19/12/2008
Story: Mary Mensah
THE Australian government has provided GH¢56,000 to the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) to support a project to protect the rights of arrested persons in Ghana.
The money will be used to produce information booklets on the rights of arrested persons and conduct information and advocacy sessions in five regions of the country.
The project will be implemented in consultation with the Ghana Police Service, the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).
Presenting the money at a short ceremony in Accra, the Australian High Commissioner to Ghana, Mr William Williams, said in 1948 Australia was one of the 47 original signatories to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which gave a global expression to the basic rights and freedoms to which all human beings were entitled.
He said for the past 60 years, Australia had been a leading proponent of the consistent and comprehensive implementation of the declaration.
“In this spirit, we are pleased to be able to support activities to promote human rights in Ghana,” he said, adding that Australia had previously funded a number of projects in the human rights sector which included supporting the rehabilitation of ex-trokosis in the Volta Region.
Mr Williams said the project would be funded under the Australian Human Rights Small Grants Scheme and said 1.5 million Australian dollars would be provided for projects in 19 African countries, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East to promote good governance, gender equality, disability rights and children’s rights and combat human trafficking.
For her part, Nana Oye Lithur, who is in charge of the CHRI Africa Office, said her office started implementing a project on police accountability in 2005, with the ultimate objective to initiate advocacy for reforms in the Ghana Police Service in order to bring the service in line with modern principles of democratic and human rights conscious policing.
She said research previously conducted by the CDD revealed that one of the major issues militating against effective accountability in the Police Service was the fact that many people in Ghana did not know their rights and the avenues for redress when their rights were breached.
Nana Lithur said that lack of awareness culminated in many people’s rights being abused during arrests, saying that called for the need to raise awareness among the citizenry of the general scope of rights of arrested persons.
She expressed her appreciation to the Australian government for providing the funding, which she said would go a long way to create awareness in society.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
POLICE READY FOR RUN OFF (Centre Spread)
19/12/2008
Story: Mary Mensah & Francis Kyei
The Police Administration says it has put in place all it takes to achieve a peaceful presidential run-off on December 28, 2008 and a smooth transfer of power on January 7, 2009.
It said it would continue to ensure that Ghana went through an incident-free transition as far as internal security and the services of the police were concerned.
The Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Frank Adu-Poku, gave the assurances yesterday at the passing out parade of the fourth batch of 116 recruits who have successfully completed their basic training at the National Police Training School in Accra.
He attributed the success of the elections on December 7, 2008 to the co-operation and co-ordination of the Police Service and its sister security agencies and noted that the professional display by the police and allied security agencies was duly acknowledged and lauded not only in Ghana but also internationally and hoped that the same mechanism of professionalism would be adopted to ensure peace during the run-off and the period of transition.
DCOP Adu-Poku cautioned the recruits against the indiscriminate and unjustifiable use of firearms, brutalisation of innocent people and suspects, bribery and corruption, indiscipline, among others.
The director-general urged the recruits to bear in mind that they were under an 18-month probation and that any breach of discipline on the part of any of them would attract appropriate disciplinary action that could end his or her career prematurely, adding, “Your confirmation after the probation period will depend on your loyalty, good conduct and commitment to duty.”
He said the three core pillars of policing were the exhibition of professionalism, discipline and correct usage of discretion, noting that as members of the profession they were expected to follow the regulations in the service instructions and be conversant with the provisions of the Police Service Act and other statutes governing the service.
DCOP Adu-Poku stated that enforcing the law in society today was not an easy task, adding, however, that as professionals who were well trained, their knowledge and skills in handling issues of human rights and modern law enforcement techniques must reflect in their performance as police officers.
The training of the 116 recruits, who are all males, took six months, during which they were schooled in both police and liberal subjects, which included Practical Police Duties, Criminal Law, Criminal Investigations, Law of Evidence, Acts and Decrees, Fundamental Human Rights and Social Psychology.
The Overall Best Recruit award went to General Recruit Joshua Kwofie.
Story: Mary Mensah & Francis Kyei
The Police Administration says it has put in place all it takes to achieve a peaceful presidential run-off on December 28, 2008 and a smooth transfer of power on January 7, 2009.
It said it would continue to ensure that Ghana went through an incident-free transition as far as internal security and the services of the police were concerned.
The Director-General of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Frank Adu-Poku, gave the assurances yesterday at the passing out parade of the fourth batch of 116 recruits who have successfully completed their basic training at the National Police Training School in Accra.
He attributed the success of the elections on December 7, 2008 to the co-operation and co-ordination of the Police Service and its sister security agencies and noted that the professional display by the police and allied security agencies was duly acknowledged and lauded not only in Ghana but also internationally and hoped that the same mechanism of professionalism would be adopted to ensure peace during the run-off and the period of transition.
DCOP Adu-Poku cautioned the recruits against the indiscriminate and unjustifiable use of firearms, brutalisation of innocent people and suspects, bribery and corruption, indiscipline, among others.
The director-general urged the recruits to bear in mind that they were under an 18-month probation and that any breach of discipline on the part of any of them would attract appropriate disciplinary action that could end his or her career prematurely, adding, “Your confirmation after the probation period will depend on your loyalty, good conduct and commitment to duty.”
He said the three core pillars of policing were the exhibition of professionalism, discipline and correct usage of discretion, noting that as members of the profession they were expected to follow the regulations in the service instructions and be conversant with the provisions of the Police Service Act and other statutes governing the service.
DCOP Adu-Poku stated that enforcing the law in society today was not an easy task, adding, however, that as professionals who were well trained, their knowledge and skills in handling issues of human rights and modern law enforcement techniques must reflect in their performance as police officers.
The training of the 116 recruits, who are all males, took six months, during which they were schooled in both police and liberal subjects, which included Practical Police Duties, Criminal Law, Criminal Investigations, Law of Evidence, Acts and Decrees, Fundamental Human Rights and Social Psychology.
The Overall Best Recruit award went to General Recruit Joshua Kwofie.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
PRIVATE SECURITY EMPLOYEES SIGN BARGAINING AGREEMENT (Page 30)
11/12/2008
Story: Mary Mensah
A collective agreement to improve upon the salaries and working conditions of private security employees has been signed by the Association of Private Security Organisations Ghana (APSOG) and the Union of Private Security Employees (UPSEG).
Under the agreement the employees will earn specific wages, benefits, and after working for six years or more they will be paid end of service benefits and other remunerations.
The Chairman of APSOG, Nana Adu Agyemang IV, signed for the employers while Nana Kofi Adu II, Chairman of UPSEG, signed for the employees.
In an address. Nana Agyemang IV said initially the APSOG refused to have its employees unionised because they felt that they operated under the police act, since the police were not unionised, but after careful study of laws governing employment they decided to change their stance.
He said currently there were many security companies operating in the country, and that it was very important that they re-organised and restructured their operations in order to meet the expectations of their clients and employees.
He urged the employees to abide by the rules and regulations of their companies and work very hard in order to merit increased salaries.
The Chairman of UPSEG said initially workers received as low as Gh¢40 as their salaries but with the new agreement employees will earn GH¢80 or more.
He said currently there were 115 private security companies which had been licensed to operate by the Interior Ministry but there were over 300 companies operating without valid licence throughout the country.
He said the agreement covered only 60 companies which were members of the union, and added that there are over 8,000 active members.
According to him members of Private Security companies were being educated and trained to be on standby as they would be called to support the security agencies if the need arose during the elections.
For his part, the Minister of State at the Ministry of the Interior, Nana Obiri Boahen, said the ceremony would go down in the history of the country, and urged both parties to be faithful, loyal and law abiding in their operations.
He said some people were not comfortable with the operations of the private security companies, so the ministry had set up a three member committee to look into their operations.
He advised them to work hand in hand with the police by reporting the activities of criminals and other miscreants in society to them.
Mr Mohammed Affum, the Public Affairs Officer of the National Labour Commission (NLC), commended the two groups for concluding the agreement, which is a legally binding contract that embodies the terms and conditions of employment of the workers.
He said the document which also spelt out the respective rights and duties of the workers and management was a bold step taken to prevent and manage conflict in the labour market.
The Public Affairs Officer said the process of workers negotiating their terms and conditions of service with their employers represented an important element of industrial relations which meant giving voice to workers.
He expressed the hope that in the implementation and application of the provisions of the agreement both parties would seek guidance from the same understanding that characterised the negotiations.
Mr Affum gave the assurance that the NLC was ever ready to assist both parties in ensuring harmony for increased productivity, profit and growth.
Story: Mary Mensah
A collective agreement to improve upon the salaries and working conditions of private security employees has been signed by the Association of Private Security Organisations Ghana (APSOG) and the Union of Private Security Employees (UPSEG).
Under the agreement the employees will earn specific wages, benefits, and after working for six years or more they will be paid end of service benefits and other remunerations.
The Chairman of APSOG, Nana Adu Agyemang IV, signed for the employers while Nana Kofi Adu II, Chairman of UPSEG, signed for the employees.
