that had contributed to the decline in the crime rate.
He said crime in places such as the Kotoka International Airport had reduced drastically.
Dr Addo-Kufuor expressed the hope that other institutions would emulate the good example of the AGI.
The Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Mrs Elizabeth Mills-Robertson, thanked the AGI for the gesture and gave the assurance that the equipment would be used for its intended purpose.

Six firms to print ballot papers(Front Page) November 5, 2008

2008-11-05T01:33:00.000-08:00

Story: Michael Donkor
SIX local printing houses have been given the contract to print the ballot papers for the December 7 general election and release them to the Electoral Commission (EC) this week.
The Director of Elections at the EC, Mr Albert Kofi Arhin, announcing this when he addressed security chiefs within the southern command, named the six companies, which are all Accra-based, as the Buck Press, Innolink, Yarsarko, Fonstad, Act Commercial and Check Point.
The day-long meeting was to enable the security chiefs to appraise themselves of the electoral processes, engage in test operations for communication and mobility and plan joint practical exercises against any security challenges that the elections may pose.
Present at the meeting were the Inspector-General of Police, Mr P. K. Acheampong, the Chief of the Defence Staff, Lt Gen J. B. Danquah, and the Director of the Ghana Immigration Service, Ms Elizabeth Adjei.
Mr Arhin said the EC would require a 24-hour guard during the printing of the ballot papers and added that it would, therefore, need the support of the security agencies during the printing of the papers.
He noted that the EC had often borne the brunt of the elections as its staff were often intimidated and beaten up.
Mr Arhin said the commission appreciated the role of the security services in the success of the elections.
According to him, after the printing of the ballot papers, the EC would still need security assistance to escort the papers and other election materials to the regions on the eve of the elections for the allocation and distribution of the materials to the polling stations.
Mr Arhin said other areas the EC needed security presence and protection were the counting of votes, the carting of ballot boxes to the collation centres, the Operations Room of the EC, the premises of the EC itself, as well as the places where electronic scoreboards would be mounted throughout the country.
He explained that the stakes in this year’s elections were high but gave the assurance that the EC would do what it could to ensure peaceful elections and urged the security agencies to support it with the requisite security.
Mr Arhin told the security chiefs that the presiding officers would be in charge of the elections at the various centres and urged them to co-operate with the officers.
He said the EC was aware that the security personnel could not cover the entire length and breadth of the country and had, therefore, issued out the list of flash points to the security chiefs.
The National Security Co-ordinator, Dr Sam Amoo-Ghartey, said the commitment of the country’s security system to ensure a secure and peaceful environment for free and fair elections was on course.
“This joint police/military exercise constitutes a vital part of the preparations of the election task force to ensure a congenial and secure environment for the forthcoming elections,” he said.
He said the National Task Force had been decentralised and replicated in all the 10 regions and the 170 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies, with non-political appointees as chairpersons.
He said the goal of the joint exercise in the internal security areas of operations was to synchronise and rehearse operational plans and procedures.
Dr Amoo-Ghartey expressed the hope that by the end of the exercise the roles and functions of all agencies involved would have been synchronised and integrated into a seamless operation machine to achieve the ultimate goal of ensuring a secure and enabling environment for a free, fair and transparent electoral process.
“Lest we forget, we are a people who have gone through a lot in our young history: We have been freed, we have been liberated, redeemed, revolutionised and eventually we have achieved democratic dispensation. This, we are sure, we are all determined to keep,” he said.
The General Officer Commanding the Southern Command of the Ghana Armed Forces, Brigadier-General Emmanuel Okyere, announced a nation-wide simulation exercise on November 16, 2008 to test the preparedness of the security services for the December 7 polls.
He said journalists would be embedded in the exercise to erase any doubts about it.

Preparation Towards December 7 Elections; Crucial Meeting Tomorrow, All security chiefs to meet in Accra(Front Page) November 3, 2008

2008-11-05T01:28:00.000-08:00

Story:Michael Donkor
REGIONAL commanders and security chiefs from the police, military and allied agencies will assemble in Accra tomorrow for the final phase of the national programme aimed at harmonising the operations of all security agencies during the December elections.
It will also involve all task forces established for the maintenance of law and order during the December elections.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra at the weekend, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Patrick Kwarteng Acheampong, said resource persons from the Electoral Commission (EC) would be in attendance to educate the security operatives on the electoral process.
Mr Acheampong said the move was aimed at building the capacity of the security agencies to get them to work as a team in order to take measures to prevent any activity which had the potential for disturbing the electoral process.
Mr Acheampong, who is also the Chairman of the National Security Task Force, said that the present phase of the exercise would be replicated in the regions, and would be followed by a national mock exercise on November 16 and 17.
He explained that stakeholders and other task forces in the regions would be taken through what would be taught in Accra.
Mr Acheampong said during the programme, a rehearsal of all potential situations would be held.
He, therefore, appealed to the general public to co-operate with the security agencies during the mock exercises to make the programme successful.
The objective of the security operations, he maintained, was to ensure the integrity of the elections and to ensure that the electorate exercised their franchise in a peaceful environment.
He, therefore, appealed to the electorate not to be apprehensive or alarmed by the presence of security persons during the mock exercise which would be held in all the regions.
He said on the day of the election, security persons would be required to be punctual, alert, exhibit fairness, be open and honest team players, and where the need arose, would be required to use minimum force.
Mr Acheampong challenged all regional commanders to ensure that their subordinates approached their work in a non-partisan manner to instil confidence in the electorate before, during and after the elections.
He also appealed to them to ensure good coverage of the elections to further uplift their image before the citizens of the country and the international community as a whole.
Series of programmes have been organised to improve the strategic operation and tactical levels of the security agencies as well as education programmes for the national election task force.
violence

Appoint Competent persons to Boards-Pianim(Centre Spread) October 23, 2008

2008-11-02T05:11:00.001-08:00

Story: Michael Donkor
AN economic consultant, Mr Kwame Pianim, has called on the government to ensure that persons appointed to chair the boards of state enterprises are competent and have the requisite expertise for such positions.
He said most board chairmen lacked adequate managerial skills, resulting in the poor performance of state enterprises.
Mr Pianim, who made the call when he delivered the 10th anniversary lecture of the Central University College in Accra last Tuesday, said “until the government learns to put round pegs in round holes”, state enterprises would continue to perform below expectation.
He was speaking on the topic, “Training Transformational Leaders: Paradigm shift in tertiary education; developments in the national economy; implications for tertiary education”.
He said the country lacked persons with the requisite skills for the transformation of the economy from an agriculture- dominated and raw material and commodity exporting nation into a modern and diversified economy capable of improving living standards.
He said the recent discovery of oil had exposed the gap in human resource development and added that that needed to be filled.
“We need the skills required to shift the centre of gravity of our economy from agriculture to non-agricultural activities,” he added.
Mr Pianim called for the institution of credible measures to meet the manpower needs of the new oil industry in the form of engineers, ICT and accounting personnel.
He said there was the need to develop managerial competence to manage economic affairs in such a way that the oil industry would not crowd out the non-oil sectors but rather become the generator of resources for transforming the economy into a technology-intensive, modern, resilient and agile economy capable of delivering improved living standards and protecting them from future external shocks.
Mr Pianim said the country needed the skills and tools of the emerging knowledge economy if it intended to participate fully and effectively in a digitally driven world economy.
He stressed the need for biotechnology research to be included in the curriculum of tertiary education.
He said participation in that strategic area was of critical importance for the economic and social progress of the nation and the development of the Savannah belt in particular.

Medical Station reconstructed at 66th Artillery Regiment(inside page)

2008-11-02T04:54:00.000-08:00

Story: Michael Donkor, Ho
THE Medical Station of the 66th Artillery Regiment in Ho has been reconstructed at a cost of €187,257.
Apart from providing readily accessible health care for the soldiers, their spouses and the civilian employees of the regiment, the station is also expected to further deepen civil-military relations in the Ho municipality and the Volta Region as a whole.
The reconstruction was carried out by the government, with support from the government of Germany.
The station will be open to all in the Ho municipality in an effort to accelerate the delivery of medical care to the people of the area in the bid to promote good relations with the civilian population.
The Minister of Defence, Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, said the station was reconstructed with the initiative of the German government, under the supervision of the German Military Advisory Team in Ghana.
New facilities have been added to the station, including a new theatre with fully installed equipment, a new dental unit, a fully equipped X-ray unit, as well as an electro-cardiogram (ECG) unit.
Other facilities are a fully equipped laboratory, the renovation of the admission wards and toilets, as well as the provision of a medical store and a dispensary.
According to Mr Kan-Dapaah, the second phase of the project, scheduled to start soon, will include the rehabilitation of the maternity blocks, the medical officer's residence, the principal nursing officer's quarters and a 14-unit nurses' transit quarters.
He announced that the Ministry of Defence had plans to relocate the Ghana Armed Forces Recruit Training School to the Akoefe Barracks near Ho, adding that the medical station would serve as the main hospital for the school.
The German Military Advisory Team, he said, had already trained personnel to man all the new equipment and facilities installed at the station.
Mr Kan-Dapaah expressed gratitude to the German team, under the command of Lt Col Kunz, for the effort put into the reconstruction of the station in a relatively short period of five months.
He catalogued a number of projects undertaken for the GAF through the support of the German government and added that those efforts would further improve the good relations that existed between Ghana and Germany.
For his part, the German Ambassador to Ghana, Dr Marius Haas, praised the excellent state of relations between Germany and Ghana, adding that the Government of Germany had so far expended €2 million on projects in Ghana.
He pledged that the Military advisory team in Ghana would remain unchanged and co-operate with the GAF to enhance relations between the two countries.
Dr Haas said the completion of the station would curtail the situation where personnel in need of critical medical attention had to be rushed to the 37 Military Hospital in Accra.
According to him, a good medical facility for servicemen when they returned from operations abroad would serve as a great morale booster, saying that the medical needs of troops had been underestimated in the past, a situation he described as unfortunate.
The Commanding Officer of the 66th Artillery Regiment, Lt Col Kotia, expressed the hope that as part of the second phase the German Government would assist with the provision of ophthalmologist equipment and also equip a room for a physiotherapy department to raise the status of the station to a full hospital.
"The upgraded medical station will go a long way to further enhance the desire of the regiment to promote civil-military relations in the Ho municipality and the region as a whole," he added.

"Let's be conscious of our security" October 20, 2008

2008-10-20T01:49:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THE Minister of the Interior, Dr Kwame Addo-Kufuor, has advised Ghanaians not to leave their personal security and that of the state to the military, the police and other security agencies alone.
He said the arrangement whereby security was left in the hands of such institutions was unsatisfactory because under a democratic dispensation one had to avoid the situation whereby the national security apparatus could be used to maintain the ruling party in power.
Dr Addo-Kufuor gave the advice at a seminar organised by the Legon Centre for International Affairs (LECIA) in Accra at the weekend.
Speaking on the topic, “Ensuring Peace and Security in Ghana: Challenges and prospects”, the Interior Minister said most citizens desired to live in peace and security and demanded to be involved in the processes that would ensure their security.
He said in all societies, peace was the bedrock on which the development and general well-being of the citizens were anchored.
He said peace should, therefore, be protected by all citizens of goodwill to ensure that the very existence of the society was preserved and its vital institutions protected.
Dr Addo-Kufuor said effective and durable peace and security could only be maintained when the citizens respected and accepted the authority of the government.
He said to achieve that level of co-operation between the government and the people, certain conditions must prevail and mentioned those factors as the reduction of extreme poverty, access to employment, health, education and shelter.
Dr Addo-Kufuor suggested that there should be a serious attempt at wealth distribution to avoid huge gaps between the rich and the poor.
He said there should also be serious attempts at ensuring good governance.
The minister recalled the government’s submission to the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) and said its record of good governance had earned it support from the development partners.
He gave the assurance that the government would, at all times, place the interest of the country and its people above all partisan considerations to ensure free and fair elections.
Dr Addo-Kufuor pledged the government’s respect for the results that would emerge at the end of the general election as the sovereign will of the people freely expressed through the ballot box and accept them, regardless of which party was victorious.
He cautioned that any person or group of persons who would attempt to undermine the peace during this period for their parochial end would be made to face the full rigours of the law.
He said the challenges facing the country included the drug menace, the oil find, problems with Fulani herdsmen, galamsey groups, lawless ECOWAS citizens, ex-combatants from other countries now resident in Ghana and the high level of crime in the country.
Dr Addo-Kufuor said in spite of those challenges, prospects for the country in the medium-to-long term were good.
He said Ghanaians treasured the current peaceful environment and would strive to ensure that it was not disturbed by a few misguided individuals.

Warders told to treat inmates humanely(back page) October 18, 2008

2008-10-20T01:48:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
A director of the Ghana Prisons Service in charge of Technical Services, Mr Ben Quaye, has cautioned warders to desist from acts of brutality and callousness visited on inmates of prisons.
He said wardens had the responsibility to ensure that the rights of the inmates were respected, protected and promoted.
Mr Quaye made the call at the 105 recruit course graduation parade in Accra on Friday.
A total of 393 recruits graduated after 11 months of training in various disciplines.
Mr Quaye said if the warders succeeded in protecting and respecting the rights of the inmates, the prison system would reintegrate into society ex-convicts who would be ready and willing to respect the rights and freedoms of others by being law-abiding.
He noted that the service had no culture of shielding recalcitrant officers and said it would continue to purge itself of all manner of misconduct that contravened service regulations and national laws.
Mr Quaye noted that the Prisons Service could not achieve its mandate without the support of society, adding that the service was meant to serve the people.
He advised the society not to shun ex-convicts but accept them.
Mr Quaye hinted that the Prisons Service was stepping up interventions in the agricultural and industrial sectors to improve the quality of life of inmates in its custody.
He urged the warders to support other security organisations to ensure incident-free elections this year, so that the country would continue to enjoy peace.
Mr Quaye appealed to all officers who would be involved in the election processes to be disciplined, vigilant and impartial in the discharge of their duties.
He called on the public to also ensure that Ghana came out of the elections more united than divided.
The best all round recruit award was won by Recruit Officer Felix Kofi Aggor.

Africa must celebrate Nkrumah(Centre spread) October 18, 2008

2008-10-20T01:47:00.000-07:00

Story:Michael Donkor
THE Nigerian High Commissioner in Accra, Senator Musiliu Mohammed Obanikoro, has called for the celebration of the life of Dr Kwame Nkrumah among all Africans and not just in Ghana.
He said Dr Nkrumah’s vision and ideas influenced lives across Africa and Africans in the diaspora hence, the need for the celebration of his life to be observed throughout world.
Speaking at the launch of a book entitled “Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the Legend of African nationalism” in Accra last Thursday, Senator Banikoro described the late Ghanaian leader as the hero of African liberation.
The Author of the book, Prof. Martin Okany said he was inspired to write the book because of the great virtues he found in Dr Nkrumah as well as his vision and ideas.
He said although Dr Nkrumah was dead, Africans can draw inspiration from his words that “as far as I am concerned, I am happy in the knowledge that not even death can extinguish the torch which I have lit in Ghana and Africa. Long after I am dead and gone, it would continue to burn, giving light and guidance to all the people”.
Prof. Okany said the history of modern Africa could not be conclusively written without the immense contribution of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
He said Dr Nkrumah manifested the pride and dignity of the black man everywhere and was a catalytic force that set into motion ripples that had reshaped the political history of Africa.
In his words, “Dr Nkrumah was a revolutionary genius and a political volcano who encouraged national liberation and anti-colonialist movements across Africa.”
A senior Lecturer at the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana, Legon, Dr Ansa Kumi-Koi described the book as an encyclopaedia.
He said the book gives an account of the independence of Ghana and sums up the books that Dr Nkrumah had written himself.
He said the book was not just a history book but also offered valuable material about the present and the 21st century.
Dr Ansa-Koi said it is a comprehensive book which contained letters Nkrumah wrote and covered the history of Ghana and its life history.
He suggested that in subsequent publications, an index should be included in the book for easy reference.
A retired Diplomat, Mr K.B Asante, who chaired the occasion said the time had come for Africans to liberate their minds.
He said Africans should not see themselves as inferior adding that Africans are capable of doing greater things had been estimated by the imperialist.

