Take stock of all Nkrumah's belongings- Dr Hannah Bisiw

A DEPUTY Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, Dr Hannah Bisiw, has directed the Public Works Department (PWD) Prestige to take stock of all the personal belongings of Dr Kwame Nkrumah which were evacuated to the department during the rehabilitation of Peduase Lodge.
She gave the directive when she embarked on a feasibility tour to identify possible ways of ensuring provision of potable water supply to the lodge and the schools within Aburi and its environs.
Dr Bisiw said that after stocktaking, all the items would be sent to Dr Nkrumah’s Museum, at the Nkrumah Memorial Park, for safe keeping and for posterity.
Apparently, during the rehabilitation of Peduase Lodge three years ago by the previous administration, the items were evacuated to the PWD Prestige.
Asked if the Government intended to put to use the imposing edifice built by the country’s first President, Dr Bisiw replied in the affirmative.
“It is an asset and we have to use it, We spent money to rehabilitate it and so we have to put it to use,” she stated, and gave the assurance that the Government would ensure that the lodge was brought back to its original state.
She, therefore, asked the Head of Works and Housing, Mr Yaw Adu Adjei Siaw, who also had oversight responsibility over the lodge, to also furnish the ministry with the total cost of the rehabilitation.
Dr Bisiw further directed the PWD to desilt choked drainages at the lodge in order to prevent any havoc in case of a heavy downpour.
The odge, which was constructed in 1959 during the reign of Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, had since served as a presidential holiday resort.
It served as the residency for President Edward Akufo Addo and President Dr Hilla Limann. It has also served as a place for relaxation for all the country's leaders as well as an venue for important national events and meetings.
In 2006, rehabilitation work by the previous administration on the lodge began after some leakages were detected in the imposing four-storey building which housed a library, a swimming pool and a theatre complex, as well as guard and staff quarters.
A tour round the facility by the press during the visit by Dr Bisiw revealed that almost every part of the building that needed to be restored had been completed, but what the facility lacked was adequate water to fully bring it back to its original status.
The concrete structures and the interior decorations that were damaged had been restored. The terrazzo floors and the granite stones in the bath and the dressing rooms, which, according to reports, were cracked, have also been restored.

Caption: Front view of Peduase Lodge after the rehabilitation work.

Police grab fugitive- faces GH¢238,890 case of embezzlement

27/8/09
page 3a

THE Divisional Accountant of the Precious Minerals Marketing Company Limited who fled to South Africa after allegedly embezzling GH¢238,890 belonging to the company, has been arrested.
The suspect, Stephen Pagfu, was arrested by the police with the help of Interpol and has been brought back to Ghana for further investigations and prosecution.
He is currently at the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters after he was refused bail by the court.
The Managing Director of the company, Mr Darko Damptey, who made this known at the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) in Accra yesterday, said the amount was part of the company’s GH¢1,447,110 accounts receivable for the year 2008.
According to Mr Damptey, Mr Pagfu was an accountant with the Jewellery Department of the company and absconded with the money in 2008.
“We notified the police that also contacted the Interpol in South Africa and they effected his arrest, after which he was repatriated to the country," he stated.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company, Mr Kwabena Kyereh, however, described the company’s performance for the year 2008 as satisfactory despite the adverse impact of the global financial crisis.
The company, according to him, had a total turnover of GH¢35.95 million, far more than GH¢13.31 million registered in 2007, representing an increase of 170 per cent.
Mr Kyereh said the huge turnover was basically due to increased gold export for 2008 and indicated that impressive performance compensated for the reduction in the company’s diamond operations.
He said the company posted a net profit of GH¢501,121.00 in 2008, representing 5.86 per cent over the result of GH¢473,368.00 in 2007.
In all, the export of gold and diamond, as well as jewellery sales for 2008, generated a total foreign exchange of US$197 million, which was repatriated to the country through the Bank of Ghana to support the national economy.
Additionally, he said, the company paid GH¢364,360 to the Government through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as Value Added Tax (VAT).
“It also paid GH¢148,150 representing PAYE deduction from staff remuneration and withholding taxes from the supply of goods and services to the company,” he stated, and declared a dividend of GH¢150,000 to be paid to the government, the sole shareholders.
Mr Kyereh gave the assurance that the new board was determined to implement the company’s three-year strategic corporate plan to put the company on the highest pedestal.

Ministry to overhaul Aburi’s boreholes

THE Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, is to overhaul boreholes which have been abandoned in Aburi for more than a decade to make them functional to solve the perennial water shortage in the district capital.
Beneficiaries of the project would include Aburi Girls and Adonten Senior High Schools, the Peduase Lodge and most parts of Aburi in the Eastern Region.
The Deputy Minister of the sector, Dr Hannah Louisa Bisiw, who undertook a feasibility tour of the boreholes, beneficiary schools, Peduase Lodge and its surrounding communities said one of the numerous boreholes could produce at least 540 gallons of water per minute if properly mechanised.
Dr Bisiw appealed to the Chief of Aburi, Nana Kwesi Djan II, to allow the government to develop the boreholes to ensure the provision of adequate water supply for the beneficiaries.
Dr Bisiw tasked the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) to furnish the ministry with a quality control report of the periodic water sampling of the main Aburi Water Reservoir into which all the boreholes would be connected.
She, therefore, urged GWCL to collaborate with McDonnell Contract Mining Limited, a construction firm that was contracted by the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) of Aburi Senior High School to build mechanised boreholes specifically for the provision of potable water for the school, when the school was faced with water shortages in the 1990s.
Mr Michael Botse-Baidoo, the Planning Engineer of GWCL, who was part of the team, gave the assurance that plans were underway to mechanise the boreholes, while pipes already procured by the company were to be laid very soon.
Nana Djan II, who lauded the initiative, expressed appreciation to the government for embarking on the study to address the perennial water shortage that had affected the Aburi township for decades, particularly during the dry season.

Akordor tops 'em all

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17/8/09

Mr Kofi Akordor of the Daily Graphic was last Saturday adjudged the Best Journalist of the Year 2008 at the 14th Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) awards ceremony held in Accra.
The ceremony, which was on the theme, "Media — Promoting Dialogue, Mutual Understanding and National Unity," also saw 36 journalists and media organisations winning awards for their excellent contributions to national development and the media industry.
For his prize, Mr Akordor, who also won the Best Columnist award, would attend a four-week journalism programme at Cardiff University in the United Kingdom (UK) and a four-week familiarisation tour of some media facilities in the UK. He also received a certificate, a plaque and a laptop.
This year’s awards were dominated by the Graphic Communications Group Limited as eight of its reporters swept nine out of the 36 coveted prizes.
They were Kofi Yeboah (Daily Graphic), Best Features - Print; Maurice Quansah (Graphic Sports), the Best Sports Journalist; Rosalind Amoh (Daily Graphic), Best Environment & Sanitation Reporter; Victor Kwawukume (Daily Graphic), Best Rural Reporting; Charles Benoni Okine (Daily Graphic), Best Telecommunications & ICT Reporter.
Others were Samuel Kyei-Boateng (Daily Graphic), Best Crime & Court Reporting, and Kobby Asmah (Daily Graphic), Best Political & Parliamentary Reporting,
Other award winners included Best News Reporting - Radio, Dominic Hlordzi (GBC); Best News Reporting - TV, Loretta Vanderpuije (GTV); Best News Reporting - Print: Kingsley Hope (Ghanaian Times); Best Features - Radio, Kingsley Obeng Kyere (GBC); Best Features - TV, Peggy Ama Donkor (GTV).
The Best Investigative Reporting went to ace journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas of the New Crusading Guide while Godwin Ofosu Akyeampong of the Ghanaian Times was adjudged the Best Photojournalist with Peggy Ama Donkor of Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) winning Best Arts/Entertainment & Domestic Tourism Reporter.
Others included the Best Business/Finance & Economic Reporting, Theophilus Yartey (B&FT); and Best Health & Road Safety Reporter, Solomon Jojo Kobina (TV3).
The rest were Best Reporter on Water Issues, Edmund Smith Asante (Ghanaian Observer), Best Reporter on Disability, Loretta Vanderpuije (GTV).
In the media awards, Joy FM Super Morning Show was adjudged the Best Morning Radio Show, while Daily Guide won the Best Layout and Design (newspaper). The Best Rural Radio Station award went to Radio Progress (Wa) with the Best Rural Radio Station (Runner Up) going to Radio Peace (Winneba).
Others were Best Radio – Akan, Radio Peace (Winneba); Best Radio - Dagbani, Diamond FM (Tamale); and Best Radio - Ga, Obonu FM (GBC).
The Public Agenda Newspaper was adjudged the media activist on Human Rights, while GBC was also given an award for Peace-building.
Honorary awards were presented to Dr K. Bonnah Koomson, Cameron Duodu, Gilbert Ayitey, Harriet Tachie-Menson, Kwartei Shang Simpson and Frazer Ofori-Atta.
The awards ceremony, which was held at the Banquet Hall, State House, saw a host of veteran journalists including past GJA executive members and former presidents of the association.
Among them were Mr Kabral Blay-Amihere, Mrs Gifty Afenyi-Dadzie, Ms Ajoa Yeboah-Afari and Mr Edward Ameyibor.

