Story: Jennifer Donoo & Francis Yaw Kyei
THE Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Mrs Betty Mould Iddrisu, has called on political parties and other institutions to encourage women to take up leadership positions in societies.
She said Ghanaian women had the ability to be the President, ministers of state or lead any reputable institution when encouraged, financed or given any other form of assistance.
Mrs Iddrisu, who made this call at the annual get-together of African Women Lawyers Association (AWLA) challenged women not to see themselves as inferior to their male counterparts and strive to achieve their goals.
“We need women in decision making and all levels of governance in this country,” she said and called on women to wake up and change the anomaly.
Eventhough she admitted that leadership positions were challenging, she urged women not to allow the challenges to overcome their quest to be who they want to be.
She expressed commitments to work to champion the rights of access to justice for women because the law was designed to protect them.
“The laws of this land was designed to champion and protect the rights of women, I will work hard and make a qualitative difference in the administration of justice in the country,” she said.
Mrs Iddrisu also lamented on the current state of the legal aid scheme and called on the Judiciary to help to effectively operationalise the scheme.
She said every individual in the country had the right to an attorney and a fair trial and urged lawyers to help implement the scheme effectively.
The Executive Director of AWLA, Ms Edna Kuma said AWLA, since its inception in 1999, had helped improved the access to justice for women by networking with organisations and institutions to enhance the status of women in Africa.
She said AWLA had helped removed negative cultural, traditional and religious practices which impeded the total development of women and enhance the inclusion of women in decision making.
“In the last ten years, AWLA has embarked on a number of advocacy and training programmes and other activities to achieve its aims and objectives,” she said.
Present at the get-together were female lawyers, notable among them was Nana Oye Luther, a women’s rights activist.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Presiding Bishop condemns use of abusive language by youth (27/03/09)
THE Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church of Ghana, Most Rev. Dr Robert Aboagye-Mensah has condemned the use of abusive language and other acts of indiscipline in the country.
Rev. Dr Aboagye-Mensah who attributed these vices to lack of moral training and good cultural values, therefore, stressed the need for intensified public education to instil moral discipline among the people.
He said this at the launch of the 2009 Methodist Church Education Week celebration on the theme: “ The Bible in the life of the school”, in Accra.
He said the high incidence of crime, corruption, rape of innocent children and women, and other acts of indiscipline were clear demonstrations of the neglect of proper and balanced education infused with the living word of God.
Dr Aboagye-Mensah said it was in this view that the Methodist Church had realised that “Education should not only concentrate on the acquisition of cognitive and psychomotive skills which could easily be tested through series of examinations but also focus on instilling morality and discipline in students”.
He said the church, therefore, sought to use the education week to “draw the attention of the entire citizenry, especially teachers, parents and the government to the need to embark on holistic education that had a place in the Bible to develop the moral values of our people without neglecting the other two aspects”.
He noted that the church at its last conference recommended that all their schools use the Sunday School Church syllabus to support school worship in order to encourage the schools to take their worship lives seriously and instil the word of God in the students.
A representative of the Bible Society of Ghana, Mrs Elizabeth Taylor, said the society was faced with several challenges of indiscipline, corruption and the negative influence of technology.
She said it was in that light that the society launched a programme on May 16, 2007 to distribute 1,000,000 Bibles to Public Junior High School (JHS) students all over the country between 2007 to 2010.
She said the programme sought to help remove all forms of negative vices in the upcoming generation and make them be of good service to the country.
She said as at December 2007, 400,000 Bibles had been distributed to most of the JHSs across the country.
Mrs Taylor expressed the hope that the initiative would help transform the lives of people especially the youth in the country.
The General Manager of the Methodist Education Unit, Very Rev. Stephen Asher said the week-long celebration would be characterised by a float, symposium ,debates, Bible quiz, community work, fund raising and a thanksgiving service.
Rev. Dr Aboagye-Mensah who attributed these vices to lack of moral training and good cultural values, therefore, stressed the need for intensified public education to instil moral discipline among the people.
He said this at the launch of the 2009 Methodist Church Education Week celebration on the theme: “ The Bible in the life of the school”, in Accra.
He said the high incidence of crime, corruption, rape of innocent children and women, and other acts of indiscipline were clear demonstrations of the neglect of proper and balanced education infused with the living word of God.
Dr Aboagye-Mensah said it was in this view that the Methodist Church had realised that “Education should not only concentrate on the acquisition of cognitive and psychomotive skills which could easily be tested through series of examinations but also focus on instilling morality and discipline in students”.
He said the church, therefore, sought to use the education week to “draw the attention of the entire citizenry, especially teachers, parents and the government to the need to embark on holistic education that had a place in the Bible to develop the moral values of our people without neglecting the other two aspects”.
He noted that the church at its last conference recommended that all their schools use the Sunday School Church syllabus to support school worship in order to encourage the schools to take their worship lives seriously and instil the word of God in the students.
A representative of the Bible Society of Ghana, Mrs Elizabeth Taylor, said the society was faced with several challenges of indiscipline, corruption and the negative influence of technology.
She said it was in that light that the society launched a programme on May 16, 2007 to distribute 1,000,000 Bibles to Public Junior High School (JHS) students all over the country between 2007 to 2010.
She said the programme sought to help remove all forms of negative vices in the upcoming generation and make them be of good service to the country.
She said as at December 2007, 400,000 Bibles had been distributed to most of the JHSs across the country.
Mrs Taylor expressed the hope that the initiative would help transform the lives of people especially the youth in the country.
The General Manager of the Methodist Education Unit, Very Rev. Stephen Asher said the week-long celebration would be characterised by a float, symposium ,debates, Bible quiz, community work, fund raising and a thanksgiving service.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
‘Support students with disabilities’ (26/03/09)BP
Story: Jennifer Dornoo
THE Programme Officer of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Ghana, Ms Regina Dennis, has advised the management of academic institutions in the country not to see students with disability as a burden.
This is because such students have unique qualities and experiences that will help in the development of the country.
"By helping the students, you are contributing to the development of Ghana and helping to make the Disability Law that was passed in 2006 meaningful," she stated.
Speaking at the inauguration of an office for students with special needs at the University of Ghana, Legon, Ms Dennis said teaching persons with various forms of disability was an opportunity to learn new skills from them.
She said the office, which would address the various needs of students with disability, would also serve as a resource centre to ensure that tertiary education was accessible to all.
She commended the university for realising the need to address the special needs of students with disability and setting the example for other institutions to follow.
"By recognising the need for this room, the university is telling the students to come and seek additional support that they may need to achieve their academic goals and prepare for the future," she said.
The Pro-Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Kwesi Yankah, stressed the need for academic institutions to gear themselves up to make education accessible and easy for persons with disability.
He said as much as Ghana was interested in making life easy for people with disability, it was also important to take measures to wipe out disability from the country.
The Registrar of the university, Mr A.T. Konu, recalled a regrettable incident in which a visually impaired student had not been given the opportunity to read Law at the university some years ago, adding that he was very happy that the school had realised that students with special needs needed attention.
A representative of the Campus Association of Students with Disability, Mr Albert Frimpong, thanked the school for the office, as well as the friends who helped them to move about on campus.
He appealed to the university to provide them with the facilities they could have easy access to, such as a washroom, a friendly stairway and safely sealed gutters on campus.
The Executive Director of the Centre for Democratic Development (CCD), Professor E. Gyimah-Boadi, said the university still had a long way to go in trying to catch up with the reality of the society.
He said it was important for the university to work hard towards helping more people with disability to access tertiary education.
Currently, there are only 60 students with disability in the university.
THE Programme Officer of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Ghana, Ms Regina Dennis, has advised the management of academic institutions in the country not to see students with disability as a burden.
This is because such students have unique qualities and experiences that will help in the development of the country.
"By helping the students, you are contributing to the development of Ghana and helping to make the Disability Law that was passed in 2006 meaningful," she stated.
Speaking at the inauguration of an office for students with special needs at the University of Ghana, Legon, Ms Dennis said teaching persons with various forms of disability was an opportunity to learn new skills from them.
She said the office, which would address the various needs of students with disability, would also serve as a resource centre to ensure that tertiary education was accessible to all.
She commended the university for realising the need to address the special needs of students with disability and setting the example for other institutions to follow.
"By recognising the need for this room, the university is telling the students to come and seek additional support that they may need to achieve their academic goals and prepare for the future," she said.
The Pro-Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Kwesi Yankah, stressed the need for academic institutions to gear themselves up to make education accessible and easy for persons with disability.
He said as much as Ghana was interested in making life easy for people with disability, it was also important to take measures to wipe out disability from the country.
The Registrar of the university, Mr A.T. Konu, recalled a regrettable incident in which a visually impaired student had not been given the opportunity to read Law at the university some years ago, adding that he was very happy that the school had realised that students with special needs needed attention.
