MTN, a telecommunications service provider in the country, has launched the MTN Academy, a human resource development project to improve the company’s human resource base.
The organisation with its regional headquarters in Accra will run capacity building programmes for employees of the company across West and Central Africa.
According to the company, it will focus on four key competent areas, including leadership, management and behavioural skills, business acumen, sales marketing and customer service programmes and technology systems.
Speaking at the launch of the Academy in Accra, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN Ghana, Mr Brett Goschen, said the company was committed to develop, improve and increase its human resource base with the appropriate skills to meet the changing demands of the communication industry.
“As a large employer, MTN is constantly looking for new ways to ensure that its employees have the appropriate skills developed to meet the demands of a changing environment”, he stated
The services at the academy will include classroom sessions, graduate development programmes, participation in global accreditation , executive development sessions at international business schools, as well as through action learning assignments.
The Minister for Manpower, Youth & Employment, Nana Akomeah, assured the management of the company of the government’s commitment to deepen the enabling environment for businesses to thrive efficiently .
According to him, MTN paid more than $50 million in taxes to the government last year.
The Corporate Service Executive of MTN, Ms Mawuena Dumor said the initiative was specifically for MTN employees but the opportunity would be created for other people to also benefit from their skill.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Pioneer Food Cannery tuna flakes for farmers day
THE Pioneer Food Cannery has donated cartons of Star Kist tuna flakes worth $25,000 to the Ashaiman and Ledzokuku-Krowor municipal assemblies and the Tema Metropolitan Assembly. The items are to support the assemblies in the organisation of their farmers days.
Each assembly received 50 cartons of Star Kist Tuna flakes.
The General Manager of the Company, Mr Nichole J. Elizabeth, said the support was in recognition of the contributions of the company’s workers who lived in those assemblies.
The Pioneer Food Cannery supports the assemblies every year.
Representatives of the assemblies expressed their sincere appreciation to the management of the company for supporting them.
They said the items would be given out as prizes to winners of this year’s farmers day celebrations to be held separately by each assembly.
Each assembly received 50 cartons of Star Kist Tuna flakes.
The General Manager of the Company, Mr Nichole J. Elizabeth, said the support was in recognition of the contributions of the company’s workers who lived in those assemblies.
The Pioneer Food Cannery supports the assemblies every year.
Representatives of the assemblies expressed their sincere appreciation to the management of the company for supporting them.
They said the items would be given out as prizes to winners of this year’s farmers day celebrations to be held separately by each assembly.
Dutch voluntary group supports physically challenged
THE Ledzokuku-Krowor Municipal Assembly in Accra in partnership with a voluntary team from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Netherlands has donated 250 wheelchairs to some physically challenged persons in the area.
Donating the wheelchairs, Elder Allan Charles Millet of the Latter Day Saint Charities of the Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints, expressed the belief that the chairs would go a long way to bring some improvement in the lives of the recipients.
The tyres of the chairs, he said, were mountain bike tyres that could withstand rough terrain.
According to him, they had so far donated about 750 wheelchairs worth $100,000 to the physically challenged in the Ashanti , Central and the Greater Accra regions, and were expecting about a container full within the next few weeks.
The Ledzokuku-Krowor Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Ebenezer Adjei Osekre, in his address urged the recipients of the chairs not to see their challenges as limitations.
"The challenges you may encounter are to encourage you and not to make you feel inferior to others. Have at the back of your minds that the one who makes you feel inferior also has a disability, which is not noticeable or in plain sight, " he advised. The municipal chief executive said all humans had various challenges - physical, emotional or mental.
He expressed his appreciation to the voluntary team from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and encouraged them to pursue their dignified dream of supporting the physically challenged.
Donating the wheelchairs, Elder Allan Charles Millet of the Latter Day Saint Charities of the Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints, expressed the belief that the chairs would go a long way to bring some improvement in the lives of the recipients.
The tyres of the chairs, he said, were mountain bike tyres that could withstand rough terrain.
According to him, they had so far donated about 750 wheelchairs worth $100,000 to the physically challenged in the Ashanti , Central and the Greater Accra regions, and were expecting about a container full within the next few weeks.
The Ledzokuku-Krowor Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Ebenezer Adjei Osekre, in his address urged the recipients of the chairs not to see their challenges as limitations.
"The challenges you may encounter are to encourage you and not to make you feel inferior to others. Have at the back of your minds that the one who makes you feel inferior also has a disability, which is not noticeable or in plain sight, " he advised. The municipal chief executive said all humans had various challenges - physical, emotional or mental.
He expressed his appreciation to the voluntary team from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and encouraged them to pursue their dignified dream of supporting the physically challenged.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Nii Boi Town lanlords commend government
THE Nii Boi Town Landlords and Landladies Association has appealed to the Lands Commission to expedite action on the regularisation of their land title deeds to enable them to obtain proper records on their lands.
The suburbs under the association are Nii Boiman, Fish Pond, South Petroluem, Chantan, Six to Six, Alhaji, Isreal, Lormnava, Nii Oworsika, Yellow House, South Tantra, Race Course and parts of Mile 7.
The Chairman of the association, Reverend Peter Addison, said at a press conference in Accra at the weekend that the Lands Commision had noted that the areas were numerous to the extent that it would be very laborious and time consuming for all property owners to appear at their office to regularise their land documents.
In view of that, he said, they had decided to bring the various suburbs together to form the landlords association to make the regularisation process easier for the commission.
The purpose of the press conference, among others,was to express their appreciation to the government for heeding to their earlier appeal, which led to the release of their lands for the commencement of the regularisation process.
Rev Addison said their intention was to also inform and enlighten all property owners in the affected areas about the government’s declaration.
He said for over 20 years they had been trying to register the lands they purchased from the chiefs, but were always informed by the Lands Commission that it was impossible to do so because the government had acquired the lands for a proposed Olympic Village Complex.
According to him, after failing for a long to develop the Olympic complex, they saw it necessary as property owners to appeal to the government to reverse the decree which acquired the lands. He added that after a series of correspondence between them and the government their efforts had yielded results.
Members of the association expressed their appreciation to the Lands Commission and the Town and Country Planning Department for their tremendous co-operation and assistance.
The government recently announced its decision to return a percentage of lands in Accra which the state had acquired for various development projects to their original owners.
It accordingly directed the Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines to prepare and submit proposals and modalities for consideration by Cabinet.
The gesture was in fulfilment of a promise made by President Kufuor to return part of those lands to the original owners.
The Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines, Mrs Esther Obeng-Dapaah, announced the decision when she met some custodians of Ga lands in Accra recently.
She said the move was to engender trust and co-operation between the state and land-owning groups, as well as promote the optimal use of land in Accra.
Mrs Obeng-Dapaah said the release of the lands was subject to the signing of a memoranda of understanding (MoU) between the ministry and the original owners.
The lands to be released are at Mpehuasem at East Legon, which was acquired for the Accra Training College; the Ogbojo site for the National Women Training Centre; the Adenta site for the West Africa Secondary School; the Kwabenya Ghana Atomic Energy Commission site; the Odorgonno Secondary School site at Awoshie and the Bank for Housing and Construction site at Madina.
She said some of the factors Cabinet considered before issuing the directive were the level of encroachment on the lands, the extent of state development on the lands, potential future needs of the state and the current value of the lands as against the compensation assessed at the time of acquisition by the government.
Following that, she said the ministry embarked on processes, including the retrieval of relevant documents, site and boundary identification, surveying and consultation with key stakeholders.
“The ministry met with the chiefs and elders of La, Adenta, Ogbojo, Mpehuasem and the Numo Nmashie family,” she said, stressing that the government had agreed with the landowners that the portions to be released would be in lieu of compensation for the portions to be retained by the government.
Mrs Obeng-Dapaah acknowledged the fact that that initiative would help address the problems associated with compulsory acquisition, which was one of the major challenges confronting the effective administration of land in the country.
She said the lands to be released had been divided into two categories, with category one including lands that had not been fully encroached upon and over which the state had substantial infrastructure.
Under that category, she noted, the state was retaining portions of the lands for public purposes and on the average it was returning up to 50 per cent of the lands acquired by the state.
Category two comprised lands that had been totally encroached upon, either by the owners or trespassers.
“These are lands which had, prior to the acquisition, been acquired by individuals who lost their rights due to the acquisition but had not been compensated,” she said.
In accordance with that, she said the Survey Department had also been directed to undertake survey demarcation of the portions of lands to be released.
The minister said in that category, the Lands Commission would regularise the encroachment by giving the encroachers title documents to cover the parcels that they were occupying.
“The regularisation is subject to the payment of penalty to be decided by the Lands Commission. The rationale underlying the imposition of the penalty is to raise funds to pay compensation to those who have lost their rights as a result of the acquisition,” she said.
Some of the heads of clans present at the conference were, however, not happy with the portions of lands to be released.
They also complained about the procedure for regularisation under category two of the lands to be released.
They contended that some of the government’s documents during the time of acquisition did not tally with what they had and were of the view that the government needed to prepare a comprehensive report on the documents to tally with what they had before they went in for regularisation.
The suburbs under the association are Nii Boiman, Fish Pond, South Petroluem, Chantan, Six to Six, Alhaji, Isreal, Lormnava, Nii Oworsika, Yellow House, South Tantra, Race Course and parts of Mile 7.
The Chairman of the association, Reverend Peter Addison, said at a press conference in Accra at the weekend that the Lands Commision had noted that the areas were numerous to the extent that it would be very laborious and time consuming for all property owners to appear at their office to regularise their land documents.
In view of that, he said, they had decided to bring the various suburbs together to form the landlords association to make the regularisation process easier for the commission.
The purpose of the press conference, among others,was to express their appreciation to the government for heeding to their earlier appeal, which led to the release of their lands for the commencement of the regularisation process.
Rev Addison said their intention was to also inform and enlighten all property owners in the affected areas about the government’s declaration.
He said for over 20 years they had been trying to register the lands they purchased from the chiefs, but were always informed by the Lands Commission that it was impossible to do so because the government had acquired the lands for a proposed Olympic Village Complex.
According to him, after failing for a long to develop the Olympic complex, they saw it necessary as property owners to appeal to the government to reverse the decree which acquired the lands. He added that after a series of correspondence between them and the government their efforts had yielded results.
Members of the association expressed their appreciation to the Lands Commission and the Town and Country Planning Department for their tremendous co-operation and assistance.
The government recently announced its decision to return a percentage of lands in Accra which the state had acquired for various development projects to their original owners.
It accordingly directed the Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines to prepare and submit proposals and modalities for consideration by Cabinet.
The gesture was in fulfilment of a promise made by President Kufuor to return part of those lands to the original owners.
The Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines, Mrs Esther Obeng-Dapaah, announced the decision when she met some custodians of Ga lands in Accra recently.
She said the move was to engender trust and co-operation between the state and land-owning groups, as well as promote the optimal use of land in Accra.
Mrs Obeng-Dapaah said the release of the lands was subject to the signing of a memoranda of understanding (MoU) between the ministry and the original owners.
The lands to be released are at Mpehuasem at East Legon, which was acquired for the Accra Training College; the Ogbojo site for the National Women Training Centre; the Adenta site for the West Africa Secondary School; the Kwabenya Ghana Atomic Energy Commission site; the Odorgonno Secondary School site at Awoshie and the Bank for Housing and Construction site at Madina.
She said some of the factors Cabinet considered before issuing the directive were the level of encroachment on the lands, the extent of state development on the lands, potential future needs of the state and the current value of the lands as against the compensation assessed at the time of acquisition by the government.
Following that, she said the ministry embarked on processes, including the retrieval of relevant documents, site and boundary identification, surveying and consultation with key stakeholders.
“The ministry met with the chiefs and elders of La, Adenta, Ogbojo, Mpehuasem and the Numo Nmashie family,” she said, stressing that the government had agreed with the landowners that the portions to be released would be in lieu of compensation for the portions to be retained by the government.
Mrs Obeng-Dapaah acknowledged the fact that that initiative would help address the problems associated with compulsory acquisition, which was one of the major challenges confronting the effective administration of land in the country.
She said the lands to be released had been divided into two categories, with category one including lands that had not been fully encroached upon and over which the state had substantial infrastructure.
Under that category, she noted, the state was retaining portions of the lands for public purposes and on the average it was returning up to 50 per cent of the lands acquired by the state.
Category two comprised lands that had been totally encroached upon, either by the owners or trespassers.
“These are lands which had, prior to the acquisition, been acquired by individuals who lost their rights due to the acquisition but had not been compensated,” she said.
In accordance with that, she said the Survey Department had also been directed to undertake survey demarcation of the portions of lands to be released.
The minister said in that category, the Lands Commission would regularise the encroachment by giving the encroachers title documents to cover the parcels that they were occupying.
“The regularisation is subject to the payment of penalty to be decided by the Lands Commission. The rationale underlying the imposition of the penalty is to raise funds to pay compensation to those who have lost their rights as a result of the acquisition,” she said.
Some of the heads of clans present at the conference were, however, not happy with the portions of lands to be released.
They also complained about the procedure for regularisation under category two of the lands to be released.
They contended that some of the government’s documents during the time of acquisition did not tally with what they had and were of the view that the government needed to prepare a comprehensive report on the documents to tally with what they had before they went in for regularisation.
Govt to grow microfinance
THE government will continue to support the development of microfinance since it holds the key to povery reduction, a Director at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, has said.
Mr Kobina Amoah said easy access to finance, particularly microfinance, would help the country to accelerate the achievement of all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Consequently, he said, the government would continue to put in place legislations and reforms to transform the financial sector for the efficient mobilisation and allocation of funds and make it fully integrated in the global financial system.
Speaking at the inauguration of the name and offices of Ezi Savings and Loans Limited, Mr Amoah said “the government recognises that tackling poverty is one of the most effective ways to achieve all the other seven of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and that microfinance is a strategy for wealth creation and poverty reduction.”
He noted that the multi-faceted features of microfinance which served as an instrument for wealth creation required an integrated effort by all stakeholders.
Mr Amoah added that the government in partnership with some development partners were promoting an enabling environment for microfinance growth as a strategy for wealth creation and poverty reduction.
He entreated Ezi Savings to put in extra efforts of sensitising consumers to financial literacy with truthful and transparent simple information.
“While the financial sector is undergoing a rapid expansion and growth, one issue that must start engaging our attention is consumer education and protection to safeguard the interest of consumers of financial services and empower them to know their rights and liabilities”, he said.
The company, formally known as the Johnsons Savings and Loans Limited, was incorporated in 1995 and licensed in 1996 by the Bank of Ghana as a deposit taking non-banking institution.
The Managing Director of the company, Mr Jonathan K. Sam, said at the inauguration of the new office in Accra that the company changed its corporate identity following restructuring and re-capitalisation to boost its operations.
“Ezi offers a wide a range of innovative products to the public. Some of these products include Ezi Saving and Current Account, Ezi Fixed Deposit, Kids Account, Ezi Susu, as well as short and medium term loans to workers, individuals and businesses”, he stated.