CONSTITUTIONS FACES REVIEW

Front page
17/8/09

The country’s 1992 Constitution is to undergo a major review, Vice-President John Dramani Mahama has hinted.
Consequently, he said, a constitutional review conference would be held in early 2010 to begin the process of identifying the areas which required amendments.
The Vice-President dropped the hint at the 14th Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) awards held in Accra last Saturday to honour journalists and media organisations for their contributions to the country’s democratic process.
It was on the theme, "Media — Promoting Dialogue, Mutual Understanding and National Unity".
The Vice-President said the 1992 Constitution had served the country well and had been the basis for the significant progress Ghana had made as a nation in democratic governance "but as a living document we would need at certain periods in its life to make amendments to some aspects of it".
He said the review process would be open and transparent and would involve all political stakeholders.
On efforts by the government to put the economy on an even keel, the Vice-President pointed out that the government had been faced with serious challenges with regard to the economy and had, therefore, focused on instituting and monitoring measures to restore stability to pave the way to lay the foundation for economic growth and acceleration.
Those measures, he said, had begun to pay off and the country was witnessing a downturn in the inflation index while relative stability of the cedi had been achieved.
"With the restoration of relative stability of the economy," Mr Mahama said, the government could now focus on other critical issues that required attention.
"This government is determined and capable of delivering on its contract with the people and we are positive that at the end of our term we would have created a better Ghana than we came to meet it," he stated.
The Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), Mr Paul Adu-Gyamfi, urged the media to discipline itself by ensuring that it operated within the confines of its code of conduct, ethics and the law.
"We must have the humility to admit that not all has been praiseworthy in the past 60 years," he said, and saluted courageous journalists who through responsible journalism supported the country's struggle for self-determination.
"With democracy on course, the field is broad and wide for the future of journalism and the media in Ghana," he stated, and, therefore, urged journalists to take their destiny into their own hands and demonstrate to the world once again that Africa could do what was right.
The Minister of Information, Mrs Zita Okaikoi, expressed the need for the media to be fair and objective in their reportage, stating that the beauty of the media was to ensure that Ghanaians remained united as a people.
"We should not use the media to destroy what we have built over the years. We should avoid one-sided reportage and endeavour to engage investigative and development journalism," she charged.
In that regard, she gave the assurance that the government would ensure that the media remained independent by passing into law the Freedom of Information Bill.
The Deputy Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Ms Anna Bossman, stressed the need to avoid media tyranny, stressing that "we must be accountable to one another and our maker”.
The President of the GJA, Mr Ransford Tetteh, said the success that had been chalked up by the GJA was a collective effort of all journalists and urged the practitioners to promote democracy, neutrality and unity.
He said in spite of the challenges confronting the media, they were still vibrant, and appealed to members of the public to refrain from physically assaulting journalists because they did not agree with a media broadcast or publication.
Mr Tetteh said the abolition of the Criminal Libel and Seditious Law in 2001 had provided greater impetus to free expression and press freedom and commended the public for accepting all those actions that had helped to free and embolden the media to do their work.
He said "we believe that without them we would not have made the progress that we have so far made in democratisation."

75 Ghanaians to study in Chinese varsities

12/8/09
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THE Government of the People’s Republic of China has awarded scholarships to 75 Ghanaian students to study at universities in China.
Out of the 75 students, 40 have already left for China.
As part of the scholarship programme, most of the students who would offer various courses in Chinese would study the Chinese language for a year, before continuing their programmes of study.
Some of the programmes include Agriculture, Information Communication Technology (ICT), Chemistry, Business Management, Pharmacology, Electric Science & Technology, Finance, Public Administration and Mass Communications.
The Charge D’ Affairs of the Chinese Embassy, Mr Wang Lushan, at a farewell reception for the students in Accra yesterday, emphasised the importance of education to Ghana’s human resource capacity building and development agenda. Hence, he said, the Chinese government’s commitment to providing quality education for the children and the youth in the country.
He also expressed China’s unflinching support for Ghana in the area of education.
“The bilateral co-operation on education under the framework of China-Africa Co-operation Forum has yielded fruitful results,” he remarked, adding that the Government of the People’s Republic of China had also provided short-term training opportunities for about 700 Ghanaian officials, professionals and technicians since 2006.
“We have increased the Chinese government’s scholarship to Ghana from 20 slots in 2006 to 75 this year. We have built three rural model schools in the Greater Accra, Central, and Western regions this year, ” Mr Lushan said.
He pointed out that the Chinese government had also sent two lecturers and some volunteers to teach Chinese languages at the University of Ghana, Legon.
He expressed conviction that the support was in the right direction, as it would increase the human resource capacity of the people of Ghana.
Mr Lushan gave an assurance that China would continue to provide scholarships, training programmes and other forms of educational assistance to Ghana.
He, therefore, encouraged the students to focus on their studies and make friends with the Chinese people in order to be able learn from each other.
“It is my sincere hope that when you graduate from China, you will not only apply what you have learnt in China to build a better Ghana, but would also serve as ambassadors for friends between our two peoples,” he stated.
The Registrar of the Ghana Scholarship Secretariat, Mr Fuseini Lansah, in an address read on his behalf, expressed appreciation to the Government of the People’s Republic of China for its tremendous support to the human resource development of Ghana.
He urged the students to take advantage of the opportunity offered them, to be good ambassadors of Ghana and make the country proud.
According to him, reports reaching the secretariat indicated that most Ghanaians studying abroad were doing better than their counterparts from other countries and attributed this to the quality and strength of the Ghanaian educational system.
Mr Lushan, however, cautioned the students to be law-abiding and return to Ghana when their programmes were over to support the country’s growing economy.
A representative of the students, Mr Halid Mahama, on behalf of his colleagues, expressed appreciation for the opportunity offered them by the Government of the People’s Republic of China to study in that country.
The students were later treated to various Chinese dishes.

Energy Commission endorses PURC’s position— On payment of accumulated bills

12/8/09
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THE Energy Commission (EC) has endorsed the directive issued by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) to the general public and all consumers of electricity not to pay accumulated utility bills should service providers fail to bill them for a period of 12 months.
It said the PURC was justified in taking that decision by informing the public not to pay overdue bills. This is because subsection 20 (5) of the Electricity Supply and Distribution (Technical Operation) Rules 2005 (LI 1816) indicates that “a supplier must deliver a bill 12 times in a year at the address of the customer by hand, electronic mail or any other appropriate and convenient means”.
The Executive Secretary of the EC, Mr Alfred Ofosu Ahenkorah, told the Daily Graphic yesterday that “what the PURC is saying is absolutely right", adding that it was part of measures the PURC and the EC had put in place to ensure that service providers offered the best services to consumers.
He said part of the LI 1816 which the PURC quoted was just a small portion of the legislation on issues and delivery bills under electricity billing and, therefore, urged the utility providers, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Northern Electricity Department (NED) to sit up because Ghanaians expected maximum benefit from their services.
According to him, the two companies had taken Ghanaians for granted for far too long, and it was about time they adhered to regulations on standards and performance under the LI 1816.
He said the expectation of the government as regards adequate service delivery was to also ensure that consumers were offered the best services.
Quoting subsection 20(3) of LI 1816, he said a supplier who contravened rules (1), (2) and 10(c) "commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 500 penalty units".
Subsection 20(8) of LI 1816 says “where a supplier fails to bill a customer for a period of 12 months, the supplier cannot recover the cost of that service unless the delay in the billing occurred without negligence on the part of the supplier or due to the customer’s action.”
Commenting on subsection 20(8), Mr Ahenkorah said the probability where the delay could be due to the customer’s action was very low and likely not to happen very often.
He said under the Energy Commission Law, Act 541, 1997, it was the function of the EC to promote and ensure uniformed rules of practice for the transmission of wholesale supply, distribution and sale of electricity and natural gas uniformly throughout the country.
Quoting sections of the Act 541, he said under section 2 (2f), it was the function of the commission to establish and enforce, in consultation with the PURC, standards of performance for public utility companies.
On the rules of practice for electricity and natural gas public utilities, he said the commission should by legislative instrument, prescribe technical and operational rules of practice for electricity and natural gas public utilities licensed under Act 541 and would apply and enforce the provisions uniformly throughout the country.
The executive secretary said based on those regulations, the EC, in 2005, passed the Electricity Supply and Distribution (Technical Operation) Rules 2005 (LI 1816).
He, therefore, urged ECG and the NED to offer periodical checks on regular and pre-paid metres in order to prevent loss of revenues as a result of faulty metres.