A representative of the Campus Association of Students with Disability, Mr Albert Frimpong, thanked the school for the office, as well as the friends who helped them to move about on campus.
He appealed to the university to provide them with the facilities they could have easy access to, such as a washroom, a friendly stairway and safely sealed gutters on campus.
The Executive Director of the Centre for Democratic Development (CCD), Professor E. Gyimah-Boadi, said the university still had a long way to go in trying to catch up with the reality of the society.
He said it was important for the university to work hard towards helping more people with disability to access tertiary education.
Currently, there are only 60 students with disability in the university.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Give NDC time to fulfil campaign promises — MP (24/03/09)
THE Member of Parliament (MP) for Hohoe North in the Volta Region, Mr Prince Jacob Hayibor, has appealed to Ghanaians to be patient and give the National Democratic Congress time to fulfil campaign promises.
He said it was better to give the government enough time to effectively develop the country rather than expect things to be done overnight.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra, the MP said the government had instituted many measures to put the economy back on track.
He said development of the country could not be done within a short period, and added that the criticisms were too early and were orchestrated by the opposition to discredit the new government.
He advised Ghanaians to work hard to earn some income to improve upon their standard of living instead of always depending on the government.
He said Ghana would be a better place if all citizens worked hard to contribute to the development of the nation.
Mr Hayibor pledged to effectively represent his people in Parliament, and that he was optimistic that his second term in Parliament would be smooth and successful, with the NDC in power.
He recalled that his previous term in Parliament was challenging since he was with the Minority.
He said he would continue to support the people in his constituency with scholarships, good educational infrastructure, social amenities and a lot more.
Commenting on the low patronage of locally manufactured goods, Mr Hayibor said the perception of Ghanaians that made-in-Ghana goods were inferior was hindering the patronage of the products.
He said not until that perception was changed, it would be very difficult to promote the locally manufactured goods.
He stressed the need for a massive education for Ghanaians to acquaint themselves with the quality and affordable products manufactured in the country.
The MP also advised local producers to add value and increase the quality of their products to make them more durable.
He also called on the government to restrict the import of products into the country to promote local products.
He said it was important to build confidence in Ghanaian institutions and industries in the country in order to move forward as one nation.
He said it was better to give the government enough time to effectively develop the country rather than expect things to be done overnight.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra, the MP said the government had instituted many measures to put the economy back on track.
He said development of the country could not be done within a short period, and added that the criticisms were too early and were orchestrated by the opposition to discredit the new government.
He advised Ghanaians to work hard to earn some income to improve upon their standard of living instead of always depending on the government.
He said Ghana would be a better place if all citizens worked hard to contribute to the development of the nation.
Mr Hayibor pledged to effectively represent his people in Parliament, and that he was optimistic that his second term in Parliament would be smooth and successful, with the NDC in power.
He recalled that his previous term in Parliament was challenging since he was with the Minority.
He said he would continue to support the people in his constituency with scholarships, good educational infrastructure, social amenities and a lot more.
Commenting on the low patronage of locally manufactured goods, Mr Hayibor said the perception of Ghanaians that made-in-Ghana goods were inferior was hindering the patronage of the products.
He said not until that perception was changed, it would be very difficult to promote the locally manufactured goods.
He stressed the need for a massive education for Ghanaians to acquaint themselves with the quality and affordable products manufactured in the country.
The MP also advised local producers to add value and increase the quality of their products to make them more durable.
He also called on the government to restrict the import of products into the country to promote local products.
He said it was important to build confidence in Ghanaian institutions and industries in the country in order to move forward as one nation.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Catholic Institute receives computers (23/03/09)
THE Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) of the Catholic Social Advance Institute has presented items worth GH¢ 8,200 to the school.
The items included four brand new computers with back-ups, assorted story books and textbooks.
The Chairman of the PTA, Mr Peter Ketibuah who did the presentation said the items were part of efforts of the association to help equip the library and computer laboratory of the school to enhance effective teaching and learning, particularly in the area of information, communication and technology.
He said it was the hope of the association that the teachers would be able to discharge their duties effectively to help the children excel in their examinations.
The Principal of the School, Ms Rosa Mamaa Sam expressed her gratitude to the PTA and promised to take good care of the items donated.
She said it was very important for parents to inculcate the habit of reading into their wards, adding that, the books and computers would go a long way to boost the quality of education in the school.
The School Prefect, Miss Ophelia Boafor thanked the PTA for its generosity and appealed to the association to provide the school with a school bus for sporting activities.
The items included four brand new computers with back-ups, assorted story books and textbooks.
The Chairman of the PTA, Mr Peter Ketibuah who did the presentation said the items were part of efforts of the association to help equip the library and computer laboratory of the school to enhance effective teaching and learning, particularly in the area of information, communication and technology.
He said it was the hope of the association that the teachers would be able to discharge their duties effectively to help the children excel in their examinations.
The Principal of the School, Ms Rosa Mamaa Sam expressed her gratitude to the PTA and promised to take good care of the items donated.
She said it was very important for parents to inculcate the habit of reading into their wards, adding that, the books and computers would go a long way to boost the quality of education in the school.
The School Prefect, Miss Ophelia Boafor thanked the PTA for its generosity and appealed to the association to provide the school with a school bus for sporting activities.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Society contributes towards community centre(20/03/09)
THE Mpraesoman Kuo in Accra and Tema has launched an appeal for funds for the construction of a GH¢300,000 ultra modern community complex for the community.
The project, which would include such facilities as a hotel, library, clinic and a gym, would also serve as the venue for observing funerals in the community.
Speaking at a fundraising ceremony in Accra over the weekend, the Mpraesohene, Nana Ampadu Daaduam II, said the construction of a complex for the conduct of social and other activities at Mpraeso was long over due.
He, therefore, expressed appreciation to the Mpraesoman Kuo for taking it upon themselves to construct such a facility.
Nana Ampadu Daaduam II, said despite its high cost, the project when completed would be a monumental legacy befitting the status of Mpraeso.
He called on all citizens of Mpraeso to contribute to the early completion of the project since no contribution was small.
The Chairman of the Mpraesoman Kuo, Mr S. K. B. Omari outlined some achievements of the society such as the establishment of an investment fund to offer financial support to members, the organisation of monthly health walks and health screening as well as the acquisition of land for the construction of the community complex and funeral ground.
He said the society had a herculean task of raising funds to finance the project and therefore appealed to friends, well wishers and benevolent organisations for sponsorship.
The Head of the Mpraeso community in Accra and Tema, Nana Owoahene Akyeampong II, called on all citizens of Mpraeso to help rekindle Mpraeso’s glorious legendary past as the residential town of the District Commissioner of Kwahu (DC-Krom).
“It is my hope that in the near future, we shall raise the dignity of Mpraeso as we open up new vistas to our ambition, so that we can anticipate a great future for the community,” he said.
The project, which would include such facilities as a hotel, library, clinic and a gym, would also serve as the venue for observing funerals in the community.
Speaking at a fundraising ceremony in Accra over the weekend, the Mpraesohene, Nana Ampadu Daaduam II, said the construction of a complex for the conduct of social and other activities at Mpraeso was long over due.
He, therefore, expressed appreciation to the Mpraesoman Kuo for taking it upon themselves to construct such a facility.
Nana Ampadu Daaduam II, said despite its high cost, the project when completed would be a monumental legacy befitting the status of Mpraeso.
He called on all citizens of Mpraeso to contribute to the early completion of the project since no contribution was small.
The Chairman of the Mpraesoman Kuo, Mr S. K. B. Omari outlined some achievements of the society such as the establishment of an investment fund to offer financial support to members, the organisation of monthly health walks and health screening as well as the acquisition of land for the construction of the community complex and funeral ground.
He said the society had a herculean task of raising funds to finance the project and therefore appealed to friends, well wishers and benevolent organisations for sponsorship.
The Head of the Mpraeso community in Accra and Tema, Nana Owoahene Akyeampong II, called on all citizens of Mpraeso to help rekindle Mpraeso’s glorious legendary past as the residential town of the District Commissioner of Kwahu (DC-Krom).
“It is my hope that in the near future, we shall raise the dignity of Mpraeso as we open up new vistas to our ambition, so that we can anticipate a great future for the community,” he said.
AIDS Commission donates computers for data collection (21/03/09)
THE Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC), with the support of the British Department For International Development (DFID), through UNAIDS, has donated computers and their accessories worth GH¢70,000 to the 10 regional co-ordinating councils (RCCs) and 21 district assemblies in the country.
Some selected ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) have also benefited from the donation, which included 44 desktop computers and three laptops. They are to be used to strengthen data collection, processing and analysis as far as the national response to HIV/AIDS in the country is concerned.
The beneficiaries included the ministries of Education and Food and Agriculture, the Department of Social Welfare, the Dangme West District Assembly and the Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinating Council.