Be Neutral: Prez tells Armed Forces(Front Page) October 17, 2008

2008-10-20T01:42:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
PRESIDENT J.A. Kufuor yesterday announced a package aimed at improving the conditions of service within the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF). He also pledged that his administration would do nothing to compromise the peace and security of the country.
At an open durbar with the officers and men of the GAF at Burma Camp, President Kufuor said it had been his desire to bequeath to Ghana a legacy of peace and security after his two-term presidency and urged the soldiers to remain neutral during the elections.
As part of the measures to enhance the work of the GAF, the President announced that the government had taken delivery of three naval boats from the United States of America, while talks were being held with the Korean government for the acquisition of more boats for the Ghana Navy.
President Kufuor further announced an increase in the peacekeeping allowance from $25 to $27 and urged military personnel to reciprocate the government’s gesture by being law-abiding and demonstrating the highest level of professionalism during the election period.
He said the nation would count on the GAF, the police and all the other security agencies for the maintenance of peace and security before, during and after the elections.
President Kufuor said with less than three months to the presidential and parliamentary elections, the country’s continued stability was what should engage them and urged them to guard against propaganda, which he said was part of the political game, “but not everything said on the campaign trail has merit”.
President Kufuor said it was certainly not true that there were plans to reduce the length of service for the other ranks in the GAF and said 25 years remained the limit.
He said as provided in the existing regulations, additional service might be approved at the discretion of the Chief of the Defence Staff.
On a note of caution, he pointed out that Ghana was by no means insulated against the turbulence in the oil market and world-wide food shortages that had occasioned civil strife in other countries but he was pleased to note that in the case of Ghana fuel remained available and Ghanaians did not have to be in long queues to buy anything.
President Kufuor congratulated the soldiers on their contribution to the maintenance of law and order, as well as international peacekeeping, in which area they continued to excel, to the joy of the country.
He said the prevailing environment of peace and stability had provided a good foundation for national development, adding that after HIPC, the economy had bounced back and was ready to support enhanced delivery of social services, in particular education and health.
President Kufuor said infrastructural development was being undertaken on an unprecedented scale throughout the country, noting that the military had had its fair share.
On behalf of the GAF, the Minister of Defence, Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, said they were prepared to play their role in ensuring that peace and tranquillity prevailed before, during and after the elections.
He said the GAF had also assessed the threats associated with oil exploration and mapped out strategies to address them.
The Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), Lt Gen J.B. Danquah, said money was being worked out to enable the service to release soldiers who were due for pension.
He said at the moment there was an outstanding list of soldiers to be released and appealed to those soldiers to exercise restraint, while their entitlements were worked out for them to proceed on peaceful retirement.
He appealed to the President to speed up with the processes to acquire more logistics for the GAF.
The personnel were offered the opportunity to ask questions, during which some of them, particularly the civilian employees of the GAF, said they did not benefit from the peacekeeping allowance and other packages.
They, therefore, appealed to the President to announce packages that would benefit them too.

GAF gets $60m for peacekeeng equipment (Centre Spread) September 29, 2008

2008-10-07T01:29:00.000-07:00

Story:Michael Donkor, Bouake, Cote d’ Ivoire
THE government has secured a $60 million loan from China to purchase military equipment for peacekeeping missions.
It has also secured a $100 million buyer’s credit from China to re-equip the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to execute its constitutional mandate effectively.
The Minister of Defence, Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, announced this at Bouake in La Cote d’Ivoire when he visited personnel of the GAF serving with the United Nation’s Peacekeeping Mission (UNOCI) in that country, last Friday.
He said the move formed part of the government’s resolve to adequately equip the GAF.
Ghana loses huge reimbursement from the United Nations due to the GAF’s inadequate equipment for peacekeeping missions.
Currently, Ghana is undertaking peacekeeping duties in La Cote d’ Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, and Liberia.
Mr Kan-Dapaah said the government considered peacekeeping as serious business so it would ensure that the necessary equipment and logistics were provided for the troops to perform creditably.
He said the government wanted to avoid the situation where troops lost their lives because the necessary equipment had not been provided.
He gave the assurance that the troops would be given adequate imprest to carry out their responsibilities on the peacekeeping mission fields.
Mr Kan-Dapaah appealed to the soldiers to exhibit a high sense of professionalism in the discharge of their duties and avoid any acts that would dent their credibility.
He advised the soldiers to remain neutral in the forthcoming general election in Cote d’Ivoire and carry out their assigned duties diligently.
Ghana’s Ambassador to Cote d’Ivoire, Mr Kabral Blay-Amihere, commended the government’s intention to purchase the required equipment for peacekeeping, adding that when taken serious, peacekeeping could generate a lot of revenue for the country.
The Commanding Officer of Ghanbatt Nine, Lt. Col. Albert Adu, who briefed the defence minister, said security in the Bouake area had stabilised.
He said although the general election had been slated for November 30, this year, the voters register was not ready.
Lt. Col. Adu said Ghanaian troops had successfully provided security for the region and engaged in constant patrols of the towns and villages as well as escorting electoral materials for the Electoral Commission.
He said the troops also carried out any other duties assigned to them and appealed to the government to speed up moves to re-equip the armed forces.
He said the Ghanbatt Nine lacked important equipment such as riot control equipment, tear gas and rubber bullets.
Lt. Col. Adu said the Force Commander on several occasions had warned that the United Nations (UN) would not take responsibility for any casualty or eventuality should Ghana fail to provide its troops with such logistics.
The Defence Minister earlier called on the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr Youn Jin Choi, and the UNOCI Force Commander, Major-General Fernand Amoussou, in Abidjan.
Mr Choi expressed his condolences to the government and Ghanaians for the death of the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu.

Establish Expert Group in Biotechnology(Inside page) October 6, 2008

2008-10-07T01:27:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THE Provost of the College of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences of the University of Ghana, Legon, Prof Ben Ahunu, has called for the establishment of an expert group in biotechnology to examine and come up with a proposal that will ensure food security in the country.
He said the group should comprise leaders from all sectors of agriculture and the food industry.
Prof Ahunu made the call in his inaugural lecture at the University of Ghana last Thursday.
Speaking on the topic, “Genetics and Biotechnology: Relays, synergies, quandaries and ethics in agricultural development”, he said when established, the group should venture beyond the ideas of only technological solutions.
He advised that it should not simply consider the success achieved elsewhere but also listen to other parties, including farmers, consumers and ordinary citizens whose voices did not normally get into the top scientific and business meetings.
He suggested that that leadership think tank should have a clear agenda drawn up to work with and to make proposals to the government.
Prof Ahunu said the agenda should recognise that agro-resources, including indigenous farmers, were a national heritage that should not be left to market forces alone.
He again suggested that the group should make laws that should regulate the activities of near-monopoly companies in the food chain to prevent the unjust exploitation of farmers and developing nations.
Prof Ahunu said it should also lobby the government to create an economic environment that would encourage the use of sustainable methods for high quality sustainable food production for local consumption.
He said it should also provide national legislation for long-term farming development.
Prof Ahunu said there was no single panacea for producing food to feed the world’s hungry population but noted that biotechnology was “one of the many tools in a tool box”.
He called for biotechnology to be developed and used with adequate safety measures in consonance with scales of farming.
He stressed the need for the public to be educated on it to enable them to make informed decisions.

Gushiegu suspects released for lack of evidence(Page 3) September 17, 2008

2008-09-21T06:53:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THE six suspects who were arrested in connection with the recent disturbances at Gushiegu in the Northern Region and flown to Accra for screening and prosecution have been released.
They were released after the police had screened them and found no evidence to prosecute them.
The suspects are Mohammed Alidu, 25; Abukari Alidu, 26; Sulemana Alidu, 30; Alhassan Mohammed, 26; Mohammed Imoro, 41, and Alidu Abdulai, 42.
A police source told the Daily Graphic that no witness turned up to testify against them, explaining that according to the laws of the country, a suspect could not be detained for more than 48 hours so they were released.
It urged the public to volunteer useful information that could lead to the arrest and prosecution of suspected criminals.
The source said it was only when that was done that crime could be lessened for society to be in peace.
The suspects have consequently returned to their bases in the Northern Region.
The transfer of the suspects to Accra followed an order by the Interior Minister, Dr Kwame Addo-Kufuor, during a meeting with the leadership of the major political parties, the security agents, religious and opinion leaders in Tamale.
The minister was in Tamale to ascertain the security situation in the metropolis and Gushiegu and also examine the level of damage to life and property in the troubled areas.
The violence at Gushiegu was a spill-over from an earlier clash between supporters the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) at Kpatinga, near Gushiegu, on August 31, 2008.
The NPP supporters were returning home after erecting a party shed, while their NDC colleagues were also on their way home after attending a rally in the same locality.
The situation degenerated further when the supporters of both parties returned to Gushiegu to narrate the incident to their followers, leading to the mayhem that was visited on the town in the morning of Monday, September 1, 2008.
A number of property were destroyed, while some people sustained various degrees of injury in the ensuing violence.
The two parties have blamed each other for being the aggressor.

Government to extend sea defence wall along the coast(Back page) September 19,2008

2008-09-21T06:52:00.001-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor,Keta
THE government is to extend the sea defence wall along all the coastal towns in the Volta Region and Ada in the Greater Accra Region.
Consequently, the 48 Engineers Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces has been tasked to construct culverst in all those identified towns along the coastal areas.
The Minister of the Interior, Dr Kwame Addo-Kufuor, announced this when he paid a working visit to various coastal towns including Dzita, Keta Akplowotorkor and Atokor, all in the Volta Region, to assess the impact of the damage caused by the tidal waves that occured recently in those areas.
According to Dr Addo-Kufuor, the recent tidal waves experienced around the coastal parts of the country was due to global warming resulting from the activities of industrialised countries saying ti was unfortunate that Ghana had to bear the brunt for the action of others.
The mission of government, he noted, was not to apportion blame but to respond to the needs of those who had been adversely affacted and to provide them with relief items.
As part of efforts to alleviate the plight of those affected and to also to find lasting solutions to the problem, he announced a three-pronged approach which will aim at providing those affected with relief items in the short term, tasking the 48 Engineers Regiment of the Ghana Armed Forces to construct culverts in the towns and the long-term plan of extending the Keta Sea Defence wall to the affected areas.
He presented those affected with food items and other items like plastic bowls, cups, mattresses and others.
Mr. Addo Kufuor however cautioned against the removal of rocks which serve as boulders at the seas defence site saying such practice will not augur well for the protection of lives and properties of people in the area in the likely event of flooding.
"As much as government is willing and will do its best to help you, you must also do your best to ensure that you collaborate with government in ensuring that the project, when it begins, moves on smoothly without any problems", he added.
The Volta Regional Minister, Mr. Kofi Dzamesi recounted that he had earlier visited the area and provided them with relief items and promised that he would return with the Minister of Interior for him to have a first-hand account of the situation.
The coming of the minister to the area, he said, was ample proof of the committment of government to addressing the needs of people with promptness and concern.
He entreated the people to make judicious use of the items they had been given as they work at getting more items to alleviate their plight.
The Keta Municipal Chief Executive, Mr. Edward Kofi Ahiabor assured the people of government's readiness to ensure that their houses that were destroyed were re-built adding that the Minister of Interior had instructed the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to supply them with roofing sheets for that purpose.
One of the victims of the flooding incident, Madam Mercy Gadabor, a 52-year old trader recounted she had been awakened at night by the ravages of the sea while sleeping with her grandchildren.
In the process, she said, her goods, properties and fish she had stocked for the lean season were destroyed while the books that her children and grandchildren use at school were also destroyed.
It will be recounted that on Wednesday, 2nd September 2008, hundred of homes were flooded and thousands of people were displaced in the Keta Municipality and other parts of the country due to high tidal waves that swept over the coastal areas.
No casualties were recorded apart from some octogenarians who were trapped in their rooms and had to be rescued by the youth of the area and sent to hospital.
The most affected towns are Dzita, Akplowotorkor and Dakordzi, mostly farming communities, where farms have been overrun by water.
The displaced persons, mainly women and children, were awakened by the currents that flooded their rooms while they were still asleep.
Properties worth thousands of Ghana cedis were destroyed while people have abandoned their homes to seek refuge with families and friends in nearby Anloga, Keta and surrounding towns and villages.
The president, John Agyekum Kufuor then directed the release of GH¢7million to be used in providing relief and assistance for those who were affected in those areas.

Gh¢7m for flood victims(front page) September 15, 2008

2008-09-15T10:03:00.000-07:00

Story:Michael Donkor
President J.A. Kufuor has directed the Ministry of Finance to release GH¢7m towards the mitigation of the impact of the floods on the people of the three northern regions and Keta in the Volta Region.
The President has also appointed the Minister of the Interior, Dr Kwame Addo-Kufuor, to assume responsibility for the management of the flood situation in these areas, liaising with the regional ministers, the Volta River Authority (VRA) and relevant Municipal and District Assemblies and development partners.
This was contained in a letter signed on behalf of the President by his Chief Advisor, Mrs Mary Chinery-Hesse and issued to the Ministry of Finance, all the regional ministers whose area of jurisdiction were affected by the flood and the relevant authorities.
The letter said a similar flood situation which occurred in 2007 was handled by an Inter-Ministerial Task Force established by the President under the chairmanship of Mrs Chinery-Hesse to co-ordinate the relief efforts on an emergency basis.
It said the task force resolved, as part of its remit, that permanent structures should be put in place as early as possible to obviate the need for ad hoc arrangements, in the event of future floods, especially because of the high probability of recurrence.
The letter said in promoting this with the assistance of development partners, principally the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the capacity of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) had been strengthened.
It said lines of communication had also been established for prompt relay and sharing of information, with the institution of a nascent early warning system to minimise the impact of any floods in the northern regions.
Meanwhile, Dr Addo-Kufuor has despatched a three-man delegation to the three northern regions to meet with the regional ministers, Metropolitan/Municipal/District Chief Executives and NADMO officials in the affected districts to report on items required, and to determine the stock levels of relief supplies in the various warehouses of NADMO.
The acting National Co-ordinator of NADMO and some staff members of the Ministry of the Interior have also been tasked to seek clearance from the National Procurement Authority to organise urgent limited tender for the purchase of the items required.
The Ministry of the Interior has also negotiated with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees for the release of three articulated trucks to transport the items to the affected areas.

Expansion works on terminal reservoir ready November(Metro Page 18) September 13, 2008

2008-09-14T06:19:00.000-07:00

Story:Michael Donkor
EXPANSION work on the Accra Terminal Reservoir of the Ghana Water Company Limited which supplies water to the Accra East Region is expected to be completed in November, this year.
When completed, the station is expected to pump water to these areas constantly and effectively.
This was made known by the Terminal Station Manager, Mr Samuel Yeboah, when he conducted the Executive Members of the Public Utilities and Regulations Commission (PURC) who were on a working visit round the station in Accra.
He said work on the project started in March, last year and it involved the installation of new water pumps and the connection of water distribution lines from the Weija Dam site to the station, which initially only received supply from Kpong.
He said the increase in the capacity of the Weija Plant by 15 million gallons formed part of the expansion project.
Mr Yeboah said the areas which fall under the Accra East Region are Adenta, Madina, Peduase, Airport Residential Area, La, Cantonments, Nima, Mamobi and Achimota.
Mr Yeboah said 90 per cent of the expansion work had been completed, adding that the remaining 10 per cent involving the installation of chamber valves and other equipment to fit the new pumps is expected to be completed in November, this year.
Mr Yeboah explained that initially the station could pump water to Peduase, which is on the Akwapim Ridge but with the rapid development and the increase in population, by 1995, the terminal could only pump water to Adenta.
He said on completion of the project, residents in these areas would enjoy improved water supply.
Mr Yeboah said the Electricity Company of Ghana Limited had also connected power from its sub-stations at Madina and Achimota to the station so it would now have constant power supply to work efficiently.
According to him, with the installation of the new pumps, the electricity consumed by the station would also be reduced drastically.
The Communications Manager of the Aqua Vitens Rand Limited, Mr Stanley Martey, said when the project is completed, eight million gallons of water from the Weija Plant would be received at the station to augment the three million from Kpong daily.
He said that would enable the station to pump water to all the areas under it.
The Chairman of the PURC, Prof. Frimpong Boateng, commended the contractors: Ballast Nedan and Royal Hanskoning for the good work they were doing.
He also commended the Electricity Company of Ghana for providing the station with power from two sources and noted that this would ensure continuous power supply to the station.