Energy Commission to enforce power regulations

August 10,2009
page 3

THE Energy Commission (EC) has directed the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Northern Electricity Department (NED) to put their operations in order by December 31,2010.
The Commission said it would vigorously ensure that provisions in the Electricity Supply and Distribution (Standards of Performance) Regulations, 2008 (L.I 1935), which comes into effect in 2010, were enforced to ensure that customers enjoyed the best of services.
Failure to satisfy consumers of power with quality services, especially interruption in power supply to consumers, could result in legal action.
The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Mr Alfred Ofosu Ahenkorah, told the Daily Graphic that the purpose of regulations under L.I 1935 was to provide performance benchmarks in the distribution and supply of electricity.
That, according to him, would allow customers to sue utility companies, including the ECG and the NED, for damages as a result of interruption of power supply.
Quoting sub-regulation 4(2) of Interruption of Supply under Reliability of Electricity Supply, he said "a supplier of electricity shall ensure that the cumulative electricity interruption for each customer within an operational year does not exceed six periods”, and that in default the supplier could be sued.
Sub-regulation 4(1) of the regulations, according to him, indicated that interruption within an operational year should not exceed (a) forty-eight hours in a metropolitan or municipal area or an industrial estate; 72 hours in a district capital; and 144 hours in rural areas.
The period of an interruption, he indicated, shall be consistent and commence from the time the customer informed the supplier of the interruption and the interruption should exceed eight hours metropolitan or municipal area or industrial estate; 12 hours in a district capital; and 24 hours in rural areas.
He was, however, quick to add that despite the various sub-regulations, an interruption of power supply to a customer in sub-regulations 4(5) shall not be treated as wrongful where the interruption of the supply was as a result of a major fault or damage to an indispensable equipment in the supplier's distribution system.
Mr Ahenkorah further noted that the interruption would not be treated as wrongful when it was as result of planned maintenance, emergency, supply disconnection, load-shedding or safety of supply as permitted under the Electricity Supply and Distribution (Technical Operation) Rules 2005 (L.I.1816).
Nonetheless, he said sub-regulations 6 stipulated that “where a major outage was due to the negligence of the supplier, subregulations 4(5) shall not apply.
In accordance with those regulations, he said, sub-regulations 4(7) states that” a supplier shall pay into the Energy Fund the sum prescribed in the schedule where the supplier is in breach of the supply interruption limits specified in subsequent subregulations”.

Survey Department to introduce terrestial data collection

A modern spatial data collection system is to be introduced by the Survey Department to improve efficiency and precision of terrestrial data collection in the country.
The system, Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM)-Grid co-ordinate system, is a universal advanced technological system used in specifying locations on the earth surface.
Prior to the introduction, the existing technical instructions consistent with Ghana National Datum, established by the British in 1936, has been reviewed by the Survey and Mapping Division (SMD) of the Lands Commission to improve the technical instructions for spatial data capture and presentation.
The Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Alhaji Collins Dauda in an address read on his behalf at the review workshop at Sogakope in the Volta Region, was hopeful that the new technical instructions would serve as a guide for land surveyors, map makers, engineer surveyors, hydrographers, geographers and Land Information System managers and other allied professionals.
“It would also serve as tuition materials for training institutions, thereby ensuring quality and uniformity in surveying and mapping in the country,” he said, adding that the old technical instructions, arising from the quality of surveys done and the number of quack surveyors in the country, largely contributed to reasons why there were so much land litigation in the country.
“Ghana cannot afford to remain behind the rest of the world, as techniques and technology for spatial data capture and presentation has changed over the years,” he said.
Consequently, he asserted that “our guidelines should be comparable to what pertains anywhere in the world but at the same time taking into account our local circumstances”, adding that there was the need to constantly improve local capacities through review programmes.
He expressed the hope that when the draft was finalised it would serve as a good guide for all practitioners in the survey and mapping industry in Ghana and gave the assurance that the ministry would continue to provide the necessary support to ensure improvement in the surveying infrastructure in the country.
“Currently under the Land Administration Project (LAP), five Continuous Operating Receiving Stations (CORS) are being established in Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi, Tamale and Bolgatanga,” he stated.
Additionally, he disclosed that the Terms of Reference for Phase II of the new Geodetic Reference Network was being developed and was expected to be completed during the current phase of the LAP.
The President of the Ghana Institution of Surveyors (GhiS), Mr Kwadwo Osei Asante, in an address read on his behalf, said access to land by prospective investors and local entrepreneurs had been difficult due to several multifaceted problems some of which bordered on the blatant violation of ethics by quack surveyors.
“Standards in every profession are vital to the proper and astute practice of that profession,” he stated, and expressed hope that the new draft would serve as a good working document to regulate the practice of the profession in the country.
Mr Asante was hopeful that the new UTM-Grid or the ITRF 2005 international datum, if introduced, would help to unify all data sets on a common datum to avoid any overlaps and errors with respect to Geodetic and Cadastral surveys.
According to him, with new Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) equipment, data captured could be processed directly into the UTM-Grid co-ordinating system without worry about transformation parameters to move from the international system to the local national grid system.
The acting Director of the SMD, Mr Emmanuel Adjei Mohenu, whose address was also read on his behalf, said the UTM-Grid had become necessary to adopt as a result of the numerous challenges the department had encountered in the past.
Hence, he noted that the African Geodetic Reference Frame (AFREF), which was consistent with the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF), had compelled the department to adopt the UTM-Grid as the fundamental basis for national and regional three-dimensional reference networks.
The reference frame, he said, would comprise a network of points where precise observation would be taken and used to define a terrestrial reference frame in a best-fit datum over Africa.
Additionally, he said, the AFREF would be based on current satellite positioning technologies and would form the geodetic infrastructure for multinational projects that required precise geo-referencing.
“So far all African countries have their national geodetic reference frame for producing maps and other geo-information products,” he said, and noted that all African countries had also embraced the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) technologies, particularly the Global Positioning System (GPS), in the various geo-information applications, services and products.
He, however, disclosed that currently under the Land Administration Project (LAP) the SMD and the Lands Commission had established a network with new points at approximately 50km apart covering what he called, ‘the Golden Triangle’ with vertices in Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi.
“Within this triangle survey can be done using the UTM-Grid,” he said, indicating that a second phase of the project was underway and would soon be executed throughout the country.

New registration policy for herbal practitioners

THE Ministry of health (MoH) has launched a policy guideline on the registration and licensing of traditional health practice to promote professionalism and enhance public confidence in traditional healing.
The guidelines are expected to eliminate the high incidence of quackery, charlatanism and unethical practice such as the sale of herbal medicine on passenger vehicles, as well as unsubstantiated claims and preventable deaths.
Through the enforcement of standards for quality service delivery, the Deputy Minister for Health, Dr Benjamin Kumbour, who launched the guidelines in Accra yesterday, said, he was confident that the guidelines would provide useful basis for service provision under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
The registration exercise, according to him, was instituted by a ministerial directive issued by the MoH to the Traditional Medicine Practice Council (TMPC) Secretariat.
He said the regulatory structures had been established to safeguard public health through the protection of practitioners and the citizenry in furtherance of the ministry’s commitment to integrate traditional medicine into the mainstream health delivery system within the context of public-private partnership.
The government’s efforts were also intended to harness the potential of traditional medicine, which Dr Kumbour said had been described as ‘Green Gold’, as a foreign exchange earner and an effective alternative to Western medicine in healthcare provision.
He said traditional medicine had been abused and continued to be exploited, culminating in health hazards, a situation which he said was not peculiar to Ghana but neighbouring countries as well.
That, he expressed, had attracted not only public condemnation or criticism but also loss of public confidence because currently practitioners were mainly self-styled professionals, with a few having qualifications from institutions outside Ghana.
To that effect, he announced that the ministry had also constituted a nine-member panel to assess and, where appropriate, recommend and approve prospective applicants for accreditation as per the rule and regulations.
The Registrar of the TMPC, Mr Korbla Hlortsi-Akakpo, said it was the hope that with the launch, the TMPC Secretariat would be supported to effectively implement the directive in order not to only sustain the interest of the panel members but also achieve the expected outcome.
He also announced that a legislative instrument was in the offing to ban the sale of herbal drugs in passenger vehicles.
A member of the Ghana Federation of Traditional Medicine (GHAFTRAM), Mr Kenneth Danso, was hopeful that the exercise would help eliminate quack practitioners and reduce the use of Western drugs, most of which were suspected to be counterfeit.