In an address. Nana Agyemang IV said initially the APSOG refused to have its employees unionised because they felt that they operated under the police act, since the police were not unionised, but after careful study of laws governing employment they decided to change their stance.
He said currently there were many security companies operating in the country, and that it was very important that they re-organised and restructured their operations in order to meet the expectations of their clients and employees.
He urged the employees to abide by the rules and regulations of their companies and work very hard in order to merit increased salaries.
The Chairman of UPSEG said initially workers received as low as Gh¢40 as their salaries but with the new agreement employees will earn GH¢80 or more.
He said currently there were 115 private security companies which had been licensed to operate by the Interior Ministry but there were over 300 companies operating without valid licence throughout the country.
He said the agreement covered only 60 companies which were members of the union, and added that there are over 8,000 active members.
According to him members of Private Security companies were being educated and trained to be on standby as they would be called to support the security agencies if the need arose during the elections.
For his part, the Minister of State at the Ministry of the Interior, Nana Obiri Boahen, said the ceremony would go down in the history of the country, and urged both parties to be faithful, loyal and law abiding in their operations.
He said some people were not comfortable with the operations of the private security companies, so the ministry had set up a three member committee to look into their operations.
He advised them to work hand in hand with the police by reporting the activities of criminals and other miscreants in society to them.
Mr Mohammed Affum, the Public Affairs Officer of the National Labour Commission (NLC), commended the two groups for concluding the agreement, which is a legally binding contract that embodies the terms and conditions of employment of the workers.
He said the document which also spelt out the respective rights and duties of the workers and management was a bold step taken to prevent and manage conflict in the labour market.
The Public Affairs Officer said the process of workers negotiating their terms and conditions of service with their employers represented an important element of industrial relations which meant giving voice to workers.
He expressed the hope that in the implementation and application of the provisions of the agreement both parties would seek guidance from the same understanding that characterised the negotiations.
Mr Affum gave the assurance that the NLC was ever ready to assist both parties in ensuring harmony for increased productivity, profit and growth.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
POLLS, BIG TEST FOR US ALL (Frong Page 1B)
04/12/2008
Story: Mary Mensah
The Presidential Candidate of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP), Mr Ward Brew has called on all Ghanaians to be very careful about their temperament and reactions during the elections.
He said the Sunday’s election is a very historic event in the life of this great nation and provocation’s can come from all angles despite preparations made to ensure peace.
Mr Ward Brew said everybody is vulnerable but it behoves all to be on guard to avoid any misunderstanding.
He said politics is like a game of sport which must always produce a winner and a loser and if one becomes victorious that does not mean that his opponent is not important or not needed.
‘We need both winners and losers to make the cycle complete and in a democracy the most difficult challenge is how to co-exist with the person you have defeated in an election”, he said.
On his chances, Mr Ward Brew said he has already won the elections because if you go underground you will see that people are clamouring for a party like the DPP without any baggage.
He said people want a fresh start, a new development and a party that will reconcile the whole nation not to divide it.
“When elected as president of this great nation I will put in place a national government which will reconcile the whole nation, all political groups and heal all wounds”, he said.
According to him the CPP government left the country divided and the NDC also followed up by dividing the country and there has been criticisms about sale of government institutions between them and the NPP.
He said the criticisms that characterised the national award in July this year which forced some sections to boycott it shows that all is not well and we need to unite as a country because divided we fall.
He craved the indulgence of the other political parties to stop attacking each other with their adverts in the media and added that all campaign promises cannot materialised in an atmosphere of rancour.
He said society is made up of the living, the dead and the deities and they all have a a role to play in who should lead the country.
Mr Ward Brew indicated that DPP is like King David in the bible, where when God sent Samuel to his fathers house to find a successor to Saul he was not brought forward because he was a non entity but it turn out that he was the chosen one and “though we appear like a non entity, the seat belongs to us because we are the chosen ones”.
Story: Mary Mensah
The Presidential Candidate of the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP), Mr Ward Brew has called on all Ghanaians to be very careful about their temperament and reactions during the elections.
He said the Sunday’s election is a very historic event in the life of this great nation and provocation’s can come from all angles despite preparations made to ensure peace.
Mr Ward Brew said everybody is vulnerable but it behoves all to be on guard to avoid any misunderstanding.
He said politics is like a game of sport which must always produce a winner and a loser and if one becomes victorious that does not mean that his opponent is not important or not needed.
‘We need both winners and losers to make the cycle complete and in a democracy the most difficult challenge is how to co-exist with the person you have defeated in an election”, he said.
On his chances, Mr Ward Brew said he has already won the elections because if you go underground you will see that people are clamouring for a party like the DPP without any baggage.
He said people want a fresh start, a new development and a party that will reconcile the whole nation not to divide it.
“When elected as president of this great nation I will put in place a national government which will reconcile the whole nation, all political groups and heal all wounds”, he said.
According to him the CPP government left the country divided and the NDC also followed up by dividing the country and there has been criticisms about sale of government institutions between them and the NPP.
He said the criticisms that characterised the national award in July this year which forced some sections to boycott it shows that all is not well and we need to unite as a country because divided we fall.
He craved the indulgence of the other political parties to stop attacking each other with their adverts in the media and added that all campaign promises cannot materialised in an atmosphere of rancour.
He said society is made up of the living, the dead and the deities and they all have a a role to play in who should lead the country.
Mr Ward Brew indicated that DPP is like King David in the bible, where when God sent Samuel to his fathers house to find a successor to Saul he was not brought forward because he was a non entity but it turn out that he was the chosen one and “though we appear like a non entity, the seat belongs to us because we are the chosen ones”.
SPECIAL POOLS ORDERLY, Pockets of distractions recorded (Front Page)
03/12/2008
Story: Abdul Aziz & Mary Mensah
A Special voting exercise took place across the country today for security, electoral commission and media personnel who will perform duties on the elections day.
Voting started at the designated centres at 7 am in the morning and its expected to end at 5 pm after which the boxes will be kept under police guard till Sunday before it will be counted.
In the Greater Accra Region voting went on smoothly at most of the centres visited but there were some pockets of confusion at some centres.
At the Osu police barracks voting was halted by the NDC and CPP parliamentary candidates for Korley Klotttey constituency who claimed that the electoral officers were taking down names and polling station numbers and allowing people to vote instead of going according to the list of special voters they have.
Some people also complained that instead of stamping the back of the ballot papers it was signed by the electoral officers.
They challenged the electoral officers that if they continued with the exercise they will reject the voting from that centre and this generated into a heated argument and the police quickly sent a number of patrolmen to the area to avert any clash.
But according to the electoral officer at the police barracks, Mr Clement Adonae 3, 400 eligible voters who will perform special duties were supposed to vote at the centre.
He said the District electoral officer had a meeting with the representatives of the various parties and it was agreed that in order to allow more people to vote before 5 pm instead of going through the long list names should be written so that at the end of the day it will be reconciled.
He said voting started smoothly at 7am but it was stopped by the party representatives saying that because of the process people who are not special voters were being allowed to vote but the problem was resolved and voting continued only to be halted again by the parliamentary candidates.
At the Cantonments Police Station, Burma Hall, Teshie Military Academy, Teshie Police station, Kpeshie Divisional Police Command voting went on smoothly with the same process of writing down names.
At Amasaman apart from an incident where a campaign vehicle of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) pulled at the Electoral Commission near the area where the special voting exercise was taking place which attracted protests from the National Democratic Congress party accredited agent, the voting was conducted in a cordial atmosphere.
The NDC agent protested to the returning officer of the electoral commission who ordered the vehicle to leave the vicinity.
The occupant of the vehicle who was in a flowing Mohammadan gown popularly known in local parlance as ‘jalabia’ complied and jumped into the vehicle sped off.
Mr Richard Wormenor, the returning officer at the polling station said as at 10 am 229 voters had cast their votes from an expected number of 500 voters.
The Kotobabi Police station as at mid day the queues were still long as benches were made available for voters awaiting their turns to vote to sit down while others who could endure stood in the long queues.
Mr Edward Ofei Quansah, the returning officer at the Kotobabi Police Station Polling centre told the Graphic that as at 12.30 in the afternoon 260 people had voted out of a total of 500 expected to vote.
Story: Abdul Aziz & Mary Mensah
A Special voting exercise took place across the country today for security, electoral commission and media personnel who will perform duties on the elections day.
Voting started at the designated centres at 7 am in the morning and its expected to end at 5 pm after which the boxes will be kept under police guard till Sunday before it will be counted.
In the Greater Accra Region voting went on smoothly at most of the centres visited but there were some pockets of confusion at some centres.
At the Osu police barracks voting was halted by the NDC and CPP parliamentary candidates for Korley Klotttey constituency who claimed that the electoral officers were taking down names and polling station numbers and allowing people to vote instead of going according to the list of special voters they have.
