27/03/2008
Story: Mary Mensah
The Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) has established an Internal Affairs Unit to help fight corruption and promote integrity within the service.
The new unit will receive complaints from the public and institutions on the conduct of customs officials which will be fully investigated and the appropriate punishment meted out to offenders.
The Commissioner of CEPS, Mr Emmanuel Doku, made this known in Accra when he received four specialised computers valued at $50,000 from the United States Customs and Border Protection Agency at the end of a capacity-building training programme. The computers are for the unit.
Mr Doku said apart from safeguarding the service against possible revenue leakage, CEPS also had the responsibility of ensuring the security of cargo to prevent the entry of harmful substances into the country.
He said while the role of customs in the past had been more of revenue collection, the threats to national security in the 21st century required customs to take a greater role in enforcement.
Mr Doku said since customs officers were at the entry and exit points of the nation, they needed to be appropriately equipped to enable them to tackle the proliferation of illegal arms and dangerous goods in the country.
The commissioner said the effort displayed by the US customs in extending their capacity-building initiatives to other customs administration was, therefore, commendable. “CEPS is indeed glad to be one of the beneficiaries.”
Presenting the computers the Head of the Consular Section, Mr Michael Evans, who represented the US Ambassador to Ghana, Ms Pamela Bridgwater, said the role of CEPS in protecting Ghana’s security and economic prosperity was crucial.
Mr Evans urged CEPS to remain vigilant against the violation of Ghana’s borders by traffickers and smugglers who traded in drugs and people.
A director of US Customs and Border Protection, Mr Charles Stallwart, said the US targeted 10 countries and provided assistance to them in areas of capacity building to enable them to do their work effectively and efficiently.
He said out of the 10 Ghana was the first to have established an internal affairs unit and this showed the commitment of the government of Ghana to fight corruption and other malpractices within the service.
Monday, March 31, 2008
TWO NIGERIANS FRAUDSTERS NABBED
26/03/2008
Story: Mary Mensah
Two men who posed as UN officials and succeeded in duping some foreigners of thousands of dollars have been arrested by the Commercial Crime Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).
The two were arrested in an Accra restaurant where they had gone to meet one of their victims who had flown down from the United States of America.
They are Benjamin Zuma, alias Duke Nino, and Godwin Mete, both suspected to be Nigerians.
According to the Public Relations Officer of the CID, Inspector Joseph B. Darkwa, on February 4, 2008, the security advisor of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ghana reported to the police that the organisation had received a number of mails from foreigners abroad enquiring as to whether the UNDP had issued an Anti-Drug Certificate enabling holders to establish businesses in Ghana freely.
He said the mails also indicated that the UNDP was charging various amounts of money running into thousands of dollars.
Inspector Darkwa said the suspects designed fake certificates and sent copies to the foreigners as samples and directed them to pay the required amount of money into an account at a bank in Accra.
According to him, the foreigners also wanted to know whether there was a United Nations office at the Christiansborg Castle at Osu where the two suspects were supposed to be working.
He said the UNDP refuted the claim and, suspecting that the two were fraudsters who were out to dupe the foreigners, directed them to forward all correspondence between them to the police to enable them to carry out their investigations.
The Public Relations Officer said in some of the mails the two claimed to be officials of the UN Army in Accra or Public Relations Officer of the UNDP and in one of the mails which was received on March 17, 2008, suspect Zuma posed as Prof. Duke Nino and had even placed his MTN mobile numbers on it.
Inspector Darkwa said during investigations it turned out that the suspect had lured another victim into the country under the pretext of supplying her with gold and they had scheduled a meeting with her at a restaurant in East Legon.
He said a team of police personnel from the CID headquarters led by ASP Ebenezer Nketia, were quickly dispatched to the spot and the two suspects were arrested while having lunch with the victim.
Upon interrogation they admitted the offence but refused to show the police where they live.
Story: Mary Mensah
Two men who posed as UN officials and succeeded in duping some foreigners of thousands of dollars have been arrested by the Commercial Crime Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID).
The two were arrested in an Accra restaurant where they had gone to meet one of their victims who had flown down from the United States of America.