Mr Sam said their vision was to become the most preferred non-banking financial institution by the year 2015 with networked branches in all regional and district capitals in the country.
The Assistant Director of the Banking Supervision Department of the Bank of Ghana, Mr Philip E. Cobbinah, said the Bank of Ghana appreciated the efforts of non-bank financial institutions extending financial services to the informal sector of the economy.
He advised the company to stay focused and create a niche for itself in the sector, adding that with the proliferation of financial institutions all over the country, it was important for them to stay competitive in terms of pricing, product innovation and service delivery.
Mr Kobina Amoah said easy access to finance, particularly microfinance, would help the country to accelerate the achievement of all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Consequently, he said, the government would continue to put in place legislations and reforms to transform the financial sector for the efficient mobilisation and allocation of funds and make it fully integrated in the global financial system.
Speaking at the inauguration of the name and offices of Ezi Savings and Loans Limited, Mr Amoah said “the government recognises that tackling poverty is one of the most effective ways to achieve all the other seven of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and that microfinance is a strategy for wealth creation and poverty reduction.”
He noted that the multi-faceted features of microfinance which served as an instrument for wealth creation required an integrated effort by all stakeholders.
Mr Amoah added that the government in partnership with some development partners were promoting an enabling environment for microfinance growth as a strategy for wealth creation and poverty reduction.
He entreated Ezi Savings to put in extra efforts of sensitising consumers to financial literacy with truthful and transparent simple information.
“While the financial sector is undergoing a rapid expansion and growth, one issue that must start engaging our attention is consumer education and protection to safeguard the interest of consumers of financial services and empower them to know their rights and liabilities”, he said.
The company, formally known as the Johnsons Savings and Loans Limited, was incorporated in 1995 and licensed in 1996 by the Bank of Ghana as a deposit taking non-banking institution.
The Managing Director of the company, Mr Jonathan K. Sam, said at the inauguration of the new office in Accra that the company changed its corporate identity following restructuring and re-capitalisation to boost its operations.
“Ezi offers a wide a range of innovative products to the public. Some of these products include Ezi Saving and Current Account, Ezi Fixed Deposit, Kids Account, Ezi Susu, as well as short and medium term loans to workers, individuals and businesses”, he stated.
Mr Sam said their vision was to become the most preferred non-banking financial institution by the year 2015 with networked branches in all regional and district capitals in the country.
The Assistant Director of the Banking Supervision Department of the Bank of Ghana, Mr Philip E. Cobbinah, said the Bank of Ghana appreciated the efforts of non-bank financial institutions extending financial services to the informal sector of the economy.
He advised the company to stay focused and create a niche for itself in the sector, adding that with the proliferation of financial institutions all over the country, it was important for them to stay competitive in terms of pricing, product innovation and service delivery.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Remain Impartial in dealing with parties- NMC tells journalist
THE National Media Commission (NMC) has asked media practitioners in the country to remain impartial in their dealings with political parties and be guided by the Code of Ethics of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA).
It said adherence to the guidelines for political reporting by the media, particularly the state-owned media, would ensure fair and equitable coverage of political party activities before and during the general election in December.
The NMC, therefore, urged media practitioners to avoid activities that might compromise their integrity as journalists or damage their credibility in order to be effective in discharging their duties.
The Executive Secretary of the NMC, Mr George Sarpong, who made the appeal through the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, stated that media practitioners should endeavour not to be influenced by political or other considerations in their duties.
"The state-owned media should, under no circumstance, endorse candidates for political office. And personal preferences by individuals in the state-owned media for candidates, positions and other perceptions must not be permitted to spill over into news reports and other programmes," he stated.
He said political coverage must be balanced with analyses of issues in the overall context of good governance, adding that "the electorate must be given the opportunity to discuss and understand the issues”.
Mr Sarpong noted that apart from providing information on candidates to the general public, media practitioners should also balance discussions of personalities with analyses of the issues and must also offer a forum for the public to participate in those discussions.
"This must be done by collecting and disseminating truthful, unbiased information on the activities of political parties and candidates and, in turn, offer opportunities for the public to express their views on the candidates and their programmes," he emphasised.
Mr Sarpong acknowledged that peace was the bedrock of progress and development and, therefore, media practitioners must be active and purposeful in their search for ideas that might promote peace and national cohesion.
"In covering politics, the media must endeavour to identify the critical issues that can trigger conflict and encourage dispassionate discussions," he cautioned, indicating that such issues might include questions of marginalisation and identity politics based on religion and ethnicity.
He advised that views that had the potential to promote violent conflict, especially political, social, cultural, racial, ethnic and religious, should be handled with great sensitivity and balanced with efforts towards promoting peace.
Consequently, he admonished the media to ensure that the programmes and manifestos of political parties and candidates were explained comprehensively to the electorate by subjecting them to objective analyses.
He said it was the duty of the media to help the electorate to assess the candidates to make the elections meaningful, saying that required the provision of accurate information on the candidates.
It said adherence to the guidelines for political reporting by the media, particularly the state-owned media, would ensure fair and equitable coverage of political party activities before and during the general election in December.
The NMC, therefore, urged media practitioners to avoid activities that might compromise their integrity as journalists or damage their credibility in order to be effective in discharging their duties.
The Executive Secretary of the NMC, Mr George Sarpong, who made the appeal through the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, stated that media practitioners should endeavour not to be influenced by political or other considerations in their duties.
"The state-owned media should, under no circumstance, endorse candidates for political office. And personal preferences by individuals in the state-owned media for candidates, positions and other perceptions must not be permitted to spill over into news reports and other programmes," he stated.
He said political coverage must be balanced with analyses of issues in the overall context of good governance, adding that "the electorate must be given the opportunity to discuss and understand the issues”.
Mr Sarpong noted that apart from providing information on candidates to the general public, media practitioners should also balance discussions of personalities with analyses of the issues and must also offer a forum for the public to participate in those discussions.
"This must be done by collecting and disseminating truthful, unbiased information on the activities of political parties and candidates and, in turn, offer opportunities for the public to express their views on the candidates and their programmes," he emphasised.
Mr Sarpong acknowledged that peace was the bedrock of progress and development and, therefore, media practitioners must be active and purposeful in their search for ideas that might promote peace and national cohesion.
"In covering politics, the media must endeavour to identify the critical issues that can trigger conflict and encourage dispassionate discussions," he cautioned, indicating that such issues might include questions of marginalisation and identity politics based on religion and ethnicity.
He advised that views that had the potential to promote violent conflict, especially political, social, cultural, racial, ethnic and religious, should be handled with great sensitivity and balanced with efforts towards promoting peace.
Consequently, he admonished the media to ensure that the programmes and manifestos of political parties and candidates were explained comprehensively to the electorate by subjecting them to objective analyses.
He said it was the duty of the media to help the electorate to assess the candidates to make the elections meaningful, saying that required the provision of accurate information on the candidates.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Ghana is safe haven for investment- Canadian High Commissioner
THE Canadian High Commissioner in Accra, Mr Darren Schemmer, has stated that Ghana and some parts of Africa offer the safest opportunity for investment, in view of the current turbulent financial crisis in the West.
He said the sound economic stability the country was experiencing was as a result of its credibility in international trade.
Mr Schemmer, who was addressing a group of delegates on a trade mission to Canada in Accra, said although the global financial crisis would have an impact on African economies, he believed that so far Africa had shown a lot of prospects and was the best place for foreign direct investment.
He said current reports indicated that import and export trade relations between Ghana and Canada had seen a growth of about 20 per cent and urged all corporate organisations and businesses to take advantage of the investment opportunities in the two countries.
The trade mission, which seeks to create awareness of investment opportunities within the two countries, was organised by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce-Ghana (CCCG), in partnership with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC).
Among the delegates on the trade mission are representatives from the Ghana Chamber of Commerce, the Ghana Free Zones Board, the Ghana Immigration Service, the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service, the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, the Association of Ghana Industries, the Minerals Commission, the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and private businessmen and women.
The Chairman of the Planning Committee of the trade mission, Mr Dela Gadzanku, told the Daily Graphic that the trip sought to further deepen existing trade relations between Ghana and Canada.
“The mission also seeks to encourage the formation of a strategic business alliance, joint ventures and the export of Ghanaian products onto the Canadian market,” he added.
He said as part of the mission, a business forum would be held in Toronto, Canada, on the theme, “Investment Opportunities in Ghana”.
The President of the CCCG, Alhaji Abudulai Nantogmah, thanked the Canadian High Commissioner for his support in making the trip possible and expressed the hope that the mission would be beneficial to all the delegates.
He said the sound economic stability the country was experiencing was as a result of its credibility in international trade.
Mr Schemmer, who was addressing a group of delegates on a trade mission to Canada in Accra, said although the global financial crisis would have an impact on African economies, he believed that so far Africa had shown a lot of prospects and was the best place for foreign direct investment.
He said current reports indicated that import and export trade relations between Ghana and Canada had seen a growth of about 20 per cent and urged all corporate organisations and businesses to take advantage of the investment opportunities in the two countries.
The trade mission, which seeks to create awareness of investment opportunities within the two countries, was organised by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce-Ghana (CCCG), in partnership with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC).
Among the delegates on the trade mission are representatives from the Ghana Chamber of Commerce, the Ghana Free Zones Board, the Ghana Immigration Service, the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service, the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, the Association of Ghana Industries, the Minerals Commission, the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority and private businessmen and women.
The Chairman of the Planning Committee of the trade mission, Mr Dela Gadzanku, told the Daily Graphic that the trip sought to further deepen existing trade relations between Ghana and Canada.
“The mission also seeks to encourage the formation of a strategic business alliance, joint ventures and the export of Ghanaian products onto the Canadian market,” he added.
He said as part of the mission, a business forum would be held in Toronto, Canada, on the theme, “Investment Opportunities in Ghana”.
The President of the CCCG, Alhaji Abudulai Nantogmah, thanked the Canadian High Commissioner for his support in making the trip possible and expressed the hope that the mission would be beneficial to all the delegates.
Asylum Down Presby exhibits products
THE Asylum Down branch of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana has held an exhibition to showcase the products and services of its members engaged in small and medium scale enterprises.
Dubbed the “Business Sunday”, the exhibition, which was organised at the church’s premises on Sunday, October 19, 2008 showcased products ranging from local garments and jewelry, hair products, food stuffs and pharmaceuticals.
The Head Pastor of the church, Reverend Patrick Ntim-Mathew, said the idea was to empower them to generate resources not only outside the church but also among members of the church.
He said that was in line with the initiative of their moderator, Rev Yaw Frimpong Manso, who recently launched two businesses for the church in Accra and Kumasi.
“We feel that as Christians we should empower each other by generating resources among ourselves,” he stated, adding that there should be more besides seeing to the spiritual growth of members of the church.
He encouraged other churches to emulate their example and empower their members in the generation of resources through the establishment of small and medium scale enterprises.
The Head of the Exhibition Planning Committee, Mr Daniel Paabi, said they realised that most of their members had small scale businesses, but would be unable to display them at big exhibitions, so they saw the need to create a platform where they could all exhibite their products and services.
“The exhibition seeks to expose their products and services as well as expand their customer base,” he emphasised.
Mr Paabi said they intended to establish a business club and invite resource persons to talk to the exhibitors on good business practices in order to help them expand their businesses.
Dubbed the “Business Sunday”, the exhibition, which was organised at the church’s premises on Sunday, October 19, 2008 showcased products ranging from local garments and jewelry, hair products, food stuffs and pharmaceuticals.
The Head Pastor of the church, Reverend Patrick Ntim-Mathew, said the idea was to empower them to generate resources not only outside the church but also among members of the church.
He said that was in line with the initiative of their moderator, Rev Yaw Frimpong Manso, who recently launched two businesses for the church in Accra and Kumasi.
“We feel that as Christians we should empower each other by generating resources among ourselves,” he stated, adding that there should be more besides seeing to the spiritual growth of members of the church.
He encouraged other churches to emulate their example and empower their members in the generation of resources through the establishment of small and medium scale enterprises.
The Head of the Exhibition Planning Committee, Mr Daniel Paabi, said they realised that most of their members had small scale businesses, but would be unable to display them at big exhibitions, so they saw the need to create a platform where they could all exhibite their products and services.
“The exhibition seeks to expose their products and services as well as expand their customer base,” he emphasised.
Mr Paabi said they intended to establish a business club and invite resource persons to talk to the exhibitors on good business practices in order to help them expand their businesses.
Medlab opens new offices
MEDLAB Ghana Limited, a leading medical laboratory in Ghana, has opened its new headquarters to offer a wide range of services which previously had to be sent outside the country.
The laboratory can now easily handle about 10,000 patients per month and offer services which include pathology diagnostic services like micro-biology, chemistry, serology, haematology, and DNA testing.
The General Manager of the company, Mr Johan Bekker, who made this known at the official opening of the company's new headquarters, Medlab and Medical Imaging Ghana in Accra yesterday, said the accreditation was awarded to it by the South African National Accreditation System (SANA), after a thorough and rigorous inspection by a team of inspectors.
The accreditation, awarded by the internationally recognised regulatory body, expects Medlab Ghana Limited to uphold the strictest possible standards in its care and handling of patients.
Mr Bekker said to achieve the accreditation, their entire staff had to complete their training in international laboratory procedures, adding that Medlab received its accreditation last year and had now had it confirmed after its first annual inspection.
"Our main objective is to ensure that all tests are performed here in Ghana rather than being sent overseas, thus reducing the cost and the delay to the patient", he emphasised, noting that they served patients all the over the country, in their branches in Tema, Kumasi, Takoradi and various parts of Accra.
He urged doctors to take advantage of their services and refer specimens to them straight from the operating theatre so that they could provide rapid advice.
The former General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, Reverend David Asante Dartey, who dedicated the building to God, commended the management and staff of Medlab for their effort towards achieving the international accreditation.
He prayed that the laboratory would offer its much needed services to patients in adherence to international standards and regulations.
The laboratory can now easily handle about 10,000 patients per month and offer services which include pathology diagnostic services like micro-biology, chemistry, serology, haematology, and DNA testing.
The General Manager of the company, Mr Johan Bekker, who made this known at the official opening of the company's new headquarters, Medlab and Medical Imaging Ghana in Accra yesterday, said the accreditation was awarded to it by the South African National Accreditation System (SANA), after a thorough and rigorous inspection by a team of inspectors.
The accreditation, awarded by the internationally recognised regulatory body, expects Medlab Ghana Limited to uphold the strictest possible standards in its care and handling of patients.
Mr Bekker said to achieve the accreditation, their entire staff had to complete their training in international laboratory procedures, adding that Medlab received its accreditation last year and had now had it confirmed after its first annual inspection.
"Our main objective is to ensure that all tests are performed here in Ghana rather than being sent overseas, thus reducing the cost and the delay to the patient", he emphasised, noting that they served patients all the over the country, in their branches in Tema, Kumasi, Takoradi and various parts of Accra.