Some people also complained that instead of stamping the back of the ballot papers it was signed by the electoral officers.
They challenged the electoral officers that if they continued with the exercise they will reject the voting from that centre and this generated into a heated argument and the police quickly sent a number of patrolmen to the area to avert any clash.
But according to the electoral officer at the police barracks, Mr Clement Adonae 3, 400 eligible voters who will perform special duties were supposed to vote at the centre.
He said the District electoral officer had a meeting with the representatives of the various parties and it was agreed that in order to allow more people to vote before 5 pm instead of going through the long list names should be written so that at the end of the day it will be reconciled.
He said voting started smoothly at 7am but it was stopped by the party representatives saying that because of the process people who are not special voters were being allowed to vote but the problem was resolved and voting continued only to be halted again by the parliamentary candidates.
At the Cantonments Police Station, Burma Hall, Teshie Military Academy, Teshie Police station, Kpeshie Divisional Police Command voting went on smoothly with the same process of writing down names.
At Amasaman apart from an incident where a campaign vehicle of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) pulled at the Electoral Commission near the area where the special voting exercise was taking place which attracted protests from the National Democratic Congress party accredited agent, the voting was conducted in a cordial atmosphere.
The NDC agent protested to the returning officer of the electoral commission who ordered the vehicle to leave the vicinity.
The occupant of the vehicle who was in a flowing Mohammadan gown popularly known in local parlance as ‘jalabia’ complied and jumped into the vehicle sped off.
Mr Richard Wormenor, the returning officer at the polling station said as at 10 am 229 voters had cast their votes from an expected number of 500 voters.
The Kotobabi Police station as at mid day the queues were still long as benches were made available for voters awaiting their turns to vote to sit down while others who could endure stood in the long queues.
Mr Edward Ofei Quansah, the returning officer at the Kotobabi Police Station Polling centre told the Graphic that as at 12.30 in the afternoon 260 people had voted out of a total of 500 expected to vote.
BUSH FIRES COST NATION $210 MILLION ANNUALLY (Page 28)
13/12/2008
Story: Mary Mensah
The Minister of State for the Interior, Nana Obiri Boahen, has stated that bush fires cost the nation a whopping US$210 million every year.
This, he said, was an equivalent to about three per cent of the National Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Launching the 2008/2009 National Bush Fire Prevention Campaign, which was under the theme; ‘Prevent bush fires and save the environment”, at the Fire Academy and Training School in Accra , the minister said an estimated amount of approximately 65,000 hectares representing about three per cent of land was lost annually through human activities including mining and bush fires.
He said this year alone, a total of 88 bush fires were officially recorded and this cost the nation a lot of money.
The minister announced that this year the government has sourced for loans of $15 million and over $49 million from India and the USA respectively to procure fire tenders and they are expected to arrive in the country by next year.
Nana Boahen said since the early 1980s bush fires have become an annual ritual in the country particularly during the harmattan period, consuming large tracts of forest and farmlands bringing in its wake devastating destruction of crops and animals.
He said, the depletion of the forest cover aggravated through bush fires,was drying up water bodies and the drop in the water level of the Akosombo dam which led to the power rationing exercise in the country, was a direct result of this phenomenon.
He said the fire volunteer concept has proven to be the most effective way of dealing with fire disasters and noted that the Ghana National Fire Service has trained 2775 volunteers over the past year, bringing the number of volunteers to 22,000.
The Chief Fire officer, Mr Felix K. Ferkah, noted that to succeed in the fight against bush fires, metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies have a huge role to play.
Mr Ferkah called for the amendment of PNDC law 229 on prevention and control of bush fires which has been in existence for over two decades and said the fine of Gh¢2.00 and GH¢10 which the law prescribes cannot be enough deterrent to offenders.
Story: Mary Mensah
The Minister of State for the Interior, Nana Obiri Boahen, has stated that bush fires cost the nation a whopping US$210 million every year.
This, he said, was an equivalent to about three per cent of the National Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Launching the 2008/2009 National Bush Fire Prevention Campaign, which was under the theme; ‘Prevent bush fires and save the environment”, at the Fire Academy and Training School in Accra , the minister said an estimated amount of approximately 65,000 hectares representing about three per cent of land was lost annually through human activities including mining and bush fires.
He said this year alone, a total of 88 bush fires were officially recorded and this cost the nation a lot of money.
The minister announced that this year the government has sourced for loans of $15 million and over $49 million from India and the USA respectively to procure fire tenders and they are expected to arrive in the country by next year.
Nana Boahen said since the early 1980s bush fires have become an annual ritual in the country particularly during the harmattan period, consuming large tracts of forest and farmlands bringing in its wake devastating destruction of crops and animals.
He said, the depletion of the forest cover aggravated through bush fires,was drying up water bodies and the drop in the water level of the Akosombo dam which led to the power rationing exercise in the country, was a direct result of this phenomenon.
He said the fire volunteer concept has proven to be the most effective way of dealing with fire disasters and noted that the Ghana National Fire Service has trained 2775 volunteers over the past year, bringing the number of volunteers to 22,000.
The Chief Fire officer, Mr Felix K. Ferkah, noted that to succeed in the fight against bush fires, metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies have a huge role to play.
Mr Ferkah called for the amendment of PNDC law 229 on prevention and control of bush fires which has been in existence for over two decades and said the fine of Gh¢2.00 and GH¢10 which the law prescribes cannot be enough deterrent to offenders.
TWO PUPILS DROWNED AT DANSOMAN BEACH (Page 25)
02/12/2008
Story: Mary Mensah
Two pupils of the Oral Roberts International School at Dansoman got drowned at the Dansoman beach last Friday when they went swimming after being asked by the school authorities to go home and bring their school fees.
The two boys — Joaken Larnyoh, aged 10, and Mohammed Tekpor, nine years — both class three pupils, together with three others, went to the Dansoman beach to swim and the two were swept away by the strong waves.
Narrating the unfortunate incident to the Daily Graphic in Accra, the grandfather of one of the victims, Mr Joshua Yabaku Oblokuteye, who could not hold back his tears, said on Friday while in the house the three other boys wearing only their briefs with sand all over their bodies arrived in a taxi at the house looking frightened and confused.
They informed them that they were sacked from school to go home and bring their school fees but on their way home one of them suggested that they should rather go to the beach to swim and they went.
He said according to the three boys while swimming the two deceased boys, who were the oldest among them, decided to venture into the deep waters and were swept away by the waves without any trace.
They became frightened so they ran away holding their uniforms and that of the two when they met a taxi driver who took them home after narrating the incident to him.
Mr Oblokuteye said a report was quickly made to the Dansoman Police, who accompanied some family members to the beach to inform the fishermen there to be on the lookout for the bodies of the boys.
He said on Sunday, they were informed by the fishermen that the bodies had been washed ashore at the Korle Gonno beach so they went there but the bodies had already been taken away by the Korle-Bu Police.
They proceeded to the police station and they were informed that one of the bodies was washed ashore on Saturday morning and the other on Sunday but both bodies had been deposited at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital mortuary awaiting autopsy while investigations were still underway.
He said the school authorities were notified about the incident and the headmaster, Mr Daniel Johnson, together with the proprietor of the school, Mr Albert Osei Kessi, came to plead with the families to forgive them because they did not know that the boys would go elsewhere aside their homes.
Story: Mary Mensah
Two pupils of the Oral Roberts International School at Dansoman got drowned at the Dansoman beach last Friday when they went swimming after being asked by the school authorities to go home and bring their school fees.
The two boys — Joaken Larnyoh, aged 10, and Mohammed Tekpor, nine years — both class three pupils, together with three others, went to the Dansoman beach to swim and the two were swept away by the strong waves.
Narrating the unfortunate incident to the Daily Graphic in Accra, the grandfather of one of the victims, Mr Joshua Yabaku Oblokuteye, who could not hold back his tears, said on Friday while in the house the three other boys wearing only their briefs with sand all over their bodies arrived in a taxi at the house looking frightened and confused.
They informed them that they were sacked from school to go home and bring their school fees but on their way home one of them suggested that they should rather go to the beach to swim and they went.
He said according to the three boys while swimming the two deceased boys, who were the oldest among them, decided to venture into the deep waters and were swept away by the waves without any trace.
They became frightened so they ran away holding their uniforms and that of the two when they met a taxi driver who took them home after narrating the incident to him.
Mr Oblokuteye said a report was quickly made to the Dansoman Police, who accompanied some family members to the beach to inform the fishermen there to be on the lookout for the bodies of the boys.
He said on Sunday, they were informed by the fishermen that the bodies had been washed ashore at the Korle Gonno beach so they went there but the bodies had already been taken away by the Korle-Bu Police.
They proceeded to the police station and they were informed that one of the bodies was washed ashore on Saturday morning and the other on Sunday but both bodies had been deposited at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital mortuary awaiting autopsy while investigations were still underway.