Govt ready to bid for Kosmos

24/7/09

page 29

THE government has declared its intention to bid for the interest of Kosmos Energy in the Jubilee Oil fields, should the company decide to sell its stake.
According to the Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Energy, Mr Michael Akwasi-Sarpong, although the ministry had not been approached by Kosmos in this respect, the government would not hesitate to bid for either a part or the whole stake of the company, if it resolves to sell.
Mr Akwasi-Sarpong was clarifying the government’s position on the issue in an interview with the Daily Graphic.
The sale of Kosmos Energy’s title in the oil field has become the subject of recent public debate.
Speculations are that Kosmos Energy, with a 30.875 per cent stake in the Jubilee Oil field and 18 per cent in the Deep Water Tano block wants to offload its interest, estimated at $3 billion.
The deadline for an initial bid, according to sources, closed on July 17, 2009, but has been extended for another 30 days.
Some companies that have been cited to have expressed interest in the stake include Chevron Corp., ExxonMobil Corp., Italy’s Eni SpA and Shell.
Mr Akwasi-Sarpong said the Deputy Energy Minister, Mr Kwabena Donkor had categorically expressed government’s interest, and noted that the government would not force any investor out of the industry, but would work with all partners and players provided they complied with all rules and regulations.
He said the government was more interested that partners in the sector retained their stakes in order to create jobs for Ghanaians.
This, he said, was because the government alone could not control large stakes in the sector as other oil producing countries were doing.
“Government wants to ensure that jobs are created for Ghanaians and would be happy if investors with stakes in the Jubilee field stayed to create jobs in the country,” he said.
Kosmos Energy is said to have received funds worth $800 million from two private equity firms, Blackstone and Warburg Pincus and has hired Standard Chartered and Barclays Plc to sell its stake in the Jubilee filed.
The company is also reported to have signed a $750 million loan facility deal with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group to fund the development of the discoveries.
The loan facility, reports indicate has a final maturity date up to December, 2015 and include an early-draw tranche of up to US$300 million that Kosmos could access immediately on receipt of government's consent to the security package.
The company has also recieved approval from the government for a phase-one plan of development for the field.
The Jubilee field is one of West Africa's biggest oil strikes in years, stipulated to contain reserves of at least 1.2 billion barrels, with first output scheduled for the second half of 2010.

Population projected to be 25 million

Front page- 1b

THE Government Statistician, Dr Grace Bediako, has indicated that preparations towards the 2010 Census are far advanced, with 75 per cent of the work completed.
She was optimistic that all preparatory work would be completed before the exercise kicked off on a day to be designated by the President as the Census Night.
Dr Bediako told the Daily Graphic in an interview that so far all the necessary preparatory work in the northern part of the country had been successfully completed, with work in the southern sector on course.
She said at the moment attention was focused on finalising the questionnaires for the exercise and the training of experts to assist in the actual collection of data.
With the 25 million projected population, the Government Statistician said the actual outcome hinged on the mapping of the areas to be covered, adding that the districts and municipal assemblies would be zoned into smaller areas to ensure efficiency during the exercise.
According to her, a Population and Housing Census District Implementation Committee would be inaugurated today to facilitate the exercise and ensure its total success.
Additionally, a strategy to systematically train government officials to work in collaboration with municipal and district assemblies (MDAs) had been put in place.
In all, she said 50,000 people from government agencies would be recruited for the exercise.
The homeless and street dwellers, she said, would be enumerated first on Census Night by officials who would comb the streets and towns to ascertain their population as of that given time.
An Assistant Chief Statistician, Mr Kofi Agyemang-Duah, said after data had been collected from the homeless and street dwellers, they would be presented with certificates of enumeration in order to avoid double counting.
The relevance of the Census Night, he explained, was to ensure that all persons, either Ghanaian or foreigners, within Ghana’s geographical boundary as of 12 midnight of the Census Night would be regarded as being part of the population of Ghana.
On Census night, he said various activities, such as religious activities, the sounding of sirens and church bells, would go on as a signal to residents to inform them of the event.
Mr Agyemang-Duah urged all persons who would either be visiting friends or relatives to leave details of their biological information with their hosts to avoid double counting.
“You will be counted based on where you were at 12 midnight on Census Night,” he stated, and appealed to the media to assist in creating awareness of the exercise in order to minimise the challenges to be confronted during the exercise.

Accra drainage plan to change

IN an effort to check flooding and minimise its damaging effects on lives and property, the government is reviewing the 1992 Accra Strategic Drainage Plan to modernise the drainage system in the national capital.
The plan, which was initiated in 1988 and completed in 1992, was prepared by the Town and Country Planning Department, with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The Director of the Town and Country Planning Department, Mr Kwadwo Baafour Asare, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic, said the drainage system in the capital could no longer sustain the growing population in the city and, therefore, needed to be modernised.
The government, he said, was poised to avoid any serious havoc to lives and property during next year’s rainfall rainy season.
“The government is seriously concerned about the poor drainage system in the capital and is prepared to do anything to ensure that we have a very good plan to mitigate flooding,” he said, noting that works to be identified would be completed by the end of this year to prevent a recurrence of the recent disasters.
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Mr Asare suggested that the assemblies could attract developers to other areas of the capital by providing basic essential amenities in those areas.
He said the department, which is part of the Inter-Ministerial Task Force charged to demolish houses on watercourses, was poorly resourced and understaffed.
He attributed the understaffing situation to the existing policy on manpower which prevented the department from engaging personnel for certain key planning activities.
Mr Asare said the department would take advantage of the only option provided under the policy to replace personnel with approval from the Ministry of Finance.
Currently, he said, the department had enough policy or resource planners but lacked settlement planners skilled in planning urban development to prepare layouts and planning schemes.
According to him, the assemblies needed to work jointly with settlement planners to plan good roads and layouts devoid of encroachment to make communities self-sustaining.

Single currency for West Africa feasible

Page 34- July 17, 2009

THE Government Statistician, Dr Grace Bediako, has observed that the vision of a single currency for West Africa is achievable, despite the strict convergence criteria for member countries.
She is optimistic that this vision will be realised if countries in the sub-region share methods and comparable statistics information and focus on building economic models that will effectively support government policies.
Dr Bediako gave the assurance when she spoke to the Daily Graphic shortly after the opening of a seven-day capacity building workshop on macroeconomic modelling in Accra last Monday
She said models were important inputs for policies to assist government officials to maintain and evaluate the impact of government policies.
“A good understanding of the economic model is critical for us to understand our economic policies,” she noted, and urged countries in the sub-region to foster synergy and co-ordinate data among themselves to better integrate the sub-region.
She advised representatives of member countries present to ensure the harmonisation of their economic modelling concepts, which she said was critical in the integration of the continent.
"It is important for us to meet the criteria of those who are supposed to implement government policies, understand what aggregate they need to feed into these policies," she said, and expressed the conviction that deliberations at the workshop would help participants to make better inputs in their various countries.
Dr Bediako, however, expressed dismay at the inability of statistical services in the sub-region to retain the capacity they had built overtime and called for a common strategy that would help them to retain those capacities or trained personnel.
The ongoing workshop is being organised jointly by the African Capacity Building Foundation (ABCF) and the ECOWAS Statistical Capacity Building Project (ESCAP) of the ECOWAS Commission.
It is to purposely contribute to the establishment of an enabling environment and conditions for ECOWAS members to produce the minimum statistical information needed for decision-making.
Mr Biokou Mathieu Djayeola, a statistician-economist, was hopeful that the workshop would strengthen the capacity of the ECOWAS Commission to help promote statistical harmonisation in member countries.
The major components of the project, he said, were institutional strengthening, research activities, training, dissemination and advocacy.
Under institutional strengthening, Mr Djayeola, who is also a member of the ECOWAS Commission, said the procurement of equipment such as computers and the acquisition of specialised software such as Statistical Analysis Systems (SAS) would benefit member countries in standardisation of data and analysis.
On the expected output or impact of the project, he said a framework would be developed to assist member countries to update their laws and other regulatory instruments, with reference from eight regional research studies that contained new updates of information and policy recommendations from legal and regulatory frameworks.
He disclosed that eight regional training workshops would be organised for about 200 beneficiaries from member countries, while six regional dissemination and advocacy workshops based on research findings and topical themes would as well be organised for about 120 participants.
That, according to Mr Djayeola, was expected to increase the performance of national statistical systems and improve policy-making in member countries.
Additionally, he said the ECOWAS Commission would capitalise on the outcomes of the project to further promote the harmonisation of monetary and trade policies, the lowering of tariffs, elimination of non-tariff barriers and the removal of other impediments to free trade within the community.