He urged doctors to take advantage of their services and refer specimens to them straight from the operating theatre so that they could provide rapid advice.
The former General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, Reverend David Asante Dartey, who dedicated the building to God, commended the management and staff of Medlab for their effort towards achieving the international accreditation.
He prayed that the laboratory would offer its much needed services to patients in adherence to international standards and regulations.
Don't Compromise role in Society
THE President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Mr Ransford Tetteh, has urged journalists not to compromise their expected role in society, while discharging their duties.
He stated that without compromising the integrity of the profession, journalists should remember to “ be fair, balanced and accurate in our reportage” to improve corporate governance in society.
The GJA President gave this advice during the presentation of a sponsorship package by Guinness Ghana Brewery Limited (GGBL), in support the association’s 13th awards ceremony to be held in Accra on Saturday, October 25, 2008.
Mr Tetteh encouraged journalists to continue exercising the present freedom they had with responsibility so that they do not inflame passions and destroy the values of the profession.
He expressed his appreciation to the GGBL for its support, noting that the partnership between GJA and GGBL had deepened since last year when GGBL partnered the GJA in its awards ceremony.
The Communications Manager of GGBL, Mr Donald Gwira, presented drinks worth GH¢1,000 to the GJA.
The Corporate Citizenship Manager of GGBL, Mr Edwin Baffour, said the practice of journalism in the country was improving so it was important for journalists to be rewarded for their contribution to the development of the country
“They should be recognised for their good efforts”, he stated, adding that his company was happy to support the GJA since the media gave them the appropriate platform to interact with their consumers, suppliers, investors and regulatory bodies.
He stated that without compromising the integrity of the profession, journalists should remember to “ be fair, balanced and accurate in our reportage” to improve corporate governance in society.
The GJA President gave this advice during the presentation of a sponsorship package by Guinness Ghana Brewery Limited (GGBL), in support the association’s 13th awards ceremony to be held in Accra on Saturday, October 25, 2008.
Mr Tetteh encouraged journalists to continue exercising the present freedom they had with responsibility so that they do not inflame passions and destroy the values of the profession.
He expressed his appreciation to the GGBL for its support, noting that the partnership between GJA and GGBL had deepened since last year when GGBL partnered the GJA in its awards ceremony.
The Communications Manager of GGBL, Mr Donald Gwira, presented drinks worth GH¢1,000 to the GJA.
The Corporate Citizenship Manager of GGBL, Mr Edwin Baffour, said the practice of journalism in the country was improving so it was important for journalists to be rewarded for their contribution to the development of the country
“They should be recognised for their good efforts”, he stated, adding that his company was happy to support the GJA since the media gave them the appropriate platform to interact with their consumers, suppliers, investors and regulatory bodies.
Oando introduced new lubricants
OANDO Ghana Limited, an oil marketing company, has launched three new brands of products onto the Ghanaian market.
The Oleum SM, Oleum XL and Oleum HD come in four-litre packs and contain anti-rust, anti-wear and anti-corrosive additives which give additional protection to car engines.
The Chief Operating Officer of the company, Mrs Lara Banjoka, said at the launch of the products that, the company hoped to increase its market share from four per cent to 10 per cent next year and thereafter increase it by five per cent every year.
“We are pleased to introduce Oleum range of lubricants to this very vibrant Ghanaian market. As a product of choice in Nigeria with a market share of more than 20 per cent in its five years of introduction, we are presenting to Ghana, an unquestionable first-class product which conforms to national and international standards with International Standards Organisation (ISO) certification,” she added.
She said the range of products could meet the lubrication requirement of all internal combustion engines of modern cars from 2007 up to date, noting that it was designed for engines of jeeps, heavy-duty trucks and stationary or mobile power plants.
The Managing Director of the company, Mr Ibem Anya, said the lubricants were formulated to meet the latest American Petroleum Institute (API) specifications and the European engine designs.
“It also adapts to the most severe service conditions in all passenger vehicles,” he noted, and indicated that that was what gave them the confidence to introduce the product to the Ghanaian market.
The Director for Testing for the Ghana Standard Board (GSB), Mr Kwabena Acheampong, said the products had met the minimum requirement set by the board.
The Oleum SM, Oleum XL and Oleum HD come in four-litre packs and contain anti-rust, anti-wear and anti-corrosive additives which give additional protection to car engines.
The Chief Operating Officer of the company, Mrs Lara Banjoka, said at the launch of the products that, the company hoped to increase its market share from four per cent to 10 per cent next year and thereafter increase it by five per cent every year.
“We are pleased to introduce Oleum range of lubricants to this very vibrant Ghanaian market. As a product of choice in Nigeria with a market share of more than 20 per cent in its five years of introduction, we are presenting to Ghana, an unquestionable first-class product which conforms to national and international standards with International Standards Organisation (ISO) certification,” she added.
She said the range of products could meet the lubrication requirement of all internal combustion engines of modern cars from 2007 up to date, noting that it was designed for engines of jeeps, heavy-duty trucks and stationary or mobile power plants.
The Managing Director of the company, Mr Ibem Anya, said the lubricants were formulated to meet the latest American Petroleum Institute (API) specifications and the European engine designs.
“It also adapts to the most severe service conditions in all passenger vehicles,” he noted, and indicated that that was what gave them the confidence to introduce the product to the Ghanaian market.
The Director for Testing for the Ghana Standard Board (GSB), Mr Kwabena Acheampong, said the products had met the minimum requirement set by the board.
Nii Boi Town lanlords commend govt
THE Nii Boi Town Landlords and Landladies Association has appealed to the Lands Commission to expedite action on the regularisation of their land title deeds to enable them to obtain proper records on their lands.
The suburbs under the association are Nii Boiman, Fish Pond, South Petroluem, Chantan, Six to Six, Alhaji, Isreal, Lormnava, Nii Oworsika, Yellow House, South Tantra, Race Course and parts of Mile 7.
The Chairman of the association, Reverend Peter Addison, said at a press conference in Accra at the weekend that the Lands Commision had noted that the areas were numerous to the extent that it would be very laborious and time consuming for all property owners to appear at their office to regularise their land documents.
In view of that, he said, they had decided to bring the various suburbs together to form the landlords association to make the regularisation process easier for the commission.
The purpose of the press conference, among others,was to express their appreciation to the government for heeding to their earlier appeal, which led to the release of their lands for the commencement of the regularisation process.
Rev Addison said their intention was to also inform and enlighten all property owners in the affected areas about the government’s declaration.
He said for over 20 years they had been trying to register the lands they purchased from the chiefs, but were always informed by the Lands Commission that it was impossible to do so because the government had acquired the lands for a proposed Olympic Village Complex.
According to him, after failing for a long to develop the Olympic complex, they saw it necessary as property owners to appeal to the government to reverse the decree which acquired the lands. He added that after a series of correspondence between them and the government their efforts had yielded results.
Members of the association expressed their appreciation to the Lands Commission and the Town and Country Planning Department for their tremendous co-operation and assistance.
The government recently announced its decision to return a percentage of lands in Accra which the state had acquired for various development projects to their original owners.
It accordingly directed the Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines to prepare and submit proposals and modalities for consideration by Cabinet.
The gesture was in fulfilment of a promise made by President Kufuor to return part of those lands to the original owners.
The Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines, Mrs Esther Obeng-Dapaah, announced the decision when she met some custodians of Ga lands in Accra recently.
She said the move was to engender trust and co-operation between the state and land-owning groups, as well as promote the optimal use of land in Accra.
Mrs Obeng-Dapaah said the release of the lands was subject to the signing of a memoranda of understanding (MoU) between the ministry and the original owners.
The lands to be released are at Mpehuasem at East Legon, which was acquired for the Accra Training College; the Ogbojo site for the National Women Training Centre; the Adenta site for the West Africa Secondary School; the Kwabenya Ghana Atomic Energy Commission site; the Odorgonno Secondary School site at Awoshie and the Bank for Housing and Construction site at Madina.
She said some of the factors Cabinet considered before issuing the directive were the level of encroachment on the lands, the extent of state development on the lands, potential future needs of the state and the current value of the lands as against the compensation assessed at the time of acquisition by the government.
Following that, she said the ministry embarked on processes, including the retrieval of relevant documents, site and boundary identification, surveying and consultation with key stakeholders.
“The ministry met with the chiefs and elders of La, Adenta, Ogbojo, Mpehuasem and the Numo Nmashie family,” she said, stressing that the government had agreed with the landowners that the portions to be released would be in lieu of compensation for the portions to be retained by the government.
Mrs Obeng-Dapaah acknowledged the fact that that initiative would help address the problems associated with compulsory acquisition, which was one of the major challenges confronting the effective administration of land in the country.
She said the lands to be released had been divided into two categories, with category one including lands that had not been fully encroached upon and over which the state had substantial infrastructure.
Under that category, she noted, the state was retaining portions of the lands for public purposes and on the average it was returning up to 50 per cent of the lands acquired by the state.
Category two comprised lands that had been totally encroached upon, either by the owners or trespassers.
“These are lands which had, prior to the acquisition, been acquired by individuals who lost their rights due to the acquisition but had not been compensated,” she said.
In accordance with that, she said the Survey Department had also been directed to undertake survey demarcation of the portions of lands to be released.
The minister said in that category, the Lands Commission would regularise the encroachment by giving the encroachers title documents to cover the parcels that they were occupying.
“The regularisation is subject to the payment of penalty to be decided by the Lands Commission. The rationale underlying the imposition of the penalty is to raise funds to pay compensation to those who have lost their rights as a result of the acquisition,” she said.
Some of the heads of clans present at the conference were, however, not happy with the portions of lands to be released.
They also complained about the procedure for regularisation under category two of the lands to be released.
They contended that some of the government’s documents during the time of acquisition did not tally with what they had and were of the view that the government needed to prepare a comprehensive report on the documents to tally with what they had before they went in for regularisation.
The suburbs under the association are Nii Boiman, Fish Pond, South Petroluem, Chantan, Six to Six, Alhaji, Isreal, Lormnava, Nii Oworsika, Yellow House, South Tantra, Race Course and parts of Mile 7.
The Chairman of the association, Reverend Peter Addison, said at a press conference in Accra at the weekend that the Lands Commision had noted that the areas were numerous to the extent that it would be very laborious and time consuming for all property owners to appear at their office to regularise their land documents.
In view of that, he said, they had decided to bring the various suburbs together to form the landlords association to make the regularisation process easier for the commission.
The purpose of the press conference, among others,was to express their appreciation to the government for heeding to their earlier appeal, which led to the release of their lands for the commencement of the regularisation process.
Rev Addison said their intention was to also inform and enlighten all property owners in the affected areas about the government’s declaration.
He said for over 20 years they had been trying to register the lands they purchased from the chiefs, but were always informed by the Lands Commission that it was impossible to do so because the government had acquired the lands for a proposed Olympic Village Complex.
According to him, after failing for a long to develop the Olympic complex, they saw it necessary as property owners to appeal to the government to reverse the decree which acquired the lands. He added that after a series of correspondence between them and the government their efforts had yielded results.
Members of the association expressed their appreciation to the Lands Commission and the Town and Country Planning Department for their tremendous co-operation and assistance.
The government recently announced its decision to return a percentage of lands in Accra which the state had acquired for various development projects to their original owners.
It accordingly directed the Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines to prepare and submit proposals and modalities for consideration by Cabinet.
The gesture was in fulfilment of a promise made by President Kufuor to return part of those lands to the original owners.
The Minister of Lands, Forestry and Mines, Mrs Esther Obeng-Dapaah, announced the decision when she met some custodians of Ga lands in Accra recently.
She said the move was to engender trust and co-operation between the state and land-owning groups, as well as promote the optimal use of land in Accra.
Mrs Obeng-Dapaah said the release of the lands was subject to the signing of a memoranda of understanding (MoU) between the ministry and the original owners.
The lands to be released are at Mpehuasem at East Legon, which was acquired for the Accra Training College; the Ogbojo site for the National Women Training Centre; the Adenta site for the West Africa Secondary School; the Kwabenya Ghana Atomic Energy Commission site; the Odorgonno Secondary School site at Awoshie and the Bank for Housing and Construction site at Madina.
She said some of the factors Cabinet considered before issuing the directive were the level of encroachment on the lands, the extent of state development on the lands, potential future needs of the state and the current value of the lands as against the compensation assessed at the time of acquisition by the government.
Following that, she said the ministry embarked on processes, including the retrieval of relevant documents, site and boundary identification, surveying and consultation with key stakeholders.
“The ministry met with the chiefs and elders of La, Adenta, Ogbojo, Mpehuasem and the Numo Nmashie family,” she said, stressing that the government had agreed with the landowners that the portions to be released would be in lieu of compensation for the portions to be retained by the government.
Mrs Obeng-Dapaah acknowledged the fact that that initiative would help address the problems associated with compulsory acquisition, which was one of the major challenges confronting the effective administration of land in the country.
She said the lands to be released had been divided into two categories, with category one including lands that had not been fully encroached upon and over which the state had substantial infrastructure.
Under that category, she noted, the state was retaining portions of the lands for public purposes and on the average it was returning up to 50 per cent of the lands acquired by the state.
Category two comprised lands that had been totally encroached upon, either by the owners or trespassers.
“These are lands which had, prior to the acquisition, been acquired by individuals who lost their rights due to the acquisition but had not been compensated,” she said.
In accordance with that, she said the Survey Department had also been directed to undertake survey demarcation of the portions of lands to be released.
The minister said in that category, the Lands Commission would regularise the encroachment by giving the encroachers title documents to cover the parcels that they were occupying.
“The regularisation is subject to the payment of penalty to be decided by the Lands Commission. The rationale underlying the imposition of the penalty is to raise funds to pay compensation to those who have lost their rights as a result of the acquisition,” she said.
Some of the heads of clans present at the conference were, however, not happy with the portions of lands to be released.
They also complained about the procedure for regularisation under category two of the lands to be released.
They contended that some of the government’s documents during the time of acquisition did not tally with what they had and were of the view that the government needed to prepare a comprehensive report on the documents to tally with what they had before they went in for regularisation.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Free Tsatsu Movement amazed at Court decision
THE Free Tsatsu Campaign Movement, a pressure group, has described the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the conviction of Mr Tsatsu Tsikata for causing financial loss to the state as a stain on Ghana’s judiciary.
At a press conference in Accra yesterday, the movement said it was amazed that two and a half months after Tsikata’s application had been heard by the Supreme Court, the court had not been able to do better than the opaque performance it put up on Thursday.
The Supreme Court, presided over by Ms Justice Sophia Akuffo, on Thursday dismissed Mr Tsikata’s application and informed parties in the matter that it would file its reasons on Friday, October 24, 2008.
The court, which had Mr Justice Julius Ansah, Mrs Justice Rose Owusu, Mr Justice Jones Dotse and Mr Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie as the other panel members, accordingly directed the registrar to notify parties when the reasons were filed.