Speed Up Trials of Remand Cases(Front Page) September 11, 2008

2008-09-12T01:54:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor, Nsawam
THE Ghana Prisons Service has called for the speedy hearing of cases involving remand prisoners at Nsawam Prisons to ease the congestion there.
The Deputy Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service, Mr Alex Ansong-Agyepong, who made the call, said the Nsawam Prisons, which had the capacity to accommodate 717 inmates, now accommodated 2,926.
He was speaking during a visit by the Minister of the Interior, Dr Kwame Addo-Kufuor, to the Nsawam Prisons yesterday.
Mr Ansong-Agyepong said the rising number of remand prisoners whose cases were either under investigation or awaiting trials was of grave concern to the service.
He said for example that in December 2002 the remand lock-up was 324 but as of now the number had risen to 1,903, representing 64 per cent of the total inmate population.
He said currently four of the eight housing blocks held remand prisoners.
Mr Ansong-Agyepong said the prisons administration continued to be in contact with other partners in the criminal justice system, especially the police and the Judiciary, with regard to the disposal of these remand cases but their efforts were yet to yield the desired results.
Touching on the reformation and rehabilitation of the inmates, he said a few inmates had made themselves available for a non-formal educational programme introduced at the prisons.
He said the programme, which was in line with the Ghana Education Service guidelines, prepared the inmates for the junior high school and senior high school examinations.
He said Information Communication Technology (ICT) education had also been extended to the Nsawam Medium Security Prisons.
Mr Ansong-Agyepong said the Nsawam Medium Security Prisons had embarked on a serious agricultural drive aimed at achieving food sufficiency to supplement government efforts.
He said the agricultural activities included crop farming, vegetable farming and animal rearing.
Dr Addo-Kufuor commended the prisons officers for the their efficiency and humane manner in which the affairs of the inmates had been managed.
He also commended them for maintaining a clean environment and establishing a good rapport with the inmates.
Dr Addo-Kufuor explained that the number of inmates at Nsawam had swelled because of the addition of inmates from James Fort Prisons.
On the efforts of the governments to improve the service, he said the government had ordered for 130 vehicles for the Ghana Prisons Service.
Dr Addo-Kufuor said out of this number 75 had been delivered.
He appealed to all the inmates to comport themselves well and take advantage of the workshops, educational facilities and the ICT centre to equip themselves for life outside prison.
The Ministry of the Interior presented items that included plastic cups, plates and mattresses to the inmates.

Sex tourism, a criminal offence(Page 34) September 8, 2008

2008-09-08T09:29:00.001-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
A Deputy Minister of Tourism and Diasporan Relations, Mr Kofi Osei-Ameyaw, has spoken against sex tourism in the country, saying that it is a criminal offence.
He said any tourist found culpable of that offence would be dealt with according to the law.
Consequently, he has asked the public to report such acts to the police or the ministry for immediate action.
Mr Osei-Ameyaw gave the warning when he launched this year's Tourism Day celebration in Accra.
September 27 of every year has been set aside by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) to draw attention to tourism and its role in the socio-economic development of countries.
The theme for this year's celebration is: "Tourism: Responding to challenges of climate change".
This year's celebration would be held in Ho in the Volta Region.
Mr Osei-Ameyaw said the government's policy to promote tourism and make it the biggest foreign exchange earner of the country did not mean that the laws governing the sector should be taken for granted.
He said currently, tourism contributed $1.1 billion in foreign exchange earnings to the country.
Mr Osei-Ameyaw said it also contributed four per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP) and created about 22,000 direct formal employment in the country.
He said it was an undeniable fact that Ghana had emerged as a special African tourist destination, drawing people and visitors to experience not only its fascinating cultural diversity, history and natural endowment but also to understudy or enjoy its peace, stability, good governance and hospitality.
He explained that the theme for this year's celebration centred on climate change because tourism contributed between four to six per cent of total emissions world-wide.
He mentioned carbon dioxide emitted from transportation, especially aviation transport, accommodation, energy plants, catering services, tour operations and others as very critical.
Mr Osei-Ameyaw said as part of the preparation towards the celebration, the ministry had outlined a number of programmes aimed at mitigating challenges of climate change at the regional and national levels to commemorate the day.
He said a major national sensitisation seminar on the theme would be held as part of the programme while at the regional level, there would be similar seminars and tree planting exercises.
He said as part of the celebration, there would be a durbar of chiefs in Ho and the launch of a Green School Project.
Mr Osei-Ameyaw explained that the Green School Project was an initiative by the 2008 UNWTO Day Celebration planning committee to encourage schools in member countries to adopt the practice of greening their environments.
He said the initiative would allow participating schools to plant trees around their environments.
He said these would be monitored by inspectors throughout the year and the best school would be given prizes.
Mr Osei-Ameyaw said the project would be a one-year pilot programme for schools in the Volta Region and would need sponsors.
He, therefore, called for interested sponsors to contact the ministry in that respect.

Protect Ghana's territorial integrity(centre spread) September 6, 2008

2008-09-08T09:23:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THE President, Mr John Agyekum Kufuor, yesterday reminded personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) of their constitutional duty to protect the territorial integrity of the country.
He said loyalty to the nation, devotion to duty and honourable conduct were the hallmarks of the military.
President Kufuor was speaking at the graduation parade for regular career course intake 48 and short service commission/special duties course 47 at the Military Academy and Training School at Teshie, near Accra. Seventy-nine cadet officers graduated at the ceremony.
President Kufuor urged the military to cherish its mandate as provided by the constitution, adding that it was the surest way to secure the nation and guarantee its peace and stability.
He said top on the agenda for the GAF was capacity building to enable Ghanaian soldiers to hold their own wherever the line of duty took them.
He expressed happiness that the process of enhanced capacity building started from the Military Academy, where the entry requirements were the same as those for the universities.
President Kufuor said in response to global demands, the government had made heavy investment in information communication technology, which had reflected in the curriculum of the academy.
He said being conscious of the needs of the military, the government had signed agreements with companies in China under which $160 million would be made available for re-equipping the entire armed forces and enhance preparation for international peacekeeping operations.
President Kufuor said other provisions for the betterment of operations of the GAF included 12 Mercedes Benz troop carrying vehicles received from Germany and equipment worth 480,000 euros to boost administration, training and operations.
The others, he said, were equipment received from the United States government to strengthen the maritime capabilities of the Ghana Navy, delivery to the Air Force of two more K8 Jet Fighters from China and the commencement of phased replacement of overaged Fokker and Defender aircraft.
President Kufuor said in addition to these developments, construction of a 500-bed Military Hospital Complex would soon begin in Kumasi to facilitate health delivery for the Northern Command and the people of the middle and northern parts of the country.
He said similar improvement efforts were vigorously being made in the area of troop accommodation in all Garrisons, including the training camps at Asutsuare, Shai Hills, Bundase and Daboya.
President Kufuor commended the Armed Forces and other security services for ensuring peace and security in the country.
He said it was through their efforts that the unfortunate ethnic encounters at Yendi, Anloga, Bawku, and now Tamale, had not got out of hand.
President Kufuor reminded the cadet officers of the respect the GAF had earned for themselves both locally and at the international level.
He, therefore, urged the graduates to uphold the principles and traditions to which they had been exposed during their training.
The sword of honour was awarded to Army Officer Cadet Suo Quaye Christopher for being the best all-round cadet for the regular career course 48.

The Disturbances at Tamale, Gushiegu, We'll Spare No One (Front Page) September5, 2008

2008-09-05T06:50:00.000-07:00

Story:Michael Donkor, Tamale
THE Minister of the Interior, Dr Kwame Addo-Kufour, has ordered that anybody arrested in connection with the weekend’s disturbances in Tamale and Gushiegu should be sent to Accra for screening and prosecution.
According to the minister, who gave the order yesterday, all perpetrators behind the recent mayhem would face the full rigours of the law, irrespective of their ethnic or political affiliation.
He also gave the firm assurance that the government would institute thorough investigations into the disturbances, which claimed three lives and left in its wake massive destruction of property.
The minister was speaking in Tamale at a meeting with political party representatives, religious and opinion leaders, which was also attended by Members of Parliament for Tamale South and North, Mr Haruna Iddrisu and Alhaji Abubakari Sumani respectively.
The minister’s delegation included the Ministers of Defence and Information and National Orientation, Albert Kan Dapaah and Asamoah Boateng.
Also included were the National Security Coordinator, Dr Sam Amoo, the Acting Inspector General of Police, Elizabeth Mills Robertson and some Service Commanders.
Dr Addo-Kufuor expressed shock over the incidents, especially following in the heels of the recent voters registration exercise that recorded some violent scenes in the Tamale metropolis.
‘‘Ghana has come a long way in its development process and it is important that the peace and unity of the country is protected,’’ he indicated, adding that, ‘‘instability and conflicts would erode all the gains made’’.
The minister observed that the general impression of massive numbers of firearms in the hands of private persons, to some extent, was responsible for the instability in the Northern Region.
He therefore appealed to the people to assist the security agencies to retrieve the illegal firearms and to cooperate with the regional peace council to ensure sustainable peace in the region and the country in general.
Dr Addo-Kufour, however, gave a firm indication that ‘‘the government would like to assure the nation that it will take the necessary steps to ensure there is respect for law and order, and that the security and general well-being of the Ghanaian people are protected”.
The minister further stated that the government would strive to ensure that the forthcoming general elections would be conducted in a free, fair and transparent atmosphere.
He affirmed that the sovereign will of the people, regardless of who wins the general elections, would be respected.
The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, expressed worry that the weekend violence could be ‘‘the beginning of terrible things to come, if the right decisions were not taken’’.
He entreated the people to always resort to modern tools of engagement through dialogue instead of engaging in violent acts at the least provocation.
The minister admonished religious leaders not to relent in their efforts at showing goodwill and offering prayers for sustainable peace, which, he said, the region was in dire need of.

The Disturbances at Tamale, Gushiegu, We'll Spare No One (Front Page) September5, 2008

2008-09-05T06:45:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor, Tamale.

THE Minister for the Interior, Dr. Kwame Addo-Kufour has given a firm commitment that government would institute thorough investigations into last weekend’s disturbances in Tamale and Gushiegu that claimed three lives and left in its wake, massive destruction of property.
According to the minister, all perpetrators behind the recent mayhem that would be found guilty would be made to face the full rigours of the law irrespective of one’s ethnic or political affiliation stressing that, without justice and fairness, the country could not advance in its forward march to prosperity.
He has meanwhile ordered that all those arrested in connection with the disturbances should be sent to Accra for screening and subsequent prosecution.
The minister was speaking during a meeting with political party representatives, religious and opinion leaders in Tamale today. Also present were Members of Parliament for Tamale South and North, Mr. Haruna Iddrisu and Alhaji Abubakari Sumani.
The Minister’s delegation included the Ministers for Defence and Information and National Orientation, Messrs Kan Dapaah and Asamoah Boateng.
Also included were the National Security Coordinator, Dr. Sam Amoo, the Acting Inspector General of Police, Elizabeth Mills Robertson and some Service Commanders.
Dr. Addo-Kufuor expressed shock over the incidents especially following in the heels of the recent voters’ registration exercise that recorded some violent scenes in the Tamale metropolis.
‘‘Ghana has come a long way in its development process and it is important that the peace and unity of the country is protected,’’ he indicated, adding that, ‘‘instability and conflicts would erode all the gains made.’’
The Minister observed that the general impression of massive proliferation of firearms in the possession of private persons to
some extend was responsible for the instability in the northern region.

He therefore appealed to the people to assist the security agencies to retrieve the illegal firearms and to cooperate with them including the regional peace council to ensure sustainable peace in the region and the country in general.
Dr. Addo-Kufour however gave a firm indication that, ‘‘the government would like to assure the nation that it will take the necessary steps to ensure that there is respect for law and order, and that the security and general wellbeing of the Ghanaian people are protected.’’
The minister further stated that, the government would strive to ensure that the forthcoming general elections would be conducted in a free, fair and transparent atmosphere.
He affirmed that the sovereign will of the people regardless of who wins the general elections would be respected.
The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, expressed worry that the weekend violence could be ‘‘the beginning of terrible things to come if the right decisions were not taken.’’
He entreated the people to always resort to modern tools of engagement through dialogue instead of engaging in violent acts at the least provocation.
The minister admonished religious leaders not to relent in their efforts of goodwill and prayers for sustainable peace which he said the region was in dire need of.

IOM, 11 others to collaborate on human trafficking(Back page) September 3, 2008

2008-09-03T01:35:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has signed an agreement with 11 institutions in Ghana to start a project aimed at checking human trafficking and irregular migration in the country.
The institutions are the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs (MOWAC), the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB), the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Research and Counselling Foundation for African Migrants, Yankah and Associates and the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment.
The rest are the Ministry of the Interior, Attorney-General's Department, International Labour Organisation, United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The project, dubbed "Capacity-building and awareness-raising to combat trafficking in persons and irregular migration from and through Ghana", would focus on the Western, Central, Greater Accra and Northern regions to raise public awareness on the dangers of the practice.
The Chief of Missions of IOM, Mr David Terzi, who stated that the project was being funded by the Danish government, said Ghana had become not only a transit point but a destination for trafficking and irregular migration.
He said the rural-urban migration and the practice of sending out children to stay with relatives were major sources of exploitation hence the need for concerted efforts to reverse the trend.
Mr Terzi said the project would facilitate the creation of a viable and sustainable protection mechanism among law enforcement officials and non-governmental organisations to provide protection and assistance to victims.
He said the project would, therefore, target different groups within the society and encourage traditional authorities to join in efforts to do away with traditional values and systems that encouraged trafficking.
Mr Terzi called on the law enforcement agencies to step up their efforts to investigate traffickers who acted in the guise of tourism firms, visa brokers and employment agencies.
Mr Terzi said the project would also strengthen the existing co-operation between the IOM and the partner agencies to disseminate information throughout the country to enable potential victims to make informed decisions.
He said the IOM was also working at ensuring that governments did their best to improve socio-economic standards in their countries in order to make it more comfortable for citizens to stay home than to migrate.
Mr Terzi said although complete success might be difficult, the project would help Ghana to take a lead in widening the initiative throughout the sub-region.
Madam Marilin Amponsah, who representative the MOWAC, commended the IOM for the initiative and pledged that her outfit would do all it could to stem the tide against human trafficking.

Navy Being Equipped(Front Page) August 26, 2008

2008-08-26T09:43:00.001-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THE Chief Director of the Ministry of Fisheries, Mr Emmanuel Mensah Quaye, has explained that government is in the process of equipping the Ghana Navy to police the country’s territorial waters.
Responding to public concerns about the inability of the Ghana Navy to check pair trawling in an interview with the Daily Graphic, he said “Cabinet had agreed to acquire six ships for the Ghana Navy to enable it to patrol the country’s territorial waters”.
Mr Quaye said the difficulty now was because the money could not be raised for the purchase of the ships and it was, therefore, agreed to buy two at a time.
He discounted claims that pair trawling was responsible for the low catch by fishermen in recent times, citing unorthodox methods of fishing, the continued use of wooden vessels and the refusal of fishermen to observe a period as lean season.
Mr Quaye announced plans by the ministry to help modernise fishing methods in the country by assisting local fishermen to develop fibreglass canoes as against the wooden vessels they now used. Consequently, he said, a company from India, Fibroplast, had expressed interest in the building of the fibreglass canoes.
He said this had become necessary because the wooden canoes that the fishermen currently used had effects on the performance of the industry and the environment.
Explaining further the decision of the ministry to allow pair trawling, Mr Quaye said the policy was for experimental purposes.
He said in view of this, three companies were licensed to undertake this experiment, the result of which would be fed into the fisheries policy of the country.
The Chief Director said that the results which came up during the period of experimentation provoked protests from the local fishermen who complained that they were not making any catch, since the sea bed was being swept by those engaged in pair trawling.
Consequently, he said the ministry placed a ban on pair trawling somewhere last year.
He said the three companies that were licensed to undertake the pair trawling then approached the ministry that based on the licence issued to them, they contracted loans from their banks to do that and would be grateful if they could be allowed to redeem it.
Mr Quaye said the ministry then lifted the ban to allow these three licensed companies to wind up by the end of the year.
He debunked the notion that the local fishermen were not harvesting fish and said the real problem was how to get consumers to patronise their catch.
He said the ministry had had complaints from the Association of Fish Dealers that their catches were not being purchased.
Mr Quaye said pair trawling was against the laws of the country but the ministry decided to experiment it and the result fed into the fisheries policy.
He said pair trawling had created a lot of problems for the ministry and that at the end of this year, it would be banned completely.
He said among the problems were the tussle between the local fishermen and those engaged in pair trawling, as well as those engaged in inshore vessel operations who were also accused of using light and dynamites, which was proscribed by the Fisheries Act 265 of 2002.
Mr Quaye said among the reasons why the local fishermen were not making good harvests were the wooden canoes they used and the practice where they fished throughout the year.
He said in Europe there was a lean season during which they allowed the fishes in the sea to grow and called for days in Ghana when fishing would not be allowed.
Following the complaints of unorthodox fishing methods, Mr Quaye said the ministry had tasked the fishermen to monitor and report any trawler they found engaged in illegal activities but no such official report had been made.
Mr Quaye further pointed out that it was not only foreign companies that engaged in pair trawling but local ones as well.