They are Benjamin Zuma, alias Duke Nino, and Godwin Mete, both suspected to be Nigerians.
According to the Public Relations Officer of the CID, Inspector Joseph B. Darkwa, on February 4, 2008, the security advisor of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ghana reported to the police that the organisation had received a number of mails from foreigners abroad enquiring as to whether the UNDP had issued an Anti-Drug Certificate enabling holders to establish businesses in Ghana freely.
He said the mails also indicated that the UNDP was charging various amounts of money running into thousands of dollars.
Inspector Darkwa said the suspects designed fake certificates and sent copies to the foreigners as samples and directed them to pay the required amount of money into an account at a bank in Accra.
According to him, the foreigners also wanted to know whether there was a United Nations office at the Christiansborg Castle at Osu where the two suspects were supposed to be working.
He said the UNDP refuted the claim and, suspecting that the two were fraudsters who were out to dupe the foreigners, directed them to forward all correspondence between them to the police to enable them to carry out their investigations.
The Public Relations Officer said in some of the mails the two claimed to be officials of the UN Army in Accra or Public Relations Officer of the UNDP and in one of the mails which was received on March 17, 2008, suspect Zuma posed as Prof. Duke Nino and had even placed his MTN mobile numbers on it.
Inspector Darkwa said during investigations it turned out that the suspect had lured another victim into the country under the pretext of supplying her with gold and they had scheduled a meeting with her at a restaurant in East Legon.
He said a team of police personnel from the CID headquarters led by ASP Ebenezer Nketia, were quickly dispatched to the spot and the two suspects were arrested while having lunch with the victim.
Upon interrogation they admitted the offence but refused to show the police where they live.
THERE 'S NO TENSION AT POLICE HEADQUARTERS
26/03/2008
Story: Mary Mensah
THE Police Administration has denied that there is tension at the Police Headquarters.
It said it was also untrue that the police had failed to carry out instructions given by the Kojo Armah Committee to arrest a businessman, which had led to tension at the Police Headquarters.
The Director of Police Public Affairs, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Kwesi Ofori, told a news conference in Accra yesterday that the Police Administration had also not been asked to interdict any officer.
The news conference was in reaction to media publications that there was tension at the Police Headquarters.
DSP Ofori said there was no tension over the creation of the Police Research Department (PORD).
“PORD was not an instant creation; it was decided and established to specific terms of reference to meet the contemporary needs of the police in crime intelligence,” he explained, adding that the proposal to create the department was made in 2007 following representations made to the Police Council to undertake research work that would benefit the service.
DSP Ofori said Chief Superintendent Adu-Amankwah, who was the Head of the Organised Crime Unit (OCU) of the Ghana police Service, was asked to co-ordinate, leading to the proper structure and organisation of PORD.
According to him, chief Supt Adu-Amankwah was heading both the OCU and PORD but it was observed that he could not combine the two offices when PORD was ready to take off.
He said the OCU had itself been restructured and re-organised and that other officers had been asked to supervise the two units, Narcotics and Human Trafficking, while the Director of CID, Operations, would exercise day-to-day supervision over the OCU.
“The fact must not be lost that it was at the instance of the Police Administration that the Ghana Standards Board was invited to test the drugs in our exhibit stores following suspicions based on credible information,” he said.
DSP Ofori said there was ample evidence to show that the Police Administration had given maximum co-operation to facilitate the work of the committee by making available officers invited before the committee.
He said the police had kept the public informed about the issues right from the onset and intended not to hold any information from them.
DSP Ofori said the Police Administration did not intend to comment on the findings and procedures of the committee at this stage because the committee was yet to finish its work.
“It is hoped that the leaks that have appeared in sections of the press in the last four weeks have not emanated from the members of the committee itself,” he noted.
The Public Affairs Director urged the media not to engage in discussions, innuendoes and outright insults in the absence of a published and certified report of the committee.
“When the committee’s findings are made public, any police officer may then be in the position to comment on or challenge aspects of or all of the findings of the committee,” he said, saying that “at this moment, the hands of our officers are tied and we urge members of the press not to conduct trial by the media”.
Story: Mary Mensah
THE Police Administration has denied that there is tension at the Police Headquarters.