The Director-General of the GAC, Prof Sekyi Awuku-Amoah, said the donation was made in support of the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS through the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge on the disease.
He said it is also to support awareness creation programmes to promote healthy lifestyles and behavioural change to help reduce the current infection rate of HIV/AIDS, which stood at 24,000 a year.
Prof Awuku-Amoah said providing the agencies with the necessary logistics to have a functional database to generate accurate information in order to manage the epidemic was essential.
The HIV/AIDS Co-ordinator at the Ministry of Education, Mrs Hilda Eghan, thanked the GAC and the DFID for the donation.
She assured the commission that the computers would be used for the intended purpose to ensure effective monitoring and evaluation of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Some selected ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) have also benefited from the donation, which included 44 desktop computers and three laptops. They are to be used to strengthen data collection, processing and analysis as far as the national response to HIV/AIDS in the country is concerned.
The beneficiaries included the ministries of Education and Food and Agriculture, the Department of Social Welfare, the Dangme West District Assembly and the Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinating Council.
The Director-General of the GAC, Prof Sekyi Awuku-Amoah, said the donation was made in support of the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS through the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge on the disease.
He said it is also to support awareness creation programmes to promote healthy lifestyles and behavioural change to help reduce the current infection rate of HIV/AIDS, which stood at 24,000 a year.
Prof Awuku-Amoah said providing the agencies with the necessary logistics to have a functional database to generate accurate information in order to manage the epidemic was essential.
The HIV/AIDS Co-ordinator at the Ministry of Education, Mrs Hilda Eghan, thanked the GAC and the DFID for the donation.
She assured the commission that the computers would be used for the intended purpose to ensure effective monitoring and evaluation of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
HORROR AT ABEKA (17,03,09) FP
Story: Francis Yaw Kyei & Jennifer Dornoo
A MAN and a his girlfriend, both in their early 30s, were yesterday found dead in a single room apartment at Abeka in Accra in what is suspected to be a combination of murder and suicide.
When the Daily Graphic went to the scene, the man had a rope tied around his neck, with the other end of the rope tied to the ceiling, while the woman was lying half naked on the bed.
The man was identified by his neighbours as Daniel Parku Jnr, a former worker of Westec Securities, while the woman, who could not be identified, was suspected to be his girlfriend by name Worla Ahado, who is said to be an itinerant house help.
Residents of the area could not say what exactly happened but they believed that the man might have killed the woman and later hanged himself.
They said the last time they saw the deceased was on Saturday and, therefore, they suspected that the incident might have happened on Saturday night.
A tenant, Mr Samuel Asiedu, who claimed to be Daniel’s friend, said the deceased were not married but were living together in the house.
He said they fought very often but it was never suspected that such a thing could happen.
“I knew they had separated but I do not know what exactly brought the lady back to the house on Saturday,” he added.
He said he had not set eyes on Daniel since Saturday, until Monday morning when other tenants started complaining of a terrible stench all over the house, with flies hovering around.
Mr Asiedu said they forced Daniel’s door open, only to find him hanging in the room, while Worla’s lifeless body lay on the bed.
He said the landlady was immediately notified and a report was made at the Tesano Police Station.
The landlady, Mrs Philomina Ayevor, said she had gone to knock at Daniel’s door on Sunday when he did not show up at a regular meeting organised in the house for the tenants but she thought he was asleep, since there had been no response.
She said they went on with the meeting without Daniel and woke up in the morning of yesterday only to get complaints from other tenants about an unusual stench from Daniel’s room.
She said when the door was forced open and she saw the lifeless bodies, she went to lodge a complaint at the Tesano Police Station.
She said she called for an ambulance to convey the bodies to the mortuary, but as of 12:20 p.m. when the Daily Graphic was leaving the place, the bodies were still in the room.
From the Korle-Bu Mortuary, Rebecca Quaicoe Duho reports that around 1.30 p.m., the Tesano Police brought the two bodies to the mortuary but the bodies were refused by officials of the mortuary.
According to police sources, the mortuary manager at Korle-Bu said the place was full and, therefore, they could not take the bodies, which were in advanced stages of decomposition.
The police, therefore, took the bodies to the Police Hospital Mortuary where they were received.
At the mortuary, an aunt of Worla’s, who gave her name as Dora, said she could not at first identify the deceased from the face because the body had decomposed. She said she could, however, identify Worla by a mark that she had on her belly which resulted from an operation.
She confirmed that Worla had been in an on-and-off relationship with Daniel and added that since September last year the deceased had been living with her at the Labadi Civil Aviation Quarters.
Dora said she had gone for a funeral on Saturday and that on her return she was told that Worla had left the house since Saturday and had not returned, adding that she called the deceased’s phone several times but no one answered it.
When the landlady was interviewed again at the Police Hospital Mortuary, she said Daniel had been living in her house for the past three years, noting that it was later realised that he had a mental problem, a situation which she said Daniel later confirmed to the household, adding, however, that he had been treated and he was, therefore, normal.
She said what baffled her was that when Daniel rented the room three years ago, he used the address and telephone number of Worla’s aunt (Dora) as those of a relative and, therefore, when the incident occurred and they were trying to reach his relatives, their calls went through to Worla’s aunt.
She further confirmed that it had been a while since she saw Worla in the house and, therefore, she thought that the two had ended their relationship.
Later, a source at the Tesano Police told the Daily Graphic that the police are investigating.
A MAN and a his girlfriend, both in their early 30s, were yesterday found dead in a single room apartment at Abeka in Accra in what is suspected to be a combination of murder and suicide.
When the Daily Graphic went to the scene, the man had a rope tied around his neck, with the other end of the rope tied to the ceiling, while the woman was lying half naked on the bed.
The man was identified by his neighbours as Daniel Parku Jnr, a former worker of Westec Securities, while the woman, who could not be identified, was suspected to be his girlfriend by name Worla Ahado, who is said to be an itinerant house help.
Residents of the area could not say what exactly happened but they believed that the man might have killed the woman and later hanged himself.
They said the last time they saw the deceased was on Saturday and, therefore, they suspected that the incident might have happened on Saturday night.
A tenant, Mr Samuel Asiedu, who claimed to be Daniel’s friend, said the deceased were not married but were living together in the house.
He said they fought very often but it was never suspected that such a thing could happen.
“I knew they had separated but I do not know what exactly brought the lady back to the house on Saturday,” he added.
He said he had not set eyes on Daniel since Saturday, until Monday morning when other tenants started complaining of a terrible stench all over the house, with flies hovering around.
Mr Asiedu said they forced Daniel’s door open, only to find him hanging in the room, while Worla’s lifeless body lay on the bed.
He said the landlady was immediately notified and a report was made at the Tesano Police Station.
The landlady, Mrs Philomina Ayevor, said she had gone to knock at Daniel’s door on Sunday when he did not show up at a regular meeting organised in the house for the tenants but she thought he was asleep, since there had been no response.
She said they went on with the meeting without Daniel and woke up in the morning of yesterday only to get complaints from other tenants about an unusual stench from Daniel’s room.
She said when the door was forced open and she saw the lifeless bodies, she went to lodge a complaint at the Tesano Police Station.
She said she called for an ambulance to convey the bodies to the mortuary, but as of 12:20 p.m. when the Daily Graphic was leaving the place, the bodies were still in the room.
From the Korle-Bu Mortuary, Rebecca Quaicoe Duho reports that around 1.30 p.m., the Tesano Police brought the two bodies to the mortuary but the bodies were refused by officials of the mortuary.
According to police sources, the mortuary manager at Korle-Bu said the place was full and, therefore, they could not take the bodies, which were in advanced stages of decomposition.
The police, therefore, took the bodies to the Police Hospital Mortuary where they were received.
At the mortuary, an aunt of Worla’s, who gave her name as Dora, said she could not at first identify the deceased from the face because the body had decomposed. She said she could, however, identify Worla by a mark that she had on her belly which resulted from an operation.
She confirmed that Worla had been in an on-and-off relationship with Daniel and added that since September last year the deceased had been living with her at the Labadi Civil Aviation Quarters.
Dora said she had gone for a funeral on Saturday and that on her return she was told that Worla had left the house since Saturday and had not returned, adding that she called the deceased’s phone several times but no one answered it.
When the landlady was interviewed again at the Police Hospital Mortuary, she said Daniel had been living in her house for the past three years, noting that it was later realised that he had a mental problem, a situation which she said Daniel later confirmed to the household, adding, however, that he had been treated and he was, therefore, normal.
She said what baffled her was that when Daniel rented the room three years ago, he used the address and telephone number of Worla’s aunt (Dora) as those of a relative and, therefore, when the incident occurred and they were trying to reach his relatives, their calls went through to Worla’s aunt.
She further confirmed that it had been a while since she saw Worla in the house and, therefore, she thought that the two had ended their relationship.