Global Economic downturn has affected media houses

Page 24- July 17,2009

THE recent global economic downturn has affected the operations of companies worldwide, including that of major media houses in the country.
The situation, as explained by the Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Limited, Mr Ibrahim Awal, at the company’s 2009 mid-year staff durbar, had impacted heavily on the company’s operations, prompting the management to cut down on cost, particularly on medical incentives for staff.
According to the managing director the cedi had depreciated by about 22 per cent against the US dollar, increasing the cost of operations of the company to over GH¢300,000.
This, he said, could also be attributed to the fact that most of the consumables used by the company were imported.
Currently, he said, the company had spent about GH¢800,000 on repayment of loans for its new press house to Stanbic and Ecobank, as well as on prints for production.
"The global downturn has also affected advertising revenue, and from January to June this year revenue targets have been decreasing badly," he stated, and pointed out that management and staff could mitigate the problem.
"We must work hard, the time some personnel arrive at work is not encouraging, company hours are not being utilised adequately," he said, and added that though Graphic was a profitable company, workers needed to change their attitude to work to make it more profitable.
To that effect, Mr Awal announced that from next year payment of bonus for staff would be based on performance of individual staff.
He also indicated that although the company had about 75 per cent share of total advertisement in the media in the country, unfortunately it had about GH¢230,000 "What we need to do is to reduce waste. We have to leverage our competence and credibility to make money,” he urged, and indicated that, for example, issues of unsold publications were a problem worldwide.
He was, however, hopeful that things would improve soon as the company intended to diversify its operations into the electronic media by next year, with the establishment of a radio station.
Earlier, questions were asked as to why the company had cut down on health incentives for staff, and Mr Awal explained that it was not deliberate to deny staff of those incentives, but management had to resort to that measure as a result of the impact of the global economic crisis on the operations of the company.
The Editor of Daily Graphic, Mr Randsford Tetteh, who also responded to some issues raised about the content of the newspaper, said the editorial team always took into account the sensibility of the reading public, that was why it did not publish just any human interest story with the view of making profit.
“We do not have to follow what others are doing,” he said, but welcomed suggestions from members of staff as to how to derive the desired impact.
The General Services Manager, Mr B. B. Awuah, who is in charge of the construction of the company’s new press house, said although management could not penalise the contractor for the delay, there were provisions in the contract that allowed management to abrogate the contract and ask for damages, a situation he ruled out.
“What we are interested in is to get the work completed,” he said, and gave the assurance that management, together with external consultants, were doing their best to ensure that the project was completed on time for the equipment, which was brought in last year, to be installed.
Long service certificates were presented to some members of staff.

RESIDENTS of VRA resettlements appeal to govt

RESIDENTS of Volta River Authority (VRA) resettlements in three Kpando districts in the Volta Region have appealed to the government to resettle them, to save them from injustices being perpetrated against them by the Chiefs and people of Kpando Fesi.
The residents from Kpando Fesi, Kpando Bame and Kpando Agbenorhoe were ejected from communities such as Gbefe, Sempeta, Hatukope, Avetikope and Zelevukope to pave way for the construction of the Akosombo Dam.
In 1963, the government acquired lands on behalf of VRA to resettle them.
The Chairman of a Unit Committee in the resettlement area, Mr Kumi Simmons told the Daily Graphic in an interview in Accra today that, a section of the youth of Kpando Fesi had been threatening their lives and creating an atmosphere of insecurity by sporadic firing of guns into the air.
He alleged that the youth appeared to be carrying out the threats of war which were allegedly issued by Togbe Afendza III, chief of Kpando Fesi.
According to Mr Simmons the youth allegedly invaded their communities on June 3, 2009 and repeated their lawless act of firing guns in the air to create fear among members of the communities thereby halting all economic activities.
He said “ since the threats were issued a month ago, we have not being to our farms, our children and women are hungry and we the men are helpless”.
According to him, the situation had created poverty, hunger and insecurity in the three communities, after the Kpando youth destroyed almost every crop on their farms.
“As if not enough, they fell trees on our farms which led to debris filling the only pond we use as a source of water during the dry season”, he complained.
He further alleged that after their farms were destroyed, Togbe Afendza III sent his linguist and one Mr Agorbortu Robert to inform their Headman, Togbui Etsiada that from June 3, 2009 onwards, no settler should go to his or her farms or move anywhere for a month otherwise they would be shot and killed.
He said the government was their last hope since all efforts to have the matter peacefully settled by the VRA, the District Chief Executive, Members of Parliament and the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) had been to no avail.
“The government should quickly come to our aid, because we believe next time when they come, they will not fire their guns in the air, but rather turn their muzzles on us”, he added and urged the government to intercede to prevent any act of genocide.
Mr Simmons said the residents had been living in the resettlement quarters since the reign of the Togbe Afendza II, who gave the lands to the VRA, 46 years ago, after the payment of huge sums of monies by the government as compensation.
“Since his death and the enthronement of Tobge Afendza III, we have not had peace as he and his elders have imposed certain conditions which are difficult to comply with”, he lamented.
Enumerating the some of the conditions, he said “owners of all newly built houses on any of the compounds of the VRA resettlement quarters were to pay GH¢20 and two bottles of foreign schnapps to the Afendza stool.
“Owners of building that fall outside the quarters but are within the resettlement area are to pay GH¢30, one live ram, and four bottles of schnapps”, he stated.
Additionally, he said, they were compelled to attend communal labour at Fesi Township, whilst residents of the town failed to attend communal labour at the resettlement.
Mr Simmons said they were also not allowed to touch palm and teak trees they had planted on the land and were also not allowed to create any cemetery or bury a corspe in the resettlement without the prior approval from the Chief and his elders.
For record purposes, he said they demanded a written copy of the conditions imposed on them, but surprisingly, Togbe and his elders declined to honour their request
He said they were therefore pleading with the government to intercede before the inevitable happened.

WAR on Piracy- AG wants all hands on deck

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Counterfeiting, which is said to account for $512 billion of global trade annually, has been a major obstacle to the achievement of the development goals of many countries, including Ghana.
That substantial share of world trade is said to be most pronounced in pharmaceuticals, textiles, automobiles, household appliances, currencies and musical videos and it is responsible for between five and seven per cent of the global trade.
In the case of Ghana, which is severely hit by the phenomenon, making job creation exceedingly difficult, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mrs Betty Mould-Iddrisu, yesterday advocated the establishment of a separate Intellectual Property Office to fight piracy and counterfeit products in the country.
Furthermore, she recommended a crusade involving government agencies, the media and the private business sector to fight against all forms of counterfeiting in the country.
Mrs Mould-Iddrisu disclosed this at a forum in Accra as part of activities marking the 50th anniversary of the Ghana Employers Association (GEA).
She expressed the hope that government agencies, such as the Ghana Police Service, the Copyright Office, the Food and Drugs Board (FDB), the Registrar-General’s Department, the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) and the Ghana Standard Board (GSB), would be brought under one umbrella to enforce intellectual property rights, particularly in the textile and pharmaceutical industries.
Speaking on the theme, “Consumer protection against illicit trade and counterfeit goods”, the minister said plans were underway to merge the Industrial Property Section of the Registrar-General’s Department and the Copyright Office to constitute a more effective Intellectual Property Office.
Mrs Mould-Iddrisu said the government would not relent in its efforts at ridding the country of counterfeit and illicit goods and called for the support of all Ghanaians.
She said in order to facilitate information flow, the government would assist CEPS and the police to set up a database on counterfeiting that would be linked to the World Customs Authority and Interpol.
Additionally, she said, the Attorney-General’s Office, the Copyright Office and the Registrar-General’s Department would work in conjunction with the Coalition Against Counterfeit and Illicit Trade (CACIT), an initiative of the GEA, to provide training programmes for the enforcement agencies.
Mrs Mould-Iddrisu said the government intended to propose an increase in fines and the terms of imprisonment for offenders to serve as a deterrent because the low fines and low terms of imprisonment as prescribed by the various statutes on intellectual property right were not deterrent enough.
The President of the GEA, Nana Fredua Agyeman Pambo I, said the theme for the occasion was informed by the negative and devastating impact of the phenomenon, which was harmful to the image and reputation of the country.
He said many industries, particularly the textile industry in Ghana and other West African countries, had collapsed due to counterfeiting, piracy and the infringement of property rights, mostly of imported products from Asia.
In 2004 alone, Nana Pambo said, the World Customs Organisation estimated the global trade in counterfeit products to be $512 billion and noted that counterfeit operators had created a global industry that now rivalled the multinational corporation in speed, reach and sophistication.
He also cited a report by the International Policy Network (IPN), which stated that about 700 people died annually from consuming fake drugs, most of which were said to have originated from China and India.
“The IPN estimates that almost 50 per cent of drugs sold in Ghana, Nigeria, Angola, Burundi and the Congo are fake and substandard, leaving people to unknowingly consume paints, saw dust, cement, talcum powder and other toxic substances,” he added.
He, therefore, called for a national educational and awareness campaign to address the problem posed by counterfeit products, particularly pharmaceuticals.
Nana Pambo suggested that a special collaboration to combat counterfeit medicine could be initiated at the national and regional levels involving stakeholders from the public sector, the health sector, civil society groups, healthcare professionals, manufacturers, distributors and the media.
The Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Limited, Mr Ibrahim Awal, who chaired the ceremony, said counterfeiting had serious implications on the country’s development agenda.
He, therefore, urged the media to team up with other stakeholders in fighting the menace, which he believed was badly affecting particularly the private sector.