He said among the effects were that the fishermen depleted the forest when they logged woods for the building of their canoes.
Mr Quaye said the canoes used by the fishermen had engines that were not strong enough to propel them far.
He said the ministry had arranged with the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) to support the new drive.

Practise of Pair Trawling, Navy Cann't Cope. Says Chief of Naval Staff, (Agust 25, 2008) Front Page

2008-08-26T09:39:00.000-07:00

Story:Michael Donkor
THE Ghana Navy has confirmed the involvement of large foreign vessels in the practice of pair trawling in the county’s territorial waters, but says it can do little to arrest the situation.
Reacting to allegations that pair trawling by foreign vessels had thrown Ghanaian fishermen out of job, the Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Arthur Riby Sampa Nuno, said two things accounted for the inability of the Navy to check the situation — the blessing from the Ministry of Fisheries for the practice and the lack of the appropriate vessels to ward off the perpetrators of the practice.
The naval chief said a letter dated October 17, 2007, which the navy received from the Ministry of Fisheries, stated that the ban on pair trawling had been lifted for some licensed fishing companies to engage in it.
He said the Ghana Navy worked in collaboration with the Ministry of Fisheries and that since the former had written to them on the lifting of the ban, all they could do was to allow those foreign vessels to continue with their pair trawling.
However, the Chief Director at the Ministry of Fisheries, Mr Emmanuel Mensah Quaye, confirmed the letter but explained that it was to allow only three companies which had been licensed to experiment with pair trawling for a limited period after which their licences would be withdrawn. He promised that the licences would be withdrawn by the end of this year.
On the second reason, Rear Admiral Nuno said those involved in the practice were using more superior vessels than those being used by the Navy
He said the Naval personnel usually encountered the fishing vessels on the high seas but the superior vessels used for the pair trawling sped off leaving the naval ships behind.
He said the ships of the Ghana Navy were very old, with some having been in use for more than 60 years.
He mentioned some of the old naval ships as GNS Anzone and GNS Bonsu.
Rear Admiral Nuno explained that some of the ships were not functioning well because there were no parts to replace the old ones.
He said Ghana had one of the best and highly professional naval personnel, who were ready to work and defend the country even at their peril but lacked the resources to effectively carry out their mandate.
He said the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) of the Ghana Navy was also not functioning because the license to operate it had expired.
Rear Admiral Nuno said the much publicised money to be released by the government to acquire logistics for the Navy to enable it to function to its fullest had not been received yet.
Rear Admiral Nuno said despite these challenges faced by the Navy, there was hope for the future, since discussions were underway for the Navy to acquire new ships.
He said a delegation from North Korea was in the country holding talks with the Ghana Navy to build new ships for the service.
He expressed the hope that with the oil find, the Ghana Navy would be adequately resourced to perform effectively.
Earlier in an interview with the Chief of the Defence Staff, Lt. Gen. J.B. Danquah, he said the government had secured a deal with the United States of America for them to assist the Ghana Navy.
He said consequently, the USA had promised to give the Ghana Navy five speed boats.
He said out of the five, the USA had shown strong commitment to bringing three of the boats any time soon.
He said this would be followed by a joint military training between the Ghana Navy and the US Marines on how to use them.

Practice of Pair Trawling by Foreign Vessels: Navy Cann't cope, Says Chief of Naval Staff

2008-08-26T09:36:00.000-07:00

Ministry to probe Security Companies(Front Page) August 18, 2008

2008-08-19T01:12:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor

THE Ministry of the Interior has instituted investigations into allegations that some security organisations are training their guards with weapons, contrary to regulations guiding the industry.
Consequently, the General Secretary of the Union of Private Security Employees of Ghana (UPSEG), Nana Kofi Adu II, is to be invited to assist the ministry fish out these companies.
The Minister of the Interior, Dr Kwame Addo-Kufuor, who made this known in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, said it was an offence to train private security personnel with weapons.
He said after the investigations, companies found to be culpable of the offence would be dealt with, according to the law.
He, however, appealed to anybody with information about private security companies that operated contrary to the laws to report his ministry or the police.
Nana Adu II last Monday alleged at a news conference in Accra that some private security organisations were training their guards with weapons, contrary to regulations guiding the industry.
He said if the situation was not checked, it could destabilise the peace and security of the nation, particularly during the December elections.
He said some of these security companies were also training their personnel at unknown areas, making it difficult for them to be monitored and checked.
“We are convinced that not all these companies can easily be located or their mode of operations clearly known by the police and the Ministry of the Interior. We also suspect that some of them could be armed, which to us, is illegal and dangerous for the security of the state,” Nana Adu added.
In another development, a security expert, Dr Emmanuel Kwesi Enning, has called for a revision of the law regulating the operation of private security organisations in the country to inject sanity into their operations, reports Kofi Yeboah.
He said the existing legal frameworks regulating the industry, such as the Police Service Act, 1970 (Act 350), and LI 1671, which was revised in 1994, were weak and needed to be reinforced.
Dr Enning, who made the call in an interview with the Daily Graphic, observed that some of the private security companies, for instance, used sirens on their vehicles and dressed in a manner akin to the police, contrary to the law.
He said although the law prohibited private security operatives from using guns, a private security worker who owned a gun and had registered it could take the weapon to work without offending the law.
Dr Enning, who is the Head of Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution Department of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, therefore, stressed the need to revise the law to permit the use of guns by security companies in a manner that was well regulated.
He said following the government’s efforts to restructure private security operations in 2002, it was found out that, out of about 320 companies currently operating in the country, about two-thirds of them were not registered by the Ministry of the Interior.
On the allegation that the establishment of private security companies by some politicians could be used for political purposes, Dr Enning described the allegation as “disingenuous”, adding that “we should de-politicise the issue”.
He said people were interested in security not because they wanted to use it for political purposes, but because they were interested in safeguarding their own safety.
Recently, the Minister of State at the Ministry of the Interior, Nana Obiri Boahen, declared the ministry’s resolve to assert its authority over the private security industry.
He announced various measures, including registration of the companies and tracking down those operating without identifiable addresses and outside regulations guiding the industry, to bring the situation under control.
When contacted, Nana Boahen said “the response has been very great”, with many of the companies updating their records and renewing their licences.
He said many of them had also been sending their monthly returns to the ministry, expressing the hope that the situation would further improve.

Police must remain neutral — TEIN (Political page) August 14, 2008

2008-08-15T04:42:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor

THE Greater Accra Regional branch of the Tertiary Education Institution (TEIN) of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called on the police to remain neutral and exhibit a high sense of professionalism in the discharge of their duties during the December elections.
The President of the Greater Accra branch of TEIN of the NDC, Mr Fred Agbenyo, who made the call at a news conference in Accra on Tuesday, reminded the police of the oath they took to defend the country and added that Ghana was bigger than any political party.
He said information reaching them indicated that some police personnel had shirked their responsibility to ensure law and order and were aiding the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to disenfranchise some Ghanaians.
Mr Agbenyo also questioned the credibility and procedure for selecting registration officers by the Electoral Commission and said most of them were NPP faithful.
He said for instance at Legon, the second vice president of TESCON, one Mr Gyasi, was the registration officer there.
He said this undermined the credibility and political neutrality of the Electoral Commission
He said there had not been any reported case of shortage in the Ashanti Region but there had been widespread shortage in the Volta and the northern regions.
Mr Agbenyo said the EC claimed they were adequately resourced and lacked nothing and questioned why they could provide only 2,500 workstations, out of which Greater Accra, which was the most-densely populated, was given only 79.
He said despite Greater Accra having the highest population, the EC initially gave the region 166,000 registration forms whilst, Ashanti was given 164,000 forms.

Provide more metres for counpound houses - GJA President(Centre Spread) August 15, 2008

2008-08-15T04:40:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THE President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Mr Ransford Tetteh, has called on the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) to prevail on the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) to provide more meters for compound houses to benefit from the government’s intervention.
He said the government’s intention to reduce the burden on consumers in the lower bracket of society motivated it to introduce the lifeline rate, but unfortunately this intervention was not helping the low income earner because they lived in compound houses where sometimes about 10 households used a single meter.
Mr Tetteh made the call when he inaugurated a 10-member PURC’s press corps in Accra yesterday.
The inauguration of the press corps was made possible with the support of the PURC.
The move by the PURC was aimed at assisting journalists who had interest in reporting on utility in the country to discharge their duties effectively.
Mr Tetteh said in the situation where the more you consume the more you pay, households that the lifeline intervention were supposed to benefit were rather losing.
He said to achieve the intended reason for the intervention, the PURC should encourage the ECG to provide more meters for compound houses.
Mr Tetteh commended the PURC’s efforts at enhancing its relationship with the media and urged other institutions to emulate the good example.
He said as media personnel, every opportunity to receive and disseminate information should not be ignored.
He said water and electricity were key drivers of development and progress in any society and encouraged members of the corps to expose challenges and possible inefficiencies in the sector with the view to improving services to the public.
Mr Tetteh urged the commission to do everything within its mandate to ensure that members of the press corps were well equipped to carry out their task of facilitating information flow to the consumer.
He advised the members of the corps not to speculate but clarify as well as verify issues before they report.
He said this was because issues regarding utility provision and regulation were very sensitive and should be dealt with with circumspection and fact.
Mr Tetteh appealed to the members to desist from sensationalism in educating Ghanaians on the critical role of the PURC and be guided by the concerns of journalism, which he said included accuracy, fairness and balance.
He noted that they could only be accurate when they sought clarification to the information that was made available to them by consumers bearing in mind that to every coin there were two sides.
Mr Tetteh expressed the hope that should the corps do their work according to the ethics and standards of their calling, issues concerning the sector could not be swept under the carpet.
The Chairman of the PURC, Prof. Frimpong Boateng, said the formation of the press corps had been on the agenda of the commission for many years.
He said the press corps was expected to team up with the public affairs directorate of the PURC to educate the public, as well as help the commission to improve it relationship with the consumer by way of making their concerns public.
Prof. Boateng stated that the press corps was not only to cover the mistakes of the commission but to uncover it as well.
The Executive Secretary of the PURC, Mr Stephen Adu, expressed the hope that the public would be better educated with the collaboration the commission had formed with the media.

Long, winding queues at some registration centres(Page 17) 12 August 2008

2008-08-12T10:15:00.000-07:00

Story:Michael Donkor

THE two days extension granted by the Electoral Commission (EC) for the voter registration exercise has done nothing about the long and winding queues at some registration centres in Accra.
The Daily Graphic, during a visit to five centres in Accra yesterday observed longer queues at the Kingsby Roundabout at New Achimota, Burma Camp, La Cathedral near the Olympia Cinema, Teshie and Adabraka.
Some of the centres had limited registration materials resulting in a very slow pace of the exercise.
Most of the prospective voters who spoke to the Daily Graphic said they had come to the centres as early as 4.30 am to avoid long queues but ended up in that situation as some people already there had secured places for their friends and relatives who came to cross the queue.
They complained that the queue continued to grow longer and longer because the registration exercise was very slow with the registration officers intermittently breaking to sort out issues on registration materials.
Despite the queues, the anxious voters maintained their cool at the centres and waited patiently in the scorching sun for their turn.
The registration officials who would not allow themselves to be distracted by the occasional misunderstandings of the prospective voters worked assiduously to get them registered.
They expressed satisfaction on how the exercise was moving but said much as they tried to register the people the number kept swelling.
They said occasionally there were some minors who had attempted to register but were turn away after explaining the consequences to them.
The prospective voters said if the queue should continue to move at such a slow pace then the extension period by the EC would not be enough for all the people to be registered before the closing date.

EC's lifeline for registration; 2 More Days(Front page) 11 August, 2008

2008-08-11T02:39:00.000-07:00

Story:Michael Donkor
In Accra, large numbers of prospective voters had turned out at four registration centres in Accra, where the Daily Graphic observed the happenings on the official final day of the registration exercise.
At La Cathedral Centre, Burma Camp, Teshie and Adabraka there were long and winding queues formed by large numbers of people anxiously waiting for their turn to register.
The electoral officers at the centres were busily registering the people and would not even have the time to grant interviews to journalists who had come around.
However, some of the prospective voters who spoke to the Daily Graphic said they had come to the centres as early as 6 a.m, while others said they slept there to be able to register before the end of the exercise.
At La Cathedral, Naa Shika Lartey said she asked her younger brother to sleep at the centre for her to be able to be in front of the queue to register.
Agyei Tetteh said he came to the registration centre as early as 6 a.m. to register but to his surprise, there already was a queue which he had to join.
Rita Sowah said she had misplaced her identity card and had come to join the long queue as early as 8.30 a.m. to have another one done for her, but was advised to go home and wait for another time.
At Burma Camp, some soldiers were deployed at the centre, which is close to the General Headquarters of the Ghana Armed Forces, to ensure that there was orderliness in the exercise.
Some of the soldiers were spotted assisting the electoral officers to sort out the prospective voters while others helped in controlling the queues.
The prospective voters at that centre comprised of both civilians and soldiers.
Some of them said they had just turned the voting age while others said they had no interest in the previous elections, so they did not register.
At Teshie, the crowd was big and had overwhelmed the registration officers with a winding queue to the extent that it was difficult to get closer to them.
The situation was not different from that of Adabraka.
Although the queue was moving, the electoral officers at all the centres said they were not sure they could register all the prospective voters before the close of the day.

Stop attacks on journalists(Page 55) August 7, 2008

2008-08-07T02:35:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THE President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Mr Ransford Tetteh, has appealed to Ghanaians to desist from attacking journalists who are discharging their legitimate duties.
Referring to the alleged attack on some journalists of Radio Gold by policemen last Tuesday and a reporter of the Daily Guide, the GJA president said anybody who disagreed with the work of a journalist was entitled to seek redress with the National Media Commission (NMC) or issue a rejoinder to that effect.
Mr Tetteh made the appeal when the United Bank of Africa, Ghana (UBA) Limited presented a cheque for GH¢2,500 to support the 13th GJA’s Annual Awards at a ceremony in Accra yesterday.
The amount is in support of the Best Business and Financial Reporter category of the award.
Mr Tetteh urged Ghanaians to endeavour to live in peace and harmony with journalists.
He appealed to journalists to also check, cross-check and check again on their information before they put it across to the public.
Mr Tetteh said journalists also had the responsibility to abide by the ethics of the profession so as to ensure harmony in the society.
He said it was the aim of the GJA to ensure that everybody lived in a peaceful environment.
Mr Tetteh expressed the association’s gratitude to corporate Ghana for supporting to improve the media landscape in the country.
He gave the assurance that the media would not relinquish its role in holding public officers accountable.
The Group Head of Retail and Commercial Banking of the UBA, Mr Charles Odonkor, said the bank held the GJA in high esteem because of its significant role in the country’s democracy.
He said the media had also contributed a lot to the stability of the country, which had made their business to thrive.
Mr Odonkor urged the media to continue with their good works and not to engage in acts that would disrupt the peace of the country.
He pledged the bank’s continued support to the association.

We won't compromise watchdog role-Tetteh(Centre spread) August 5, 2008

2008-08-06T07:43:00.001-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THE President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Mr Ransford Tetteh, has stated that the support of corporate institutions for the association’s annual awards ceremony will not compromise the watchdog role of the media.
He said the GJA regarded that support as a partnership between it and the corporate institutions to build a strong media to operate in the country.
Mr Tetteh said this when the Stanbic Bank presented a cheque for Gh¢5,000 to support the 13th GJA awards at a ceremony in Accra yesterday.
The amount is in support of two categories of the awards: the best columnist and the best sports writer of the year.
Mr Tetteh said it was not wrong for the business community to support the GJA, since journalists could always hold the business community responsible.
Commenting on issues raised by a section of the media over the revised election guidelines for journalists, the GJA President said the association would be the last to introduce anything that would limit the scope of journalists in the country.
He said it had been the ambition of the GJA to rather expand the scope of journalism in the country and so it would not do anything to derail that effort.
Mr Tetteh said all the GJA wanted was to ensure that there was no confusion before, during and after the general election.
He said in calling election results, media houses should ensure that it was done in a way that would not undermine the electoral system of the country.
He appealed to journalists to be mindful of their work and continue to be the shining example in Africa and the world as a whole, emphasising that the revised election guidelines were not an imposition.
The Head of Human Resource at the Stanbic Bank, Wing Commander Samuel Allotey (retd), said the bank was committed to supporting the establishment of a vibrant media in the country, saying that support was to ensure that journalists met the required standards in the profession.
He pledged the banks commitment to continue to support the GJA’s annual awards and commended the association for instituting the awards.
Wing Commander Allotey expressed the hope that the event would be a grand one.