The movement, led by Mr Kwesi Pratt, the Editor of the Insight newspaper, and Mr Tony Lithur, a legal practitioner, said, “It should be possible for the judges to give us their reasons in open court, instead of just filing them and making copies available to Mr Tsikata,” adding that Tsikata was not the only person interested in its reason.
“Surely, it should have been possible for the judges to tell us whether their decision was unanimous or whether some disagreed with the others,”, it said, and therefore urged the court to come out openly and publicly to tell the public why it chose to endorse and ratify a conduct which many fair-minded people regarded as a travesty of justice and a stain on Ghana’s judiciary.
Following his conviction by the Fast Track High Court, Tsikata, a former Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), filed an application at the Supreme Court, praying it to quash the lower court’s judgement on the grounds that the trial judge had been biased.
According to Tsikata, the action of the trial judge had the potential of undermining the authority of the Supreme Court and, therefore, he filed the motion to enable the court to ensure that the administration of justice was not brought into disrepute by what he termed as “the desecration of justice that occurred on June 18, 2008”, the date he was incarcerated.
On June 18, 2008, Tsikata was found guilty on three counts of wilfully causing financial loss of GH¢230,000 to the state and another count of misapplying public property and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on each count, to run concurrently.
He was charged in 2002 with three counts of wilfully causing financial loss to the state through a loan he guaranteed for Valley Farms, a private cocoa producing company, on behalf of the GNPC and another count of misapplying GH¢2,000 of public property, an allegation he denied.
Valley Farms contracted the loan from Caisse Francaise de Developement in 1991 but defaulted in the payment and the GNPC, which acted as the guarantor, was compelled to pay it in 1996.
The movement nevertheless reaffirmed its commitment to the fight for justice for Tsikata, the Signature Campaign and all other activities of the campaign, stating that it would continue until Tsikata was given justice.
It said it was also waiting anxiously for the reasons the Supreme Court would assign for endorsing the conduct and decision of the trial judge, Mrs Henrietta Abban, after which it would make its comment on them.
At a press conference in Accra yesterday, the movement said it was amazed that two and a half months after Tsikata’s application had been heard by the Supreme Court, the court had not been able to do better than the opaque performance it put up on Thursday.
The Supreme Court, presided over by Ms Justice Sophia Akuffo, on Thursday dismissed Mr Tsikata’s application and informed parties in the matter that it would file its reasons on Friday, October 24, 2008.
The court, which had Mr Justice Julius Ansah, Mrs Justice Rose Owusu, Mr Justice Jones Dotse and Mr Justice Paul Baffoe-Bonnie as the other panel members, accordingly directed the registrar to notify parties when the reasons were filed.
The movement, led by Mr Kwesi Pratt, the Editor of the Insight newspaper, and Mr Tony Lithur, a legal practitioner, said, “It should be possible for the judges to give us their reasons in open court, instead of just filing them and making copies available to Mr Tsikata,” adding that Tsikata was not the only person interested in its reason.
“Surely, it should have been possible for the judges to tell us whether their decision was unanimous or whether some disagreed with the others,”, it said, and therefore urged the court to come out openly and publicly to tell the public why it chose to endorse and ratify a conduct which many fair-minded people regarded as a travesty of justice and a stain on Ghana’s judiciary.
Following his conviction by the Fast Track High Court, Tsikata, a former Chief Executive of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), filed an application at the Supreme Court, praying it to quash the lower court’s judgement on the grounds that the trial judge had been biased.
According to Tsikata, the action of the trial judge had the potential of undermining the authority of the Supreme Court and, therefore, he filed the motion to enable the court to ensure that the administration of justice was not brought into disrepute by what he termed as “the desecration of justice that occurred on June 18, 2008”, the date he was incarcerated.
On June 18, 2008, Tsikata was found guilty on three counts of wilfully causing financial loss of GH¢230,000 to the state and another count of misapplying public property and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on each count, to run concurrently.
He was charged in 2002 with three counts of wilfully causing financial loss to the state through a loan he guaranteed for Valley Farms, a private cocoa producing company, on behalf of the GNPC and another count of misapplying GH¢2,000 of public property, an allegation he denied.
Valley Farms contracted the loan from Caisse Francaise de Developement in 1991 but defaulted in the payment and the GNPC, which acted as the guarantor, was compelled to pay it in 1996.
The movement nevertheless reaffirmed its commitment to the fight for justice for Tsikata, the Signature Campaign and all other activities of the campaign, stating that it would continue until Tsikata was given justice.
It said it was also waiting anxiously for the reasons the Supreme Court would assign for endorsing the conduct and decision of the trial judge, Mrs Henrietta Abban, after which it would make its comment on them.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Youths employed under NYEP mark second milestone
SOME Personnel of the Zoomlion Ghana Limited under the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) celebrated the second anniversary of the programme with a massive clean-up campaign at seven hospitals in Accra.
The hospitals are the Accra Psychiatric and Usher Fort hospitals, Kaneshie and Mamobi Polyclinics, La General Hospital, Mamprobi Polyclinic and the Achimota Hospital.
About 80 of the personnel from Zoomlion and other modules of the NYEP such as health extension officers were deployed to each hospital to take part in the clean-up campaign.
The Accra Zonal Supervisor of Zoomlion, Mr Robert Coleman, told the Daily Graphic during the exercise that the hospitals were chosen because the company was convinced that health centres should be the epitome of good sanitation.
He said the exercise was to show appreciation to and support for the NYEP in its two years of existence, with the belief that the programme would be maintained after the December 2008 and other national elections.
He said the exercise was a step in the right direction because “if people go to the hospitals to get healed and cured from their diseases, it is imperative that the hospitals must remain as clean as possible".
Mr Coleman said the company had deployed close to 500 personnel to the seven hospitals and equipped them with the necessary logistics to ensure that the exercise was carried out effectively and efficiently.
The Principal Nursing Officer at the Kaneshie Polyclinic, Mrs Irene Aryee, commended the personnel and Zoomlion for the initiative and added that the onus now lay on Ghanaians to have a change of attitude towards sanitation so that the full effects of the work of Zoomlion could be felt in the country.
She entreated all Ghanaians to help in the maintenance of good sanitation for a healthy and better life.
The NYEP since its establishment two years ago has employed about 108,000 Ghanaian youth in various occupational disciplines.
The hospitals are the Accra Psychiatric and Usher Fort hospitals, Kaneshie and Mamobi Polyclinics, La General Hospital, Mamprobi Polyclinic and the Achimota Hospital.
About 80 of the personnel from Zoomlion and other modules of the NYEP such as health extension officers were deployed to each hospital to take part in the clean-up campaign.
The Accra Zonal Supervisor of Zoomlion, Mr Robert Coleman, told the Daily Graphic during the exercise that the hospitals were chosen because the company was convinced that health centres should be the epitome of good sanitation.
He said the exercise was to show appreciation to and support for the NYEP in its two years of existence, with the belief that the programme would be maintained after the December 2008 and other national elections.
He said the exercise was a step in the right direction because “if people go to the hospitals to get healed and cured from their diseases, it is imperative that the hospitals must remain as clean as possible".
Mr Coleman said the company had deployed close to 500 personnel to the seven hospitals and equipped them with the necessary logistics to ensure that the exercise was carried out effectively and efficiently.
The Principal Nursing Officer at the Kaneshie Polyclinic, Mrs Irene Aryee, commended the personnel and Zoomlion for the initiative and added that the onus now lay on Ghanaians to have a change of attitude towards sanitation so that the full effects of the work of Zoomlion could be felt in the country.
She entreated all Ghanaians to help in the maintenance of good sanitation for a healthy and better life.
The NYEP since its establishment two years ago has employed about 108,000 Ghanaian youth in various occupational disciplines.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
GIFEX reactivated
THE Executive Director of the Forestry Commission, Mr Alhassan N. Attah, has stated that the reactivation of the Ghana International Furniture and Woodworking Industry Exhibition (GIFEX) has the potential of making Ghana the hub of value added wood products in the sub-region.
“The time has come for us to take a new approach to save and move the industry forward,” he stated, adding that the intention of the Forestry Commission was to once again make this biennial exhibition a regular affair in Ghana and for that matter in Africa.
At a press briefing last Friday, Mr Attah said the exhibition, which would commence on October 17 and end on October 26, 2008, would be broadened to include other sectors like IT and banking with emphasis on transfer of technology.
The exhibition, he noted, would also be used to mark 100 years of forestry by the Forestry Commission and 50 years of industrialisation by the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) in remembrance of their roles in emphasising the link that industrialisation and natural resources had in the country’s growth.
Mr Attah said the exhibition would showcase woodworking machinery from manufacturers and the timber industry, as well as technologies in wood working where emphasis would be placed on value added products and the use of wood waste.
Some of the exhibitors from the service sector, he noted, included the banks, shipping, IT and insurance companies, architects and designers in wood and other material such as steel, glass and other non-timber forest products such as bamboo and rattan.
Others included research organisations, training institutions and professionals in related industries such as engineering.
The Director of Business Development Service of AGI, Mr Seth Twum-Akwaboah, said the exhibition, apart from the wood products, would showcase a wide range of products from pharmaceutical, textile and other companies.
He said the platform was challenging but a good opportunity for members of AGI to sell their brand and products to a wider market.
The exhibition has been categorised into two zones, with the first zone showcasing made-in-Ghana furnishing, imported furnishing, service industries, IT and communication industry and wood craft to meet tourists’ needs and home decor.
The second zone will be characterised by conferences and seminars with topics ranging from forestry, finance and climate change and opportunities for investment in the forestry sector.
The exhibition is being supported by the Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines; the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Private Sector Development and President’s Special Initiatives; the Ghana Timber Millers Organisation; the Ghana Timber Association, the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre and the Export Development and Investment Fund.
Two sponsors — Ghana Commercial Bank and Ecobank — presented cheques for GH¢20,000 and GH¢10,000 respectively to the organisers of the exhibition.
“The time has come for us to take a new approach to save and move the industry forward,” he stated, adding that the intention of the Forestry Commission was to once again make this biennial exhibition a regular affair in Ghana and for that matter in Africa.
At a press briefing last Friday, Mr Attah said the exhibition, which would commence on October 17 and end on October 26, 2008, would be broadened to include other sectors like IT and banking with emphasis on transfer of technology.
The exhibition, he noted, would also be used to mark 100 years of forestry by the Forestry Commission and 50 years of industrialisation by the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) in remembrance of their roles in emphasising the link that industrialisation and natural resources had in the country’s growth.
Mr Attah said the exhibition would showcase woodworking machinery from manufacturers and the timber industry, as well as technologies in wood working where emphasis would be placed on value added products and the use of wood waste.
Some of the exhibitors from the service sector, he noted, included the banks, shipping, IT and insurance companies, architects and designers in wood and other material such as steel, glass and other non-timber forest products such as bamboo and rattan.
Others included research organisations, training institutions and professionals in related industries such as engineering.
The Director of Business Development Service of AGI, Mr Seth Twum-Akwaboah, said the exhibition, apart from the wood products, would showcase a wide range of products from pharmaceutical, textile and other companies.
He said the platform was challenging but a good opportunity for members of AGI to sell their brand and products to a wider market.
The exhibition has been categorised into two zones, with the first zone showcasing made-in-Ghana furnishing, imported furnishing, service industries, IT and communication industry and wood craft to meet tourists’ needs and home decor.
The second zone will be characterised by conferences and seminars with topics ranging from forestry, finance and climate change and opportunities for investment in the forestry sector.
The exhibition is being supported by the Ministry of Lands, Forestry and Mines; the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Private Sector Development and President’s Special Initiatives; the Ghana Timber Millers Organisation; the Ghana Timber Association, the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre and the Export Development and Investment Fund.
Two sponsors — Ghana Commercial Bank and Ecobank — presented cheques for GH¢20,000 and GH¢10,000 respectively to the organisers of the exhibition.
Ghana will attain middle-income status — President
President J.A. Kufuor has said the vision of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is to make Ghana attain a middle-income status by 2015.
Speaking at the launch of the Greater Accra Regional campaign of the party at Madina Zongo Junction in Accra on Sunday, he said the NPP government had managed and prepared the economy towards attaining a middle-income status.
After observing a minute’s silence in memory of the late Finance Minister, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, the President urged the electorate to vote for the NPP flag bearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to transform the dream envisioned by the NPP into reality.
He said Nana Akufo-Addo had been touring the whole country, not just for the sake of gaining power but to work to totally transform and build the economy.
The President said this year’s elections were not among vice-presidential aspirants and wondered why the National Democratic Congress (NDC) vice-presidential aspirant, Mr John Dramani Mahama, was virtually doing all the campaigning for the party.
He said the elections were among presidential candidates who had the strength to campaign throughout the length and breadth of the country and work for the nation.
President Kufuor said this year’s change of power would be a transfer of power from the Kufour administration to Nana Akufo-Addo’s and urged Ghanaians to hand over the presidential mantle to the NPP flag bearer for him to move the country forward.
He recalled that before coming into office, the NPP had predicted that it was going to strike oil when given the mandate, noting that truly it had been able to do that, with the help of God, whom he said had blessed the country so much.
The NPP flag bearer, Nana Akufo-Addo, said he believed Ghanaians wanted to move forward, instead of backwards, as some people were seeking to do.
He said Ghana had always had oil but it was the NPP government which, with commitment, perseverance and prudent policies, had been able to strike it in commercial quantities and noted that it was not the oil alone that was going to bring money into the Ghanaian economy but also the industries and factories that would be established to create jobs for Ghanaians to earn good salaries.
Nana Akufo-Addo said he decided to do politics to use his God-given abilities for the benefit of Ghanaians.
He said the country was moving forward as a result of the good policies implemented by President Kufuor's administration.
The NPP flag bearer said education was the key to the country's developmental challenges and believed that every child of school age in Ghana deserved an opportunity to go to school, with money not been a stumbling block.
He said because of the prudent policies undertaken by the late Finance Minister, it was possible for the NPP government to provide free basic and secondary school education for Ghanaian children of school age, contrary to the assumption by the opposition party that that promise was not feasible.
He called for peaceful elections, come December 7, and urged all Ghanaians to compromise with the Electoral Commission to ensure that no disturbances occurred during and after the elections.
"We have to prove to the world that there is a country in Africa that can hold peaceful elections," he stated, and urged Ghanaians not to resort to tribal politics but politics of unity and solidarity.
The NPP parliamentary aspirant for Madina-Abokobi, Mr Baba Zakaria, advised the electorate not to consider elections as an opportunity to insult their opponents but recognise the importance of freedom of speech and not retaliate when even provoked.
Mr Zakaria called on the Muslim and the Christian communities to go out in their numbers and vote for him and Nana Akufo-Addo for them to transform the economy by raising the standard of living of ordinary Ghanaians.
He said a recent world bank report indicated that "Ghana has not been affected by the global banking crisis and it will not be affected in any way if we continue with the prudent policies the government has been pursuing".
Speaking at the launch of the Greater Accra Regional campaign of the party at Madina Zongo Junction in Accra on Sunday, he said the NPP government had managed and prepared the economy towards attaining a middle-income status.