Later, a source at the Tesano Police told the Daily Graphic that the police are investigating.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Santrokofi to mark Okyonsa Festival .. after 20-year break (16/03/09)
Story: Jennifer Dornoo
THE Paramount Chief of the Santrokofi Traditional Area in the Hohoe municipality of the Volta Region, Nana Letsabi II, has called on chiefs in the country to ensure the maintenance of law and order at all levels.
He also urged them to take developmental initiatives suitable for their areas and ensure that they were completed early.
Speaking at the launch of the Okyonsa Festival, Nana Letsabi reminded chiefs in the country of their mandate to ensure peace, unity and social cohesion and the blend of traditional norms with modernity.
The last time the traditional area celebrated the festival was 20 years ago.
He said the 2009 Okyonsa Festival, which would be held on the theme, “Culture: A tool for uniting people for development and progress”, on June 6, 2009, would climax festivities marking the end of the passing year and the beginning of a new year with the aim of raising funds to support development projects in the traditional area.
The Paramount Chief said the projects included the construction of traditional council offices, the rehabilitation of schools and the establishment of a vocational training institute.
He said activities lined up for the festival included a durbar of the chiefs and people of Santrokofi, a beauty pageant, a food exhibition, honorary awards, a parade of young women who had passed through puberty rites, a football gala and a state dance to raise funds.
He entreated all citizens of the traditional area to attend the festival and contribute in cash and in kind to the development of the area.
The Member of Parliament for Hohoe North, Mr Prince Hayibor, said festivals were periods for people to showcase their culture and unite families.
He said it was also time to educate the youth, unite as one people and mobilise resources for development.
He pledged to support the organisers to ensure the success of the festival and donated footballs and jerseys for the football gala.
THE Paramount Chief of the Santrokofi Traditional Area in the Hohoe municipality of the Volta Region, Nana Letsabi II, has called on chiefs in the country to ensure the maintenance of law and order at all levels.
He also urged them to take developmental initiatives suitable for their areas and ensure that they were completed early.
Speaking at the launch of the Okyonsa Festival, Nana Letsabi reminded chiefs in the country of their mandate to ensure peace, unity and social cohesion and the blend of traditional norms with modernity.
The last time the traditional area celebrated the festival was 20 years ago.
He said the 2009 Okyonsa Festival, which would be held on the theme, “Culture: A tool for uniting people for development and progress”, on June 6, 2009, would climax festivities marking the end of the passing year and the beginning of a new year with the aim of raising funds to support development projects in the traditional area.
The Paramount Chief said the projects included the construction of traditional council offices, the rehabilitation of schools and the establishment of a vocational training institute.
He said activities lined up for the festival included a durbar of the chiefs and people of Santrokofi, a beauty pageant, a food exhibition, honorary awards, a parade of young women who had passed through puberty rites, a football gala and a state dance to raise funds.
He entreated all citizens of the traditional area to attend the festival and contribute in cash and in kind to the development of the area.
The Member of Parliament for Hohoe North, Mr Prince Hayibor, said festivals were periods for people to showcase their culture and unite families.
He said it was also time to educate the youth, unite as one people and mobilise resources for development.
He pledged to support the organisers to ensure the success of the festival and donated footballs and jerseys for the football gala.
Centre for Budget Advocacy on 2009 Budget (16/03/09)
Story: Jennifer Dornoo & Vida-Pearl Atakpa
THE 2009 budget has elements of a pro-poor budget, but too far from being a social democratic budget.
Ghanaians have, therefore, been cautioned that any permutations of policy that threaten the core of society would land the country into irreversible and irreparable damage as had been witnessed in other countries.
The budget, therefore, needs to be re-established to balance the economic and social in its political orientation and tax allocation.
This was contained in a press statement prepared by the Centre for Budget Advocacy (CBA) on the 2009 policy and budget statement and read by the Executive Director of the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC), Mr Bishop Akolgo, in Accra.
He said the press statement was released in the hope of contributing to a better understanding of the budget for informed public discussion towards the improvement of the quality of the lives of Ghanaians.
He noted that an effective and efficient economy required a stock of goodwill, trust and acceptance, obedience to the law, as well as the presence of institutions that provided social stability and security.
He said citizens inputs into the budget process in the past, though limited, was truncated this year during the preparation of the 2009 budget.
Mr Akolgo called on the government to formalise the public input into the budget process and said the process should go beyond request for input from the public to the situation where the budget process would be publicised to enable stakeholders to participate effectively.
He also said the Right and Access to Information Bill must be passed into law to enable citizens to make informed inputs into the budget and public finance including helping to reduce corruption and mismanagement of public resources.
He said it was important for the government to make loan transactions and grants transparent and involve civil society organisations, businesses, labour groups and Parliament before such loans were contracted.
Mr Akolgo commended the government for seeking to run a transparent, lean, efficient and effective government and recommended that the country’s natural resources management be brought under the discipline of the extractive industry transparency initiative.
He also suggested that immediate steps should be taken to review and adjust the fiscal regime for the extraction of resources.
He said that would help generate revenue to reduce dependence on external loans and provide resources to invest in the productive and social sectors.
THE 2009 budget has elements of a pro-poor budget, but too far from being a social democratic budget.
Ghanaians have, therefore, been cautioned that any permutations of policy that threaten the core of society would land the country into irreversible and irreparable damage as had been witnessed in other countries.
The budget, therefore, needs to be re-established to balance the economic and social in its political orientation and tax allocation.
This was contained in a press statement prepared by the Centre for Budget Advocacy (CBA) on the 2009 policy and budget statement and read by the Executive Director of the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC), Mr Bishop Akolgo, in Accra.
He said the press statement was released in the hope of contributing to a better understanding of the budget for informed public discussion towards the improvement of the quality of the lives of Ghanaians.
He noted that an effective and efficient economy required a stock of goodwill, trust and acceptance, obedience to the law, as well as the presence of institutions that provided social stability and security.
He said citizens inputs into the budget process in the past, though limited, was truncated this year during the preparation of the 2009 budget.
Mr Akolgo called on the government to formalise the public input into the budget process and said the process should go beyond request for input from the public to the situation where the budget process would be publicised to enable stakeholders to participate effectively.
He also said the Right and Access to Information Bill must be passed into law to enable citizens to make informed inputs into the budget and public finance including helping to reduce corruption and mismanagement of public resources.
He said it was important for the government to make loan transactions and grants transparent and involve civil society organisations, businesses, labour groups and Parliament before such loans were contracted.
Mr Akolgo commended the government for seeking to run a transparent, lean, efficient and effective government and recommended that the country’s natural resources management be brought under the discipline of the extractive industry transparency initiative.
He also suggested that immediate steps should be taken to review and adjust the fiscal regime for the extraction of resources.
He said that would help generate revenue to reduce dependence on external loans and provide resources to invest in the productive and social sectors.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Legon Presec old boys hand over bungalow (14/03/09)
Story : Jennifer Dornoo
SOME old boys of the Presbyterian Boys' Secondary School (PRESEC), Legon, have handed over a teacher's bungalow constructed at the cost of GH¢50,OOO to the school.
The four bedroom bungalow was constructed by the combined efforts of the 1963,1964 and 1965 year groups of PRESEC.
The President of the groups, Mr Kwesi Addo Nyarko, said the bungalow was built to help solve the current accommodation problems faced by teachers of the school.
He expressed the hope that their contribution would help the teachers to report early in the classrooms and enhance their teaching to produce more good graduates for the country.
The Headmaster of the school, Mr Africanus Kwame Anane, said accommodation for the teachers was one of the major challenges the the school was facing.
He said out of 105 staff, only 25 per cent of teachers were resident in the school, leaving 75 per cent of them coming from far destinations like Weija, Nungua and Amasaman to teach.
The headmaster said this put a lot of stress on teachers since they had to report early at work and get to their houses late in the evening.
Mr Anane extended his deepest appreciation to the three year groups and called on other year groups of the school, individuals and benevolent organisations to go to the aid of the school to help solve the accommodation problem.
SOME old boys of the Presbyterian Boys' Secondary School (PRESEC), Legon, have handed over a teacher's bungalow constructed at the cost of GH¢50,OOO to the school.
The four bedroom bungalow was constructed by the combined efforts of the 1963,1964 and 1965 year groups of PRESEC.
The President of the groups, Mr Kwesi Addo Nyarko, said the bungalow was built to help solve the current accommodation problems faced by teachers of the school.
He expressed the hope that their contribution would help the teachers to report early in the classrooms and enhance their teaching to produce more good graduates for the country.
The Headmaster of the school, Mr Africanus Kwame Anane, said accommodation for the teachers was one of the major challenges the the school was facing.
He said out of 105 staff, only 25 per cent of teachers were resident in the school, leaving 75 per cent of them coming from far destinations like Weija, Nungua and Amasaman to teach.
The headmaster said this put a lot of stress on teachers since they had to report early at work and get to their houses late in the evening.