It said it was also untrue that the police had failed to carry out instructions given by the Kojo Armah Committee to arrest a businessman, which had led to tension at the Police Headquarters.
The Director of Police Public Affairs, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Kwesi Ofori, told a news conference in Accra yesterday that the Police Administration had also not been asked to interdict any officer.
The news conference was in reaction to media publications that there was tension at the Police Headquarters.
DSP Ofori said there was no tension over the creation of the Police Research Department (PORD).
“PORD was not an instant creation; it was decided and established to specific terms of reference to meet the contemporary needs of the police in crime intelligence,” he explained, adding that the proposal to create the department was made in 2007 following representations made to the Police Council to undertake research work that would benefit the service.
DSP Ofori said Chief Superintendent Adu-Amankwah, who was the Head of the Organised Crime Unit (OCU) of the Ghana police Service, was asked to co-ordinate, leading to the proper structure and organisation of PORD.
According to him, chief Supt Adu-Amankwah was heading both the OCU and PORD but it was observed that he could not combine the two offices when PORD was ready to take off.
He said the OCU had itself been restructured and re-organised and that other officers had been asked to supervise the two units, Narcotics and Human Trafficking, while the Director of CID, Operations, would exercise day-to-day supervision over the OCU.
“The fact must not be lost that it was at the instance of the Police Administration that the Ghana Standards Board was invited to test the drugs in our exhibit stores following suspicions based on credible information,” he said.
DSP Ofori said there was ample evidence to show that the Police Administration had given maximum co-operation to facilitate the work of the committee by making available officers invited before the committee.
He said the police had kept the public informed about the issues right from the onset and intended not to hold any information from them.
DSP Ofori said the Police Administration did not intend to comment on the findings and procedures of the committee at this stage because the committee was yet to finish its work.
“It is hoped that the leaks that have appeared in sections of the press in the last four weeks have not emanated from the members of the committee itself,” he noted.
The Public Affairs Director urged the media not to engage in discussions, innuendoes and outright insults in the absence of a published and certified report of the committee.
“When the committee’s findings are made public, any police officer may then be in the position to comment on or challenge aspects of or all of the findings of the committee,” he said, saying that “at this moment, the hands of our officers are tied and we urge members of the press not to conduct trial by the media”.
NGO SUPPORT 4 DAY-CARE CENTRES (Page 32 lead)
27/03/08
Story: Mary Mensah
The International Child Resource Institute (ICRI), an international NGO, has donated learning materials valued at $12,000 to four neighbourhood day care centres in Accra.
They are the La, Teshie, Osu Presby and Mamprobi Neighbourhood Day Care Centres.
The items included books, stationery, toys, video games, woollen carpets, tables and canopies.
Presenting the items, Mrs Hannah Odjenma Botchway, Country Director of the institute, said last September the NGO organised a training workshop for nursery teachers.
She said the institute had selected the La Neighbourhood Day Care Centre as a model child care centre and had been subsidising the salaries of the teachers and feeding of the children.
Mrs Botchway indicated that ICRI had developed partnership with child and family projects in more than 35 countries and had 52 field representatives around the world.
She expressed the hope that the items would help to unearth the talents of the children and advised the teachers to take good care of them.
Receiving the items on behalf of the centres, Ms Philomena Sackey, Supervisor of the La neighbourhood Day Care Centre, thanked the NGO for the support, which, she said, had motivated the teachers to offer their best.
CAPTION
PIX 1
Some children of La Neighbourhood Day Care Centre and Osu Presby Kindergarten picking some of the learning materials after the presentation by the International Child Resource Institute at a ceremony in Accra.
PIX 2
Mrs Hannah Odjenma Botchway (right), Country Director of the International Child Resource Institute, presenting some learning materials to Ms Philomena Sackey (left), Supervisor of the La Neighbourhood Day Care Centre at a ceremony in Accra.
Story: Mary Mensah
The International Child Resource Institute (ICRI), an international NGO, has donated learning materials valued at $12,000 to four neighbourhood day care centres in Accra.
They are the La, Teshie, Osu Presby and Mamprobi Neighbourhood Day Care Centres.