After observing a minute’s silence in memory of the late Finance Minister, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, the President urged the electorate to vote for the NPP flag bearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to transform the dream envisioned by the NPP into reality.
He said Nana Akufo-Addo had been touring the whole country, not just for the sake of gaining power but to work to totally transform and build the economy.
The President said this year’s elections were not among vice-presidential aspirants and wondered why the National Democratic Congress (NDC) vice-presidential aspirant, Mr John Dramani Mahama, was virtually doing all the campaigning for the party.
He said the elections were among presidential candidates who had the strength to campaign throughout the length and breadth of the country and work for the nation.
President Kufuor said this year’s change of power would be a transfer of power from the Kufour administration to Nana Akufo-Addo’s and urged Ghanaians to hand over the presidential mantle to the NPP flag bearer for him to move the country forward.
He recalled that before coming into office, the NPP had predicted that it was going to strike oil when given the mandate, noting that truly it had been able to do that, with the help of God, whom he said had blessed the country so much.
The NPP flag bearer, Nana Akufo-Addo, said he believed Ghanaians wanted to move forward, instead of backwards, as some people were seeking to do.
He said Ghana had always had oil but it was the NPP government which, with commitment, perseverance and prudent policies, had been able to strike it in commercial quantities and noted that it was not the oil alone that was going to bring money into the Ghanaian economy but also the industries and factories that would be established to create jobs for Ghanaians to earn good salaries.
Nana Akufo-Addo said he decided to do politics to use his God-given abilities for the benefit of Ghanaians.
He said the country was moving forward as a result of the good policies implemented by President Kufuor's administration.
The NPP flag bearer said education was the key to the country's developmental challenges and believed that every child of school age in Ghana deserved an opportunity to go to school, with money not been a stumbling block.
He said because of the prudent policies undertaken by the late Finance Minister, it was possible for the NPP government to provide free basic and secondary school education for Ghanaian children of school age, contrary to the assumption by the opposition party that that promise was not feasible.
He called for peaceful elections, come December 7, and urged all Ghanaians to compromise with the Electoral Commission to ensure that no disturbances occurred during and after the elections.
"We have to prove to the world that there is a country in Africa that can hold peaceful elections," he stated, and urged Ghanaians not to resort to tribal politics but politics of unity and solidarity.
The NPP parliamentary aspirant for Madina-Abokobi, Mr Baba Zakaria, advised the electorate not to consider elections as an opportunity to insult their opponents but recognise the importance of freedom of speech and not retaliate when even provoked.
Mr Zakaria called on the Muslim and the Christian communities to go out in their numbers and vote for him and Nana Akufo-Addo for them to transform the economy by raising the standard of living of ordinary Ghanaians.
He said a recent world bank report indicated that "Ghana has not been affected by the global banking crisis and it will not be affected in any way if we continue with the prudent policies the government has been pursuing".
Monday, October 13, 2008
Middle-income status attainable - President
President J.A. Kufuor has expressed optimism that with the discovery of oil and prudent economic policies, the country’s quest to attain a middle-income status by the year 2012 will be realised.
He said in spite of the country’s present economic challenges, “our nation has joined China and India to become the toast of major developed and industrialised economies”.
In an address read on his behalf at the 2007 (19th) National Awards for Export Achievement in Accra at the weekend, President Kufuor said the country remained the preferred destination for doing business in Africa for a majority of companies in the developed world.
About 33 companies received awards for their exceptional performance in the non-traditional exports (NTEs) trade for last year.
The Ghana Rubber Estates Ltd (GREL), which exports natural rubber sheets, was named the Exporter of the Year, while the Ghana Nuts Company Ltd came up as the Most Diversified Exporter. That company exports various agricultural produce, including groundnuts, cashew nuts, shea (karite) oil and medicinal plants and parts.
The awards ceremony was organised by the Ghana Export Promotion Council (GEPC) and sponsored by a number of companies, including the Export Development and Investment Fund (EDIF), the Venture Capital Trust Fund (VCTF) and Air Ghana Ltd.
President Kufuor noted that “Providence has been kind to us and we have discovered black gold” and emphasised his optimism that when combined with prudent policies, the discovery would provide the key to a middle-income status by 2012.
He said China had recently become the country’s second largest trading partner, with 11.6 per cent share of the country’s trade in 2007, coming after the European Union (EU), which had 33.1 per cent share, noting that China’s growing middle-class, now estimated at 100 million people, could fuel the demand for Ghana’s exports of goods and services.
President Kufuor said Ghana, therefore, needed to position itself well to reach a good chunk of the Chinese market and expressed the hope that the export sector would play a key role in the venture to consolidate the country’s presence on the Chinese market.
“I, therefore, urge you to pay particular attention to the quality of your products to get a niche of the Chinese and other emerging markets,” he noted, and cautioned that in building their competencies the exporters should seek and use up-to-date trade information.
The President said the NTE sector had been dominated by small and micro enterprises (SME’s) which generated 80 to 90 per cent of jobs in the country but lacked access to big capital.
Towards improving the situation, he recalled various forms of assistance introduced, including the Venture Capital, the Micro Finance and Small Loans Scheme (MASLOC) and EDIF, to support SMEs.
President Kufuor said a Services Charter had also been introduced to educate the public on the roles and responsibilities of the various public institutions and said he had seen the charter that the GEPC had produced and was convinced that it would address the need of exporters to facilitate their operations.
The Executive Secretary of the GEPC, Mr Edward Collins Boateng, said in the last couple of years a record number of companies and products had entered the awards scheme, a sign of their growing participation in the country’s export trade.
He said the GEPC had implemented a number of programmes under the country’s Trade Sector Support Programme (TSSP), which led to the record $1 billion mark achieved for NTEs.
“Factors attributable for this growth include improved performance of manufacturers, with leading products being cocoa paste and butter, canned tuna, articles of plastics and fresh cut pineapples,” Mr Boateng stated.
The executive secretary said the council was establishing a marketing company to address the supply side constraints of small holder farmers by helping them to overcome some marketing problems.
He said the council would also mainstream trade in services and capture their data into the national statistics and that new technological tools would be adopted for timely information processing and distribution to the exporter community.
The capacity of the GEPC itself would be enhanced to enable it to adjust to the changing trends in the world market.
Three companies received awards for excellent performance in export services. They are EDIF, for export financing; Air Ghana Ltd for air cargo and the Ghana Community Network (GCNet) Services Ltd for innovation in trade facilitation and revenue mobilisation.
Fourteen companies also received awards in the Gold category, including Lion Aluminium Products Ltd; Interplast Ghana Ltd; SRG Industries Ltd, exporter of plastic articles; Logs and Lumber Ltd; Param Farms and the Kpone Lobster Export Company Ltd.
The others are Ghana Nuts Company Ltd; PZ Cussons Ghana Ltd; Ernimich Ltd; Homefoods Processing and Cannery and Balanced View Ltd.
The rest are John Bitar Company Ltd, Dhillion Farms and Dasoa Company Ltd.
The 13 companies which received awards in the silver category included Aluworks, exporter of aluminium plates, sheets and coils; the Cocoa Processing Company Ltd, exporter of cocoa butter; Ivone Fishing Company Ltd, exporter of crabs, and Premier Quality Ltd, a garments and clothing exporter.
He said in spite of the country’s present economic challenges, “our nation has joined China and India to become the toast of major developed and industrialised economies”.
In an address read on his behalf at the 2007 (19th) National Awards for Export Achievement in Accra at the weekend, President Kufuor said the country remained the preferred destination for doing business in Africa for a majority of companies in the developed world.
About 33 companies received awards for their exceptional performance in the non-traditional exports (NTEs) trade for last year.
The Ghana Rubber Estates Ltd (GREL), which exports natural rubber sheets, was named the Exporter of the Year, while the Ghana Nuts Company Ltd came up as the Most Diversified Exporter. That company exports various agricultural produce, including groundnuts, cashew nuts, shea (karite) oil and medicinal plants and parts.
The awards ceremony was organised by the Ghana Export Promotion Council (GEPC) and sponsored by a number of companies, including the Export Development and Investment Fund (EDIF), the Venture Capital Trust Fund (VCTF) and Air Ghana Ltd.
President Kufuor noted that “Providence has been kind to us and we have discovered black gold” and emphasised his optimism that when combined with prudent policies, the discovery would provide the key to a middle-income status by 2012.
He said China had recently become the country’s second largest trading partner, with 11.6 per cent share of the country’s trade in 2007, coming after the European Union (EU), which had 33.1 per cent share, noting that China’s growing middle-class, now estimated at 100 million people, could fuel the demand for Ghana’s exports of goods and services.
President Kufuor said Ghana, therefore, needed to position itself well to reach a good chunk of the Chinese market and expressed the hope that the export sector would play a key role in the venture to consolidate the country’s presence on the Chinese market.
“I, therefore, urge you to pay particular attention to the quality of your products to get a niche of the Chinese and other emerging markets,” he noted, and cautioned that in building their competencies the exporters should seek and use up-to-date trade information.
The President said the NTE sector had been dominated by small and micro enterprises (SME’s) which generated 80 to 90 per cent of jobs in the country but lacked access to big capital.
Towards improving the situation, he recalled various forms of assistance introduced, including the Venture Capital, the Micro Finance and Small Loans Scheme (MASLOC) and EDIF, to support SMEs.
President Kufuor said a Services Charter had also been introduced to educate the public on the roles and responsibilities of the various public institutions and said he had seen the charter that the GEPC had produced and was convinced that it would address the need of exporters to facilitate their operations.
The Executive Secretary of the GEPC, Mr Edward Collins Boateng, said in the last couple of years a record number of companies and products had entered the awards scheme, a sign of their growing participation in the country’s export trade.
He said the GEPC had implemented a number of programmes under the country’s Trade Sector Support Programme (TSSP), which led to the record $1 billion mark achieved for NTEs.
“Factors attributable for this growth include improved performance of manufacturers, with leading products being cocoa paste and butter, canned tuna, articles of plastics and fresh cut pineapples,” Mr Boateng stated.
The executive secretary said the council was establishing a marketing company to address the supply side constraints of small holder farmers by helping them to overcome some marketing problems.
He said the council would also mainstream trade in services and capture their data into the national statistics and that new technological tools would be adopted for timely information processing and distribution to the exporter community.
The capacity of the GEPC itself would be enhanced to enable it to adjust to the changing trends in the world market.
Three companies received awards for excellent performance in export services. They are EDIF, for export financing; Air Ghana Ltd for air cargo and the Ghana Community Network (GCNet) Services Ltd for innovation in trade facilitation and revenue mobilisation.
Fourteen companies also received awards in the Gold category, including Lion Aluminium Products Ltd; Interplast Ghana Ltd; SRG Industries Ltd, exporter of plastic articles; Logs and Lumber Ltd; Param Farms and the Kpone Lobster Export Company Ltd.
The others are Ghana Nuts Company Ltd; PZ Cussons Ghana Ltd; Ernimich Ltd; Homefoods Processing and Cannery and Balanced View Ltd.
The rest are John Bitar Company Ltd, Dhillion Farms and Dasoa Company Ltd.
The 13 companies which received awards in the silver category included Aluworks, exporter of aluminium plates, sheets and coils; the Cocoa Processing Company Ltd, exporter of cocoa butter; Ivone Fishing Company Ltd, exporter of crabs, and Premier Quality Ltd, a garments and clothing exporter.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Ghana-Nigeria Depeen
THE Ghana-Nigeria trade agreement which provides the foundation for improved and sustained bilateral trade and investment relations between the two countries will come into force by March next year.
The agreement is expected to serve as a watershed in the history of the two countries whose combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP), experts say, amounts to more than 60 per cent of the overall GDP of the West Africa sub-region.
At a gala night to climax the three-day summit in Accra to set the stage for a joint business forum for the two countries, the Vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, charged the leadership of the Ghana-Nigeria Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) to ensure the full implementation of the economic protocols in the sub-region.
In a speech read on his behalf by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Papa Owusu-Ankomah, the Vice-President said the two countries were better positioned to exploit the benefits of regional trade arrangements but noted that “our inability to overcome some of the stumbling blocks militates against our full economic integration”.
He said protocols initiated four years ago, such as a common external tariff, the removal of road blocks and other restrictive trade practices enacted by some member countries, would make it easier to do business, encourage good rules, among others.
The chamber has also been tasked with the liberalisation of trade between the two countries, as well as the creation of investment opportunities, export potential and the implementation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) protocols.
The Vice-President said the government had established a Trade and Investment Office within Ghana’s High Commission in Abuja as part of efforts at strengthening trade and investment relations between the two countries.
“All these provide justification for us to take such a bold decision to align the two countries,” he stated, and explained that another compelling reason the government supported the venture was that it would enable the countries to fully utilise each other’s competitive advantage in areas of specialisation.
He recalled that trade between the two countries dated back to the colonial era when the relationship was informal, adding that business relations between both countries had flourished from a mere exchange of goods and services in an informal way to the current regime.
Alhaji Mahama, therefore, urged the two countries to be at the forefront to revive the fast-track approach initiated four years ago and work towards the full implementation of economic protocols.
“I look forward to the two bodies working together to champion the search for a greater, more open and transparent regulatory regime to guide business transactions across our national frontiers,” he said, and urged the chamber to lead the crusade to promote greater trade in other commodities.
Ghana’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr George Kumi, said the venture had been possible as a result of the good administration of the government in the past eight years and gave the assurance that with the enhancement of trade relations between the two countries, there would not be the need to find solutions to problems elsewhere.
The Nigerian High Commissioner in Accra, Mr Mohammed Musiliu Obanikoro, also commended the two countries for the venture and promised to see to the success of the trade agreement between the two countries.
He also commended all corporate organisations that supported the formation of the chamber.
A communiqué issued at the end of the Business Summit stressed the need to provide a conducive environment for Nigerian businesses to thrive in Ghana, and vice versa, as a driving force for the two economies.
It also called for a solid framework for inter-agency collaboration, as well as the need to engage policy makers to address the issue of trade barriers.
All the organisations that participated in the summit were registered as automatic founder members of the GNCCI.
Mr Herbert Osei-Baidoo was elected the first President of the GNCCI.
The agreement is expected to serve as a watershed in the history of the two countries whose combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP), experts say, amounts to more than 60 per cent of the overall GDP of the West Africa sub-region.
At a gala night to climax the three-day summit in Accra to set the stage for a joint business forum for the two countries, the Vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, charged the leadership of the Ghana-Nigeria Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) to ensure the full implementation of the economic protocols in the sub-region.
In a speech read on his behalf by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Papa Owusu-Ankomah, the Vice-President said the two countries were better positioned to exploit the benefits of regional trade arrangements but noted that “our inability to overcome some of the stumbling blocks militates against our full economic integration”.
He said protocols initiated four years ago, such as a common external tariff, the removal of road blocks and other restrictive trade practices enacted by some member countries, would make it easier to do business, encourage good rules, among others.
The chamber has also been tasked with the liberalisation of trade between the two countries, as well as the creation of investment opportunities, export potential and the implementation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) protocols.