We haven't issued any permits- Town and Country Planning declares

THE Town and Country Planning Department says it has not issued any permits for the construction of any of the structures sited on watercourses in parts of Accra.
It has, therefore, asked the inter-ministerial committee set up for the demolition of those structures to investigate whether owners of those property have permits and where they obtained them from.
The Director of the department, Mr Kofi Dankwa Osei, told the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday that the law should be allowed to work and those found to have issued permits without authority punished accordingly. “I think if anyone is found to have issued permits for people to build on water courses, that person should be used as an example,” he stated.
He was reacting to allegations made by some ministers in the wake of the current floods in Accra that the department might have issued permits that allowed residents to build on watercourses.
Mr Osei explained that it was not the sole responsibility of the department to issue permits, as the public had been made to believe, noting that the authority to do that rested with a technical committee comprising other land administration agencies which made recommendations for the Chief Executive of the metropolitan assembly to approve.
He stressed that under no circumstance would any member of the committee issue permits for applicants to build on watercourses and urged the media not to support residents found culpable by highlighting the agony they would go through when their buildings were demolished.
He said the department would not hesitate to furnish the inter-ministerial task force with documents to assist it in its investigations.
According to him, the fact that the department was poorly resourced did not mean that it should undermine its core functions of planning, controlling and ensuring the sustainable and cost-effective development of human settlements in accordance with sound environmental and planning principles.
He said what the government had to do was spend money on extensive dredging of drains, particularly the Korle Lagoon and the Odaw River.
"These are the major outfills and they should be free enough for water to pass through," he said, pointing out that another major headache for the national capital was the Sodom and Gomorrah settlement.
The Deputy Director of the department, Mrs Doris Tetteh, corroborated the point that the issuance of permits was not the sole responsibility of the department.“It is a comprehensive process and no individual can issue a permit without the knowledge of other members of the Technical Committee,” she stated, and mentioned some members of the committee as representatives of the Department of Urban Roads, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Lands Commission, the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, the AMA and other stakeholders.
Mrs Tetteh, who was in a meeting with members of the Technical Committee during the interview, said areas such as Fadama, Awoshie, North Kaneshie, Kaneshie and other areas which experienced the recent flooding in Accra that killed seven people had always been flood-prone.
She explained that the population of the capital had increased tremendously and so facilities and infrastructure should also be improved in order to avoid the situation where people became victims of floods.
Mrs Tetteh said it was time to implement the technical decisions and the government had a duty to commit itself to the decision to demolish buildings on watercourses and free the thousands who suffered from the annual ritual of floods in Accra.

Aftermath of Rain Disaster- 45 Houses to go down

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AN inter-ministerial committee has been formed by the government to identify and demolish all buildings and illegal structures on watercourses to prevent a recurrence of last Friday’s floodsin Accra that claimed seven lives.
The inter-ministerial task force includes representatives of the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, the Ministry of Local Government, the Ministry of Roads and Highways (Urban Roads) and the Ministry of the Interior and officials from the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), the Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinating Council and personnel from the security agencies.
They have up to Friday to submit their report.
It is estimated that more than 45 buildings will be affected.
In August 2007, after a similar disaster in which five people were killed by floods in the western part of Accra, 25 buildings were marked for demolition by NADMO but after three of them had been pulled down, owners of the affected properties sought a court injunction to stop the exercise.
It has been on hold since then but this time the agencies charged with the job have indicated their preparedness to go all the way and demolish all the buildings and illegal structures found to have been constructed on watercourses.
The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Armah Ashietey, who disclosed this after a visit by the leadership of the various authorities to the affected areas and victims of the floods, said after taking inventory of all structures on watercourses, the task force would identify those that had building permits and those that did not have before taking action.
“We will determine whether the Town and Country Planning Department (TCPD) gave them permits to build. If they are covered by permits, we will negotiate with them, but if they are not, we will have to do what is right to save the rest of the members of the community from such disasters,” he said.
In addition to the demolition exercise, the AMA has been charged to clear all silted gutters in the metropolis and make sure that all kiosks and illegal structures along the streets are removed.
Commenting on the corrective measures, the Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Joe Gidisu, said work on that part of the Kaneshie road where the bitumen was washed away by the rain would be completed for free flow of traffic by today.
He blamed officials of the TCPD who, he said, had not been honest to the country by allowing houses to be built on watercourses.
The Deputy Minister for Local Government, Mr Elvis Afriyie Ankrah, said, “Henceforth, every law that has to do with development will be enforced. We have to do what is right and we will apply the law to the fullest.”
The Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Dr Hanna Louisa Bisiw, also criticised the issuance of illegal permits by officials of the TCPD.
“Each illegal permit is equal to a life lost. We have to be very responsible to our country,” she said, and described the behaviour of those involved as unpatriotic, considering the amount of money the government had spent to decongest the capital and other flood-prone areas.
The National Co-ordinator of NADMO, Mr Kofi Portuphy, said as of yesterday trucks were loading relief items for distribution to victims and noted that NADMO had set up camps in the affected areas where the items would be distributed, with assistance from the leadership of the various assemblies.
He disclosed that a medical team would visit the affected areas to check any possible outbreak of water-borne diseases.
The Chief Executive of the AMA, Mr Alfred Vanderpiuje, during the tour, warned all victims who were reconstructing their structures along the drains to halt the practice because they were going to be pulled down.
He also said people who parked their vehicles on the road would be prevented from doing so to ease traffic, particularly on the Mallam-Kaneshie highway.
The Greater Accra Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Rose Bio-Atinga, said the police, for their part, would provide security for all affected victims who, she urged, should feel free to contact the police in case of any complaint.

Ministry to embark on massive tree-planting exercise

THE Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources has announced plans to embark on a massive national tree- planting exercise to halt the depletion of the country’s forest plantation and reserves.
The sector Minister, Alhaji Collins Dauda, who made this known, said the ministry was currently in contact with other stakeholders to tackle the problem.
He described the extent of degradation of the country’s forests as appalling and stressed the need for such an exercise to protect natural resources.
Alhaji Dauda, who made the point during a courtesy call on him by the Bulgarian Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Nedelcho Peneff, said Ghana once had 8.2 million hectares of forest but now it had reduced to about 1.5 million hectares.
“You realise that the extent of degradation is as a result of our own activities and so we have decided that what has been lost must be replaced,” he stated.
He, therefore, asked for support from Bulgaria to deal with the situation which, he said, was badly affecting the pattern of rainfall in the country.
Ghana recently ratified the Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA), which requires it to strictly adhere to its own laws. The VPA is a set of standards and guidelines intended for proper forest governance and timber harvest, with the view to ensuring that only legal timber was exported from Ghana to Europe.
Alhaji Dauda said Ghana was currently faced with the challenge of adding value to its mineral resources and, therefore, requested the Bulgarian Ambassador to assist the country to attract investors who were willing to set up refineries in the country.
The courtesy call by the Bulgarian Ambassador was essentially to congratulate the minister on his appointment to that political office and to discuss possible areas of co-operation.
Mr Peneff commended Ghana for its democratic maturity, saying, “Ghana has demonstrated to the world that the culture of democracy is of high standard and should serve as an example to the continent and the rest of the world.”
He recalled the long-standing relations between Ghana and Bulgaria, dating back to 1962 when Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, visited that country.
He expressed the hope that the relations would be reactivated, and on that basis extended an invitation to Alhaji Dauda to visit Bulgaria and identify possible areas of co-operation between the two countries.
“We do not need to just exchange documents but take concrete steps that will benefit both countries,” he stated.
Mr Peneff expressed his willingness to help attract investors from Bulgaria to set up refineries in Ghana and urged the minister to furnish him with documents on the country’s total stock of minerals and natural resources for reference.