The items included books, stationery, toys, video games, woollen carpets, tables and canopies.
Presenting the items, Mrs Hannah Odjenma Botchway, Country Director of the institute, said last September the NGO organised a training workshop for nursery teachers.
She said the institute had selected the La Neighbourhood Day Care Centre as a model child care centre and had been subsidising the salaries of the teachers and feeding of the children.
Mrs Botchway indicated that ICRI had developed partnership with child and family projects in more than 35 countries and had 52 field representatives around the world.
She expressed the hope that the items would help to unearth the talents of the children and advised the teachers to take good care of them.
Receiving the items on behalf of the centres, Ms Philomena Sackey, Supervisor of the La neighbourhood Day Care Centre, thanked the NGO for the support, which, she said, had motivated the teachers to offer their best.
CAPTION
PIX 1
Some children of La Neighbourhood Day Care Centre and Osu Presby Kindergarten picking some of the learning materials after the presentation by the International Child Resource Institute at a ceremony in Accra.
PIX 2
Mrs Hannah Odjenma Botchway (right), Country Director of the International Child Resource Institute, presenting some learning materials to Ms Philomena Sackey (left), Supervisor of the La Neighbourhood Day Care Centre at a ceremony in Accra.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
US AMBASSADOR DONATES TO TI AHMADIYYA AT NKAWKAW (Inside Pages)
18/03/2008
Story: Mary Mensah, Nkawkaw
The US Ambassador to Ghana, Ms Pamela Bridgwater, has presented stationery and a cheque for GH¢5,300 to the Nkawkaw T.I. Ahmadiyya School to enable them to complete a three-classroom block under construction.
The presentation forms part of the Ambassadors Special Self-Help programme which encourages projects that promote individual and community empowerment through increased access to education, health, vocational training and sanitation.
Since she took up office in 2005, the ambassador has given over $210,000 to 45 communities throughout the country.
According to the Director of the US Information Service, Chris Hodges, the programme started in 1964 in Togo and was initiated in Ghana in 1990.
The ambassador commended members of the community, especially single mothers, for their self-help spirit and dedication and for naming a new academic resource centre under construction in the school in her honour.
The Headmaster of the school, Mr Joseph Acquah, said the school, established in 1962, had only five classrooms accommodating the KG and primary one to six, together with a population of 338.
He said there was not a single chair and the children sat on the floor or a piece of wood while wawa boards placed on blocks served as tables.
Mr Acquah said in 2003 rainstorm blew off the roof of the primary block, completely destroying three classrooms.
He said the PTA of the school and the Ahmadiyya Mission started the construction of the new classroom and office block and appealed to the ambassador for assistance.
Story: Mary Mensah, Nkawkaw
The US Ambassador to Ghana, Ms Pamela Bridgwater, has presented stationery and a cheque for GH¢5,300 to the Nkawkaw T.I. Ahmadiyya School to enable them to complete a three-classroom block under construction.
The presentation forms part of the Ambassadors Special Self-Help programme which encourages projects that promote individual and community empowerment through increased access to education, health, vocational training and sanitation.
Since she took up office in 2005, the ambassador has given over $210,000 to 45 communities throughout the country.
According to the Director of the US Information Service, Chris Hodges, the programme started in 1964 in Togo and was initiated in Ghana in 1990.
The ambassador commended members of the community, especially single mothers, for their self-help spirit and dedication and for naming a new academic resource centre under construction in the school in her honour.
The Headmaster of the school, Mr Joseph Acquah, said the school, established in 1962, had only five classrooms accommodating the KG and primary one to six, together with a population of 338.
He said there was not a single chair and the children sat on the floor or a piece of wood while wawa boards placed on blocks served as tables.
Mr Acquah said in 2003 rainstorm blew off the roof of the primary block, completely destroying three classrooms.
He said the PTA of the school and the Ahmadiyya Mission started the construction of the new classroom and office block and appealed to the ambassador for assistance.
POLICE BREAK UP DEMONSTRATION AT REFUGEE CAMP (Back Page)
18/03/2008
Story: Mary Mensah
The Security Agencies yesterday embarked on a special exercise at the Buduburam Refugee Settlement to arrest Liberian refugees for continuing with their illegal demonstration.