He said the school authorities were notified about the incident and the headmaster, Mr Daniel Johnson, together with the proprietor of the school, Mr Albert Osei Kessi, came to plead with the families to forgive them because they did not know that the boys would go elsewhere aside their homes.
50 VEHICLES FOR PARTIES (Front Page)
19/11/2008
Story: Mary Mensah
FIFTY cross-country pick-up vehicles have been released for distribution to political parties which have 10 or more parliamentary candidates in the December general election.
The vehicles will be distributed on the basis of the number of candidates fielded for the parliamentary elections, with each party qualifying for one vehicle if it fields more than 10 candidates.
The Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, who announced this in Accra yesterday at the opening of a one-day forum for parliamentary candidates, said the gesture was to assist in electioneering by the political parties.
He announced that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) would each be allocated 12 vehicles, as the two parties fielded the same number of parliamentary candidates.
He said the Convention People’s Party (CPP) would be given 10 vehicles; the People’s National Convention (PNC), seven; the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), six; the Democratic People’s Party (DPP), two, while the Reform Patriotic Democrats (RPD) would get one.
Dr Afari-Gyan also announced that copies of the voters register were ready to be collected by the political parties, adding that each party would be given 10 copies.
He stated that the register had been cleaned with the removal of 349,000 names comprising minors, foreigners and the dead, adding that 76,000 people had also engaged in multiple registration. He gave the assurance that the exercise was still ongoing to ensure a clean register during the elections.
He said printing of the ballot papers was well advanced, saying they would be ready way ahead of time before the elections on December 7, 2008.
Dr Afari-Gyan advised the aspiring parliamentarians to report any complaints or differences they might have to the EC, not the media, especially the radio stations which might not be able to solve their problems for them.
The EC Chairman said a number of changes had been made to reduce the number of rejected ballot papers after voting, explaining that this year’s ballot paper would be the longest, with wide, thick black lines to distinguish between candidates.
He said during the polls any fingerprint or mark would be accepted by the EC if it clearly showed the intention of the voter.
He expressed concern over the fact that during the exhibition of the voters register recently only 23 per cent of registered voters showed up to check their names and said that always created problems on voting day.
Dr Afari-Gyan assured all that measures had been put in place by the EC to ensure free, fair and transparent elections and advised parties to appoint good people who could make reasonable judgement as their agents, not macho men.
Story: Mary Mensah
FIFTY cross-country pick-up vehicles have been released for distribution to political parties which have 10 or more parliamentary candidates in the December general election.
The vehicles will be distributed on the basis of the number of candidates fielded for the parliamentary elections, with each party qualifying for one vehicle if it fields more than 10 candidates.
The Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, who announced this in Accra yesterday at the opening of a one-day forum for parliamentary candidates, said the gesture was to assist in electioneering by the political parties.
He announced that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) would each be allocated 12 vehicles, as the two parties fielded the same number of parliamentary candidates.
He said the Convention People’s Party (CPP) would be given 10 vehicles; the People’s National Convention (PNC), seven; the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), six; the Democratic People’s Party (DPP), two, while the Reform Patriotic Democrats (RPD) would get one.
Dr Afari-Gyan also announced that copies of the voters register were ready to be collected by the political parties, adding that each party would be given 10 copies.
He stated that the register had been cleaned with the removal of 349,000 names comprising minors, foreigners and the dead, adding that 76,000 people had also engaged in multiple registration. He gave the assurance that the exercise was still ongoing to ensure a clean register during the elections.
He said printing of the ballot papers was well advanced, saying they would be ready way ahead of time before the elections on December 7, 2008.
Dr Afari-Gyan advised the aspiring parliamentarians to report any complaints or differences they might have to the EC, not the media, especially the radio stations which might not be able to solve their problems for them.
The EC Chairman said a number of changes had been made to reduce the number of rejected ballot papers after voting, explaining that this year’s ballot paper would be the longest, with wide, thick black lines to distinguish between candidates.
He said during the polls any fingerprint or mark would be accepted by the EC if it clearly showed the intention of the voter.
He expressed concern over the fact that during the exhibition of the voters register recently only 23 per cent of registered voters showed up to check their names and said that always created problems on voting day.
Dr Afari-Gyan assured all that measures had been put in place by the EC to ensure free, fair and transparent elections and advised parties to appoint good people who could make reasonable judgement as their agents, not macho men.
OIL FIND POSES CHALLENGES FOR INSURANCE AGENCES (Business page)
26/11/2008
Story: Mary Mensah
The Ghana Reinsurance Company Limited will increase its capital base and train staff in oil, gas and energy to take advantage of the emerging oil industry.
“We will endeavour to enhance the technical and professional competence of out team through various educational and training programmes so as to provide the best and most reliable services to our clients”.
Speaking at the Annual General Meeting of the company in Accra today, the Chairperson of the Board of Directors, Mrs Christine Dowuona-Hammond admitted that the licensing of insurance companies posed a great challenge to Ghana Re and that it will step up its marketing activities to widened and increased its premium base.
She said already the company had seen slight increases in its management expenses from GH¢ 6.36 million in 2006 to Gh¢ 6.51 million in 2007, an increase of 2.49 per cent attributable to increased marketing activities.
Mrs Dowuona-Hammond indicated that consequently the company managed to grow its Gross premium Income by 20 percent from GH¢ 29.27 million in 2006 to GH¢ 35.10 million last year.
She said however that the product mix remained relatively the same with non-marine as well as marine and aviation contributing 87.88 per cent and 12.34 percent in 2007 respectively compared to the previous year’s ratio of 88.67 and 11.33 per cent.
She said the company posted a net profit of Gh¢ 10.69 million, an increase of 86.76 percent over and above the Gh¢ 5.72 million recorded in the preceding year adding that included in the profit was GH¢1.98 million and GH¢ 1.98 million accounted for respectively by exchange gain and miscellaneous income out of which GH¢ 1.98 represents from sale of equities.
According to her the company’s balance sheet expanded by 33.12 per cent with an improved capital adequacy and financial security ratios and underwriting exposure measured by net premium to equity improved from 91.70 per cent to 85.89 percent in 2007.
The Chairperson indicated that Ghana Re’s investment portfolio continues to grow and a 30 per cent increase has been recorded in the year under review with a realised return of 8 percent and said the company will continue to restructure its investment portfolio to ensure an optimum mix designed not only to maximise returns on investment but in the main also to ensure that the company always has sufficient funds to meet its obligations as a global reinsurer of choice.
Mrs Dowuana-Hammond stated that Ghana Re in order to positively position itself in anticipation of the eventual withdrawal of the legal cession and also to be able to underwrite a meaningful share of the large risks in the oil and gas industry, urgently needed to enhance its capital base.
“In view of the above the Board of Directors is confident that the proposed resolution to increase the slated capital by the transfer of Gh¢ 4.40 million from income surplus account will be approved by shareholders”, she said.
She said on the recommendation of the management and the board an annual dividend of GH¢1.2 million has been approved for shareholders and this represents 20 per cent over the GH¢1.0 million paid in 2006.
She assured that the company will be resolute in the coming year to market actively and exhibit a strong commitment to its clients as this is the surest way to income growth and sustainability.
Story: Mary Mensah
The Ghana Reinsurance Company Limited will increase its capital base and train staff in oil, gas and energy to take advantage of the emerging oil industry.
“We will endeavour to enhance the technical and professional competence of out team through various educational and training programmes so as to provide the best and most reliable services to our clients”.
Speaking at the Annual General Meeting of the company in Accra today, the Chairperson of the Board of Directors, Mrs Christine Dowuona-Hammond admitted that the licensing of insurance companies posed a great challenge to Ghana Re and that it will step up its marketing activities to widened and increased its premium base.
She said already the company had seen slight increases in its management expenses from GH¢ 6.36 million in 2006 to Gh¢ 6.51 million in 2007, an increase of 2.49 per cent attributable to increased marketing activities.
Mrs Dowuona-Hammond indicated that consequently the company managed to grow its Gross premium Income by 20 percent from GH¢ 29.27 million in 2006 to GH¢ 35.10 million last year.
She said however that the product mix remained relatively the same with non-marine as well as marine and aviation contributing 87.88 per cent and 12.34 percent in 2007 respectively compared to the previous year’s ratio of 88.67 and 11.33 per cent.
She said the company posted a net profit of Gh¢ 10.69 million, an increase of 86.76 percent over and above the Gh¢ 5.72 million recorded in the preceding year adding that included in the profit was GH¢1.98 million and GH¢ 1.98 million accounted for respectively by exchange gain and miscellaneous income out of which GH¢ 1.98 represents from sale of equities.
According to her the company’s balance sheet expanded by 33.12 per cent with an improved capital adequacy and financial security ratios and underwriting exposure measured by net premium to equity improved from 91.70 per cent to 85.89 percent in 2007.