Liberia — still picking up the pieces(Features page) August 4, 2008

2008-08-06T07:38:00.000-07:00

By :Michael Donkor, Back from Liberia
A peaceful environment is conducive not only to the orderly transaction of business but also for the attraction of foreign capital deemed necessary for the socio-economic transformation of developing countries.
War is devastating as it strips people of their wealth and derails their efforts at national development. This scenario was obvious when I visited Liberia recently as part of a delegation led by the Minister of Defence, Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, to witness the award of the United Nations meritorious medals to Ghanaian troops serving with its Mission in that Country.
I have seen footages of the war on television but I had not in the least imagined anything so dreadful in a people devastated by war and its attendant atrocities.
What I met on arrival at the Roberts International Airport was disappointment and despair among the citizens of this lovely nation which had played a significant role in Africa’s Renaissance. What is left of Liberia now are a despairing old people, a disillusioned and frightened adult population and a youth that is unfortunately steeled in warfare and would need decades to re-orientate.
The devastation of infrastructure is a pitiful sight to behold and is one’s hope that the West would assist in the reconstruction of the country. Ghana and Liberia have already signed an agreement for the Ghana Armed Forces to train soldiers of the Liberian Armed Forces.
Ghana is to also send some of its soldiers to Liberia to train their new recruits into their army. Currently the United Nations Mission in Liberia(UNMIL) is helping to maintain peace and order in that country and is expected to finally pull out its troops by December 2011.
If what I saw and heard during the visit is anything to go by, then the country is poised to put the past behind it and to forge ahead with the reconstruction exercise as Liberia is not all gloomy.
The optimism of the people and hopes of the government, give an indication of a country set for resurrection. Prior to the war, the country had encouraged foreign investment in the development of its rich natural resources, mainly rubber, iron ore, and timber.
Many of these investors have been slow to return after the end of hostilities. Liberia’s gross domestic product (GDP)—the total value of goods and services produced within a country had dropped to a fraction of pre-war levels. The civil war destroyed Liberia’s already dilapidated transportation network.
Railroads that connected port cities with now-defunct iron mines have deteriorated and are no longer operable. Only about six per cent of the country’s roads were paved in 1999. The major airport, Roberts International Airport in Monrovia can be compared to Ghana’s Air field at Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region.
With the poor state of the capital and other counties I visited, I was told that the economy had improved after the end of the civil war. Large numbers of returning refugees have led to high unemployment rates in Liberia.
Liberia is bounded on the north by Sierra Leone and Guinea, on the east by La Côte d’Ivoire, and on the south and west by the Atlantic Ocean. Mangrove trees line Liberia’s tidal estuaries and lagoons. Beyond the coast grow various kinds of palms, screw pines, and rubber trees.
In the evergreen forests are a mixed assortment of hardwood and broadleaf species, including ironwood and sassy. Deciduous forests, less dense than the evergreen forests, yield mahogany and softwoods. Wildlife has been depleted and survives mainly in the east and northwest.
Although Liberia has primarily an agricultural economy, minerals and forest products such as wood and rubber are its most important resources. The country has significant deposits of iron ore, diamonds, and gold. An estimated 48 per cent of people within Liberia live in cities and towns and make their living by farming or herding. Rice and cassava are the principal food crops of Liberia. Liberia’s dominant export crop is rubber, the production of which rebounded quickly after the end of the civil war. Companies like Firestone and Liberia Agriculture Company which are into rubber production were in full scale operation when I visited that country.
In 1926, the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company opened a rubber plantation of 400,000 hectares (one million acres) of land granted by the Liberian government the year before. Rubber production became the mainstay of the nation’s economy.
Following his election in May 1943, President William V. S. Tubman pursued a policy of national unification and economic development through foreign investment. The latter policy led to the exploitation in the 1950s of iron-ore deposits in the Bomi Hills, located north of Monrovia. Other cash crops include oil palm fruit (from which palm oil is extracted), coffee, cocoa, and sugar.
Timber is Liberia’s other important export earner. Most timber is exported in the form of uncut logs, but the government has encouraged development of the sawmilling industry. Most fish caught in Liberia are freshwater fish consumed locally. The Liberian commercial deep-water fishing catch includes sole, lobster, crayfish, shrimp, and crabs. Legislative power is vested in a two-chamber National Assembly. This body is composed of a Senate, whose 30 members are elected to nine-year terms, and a House of Representatives, whose 64 members are elected for six years.

GJA receives revised guidelines on elections(centre spread) August 1, 2008

2008-08-01T07:28:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THE Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Group of Eminent Persons has presented the draft of the revised guidelines on election coverage to the executive of the association in Accra.
The President of the GJA, Mr Ransford Tetteh, who received the document, said the revision of the guidelines on election coverage had been carried out as part of efforts by the association to improve the quality of media coverage of elections in the country.
He said the GJA had found the guidelines a useful document which served as an essential reminder of how to cover elections, especially for those journalists and media houses who might be covering major elections for the first time.
Mr Tetteh said a workshop would be organised later, at which the document would be discussed before adoption.
He said it would then be published and circulated nation-wide and be the main resource material at workshops on election coverage.
The GJA President noted that elections were prime and vital instruments for the establishment of democracy because they sorted out the question of who should be entrusted with the lead management of the affairs of the state.
He said elections also constituted the source of legitimacy for political leadership in democratic dispensations and provided the citizenry with the fundamental form of political participation.
He said the GJA considered the revision of the guidelines in line with its commitment, among other aims and objectives, to promote high professional standards, integrity and media accountability.
Mr Tetteh stated that the association also regarded the document to be in consonance with the duty of members of the mass media to promote good governance and social cohesion through the effective coverage of elections.
He said the draft bill would be circulated among journalists, media houses and other stakeholder organisations nation-wide.
The Editor of the Ghanaian Times and immediate past President of the GJA, Ms Ajoa Yeboah-Afari, said the association decided to push for revisions to the guidelines because the media landscape had changed drastically since it was first introduced in 1996.
“There are so many media houses and so many people practising journalism who don’t have the experience,” she said.
Some key changes to the guidelines include increased emphasis on balanced campaign coverage.
Ms Yeboah-Afari said the guidelines urged media houses to offer equal coverage to all political campaigns.
She asked media houses to refrain from announcing the winner of an election if not all districts had counted their ballots.
“If somebody maligns another person, you make sure to give the maligned person the chance to react,” she added.
The revision was made possible by a GH¢15,000 donation from the French Embassy in Ghana.

Ghana's Role in Liberia Lauded(Page 5) July 30, 2008

2008-07-30T02:57:00.000-07:00

Story:Michael Donkor, Monrovia, Liberia

THE Special Representative of the United Nations (UN) Secretary General in Liberia, Ms Ellen Margrethe Loj has lauded Ghana’s role at helping in reconstructing Liberia after the war.
She said apart from the tremendeous support that Ghana has rendered, its expertise had distinguished themselves among their counterparts from other countries who had also come to Liberia to help rebuild that nation.
Ms Loj made the call when the Minister of Defence, Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah paid a courtesy call on her in her office at the UN Headquarters in Monrovia .
The Defence Minister recently lead a delegation in Liberia to witness the United Nations Mission in Liberia’s Ghanbatt eight medals day celebration.
Experts in various areas such as the Judiciary, Armed Forces, the Police Service and the Prisons Service
have been sent to Liberia by the government as part of its contribution to help reconstruct the country
Ms Loj commended the Ghanaian troops serving with the UN mission in Liberia for the professionalism and discipline that they had demonstrated on the mission
She said Grand Bassa and River Cess counties where Ghanaian troops were deployed was a difficult area but so far they have been able to maintain effective security there.
She explained that the area was difficult because of the influx of unemployed migrants.
She said some of those people posed security threats but there had not been any single incident of security lapse recorded by the UN.
The Minister later called on the Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in charge of Rule of Law, Professor Henrietta Mensah-Bonsu who also emphasized the good works of the Ghanaian peacekeepers.
She said the Ghanaian troops had discharged their duties well and won the hearts of many in Liberia.
She said the human rights record in Liberia had improved over the years.
She said a Women and Juvenile Unit of the Liberia Police Force was being established.
She said efforts were also underway to establish a Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice in Liberia.
Prof. Mensah-Bonsu said the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was also making progress towards healing the wounds of the people and unifying the country
Ghana’s Ambassador to Liberia, Major-General Francis Adu-Amanfoh (retd) said Ghanaians in Liberia have been law abiding and were going about their duties freely.

Seven Hundred Ghanaian Soldiers Honoured(Inside page) July 26, 2008

2008-07-28T02:56:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor, Buchanan, Liberia.
SEVEN Hundred Officers and Men of the Ghana Armed Forces serving with the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) have been presented with medals for their distinguished services.
The Special Representative of the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General at UNMIL, Ms. Ellen Margrethe Loj, presented the medals at a colourful parade held at Buchanan the capital of Grand Bassa County in Liberia last Thursday.
At exactly 10a.m., the soldiers, smartly dressed in their camouflage uniforms, lined up at the parade square to happily receive their medals.
The Ghanbatt eight band drilled the audience to a spectacular performance and played some favourite tunes to the joy of everybody present.
The ceremony was witnessed by the Minister of , Mr. Albert Kan-Dapaah, Ghana’s Ambassador to Liberia, Maj-Gen Francis Adu-Amanfoh (Retd), the Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General in-charge of Rule of Law in Liberia, Prof. Henrieta Mensah-Bonsu and other senior military officers serving with UNMIL.
In an address, Ms Loj said UNMIL’s success chalked at the mission was due to the behavior and conduct of the peacekeepers particularly that of the Ghanaians.
She commended the Ghanaian contingent for the distinguished and professional manner in which they discharged their duties and urged them to continue with that gesture.
Ms. Loj said as guests they were supposed to show their appreciation for the hospitality of the host country by being of the best behavior and projecting the right image.
She said their contribution and sacrifices would be easily tarnished and diminished by any act of indiscipline and bad behavior directed at Liberians who were their hosts.
She mentioned in particular, sexual exploitation and abuse and cautioned the troops never to accept such misbehavior amongst them.
Ms. Loj charged each and everyone of them to strictly observe the Secretary-Generals policy of zero tolerance against sexual exploitation and abuse.
She said although she had not received any negative report about Ghanbatt eight, they should continue to live up to the ethics of their profession throughout their period of duty in Liberia.
Ms. Loj urged the soldiers to continue to work in a concerted manner to implement measures to give people the sense of security and restore their confidence in Liberia’s Rule of Law Institutions.
She urged community leaders and elders to support UNMIL efforts to win back their communities, streets and alleys from criminals.
The Chief of Staff of UNMIL (Contingent Commander of Ghanbatt eight), Brig Gen Emmanuel C Quist, pledged the unflinching support of the Ghanaian troops to the maintenance of peace and security in Liberia.
He said Ghana considered Liberia as a sister country and would do her best to help reconstruct the country.

Ghana to Train Liberian Soldiers(Page 3) July 28, 2008

2008-07-28T02:43:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor, Monrovia, Liberia
Ghana and Liberia have signed an agreement by which Liberian soldiers will be trained by the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF).
The Minister of Defence, Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, signed the agreement on behalf of the government, while the Liberian Minister of Defence, Mr Brownie J. Samukai, signed on behalf of the Liberian government.
The agreement will allow Ghana to officially train Liberian soldiers in basic military skills, offer advance courses for its officers in Ghana and send some personnel of the GAF to Liberia to train its soldiers.
The move forms part of Ghana’s efforts to assist in the reconstruction of Liberia.
Mr Kan-Dapaah said Ghana played a meaningful role towards ending the crisis in Liberia because it considered that country a sister country, noting that the challenge facing Liberia now was how to ensure that peace and security were maintained in that country.
He said it was based on this that the government agreed to train Liberian soldiers by organising basic military courses for non-commissioned officers and advance courses for officers both in Liberia and Ghana.
He said some men of the GAF had already been to Liberia to start training Liberian soldiers and gave the assurance that the GAF would provide proper efficient training for the Liberian soldiers.
Mr Kan-Dapaah said without proper and adequate security, no serious investor would invest in Liberia and the excellent human resource that country had outside would also not return to that country.
He said the GAF was in the best position to undertake the task because of its experience and track record, adding that
the government was prepared to respond to any request that Liberia would make for the reconstruction of that country.
Mr Samukai thanked the government of Ghana for its kind gesture and said the government and people of Liberia were happy for the assistance.
He said some Liberian soldiers were already tapping the skills and expertise of their counterparts in Ghana and noted that the move was to help replicate the sustained peace that Ghana had enjoyed over the years in Liberia.
Earlier, Mr Kan-Dapaah had visited the Liberia Agriculture Company (LAC), which is the second largest producer of rubber in that country.
He was taken through the process of working on the liquid product to its finished stage before it was exported.

NADMO must be alert-Addo-Kufuor(Back Page) July 17, 2008

2008-07-18T10:29:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THE Minister of the Interior, Dr Kwame Addo-Kufuor, has charged NADMO to intensify its awareness creation and education on the negative consequences of previous floods along the White Volta and its tributaries to avoid similar calamities.
Dr Addo-Kufuor made the call when he paid a working visit to the NADMO headquarters in Accra yesterday.
He said the impending spillage of the Kompienga and Bagre dams in Burkina Faso had the capacity to cause flooding and negatively affect life and property in communities living in the downstream of the White Volta.
He urged NADMO to collaborate with the relevant district assemblies, the Volta River Authority and all the other stakeholders to ensure that all communities living along the White Volta and its tributaries were adequately informed about the impending crisis.
Dr Addo-Kufuor said the government would do all it could to ensure that NADMO was provided with the resources and the equipment it needed to enable it to be efficient and effective.
He said subject to budgetary constraints, their conditions of service would also be regularly reviewed to ensure that NADMO personnel were adequately motivated.
He appealed to the NADMO officials to empathise with victims in times of disaster while carrying out their duties in a professional manner.
The National Co-ordinator of NADMO, DCOP Douglas Akrofi-Asiedu, said NADMO as an emergency response organisation was always prepared to play its role in the event of emergencies.
He, therefore, appealed to the government to adequately resource NADMO to perform its functions creditably.

Recruitment into GAF not based on Regionalism(Page 3) July 17, 2008

2008-07-18T10:28:00.000-07:00

Story:Michael Donkor
THE Military High Command has stated that recruitment into the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) is not based on regionalism and ethnicity.
It made it clear that recruitment and commission into the GAF was based on the people who made themselves available for employment into the service, and therefore called on all Ghanaians to avoid dragging the military into issues that could jeorpadise the security of the country.
The command was reacting to a recent statement by former President Jerry Rawlings that President John Agyekum Kufuor, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), appointed his brother, Dr Kwame Addo-Kufuor as the Minister of Defence, and had recruited more Ashantis into the GAF.
A source close to the command told the Daily Graphic that out of a total of 6,410 recruits and 462 officers enlisted into the Ghana Armed Forces between 2001 and 2007, the Volta Region recorded the highest number with 1,334 and 108 respectively.
This was followed by the Eastern Region which had 1,122 for other ranks and 74 commissioned as officers.
The Greater Accra and the Brong Ahafo regions each had 53 officers commissioned within that period but had 502 and 480 enlisted as other ranks respectively.
The Ashanti Region had 875 enlisted as other ranks and 48 commissioned as officers .
The others are the Central Region which had 53 commissioned as officers, with 819 recruited as other ranks, while the Northern Region had 338 recruited as other ranks and 29 commissioned as officers.
The Upper East Region had 33 commissioned as officers and 446 recruited as other ranks while the Upper West Region had 220 recruited as other ranks and 29 commissioned as officers.
The rest are Western Region; 16 commissioned as officers and 274 as other ranks.
Currently, 27.6 per cent of the other ranks and 24.6 per cent of officers of the GAF, the higest regional percentages are from the Volta Region
This is followed by 15.9 per cent from the other ranks and 19.3 from the officer level coming from the Eastern Region.
Upper East Region has 7.7 per cent as other ranks and 7. 1 per cent as officers in the GAF.
Ashanti Region has 11.5 percent as officers and 10.3 as other ranks while Brong Ahafo 5.0 per cent as other ranks and 3.4 per cent as officers.
Central Region has 11.1 per cent as officers and 10.6 per cent as other ranks while Greater Accra Region has 6.8 per cent as other ranks and 11.4 per cent as officers.
Northern Region has 6.2 per cent as officers and 5.5 per cent as other ranks in the GAF while Upper West has 3.8 per cent as other ranks and 5.5 per cent as officers.
Western Region has 3.2 per cent as officers and 3.3 per cent as other ranks in the GAF.
The source said further that considering the statistics available, a lot of qualified people from the Volta Region had interest in joining the GAF to serve the country hence the high number from the region in the service.
It said this did not mean that someone deliberately enlisted them into the GAF based on their ethnic background.
The source said the GAF was a professional institution and non-partisan and would continue to be as such.
It therefore, appealed to politicians and other members of the society not to try to divide the GAF on political or ethnic lines since that would not augur well for the service.
It also cautioned Ghanaians not to drag the military into politics.
It said having joined the army, one became first and foremost a Ghanaian serving his or her nation with all the loyalty, commitment and dedication.
The source explained that the GAF was full of professionals, and warned that any attempt to sow a seed of mistrust in the service would not be accepted.