Constitution must grow with times — Gyandoh

Professor Emeritus Samuel Otu Gyandoh, a professor of Law at the Temple University School of Law in Philadelphia, USA, has described the Constitution as a living organism which must grow with the times.
“We can adapt the Constitution to changing times by timely amendments, like Act 527 of 1996, and by judiciary interpretation,” he said.
Delivering a lecture to mark the 50th Anniversary celebration of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS) in Accra on Tuesday, Prof Gyandoh said what “we do not need as a country is another Constitutional Commission, Constitutional Assembly or Committee of Experts to draw up new Constitution for a future Fifth Republic of Ghana".
He said it was not proper for any group of people to claim to have reached the pinnacle of political wisdom to dictate to generations yet unborn.
Speaking on the theme, "Constitutional Review in Ghana", he said there was always room for improvement of the human condition, and was optimistic that a review of relevant portions of the 1992 Constitution would deepen the country's democratisation process.
He also touched on some discrepancies bordering on dual citizenship — article 8 and 9 (5) and indemnity — Act 527, 1996, which he said, had raised unresolved problems of legitimacy for the nation.
On dual citizenship, Prof Gyandoh said citizenship laws should be inclusive and not exclusive, as in a situation where a person with dual citizenship could be a Minister and Member of Parliament but not Secretary to the Cabinet, or Ambassador or Chief of Defence Staff, Inspector-General of Police, Commissioner of Customs, Excise and Preventive Service or the Director of the Immigration Service.
On indemnity, he said the 1992 Constitution should take into account the fact that the era of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) rule was a military rule in order to preserve the spirit and enduring values enshrined in the Constitution.
Professor Mike Oquaye, the Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, who dilevered the second lecture was also of the view that a review of the 1992 Constitution would deepen and strengthen the country’s democracy.
In his support for a review, he said constitutions were subject to the law of mutations but they should be stable enough to contain the competing forces of instability within the body politic.
He therefore urged Parliament to tighten the screws of the 1992 Constitutional engineering, but however, agreed with maintaining the indemnity clause so that the country could move forward.
He said any change in the Constitution should have specific goals to secure good governance, promote the rule of law and separation of powers.
Prof Oquaye said a review should as well check arbitrariness, secure accountability, ensure human rights and provide a credible electoral system that guaranteed smooth and effective transition of political power.
Additionally, he recommended that a review process should secure effective decentralisation, promote the rights of women, children and the vulnerable groups in the country.
"As we seek to review our Constitution, let us leave no stone unturned. Let us not take anything for granted," he stated and urged Parliament to be as detailed as possible and as imaginative as human vision would allow.
The President of GAAS, Prof Reginald Amonoo, was also optimistic that a review process would enhance the country's democratisation process.
He refereed to a paper that was presented by Prof Joseph R.A. Ayee, Dean, Faculty of Social Studies, University of Ghana, Legon on the topic "Signposts to Healthy Politics in Ghana," which identified what could be done to promote positive politics instead of negative and adversarial politics in Ghana.
According to Prof Amonoo, GAAS and the Friedrich Ebert Stiffing (FES) Foundation had been partnering to promote and strengthen democracy and social justice in Ghana since 1993.
The Resident Director of FES , Ms Kathrin Meissner, described Ghana's transformation to democracy in 1992 as a major turning point.
She commended Ghana for a peaceful election in 2008 and noted that though there were serious challenges that needed to be addressed in the future, the 2008 election was certainly proof of the overall political stability that Ghana had achieved.
Ms Meissner however noted that the relevance of Ghana's Constitution laid in the commitment of the good people of Ghana to it, and pointed out that a review process would create an opportunity and reaffirm the consensus for the country's political system.

Consider benefits for political, high office holders’

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June 18, 2009

PARLIAMENT must consider issues bordering on emoluments and retirement benefits for political and high office holders in its intended review of the 1992 Constitution.
It has further been urged to consider other provisions including political transitions, the limitation of the legislative authority of Parliament, the conduct of Presidential and Parliamentary elections and others relating to the composition, membership and conditions of service for Commissioners of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).
Mr Kwamena Ahwoi, a Principal lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), and Mr Alban K. S. Bagbin, the Majority Leader of Parliament, made the recommendation on Tuesday at the second inaugural lecture to mark the 50th Anniversary celebration of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (GAAS) in Accra,
They spoke on the theme, “Confronting the Challenges of the 1992 Constitution”.
Mr Ahwoi said Article 71 of the Constitution which provided a formula for the determination of salaries, allowances, facilities, privileges, retiring benefits or awards for public office holders, including the President and Vice President, needed to be amended by Parliament if judicial interpretation could not adequately address the challenges associated with it.
He was against the practice where the President appointed a committee to make recommendations for the benefit of the executive and public office holders in line with Article 71 of the Constitution.
He said “should the practice continue, a time will come when there will be a number of ex-Presidents and sets of ex-Parliamentarians all buying from the same market and yet enjoying different retirement benefits or end-of-service benefits”.
He said it was his submission that in interpreting Article 71, a distinction should be drawn between “salaries and allowances” and “retiring benefits and awards”.
Mr Ahwoi said whilst “salaries and allowances” may be determined by each new President, “the retiring benefits and awards should be fixed at all time, with an adjustment formula for inflation and other significant indicators.
For ex-Ministers and ex-Members of Parliament who may be entitled to one-time-end-of-service benefits or ex-gratia payments only, he said the solution may be to fix the quantum in convertible currency such as the US dollar or by way of formula with an in-built inflation factor.
On provisions concerning political transition, he said the experiences of the political transitions of 2001 and 2009 “should teach us that there are vast lacunae in our constitutional arrangements”, which ought to be filled by either constitutional amendment or the exercise of the residual power of Parliament conferred by Article 298.
He therefore agreed with proposals contained in the Institute of Economic Affairs draft “Presidential Transition Bill 2009”.
According to him, the draft bill, proposed among other measures the establishment of an institution that would be responsible for inventory and stock taking of state assets and properties to ensure a smooth and civic handing over of such assets from an outgoing to an incoming administration.
“That is intended to act as a buffer to avoid any dispute between the two parties over all such assets”, he added, and pointed out that the core of the problem related to the short period between Presidential and Parliamentary elections and the date of the inauguration of the new President and Parliament.
To deal with this problem, he said the provision on the period of Parliamentary elections could be amended to allow for a longer period between the Parliamentary elections and the inauguration date of January 7.
Other key areas of the 1992 Constitution he addressed included the concept and practice of the ‘hybrid’ Executive system of government, Decentralisation and Local Government, and the Media and the Right to Rejoinder.
Mr Bagbin, who partly focused his address on the limitations of the legislative authority of Parliament (article 108), said the provision deprived the legislature of one of the most effective mode of exercising control over the use of public funds by the Executive.
“By this prohibition, Parliament is prevented from debating matters that involve expenditure from public funds, the raising of taxation or increases in the rate of taxation on its own initiative without a request from the President”, he emphasised and raised other concerns which he said were inconsistent and therefore called for a review to remove the limitation.
On the appointment of Ministers by the President with the prior approval of Parliament from among members of Parliament or persons qualified to be elected as member of Parliament, except that the majority of Minister shall be appointed from Parliament, the Majority Speaker said experience over the past 16 years had shown that Ministers with Parliament seats tended to find it difficult to effectively combine the two portfolios.
“There is therefore the real challenge of divided attention which is naturally not their making”, he stated and pointed out that the situation was likely to continue for as long as Parliamentary privileges and facilities continued to remain very unattractive as compared with ministerial portfolio.
As a solution, he suggested that the hybrid executive system should be reverted to the Presidential system with complete separation of Parliament from the Executive.
Mr Bagbin also suggested that the condition of service of the Commissioner of CHRAJ, should provide for progression from the status of a justice of the Court of Appeal to a justice of the Supreme Court whilst that of the Deputy Commissioner should be allowed for progression from justice of the High Court to a justice of the Court of Appeal.
He said article 218(e) which prevented the Commission from initiating its own investigation into a matter within its jurisdiction had the effect of dampening the Commission’s initiative to investigate perceived acts of corruption, including the promotion of human rights values, integrity and the rule of law.
To that effect, he urged Parliament to amend article 218 to enable CHRAJ to perform its watchdog role as an independent governance institution.

