Story Abdul Aziz
The incidence of guinea worm infestation that hovered around 10,000 cases annually in previous years has reduced to levels below 4,000 in the country.
Inter-sectoral collaboration remained the difficult obstacle for achieving total eradication of the disease in the country.
Major Courage Quashigah (retd), Minister of Health (MOH), said this at the signing of Aide Memoir with Development Partners to achieve quality health for all by 2015.
Major Quashigah said this year’s health review report highlighted the continued progress being made in the health sector despite the relatively high level of maternal and child morbidity rate in the country.
He said the health sector witnessed improved coverage of National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and increased attendance at the outpatient department, as well as high coverage of immunisation and reduced prevalence of HIV/AIDS.
The Health Minister said maternal deaths remained a key concern and the MOH had agreed with development partners to declare a national emergency to reduce the relatively high levels of maternal mortality.
He said his ministry and the development partners had also agreed to work together to fill the huge financing gap in the health sector.
He said to reduce malnutrition in children under five years, the MOH and the development partners also agreed to sustain and scale up the Regenerative Health and Nutrition Programme.
He expressed the hope that the Aide Memoir, which represented discussions and agreements arrived at during the health summit and business meeting between MOH, the development partners and other stakeholders, would continue to elicit the support and commitment of all of them by working with the government to improve the health of the people.
The development partners included World Bank, DANIDA, WHO and USAID.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
MALAWIANS STUDY LAND ADMINISTRATION PROJECT (PAGE 24)
Story: Abdul Aziz
THE Land Administration Project (LAP) has ensured a firm foundation for the establishment of a self-sustaining land administration system that is fair, efficient, transparent and cost-effective.
It has also guaranteed security of land tenure and simplified the process of land acquisition in the country, Mr Benjamin Quaye, Head of the Planning Unit of LAP, noted at a meeting with a 10-member Malawian delegation in Accra yesterday.
The Malawian delegation are in the country to study how Ghana’s LAP operate to help in their country’s land administration.
Mr Quaye, who was giving an overview of Ghana’s land administration at the meeting, said the government of Ghana was in the process of establishing five land courts to deal with the backlog of land cases throughout the country.
He noted that already some of the 35,000 land cases that had been pending before the courts for several years had been disposed of under a fast-track system and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
He said a recent study commissioned by the LAP revealed that there were 7,000 pending land cases in the regional capitals alone.
Mr Quaye noted that before the introduction of the land project in 2004 the weak land administration system was characterised by fragmented institutions.
He said as a result of the general indiscipline in the land market, there were indeterminate boundaries of customary owned, stool, skin and family lands, which resulted in land litigation at the law courts.
He said these confusion in land administration led to inadequate security of land tenure system, as well as difficult accessibility to land for development and agricultural ventures.
He said the long-term objectives of LAP was to reduce poverty and enhance social and economic growth by improving security of tenure and simplifying process of land acquisition in the country.
Mr Quaye noted that revenue from land rose from $13 million to $26 million last year as a result of the land reforms introduced by the Land Administration Project, which had been building the capacity of customary land owners with the establishment of Customary Land Secretariats in the communities.
Mr Stephen Machira, Project Manager of Community-Based Rural Land Development Project of Malawi, who presented a paper on land reforms in Malawi, said about 364 groups had benefited from land distribution in Malawi involving 18,264 hectares.
He said in all 8,222 households comprising 10-35 members in each household who were formerly landless were now landowners.
Mr Machira said because of the ever increasing demand for land in Malawi, the country was in the process of building capacity in land administration to help deal with the demand.
He said Ghana had made a lot of progress in land administration and the delegation was in the country to have a first-hand experience that could be replicated in Malawi.
Mr Machira said the land and agricultural extension workers in Malawi had been depleted as most had moved out of the country in search of greener pastures, while some had also reached retirement age.
THE Land Administration Project (LAP) has ensured a firm foundation for the establishment of a self-sustaining land administration system that is fair, efficient, transparent and cost-effective.
It has also guaranteed security of land tenure and simplified the process of land acquisition in the country, Mr Benjamin Quaye, Head of the Planning Unit of LAP, noted at a meeting with a 10-member Malawian delegation in Accra yesterday.
The Malawian delegation are in the country to study how Ghana’s LAP operate to help in their country’s land administration.
Mr Quaye, who was giving an overview of Ghana’s land administration at the meeting, said the government of Ghana was in the process of establishing five land courts to deal with the backlog of land cases throughout the country.
He noted that already some of the 35,000 land cases that had been pending before the courts for several years had been disposed of under a fast-track system and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).