Man 26, Commits Suicide (Page 40) July 14. 2008

2008-07-15T02:29:00.000-07:00

Story:Michael Donkor
THE usually quiet area of Gbawe, a suburb of Accra, was yesterday turned into a state of mourning when the people woke up to a horrific news that a 26-year old man, David Kofi Twerefoah Mensah, had hanged himself.
A large crowd besieged the scene of the incident to catch a glimpse of the youngster who was hanging on a rope tied to a tree.
The people could not assign any reason for the horrendous act but said they suspected David might have committed suicide.
According to Rev. Prophet Samuel Ike Amoateng of the Heavenly Impact International Worship Centre, who is a close friend to the family of the deceased, David’s lifestyle changed for some time now.
He said David had associated himself with some notorious wee smokers in the Gbawe vicinity.
He said several attempts to help him desist from such habits had failed until early this morning when they were informed that David had hanged himself.
He said David left home two days ago and nobody knew his whereabouts until the news of his death broke.
He said he suspected that David might have committed the act early yesterday dawn.
The deceased’s uncle, who only mentioned his name as Wofa K, could not assigned any reason for the act.
He said the family would be counting on the police for their assistance to unravel the circumstances that led to the death of David.
The Odorkor police confirmed the story when they were contacted but could not give any detail.
The body of the deceased has since been deposited at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital morgue in Accra.

Prisons Service gets GH¢181,934 to cover NHIS(Page 35) July 11, 2008

2008-07-11T02:41:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor

THE government has made available GH¢181,934 to the Prisons Service towards the registration of its officers and inmates with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), the Minister of the Interior, Dr Kwame Addo-Kufuor, has said.
He said it was expected that the measure would improve the health status of prisoners and personnel of the service and their dependants.
Dr Addo-Kufuor said this when he paid a working visit to the Headquarters of the Prisons Service in Accra on Thursday.
He was accompanied by the Deputy Minister of the Interior, Mr K. Tahiru Hammond, and the Minister of State at the Interior Ministry, Nana Obiri Boahen.
Dr Addo-Kufuor said the government had just taken delivery of 55 vehicles under a package from Paramount Logistics Corporation of South Africa for distribution to selected prisons.
He said the package included workshop tools and equipment, which would soon be installed to revamp the carpentry and other workshops in the prisons.
Dr Addo-Kufuor said the government had also tasked the Prisons Council to review the service conditions and come up with appropriate recommendations for consideration.
He said a technical committee had been set up, under the guidance of the Prisons Service Council, to come up with appropriate designs for a new James Fort Prison, a new prison officers training school and a new senior correctional centre with modern dormitories, classrooms, workshops with machinery and s gymnasium.
He said the gesture was aimed at affording the inmates the chance to undergo trade training, formal education and engage in sporting activities.
He said barracks accommodation for staff of institutions to be relocated would be provided with social services like markets, hospitals and entertainment centres, before steps were taken for the re-location.
Dr Addo-Kufuor said the service had been linked up to the Department of Social Welfare to take custody of children born to imprisoned pregnant women whose relatives were unable to provide custody for the babies.
He said a second intervention was the setting up of a mother and baby friendly centre at the Nsawam Female Prison to provide a temporary but more congenial atmosphere for babies who were born to such mothers.
Dr Addo-Kufuor said in accordance with its programme of reformation and rehabilitation of inmates, the Ghana Prisons Service, in partnership with the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP), had donated television sets, computers and their accessories, stationery and furniture to help establish a senior high school at the Nsawam Medium Security Prison, while the President’s Special Initiative on Distance Learning had also been established in four major prisons, namely, Nsawam, Kumasi, Tamale and Wa.
He said additionally, the Senior Correctional Centre, formerly the Borstal Institute, had started running courses of the National Vocational Training Institute.
He said last year 16 inmates who sat for Trade Test Grade II Examination had passed.
The Director-General of the Prisons Service, Mr William Asiedu, gave the assurance that personnel of the service would continue to give of their best, despite the constraints they were faced with.
He said the service would collaborate with sister security agencies to ensure that the justice system was upheld.

ZAIN to launch services in Ghana(Page 38) July 10, 2008

2008-07-10T03:12:00.000-07:00

Zain to launch services in Ghana
Story: Michael Donkor
ZAIN Communication Ghana, a mobile telecommunication operator, is to launch its services in the country by the end of the year.
Currently, the company is on a massive infrastructural development that is expected to be completed soon.
The Chief Executive of Zain in charge of Africa, Mr Chris Gabriel, said at a news conference in Accra last Tuesday that the company would launch a world-class network offering unparalleled modern communications services across the country and assured Ghanaians of quality service.
Mr Gabriel said Zain would roll out with a microwave network and later build a fibre network.
He said they would design services that would meet the demand and expectations of Ghanaians.
Mr Gabriel said Zain, through its African subsidiary, Celtel, had pioneered the development of innovative services such as the world’s first borderless network, which covered close to half of the African population.
He said Zain won the best Telecom Operator in Africa award at the prestigious Business in Africa Awards held in London recently.
Mr Gabriel said Zain currently operated in Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain, Sudan and Iraq and in Lebanon as “mtc touch”.
He said Zain operated as Celtel in Burkina Faso, Chad, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
Mr Gabriel said the company had over 15,000 employees providing a comprehensive range of mobile voice and data services to over 45.7 million individuals and business customers.
He said Zain considered itself defined by a commitment to excellence in providing world-class mobile and data services, as well as an ethos of corporate social responsibility in supporting communities, offering employment and creating business opportunities where it operated.
He said it was important to Zain that its economic, social and cultural projects had a positive impact on the people of all the countries in which they operated.

Police investigate Dr Yankah's death(Page 3) July 9, 2008

2008-07-10T03:06:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THE police have begun investigations into the circumstances surrounding the death of Dr Hayford De-Graft Yankah, a urologist at the 37 Military Hospital.
Consequently, the police have taken statements from Prof Kwadwo Amoako Attah, Dr Yankah’s friend whom the late urologist called to his residence shortly before his death, and the deceased’s house boy.
A source close to the police said two officers had been detailed to guard Dr Yankah’s house since the incident occurred, while the body of the deceased had been deposited at the Police Hospital mortuary for autopsy.
Meanwhile, efforts to get Dr Yankah’s wife who had just returned from the US to comment on husband’s suicide have proved futile.
A family source told the Daily Graphic that Dr Yankah had always complained about how life had treated him unfairly, adding that he had always been comforted that everything would be well.
The source said Dr Yankah had always expressed gratitude to his friend, Prof Attah, for the tremendous assistance he had offered to him in life.
It said the will left by Dr Yankah was addressed to Prof Attah to ensure that it was administered accordingly.
Dr Yankah, a 55-year-old Ghanaian urologist with 30 years’ practical experience in the US, hanged himself in his Adjiriganno home over the weekend, leaving behind a hand-written will and a note to the effect that he had failed to reconcile with life.
Family sources disclosed to the Daily Graphic that moments before hanging himself in that grisly circumstance, Dr Yankah had called a close friend on the phone and invited him to come to his house.
They said the friend received the call about 9.00 a.m. and set off for Dr Yankah’s house, but while he was on his way, Dr Yankah called him again at 9.30 a.m. to find out where he had reached.
According to the sources, the friend replied that he was close to the house and eventually got there about 10.00 a.m., by which time Dr Yankah had asked his house boy to stand at the gate and open the gate for his friend to come in.
They said when the friend drove in, the main entrance to Dr Yankah’s hall was locked up and several knocks at the door, including calls to his phone for him to open the door, did not yield any results.
The source said the door was later forced open by the friend, who was greeted with the shocking spectacle of Dr Yankah’s body hanging on a computer cable wire tied around his neck.

Grisly Suicide:I failed to reconcile with life, Dr Yankah said in a hand written note(Front Page) July 8, 2008

2008-07-08T08:20:00.000-07:00

Story:Michael Donkor
DR Hayford De-Graft Yankah, a 55-year-old Ghanaian urologist with 30 years’ practical experience in the USA, hanged himself in his Adjiriganno home over the weekend, leaving behind a hand-written will and a note to the effect that he had failed to reconcile with life.
Family sources disclosed to the Daily Graphic yesterday that moments before hanging himself in that grisly circumstance, Dr Yankah had called a close friend on the phone and invited him to come to his house.
They said the friend received the call about 9.00 a.m. and set off for Dr Yankah’s house, but while he was on his way, Dr Yankah called him again at 9.30 a.m. to find out where he had reached.
According to the sources, the friend replied that he was close to the house and eventually got there about 10.00 a.m., by which time Dr Yankah had asked his house boy to stand at the gate and open the gate for his friend to come in.
They said when the friend drove in, the main entrance to Dr Yankah’s hall was locked up and several knocks at the door, including calls to his phone for him to open the door, did not yield any results.
The source said the door was later forced open by the friend, who was greeted with the shocking spectacle of Dr Yankah’s body hanging on a computer cable wire tied around his neck.
It said Dr Yankah’s wife returned from the US about a month ago but did not live in the same house with her husband.
Although Dr Yankah left behind a hand-written will, details of it were not disclosed to the Daily Graphic.
Dr Yankah graduated as a medical doctor from the University of Ghana Medical School in 1978 and travelled to the US to further his studies in medical practice.
While in the US, he lived at 101 Park Place, Alabama, and was affiliated to the Vaughan Regional Medical Centre. But he relocated to Ghana in February last year to work at the 37 Military Hospital.
When the Commanding Officer of the 37 Military Hospital, Brigadier-General Jaswant Mante Wadhwani, was contacted, he said he had been informed about the tragedy last Saturday by one of his officers at the hospital.
He said Dr Yankah was a urologist who acquired his specialist training in the US between 1992 and 1996 and had been in practice abroad.
He said the deceased applied to join the Military Hospital as a civilian specialist doctor in February 2007.
Brig-Gen Wadhwani said Dr Yankah passed an interview conducted according to the hospital’s regulations and was appointed Specialist Urologist at the Department of Surgery.
He said in August 2007, the deceased tendered in his resignation and cited personal reasons for his action.
The Commanding Officer said he gathered that Dr Yankah was offered a job in Cape Coast and later worked at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital as a urologist.
He said while the deceased was at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, he had gone to him ((Brig-Gen Wadhwani) and expressed interest in going back to the 37 Military Hospital.
Brig-Gen Wadhwani said the hospital wanted more urologists so he readily accepted him.
He said he asked Dr Yankah to re-apply, which he did, and it was processed through the Military High Command, after which he was given back his job.
He said Dr Yankah worked very well, leading to his confirmation about six weeks ago, adding that the deceased was due to travel shortly to Egypt for a urologists conference.
Brig-Gen Wadhwani described Dr Yankah as a fine gentleman.

Grissly Suicide:I failed to reconcile with life, Dr Yankah said in a hand written note(Front Page) July 8, 2008

2008-07-08T08:16:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
DR Hayford De-Graft Yankah, a 55-year-old Ghanaian urologist with 30 years’ practical experience in the USA, hanged himself in his Adjiriganno home over the weekend, leaving behind a hand-written will and a note to the effect that he had failed to reconcile with life.
Family sources disclosed to the Daily Graphic yesterday that moments before hanging himself in that grisly circumstance, Dr Yankah had called a close friend on the phone and invited him to come to his house.
They said the friend received the call about 9.00 a.m. and set off for Dr Yankah’s house, but while he was on his way, Dr Yankah called him again at 9.30 a.m. to find out where he had reached.
According to the sources, the friend replied that he was close to the house and eventually got there about 10.00 a.m., by which time Dr Yankah had asked his house boy to stand at the gate and open the gate for his friend to come in.
They said when the friend drove in, the main entrance to Dr Yankah’s hall was locked up and several knocks at the door, including calls to his phone for him to open the door, did not yield any results.
The source said the door was later forced open by the friend, who was greeted with the shocking spectacle of Dr Yankah’s body hanging on a computer cable wire tied around his neck.
It said Dr Yankah’s wife returned from the US about a month ago but did not live in the same house with her husband.
Although Dr Yankah left behind a hand-written will, details of it were not disclosed to the Daily Graphic.
Dr Yankah graduated as a medical doctor from the University of Ghana Medical School in 1978 and travelled to the US to further his studies in medical practice.
While in the US, he lived at 101 Park Place, Alabama, and was affiliated to the Vaughan Regional Medical Centre. But he relocated to Ghana in February last year to work at the 37 Military Hospital.
When the Commanding Officer of the 37 Military Hospital, Brigadier-General Jaswant Mante Wadhwani, was contacted, he said he had been informed about the tragedy last Saturday by one of his officers at the hospital.
He said Dr Yankah was a urologist who acquired his specialist training in the US between 1992 and 1996 and had been in practice abroad.
He said the deceased applied to join the Military Hospital as a civilian specialist doctor in February 2007.
Brig-Gen Wadhwani said Dr Yankah passed an interview conducted according to the hospital’s regulations and was appointed Specialist Urologist at the Department of Surgery.
He said in August 2007, the deceased tendered in his resignation and cited personal reasons for his action.
The Commanding Officer said he gathered that Dr Yankah was offered a job in Cape Coast and later worked at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital as a urologist.
He said while the deceased was at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, he had gone to him ((Brig-Gen Wadhwani) and expressed interest in going back to the 37 Military Hospital.
Brig-Gen Wadhwani said the hospital wanted more urologists so he readily accepted him.
He said he asked Dr Yankah to re-apply, which he did, and it was processed through the Military High Command, after which he was given back his job.
He said Dr Yankah worked very well, leading to his confirmation about six weeks ago, adding that the deceased was due to travel shortly to Egypt for a urologists conference.
Brig-Gen Wadhwani described Dr Yankah as a fine gentleman.

Efforts to protect country's ports(Page 32) July 7, 2008

2008-07-07T02:48:00.000-07:00

Story:Michael Donkor
THE Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) has initiated a programme to prevent ships from foreign countries that are not seaworthy from docking at the country’s ports.
Known as “Port State Control Programme” it would also ensure that such ships did not operate within the territorial waters of Ghana as practised in the other regional blocks of the world.
The Director General of GMA, Mr Issaka Peter Azuma, said this at the opening session of a three-day workshop organised by the GMA in collaboration with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in Accra yesterday.
The workshop which is on “the London Convention” is being attended by representatives from seven West African countries, namely Ghana, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau, Nigeria, Liberia and the Gambia.
It is aimed at increasing the awareness of the effects of dumping of dangerous materials within the Gulf Stream.
Mr Azuma said the authority would not compromise with the port state control measures on unseaworthy ships especially crude oil carriers and chemical tankers.
He said the authority would also intensify work on its audit programme on operators of reception facilities and off-shore monitoring systems in order to prevent possible pollution of the marine environment of the countries in the sub region.
The Minister for Harbours and Railways, Prof. Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, deplored the dumping of dangerous materials into the Gulf Stream and called for the application of the provisions of the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution at combating such unlawful practices.
Prof Ameyaw-Akumfi said the timing of the workshop was opportune and relevant within the context of Ghana’s oil find and the consequential shipping and related maritime activities that would soon take place in the country’s territorial waters.
He said as a result, they all need to consider the possible negative impact associated with some of these activities on their maritime environment and design proactive measures to combat or prevent their occurrence.
Prof. Ameyaw-Akumfi said government had initiated work towards the installation of an electronic surveillance system with the coverage range of up to 200 nautical miles into the sea and a complete coast line stretching from Axim to Ada to enable the authorities to survey and monitor on a 24-hour basis.
He said the technology had been found to be more technically and economically feasible than any other means.
Prof. Ameyaw-Akumfi said the GMA would play a lead role in collaborating with the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority as well as the security agencies to effectively implement the maritime security surveillance project.