The Vice-President said the government had established a Trade and Investment Office within Ghana’s High Commission in Abuja as part of efforts at strengthening trade and investment relations between the two countries.
“All these provide justification for us to take such a bold decision to align the two countries,” he stated, and explained that another compelling reason the government supported the venture was that it would enable the countries to fully utilise each other’s competitive advantage in areas of specialisation.
He recalled that trade between the two countries dated back to the colonial era when the relationship was informal, adding that business relations between both countries had flourished from a mere exchange of goods and services in an informal way to the current regime.
Alhaji Mahama, therefore, urged the two countries to be at the forefront to revive the fast-track approach initiated four years ago and work towards the full implementation of economic protocols.
“I look forward to the two bodies working together to champion the search for a greater, more open and transparent regulatory regime to guide business transactions across our national frontiers,” he said, and urged the chamber to lead the crusade to promote greater trade in other commodities.
Ghana’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr George Kumi, said the venture had been possible as a result of the good administration of the government in the past eight years and gave the assurance that with the enhancement of trade relations between the two countries, there would not be the need to find solutions to problems elsewhere.
The Nigerian High Commissioner in Accra, Mr Mohammed Musiliu Obanikoro, also commended the two countries for the venture and promised to see to the success of the trade agreement between the two countries.
He also commended all corporate organisations that supported the formation of the chamber.
A communiqué issued at the end of the Business Summit stressed the need to provide a conducive environment for Nigerian businesses to thrive in Ghana, and vice versa, as a driving force for the two economies.
It also called for a solid framework for inter-agency collaboration, as well as the need to engage policy makers to address the issue of trade barriers.
All the organisations that participated in the summit were registered as automatic founder members of the GNCCI.
Mr Herbert Osei-Baidoo was elected the first President of the GNCCI.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Starline Marks 20th Anniversary
THE Minister of Aviation, Mr Joe Baidoo-Ansah, has stated that the keen interest shown by the private sector in the aviation industry indicates that the industry has great future prospects.
He said the pace of development in the aviation industry was very encouraging and believed that that could be attributed to the immense contribution by the private sector.
At the 20th Anniversary celebration of Starline Travel & Tours in Accra last Friday he said the private sector had contributed a lot in areas like human resource and infrastructure and believed that with their partnership with the government the country could become the aviation hub of Africa.
“We believe that the industry has a great future and government is determined to ensure that the industry becomes bigger than we find now,” he said.
He appealed to Ghanaians to believe in the private sector and pray for the country to move forward as it had been projected to.
The Aviation Minister stressed the government’s belief in the private sector as the engine of growth and urged all stakeholders in the industry to work assiduously to ensure that the pace at which the industry was developing was sustained.
The theme for the anniversary was “Two Decades of Providing Travel Services Globally”.
Mr Edward Forkuo Kyei, the Executive Director, GLICO, said abiding by its vision and with prudent decisions Starline Travel & Tours had grown to be among the best in the hospitality industry in Ghana.
He said with support from the government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and individuals Starline Travel & Tours had taken giant strides in the hospitality industry, providing services like car rentals, deluxe and budget hotel services, and event management, with a very successful branch in Kumasi.
He said the growth and financial status of the company had also made it possible for its training institution to offer affordable training to Ghanaians in the hospitality industry.
The President of Starline Travel & Tours, Mr Anin Bonsu, said respect for the interest of the customer was paramount in all businesses, and emphasised that the success of every organisation depended on how well it treated its customers.
He also acknowledged the fact that the aviation and hospitality industry had benefited a lot from the country’s political stability, as most conferences in Africa were being held in Ghana.
He said notwithstanding that the tourism sites in the country needed some improvement due to lack of facilities at some sites, adding that service delivery in the industry also needed some improvement to increase opportunities in the industry.
Some of the company’s customers and personnel were rewarded with plaques and certificates for their contribution towards the success of the company for the past two decades.
For their dedication and commitment, Josee Dago Kakuo, Christiana F. Mumuni and Frank Anin Bonsu were presented with certificates and LG refrigerators.
He said the pace of development in the aviation industry was very encouraging and believed that that could be attributed to the immense contribution by the private sector.
At the 20th Anniversary celebration of Starline Travel & Tours in Accra last Friday he said the private sector had contributed a lot in areas like human resource and infrastructure and believed that with their partnership with the government the country could become the aviation hub of Africa.
“We believe that the industry has a great future and government is determined to ensure that the industry becomes bigger than we find now,” he said.
He appealed to Ghanaians to believe in the private sector and pray for the country to move forward as it had been projected to.
The Aviation Minister stressed the government’s belief in the private sector as the engine of growth and urged all stakeholders in the industry to work assiduously to ensure that the pace at which the industry was developing was sustained.
The theme for the anniversary was “Two Decades of Providing Travel Services Globally”.
Mr Edward Forkuo Kyei, the Executive Director, GLICO, said abiding by its vision and with prudent decisions Starline Travel & Tours had grown to be among the best in the hospitality industry in Ghana.
He said with support from the government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and individuals Starline Travel & Tours had taken giant strides in the hospitality industry, providing services like car rentals, deluxe and budget hotel services, and event management, with a very successful branch in Kumasi.
He said the growth and financial status of the company had also made it possible for its training institution to offer affordable training to Ghanaians in the hospitality industry.
The President of Starline Travel & Tours, Mr Anin Bonsu, said respect for the interest of the customer was paramount in all businesses, and emphasised that the success of every organisation depended on how well it treated its customers.
He also acknowledged the fact that the aviation and hospitality industry had benefited a lot from the country’s political stability, as most conferences in Africa were being held in Ghana.
He said notwithstanding that the tourism sites in the country needed some improvement due to lack of facilities at some sites, adding that service delivery in the industry also needed some improvement to increase opportunities in the industry.
Some of the company’s customers and personnel were rewarded with plaques and certificates for their contribution towards the success of the company for the past two decades.
For their dedication and commitment, Josee Dago Kakuo, Christiana F. Mumuni and Frank Anin Bonsu were presented with certificates and LG refrigerators.
ACCRA LANDS BACK TO OWNERS-In fulfilment of President's promise
THE Minister of Aviation, Mr Joe Baidoo-Ansah, has stated that the keen interest shown by the private sector in the aviation industry indicates that the industry has great future prospects.
He said the pace of development in the aviation industry was very encouraging and believed that that could be attributed to the immense contribution by the private sector.
At the 20th Anniversary celebration of Starline Travel & Tours in Accra last Friday he said the private sector had contributed a lot in areas like human resource and infrastructure and believed that with their partnership with the government the country could become the aviation hub of Africa.
“We believe that the industry has a great future and government is determined to ensure that the industry becomes bigger than we find now,” he said.
He appealed to Ghanaians to believe in the private sector and pray for the country to move forward as it had been projected to.
The Aviation Minister stressed the government’s belief in the private sector as the engine of growth and urged all stakeholders in the industry to work assiduously to ensure that the pace at which the industry was developing was sustained.
The theme for the anniversary was “Two Decades of Providing Travel Services Globally”.
Mr Edward Forkuo Kyei, the Executive Director, GLICO, said abiding by its vision and with prudent decisions Starline Travel & Tours had grown to be among the best in the hospitality industry in Ghana.
He said with support from the government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and individuals Starline Travel & Tours had taken giant strides in the hospitality industry, providing services like car rentals, deluxe and budget hotel services, and event management, with a very successful branch in Kumasi.
He said the growth and financial status of the company had also made it possible for its training institution to offer affordable training to Ghanaians in the hospitality industry.
The President of Starline Travel & Tours, Mr Anin Bonsu, said respect for the interest of the customer was paramount in all businesses, and emphasised that the success of every organisation depended on how well it treated its customers.
He also acknowledged the fact that the aviation and hospitality industry had benefited a lot from the country’s political stability, as most conferences in Africa were being held in Ghana.
He said notwithstanding that the tourism sites in the country needed some improvement due to lack of facilities at some sites, adding that service delivery in the industry also needed some improvement to increase opportunities in the industry.
Some of the company’s customers and personnel were rewarded with plaques and certificates for their contribution towards the success of the company for the past two decades.
For their dedication and commitment, Josee Dago Kakuo, Christiana F. Mumuni and Frank Anin Bonsu were presented with certificates and LG refrigerators.
He said the pace of development in the aviation industry was very encouraging and believed that that could be attributed to the immense contribution by the private sector.
At the 20th Anniversary celebration of Starline Travel & Tours in Accra last Friday he said the private sector had contributed a lot in areas like human resource and infrastructure and believed that with their partnership with the government the country could become the aviation hub of Africa.
“We believe that the industry has a great future and government is determined to ensure that the industry becomes bigger than we find now,” he said.
He appealed to Ghanaians to believe in the private sector and pray for the country to move forward as it had been projected to.
The Aviation Minister stressed the government’s belief in the private sector as the engine of growth and urged all stakeholders in the industry to work assiduously to ensure that the pace at which the industry was developing was sustained.
The theme for the anniversary was “Two Decades of Providing Travel Services Globally”.
Mr Edward Forkuo Kyei, the Executive Director, GLICO, said abiding by its vision and with prudent decisions Starline Travel & Tours had grown to be among the best in the hospitality industry in Ghana.
He said with support from the government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and individuals Starline Travel & Tours had taken giant strides in the hospitality industry, providing services like car rentals, deluxe and budget hotel services, and event management, with a very successful branch in Kumasi.
He said the growth and financial status of the company had also made it possible for its training institution to offer affordable training to Ghanaians in the hospitality industry.
The President of Starline Travel & Tours, Mr Anin Bonsu, said respect for the interest of the customer was paramount in all businesses, and emphasised that the success of every organisation depended on how well it treated its customers.
He also acknowledged the fact that the aviation and hospitality industry had benefited a lot from the country’s political stability, as most conferences in Africa were being held in Ghana.
He said notwithstanding that the tourism sites in the country needed some improvement due to lack of facilities at some sites, adding that service delivery in the industry also needed some improvement to increase opportunities in the industry.
Some of the company’s customers and personnel were rewarded with plaques and certificates for their contribution towards the success of the company for the past two decades.
For their dedication and commitment, Josee Dago Kakuo, Christiana F. Mumuni and Frank Anin Bonsu were presented with certificates and LG refrigerators.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Zoomlion Cleans up Kantamanto Market
ZOOMLION Ghana Limited has embarked on a clean-up exercise at the Kantamanto Market, in Accra, where fire recently destroyed several quantities of wares and sums of money.
The Accra Zonal Supervisor of the Zoomlion Company, Mr Robert Coleman, said before the exercise that the company always put the interest of the country first, and above any other thing.
“We have many projects but when national duty calls, we suspend everything to ensure that the life of the average Ghanaian is improved,” he said, adding that Zoomlion’s presence at the burnt market was in response to a call from the Ministry of Local Government and the Ministry of Information and National Orientation for assistance.
He said the Zoomlion had deployed over 60 workers to clear the debris, and was now in the process of evacuating the huge waste to their landfill sites.
Mr Coleman, who expressed the view that the company’s involvement would facilitate and improve sanitation problem in the vicinity, said it would also disinfect the whole area by spraying it to avert the outbreak of such diseases as malaria, typhoid, cholera and other air-borne diseases.
He said a major problem Zoomlion was facing was the bad attitude of the masses of Ghanaians, but he nonetheless assured the people of Ghana that Zoomlion was on top of its responsibilities and also in charge of the issues.
"The irresponsible attitudes of Ghanaians, especially our market women and men are our greatest challenge. We clean huge chunks of rubbish and put waste bins there, yet many litter and dump refuse anywhere," he added.
He advised Ghanaians to be patriotic and stop disposing of refuse irresponsibly. He also entreated all to patronise the 'Free Bin Promotion' to enhance good sanitation for a better life.
So far, various political parties have given promises of providing some relief items for the victims.
Meanwhile, new structures are being put up, and a security officer at the market, Mr Thomas Frimpong, has assured the traders that better structures would be constructed to prevent future fire outbreaks.
.
The Accra Zonal Supervisor of the Zoomlion Company, Mr Robert Coleman, said before the exercise that the company always put the interest of the country first, and above any other thing.
“We have many projects but when national duty calls, we suspend everything to ensure that the life of the average Ghanaian is improved,” he said, adding that Zoomlion’s presence at the burnt market was in response to a call from the Ministry of Local Government and the Ministry of Information and National Orientation for assistance.
He said the Zoomlion had deployed over 60 workers to clear the debris, and was now in the process of evacuating the huge waste to their landfill sites.
Mr Coleman, who expressed the view that the company’s involvement would facilitate and improve sanitation problem in the vicinity, said it would also disinfect the whole area by spraying it to avert the outbreak of such diseases as malaria, typhoid, cholera and other air-borne diseases.
He said a major problem Zoomlion was facing was the bad attitude of the masses of Ghanaians, but he nonetheless assured the people of Ghana that Zoomlion was on top of its responsibilities and also in charge of the issues.
"The irresponsible attitudes of Ghanaians, especially our market women and men are our greatest challenge. We clean huge chunks of rubbish and put waste bins there, yet many litter and dump refuse anywhere," he added.
He advised Ghanaians to be patriotic and stop disposing of refuse irresponsibly. He also entreated all to patronise the 'Free Bin Promotion' to enhance good sanitation for a better life.
So far, various political parties have given promises of providing some relief items for the victims.
Meanwhile, new structures are being put up, and a security officer at the market, Mr Thomas Frimpong, has assured the traders that better structures would be constructed to prevent future fire outbreaks.
.
RCC and Zoomlion wage war on mosquitoes
THE Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinating Council in collaboration with Zoomlion Ghana Limited has begun the fight against mosquitoes in the city, weeks after the Regional Minister, Sheikh I. C. Quaye, declared “Attack on Mosquitoes” in the country.
To this end personnel from the two organisations with expert advice from consultants in the bio-chemical industry started spraying La, a suburb of Accra, last Friday, October 3, 2008.
The Regional Minister said the nation-wide exercise would initially concentrate on densely populated areas and markets, which serve as breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
Sheikh I. C. Quaye expressed the hope that the attack would reduce the swarm of mosquitoes in the city, and thus lower the number of reported malarial cases and resultant deaths in such densely populated areas.
He said research had shown that there were some bio-chemicals not harmful to humans when sprayed into the atmosphere, but could totally wipe out mosquitoes from their breeding grounds.
He said the first phase of the exercise would involve attacking mosquito larvae in gutters and culverts before moving to the spraying of mature mosquitoes.
The minister added that they would also intensify advocacy on the importance of sanitation, which is as important as the exercise itself. He expressed the hope that within a short time they would be able to reduce the mosquito menace in the country.
A technical development specialist for Valent Bio-Sciences, one of the companies consulted for the exercise, Mrs Seleena Benjamin, said they had trained about 30 people from Zoomlion on some basic sciences concerning the amount of the bio-chemicals to be used for spraying.