The Chairperson indicated that Ghana Re’s investment portfolio continues to grow and a 30 per cent increase has been recorded in the year under review with a realised return of 8 percent and said the company will continue to restructure its investment portfolio to ensure an optimum mix designed not only to maximise returns on investment but in the main also to ensure that the company always has sufficient funds to meet its obligations as a global reinsurer of choice.
Mrs Dowuana-Hammond stated that Ghana Re in order to positively position itself in anticipation of the eventual withdrawal of the legal cession and also to be able to underwrite a meaningful share of the large risks in the oil and gas industry, urgently needed to enhance its capital base.
“In view of the above the Board of Directors is confident that the proposed resolution to increase the slated capital by the transfer of Gh¢ 4.40 million from income surplus account will be approved by shareholders”, she said.
She said on the recommendation of the management and the board an annual dividend of GH¢1.2 million has been approved for shareholders and this represents 20 per cent over the GH¢1.0 million paid in 2006.
She assured that the company will be resolute in the coming year to market actively and exhibit a strong commitment to its clients as this is the surest way to income growth and sustainability.
538 CASES SETTLED THROUGH ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION (Page 34)
26/11/2008
Story: Mary Mensah & Jennifer Dornoo
THE Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) settlement mechanism instituted by the Judicial Service disposed of 583 cases between January and September this year.
The cases were settled through mediation in nine district courts within the Accra /Tema metropolis.
Most of the cases had been pending before the law courts for more than 11 years but were settled within two hours or one week by the ADR mechanism.
The ADR was set up in 2003 to determine an appropriate ADR system for the Judicial Service with the aim of reducing the number of cases in the backlog in Courts, provide justice at cheaper, faster and more satisfactory ways to the poor and vulnerable in the communities.
The National Co-ordinator of the ADR, Mr Senyo M. Adjabeng made this known at a press briefing in Accra as part of activities commemorating ADR Week which started on Monday November 17, 2008.
He said most of the cases were civil cases such as property settlement, divorce, land litigation, family dispute and very minor criminal cases such as minor assault.
According to him, as part of the ADR Week, parties with cases pending in court who had not entered any appearance within the past 12 conservative months were afforded to appear in court or had their cases struck out for want of prosecution.
As a result of this summons exercise, more than 1,000 cases were struck out nation-wide during each term of the ADR week.
Mr Adjabeng said the ADR programme of the Judicial Service aims at offering parties in court an opportunity to resolve their disputes by means other than court room trial.
He said in recognition of the need for efficient mechanism for adjudication of cases pending in the courts, the Lord Chief Justice in 2003 set up the ADR Task Force with the objective to determine an appropriate and customised policy direction that incorporated the ADR in the court adjudication process.
Mr Adjabeng said the Task Force recommended the adoption of a court connected ADR system which would use private neutrals in mediating cases referred to the ADR by Magistrates and Judges.
He said based on the recommendations of the Task Force, the Lord Chief Justice issued a policy directive which adopted and incorporated ADR as part of the adjudication process of the Judicial Service of Ghana.
He said the ADR had become an available option to parties in disputes who filed cases in the courts or whose cases were already pending in court.
Mr. Adjabeng said in 2006, the Lord Chief Justice directed that the first week of each legal term be set aside as ADR week during which cases were referred to ADR in selected Magistrate courts to be settled through ADR, and especially through mediation.
He stated that the programme had proven to be one of the most suitable ways of making justice accessible to the poor in the districts and communities because it was free, voluntary, informal and faster for persons with cases before the courts.
He said the programme had resulted in the reduction of a backlog of cases pending before the law courts.
Mr Adjabeng mentioned delay in payments of allowances as some of the challenges facing the programme but indicated that DANIDA was in the process of setting up a fund to take care of the mediators and the ADR programme.
Story: Mary Mensah & Jennifer Dornoo
THE Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) settlement mechanism instituted by the Judicial Service disposed of 583 cases between January and September this year.
The cases were settled through mediation in nine district courts within the Accra /Tema metropolis.
Most of the cases had been pending before the law courts for more than 11 years but were settled within two hours or one week by the ADR mechanism.
The ADR was set up in 2003 to determine an appropriate ADR system for the Judicial Service with the aim of reducing the number of cases in the backlog in Courts, provide justice at cheaper, faster and more satisfactory ways to the poor and vulnerable in the communities.
The National Co-ordinator of the ADR, Mr Senyo M. Adjabeng made this known at a press briefing in Accra as part of activities commemorating ADR Week which started on Monday November 17, 2008.
He said most of the cases were civil cases such as property settlement, divorce, land litigation, family dispute and very minor criminal cases such as minor assault.
According to him, as part of the ADR Week, parties with cases pending in court who had not entered any appearance within the past 12 conservative months were afforded to appear in court or had their cases struck out for want of prosecution.
As a result of this summons exercise, more than 1,000 cases were struck out nation-wide during each term of the ADR week.
Mr Adjabeng said the ADR programme of the Judicial Service aims at offering parties in court an opportunity to resolve their disputes by means other than court room trial.
He said in recognition of the need for efficient mechanism for adjudication of cases pending in the courts, the Lord Chief Justice in 2003 set up the ADR Task Force with the objective to determine an appropriate and customised policy direction that incorporated the ADR in the court adjudication process.
Mr Adjabeng said the Task Force recommended the adoption of a court connected ADR system which would use private neutrals in mediating cases referred to the ADR by Magistrates and Judges.
He said based on the recommendations of the Task Force, the Lord Chief Justice issued a policy directive which adopted and incorporated ADR as part of the adjudication process of the Judicial Service of Ghana.
He said the ADR had become an available option to parties in disputes who filed cases in the courts or whose cases were already pending in court.
Mr. Adjabeng said in 2006, the Lord Chief Justice directed that the first week of each legal term be set aside as ADR week during which cases were referred to ADR in selected Magistrate courts to be settled through ADR, and especially through mediation.
He stated that the programme had proven to be one of the most suitable ways of making justice accessible to the poor in the districts and communities because it was free, voluntary, informal and faster for persons with cases before the courts.
He said the programme had resulted in the reduction of a backlog of cases pending before the law courts.
Mr Adjabeng mentioned delay in payments of allowances as some of the challenges facing the programme but indicated that DANIDA was in the process of setting up a fund to take care of the mediators and the ADR programme.
OFFICIALS OF CUSTOMS INTERCEPTED 664 INDIAN HEMP (Front Page)
24/10/2008
Story: Albert K. Salia & Mary Mensah
OFFICIALS of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) on Thursday evening intercepted 664 kilogrammes of compressed Indian hemp and hashish which had been parcelled for export to the United Kingdom.
The 240 parcels were made up of 192 slabs of compressed cannabis, 40 plastic bowls of hashish and eight cylindrically shaped containers of hashish.
As of the time of filing this report, CEPS officials had made no arrest, as the vehicle which had sent the items was said to have sped off, while the clearing agent, identified as Kennedy Biney, was also let off the hook.
The Chief Collector in charge of Investigations and Narcotics of CEPS, Nana Agyin Buadu, told journalists that not much information had been gathered so far on the exporter.
He explained that the agent had not even started processing the goods for export when it was detected that they were drugs.
The substances had been well packaged and concealed under boxes covered with cocoyam, plantain and Fante kenkey.
According to the chief collector, the vehicle which sent the goods sped off when the driver sensed that CEPS officials inspecting the goods had become suspicious of the contents of the boxes.
Nana Buadu said CEPS dealt with clearing agents and not exporters per se and indicated that it was only when an agent had presented documents for processing that CEPS would know the exporter of an item and the consignee.
Responding to questions, he said the interception was normal, and so was the mode of concealment.
He, however, said it had been a while since such a large quantity of drugs was intercepted at the airport.
Story: Albert K. Salia & Mary Mensah
OFFICIALS of the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) on Thursday evening intercepted 664 kilogrammes of compressed Indian hemp and hashish which had been parcelled for export to the United Kingdom.
The 240 parcels were made up of 192 slabs of compressed cannabis, 40 plastic bowls of hashish and eight cylindrically shaped containers of hashish.
As of the time of filing this report, CEPS officials had made no arrest, as the vehicle which had sent the items was said to have sped off, while the clearing agent, identified as Kennedy Biney, was also let off the hook.
The Chief Collector in charge of Investigations and Narcotics of CEPS, Nana Agyin Buadu, told journalists that not much information had been gathered so far on the exporter.
He explained that the agent had not even started processing the goods for export when it was detected that they were drugs.
The substances had been well packaged and concealed under boxes covered with cocoyam, plantain and Fante kenkey.
According to the chief collector, the vehicle which sent the goods sped off when the driver sensed that CEPS officials inspecting the goods had become suspicious of the contents of the boxes.
Nana Buadu said CEPS dealt with clearing agents and not exporters per se and indicated that it was only when an agent had presented documents for processing that CEPS would know the exporter of an item and the consignee.
Responding to questions, he said the interception was normal, and so was the mode of concealment.
He, however, said it had been a while since such a large quantity of drugs was intercepted at the airport.