He said a recent study commissioned by the LAP revealed that there were 7,000 pending land cases in the regional capitals alone.
Mr Quaye noted that before the introduction of the land project in 2004 the weak land administration system was characterised by fragmented institutions.
He said as a result of the general indiscipline in the land market, there were indeterminate boundaries of customary owned, stool, skin and family lands, which resulted in land litigation at the law courts.
He said these confusion in land administration led to inadequate security of land tenure system, as well as difficult accessibility to land for development and agricultural ventures.
He said the long-term objectives of LAP was to reduce poverty and enhance social and economic growth by improving security of tenure and simplifying process of land acquisition in the country.
Mr Quaye noted that revenue from land rose from $13 million to $26 million last year as a result of the land reforms introduced by the Land Administration Project, which had been building the capacity of customary land owners with the establishment of Customary Land Secretariats in the communities.
Mr Stephen Machira, Project Manager of Community-Based Rural Land Development Project of Malawi, who presented a paper on land reforms in Malawi, said about 364 groups had benefited from land distribution in Malawi involving 18,264 hectares.
He said in all 8,222 households comprising 10-35 members in each household who were formerly landless were now landowners.
Mr Machira said because of the ever increasing demand for land in Malawi, the country was in the process of building capacity in land administration to help deal with the demand.
He said Ghana had made a lot of progress in land administration and the delegation was in the country to have a first-hand experience that could be replicated in Malawi.
Mr Machira said the land and agricultural extension workers in Malawi had been depleted as most had moved out of the country in search of greener pastures, while some had also reached retirement age.
Monday, April 28, 2008
CORPORATE MANAGERS URGED TO DISCLOSE INCOME SOURCES (PAGE 32)
Story: Abdul Aziz
An Assistant Commissioner of Internal Revenue Service, Mr Peter Kornor, has warned corporate managers whose lifestyles are far above their remuneration that they could be charged for tax evasion when dragged to the Commercial Courts.
He, therefore, urged corporate managers to disclose all their sources of income when filing their tax returns to the Commissioner of IRS.
Mr Kornor, who was addressing the second meeting of users committee of the commercial courts in Accra on Thursday, observed that the remuneration for the work of some Managing Directors were visibly insignificant to support their lifestyle.
He said when this was detected especially from tax returns the explanations often advanced by managers were that they made up for the shortfall by receiving rents from their self-acquired houses.
Mr Kornor said where an individual received rent income from any residential or commercial premises the commissioner might calculate tax on the rent income separately.
He explained that the commissioner had powers of discretion to add the manager’s rent income to his employment and have it taxed together as employment income.
He said the commissioner in so doing would be guided by the idea to prevent any intentional arrangement designed by the manager to avoid payment of appropriate taxes.
He said the commissioner would also be guided by the fact of ensuring that maximum revenue was collected for the state.
The Assistant Commissioner said these considerations were what informed the commissioner’s interpretations of the tax laws where the taxpayer disagreed with any assessment of tax on income.
He said even in countries where judicial interpretations of tax laws appeared to provide escape routes for taxpayers the trend was changing in favour of national fiscal considerations.
Mr Kornor said the principle of interpretation of tax laws now emerging was that rights and liabilities created by sham transactions were utterly disregarded.
He said any flagrant attempt to create an artificial loss was rejected as cheap exercise of fiscal conjuring and bookkeeping fantasy.
An Assistant Commissioner of Internal Revenue Service, Mr Peter Kornor, has warned corporate managers whose lifestyles are far above their remuneration that they could be charged for tax evasion when dragged to the Commercial Courts.
He, therefore, urged corporate managers to disclose all their sources of income when filing their tax returns to the Commissioner of IRS.
Mr Kornor, who was addressing the second meeting of users committee of the commercial courts in Accra on Thursday, observed that the remuneration for the work of some Managing Directors were visibly insignificant to support their lifestyle.
He said when this was detected especially from tax returns the explanations often advanced by managers were that they made up for the shortfall by receiving rents from their self-acquired houses.
Mr Kornor said where an individual received rent income from any residential or commercial premises the commissioner might calculate tax on the rent income separately.
He explained that the commissioner had powers of discretion to add the manager’s rent income to his employment and have it taxed together as employment income.
He said the commissioner in so doing would be guided by the idea to prevent any intentional arrangement designed by the manager to avoid payment of appropriate taxes.
He said the commissioner would also be guided by the fact of ensuring that maximum revenue was collected for the state.
The Assistant Commissioner said these considerations were what informed the commissioner’s interpretations of the tax laws where the taxpayer disagreed with any assessment of tax on income.