Holiday Makers Thronge Beaches(Centre Spread) July 2, 2008

2008-07-04T02:01:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
HUNDREDS of holiday celebrants yesterday thronged the various beaches in Accra to commemorate Republic Day.
Dressed in swimming costumes and casual wears, most of the holidaymakers could not tell the significance of the day but were busily seen enjoying themselves to live band and recorded music which were played at the beaches.
A visit to the La Pleasure Beach saw fun seekers, males and females, some of whom were accompanied by their children, in frenzy as they observed the day.
Others were also seen swimming while some rode horses and played football.
At the Dutch Beach near Nungua, some of the holidaymakers enjoyed the cold sea waves as it drizzled.
They described the day’s drizzling as a blessing to Ghana’s Republic Day.
Some of the gathering there danced to local music popularly called Jama.
At the Independence Beach, some of the holidaymakers brought along their own musical systems for their entertainment.
The peaceful enjoyment there was nearly marred when a fight broke out between two gentlemen over a lady.
This attracted a large crowd because the two gentlemen, who came from Osu, were popular among the gathering.
It took the security details around the beach about an hour to completely cool down tempers.
At the Osikan Beach, brass band music was played to the enjoyment of the holidaymakers. Some of the holidaymakers who spoke to the Graphic said July 1 was a great day and needed to be celebrated as such. They could not explain what makes the day great.
Adwoa Frimpomaa said every July 1, she goes to the beach with her friends to celebrate the day.
She said at the beach they eat, drink and have fun till the evening before they depart.
Bosah Bosah said the only time that he enjoyed himself was such holidays and that he never missed such occasions.
Barimah Sarpong said considering the history behind the July 1, it needed to be celebrated in grand style hence on such occasions he goes to the beach to spend time there and celebrate it with other holidaymakers.
Some expatriates were also seen celebrating the day with their Ghanaian counterparts.
Jeff Morgan, an American, said he had adopted Ghana as his second home that was why he had joined in celebrating the day Ghana gained full political autonomy.
Ranshi Samir, also an expatriate, who described Ghana as a peaceful place, said on such occasion he could not stay indoors than come out to join in the celebration.
Others mounted mini tents in which they served food and drinks to their loved ones as they listened to music in the background.
Kwaku Afriyie, who took advantage of the day to pickpocket was arrested and beaten. He would have been lynched but for the timely intervention of the police.

3 More arrested over cocaine case( Front Page) July 1, 2008

2008-07-01T03:53:00.000-07:00

Story:Michael Donkor
THE police have arrested three more people in connection with the seizure of the substance suspected to be cocaine at Ataabadze Junction, near Elmina in the Central Region, at the weekend.
They are Derick Armah Kwatreng, David Agyemfrah and Charles Lartey.
Lartey was arrested when he allegedly went to the Central Regional Police Command with $6,000 and CFA200,000 to bribe the police for the release of Mills-Robertson, the man who had been arrested earlier, while the other two were picked up at a filling station in Cape Coast close to the Regional Police Headquarters.
Agyemfrah was identified as one of the suspects who escaped from the vehicle, while Kwatreng is said to be the owner of the vehicle.
According to a source close to the Police Headquarters in Accra, the suspects were being interrogated, after which they would be prosecuted.
The source gave the assurance that efforts were being made to track down the other suspects who escaped when the vehicle carrying the substance was intercepted.
Officials of the Cape Coast Motor Traffic and Transport Unit (MTTU) at the weekend intercepted 380 parcels of a substance suspected to be cocaine which were concealed in 19 travelling bags at Ataabadze Junction.
The Central Regional Police Commander, DCOP Rose Bio-Atinga, at a press briefing in Cape Coast, said following directives from the Police Headquarters for the police to embark on aggressive vehicle checks for items such as arms and drugs, the regional MTTU began the exercise on Sunday.
She said the officials, led by the Unit Deputy Commander, ASP Frederick Kojo Asare Mensah, were on duty at Ataabadze Junction about 8.00 a.m. when they intercepted a Toyota vehicle with three people on board heading towards Accra.
She said when the vehicle was searched, 19 travelling bags loaded with a substance suspected to be cocaine were concealed in the boot.
DCOP Bio-Atinga said while the search was being conducted, two of the suspects, known only as Chiko and Michael, escaped into a nearby bush, while the driver, Mills-Robertson, 49, was arrested.
She said Mills-Robertson offered the police $5,000 for his release but they refused the offer and took him to the Regional Police Headquarters.
Mills- Robertson told the police that he had been hired by some Nigerians to convey the substance from Bogoso to Accra for a fee of $40,000.
DCOP Bio-Atinga called on the public to support the police by giving them the relevant information to enable them to do their work effectively.

Reshuffle in Police Service(Page 3) July 1, 2008

2008-07-01T03:49:00.000-07:00

Story:Michael Donkor

THE police administration has effected changes in its hierarchy as part of measures to strengthen the service.
According to the changes, some of which will take effect from July 4, 2008, the Greater Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Mr Kwaku Opare-Addo, will move to the Ashanti Region while DCOP James Oppong-Boanuh, Brong Ahafo Regional Police Commander moves to become the Greater Accra Regional Police Commander.
According to a source at the Police Headquarters others affected by the changes are ACP Mr Seth Charles Oteng, the Ashanti Regional Police Commander who moves to become the Brong Ahafo Regional Police Commander and ACP Mr Kwasi Appiah Boateng, the Second in Command in the Accra Region who also moves to the Upper West Region.
It said ACP Ms. Florence Arthur of the Accra-South-West Division has been moved to the Community Policing Unit at the Headquarters while ACP Bright Oduro, of the Ashanti Regional Police Command becomes the second in command in the Greater Accra Regional Police Command.
The source said ACP Mr Richmond Boi-bi-Boi has been assigned to the Criminal Investigations Department at the Headquarters and Mrs ACP Elizabeth Allandu of Accra North-East (Madina) Division becomes the officer in-charge at Akosombo Division in the Eastern Region.
It further stated that Chief Superintendent Mr Abdulai Mohammed of Accra West (Kaneshie) Division now becomes the officer in-charge of Ashanti South (Bekwai) while Chief Superintendent Peterkin Gyinae of the Akosombo Division becomes the officer-in-charge at the Accra West (Kaneshie) Division.
Chief Superintendent Mrs Elizabeth Apollonia Dassah, Accra East Division becomes the officer-in-charge of Accra South West (Dansoman) Division,. Chief Superintendent Mr Paul Kwame Ayittey, Madina District is the officer-in-charge of Accra North-East (Madina) Division and Chief Superintendent Mr Mathew Osew Adjei, Kibi Division becomes the officer-in-charge of Ahafo Ano (Tepa) Division in the Ashanti Region with immediate effect.
The source stated that Superintendent Mr Samuel Kofi Tetteh, Tema Community Two District is the new officer-in-charge, Ho District in the Volta Region while Superintendent Mr Gabriel Amankwah Dokyi of the Kotobabi District moves to become officer in-charge Community two District.
Superintendent Mr Joseph Adotey Allotey, Accra Central (Nima) moves to Bimbilla District in the Northern Region, Superintendent Mr Ernest Aboagye Sarpong, Bimbilla District moves to Operations in Accra and DSP Mr Jonathan Akuettey Lamptey, Accra South District become the officer-in-charge Kotobabi District, the source added.

2008 Global peace operations launched(Page 47) June 26,2008

2008-06-26T02:30:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THE Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) has launched the annual review of global peace operations 2008 in , with a commitment to train more peacekeepers to respond to the numerous conflicts in the world.
THE acting Commandant of the centre, Commodore Albert Addison, who launched the review, said with so many conflicts plaguing the world, the demand for peace operations was constantly on the increase.
Commodore Addison said it was for that reason that the KAIPTC had taken the lead to provide training for both civilian and military peacekeepers.
He said every year the centre ran about 20 different courses for military and civilian personnel involved in peace support operations which were intended to develop regional capacity in peacekeeping.
The German Ambassador to Ghana, Dr Marius Haas, said UN peacekeeping operations had reached a record high this year.
He said with $6.8 billion for peacekeeping operations, the budget of the UN peacekeeping missions was as high as ever before.
Dr Haas said in some conflict regions the UN remained the peacekeeper of last resort because it was the only politically viable actor and had the capacity to remain engaged over a long and difficult period of time.
He said since the beginning of 2008, the German government had considerably increased its funding for peacekeeping globally.
He said the Federal Foreign Office of Germany was supporting crisis prevention, conflict resolution and post-conflict peace-building measures world-wide to the tune of 60 million Euros.
He said much of the funding would flow into projects in Africa.
Dr Haas said an additional 30 million Euros would be used to improve Africa’s civilian security architecture, to enhance police work in Africa and to combat the causes of border conflicts.
Dr Sarjoh Bah of the Centre on International Co-operation, New York University, said the year in review was a difficult one for the United Nations (UN) and non-UN peace operations, and might bring about more challenges for the year ahead.
He said by the end of 2007, it appeared as it peacekeeping had become the reflex solution to crisis, often in the absence of viable political framework or peace agreements.
He said the year also witnessed more peace operations with ambitious mandates, often in places with no peace agreements.
Dr Bah said the complexity and breadth of peace operations began to expose cracks in the international peacekeeping system.

Its Globacom: NCA Finally Confirms(Front Page) June 21, 2008

2008-06-23T02:06:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THE National Communications Authority (NCA) has confirmed that Globacom Telecommunications has won the competitive bidding to operate mobile services in the country.
The NCA, about 11 weeks ago, called for bidding for a mobile licence in a bid to avail the people of better telecom services.
Eleven companies bid for the licence but after careful scrutiny by the NCA, Globacom beat all the companies with its technical presentation, pedigree and extensive roll out plan for the country.
At a news conference in Accra yesterday to show its appreciation to the government and the people of Ghana, the Head of New Markets, Globacom, Mr Yinka Alafimihan, said the company was pleased and challenged by the confidence the NCA and the general public had reposed in it.
He said the licence fee had been paid and it was determined to extend to Ghana a world-class reputation as the harbinger of hope and great things.
He said Globacom would ensure that the trust so freely reposed in it by the people was not misplaced.
“Globacom is about people; it is about service; it is about possibilities,” he said, adding, “We are consciously founded on the philosophy of elevating people and giving life more positive meaning. Our entrance into Ghana, at this time, is at once destined and calculated.”
Mr Alafimihan said when the company first launched its services in Nigeria in August 2003, its vision was to build for Africa the biggest and the best telecommunication network.
He said presently, with over 18 million subscribers, it was also bidding for telecom licences in other African countries.
As the most innovative telecommunication brand in Nigeria, he said, the company launched the network on the popular per second billing platform, a payment scheme that enabled subscribers to pay only for the service they utilised.
He said it also crashed the cost of SIM acquisition from a prohibitive high to almost zero.
Mr Alafimihan said the move to Ghana was another step in the realisation of the company’s Pan-African vision, adding that the task ahead might look tough but gave the assurance that it would meet and surely surpass expectations.
He said the personal passion of the Chairman of Globacom, Mr Mike Adenuga Junior, was to empower Africans and prove that given the same opportunity, the African could attain any height.

Give NADMO commission status(Page 47) June 19, 2008

2008-06-19T04:47:00.000-07:00

Story:Michael Donkor
PARTICIPANTS at a conflict and crisis management course have suggested that the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) should be granted a commission status to handle all national emergencies and crisis situations.
They have also called for a national emergency fund to be established by an act of parliament to be used to tackle the new mandate of that commission.
The participants said the current situation where the Minister of the Interior was responsible for policy guidelines and ensuring that adequate resources existed at all times and co-ordinated all agencies involved in disaster management through NADMO, hampered the smooth running of the machinery, especially during preparations for and responses to crisis management.
They said during emergencies, mobilisation of funds took a long time, while allocation was untimely and the quantum inadequate.
They made the call at the end of a three-week course held for them at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC) at Teshie, near Accra to brainstorm and make recommendations on a proposed national disaster management plan at the weekend.
The programme was sponsored by the British government in collaboration with GAFCSC.
The participants were made up of senior personnel from the security agencies and included NADMO, Ghana Health Service, National Ambulance Service and the Judicial Service.
The call formed part of the recommendations made by the participants to the government at the end of the course.
The participants said the new mandate should include the handling of all national emergencies and crisis situations, sourcing for funds from sources such as bilateral, multi-lateral and other agencies.
They said the proposed National Disaster Management Commission should be headed by a commissioner and should have departments for emergency prevention, co-ordination, disaster and crisis management, training and research.
They said all these departments should be headed by deputy commissioners.
The participants noted that if this was done it would make the proposed commission independent and devoid of any political influence.
A Minister of State at the Ministry of the Interior, Nana Obiri-Boahen, in an address, said since crises did not give warning before striking, it was important to have a well- rehearsed plan in which all stakeholders knew their roles.
Mr Obiri-Boahen commended the GAFCSC for introducing innovative programmes in its curricula to bring together agencies of state to learn and deliberate on common approaches to important national issues.
He said this initiative was commendable and urged ministries, departments and agencies to give the necessary support to sustain the programmes.
He gave the assurance that the Interior Ministry would help to sustain the programme after the British government withdrew its support.
The Commandant of GAFCSC, Major-General Richardson Baiden, urged the participants to impart the knowledge gained at the training programme to their colleagues.
He said the doors of the school were open to new initiatives that would enhance the knowledge base of the students of GAFCSC.

Political parties urged to draw up succession plan(Page 17) June 19, 2008

2008-06-19T04:46:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THE Deputy Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), Mr David Adeenze Kangah, has proposed that political parties should have a chain of succession for candidates to national elections well ahead of election years.
He said that should apply to the situation where party lists were used for proportional representation elections.
Speaking at a public lecture organised by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences in Accra last Tuesday, Mr Kangah said the process of identifying candidates for national elections, as was practised by political parties in Africa as a whole and Ghana in particular, left much to be desired, since it was fraught with rancour.
He said that was because the parties generally did not practise internal democratic principles.
He was speaking on the topic: “Ensuring democratic participation in Africa”.
Mr Kangah cited the situation in an African country where primaries were conducted at the constituency level and a candidate identified but at the end of it all the party at the national level replaced the name of the candidate with that of another person chosen by the national executive to be gazetted and he took the seat.
He called for African countries to institute electronic and Internet voting schemes in the future.
He said it was estimated that the initial cost of Internet voting could be 10 times as high as that of community voting but expressed the hope that the cost would come down with the expansion of Internet facilities and improvement in mobile communications.
He explained that in Ghana political parties participated in balloting to determine the position of their candidates on the ballot paper and said in the future a more credible method should be adopted for that purpose, as the present method lent itself to luck.
He said when all candidates had unique serial national ID numbers, those numbers could be used to arrange the candidates on the ballot paper.
Mr Kangah stressed the need for open-air and under-tree polling stations to be replaced with well-constructed polling tents.
He called on all, particularly educated individuals such university lecturers, to participate in the electoral process as polling agents for the candidates they supported, be vigilant and act to defend the integrity of the poll.
Mr Kangah noted that delays in the release of resources or their inadequacy for electoral activities had tended to make election management bodies act in very uncertain ways.
He expressed the hope that budgets for elections would, in the future, be finalised at least one year to the start of preparatory activities for elections and the release of funds for the activities would be effected at least a month to the effective date of the activity.
A lecturer at the Department of Political Science, University of Ghana, Dr Maame Adwoa Gyekye-Jandoh, called for the revamping of the electoral process in many African countries.
She said the electoral environment itself should be open and peaceful to allow free campaigning by competing parties, with sharp crackdowns on political opposition and state-sponsored limitations on the competitive process becoming things of the past.
Dr Gyekye-Jandoh said election management bodies should be independent of the governments of the day and should be seen to be neutral, objective and effective.
She said the judiciary in African countries needed to be professional and independent of the executive arms and they should also be strengthened in their capacity to enforce the rule of law.
She called for the creation of separate election courts to tackle election malpractice and disputes promptly, while special funds should be reserved for post-election disputes.
The Immediate Past President of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, Nana S.K.B. Asante, said if the 1951 election held in the Gold Coast could be replicated across Africa or the world, the world would be in good shape.
He said that election was conducted by the colonial masters and Dr Kwame Nkrumah, who had been incarcerated, won it.
Nana Asante said the colonial masters followed the logic of the election by releasing Dr Nkrumah to form a government, while the losing party accepted the results gracefully, without crying foul.