Mr Anane extended his deepest appreciation to the three year groups and called on other year groups of the school, individuals and benevolent organisations to go to the aid of the school to help solve the accommodation problem.
Friday, March 13, 2009
‘Let’s kick out money laundering’ (13/03/09)
Story: Edward Turkson & Jennifer Dornoo
THE Bank of Ghana (BoG) has charged all banks and financial institutions to adhere strictly to the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2008, in order to deter people and organisations from attempts to transform illegally acquired wealth into clean resources.
The Act gives banks the legal authority to question and report large and suspicious lodgement of funds and suspicious transactions to a money laundering authority to be investigated.
With the passage of the law in response to the current threat of money laundering and terrorist financing across the world, a Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), is being established by the BoG as provided for by the law to receive and analyse financial information and suspicious transaction for further investigations by law enforcement authorities.
The list of accountable institutions included banks and non-banking institutions, operators of game of chance, dealers of precious metals and stones, auctioneers, lawyers, accountants, real estate company or agent and non-governmental institutions that carried on activities including deposit taking of money, financing of trade, industry, commerce or agriculture, securities portfolio management and dealing in shares, stocks, bonds or other securities.
The Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Mr Lionel Van Lare Dosoo, who conveyed the directive at a seminar on "Managing the Risk of Money Laundering", emphasised that with the Ghanaian economy increasing integrating into the global financial system, it was imperative that the local financial system adhered to international best practice.
The seminar which was organised by KPMG was attended by stakeholders drawn largely from the banking community.
"Considering the critical nature of foreign investment to a developing economy like ours, it becomes extremely imperative that every efforts is made to ensure that our banks and other financial institutions adhere to strict professional banking practices to help stop these activities," he stated.
He pointed out that "where banks failed to keep a business transaction record, report suspicious transactions or an officer who commits money laundering offence, the Act empowers the FIC to obtain a search warrant to enter any premises belonging to that officer or employee of such institution.”
He disclosed that the law also allowed officials of FIC to search the premises and remove any document, material or other things important for the purpose of the law enforcement agency.
To that effect, he said, banks were also required to develop internal policies, procedures and controls aimed at countering money laundering, noting that those should include designation of compliance officers, adequate screening procedures when hiring employees and an audit function to test compliance with policies and control relating to money laundering activities.
Mr Dosoo said it was expected that the identification, documentation and record keeping of banks would help in surveillance and investigations of movements of large sums of money and monetary instruments.
The deputy governor said the central bank’s "Know Your Customer” policies were also geared towards helping banks to determine customers' true identity, sources of income and business.
The deputy governor expressed hope that the ongoing process of the National Identification Scheme would further enhance customer identification and improve transparency in banker-customer relations.
The BoG was also in close collaboration with the National Security, the Commercial Crime Unit of the Ghana Police Service and all commercial banks on issues relating to money laundering, adding that Ghana had been slated for an Anti-Money Laundering Assessment in April 2009.
Mr Dosoo said the country had also taken steps to observe international treaties and conventions on the subject.
The Head of Corporate Reporting and Investment Banking at the National Banking College (NBC), Nana Otuo Acheampong, said religious bodies had also been cited in the law and should endeavour to adhere to it.
According to him, the inclusion of religious bodies in the list of accountable institutions under the Act was to require religious leaders to also report suspicious donations to the church for investigations by the FIC.
He emphasised that an accountable institution should comply by reporting such suspicions within 24 hours after the knowledge or grounds for suspicion of the transaction.
Nana Acheampong bemoaned the fact that despite the enactment of laws designated to curb money laundering, these evils still take place and were in most cases on the increase.
"The law enforcement agencies all over the world are overwhelmed by the sheer size and sophistication that criminals are now employing to perpetrate their illegal deeds", he stated and indicated that the extent to which money was being laundered globally was estimated to be between $500 billion and $1 trillion.
A Partner of KPMG in charge of Forensic and Africa Head of Anti-Money Laundering Services, Mr Kevin West, stressed the need for complaint officers to be skilled and well trained to ensure that Ghana was not labelled a money laundering entry point to the West African sub-region.
He said although money laundering could not be completely eradicated, it was important to ensure that the country did not become a victim of people who used the country's financial institutions for criminal activities.
Addressing the participants on scenarios captured in the Global Anti-money Laundering Survey conducted in 2007, Mr Kevin said strict compliance to the law was essential for Ghana to keep a clean sheet in the face of the raging menace.
THE Bank of Ghana (BoG) has charged all banks and financial institutions to adhere strictly to the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2008, in order to deter people and organisations from attempts to transform illegally acquired wealth into clean resources.
The Act gives banks the legal authority to question and report large and suspicious lodgement of funds and suspicious transactions to a money laundering authority to be investigated.
With the passage of the law in response to the current threat of money laundering and terrorist financing across the world, a Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), is being established by the BoG as provided for by the law to receive and analyse financial information and suspicious transaction for further investigations by law enforcement authorities.
The list of accountable institutions included banks and non-banking institutions, operators of game of chance, dealers of precious metals and stones, auctioneers, lawyers, accountants, real estate company or agent and non-governmental institutions that carried on activities including deposit taking of money, financing of trade, industry, commerce or agriculture, securities portfolio management and dealing in shares, stocks, bonds or other securities.
The Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Mr Lionel Van Lare Dosoo, who conveyed the directive at a seminar on "Managing the Risk of Money Laundering", emphasised that with the Ghanaian economy increasing integrating into the global financial system, it was imperative that the local financial system adhered to international best practice.
The seminar which was organised by KPMG was attended by stakeholders drawn largely from the banking community.
"Considering the critical nature of foreign investment to a developing economy like ours, it becomes extremely imperative that every efforts is made to ensure that our banks and other financial institutions adhere to strict professional banking practices to help stop these activities," he stated.
He pointed out that "where banks failed to keep a business transaction record, report suspicious transactions or an officer who commits money laundering offence, the Act empowers the FIC to obtain a search warrant to enter any premises belonging to that officer or employee of such institution.”
He disclosed that the law also allowed officials of FIC to search the premises and remove any document, material or other things important for the purpose of the law enforcement agency.
To that effect, he said, banks were also required to develop internal policies, procedures and controls aimed at countering money laundering, noting that those should include designation of compliance officers, adequate screening procedures when hiring employees and an audit function to test compliance with policies and control relating to money laundering activities.
Mr Dosoo said it was expected that the identification, documentation and record keeping of banks would help in surveillance and investigations of movements of large sums of money and monetary instruments.
The deputy governor said the central bank’s "Know Your Customer” policies were also geared towards helping banks to determine customers' true identity, sources of income and business.
The deputy governor expressed hope that the ongoing process of the National Identification Scheme would further enhance customer identification and improve transparency in banker-customer relations.
The BoG was also in close collaboration with the National Security, the Commercial Crime Unit of the Ghana Police Service and all commercial banks on issues relating to money laundering, adding that Ghana had been slated for an Anti-Money Laundering Assessment in April 2009.
Mr Dosoo said the country had also taken steps to observe international treaties and conventions on the subject.
The Head of Corporate Reporting and Investment Banking at the National Banking College (NBC), Nana Otuo Acheampong, said religious bodies had also been cited in the law and should endeavour to adhere to it.
According to him, the inclusion of religious bodies in the list of accountable institutions under the Act was to require religious leaders to also report suspicious donations to the church for investigations by the FIC.
He emphasised that an accountable institution should comply by reporting such suspicions within 24 hours after the knowledge or grounds for suspicion of the transaction.
Nana Acheampong bemoaned the fact that despite the enactment of laws designated to curb money laundering, these evils still take place and were in most cases on the increase.
"The law enforcement agencies all over the world are overwhelmed by the sheer size and sophistication that criminals are now employing to perpetrate their illegal deeds", he stated and indicated that the extent to which money was being laundered globally was estimated to be between $500 billion and $1 trillion.
A Partner of KPMG in charge of Forensic and Africa Head of Anti-Money Laundering Services, Mr Kevin West, stressed the need for complaint officers to be skilled and well trained to ensure that Ghana was not labelled a money laundering entry point to the West African sub-region.
He said although money laundering could not be completely eradicated, it was important to ensure that the country did not become a victim of people who used the country's financial institutions for criminal activities.
Addressing the participants on scenarios captured in the Global Anti-money Laundering Survey conducted in 2007, Mr Kevin said strict compliance to the law was essential for Ghana to keep a clean sheet in the face of the raging menace.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Programme to deliver cleaned energy launched (12/03/09)
Story: Leticia Ohene-Asiedu & Jennifer Dornoo
The Minister of Energy, Dr Oteng Adjei, has stated that access to financing, and the right policy framework are the most important factors hindering the successful deployment of clean energy technologies in domestic and commercial facilities in Ghana.
He explained that most micro-enterprises and households in rural and peri-urban areas in Ghana found it difficult paying upfront for clean energy technologies.