OIC LAUNCHES DEV FUND FOR CAMPUS OF EXCELLENCE ( Page 28)
21/10/2008
Story: Mary Mensah
The Opportunities Industrialisation Centre (OIC) in the country has launched a $10 million development fund for the construction of the ‘OIC Campus of Excellence" at East Legon.
The campus will offer vocational and technical skills training for the youth.
In an address read on his behalf, the President, Mr John Agyekum Kufour, said since it started work in the country some 38 years ago OIC had trained over 20,000 youth in vocational and technical skills throughout the country.
He said OIC’s rural development programme which was aimed at increasing food security, improving agricultural production, access to potable water, fostering entrepreneurship and business development as well as providing humanitarian assistance among others had also benefited hundreds of thousands of the poor and disadvantaged.
The President said the current global food, energy and water crisis had created enormous workforce needs, training and capacity building as well as job creation programmes for the youth.
President Kufour said the unique OIC self-help approach to skills training focused on the individual and provided motivational and vocational counselling to develop a positive attitude to work and self discipline and attributed its success to its focus on the practical and theoretical as well as on the job training before certification.
He said OIC’s corporate social responsibility programmes and its partnerships with the largest gold mining companies in Ghana like Newmont, Goldfields and AngloGold Ashanti had also helped to create wealth and enhance economic opportunities for the rural population in mining areas.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines Ms Joyce Aryee, said in order for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes to work, the government and the private sector must forge a new understanding of the balance of public/private responsibility and develop new governance and business models for creating social values.
She said it was obvious that when CSRs were carried out effectively they added up to the development of the human capital by way of training and education, provision of potable drinking water, building of infrastructure and the creation of industrial harmony for business to thrive.
She indicated that the chamber in 2007 spent $1 million on education, $565,000 on health, $2.8 million on alternative livelihood projects, $220 on water provision and $262, 000 on sanitation amongst others.
Earlier in a welcoming address, the OIC Regional Director, Ms Carla Dominique Denizard, said the OIC movement started in the US in 1969 in an abandoned jail house in Philadelphia and started on the African continent with Ghana, 38 years ago with corporate and donor support.
She said the late Founder of the OIC, Rev Leon H. Sullivan was a renowned African-American Civil Rights leader who contributed to the struggle to end Apartheid in South Africa.
Ms Denizard expressed her appreciation to corporate organisations who had assisted the OIC over the years and called on others to join in to enable the OIC extend its work to all the 10 regions.
She said currently OIC was in eight regions and expressed the hope to extend its operations to the remaining regions.
Story: Mary Mensah
The Opportunities Industrialisation Centre (OIC) in the country has launched a $10 million development fund for the construction of the ‘OIC Campus of Excellence" at East Legon.
The campus will offer vocational and technical skills training for the youth.
In an address read on his behalf, the President, Mr John Agyekum Kufour, said since it started work in the country some 38 years ago OIC had trained over 20,000 youth in vocational and technical skills throughout the country.
He said OIC’s rural development programme which was aimed at increasing food security, improving agricultural production, access to potable water, fostering entrepreneurship and business development as well as providing humanitarian assistance among others had also benefited hundreds of thousands of the poor and disadvantaged.
The President said the current global food, energy and water crisis had created enormous workforce needs, training and capacity building as well as job creation programmes for the youth.
President Kufour said the unique OIC self-help approach to skills training focused on the individual and provided motivational and vocational counselling to develop a positive attitude to work and self discipline and attributed its success to its focus on the practical and theoretical as well as on the job training before certification.
He said OIC’s corporate social responsibility programmes and its partnerships with the largest gold mining companies in Ghana like Newmont, Goldfields and AngloGold Ashanti had also helped to create wealth and enhance economic opportunities for the rural population in mining areas.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines Ms Joyce Aryee, said in order for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes to work, the government and the private sector must forge a new understanding of the balance of public/private responsibility and develop new governance and business models for creating social values.
She said it was obvious that when CSRs were carried out effectively they added up to the development of the human capital by way of training and education, provision of potable drinking water, building of infrastructure and the creation of industrial harmony for business to thrive.
She indicated that the chamber in 2007 spent $1 million on education, $565,000 on health, $2.8 million on alternative livelihood projects, $220 on water provision and $262, 000 on sanitation amongst others.
Earlier in a welcoming address, the OIC Regional Director, Ms Carla Dominique Denizard, said the OIC movement started in the US in 1969 in an abandoned jail house in Philadelphia and started on the African continent with Ghana, 38 years ago with corporate and donor support.
She said the late Founder of the OIC, Rev Leon H. Sullivan was a renowned African-American Civil Rights leader who contributed to the struggle to end Apartheid in South Africa.
Ms Denizard expressed her appreciation to corporate organisations who had assisted the OIC over the years and called on others to join in to enable the OIC extend its work to all the 10 regions.
She said currently OIC was in eight regions and expressed the hope to extend its operations to the remaining regions.
NPP,NDC MUST HOLD JOINT RALLY FOR PEACE (Page 14)
01/11/2008
Story: Mary Mensah
SOME residents of the Konkomba Market in Accra have complained of insecurity, following recurrent clashes between supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the area.
Spokesmen of the residents, who called at the Daily Graphic offices yesterday, said following last week’s violent clashes between the two groups, retaliatory attacks had been a daily occurrence.
They said the police always rushed in to effect the arrest of some troublemakers but released them almost immediately to return to the market and continue with more violence.
According to them, there had not been peace since the clashes and if nothing was done to resolve the impasse it would get out of hand and innocent lives could be lost.
They, therefore, appealed to the leaders of the two political parties to hold a joint rally in the area and educate their supporters about the importance of maintaining peace before, during and after the elections.
The spokesmen, Mohammed Kamil Ahmed and Dr Habib Sulemana, who are members of the Kumbungu Youth Association in the Konkomba Market, also condemned the continued violence and said Ghana was bigger than all political parties.
“We are all one people; why should we kill each other because of politics; we have the right to choose the party we want to belong to but that should not be used to perpetuate violence in the country,” they said.
According to them, there were a number of people from all the regions in the country doing business at the market but it was always a small fraction of people who had been creating tension among the people.
They said these people who were mostly drug users and peddlers always wielded machetes, threatening to slash anybody who dared to challenge them.
Dr Sulemana, a herbal practitioner, said it was always the Dagomba community that suffered whenever these clashes occurred, thus creating the bad impression in the mind of people that they were violent.
Story: Mary Mensah
SOME residents of the Konkomba Market in Accra have complained of insecurity, following recurrent clashes between supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the area.
Spokesmen of the residents, who called at the Daily Graphic offices yesterday, said following last week’s violent clashes between the two groups, retaliatory attacks had been a daily occurrence.
They said the police always rushed in to effect the arrest of some troublemakers but released them almost immediately to return to the market and continue with more violence.
According to them, there had not been peace since the clashes and if nothing was done to resolve the impasse it would get out of hand and innocent lives could be lost.
They, therefore, appealed to the leaders of the two political parties to hold a joint rally in the area and educate their supporters about the importance of maintaining peace before, during and after the elections.
The spokesmen, Mohammed Kamil Ahmed and Dr Habib Sulemana, who are members of the Kumbungu Youth Association in the Konkomba Market, also condemned the continued violence and said Ghana was bigger than all political parties.
“We are all one people; why should we kill each other because of politics; we have the right to choose the party we want to belong to but that should not be used to perpetuate violence in the country,” they said.
According to them, there were a number of people from all the regions in the country doing business at the market but it was always a small fraction of people who had been creating tension among the people.
They said these people who were mostly drug users and peddlers always wielded machetes, threatening to slash anybody who dared to challenge them.
Dr Sulemana, a herbal practitioner, said it was always the Dagomba community that suffered whenever these clashes occurred, thus creating the bad impression in the mind of people that they were violent.
UPHOLD INTERGRITY OF JUDICIARY (Page 31)
22/10/2008
Story: Mary Mensah
The Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina Theodora Wood, has charged magistrates to uphold the integrity of the judiciary at all times.
She said members of the bench were expected to be men and women of impeccable character.
Swearing in 18 new career magistrates who have successfully completed a two-year course of study at the Ghana School of Law in Accra yesterday, the Chief Justice stated that integrity was key to judiciary value and when that was compromised, public confidence in the judiciary was eroded.
She announced that a new scheme whereby senior members of the bench would study and evaluate judgements of the lower courts had been instituted.
Mrs Wood said the scheme would be a useful way of monitoring the progress of magistrates by measuring their output and performance, adding that another benefit of the scheme was to find out the weaknesses of the lower courts so that the judges would assist in addressing those difficulties.
She cautioned them not to turn themselves into debt collectors for litigants who appear before them because the rules of the court system had adequate provisions for protecting aggrieved persons.
“Do not go beyond the dictates of the law to please anybody; your provenance is to determine the facts and apply the laws to the findings of fact. And do not become embroiled in the personal lives of litigants who appear before you as this has the effect of undermining institutional integrity”, she said.