More than 200 people made up of women and children who were demonstrating in violation of the Public Order Act (Act 491) were arrested during a dawn operation and taken to the Kordiabe Youth Leadership Centre in the Eastern Region for processing after which their refugee status will be revoked.
The refugees began their demonstration on February 19, 2008, demanding, among other things, that they did not wish to remain in Ghana to be integrated into the Ghanaian society.
They rather wanted resettlement in a Western country and $1,000 to be paid to each of them opting to voluntarily repatriate. They had since been mobilising the elderly, women and children to demonstrate in support of a petition they submitted to the UNHCR in Geneva to that effect.
According to the Director of the Police Public Affairs Directorate, DSP Kwesi Ofori, the aim of the exercise was to stop further infringement of the Public Order Act.
He said it was also to end the lawlessness and chaos that had engulfed the camp where children were prevented from attending school leading to the closure of the schools and preventing the aged and those who were in dire need of medical attention from being taken care of.
DSP Ofori said the demonstration by the refugees also led to a continuous traffic jam on the Accra-Cape Coast road, thus making it impossible for traders and other road users to get to their destination on time.
The director said the police were not acting unilaterally but in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Refugees Board and NADMO.
DSP Ofori appealed to the refugees to respect the laws of the land and make sure they co-operated with all other stakeholders and warned that the police would not tolerate any acts that would compromise the laws of this land.
In a release issued in Accra yesterday, the Minister for the Interior, Mr Kwamena Bartels, said the government would not countenance such unruly behaviour by refugees who had been given hospitality by the country for 18 years, and has directed the security agencies to hold the refugees at the centre.
He said the government intended to return all the arrested persons to Liberia especially since the war in Liberia had ended.
The minister, at a meeting with representatives of the refugees, the UNHCR and the security agencies in Accra last Tuesday, described the demonstration as illegal and a breach of the Public Order Act of 1994.
He said the government viewed the demonstration as a breech of the goodwill extended to the refugees by the Government and the people of Ghana in their time of need.
Mr Bartels, therefore, warned that the government would use the full rigours of the law to deal with the issue should the refugees persist in the illegal action which had been ongoing for the past 26 days.
He announced that the government had initiated a consultative process with other relevant stakeholders to invoke the Cessation Clause for Liberian Refugees under the International Refugee Convention, adding that “there must be an end to the protracted Liberian refugee situation”.
He indicated that the demands of the refugees were very misplaced and without merit and said the government had not taken any decision to locally reintegrate Liberian refugees and that it had no intention of doing so.
“Besides, nobody is holding any refugee hostage and so they are free to leave the country,” he added.
Currently Ghana hosts some 40,519 refugees, 26,967 of them being Liberians.
Story: Mary Mensah
The Security Agencies yesterday embarked on a special exercise at the Buduburam Refugee Settlement to arrest Liberian refugees for continuing with their illegal demonstration.
More than 200 people made up of women and children who were demonstrating in violation of the Public Order Act (Act 491) were arrested during a dawn operation and taken to the Kordiabe Youth Leadership Centre in the Eastern Region for processing after which their refugee status will be revoked.
The refugees began their demonstration on February 19, 2008, demanding, among other things, that they did not wish to remain in Ghana to be integrated into the Ghanaian society.
They rather wanted resettlement in a Western country and $1,000 to be paid to each of them opting to voluntarily repatriate. They had since been mobilising the elderly, women and children to demonstrate in support of a petition they submitted to the UNHCR in Geneva to that effect.
According to the Director of the Police Public Affairs Directorate, DSP Kwesi Ofori, the aim of the exercise was to stop further infringement of the Public Order Act.
He said it was also to end the lawlessness and chaos that had engulfed the camp where children were prevented from attending school leading to the closure of the schools and preventing the aged and those who were in dire need of medical attention from being taken care of.
DSP Ofori said the demonstration by the refugees also led to a continuous traffic jam on the Accra-Cape Coast road, thus making it impossible for traders and other road users to get to their destination on time.