He indicated that banks and other commercial lenders, on the other hand, had limited experience with clean energy equipment financing and were therefore cautious in providing loans to these sectors.
He said this in an address read on his behalf by the Director of Administration, of the Ministry of Energy, Mr Kwame H. Adorbor, at the launch of the “Energy Equipment End-User Finance Programme” in Accra on Tuesday.
Dr Adjei said these challenges motivated the Modern Energy Equipment End-User Finance Programme which seeks to expand delivery of modern clean energy services to rural and poor households, communities and enterprises with particular focus on productive applications.
He said working with micro-finance institutions and other forward-thinking financial institutions, the programme would finance energy equipment such as solar lightning, solar water heating, biogas and the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) systems and equipment, adding that, this was in line with the government’s programme to enhance access to modern energy services especially to the peri-urban areas of Ghana.
He assured Ghanaians of his commitment to the private sector in ensuring the performance of their role effectively.
Dr Adjei commended the United Nations Empowerment Programme (UNEP) and its national partners, Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) and the Kumasi Institute of Technology Energy and Environment (KITE) for their initiative and pledged his support to their course.
The programme which was designed to mobilise MFIs and retail units of banks to provide finance to energy end-users for energy equipment is a follow up of the African Rural Energy Enterprise Development (AREED) Program which has been in operation since 2001 to increase the delivery of clean energy services to the rural poor in five West and East African countries by supporting the development and the growth of rural energy service enterprises.
The Managing Director (MD), of KITE Mrs Harriette Amissah-Arthur said the programme would initially be piloted in Accra and Kumasi since the proposed pilot areas were deemed vital to provide the required leverage for gradual upscaling of the end-users’s financing project into rural and peri-urban areas.
She said a plan would be developed to extend and market the program to rural areas as the delivery capacities were developed to expand financing for energy equipment that served productive micro-enterprise.
The Energy Programme Officer of the Energy and Ozone Action Branch of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Mr Lawrence Agbemabiese said, “Ghana and Africa faces huge energy challenges that threaten to reduce or even erode prospects for development, even as most of the communities become increasingly vulnerable to climate change”.
He said the launch of the Energy Equipment End-User Finance Programme provided opportunities for the eradication of energy poverty in the country.
“Translating this optimism into real results will require a regulatory or the policy framework that attracts commercial investment into the rural and peri-urban energy markets,” he added.
Mr Agbemabiese said UNEP was trying to help create a climate for change within the finance community as part of a larger package that included climate mitigation and adaptation actions.
“We look forward to working with KITE, ADB, the government of Ghana, other UN agencies and the international development organisations to help lift Ghana out of energy poverty, and put her on the road to sustainable energy for sustainable development and adaptation to climate change”, he added.
The Minister of Energy, Dr Oteng Adjei, has stated that access to financing, and the right policy framework are the most important factors hindering the successful deployment of clean energy technologies in domestic and commercial facilities in Ghana.
He explained that most micro-enterprises and households in rural and peri-urban areas in Ghana found it difficult paying upfront for clean energy technologies.
He indicated that banks and other commercial lenders, on the other hand, had limited experience with clean energy equipment financing and were therefore cautious in providing loans to these sectors.
He said this in an address read on his behalf by the Director of Administration, of the Ministry of Energy, Mr Kwame H. Adorbor, at the launch of the “Energy Equipment End-User Finance Programme” in Accra on Tuesday.
Dr Adjei said these challenges motivated the Modern Energy Equipment End-User Finance Programme which seeks to expand delivery of modern clean energy services to rural and poor households, communities and enterprises with particular focus on productive applications.
He said working with micro-finance institutions and other forward-thinking financial institutions, the programme would finance energy equipment such as solar lightning, solar water heating, biogas and the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) systems and equipment, adding that, this was in line with the government’s programme to enhance access to modern energy services especially to the peri-urban areas of Ghana.
He assured Ghanaians of his commitment to the private sector in ensuring the performance of their role effectively.
Dr Adjei commended the United Nations Empowerment Programme (UNEP) and its national partners, Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) and the Kumasi Institute of Technology Energy and Environment (KITE) for their initiative and pledged his support to their course.
The programme which was designed to mobilise MFIs and retail units of banks to provide finance to energy end-users for energy equipment is a follow up of the African Rural Energy Enterprise Development (AREED) Program which has been in operation since 2001 to increase the delivery of clean energy services to the rural poor in five West and East African countries by supporting the development and the growth of rural energy service enterprises.
The Managing Director (MD), of KITE Mrs Harriette Amissah-Arthur said the programme would initially be piloted in Accra and Kumasi since the proposed pilot areas were deemed vital to provide the required leverage for gradual upscaling of the end-users’s financing project into rural and peri-urban areas.
She said a plan would be developed to extend and market the program to rural areas as the delivery capacities were developed to expand financing for energy equipment that served productive micro-enterprise.
The Energy Programme Officer of the Energy and Ozone Action Branch of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Mr Lawrence Agbemabiese said, “Ghana and Africa faces huge energy challenges that threaten to reduce or even erode prospects for development, even as most of the communities become increasingly vulnerable to climate change”.
He said the launch of the Energy Equipment End-User Finance Programme provided opportunities for the eradication of energy poverty in the country.
“Translating this optimism into real results will require a regulatory or the policy framework that attracts commercial investment into the rural and peri-urban energy markets,” he added.
Mr Agbemabiese said UNEP was trying to help create a climate for change within the finance community as part of a larger package that included climate mitigation and adaptation actions.
“We look forward to working with KITE, ADB, the government of Ghana, other UN agencies and the international development organisations to help lift Ghana out of energy poverty, and put her on the road to sustainable energy for sustainable development and adaptation to climate change”, he added.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
“Mining Law is unfavourable to local communities”(11/3/09)
THE Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Ms Joyce Aryee, has stated that the mining laws which prescribe compensation payments for lands, crops and buildings affected by mining are unfavourable to people and communities affected by mining.
"Objectives of the sections of the laws that deal with compensations are not specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time bound (SMART)," she stated.
She said this at a sensitisation workshop on compensation in the mining sector organised by the Ghana Chamber of Mines/Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) in Accra.
Ms Aryee stated that research and advocacy by the chamber were to help find lasting and mutually acceptable guidelines on compensation issues and push for the development and implementation of SMART guidelines for handling compensation in the mining industry and the nation.
She said the advocacy project was part of the chamber's objectives to provide leadership for the solution of national issues that were related to mining.
She said the chamber and its members subscribed to the principles of sustainable development that met the needs of the present generation, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Presenting an overview of the advocacy project titled “Advocacy for the establishment of standards of compensation for mining concessions", a consultant from AIDEC Consultancies International Limited, Mr Ambrose Yiennah, said there were no standard compensations and property values on land in the mining areas which left room for controversies.
He said the advocacy project included activities such as research, sensitisation workshops in Accra, Tarkwa and Kumasi, a media campaign, petition/dialogue and negotiation, follow up and an internal monitoring, evaluation and reporting.
He said the objectives of the advocacy action were to have a national policy which clearly sorted out the principles, basis and standards of compensation for mining concessions and property values, have a prescribed negotiation procedure and dispute resolution mechanism and have a policy on speculative developers on mining concessions.
Mr Yiennah said the purpose of the sensitisation workshop was to inform, educate and seek stakeholder input into the draft compensation policy.
Presenting the research findings, Mr Andorful stated that the issue of compensation had been one of the difficult subjects in the mining sector, spanning from exploitation to decommissioning.
He added that the law left the determination of actual compensation payable to negotiations between the parties involved, resulting sometimes in lengthy litigation.
He said the objective of the research was to collate data on the current socio-economic conditions, livelihood activities, capabilities and options available to households that had suffered economic displacements with the purpose of re-evaluating the options for compensation packages.
It was also to review the Minerals and Mining Law with regard to compensation with a view to minimising the impact mining operations had on the incomes and livelihoods of mining communities.
The study showed that 79 per cent of people affected were not satisfied with their compensation packages, 5.6 per cent stating no indications, with 15.4 per cent being satisfied with their packages.
It revealed that 57 per cent of the respondents wanted cash as their compensation, two per cent expected money and land, four per cent expected land, three per cent expected financial investments, with 34 per cent expecting land and financial investments.
The study suggested the need for a better compensation, especially for non-cropped areas, and a better compensation level that should include money, land and financial investment.
"Objectives of the sections of the laws that deal with compensations are not specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time bound (SMART)," she stated.
She said this at a sensitisation workshop on compensation in the mining sector organised by the Ghana Chamber of Mines/Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) in Accra.
Ms Aryee stated that research and advocacy by the chamber were to help find lasting and mutually acceptable guidelines on compensation issues and push for the development and implementation of SMART guidelines for handling compensation in the mining industry and the nation.