He said even in countries where judicial interpretations of tax laws appeared to provide escape routes for taxpayers the trend was changing in favour of national fiscal considerations.
Mr Kornor said the principle of interpretation of tax laws now emerging was that rights and liabilities created by sham transactions were utterly disregarded.
He said any flagrant attempt to create an artificial loss was rejected as cheap exercise of fiscal conjuring and bookkeeping fantasy.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Government urged to ratify torture protocol
April 16 (centre Spread)
Story: Abdul Aziz
PROFESSOR Ken Attafuah, Executive Director of Justice and Human Rights Institute, has called on the government to ratify the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention Against Torture (OPCAT).
He explained that even though the government had signed the protocol, Ghana had an urgent obligation as a country with good track record on governance and human rights to ratify it.
Prof. Attafuah made the call at a roundtable consultative workshop on the ratification of OPCAT in Accra yesterday.
He said freedom from torture and cruel inhuman treatment and punishment was a fundamental human right that could not be negotiated by an individual or a state.
He further said that human rights and humanitarian law also forbade physical, mental and emotional torture.
He said Ghana, which has enviable credential in all these areas as the leader of good governance and the rule of law, had no excuse for delaying in ratifying the OPCAT.
He said when Ghana ratified the OPCAT, the prisons and police cells would open their doors for regular visits to prevent torture taking place in these areas.
He explained that negligent conduct on the part of the police and prison officers could amount to torture and therefore advised police officers to treat suspects in their care humanely so that they could not be liable to torture when Ghana ratified the protocol on torture.
The acting Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Miss Anna Bossman, said when a person was deprived of his liberty that did not mean that his dignity also should come under attack from the law enforcement agencies.
He said CHRAJ visits to the prisons and police cells had helped to bring sanity and reduce ill-treatment of inmates.
Miss Bossman said with Ghana ratifying the OPCAT the visits to the 46 prisons and more than 500 police cells in the country could become regular.
He said for visits the be effective in controlling torture, they should be made unexpected so that the prison authorities and police would not prepare to paint a different picture of the real situation.
Miss Bossman said since 2005 when the visits were instituted CHRAJ had visited almost all the 46 prisons in the country, some police cells and witch camps, which had resulted in their improvement because of the awareness created.
Story: Abdul Aziz
PROFESSOR Ken Attafuah, Executive Director of Justice and Human Rights Institute, has called on the government to ratify the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention Against Torture (OPCAT).
He explained that even though the government had signed the protocol, Ghana had an urgent obligation as a country with good track record on governance and human rights to ratify it.
Prof. Attafuah made the call at a roundtable consultative workshop on the ratification of OPCAT in Accra yesterday.
He said freedom from torture and cruel inhuman treatment and punishment was a fundamental human right that could not be negotiated by an individual or a state.
He further said that human rights and humanitarian law also forbade physical, mental and emotional torture.
He said Ghana, which has enviable credential in all these areas as the leader of good governance and the rule of law, had no excuse for delaying in ratifying the OPCAT.
He said when Ghana ratified the OPCAT, the prisons and police cells would open their doors for regular visits to prevent torture taking place in these areas.
He explained that negligent conduct on the part of the police and prison officers could amount to torture and therefore advised police officers to treat suspects in their care humanely so that they could not be liable to torture when Ghana ratified the protocol on torture.
The acting Commissioner of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Miss Anna Bossman, said when a person was deprived of his liberty that did not mean that his dignity also should come under attack from the law enforcement agencies.
He said CHRAJ visits to the prisons and police cells had helped to bring sanity and reduce ill-treatment of inmates.
Miss Bossman said with Ghana ratifying the OPCAT the visits to the 46 prisons and more than 500 police cells in the country could become regular.
He said for visits the be effective in controlling torture, they should be made unexpected so that the prison authorities and police would not prepare to paint a different picture of the real situation.
Miss Bossman said since 2005 when the visits were instituted CHRAJ had visited almost all the 46 prisons in the country, some police cells and witch camps, which had resulted in their improvement because of the awareness created.
NEPAD training for journalists opens
Story: Abdul Aziz
April 12, 2008
The fourth in a series of New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) Training of the Trainer seminar (TTT) for broadcast and television journalists opened in Accra, Ghana on Monday.
The first in the series took place for South African Development Community (SADC) countries in South Africa.
The second seminar was held for Central Africa French speaking countries in Congo Brazaville.
Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania was the venue for the third in the series for East African English speaking countries.
The opening ceremony for the fourth in the series which was hosted in Accra was well attended by both the private and public radio, television and print media journalists in Ghana.