She said the bio-chemicals could kill not only the mosquitoes but also black flies and noted that most countries in Europe, Asia, and the United States of America had been using those bio-chemicals over the past 20 years with no reported cases of harmful effects on the environment.
To this end personnel from the two organisations with expert advice from consultants in the bio-chemical industry started spraying La, a suburb of Accra, last Friday, October 3, 2008.
The Regional Minister said the nation-wide exercise would initially concentrate on densely populated areas and markets, which serve as breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
Sheikh I. C. Quaye expressed the hope that the attack would reduce the swarm of mosquitoes in the city, and thus lower the number of reported malarial cases and resultant deaths in such densely populated areas.
He said research had shown that there were some bio-chemicals not harmful to humans when sprayed into the atmosphere, but could totally wipe out mosquitoes from their breeding grounds.
He said the first phase of the exercise would involve attacking mosquito larvae in gutters and culverts before moving to the spraying of mature mosquitoes.
The minister added that they would also intensify advocacy on the importance of sanitation, which is as important as the exercise itself. He expressed the hope that within a short time they would be able to reduce the mosquito menace in the country.
A technical development specialist for Valent Bio-Sciences, one of the companies consulted for the exercise, Mrs Seleena Benjamin, said they had trained about 30 people from Zoomlion on some basic sciences concerning the amount of the bio-chemicals to be used for spraying.
She said the bio-chemicals could kill not only the mosquitoes but also black flies and noted that most countries in Europe, Asia, and the United States of America had been using those bio-chemicals over the past 20 years with no reported cases of harmful effects on the environment.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Tone down sensation in headlines - Prof Yankah
THE Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Kwesi Yankah, has urged the media to tone down sensationalism in their headlines and write headlines that would not provoke the peace and stability in the country.
He noted that almost on a daily basis, newspaper headlines had been chilling, and conveying signals that gave the impression that all was not well in the country.
Speaking at the inauguration of Peace Vanguard, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), on the theme,” Campaign for Peaceful Election 2008,” in Accra yesterday, Prof. Yankah said these signals had been so pervasive that beyond regular headlines reflecting current happenings, bare-faced violence appeared to have seeped into the imagery of sensational journalism.
He recalled one headline by an Accra daily newspaper after the Gushiegu bloodbath, “You Kill me, I kill you,” carried with the portraits of John Mahama, Vice-Presidential aspirant of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), facing that of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), with the story not indicating where the statement was made and who made it.
Other headlines he cited were, “CPP blames NPP/NDC for Tamale violence”, “NPP has no monopoly over violence”, “NDC/NPP cited for political violence as they clash at Sankore” and “Six killed in NPP/NDC clash” as some of the signs of conflict depicted by newspaper headlines.
He said such imagery of physical violence that were portrayed in newspaper headlines, indicted the desperate wishes of a writer in search of what was real news, and even sought to perpetrate the very instability society was seeking to avoid.
Prof. Yankah also acknowledged the call for peace and tranquility in the country, citing other newspaper headlines as, “Don’t make provocative utterances”, “Parties organise prayers for peaceful elections”, “Election not a do-or-die affair”, “Nation needs God’s face”, “Remember, investors need peace”, “Put unity above desire for power” and “Christian Council on peaceful polls”.
These words, he said, conveyed desperate efforts by a country that was yearning for peace and had decided to fetch a fire extinguisher on noticing the beard of her neighbours in flames.
He added that the invocations of Kenya and Zimbabwe seemed to have gained grounds among anarchists, as well as references to power sharing several months ahead of voting, and agreed that there was a certain degree of pre-emptive investigation of mayhem, regardless of attempts by the Electoral Commission (EC) to mount a transparent electoral regime.
Prof. Yankah, therefore, urged the EC not to relent on its efforts, but stick to its commitment to transparency in ensuring a free and fair election in December 2008.
“Let civil society, including the media, and non-governmental organisations once again rise to the occasion to defuse the tension, and let the political parties themselves come out to express collective commitment to peace; then proceeded by translating words into action,” he declared.
The General Manager, Newspapers, Graphic Communications Group Limited, Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, also urged Ghanaians to pray for the December elections to pass off peacefully for Ghana to remain peaceful as they pride themselves in.
“We must be committed and determined to fight lawlessness, impunity, violence and arbitrariness.”
Quoting Dr Martin Luther King, he said violence had never solved problems, but only created new and complicated ones, adding that “If we succumb to the temptation of using violence in our struggle for justice, unborn generations will be the recipients of long and desolate night of bitterness.
He noted that to promote goodwill, understanding and co-operation, it was important for party campaigns to focus on issues about what it could offer, rather than the failures of others.
The Director of Programmes for Peace Vanguard, Mr Harry Baiden, said the organisation was involved in the creation of awareness for peaceful elections throughout Ghana and other member countries within the sub-region.
He says the organisation further seeks improvement of humanity, intervenes and undertakes rescue activities for victims of natural and social tragedies.
He also appeals to the media not to beat war drums and, urged Ghanaians to avoid electoral malpractice and say no to wars as Ghana does not need wars.
He noted that almost on a daily basis, newspaper headlines had been chilling, and conveying signals that gave the impression that all was not well in the country.
Speaking at the inauguration of Peace Vanguard, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), on the theme,” Campaign for Peaceful Election 2008,” in Accra yesterday, Prof. Yankah said these signals had been so pervasive that beyond regular headlines reflecting current happenings, bare-faced violence appeared to have seeped into the imagery of sensational journalism.
He recalled one headline by an Accra daily newspaper after the Gushiegu bloodbath, “You Kill me, I kill you,” carried with the portraits of John Mahama, Vice-Presidential aspirant of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), facing that of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), with the story not indicating where the statement was made and who made it.
Other headlines he cited were, “CPP blames NPP/NDC for Tamale violence”, “NPP has no monopoly over violence”, “NDC/NPP cited for political violence as they clash at Sankore” and “Six killed in NPP/NDC clash” as some of the signs of conflict depicted by newspaper headlines.
He said such imagery of physical violence that were portrayed in newspaper headlines, indicted the desperate wishes of a writer in search of what was real news, and even sought to perpetrate the very instability society was seeking to avoid.
Prof. Yankah also acknowledged the call for peace and tranquility in the country, citing other newspaper headlines as, “Don’t make provocative utterances”, “Parties organise prayers for peaceful elections”, “Election not a do-or-die affair”, “Nation needs God’s face”, “Remember, investors need peace”, “Put unity above desire for power” and “Christian Council on peaceful polls”.
These words, he said, conveyed desperate efforts by a country that was yearning for peace and had decided to fetch a fire extinguisher on noticing the beard of her neighbours in flames.
He added that the invocations of Kenya and Zimbabwe seemed to have gained grounds among anarchists, as well as references to power sharing several months ahead of voting, and agreed that there was a certain degree of pre-emptive investigation of mayhem, regardless of attempts by the Electoral Commission (EC) to mount a transparent electoral regime.
Prof. Yankah, therefore, urged the EC not to relent on its efforts, but stick to its commitment to transparency in ensuring a free and fair election in December 2008.
“Let civil society, including the media, and non-governmental organisations once again rise to the occasion to defuse the tension, and let the political parties themselves come out to express collective commitment to peace; then proceeded by translating words into action,” he declared.
The General Manager, Newspapers, Graphic Communications Group Limited, Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, also urged Ghanaians to pray for the December elections to pass off peacefully for Ghana to remain peaceful as they pride themselves in.
“We must be committed and determined to fight lawlessness, impunity, violence and arbitrariness.”
Quoting Dr Martin Luther King, he said violence had never solved problems, but only created new and complicated ones, adding that “If we succumb to the temptation of using violence in our struggle for justice, unborn generations will be the recipients of long and desolate night of bitterness.
He noted that to promote goodwill, understanding and co-operation, it was important for party campaigns to focus on issues about what it could offer, rather than the failures of others.
The Director of Programmes for Peace Vanguard, Mr Harry Baiden, said the organisation was involved in the creation of awareness for peaceful elections throughout Ghana and other member countries within the sub-region.
He says the organisation further seeks improvement of humanity, intervenes and undertakes rescue activities for victims of natural and social tragedies.
He also appeals to the media not to beat war drums and, urged Ghanaians to avoid electoral malpractice and say no to wars as Ghana does not need wars.
Nigeria marks 48th National Day
THE Nigerian High Commissioner in Accra, Mr Mohammed Musiliu Obankore, has urged Ghanaians not to compromise their democracy but maintain the peace, stability and tranquility existing in the country as an inspiration for all the countries within the sub-region.
He said the peaceful atmosphere in Ghana was a model that other countries including Nigeria could emulate and encouraged Ghanaians to ensure that their democracy was not compromised.
Mr Obankore gave this advice after a ceremony to mark the 48th Anniversary of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which falls on October 1, in Accra yesterday.
He said the stability of the country’s democracy should be maintained as most of the countries in the sub-region were looking up to Ghana as a beacon of hope in ensuring unity on the continent.
The High Commissioner said Nigeria’s democracy, regardless of the past military interventions was growing but there was the need to sustain it for it to be firmly rooted in their way of life.
He said the peaceful atmosphere in Ghana was a model that other countries including Nigeria could emulate and encouraged Ghanaians to ensure that their democracy was not compromised.
Mr Obankore gave this advice after a ceremony to mark the 48th Anniversary of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which falls on October 1, in Accra yesterday.
He said the stability of the country’s democracy should be maintained as most of the countries in the sub-region were looking up to Ghana as a beacon of hope in ensuring unity on the continent.
The High Commissioner said Nigeria’s democracy, regardless of the past military interventions was growing but there was the need to sustain it for it to be firmly rooted in their way of life.
Prosecutors urged to bail remand prisoners
THE Director of Welfare of the Ghana Prisons Service, Mr I. K. Tsegah, has urged state prosecutors to bail out remand prisoners who committed minor offences to help decongest the country’s prisons.
“If you cannot prosecute them, then you should allow them their freedom,” he said.
Mr Tsegah made the appeal in an interview with the Daily Graphic after the official opening of registration for inmates of the Nsawam Medium Security Prison under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
He noted that most remand prisoners who were first-time offenders and who committed minor offences could have done something better with their lives if they had been given the opportunity, instead of being in prison, some for more that 15 years.
He said apart from the problem of congestion in the country’s prisons, remand prisoners often refused to comply with prison regulations because they were not convicted criminals.
“Remand prisoners can be very troublesome to deal with and you cannot treat them like convicted prisoners. You have to treat them like ordinary people, since they are only suspects,” he noted.
He stressed that first-time offenders could be given the benefit of the doubt that they would show some remorse after the experience they had been through and not go near any criminal activity.
He, therefore, suggested that first-time offenders with minor offences could be bailed out on licence for them to report themselves to the police stations according to a schedule.
Mr Tsegah said that would save government some money, decongest the prisons and offer remand prisoners an opportunity to be good citizens once again.
His appeal was in reaction to a recent story, “AG orders review of cases”, published in the Daily Graphic of September 19, 2008.
The story said the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr Joe Ghartey, had directed three bodies to review cases involving 300 remand prisoners whose warrants had expired.
The Attorney-General’s Directive came after a non-governmental organisation, the Centre for Human Rights and Civil Liberties (CHURCIL), had reported that 300 remand prisoners were being held illegally at the Nsawam Medium Security Prison after their warrants had expired.
The report said the expiration of the remand warrant meant that those remand prisoners were being kept illegally unless a court renewed the warrants for their continued detention but the prison authorities could not release them because they had not received any court order to that effect.
Mr Ghartey said it was untenable for remand prisoners to be in custody for more than a year without trial, adding that his outfit was concerned about the large number of remand prisoners which had greatly contributed to congestion in the prisons.
He said the issue of congestion in the prisons and its related problems resulted in the initiation of the “Justice for All Project” which was aimed at bringing justice to the doorstep of all citizens, especially the vulnerable in society.
“If you cannot prosecute them, then you should allow them their freedom,” he said.
Mr Tsegah made the appeal in an interview with the Daily Graphic after the official opening of registration for inmates of the Nsawam Medium Security Prison under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
He noted that most remand prisoners who were first-time offenders and who committed minor offences could have done something better with their lives if they had been given the opportunity, instead of being in prison, some for more that 15 years.
He said apart from the problem of congestion in the country’s prisons, remand prisoners often refused to comply with prison regulations because they were not convicted criminals.
“Remand prisoners can be very troublesome to deal with and you cannot treat them like convicted prisoners. You have to treat them like ordinary people, since they are only suspects,” he noted.
He stressed that first-time offenders could be given the benefit of the doubt that they would show some remorse after the experience they had been through and not go near any criminal activity.
He, therefore, suggested that first-time offenders with minor offences could be bailed out on licence for them to report themselves to the police stations according to a schedule.
Mr Tsegah said that would save government some money, decongest the prisons and offer remand prisoners an opportunity to be good citizens once again.
His appeal was in reaction to a recent story, “AG orders review of cases”, published in the Daily Graphic of September 19, 2008.
The story said the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr Joe Ghartey, had directed three bodies to review cases involving 300 remand prisoners whose warrants had expired.
The Attorney-General’s Directive came after a non-governmental organisation, the Centre for Human Rights and Civil Liberties (CHURCIL), had reported that 300 remand prisoners were being held illegally at the Nsawam Medium Security Prison after their warrants had expired.
The report said the expiration of the remand warrant meant that those remand prisoners were being kept illegally unless a court renewed the warrants for their continued detention but the prison authorities could not release them because they had not received any court order to that effect.
Mr Ghartey said it was untenable for remand prisoners to be in custody for more than a year without trial, adding that his outfit was concerned about the large number of remand prisoners which had greatly contributed to congestion in the prisons.
He said the issue of congestion in the prisons and its related problems resulted in the initiation of the “Justice for All Project” which was aimed at bringing justice to the doorstep of all citizens, especially the vulnerable in society.
Poor nutrition in children cost the nation
The country may lose nearly $300 million as a direct result of poor nutrition in children below the age of five, if malnutrition in children is not properly addressed in the next five years, Dr Gladys Ashitey, Deputy Minister of Health, has noted.
She said the problem of malnutrition in the sub-region seemed to be a struggle that had not gained the required attention at the political and technical level.
At the second Scientific Meeting organised by the Nestle Nutrition Institute Africa in Accra, Dr Ashitey said it had been estimated that if the present levels of malnutrition in children were not reduced in the next five years, "moderate to severe malnutrition will account for over 214,000 child deaths" in the sub-region.
According to her, 28 per cent of children in Ghana who were stunted would grow up to be stunted adults with reduced physical capacity and productivity, adding that it would also contribute to about 10 per cent of infant deaths in the country.
She observed that the control of this problem fell largely outside the confines of hospitals and clinics, noting that the issue of choice, counselling and knowledge would play a significant role in attempts to bring the situation under control.
She said optimal feeding would account for 14 per cent of all acute respiratory infections and 23 per cent of all diarrhoeal cases, stating that Vitamin A deficiency would also account for one out of every six child deaths.