She said the advocacy project was part of the chamber's objectives to provide leadership for the solution of national issues that were related to mining.
She said the chamber and its members subscribed to the principles of sustainable development that met the needs of the present generation, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Presenting an overview of the advocacy project titled “Advocacy for the establishment of standards of compensation for mining concessions", a consultant from AIDEC Consultancies International Limited, Mr Ambrose Yiennah, said there were no standard compensations and property values on land in the mining areas which left room for controversies.
He said the advocacy project included activities such as research, sensitisation workshops in Accra, Tarkwa and Kumasi, a media campaign, petition/dialogue and negotiation, follow up and an internal monitoring, evaluation and reporting.
He said the objectives of the advocacy action were to have a national policy which clearly sorted out the principles, basis and standards of compensation for mining concessions and property values, have a prescribed negotiation procedure and dispute resolution mechanism and have a policy on speculative developers on mining concessions.
Mr Yiennah said the purpose of the sensitisation workshop was to inform, educate and seek stakeholder input into the draft compensation policy.
Presenting the research findings, Mr Andorful stated that the issue of compensation had been one of the difficult subjects in the mining sector, spanning from exploitation to decommissioning.
He added that the law left the determination of actual compensation payable to negotiations between the parties involved, resulting sometimes in lengthy litigation.
He said the objective of the research was to collate data on the current socio-economic conditions, livelihood activities, capabilities and options available to households that had suffered economic displacements with the purpose of re-evaluating the options for compensation packages.
It was also to review the Minerals and Mining Law with regard to compensation with a view to minimising the impact mining operations had on the incomes and livelihoods of mining communities.
The study showed that 79 per cent of people affected were not satisfied with their compensation packages, 5.6 per cent stating no indications, with 15.4 per cent being satisfied with their packages.
It revealed that 57 per cent of the respondents wanted cash as their compensation, two per cent expected money and land, four per cent expected land, three per cent expected financial investments, with 34 per cent expecting land and financial investments.
The study suggested the need for a better compensation, especially for non-cropped areas, and a better compensation level that should include money, land and financial investment.
Monday, March 9, 2009
(Foundaton donates to New Horizon Special School)
THE Seven Hills Foundation in Worcester Massachusetts in the United States of America, has donated items worth $3,000 and a cheque for $2,500 to the New Horizon Special School in Accra.
The items included sewing machines, stationery and T-shirts.
The items were donated during a 10-day seminar the foundation organised in collaboration with the Clark University on autism on the school’s premises.
Presenting the items, the Assistant Vice-President of the foundation, Ms Valerie Chase, who led an 11-member delegation to the country for the presentation, said the donation formed part of plans by the Seven Hills Foundation to embark on a global outreach programme to help non-governmental organisations that were taking care of people with autism or mental disorders.
She said the gesture would be replicated in other African countries such as Kenya and Sierra Leone.
The Chief Executive Officer of the school, Mrs Salomey Francois, who received the items, thanked the foundation for the kind gesture.
The items included sewing machines, stationery and T-shirts.
The items were donated during a 10-day seminar the foundation organised in collaboration with the Clark University on autism on the school’s premises.
Presenting the items, the Assistant Vice-President of the foundation, Ms Valerie Chase, who led an 11-member delegation to the country for the presentation, said the donation formed part of plans by the Seven Hills Foundation to embark on a global outreach programme to help non-governmental organisations that were taking care of people with autism or mental disorders.
She said the gesture would be replicated in other African countries such as Kenya and Sierra Leone.
The Chief Executive Officer of the school, Mrs Salomey Francois, who received the items, thanked the foundation for the kind gesture.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
VEEP launches letter to Jomo(4/3/09)
Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru & Jennifer Dornoo
THE Vice-President, Mr John Mahama, has launched a book, "Letter to Jomo", with a call on Ghanaians to cultivate the habit of reading.
The 324-page book is a collection of humorous news essays by Mr George Sydney Abugri, an accomplished journalist of the Daily Graphic, and published by the newspaper from the 1990s to date.
The essays, which use humour to examine and criticise serious social, political, economic and religious issues, appear in the Friday editions of the Daily Graphic.
Published by Illumin8, the book contains 120 collections of Mr Abugri's essays, including "My Beef with Ghana Journalists Association Awards", "Buy a Pen and Get a House Free", "A Dangerous Policeman", "Mike Visits JAK With a Gun" and "Kofi Annan for President?".
Mr Mahama, who described Mr Abugri as a "well-loved writer", said his writings were rare works of a literary journalist.
He noted that humorous writing was a talent that came from within and said Mr Abugri did it excellently.
He urged editors and columnists to identify journalists with talent for writing features and encourage them to do so to be able to take over after them.
He said there were a lot of constraints in writing columns in newspapers in terms of meeting deadlines, as he experienced when he wrote a column, "Power Point", in the Network Herald newspaper.
Mr Mahama bemoaned the poor reading culture among Ghanaians, which he said reflected in the performance of students in English language.
He urged Ghanaians to cultivate the habit of reading, since they could acquire more knowledge only if they read books, saying that "books are the food for the mind".
He noted that journalists had played a key role in advancing democracy in Ghana and asked them to work even harder to protect the democracy.
He said President John Evans Atta Mills was committed to the freedom of the media, hence his commitment to the passage of the Freedom of Information Bill and the proposed broadcasting law.
Mr Abugri said his motivation for writing the book was to share his style of writing and ideas with people, especially those interested in writing.
He explained that he used fiction to discuss factual social, political, economic and religious issues, with the view to correcting the wrongs in society.
He noted that column writing increased circulation of newspapers and stressed the need for editors to identify journalists with elegant writing skills and understanding of the English language and motivate them to go into column writing.
Mr Abugri said book-publishing was very expensive in Ghana and called on the government to revive the sale of the mutual book policy to help publishers to recover cost.
The Agogohene, Nana Akuoko Sarpong, who chaired the function, said he was one of the people who took Mr Abugri’s writings seriously and that he was at the launch to pay tribute to him.
The publisher, Mr Edmund Fianko, said the book was a masterpiece of literary work qualified to be sold anywhere in the world.
THE Vice-President, Mr John Mahama, has launched a book, "Letter to Jomo", with a call on Ghanaians to cultivate the habit of reading.
The 324-page book is a collection of humorous news essays by Mr George Sydney Abugri, an accomplished journalist of the Daily Graphic, and published by the newspaper from the 1990s to date.
The essays, which use humour to examine and criticise serious social, political, economic and religious issues, appear in the Friday editions of the Daily Graphic.
Published by Illumin8, the book contains 120 collections of Mr Abugri's essays, including "My Beef with Ghana Journalists Association Awards", "Buy a Pen and Get a House Free", "A Dangerous Policeman", "Mike Visits JAK With a Gun" and "Kofi Annan for President?".
Mr Mahama, who described Mr Abugri as a "well-loved writer", said his writings were rare works of a literary journalist.
He noted that humorous writing was a talent that came from within and said Mr Abugri did it excellently.
He urged editors and columnists to identify journalists with talent for writing features and encourage them to do so to be able to take over after them.
He said there were a lot of constraints in writing columns in newspapers in terms of meeting deadlines, as he experienced when he wrote a column, "Power Point", in the Network Herald newspaper.
Mr Mahama bemoaned the poor reading culture among Ghanaians, which he said reflected in the performance of students in English language.
He urged Ghanaians to cultivate the habit of reading, since they could acquire more knowledge only if they read books, saying that "books are the food for the mind".
He noted that journalists had played a key role in advancing democracy in Ghana and asked them to work even harder to protect the democracy.
He said President John Evans Atta Mills was committed to the freedom of the media, hence his commitment to the passage of the Freedom of Information Bill and the proposed broadcasting law.
Mr Abugri said his motivation for writing the book was to share his style of writing and ideas with people, especially those interested in writing.
He explained that he used fiction to discuss factual social, political, economic and religious issues, with the view to correcting the wrongs in society.
He noted that column writing increased circulation of newspapers and stressed the need for editors to identify journalists with elegant writing skills and understanding of the English language and motivate them to go into column writing.
Mr Abugri said book-publishing was very expensive in Ghana and called on the government to revive the sale of the mutual book policy to help publishers to recover cost.
The Agogohene, Nana Akuoko Sarpong, who chaired the function, said he was one of the people who took Mr Abugri’s writings seriously and that he was at the launch to pay tribute to him.
The publisher, Mr Edmund Fianko, said the book was a masterpiece of literary work qualified to be sold anywhere in the world.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Traders urged to pay taxes
Story : Gifty Bamfo & Jennifer Dornoo
THE Principal Inspector of Taxes at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Mr Bobie Ansah, has urged traders, particularly those in the small-scale category to pay their income taxes regularly to contribute to nation building.
“Paying tax is compulsory and the government expects everyone to pay their taxes, because these moneys are used in undertaking development projects,” he said.