Ghanaians urged to recognise relevance of Founder’s Day- Dr Jonah

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June 17, 2009

A POLITICAL Science Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Legon, Dr Kwesi Jonah has urged Ghanaians to recognise the relevance of the intended Founder’s Day celebration to be instituted in the country.
He, therefore, urged the government to also translate the ideas and ideals Nkrumah represented into concrete action.
Dr Jonah made the assertions in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday.
He said the day should be a ceremony where the main achievements of Nkrumah would be highlighted in the media in the form of radio and television discussions, lecturers and symposiums in schools.
Congratulating the government for its intention to institute the Founder’s Day celebration, Dr Jonah suggested to the government to specifically highlight the good things that Nkrumah wanted to achieve and see which of his plans and projects were still relevant today.
“Nkrumah is the only African leader to lead a sub-Saharan African country to independence and that alone is a significant achievement to be celebrated”, he stated.
Dr Jonah stated that with that achievement, Nkrumah became the symbol of hope and the source of inspiration for all liberation movements in Africa.
He said the achievements of Nkrumah were so memorable that “Ghanaians can not afford to forget about him”.
“You cannot discuss the liberation of the African continent without mentioning Nkrumah. They all looked up to him”, he added, and enumerated some African liberation movements that looked up to Nkrumah experience.
“Some of these movements which sought advice from Nkrumah included the South West African People’s Organisation (SWAPO) from Namibia, African National Congress (ANC) from South Africa, the National Liberation Front from Algeria, the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO) and many other movements which were hosted at the former Students’ Hostel in Accra”, he stated.
According to him, what made the celebration of Nkrumah even more relevant today could be justified considering two important targets Nkrumah outlined to achieve.
“That is the United States of Africa and unity in Ghana, as the country was nearly divided after independence”, he said.
First, Dr Jonah said, Nkrumah struggled for Ghana’s independence after he left the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) to form the Convention People’s Party (CPP).
That, he said, made the British realise that the struggle for independence had transcended down from the educated elite to the ordinary people.
“They became conscious of the fact that, someone was now mobilising the ordinary people to fight for independence”, he said.
He stated that because the British had no choice, they had to organise three major elections, in 1951, 1954 and 1956, all of which were swept by the CPP.
Dr Jonah said immediately after independence, Dr Nkrumah discovered that some political parties springing up in the country were based on regions, religion and ethnic groupings.
He said Dr Nkrumah, therefore, passed the “Avoidance of Discrimination Act” which banned the formation of political parties based on those lines apart from nationalistic point of view.
Dr Jonah said details of the Act which had unified Ghana so well leading to the formation of the United Party (UP), a combination of all those smaller parties, could now be found in the Political Parties Act in the 1992 Constitution, where it was indicated that all political parties should be organised on national lines and each should have at least offices in two-thirds of districts in Ghana.
He added that immediately after independence, Dr Nkrumah hit the ground running, realising that Ghana as a tiny West African country could not survive against the powerful colonial super powers, and therefore declared that the independence of Ghana was meaningless unless it was linked with the total liberation of Africa.
In that regard, he said, Nkrumah organised the Conference of Independent African states in Accra in 1958 where together with other African leaders, they discussed how to liberate the continent of colonialism.
Dr Jonah said, after that conference, Dr Nkrumah realised that most of his fellow heads of states were conservatives, because most of them had suggested that the continent could be integrated along functional lines and through regional grouping.
He said Dr Nkrumah believed that Africa needed to develop a strong economy and army to defend itself, but unfortunately, “his peers did not understand him”, and the resultant impact, he said, “politically we are unable to resolve the numerous conflicts and genocide which had been recorded on the continent”.

Two organisations sign partnership agreement

THE Ghana Telecom University College (GTUC) has signed a partnership agreement with Rising Data Solutions Limited (RDS), a business process outsourcing (BPO) company, to train people and create jobs in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry.
Under the agreement, RDS will provide a curriculum and logistics in the field and train teachers to teach the course at the college, while GTUC would house the classrooms, hardware and teaching personnel for the implementation of the course.
The college will also absorb the class into its official curriculum where students who earn qualifying marks in the course will gain employment with RDS.
The two institutions signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Accra yesterday to seal the partnership.
The President of GTUC, Dr Osei K. Darkwa, said the government had identified Information Technology Enabled Service (ITES) and the BPO industry as one of the key industries for the creation of jobs and the provision of marketable skills for the youth for the country to position itself as a destination of choice for outsourcing.
He expressed optimism that the collaboration would equip the students of the college with the requisite skills in areas such as communication and listening, telemarketing, keyboard, time management, computer, customer care, telephone etiquette, accent neutralisation and pronunciation skills.
He indicated that a study conducted in 2006 by an Indian company, Hewitt Associates, with assistance from the World Bank and Information for Development (infoDev) in Ghana, estimated that the sector could create 37,000 jobs by the year 2011, with an added value of US$750 million to the economy.
The Vice-President of GTUC, Dr Robert Baffuor, gave the assurance that the university would continue to provide the platform and build the requisite foundation to place Ghana on the technology map.
The Public Relations Manager of RDS, Mr A. J. Whitman, noted that the partnership was part of RDS’s ongoing campaign to bring more jobs to Ghana via the BPO industry.
“We are proud of this partnership with GTUC because both parties recognise that the private sector cannot grow without the educational sector, and vice versa,” he added.
The Head of Corporate Communication, Vodaphone, Mr Albert Don-Chebe, gave assurance that Vodaphone was strongly behind the deal and commended RDS for having the courage to invest in Ghana, despite the challenges.
The Director of Finance and Administration of the Ministry of Communications, Mr M. B. Alhassan, disclosed that the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) were strongly behind Ghana in the development of the BPO industry.
“This emphasises the government’s commitment to the sector,” he indicated, and noted that to further support the sector, the government was putting up a data centre to properly monitor and evaluate its performance.

Develop framework for use of ICT -Health experts urged

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

Future Leaders Group assists Aburi Girls

THE Future Leaders Group (FLG) has donated 100 pieces of choir robes and 20 tambourines worth GH¢2,120 to the Aburi Girls Senior High School at Aburi in the Eastern Region.
The Group has also awarded scholarships to five needy students in the school to encourage them to study hard, despite their financial challenges.
The Chief Executive Officer of FLG, Mr Emmanuel Dei Tumi, who made the presentation on behalf of the group, said the group recognised the importance of religious and moral education in schools, hence their resolve to assist the school with the robes and tambourines.
He said education was not only about acquiring theoretical knowledge, but also about the inculcating morality and the fear of God in students, who in recent times, were being lured into cyber fraud and other deviant activities.
Mr Tumi disclosed that FLG had awarded scholarships to over 200 students in the country, from primary to tertiary level, and intended to increase the number to cover other needy, but intelligent children.
“Very soon, we will establish a scholarship scheme to let them know that they are not alone, and to realise that some of us are here to help them,” he stated, and challenged the students to stay committed to God and their books to achieve the best from their studies.
The Headmistress of the School, Mrs Sylvia Asempa, expressed the school’s appreciation for the items and the scholarships, and said she hoped it would go a long way to boost the morale of the girls and contribute to their Christian values.
“We hope the scholarships will contribute significantly in building firmer foundation for the students and the nation as well,” she added.

Opoku wins second edition of “The Challenge”

Joseph Opoku, a 26-year-old telecommunications engineer of MTN-Ghana and former student of the University of Mines and Technology, emerged winner of the second edition of “The Challenge” reality television show.
For his prize, Mr Opoku is the beneficiary of a postgraduate scholarship from the University of Westminster worth £40,000, including tuition for a 12-month postgraduate course, fully paid accommodation in an international students hostel, a monthly living allowance, a return ticket to the UK valid for a year and a new laptop.
Upon completion of his course, he is expected to return to Ghana to start work in a lucrative management position with either tiGO or the United Bank of Africa (Ghana) Limited.
The three runners-up were Sandra Barimah, Araba Abakah-Anaman and Anastacia Arko, who are to benefit from scholarships to do postgraduate courses at the Thames University, the London Metropolitan University, both in the United Kingdom, and IPMC in Ghana, respectively.
The event, which was held in Accra on Saturday, saw the six finalists exhibiting quality presentation of ideas and tasks they had accomplished as part of the challenge at previous stages.
The remaining two finalists who went home with consolation prizes and much confidence in themselves are Michael Quaye and Afuma Akosua Gyan.
At the first stage of the final challenge, the finalists were grouped into two teams, with each team identifying and executing a task dubbed the “Social and Economic Impact Task”.
The task, according to the organisers, was supposed to be sustainable and capable of bringing economic benefits to the people.
That stage, which ran throughout the duration of the competition, was won by the JESK Team, which set up a small-scale snail farm for the Frafraha Orphanage in Accra.
The team, which comprised Joseph, Enoch Nii Boi Quaye, an evictee, Sandra and Katherine Attoh, another evictee, donated GH¢1,000 towards the sustainability of the project.
At the second stage of the final challenge, the finalists had to justify why they deserved the ultimate prize in three minutes and it was that nerve-breaking session of the competition that posed the greatest challenge to the finalists.
Each attempted to convince a six-member board why he or she deserved the ultimate prize, but in the end Mr Opoku, whose answer to the question as to how he had made it that far, “Excuses do not work; it is either you have the result or you do not”, came up tops.
In an interview, Mr Opoku commended his colleagues for the part they played to bringing out the best in him.
The Minister for Information, Mrs Zita Okaikoi, commended the organisers and sponsors of the show and said the competition was in line with the government’s policy to enable the youth to develop their full potential and be ready to take up the mantle of leadership of the country.
She expressed the hope that the competition would encourage learning and research among the youth and offer them employment opportunities.

Caption: The six finalists in a group picture after the event. They are (from left to right) Michael K. Quaye, Akosua Afuma Gyan, Sandra S. Barimah, Joseph Opoku, Araba Abakah-Anaman and Anastacia C. Arko.