The director said the police were not acting unilaterally but in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Refugees Board and NADMO.
DSP Ofori appealed to the refugees to respect the laws of the land and make sure they co-operated with all other stakeholders and warned that the police would not tolerate any acts that would compromise the laws of this land.
In a release issued in Accra yesterday, the Minister for the Interior, Mr Kwamena Bartels, said the government would not countenance such unruly behaviour by refugees who had been given hospitality by the country for 18 years, and has directed the security agencies to hold the refugees at the centre.
He said the government intended to return all the arrested persons to Liberia especially since the war in Liberia had ended.
The minister, at a meeting with representatives of the refugees, the UNHCR and the security agencies in Accra last Tuesday, described the demonstration as illegal and a breach of the Public Order Act of 1994.
He said the government viewed the demonstration as a breech of the goodwill extended to the refugees by the Government and the people of Ghana in their time of need.
Mr Bartels, therefore, warned that the government would use the full rigours of the law to deal with the issue should the refugees persist in the illegal action which had been ongoing for the past 26 days.
He announced that the government had initiated a consultative process with other relevant stakeholders to invoke the Cessation Clause for Liberian Refugees under the International Refugee Convention, adding that “there must be an end to the protracted Liberian refugee situation”.
He indicated that the demands of the refugees were very misplaced and without merit and said the government had not taken any decision to locally reintegrate Liberian refugees and that it had no intention of doing so.
“Besides, nobody is holding any refugee hostage and so they are free to leave the country,” he added.
Currently Ghana hosts some 40,519 refugees, 26,967 of them being Liberians.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
DEMONSTRATION IS ILLEGAL- BARTELS
13/03/2008
Story: Mary Mensah & Naa Lartiokor Lartey
THE Minister for the Interior, Mr Kwamena Bartels, has described the demonstration currently taking place at the Buduburan settlement as illegal and a breach of the Public Order Act of 1994.
He said the government viewed the action as a breech of the goodwill extended to the refugees by the government and the good people of Ghana in their time of need.
He, therefore, warned that the government would use the full rigours of the law to deal with the issue should the refugees persist in the illegal action which had been ongoing for the past 21 days.
Mr Bartels gave the warning at a meeting with representatives of the refugees, the UNHCR, the Refugee Board, the IGP and Service Commanders in Accra on Tuesday.
He described the statement by the refugees that they did not want to be resettled here as an insult to Ghana and a show of ingratitude to a country that had protected, fed and given them and their children free education.
He said the government had initiated a consultative process with other relevant stakeholders to invoke the Cessation Clause for Liberian Refugees under the International Refugee Convention, adding that “there must be an end to the protracted Liberian refugee situation”.
“ I wish to sound a final warning to all refugees living in this country that they are obliged under the International Refugee Convention to obey the laws of the land and we shall ensure that they do so,” he stated.
The Minister indicated that the demands of the refugees were very misplaced and without merit and said the government had not taken any decision to locally reintegrate Liberian refugees and that it had no intention of doing so.
“Besides, nobody is holding any refugee hostage and so they are free to leave the country,” he added.
He said refugee status was not granted indefinitely and that the Liberians were granted prima facie refugee status at a time they were fleeing a civil crisis under the 1969 OAU Convention governing specific aspects of the refugee problem in Africa.
“Liberia has gone through a lot since then and is now peaceful with a democratically elected government and since then over 100,000 Liberians have returned home in safety and dignity from the Sub-region.
The UNHCR Representative in Ghana, Ms Aida Haile Mariam, reiterated that resettlement to a third country was no longer an option and that the organisation was not in a position to pay $1,000 per person.
The UNHCR received a communication sent to it on the Liberians’ demand for allowance of $1,000 as grant to rebuild their homes and restart their lives in Liberia, resettlement to a Western country and opposition to local integration.
She said the Refugee Agency had made available over 2,000 copies of an information bulletin on its programme in Ghana to the Liberian refugee community and also displayed same on bulletin boards.
She announced that all those efforts did not yield satisfactory results as the “Liberian Refugee Women with Refugee Concerns” decided to go on demonstration, saying they had disrupted the delivery of services to the most needed in Buduburan — the elderly, women and children — leading to avoidable medical emergencies.