Mr Ansah said this at a seminar organised by the Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) of the Accra Polytechnic in Accra.
The seminar, which was on the theme: “Building capacity of SMEs through tax education”, was attended by participants from the Ghana National Tailors and Dressmakers Association, the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), the Ghana Association of Women Entrepreneurs (GAWE) and the Abossey Okai Spare Parts Dealers Association.
Mr Ansah said taxes were used in payment of salaries, maintenance of law and order, among other things, adding that ”most people who do not pay taxes are quick to blame the government when they do not benefit from development projects in their areas”.
He said business owners were to notify the IRS when they were changing their business addresses, opening more branches or ceasing to operate their businesses.
“Before you start any business, make sure you register with the IRS to enable us take account of your business activities,” he said.
Aside that, Mr Ansah said it was necessary for business owners to have a tax clearance certificate which would be issued by the commissioner of IRS to a person stating that he/she did not owe tax within a specified period or that satisfactory arrangement had been made for its payment.
He said circumstances for which one needed a tax clearance certificate included clearance of goods in commercial quantities from ports or businesses, registration of land and bidding for government contracts.
Mr Ansah advised the small-scale enterprises (SMEs) to maintain proper records and accounts of their businesses to ensure that they paid the right tax to the government, adding that “this way, we would avoid acts that may result in loss of tax revenues to the state”.
The President of SIFE, Ms Lydia Amponsah, said the seminar sought to sensitise the SMEs on the need to pay taxes and the benefits that would be derived thereof.
“Most people don’t feel obliged to pay tax, because they do not understand what taxes are and into what use the nation puts them,” she said.
She added that the programmes would also educate the SMEs on the need to practise regular book-keeping.
THE Principal Inspector of Taxes at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Mr Bobie Ansah, has urged traders, particularly those in the small-scale category to pay their income taxes regularly to contribute to nation building.
“Paying tax is compulsory and the government expects everyone to pay their taxes, because these moneys are used in undertaking development projects,” he said.
Mr Ansah said this at a seminar organised by the Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) of the Accra Polytechnic in Accra.
The seminar, which was on the theme: “Building capacity of SMEs through tax education”, was attended by participants from the Ghana National Tailors and Dressmakers Association, the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), the Ghana Association of Women Entrepreneurs (GAWE) and the Abossey Okai Spare Parts Dealers Association.
Mr Ansah said taxes were used in payment of salaries, maintenance of law and order, among other things, adding that ”most people who do not pay taxes are quick to blame the government when they do not benefit from development projects in their areas”.
He said business owners were to notify the IRS when they were changing their business addresses, opening more branches or ceasing to operate their businesses.
“Before you start any business, make sure you register with the IRS to enable us take account of your business activities,” he said.
Aside that, Mr Ansah said it was necessary for business owners to have a tax clearance certificate which would be issued by the commissioner of IRS to a person stating that he/she did not owe tax within a specified period or that satisfactory arrangement had been made for its payment.
He said circumstances for which one needed a tax clearance certificate included clearance of goods in commercial quantities from ports or businesses, registration of land and bidding for government contracts.
Mr Ansah advised the small-scale enterprises (SMEs) to maintain proper records and accounts of their businesses to ensure that they paid the right tax to the government, adding that “this way, we would avoid acts that may result in loss of tax revenues to the state”.
The President of SIFE, Ms Lydia Amponsah, said the seminar sought to sensitise the SMEs on the need to pay taxes and the benefits that would be derived thereof.
“Most people don’t feel obliged to pay tax, because they do not understand what taxes are and into what use the nation puts them,” she said.
She added that the programmes would also educate the SMEs on the need to practise regular book-keeping.
Ghana unlikely to meet MDGS (28/02/09)
GHANA is unlikely to meet its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), particularly in the areas of health and education by the year 2015, the monitoring report for 2008 has indicated.
"Were current rates of progress to be merely kept up, only a small number of targets would be reached for the country as a whole, in terms of health and education", the report stated.
The report further stated that, "Despite efforts to expand coverage of social interventions, real access remained patchy since significant pockets of communities and even entire districts lag behind the picture of progress as portrayed by national aggregate statistics".
The report which was launched in Accra last Thursday was part of a research conducted by SEND Ghana and Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights (ARHR), a Non governmental organisation(NGO) on behalf of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).
The report suggested that the school feeding programme be accelerated in the three northern regions of the country where Catholic relief services and World Food Programme were phasing out their support.
It also called for the increase of the capitation grant to make the programme more relevant to schools’ funding needs.
The report recommended the capitation grant to be "indexed to inflation to protect its value and disbursed in a more timely fashion so as to prevent school authorities from using adhoc pupil based levies to raise funds".
It said to further improve prospects for achieving universal basic completion, there was the need to "accelerate action on complementary education opportunities for out-of-school children and hard-to-reach areas".
The report noted that poor districts were being left behind in the march to achieving the health goals.
It therefore stressed on the need to strengthen attention to preventive aspects, rooted in promoting the concept of the household as the fulcrum of health and augmented by a strategic campaign designed to empower communities to adopt more healthful behaviours.
It also called for sector policy to be aimed at bridging the equity gaps "by skewing investment in favour of the poorest districts and prioritising community-based strategies".
The Executive Director of ARHR, Ms Vicky Okine said monitoring MDG's was an activity under a broad campaign by the civil society to heighten awareness of civil society to government's commitments and obligations towards realising targets set under the MDGs.
She said information generated through the monitoring exercise would provide the civil society with the critical evidence useful for holding government to account.
She said the study which was undertaken in 2007 in three districts in Ghana which included Komenda Edina Eguafo Abirem (KEEA) in the Central Region, Kwahu North in the Eastern Region and Bongo in the Upper East Region which she described as the poorest districts in the country.
Ms Okine said the aim of the study was to gather data on government inputs and outputs in the health and education sectors, and also understand the impact of government’s intervention in health and education at the local level.
She said the information generated was intended to serve as a baseline data for monitoring Ghana's progress towards achieving the MDGs.
Presenting a review of the report, the Head of Research and Information, Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG), Professor Kwame A. Ninsin said the report exposed several challenges facing children, teachers and the educational infrastructure necessary for quality education.
He said children should have encouraging reasons to remain in school, be punctual, alert and be provided with conducive environments for studies, and receive quality teaching from qualified and highly motivated teachers.
"Were current rates of progress to be merely kept up, only a small number of targets would be reached for the country as a whole, in terms of health and education", the report stated.
The report further stated that, "Despite efforts to expand coverage of social interventions, real access remained patchy since significant pockets of communities and even entire districts lag behind the picture of progress as portrayed by national aggregate statistics".
The report which was launched in Accra last Thursday was part of a research conducted by SEND Ghana and Alliance for Reproductive Health Rights (ARHR), a Non governmental organisation(NGO) on behalf of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs).
The report suggested that the school feeding programme be accelerated in the three northern regions of the country where Catholic relief services and World Food Programme were phasing out their support.
It also called for the increase of the capitation grant to make the programme more relevant to schools’ funding needs.
The report recommended the capitation grant to be "indexed to inflation to protect its value and disbursed in a more timely fashion so as to prevent school authorities from using adhoc pupil based levies to raise funds".
It said to further improve prospects for achieving universal basic completion, there was the need to "accelerate action on complementary education opportunities for out-of-school children and hard-to-reach areas".
The report noted that poor districts were being left behind in the march to achieving the health goals.
It therefore stressed on the need to strengthen attention to preventive aspects, rooted in promoting the concept of the household as the fulcrum of health and augmented by a strategic campaign designed to empower communities to adopt more healthful behaviours.
It also called for sector policy to be aimed at bridging the equity gaps "by skewing investment in favour of the poorest districts and prioritising community-based strategies".
The Executive Director of ARHR, Ms Vicky Okine said monitoring MDG's was an activity under a broad campaign by the civil society to heighten awareness of civil society to government's commitments and obligations towards realising targets set under the MDGs.
She said information generated through the monitoring exercise would provide the civil society with the critical evidence useful for holding government to account.
She said the study which was undertaken in 2007 in three districts in Ghana which included Komenda Edina Eguafo Abirem (KEEA) in the Central Region, Kwahu North in the Eastern Region and Bongo in the Upper East Region which she described as the poorest districts in the country.
Ms Okine said the aim of the study was to gather data on government inputs and outputs in the health and education sectors, and also understand the impact of government’s intervention in health and education at the local level.
She said the information generated was intended to serve as a baseline data for monitoring Ghana's progress towards achieving the MDGs.
Presenting a review of the report, the Head of Research and Information, Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG), Professor Kwame A. Ninsin said the report exposed several challenges facing children, teachers and the educational infrastructure necessary for quality education.
He said children should have encouraging reasons to remain in school, be punctual, alert and be provided with conducive environments for studies, and receive quality teaching from qualified and highly motivated teachers.
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