The elimination of malnutrition, she indicated, would save families and households about $11 million, whilst the government would save nearly $58 million on sick children.
She expressed the hope that in developing appropriate programmes for the management of malnutrition in Ghana and Africa as a whole, the role of women in determining the status of family health would be considered, since that was a serious problem in both the control and management of the family.
"In looking at the way forward, we need to work around this problem while at the same time work with other sectors to create the environment for ensuring an improved level of female literacy and female understanding of malnutrition and its management," she stated.
The Country Manager of Nestle Ghana Limited, Mr Samer Chedid, said the aim of the meeting was to ensure that healthcare professionals in Africa understood how every stage in life was enhanced through adequate provision of basic nutrition.
She said the objective of the meeting, "building sound nutrition foundation for the future" was vital because of the Institute's role as a multidisciplinary, educational organisation dedicated to furthering the understanding of nutrition for people of all ages.
"The Institute provides information, guidance and support to using the latest scientific discoveries and their implications to achieving optimal nutrition," she stated, adding that the theme for the meeting, "Micronutrient deficiencies in children under five years: And the way forward" was of utmost concern not only to healthcare professionals but to everyone.
She noted that micronutrient deficiency was a major public health and development challenge for the most vulnerable group, children under five years in developing countries, and would affect approximately two billion people worldwide, which was equivalent to one third of the world's population.
Mr Chedid stated that Nestle's primary contribution to combat the phenomenon was to support global and national initiatives to reduce and minimise its impact on both present and unborn generations.
"Some of our corporate social responsibility programmes are driven by the Nestle Ghana Duchess Club, and one of the club's programme is based on the nutrition in pregnancy and children less than five years," she observed.
She said the problem of malnutrition in the sub-region seemed to be a struggle that had not gained the required attention at the political and technical level.
At the second Scientific Meeting organised by the Nestle Nutrition Institute Africa in Accra, Dr Ashitey said it had been estimated that if the present levels of malnutrition in children were not reduced in the next five years, "moderate to severe malnutrition will account for over 214,000 child deaths" in the sub-region.
According to her, 28 per cent of children in Ghana who were stunted would grow up to be stunted adults with reduced physical capacity and productivity, adding that it would also contribute to about 10 per cent of infant deaths in the country.
She observed that the control of this problem fell largely outside the confines of hospitals and clinics, noting that the issue of choice, counselling and knowledge would play a significant role in attempts to bring the situation under control.
She said optimal feeding would account for 14 per cent of all acute respiratory infections and 23 per cent of all diarrhoeal cases, stating that Vitamin A deficiency would also account for one out of every six child deaths.
The elimination of malnutrition, she indicated, would save families and households about $11 million, whilst the government would save nearly $58 million on sick children.
She expressed the hope that in developing appropriate programmes for the management of malnutrition in Ghana and Africa as a whole, the role of women in determining the status of family health would be considered, since that was a serious problem in both the control and management of the family.
"In looking at the way forward, we need to work around this problem while at the same time work with other sectors to create the environment for ensuring an improved level of female literacy and female understanding of malnutrition and its management," she stated.
The Country Manager of Nestle Ghana Limited, Mr Samer Chedid, said the aim of the meeting was to ensure that healthcare professionals in Africa understood how every stage in life was enhanced through adequate provision of basic nutrition.
She said the objective of the meeting, "building sound nutrition foundation for the future" was vital because of the Institute's role as a multidisciplinary, educational organisation dedicated to furthering the understanding of nutrition for people of all ages.
"The Institute provides information, guidance and support to using the latest scientific discoveries and their implications to achieving optimal nutrition," she stated, adding that the theme for the meeting, "Micronutrient deficiencies in children under five years: And the way forward" was of utmost concern not only to healthcare professionals but to everyone.
She noted that micronutrient deficiency was a major public health and development challenge for the most vulnerable group, children under five years in developing countries, and would affect approximately two billion people worldwide, which was equivalent to one third of the world's population.
Mr Chedid stated that Nestle's primary contribution to combat the phenomenon was to support global and national initiatives to reduce and minimise its impact on both present and unborn generations.
"Some of our corporate social responsibility programmes are driven by the Nestle Ghana Duchess Club, and one of the club's programme is based on the nutrition in pregnancy and children less than five years," she observed.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Tone down sensation in headlines - Prof Yankah
THE Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Kwesi Yankah, has urged the media to tone down sensationalism in their headlines and write headlines that would not provoke the peace and stability in the country.
He noted that almost on a daily basis, newspaper headlines had been chilling, and conveying signals that gave the impression that all was not well in the country.
Speaking at the inauguration of Peace Vanguard, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), on the theme,” Campaign for Peaceful Election 2008,” in Accra yesterday, Prof. Yankah said these signals had been so pervasive that beyond regular headlines reflecting current happenings, bare-faced violence appeared to have seeped into the imagery of sensational journalism.
He recalled one headline by an Accra daily newspaper after the Gushiegu bloodbath, “You Kill me, I kill you,” carried with the portraits of John Mahama, Vice-Presidential aspirant of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), facing that of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), with the story not indicating where the statement was made and who made it.
Other headlines he cited were, “CPP blames NPP/NDC for Tamale violence”, “NPP has no monopoly over violence”, “NDC/NPP cited for political violence as they clash at Sankore” and “Six killed in NPP/NDC clash” as some of the signs of conflict depicted by newspaper headlines.
He said such imagery of physical violence that were portrayed in newspaper headlines, indicted the desperate wishes of a writer in search of what was real news, and even sought to perpetrate the very instability society was seeking to avoid.
Prof. Yankah also acknowledged the call for peace and tranquility in the country, citing other newspaper headlines as, “Don’t make provocative utterances”, “Parties organise prayers for peaceful elections”, “Election not a do-or-die affair”, “Nation needs God’s face”, “Remember, investors need peace”, “Put unity above desire for power” and “Christian Council on peaceful polls”.
These words, he said, conveyed desperate efforts by a country that was yearning for peace and had decided to fetch a fire extinguisher on noticing the beard of her neighbours in flames.
He added that the invocations of Kenya and Zimbabwe seemed to have gained grounds among anarchists, as well as references to power sharing several months ahead of voting, and agreed that there was a certain degree of pre-emptive investigation of mayhem, regardless of attempts by the Electoral Commission (EC) to mount a transparent electoral regime.
Prof. Yankah, therefore, urged the EC not to relent on its efforts, but stick to its commitment to transparency in ensuring a free and fair election in December 2008.
“Let civil society, including the media, and non-governmental organisations once again rise to the occasion to defuse the tension, and let the political parties themselves come out to express collective commitment to peace; then proceeded by translating words into action,” he declared.
The General Manager, Newspapers, Graphic Communications Group Limited, Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, also urged Ghanaians to pray for the December elections to pass off peacefully for Ghana to remain peaceful as they pride themselves in.
“We must be committed and determined to fight lawlessness, impunity, violence and arbitrariness.”
Quoting Dr Martin Luther King, he said violence had never solved problems, but only created new and complicated ones, adding that “If we succumb to the temptation of using violence in our struggle for justice, unborn generations will be the recipients of long and desolate night of bitterness.
He noted that to promote goodwill, understanding and co-operation, it was important for party campaigns to focus on issues about what it could offer, rather than the failures of others.
The Director of Programmes for Peace Vanguard, Mr Harry Baiden, said the organisation was involved in the creation of awareness for peaceful elections throughout Ghana and other member countries within the sub-region.
He says the organisation further seeks improvement of humanity, intervenes and undertakes rescue activities for victims of natural and social tragedies.
He also appeals to the media not to beat war drums and, urged Ghanaians to avoid electoral malpractice and say no to wars as Ghana does not need wars.
He noted that almost on a daily basis, newspaper headlines had been chilling, and conveying signals that gave the impression that all was not well in the country.
Speaking at the inauguration of Peace Vanguard, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), on the theme,” Campaign for Peaceful Election 2008,” in Accra yesterday, Prof. Yankah said these signals had been so pervasive that beyond regular headlines reflecting current happenings, bare-faced violence appeared to have seeped into the imagery of sensational journalism.
He recalled one headline by an Accra daily newspaper after the Gushiegu bloodbath, “You Kill me, I kill you,” carried with the portraits of John Mahama, Vice-Presidential aspirant of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), facing that of Dr Mahamudu Bawumia of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), with the story not indicating where the statement was made and who made it.
Other headlines he cited were, “CPP blames NPP/NDC for Tamale violence”, “NPP has no monopoly over violence”, “NDC/NPP cited for political violence as they clash at Sankore” and “Six killed in NPP/NDC clash” as some of the signs of conflict depicted by newspaper headlines.
He said such imagery of physical violence that were portrayed in newspaper headlines, indicted the desperate wishes of a writer in search of what was real news, and even sought to perpetrate the very instability society was seeking to avoid.
Prof. Yankah also acknowledged the call for peace and tranquility in the country, citing other newspaper headlines as, “Don’t make provocative utterances”, “Parties organise prayers for peaceful elections”, “Election not a do-or-die affair”, “Nation needs God’s face”, “Remember, investors need peace”, “Put unity above desire for power” and “Christian Council on peaceful polls”.
These words, he said, conveyed desperate efforts by a country that was yearning for peace and had decided to fetch a fire extinguisher on noticing the beard of her neighbours in flames.
He added that the invocations of Kenya and Zimbabwe seemed to have gained grounds among anarchists, as well as references to power sharing several months ahead of voting, and agreed that there was a certain degree of pre-emptive investigation of mayhem, regardless of attempts by the Electoral Commission (EC) to mount a transparent electoral regime.
Prof. Yankah, therefore, urged the EC not to relent on its efforts, but stick to its commitment to transparency in ensuring a free and fair election in December 2008.
“Let civil society, including the media, and non-governmental organisations once again rise to the occasion to defuse the tension, and let the political parties themselves come out to express collective commitment to peace; then proceeded by translating words into action,” he declared.
The General Manager, Newspapers, Graphic Communications Group Limited, Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, also urged Ghanaians to pray for the December elections to pass off peacefully for Ghana to remain peaceful as they pride themselves in.
“We must be committed and determined to fight lawlessness, impunity, violence and arbitrariness.”
Quoting Dr Martin Luther King, he said violence had never solved problems, but only created new and complicated ones, adding that “If we succumb to the temptation of using violence in our struggle for justice, unborn generations will be the recipients of long and desolate night of bitterness.
He noted that to promote goodwill, understanding and co-operation, it was important for party campaigns to focus on issues about what it could offer, rather than the failures of others.
The Director of Programmes for Peace Vanguard, Mr Harry Baiden, said the organisation was involved in the creation of awareness for peaceful elections throughout Ghana and other member countries within the sub-region.
He says the organisation further seeks improvement of humanity, intervenes and undertakes rescue activities for victims of natural and social tragedies.
He also appeals to the media not to beat war drums and, urged Ghanaians to avoid electoral malpractice and say no to wars as Ghana does not need wars.
200 Hawkers to undergo skills training
Over 200 hawkers in the Accra metropolis have been registered by the Association of Ghana Artisans (ASSGA) under a vocational training programme to complement the government’s effort at building a quality human resource base for the country.
Dubbed "Creating Training Opportunities for Street Children", the programme is aimed at reducing hawking on the streets of major cities and towns. It is supported by Selfless International, a non-governmental organisation (NGO).
The National Chairman of ASSGA, Mr Immanuel Bidedzi, told the Daily Graphic in Accra that the first phase of the ongoing programme covered street hawkers drawn from areas where, in recent times, hawkers had been involved in avoidable accidents while trying to fend for themselves on the streets.
He said the areas included the Kasoa Barrier, the Mallam Junction, the Kaneshie traffic light and the Achimota Overpass, noting that the programme would be extended to all the regions.
The participants will undergo training in auto mechanics, welding, tailoring, hairdressing, tie and dye making, spraying and carpentry.
According to Mr Bidedzi, most of the participants had completed junior high school and could contribute a lot to the growth of the country's development agenda when they were adequately equipped with intensive skills and vocations of their choice.
He said as a result of the vulnerability of the participants, whose ages range between 12 and 25, the trainers had also been counselled on how to treat them well to ensure that they underwent successful training.
"Most of them are in their formative years, hence the need to equip them with tangible vocations to meet the growing needs of the country's fast developing economy,” he said, and appealed to the Christian and Muslim communities, philanthropists and all benevolent persons to go to their aid.
The Southern Zonal Co-ordinator of the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI), Mr Anyetei Sowah, said the initiative was in the right direction, as it was in conformity with the government’s educational reform programme.
He said he believed that if the country was to develop to an appreciable level, the private sector and NGOs needed to support the government to place more emphasis on human resource development.
The President of Selfless International, Madam Juliet Ayim, said the organisation intended to empower the participants with training to enable them to take control of their lives and promised that female participants who had nowhere to stay would be given hostels to lodge in while they underwent the training.
She said it was better to equip them with training for them to fend for themselves than to leave them to hawk on the streets, indulge in armed robbery and petty stealing which had serious consequences.
Madam Ayim appealed to the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs and all stakeholders to help the NGO to promote its cause.
Dubbed "Creating Training Opportunities for Street Children", the programme is aimed at reducing hawking on the streets of major cities and towns. It is supported by Selfless International, a non-governmental organisation (NGO).
The National Chairman of ASSGA, Mr Immanuel Bidedzi, told the Daily Graphic in Accra that the first phase of the ongoing programme covered street hawkers drawn from areas where, in recent times, hawkers had been involved in avoidable accidents while trying to fend for themselves on the streets.
He said the areas included the Kasoa Barrier, the Mallam Junction, the Kaneshie traffic light and the Achimota Overpass, noting that the programme would be extended to all the regions.
The participants will undergo training in auto mechanics, welding, tailoring, hairdressing, tie and dye making, spraying and carpentry.
According to Mr Bidedzi, most of the participants had completed junior high school and could contribute a lot to the growth of the country's development agenda when they were adequately equipped with intensive skills and vocations of their choice.
He said as a result of the vulnerability of the participants, whose ages range between 12 and 25, the trainers had also been counselled on how to treat them well to ensure that they underwent successful training.
"Most of them are in their formative years, hence the need to equip them with tangible vocations to meet the growing needs of the country's fast developing economy,” he said, and appealed to the Christian and Muslim communities, philanthropists and all benevolent persons to go to their aid.
The Southern Zonal Co-ordinator of the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI), Mr Anyetei Sowah, said the initiative was in the right direction, as it was in conformity with the government’s educational reform programme.
He said he believed that if the country was to develop to an appreciable level, the private sector and NGOs needed to support the government to place more emphasis on human resource development.
The President of Selfless International, Madam Juliet Ayim, said the organisation intended to empower the participants with training to enable them to take control of their lives and promised that female participants who had nowhere to stay would be given hostels to lodge in while they underwent the training.
She said it was better to equip them with training for them to fend for themselves than to leave them to hawk on the streets, indulge in armed robbery and petty stealing which had serious consequences.
Madam Ayim appealed to the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs and all stakeholders to help the NGO to promote its cause.
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