The Chief Justice indicated that courtroom etiquette and decorum were crucial to the very survival of magistrates on the bench and it was absolutely important for utmost courtesy to be extended to all who appear before them, especially members of the Bar.
Mrs Wood urged the magistrates to exercise the greatest restraint, even under the most provocative circumstances during the course of their duties, adding that “war of words between magistrates and counsels or litigants and the misuse of coercive powers should be the last weapons you should deploy in the courtroom”.
She expressed the hope that the new career magistrates would make significant contributions to the Ghanaian judiciary and assured them that the older members of the Bench were always available to give them the support, encouragement and any assistance they may need in the course of their duties.
Justice Professor A. K. Kludze, Director of the Career Magistrate Programme, said the course was instituted by the late Chief Justice Acquah and it involved both academic and practical training.
He said the policy was to ensure the highest standards and that its success would depend on the magistrates.
He said the work of the Bench was very difficult but they had been well equipped to take up the challenge.
Story: Mary Mensah
The Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina Theodora Wood, has charged magistrates to uphold the integrity of the judiciary at all times.
She said members of the bench were expected to be men and women of impeccable character.
Swearing in 18 new career magistrates who have successfully completed a two-year course of study at the Ghana School of Law in Accra yesterday, the Chief Justice stated that integrity was key to judiciary value and when that was compromised, public confidence in the judiciary was eroded.
She announced that a new scheme whereby senior members of the bench would study and evaluate judgements of the lower courts had been instituted.
Mrs Wood said the scheme would be a useful way of monitoring the progress of magistrates by measuring their output and performance, adding that another benefit of the scheme was to find out the weaknesses of the lower courts so that the judges would assist in addressing those difficulties.
She cautioned them not to turn themselves into debt collectors for litigants who appear before them because the rules of the court system had adequate provisions for protecting aggrieved persons.
“Do not go beyond the dictates of the law to please anybody; your provenance is to determine the facts and apply the laws to the findings of fact. And do not become embroiled in the personal lives of litigants who appear before you as this has the effect of undermining institutional integrity”, she said.
The Chief Justice indicated that courtroom etiquette and decorum were crucial to the very survival of magistrates on the bench and it was absolutely important for utmost courtesy to be extended to all who appear before them, especially members of the Bar.
Mrs Wood urged the magistrates to exercise the greatest restraint, even under the most provocative circumstances during the course of their duties, adding that “war of words between magistrates and counsels or litigants and the misuse of coercive powers should be the last weapons you should deploy in the courtroom”.
She expressed the hope that the new career magistrates would make significant contributions to the Ghanaian judiciary and assured them that the older members of the Bench were always available to give them the support, encouragement and any assistance they may need in the course of their duties.
Justice Professor A. K. Kludze, Director of the Career Magistrate Programme, said the course was instituted by the late Chief Justice Acquah and it involved both academic and practical training.
He said the policy was to ensure the highest standards and that its success would depend on the magistrates.
He said the work of the Bench was very difficult but they had been well equipped to take up the challenge.
Skills development workshop for SMEs( Page 34)
20/10/2008
Story: Mary Mensah
A Five-day workshop on developing the skills of Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in identification, preparation, appraisal and financing of SMEs investment projects opened in Accra on Monday.
The project development appraisal workshop, organised by the National Board for Scale Enterprises (NBSSI) and the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) for SMEs seeks to train the participants on computer model for feasibility analysis and reporting to enhance their professional capabilities as businessmen, service providers and enhance joint ventureships between SME’s in Ghana and their counterparts in Asian countries.
Drawn from the trade and pharmaceutical industries as well as financial institutions, the workshop is also expected to facilitate trade and promote investment among members of the TECHNONET Africa Network.
The Executive Director of the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), Nana (Dr) Baah Boakye, who opened the workshop, said the project was aimed at promoting trade investment among the seven member countries of TECHNONET Africa Network, namely Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, South Africa Uganda, Tanzania and Mozambique and Asia.
He said as a result of the slow pace of industrialisation in the south and the growing technological gap between the north and the south, the concept of South-South Global Access and Technology Exchange System (SS-GATE) was launched in Shanghai China, in May 2006.
He said the SS-GATE was to help developing countries to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by the business community and the UN system.
According to him, the SS-GATE system provided a virtual and physical market place for the exchange of assets, technologies and financial resources among developing countries in order to help accelerate economic development and poverty reduction.
Nana Boakye said the NBSSI wanted the SME’s to have a joint ventureship with the counterparts in Asia through the electronic medium of exchange.
He announced that in November, this year, there would be a workshop in Ghana to review the performance of the SS-GATE in four countries.
Those countries, he said, are Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania and Cameroon and indicated that it would be a follow-up on a visit paid by the Minister of Trade and Industries and the Executive Directors of the NBSSI and the AGI to Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia. (
Story: Mary Mensah
A Five-day workshop on developing the skills of Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in identification, preparation, appraisal and financing of SMEs investment projects opened in Accra on Monday.
The project development appraisal workshop, organised by the National Board for Scale Enterprises (NBSSI) and the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) for SMEs seeks to train the participants on computer model for feasibility analysis and reporting to enhance their professional capabilities as businessmen, service providers and enhance joint ventureships between SME’s in Ghana and their counterparts in Asian countries.
Drawn from the trade and pharmaceutical industries as well as financial institutions, the workshop is also expected to facilitate trade and promote investment among members of the TECHNONET Africa Network.
The Executive Director of the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), Nana (Dr) Baah Boakye, who opened the workshop, said the project was aimed at promoting trade investment among the seven member countries of TECHNONET Africa Network, namely Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, South Africa Uganda, Tanzania and Mozambique and Asia.
He said as a result of the slow pace of industrialisation in the south and the growing technological gap between the north and the south, the concept of South-South Global Access and Technology Exchange System (SS-GATE) was launched in Shanghai China, in May 2006.
He said the SS-GATE was to help developing countries to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by the business community and the UN system.
According to him, the SS-GATE system provided a virtual and physical market place for the exchange of assets, technologies and financial resources among developing countries in order to help accelerate economic development and poverty reduction.
Nana Boakye said the NBSSI wanted the SME’s to have a joint ventureship with the counterparts in Asia through the electronic medium of exchange.
He announced that in November, this year, there would be a workshop in Ghana to review the performance of the SS-GATE in four countries.
Those countries, he said, are Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania and Cameroon and indicated that it would be a follow-up on a visit paid by the Minister of Trade and Industries and the Executive Directors of the NBSSI and the AGI to Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia. (
JUDICIARY FREE NO INTERFERENCE FROM ANY QUARTERS (Front Page)
18/10/2008
Story: Mary Mensah
THE Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina Theodora Wood, has asked Ghanaians to disabuse their minds of the perception that the judiciary is under the thumb of influential persons in society, particularly the executive arm of government.
She made it clear that the judiciary was independent and that nobody interfered with its work.
Mrs Wood made the comments in Accra on Thursday when executive members of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), led by its President, Mr Ransford Tetteh, called on her in the Supreme Court building to formally invite her to be the Guest Speaker at the 13th GJA Awards night scheduled for October 25, 2008 at the Banquet Hall.
“Even at my level, I have made it a policy not to ask any judge how he or she is handling any case because of the tendency to misconstrue that to be interference,” she said.
She reiterated that Ghanaian judges were competent and independent in their thoughts and take decisions based on law and no other consideration and that they were bold in the discharge of their duties.
According to her, in spite of the numerous challenges, the country could boast a strong judiciary system and it was important for all stakeholders to work hard to maintain the peace and stability the country currently enjoyed.
Mrs Wood stated that a five-day workshop for the judiciary and court workers had been organised at the Supreme Court in which some resource persons from Kenya and Rwanda participated to share their experiences with their Ghanaian counterparts.
She said Rwanda lost its entire judiciary as a result of the genocide and was now in the process of recruiting young lawyers to work as judges, adding that “it is very difficult to rebuild from the ashes of destruction”.
The Chief Justice said Kenya held Ghana in high esteem because of the role President J. A. Kufour played during the violence that characterised the disputed polls in that country in December last year.
She said if the judiciary was destroyed, it would not be easy to rebuild it from scratch and said lessons from the two countries must teach us to protect our national institutions because they were very difficult to rebuild when destroyed.
Mrs Wood recalled her recent visit to Brazil and said in that country radio and television stations had been set up as part of the judicial system whereby judicial proceedings were broadcast live, while those from the regions were recorded and broadcast later to give the people a feel of the judicial proceedings in the country.
The Chief Justice said this was a good exercise and the judiciary was considering something like that because it recognised the power of the media in informing and educating the people.
Mr Tetteh said this year’s event would be unique because journalists from Cote d’ Ivoire, Togo and the Democratic Republic of Congo would participate in the highly patronised programme to celebrate excellence in journalism.