The representative noted that the first group of refugees who embraced the self-reliance programme were refugees with special needs and the physically-challenged.
“Unfortunately, the “ Liberian Refugee Women with Refugee Concerns” disrupted the programme which had to be closed to prevent physical harm to the participants,” she added.
The refugees at the Buduburan Settlement camp began demonstrations from February 19, 2008, demanding that they did not wish to remain in Ghana to be locally integrated into the Ghanaian society.
They rather wanted resettlement in a Western country and $1,000 to be paid to each refugee opting to voluntarily repatriate.
They have been mobilising the elderly, women and children to demonstrate in support of a petition they submitted to the UNHCR in Geneva.
Ghana hosts some 40,519 refugees, 26,967 of them being Liberian refugees.
Story: Mary Mensah & Naa Lartiokor Lartey
THE Minister for the Interior, Mr Kwamena Bartels, has described the demonstration currently taking place at the Buduburan settlement as illegal and a breach of the Public Order Act of 1994.
He said the government viewed the action as a breech of the goodwill extended to the refugees by the government and the good people of Ghana in their time of need.
He, therefore, warned that the government would use the full rigours of the law to deal with the issue should the refugees persist in the illegal action which had been ongoing for the past 21 days.
Mr Bartels gave the warning at a meeting with representatives of the refugees, the UNHCR, the Refugee Board, the IGP and Service Commanders in Accra on Tuesday.
He described the statement by the refugees that they did not want to be resettled here as an insult to Ghana and a show of ingratitude to a country that had protected, fed and given them and their children free education.
He said the government had initiated a consultative process with other relevant stakeholders to invoke the Cessation Clause for Liberian Refugees under the International Refugee Convention, adding that “there must be an end to the protracted Liberian refugee situation”.
“ I wish to sound a final warning to all refugees living in this country that they are obliged under the International Refugee Convention to obey the laws of the land and we shall ensure that they do so,” he stated.
The Minister indicated that the demands of the refugees were very misplaced and without merit and said the government had not taken any decision to locally reintegrate Liberian refugees and that it had no intention of doing so.
“Besides, nobody is holding any refugee hostage and so they are free to leave the country,” he added.
He said refugee status was not granted indefinitely and that the Liberians were granted prima facie refugee status at a time they were fleeing a civil crisis under the 1969 OAU Convention governing specific aspects of the refugee problem in Africa.
“Liberia has gone through a lot since then and is now peaceful with a democratically elected government and since then over 100,000 Liberians have returned home in safety and dignity from the Sub-region.
The UNHCR Representative in Ghana, Ms Aida Haile Mariam, reiterated that resettlement to a third country was no longer an option and that the organisation was not in a position to pay $1,000 per person.
The UNHCR received a communication sent to it on the Liberians’ demand for allowance of $1,000 as grant to rebuild their homes and restart their lives in Liberia, resettlement to a Western country and opposition to local integration.
She said the Refugee Agency had made available over 2,000 copies of an information bulletin on its programme in Ghana to the Liberian refugee community and also displayed same on bulletin boards.
She announced that all those efforts did not yield satisfactory results as the “Liberian Refugee Women with Refugee Concerns” decided to go on demonstration, saying they had disrupted the delivery of services to the most needed in Buduburan — the elderly, women and children — leading to avoidable medical emergencies.
The representative noted that the first group of refugees who embraced the self-reliance programme were refugees with special needs and the physically-challenged.
“Unfortunately, the “ Liberian Refugee Women with Refugee Concerns” disrupted the programme which had to be closed to prevent physical harm to the participants,” she added.
The refugees at the Buduburan Settlement camp began demonstrations from February 19, 2008, demanding that they did not wish to remain in Ghana to be locally integrated into the Ghanaian society.
They rather wanted resettlement in a Western country and $1,000 to be paid to each refugee opting to voluntarily repatriate.
They have been mobilising the elderly, women and children to demonstrate in support of a petition they submitted to the UNHCR in Geneva.
Ghana hosts some 40,519 refugees, 26,967 of them being Liberian refugees.
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