Globacom to operate here. But NCA tight-lipped(Front Page) June 17, 2008

2008-06-17T03:01:00.000-07:00

Story:Michael Donkor
GLOBACOM Telecommunications Services, operators of Glo Mobile, has won the licence to operate mobile cellular service in the country.
Glo Mobile becomes the sixth mobile service operator in Ghana.
In a letter to the management of Glo Mobile Ghana dated June 12, 2008, Ghana's telecommunication regulatory body, the National Communications Authority (NCA), said its Board of Directors had declared Glo Mobile Ghana winner of the well contested international bid for the award of a mobile cellular licence in the country.
According to a credible source at Glo Mobile office in Nigeria, the NCA congratulated Glo Mobile on the feat, adding that it looked forward to the telecom giant's contributions to the development of Ghana's Information Communications Technology (ICT) industry.
Eleven companies applied for the licence and were narrowed to two after the NCA scrutinised them.
The two, which were Waried Telecom from the Middle East and Glo Mobile, were further re-assessed and the latter emerged the winner.
Meanwhile, when the authorities at the NCA were contacted, they could not confirm nor deny the story.
The source said after the keenly contested open international bid, the NCA adjudged Glo Mobile as the winner of the technical bid, anchoring its verdict on the superiority of Glo's technical presentation, pedigree and extensive roll out plan for Ghana.
It said Glo Mobile also emerged tops in the commercial bid, leading to its eventual announcement as the winner of the GSM licence.
In a swift response, Glo Mobile's management expressed gratitude to the NCA for the confidence reposed in the company and promised to roll out aggressively in the country very shortly.
The management said the people and government of many African countries had been clamouring for Glo to come and replicate in their countries its phenomenal success story in Nigeria, which was spurred by Glo Mobile’s superior network quality, pocket friendly tariffs, life transforming promotions and innovative products and services.
Glo began operation with the first GPRS/2.5G network in Nigeria in August 2003 and pioneered the introduction of revolutionary products and services to the Nigerian telecoms market. Some of those products and services are Per Second Billing, Mobile Internet, Mobile Banking, Vehicle Tracking, Magic Plus, Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) and Blackberry.
With more than 18 million subscribers, Glo Mobile is regarded the fastest growing telecommunication operator in Africa and the Middle East and is chaired by entrepreneur extraordinaire and multi-billionaire businessman, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr.
According to the management of Glo Mobile, aside building the biggest and best telecommunication network in Africa, they were developing Glo 1, Africa's first private submarine optic fibre cable that will run from Lagos in Nigeria through 15 African countries to Portugal and England.
It said it would also extend to New York in the United States of America.
It said on completion, the project would bring incredible bandwidth to the African continent and revolutionise the way business was done in Africa.

UN to assist Ghana to crack down on illicit drugs(Centre Spread) June 17, 2008

2008-06-17T02:56:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor
THE government, in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, is establishing units at the country’s seaports to crack down on the importation of illicit drugs into the country.
Consequently, some officials from the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) and the Police Service have been trained on how to handle the equipment to be used in tracking down containers that carry those drugs in the first phase of the project.
This came to light when a team from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime called on the Minister of the Interior, Dr Kwame Addo-Kufuor, in Accra yesterday to discuss details of the operations to be carried out at the seaports.
The Senior Programme Co-ordinator, Global Container Control Programme of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Mr Keti Otterson, said Ghana was selected among three other countries because the country had been used as a drug trafficking point in recent times.
He said as part of the first phase, which would be on pilot basis, experts from the United Nations and their counterparts from Ghana would be stationed at the Tema Harbour to scan all high-risk containers that arrived in the country.
He mentioned the other three countries which would also benefit from the project as Pakistan, Equador and Senegal.
Mr Otterson said the project would also develop a communication system that would enable the experts to share information on the activities of drug barons for their possible crack down.
He said the United Nations would also send down some experts who would work with their Ghanaian counterparts to that effect.
Dr Addo-Kufuor said the government would provide accommodation and other structures as its contribution to the programme.
He said the move had become necessary because Ghana was gaining a reputation which was not good for its image in international circles.
He said the drug menace would be tackled in earnest to redeem the image of the country.

BoG introduces fast cheque clearing system (Business Page) June 10, 2008

2008-06-10T02:38:00.000-07:00

Story:Michael Donkor

THE Bank of Ghana (BoG) will by the end of this month introduce a system of codeline truncation to facilitate the quick clearing of cheques.
It will also introduce an automated clearing house (ACH) for the clearing of electronic debits and credits by the same period.
The Governor of the BoG, Dr Paul Acquah, announced this when he launched the Ghana Banking Survey 2008 results in Accra yesterday.
The survey was conducted by PricewaterHouseCoopers and the Ghana Association of Bankers,and covered all the banks in the country.
On the theme: “Raising the Bar: increase in the minimum capital requirements and implications for the industry,” the annual survey seeks to assess the current performance of the banking industry as an important component of the economy, and project trends in the coming years.
Dr Acquah challenged commercial banks to raise their capital base to meet the opportunities and challenges that had come along with reforms in the industry.
He said if that was done, the economy would grow at an accelerated pace and the standards of living of the people would rise while the country advanced towards a middle income status.
The BoG last year prepared a discussion document asking banks to increase their minimum capital from GH¢7 million to GH¢60 million by 2012, in view of the sophistication of the financial system, the ever growing local economy and the fact that local banks should be able to compete internationally.
Dr Acquah noted that the economy was becoming increasingly complex, and that high value financial transactions were likely to occur in the future.
He has therefore urged commercial banks to inject capital into the industry to build the capacity so as to financing bigger projects as well as volumes of trade without posing risks to financial stability.
Dr Acquah said the range of financial services had broadened with innovation, which had become a characteristic of the industry.
He said the potential for expanding loan portfolios and providing sophisticated financial services was constrained by a bank’s capital.
He said total shareholders’ funds stood at approximately Gh$870 million at the beginning of this year for all the 25 banks.
Dr Acquah said this figure could be compared with the annual syndicated short-term loan of some $800 million raised on the international capital market for the purchase of cocoa.
He said from the perspective of the BOG as a regulator, the growing sophistication of the banking system required that they introduced risk-based supervision along with an electronic reporting system to reinforce the macro-prudential anchor.
He gave the assurance that the BoG would continue to pursue policies and programmes aimed at developing a vibrant financial system capable of harnessing financial resources for the development and growth of the economy.
He said the BoG appreciated the healthy working relationship that existed between the BoG, banks and other stakeholders.
He expressed the hope that the co-operation would be deepened to enhance performance of the banking industry by using the new bar set by the increase in the regulatory capital as a pivot and a historic benchmark for the growth of the industry.
A partner of the Advisory Services at PricewaterHouseCoopers (PWC), Mr Vish Ashiagbor, who presented a synopsis of the report said the survey which was conducted annually focused on analysis of financial performance using information reported by the banks.
He said at the end of the survey, although the price of crude oil shot up, the economy stayed on course.
Mr Ashiagbor said the banking industry had reached a stage where survival was strictly tied to creativity and ability to grab opportunities.
He said any slip ups would be heavily punished by the market, while “creativity and hard eye for opportunities” will be rewarded.
Mr Ashiagbor said the industry grew, and deposits as well as credit followed suit.
He said it was also realised that as competition intensified, margins squeezed and portfolio management improved.
The PWC Partner said the banking industry was making significant progress with most of the growth indicators on the ascendancy.

Stop Assault on Journalists-GJA(Centre Spread) Jnue 10, 2008

2008-06-10T02:36:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor

THE President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Mr Ransford Tetteh, has appealed to all stakeholders to desist from assaulting journalists in the discharge of their legitimate duties.
He said anybody who disagreed with the work of a journalist was entitled to make his opinion either through a rejoinder or make a complaint to the National Media Commission (NMC) for redress.
He said these physical attacks on journalists had the potential to mar the coveted image of Ghana as one of the most media-friendly countries in Africa.
Mr Tetteh made the appeal when the executive members of the GJA presented a petition to the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr Joe Ghartey, and the Speaker of Parliament on the alleged attack on the Central Regional Editor of the Daily Graphic, Mr Joe Okyere, by the Member of Parliament (MP) for the Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam Constituency and former Central Regional Minister, Mr Isaac Edumadze.
The petition called on Parliament to investigate and take appropriate action concerning the role played by Mr Edumadze in assaulting Mr Okyere while that of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice called on him to speed up action on the case concerning the assault when the police complete their investigations and submits the docket to the Attorney-General’s office.
Mr Tetteh explained that the GJA had decided to seek redress through the two statutory bodies of the country to send the right signals to all that it was always appropriate to use legal means to seek relief for wrongs done to anybody in society and that the resort to assault in the face of provocation was not helpful in any democratic dispensation.
He said the 2007 worldwide Press Freedom Ranking of Reporteur San Frontier (Reporters without Borders) ranked Ghana third in Africa after Mauritius and Namibia.
He said this country ranked 29th out of a total of 169 countries in the world, even above some developed democracies such as the United States of America, France, Italy and Japan and called on all citizens to sustain this record by tolerating divergent views.
Mr Tetteh said the GJA took a serious view of the incident at Mr Edumadze’s residence and believed a speedy action from the end of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice on the completion of investigation by the police and Parliament would be a good signal that the country was irreversibly committed to the rule of law.
He said the GJA was also worried that these attacks could likely undermine the progress the country had made in democratic development since the Fourth Republic.
Mr Tetteh said the GJA, following reports of the incident, sent a fact-finding mission to Cape Coast on May 29, 2008.
It was led by the General-Secretary, Mr Bright Blewu, and made up of the Treasurer, Mrs Yaa Oforiwaa Asare-Peasah; and Legal Advisors, Mr Kwasi Afriyie Badu and Mrs Marian Kyei, both members of the association.
He said information gathered by the fact-finding mission indicated that the incident took place on the premises of Mr Isaac Edumadze’s house at Ejumako-Ochiso.
Mr Tetteh said in separate accounts, Mr Philip Baidoo of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, who had taken Joe Okyere to Mr Edumazde’s house, said he personally witnessed agents of Mr Edumadze beat up Mr Okyere mercilessly on the explicit instructions of Mr Edumadze while Mr Okyere on the other hand insisted that the attack was led by the MP himself.
Mr Joe Ghartey described the situation as unfortunate but said under the Constitution the Attorney-General’s office had no right to investigate cases but only to prosecute.
He said when the news of the alleged assault broke out, his outfit referred the matter to the Inspector General of Police for investigation.
Mr Ghartey gave the assurance that the law would not be twisted and added that the government was committed to the Universal Human Rights and would do everything possible to uphold it.
He said the Attorney-General’s office would take the necessary action after the investigations by the police.
He proposed that a Human Rights Committee, to be co-chaired by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice and the President of the GJA with four members each from the two bodies, be established to address complaints of assault, particularly those involving the ordinary Ghanaian.
Mr Ghartey said in the interim, anybody who would suffer any assault should call the Human Rights hotline, 0273448788 or 0245623434 to make complaints.
At Parliament house, the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Mr Freddie Blay, received the petition on behalf of the Speaker of Parliament.
He commended the GJA for respecting the laws of the land and going through the right processes to seek redress.
He gave the assurance that the petition would be handed over to the Speaker for a speedy redress of the matter.
Mr Blay called on all politicians to respect journalists and see them as partners in nurturing the country’s infant democracy.

Globacom launches network in Benin(Inside Africa) June 9, 2008

2008-06-10T02:35:00.000-07:00

Story:Michael Donkor,Cotonou
GLOBACOM (Glo) Telecommunication network services of Nigeria has launched its network in Benin to provide telecommunication services in that country.
Launching the programme, Benin's Minister of Communication, Mr Desire Adadja on behalf of the President of Benin, Dr Thomas Boni Yayi said the entrance of Glo into Benin Republic’s telecommunication market was expected to transform the sector.
He said he had always wished that Glo, having changed the landscape in Nigeria, would come to Benin to make communication better for the people.
Mr Adadja noted that, Glo had enhanced the relationship between Benin and Nigeria with the step it had taken.
He said the step had removed the border between the two countries and would enable the people of Benin and Nigeria to communicate and interact as one.
The Chairman of Globacom, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr., in a telecast message said Glo’s intention was to change the telecommunication landscape in Benin Republic and the business environment in Africa.
He stated that Glo would build the biggest and bestnetwork in Africa.
He assured the people of Benin Republic that Glo would give them a top quality network at affordable rates.
“When we gave this proposition upon our launch in Nigeria five years ago, some people felt it was a tall ambition. A few years down the line, they have begun to take us more seriously”, Dr Adenuga said.
Earlier at a press conference, the company said it had pioneered the introduction of Per Second Billing (PSB) into the country.
PSB gives the subscriber the power to pay only for the actual time spent on the phone.
This generally contrasts with the bundled seconds which operates in the Benin telecoms market at the moment.
For example, a subscriber who speaks for 21 seconds automatically pays for 40 seconds since he is bundled to 20 seconds each time.
But with Glo Per Second Billing platform, the caller only pays for 21 seconds or any exact seconds the call lasted.
The company also announced the commencement of its value added services like Multi-Media Messaging Service (MMS), Glo Magic Plus, Vehicle Tracking, Caller Tunes and Mobile banking.
MMS enables the user to send a combination of data, voice and pictures to loved ones, while Magic Plus enables the user to keep abreast of latest developments in information, entertainment and business.
Dr Adenuga said Glo had substantially covered the country, a position which puts it ahead of its competitors.
He said what had taken other networks six to seven years to achieve had only taken Glo Mobile Benin six months to accomplish.
“Today, even before launch, we have more base stations, we have greater switch capacity and greater network capacity than any network currently existing in the country" he added.
He said Glo had 156 base stations across the country while the closest competition had 120 base stations,”.
Glo presently has a total network capacity for three million subscribers.

World Bank Approves $145 million to Ghana(Business page) June 5, 2008

2008-06-10T02:29:00.000-07:00

Story: Michael Donkor

THE World Bank has approved three credits for Ghana totalling $145 million, in fulfilment of its commitment to provide assistance to the budget annually under the Multi-Donor Budget Support (MDBS) framework.
The credits include additional funding valued at more than $20 million, to support measures designed urgently to help Ghana deal with the rising cost of living due to the global food and oil price hikes.
The other two are Poverty Reduction Support Credit of $100 million and Agriculture Development Policy Operation of $25 million.
The support is a harmonised partnership framework in which the government and a number of its development partners provide direct funding for the implementation of the Ghana Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy through the annual budget.
Since its inception in 2003, a total of $1.7 billion has been disbursed under the framework, with over $700 million coming from the World Bank alone, through six Poverty Reduction Support Credits.
The World Bank Country Director in Ghana, Mr Ishac Diwan, in an interaction with some selected journalists in Accra last Tuesday, explained that the $20 million was an additional amount meant to ensure that the mitigation measures as announced by the President benefited that poor and most vulnerable in society.
He said that amount had been divided into two equal parts and was to be used to support the purchase of fertiliser to encourage farmers to grow more crops during these trying times.
Mr Diwan said the second part will support the government’s LEAP programme and lactating mothers.
The World Bank Country Director described the measures as timely, saying, “they are to ensure that the poor and vulnerable in society escape to some extent, the very hash conditions that the increasing world food prices and soaring oil prices had brought to the world”.
He said the poverty reduction support remained the cornerstone of donor support for Ghana’s poverty reduction strategy, while the environmental governance programme and agricultural development policy will provide new important support for policy reform on natural resources and environment, as well as the agriculture sector.
He said policy actions under the poverty programme would focus on the implementation of various reform programmes to accelerate private sector-led growth by facilitating private sector development and increasing agricultural productivity and exports; develop human resources by consolidating achievements in education, health, and water and sanitation.
He explained further that these would also promote good governance by deepening decentralisation, strengthening public financial management and enhancing efficiency, transparency and accountability in public investments and service delivery at both central and decentralised levels.
Mr Diwan expressed the hope that the natural resource programme would support governance reforms in the interrelated sectors of forestry and wildlife, mining and environmental protection.
He said they were intended to ensure effective forest law enforcement, improve the mining and forestry sectors, revenue collection, management, and transparency.
Mr Diwan said it would also address social issues in forest and mining communities, environmental protection into growth, safeguards and adaptation to climate change.
He added that it would also initiate support to the adoption and future implementation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI++) approach in the existing forestry and mining sectors as well as in the emerging oil sector.
Mr Diwan noted that the agricultural development policy would support the recent positive achievements in the agricultural sector, including: Further diversification of horticulture exports; addressing constraints to productivity of food crops and improving the planning and execution of budgets in the sector.
He said the programme specifically supported the government’s national agricultural strategy by promoting key reforms essential for the growth of the sector.
Mr Diwan said in addition, it provided support to help the country respond to recent rises in global food prices.
He explained that these operations focused on accelerating the kind of growth that benefited the poor; improved environmental sustainability for the benefit of future generations; supported the delivery of basic services, especially water, to the citizens across the country, and continued to work towards better and more inclusive governance.