He said the media had a crucial role to play in the upcoming elections, as well as all the arms of government in order to showcase Ghana as a model of democracy and good governance.
Mr Tetteh said the media would support efforts to promote peace in the country and this year’s event was on the theme “Using the media to promote peace and stability in an election year”.
Story: Mary Mensah
THE Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina Theodora Wood, has asked Ghanaians to disabuse their minds of the perception that the judiciary is under the thumb of influential persons in society, particularly the executive arm of government.
She made it clear that the judiciary was independent and that nobody interfered with its work.
Mrs Wood made the comments in Accra on Thursday when executive members of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), led by its President, Mr Ransford Tetteh, called on her in the Supreme Court building to formally invite her to be the Guest Speaker at the 13th GJA Awards night scheduled for October 25, 2008 at the Banquet Hall.
“Even at my level, I have made it a policy not to ask any judge how he or she is handling any case because of the tendency to misconstrue that to be interference,” she said.
She reiterated that Ghanaian judges were competent and independent in their thoughts and take decisions based on law and no other consideration and that they were bold in the discharge of their duties.
According to her, in spite of the numerous challenges, the country could boast a strong judiciary system and it was important for all stakeholders to work hard to maintain the peace and stability the country currently enjoyed.
Mrs Wood stated that a five-day workshop for the judiciary and court workers had been organised at the Supreme Court in which some resource persons from Kenya and Rwanda participated to share their experiences with their Ghanaian counterparts.
She said Rwanda lost its entire judiciary as a result of the genocide and was now in the process of recruiting young lawyers to work as judges, adding that “it is very difficult to rebuild from the ashes of destruction”.
The Chief Justice said Kenya held Ghana in high esteem because of the role President J. A. Kufour played during the violence that characterised the disputed polls in that country in December last year.
She said if the judiciary was destroyed, it would not be easy to rebuild it from scratch and said lessons from the two countries must teach us to protect our national institutions because they were very difficult to rebuild when destroyed.
Mrs Wood recalled her recent visit to Brazil and said in that country radio and television stations had been set up as part of the judicial system whereby judicial proceedings were broadcast live, while those from the regions were recorded and broadcast later to give the people a feel of the judicial proceedings in the country.
The Chief Justice said this was a good exercise and the judiciary was considering something like that because it recognised the power of the media in informing and educating the people.
Mr Tetteh said this year’s event would be unique because journalists from Cote d’ Ivoire, Togo and the Democratic Republic of Congo would participate in the highly patronised programme to celebrate excellence in journalism.
He said the media had a crucial role to play in the upcoming elections, as well as all the arms of government in order to showcase Ghana as a model of democracy and good governance.
Mr Tetteh said the media would support efforts to promote peace in the country and this year’s event was on the theme “Using the media to promote peace and stability in an election year”.
DV LOTTERY LAUNCHED IN ACCRA (Page 28)
10/9/2008
Story: Mary Mensah & Charles Benoni Okine
THE Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service will soon embark on a swoop on Internet cafes which use their set ups to defraud unsuspecting applicants of the US Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery.
It said it would also not spare those who portrayed themselves as visa contractors and charged various sums of money under the pretext of helping people to apply for the free lottery being organised by the US State Department to offer immigrants from all over the world the opportunity to live and work legally in the US.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr Felix Mawusi, Second in Command at the Commercial Crime Unit of the CID, said this at a news conference organised by the US Embassy in Accra to launch the 2010 DV Lottery (DV-2010).
He said some persons had turned themselves into DV Lottery contractors, going round tertiary institutions across the country for information on students which they later altered to suit their purposes.
DSP Mawusi said those contractors forced marriages of convenience on winners and when they were granted visas they seized their passports, demanding money before they released them.
He said it was wrong to engage somebody to enter the lottery on one’s behalf and advised all prospective applicants do so themselves.
The Head of the Consular Section of the US Embassy, Mr Michael Evans, warned that the Embassy would not allow criminals to hijack the programme which was instituted in 1990.
He said 4,000 Ghanaians who won the lottery in 2008 had already been issued with their visas but the 7,000 who won it for 2009 were yet to be screened.
He advised prospective visa lottery applicants that winning the lottery was not a guarantee that they would be automatically issued with the immigrant visas.
Mr Evans said for the first time, applicants for the DV-2010 lottery could check the status of their entries online.
"The State Department warns applicants to be wary of fraudulent schemes asking for money, fraudulent e-mails or websites posing as official US government sites," he warned.
He said each person might enter the lottery only once, saying that spouses might each submit an application.
Story: Mary Mensah & Charles Benoni Okine
THE Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service will soon embark on a swoop on Internet cafes which use their set ups to defraud unsuspecting applicants of the US Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery.
It said it would also not spare those who portrayed themselves as visa contractors and charged various sums of money under the pretext of helping people to apply for the free lottery being organised by the US State Department to offer immigrants from all over the world the opportunity to live and work legally in the US.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr Felix Mawusi, Second in Command at the Commercial Crime Unit of the CID, said this at a news conference organised by the US Embassy in Accra to launch the 2010 DV Lottery (DV-2010).
He said some persons had turned themselves into DV Lottery contractors, going round tertiary institutions across the country for information on students which they later altered to suit their purposes.
DSP Mawusi said those contractors forced marriages of convenience on winners and when they were granted visas they seized their passports, demanding money before they released them.
He said it was wrong to engage somebody to enter the lottery on one’s behalf and advised all prospective applicants do so themselves.
The Head of the Consular Section of the US Embassy, Mr Michael Evans, warned that the Embassy would not allow criminals to hijack the programme which was instituted in 1990.
He said 4,000 Ghanaians who won the lottery in 2008 had already been issued with their visas but the 7,000 who won it for 2009 were yet to be screened.
He advised prospective visa lottery applicants that winning the lottery was not a guarantee that they would be automatically issued with the immigrant visas.
Mr Evans said for the first time, applicants for the DV-2010 lottery could check the status of their entries online.
"The State Department warns applicants to be wary of fraudulent schemes asking for money, fraudulent e-mails or websites posing as official US government sites," he warned.
He said each person might enter the lottery only once, saying that spouses might each submit an application.
SEMINAR FOR TURBOENGINES OPENED IN ACCRA ( BUSINESS PAGE)
29/9/2008
Story: Mary Mensah
Mechanical Lloyd Company Limited, distributors of BMW and Ford vehicles today organised a day seminar on Turbocharged engines to its customers.
The aim of the seminar is to explain the construction, functioning, benefits and care of the turbocharged engines to erase the misconception being held by many that they are not good for the environment.
The Service Manager of the company, Mr Towy Carinus said many people held the perception that turbocharged engines started operating between 10 and 15 years ago but its history spans more than 100 years.
Explaining how the Turbocharger works, he said it is a simple but high precision machine that increase engine power output, improved fuel consumption, improved emissions, altitude compensation and lower operating costs among others.
He said the waste exhausts gas instead of being lost is used to spin turbine wheel that spins a compressor wheel enabling more air to be forced into the engine.
He said the advantage of compressing the air is that it lets the engine squeeze more air into a cylinder which means more power can be addedand one can get more power from each explosion in each cylinder.
Mr Carinus said a turbocharger also helps at high altitudes where the air is less dense, normal engines will experience reduced power at high altitudes and though a turbocharged engine may also have slightly reduced power but the reduction will be far less dramatic because the thinner air is easier for the turbocharger to pump and the exhaust back pressure is also reduced.
PICTURE Shows Mr Towy Carinus, Service Manager of Mechanical Lloyd Company Limited explaining how the Turbocharger works to some of its clients at the seminar.Seminar
Story: Mary Mensah
Mechanical Lloyd Company Limited, distributors of BMW and Ford vehicles today organised a day seminar on Turbocharged engines to its customers.
The aim of the seminar is to explain the construction, functioning, benefits and care of the turbocharged engines to erase the misconception being held by many that they are not good for the environment.
The Service Manager of the company, Mr Towy Carinus said many people held the perception that turbocharged engines started operating between 10 and 15 years ago but its history spans more than 100 years.
Explaining how the Turbocharger works, he said it is a simple but high precision machine that increase engine power output, improved fuel consumption, improved emissions, altitude compensation and lower operating costs among others.
He said the waste exhausts gas instead of being lost is used to spin turbine wheel that spins a compressor wheel enabling more air to be forced into the engine.
He said the advantage of compressing the air is that it lets the engine squeeze more air into a cylinder which means more power can be addedand one can get more power from each explosion in each cylinder.
Mr Carinus said a turbocharger also helps at high altitudes where the air is less dense, normal engines will experience reduced power at high altitudes and though a turbocharged engine may also have slightly reduced power but the reduction will be far less dramatic because the thinner air is easier for the turbocharger to pump and the exhaust back pressure is also reduced.
PICTURE Shows Mr Towy Carinus, Service Manager of Mechanical Lloyd Company Limited explaining how the Turbocharger works to some of its clients at the seminar.Seminar
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