The presence of journalists from the media houses in Ghana was a demonstration of the interest journalists are beginning to attach to NEPAD training programmes across Africa.
The three-man NEPAD delegation to the Accra seminar was led by Louise Napo Gnagbe, Media Manager of NEPAD.
Opening the seminar Mr Gnagbe welcomed all the 12 participants from Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone and The Gambia to the training programme.
He reminded the trainees who were expected to transfer their knowledge to ordinary people at the grassroots the important role of the media in the development of the continent.
He explained that the fourth training programme which was not the last in the series aimed at providing aspiring journalists with practical training on the job to foster journalism in Africa as well as to train them to better understand NEPAD and stand in position to promote the role and functions of NEPAD and other Pan African institutions.
The Media Manager of NEPAD who granted an interview to the Daily Graphic shortly after the opening ceremony elaborated on the strategy NEPAD had adopted to reach over 800 million people in 53 countries with different languages such as French, Spanish English, Portuguese and Arabic. as well as different religions and varied levels of development.
He said NEPAD had been designed to address the current challenges facing the continent such as high levels of poverty, underdevelopment and the continued marginalisation of Africa.
He said under the leadership of the general management of Communications and Marketing of NEPAD Secretariat, the media section had established a sustainable policy to work closely with the media on the continent to better communicate on NEPAD concerning African developmental issues.
He said the aim was to create awareness, understanding and ownership around the concept and philosophy of NEPAD.
Mr Gnagbe said it was important for ordinary people to be convinced in their minds that NEPAD was an African programme developed by Africans for Africa.
He said ordinary people and journalists could gain extensive knowledge of NEPAD by visiting the NEPAD website in French and English. as well as patronising the weekly electronic newsletter which was being sent to over 30,000 readers across the globe.
He said already the NEPAD website of WWW. nepad.org attracted 100,000 new visitors from April to July in 2007.
Mr Gnagbe said NEPAD had realised the importance of the role media played in the success of the communication strategy and the benefits to be derived by staying close to the ground through the media and that was why it had introduced these series of training programme for media men through the whole continent.
The Media Manager of NEPAD expressed the hope that this form of collaboration with the African Media would develop so that the engagement of all African journalists continent wide would impact positively on the development of the continent and the visibility of NEPAD in that roles.
April 12, 2008
The fourth in a series of New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) Training of the Trainer seminar (TTT) for broadcast and television journalists opened in Accra, Ghana on Monday.
The first in the series took place for South African Development Community (SADC) countries in South Africa.
The second seminar was held for Central Africa French speaking countries in Congo Brazaville.
Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania was the venue for the third in the series for East African English speaking countries.
The opening ceremony for the fourth in the series which was hosted in Accra was well attended by both the private and public radio, television and print media journalists in Ghana.
The presence of journalists from the media houses in Ghana was a demonstration of the interest journalists are beginning to attach to NEPAD training programmes across Africa.
The three-man NEPAD delegation to the Accra seminar was led by Louise Napo Gnagbe, Media Manager of NEPAD.
Opening the seminar Mr Gnagbe welcomed all the 12 participants from Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone and The Gambia to the training programme.
He reminded the trainees who were expected to transfer their knowledge to ordinary people at the grassroots the important role of the media in the development of the continent.
He explained that the fourth training programme which was not the last in the series aimed at providing aspiring journalists with practical training on the job to foster journalism in Africa as well as to train them to better understand NEPAD and stand in position to promote the role and functions of NEPAD and other Pan African institutions.
The Media Manager of NEPAD who granted an interview to the Daily Graphic shortly after the opening ceremony elaborated on the strategy NEPAD had adopted to reach over 800 million people in 53 countries with different languages such as French, Spanish English, Portuguese and Arabic. as well as different religions and varied levels of development.
He said NEPAD had been designed to address the current challenges facing the continent such as high levels of poverty, underdevelopment and the continued marginalisation of Africa.
He said under the leadership of the general management of Communications and Marketing of NEPAD Secretariat, the media section had established a sustainable policy to work closely with the media on the continent to better communicate on NEPAD concerning African developmental issues.
He said the aim was to create awareness, understanding and ownership around the concept and philosophy of NEPAD.
Mr Gnagbe said it was important for ordinary people to be convinced in their minds that NEPAD was an African programme developed by Africans for Africa.
He said ordinary people and journalists could gain extensive knowledge of NEPAD by visiting the NEPAD website in French and English. as well as patronising the weekly electronic newsletter which was being sent to over 30,000 readers across the globe.
He said already the NEPAD website of WWW. nepad.org attracted 100,000 new visitors from April to July in 2007.
Mr Gnagbe said NEPAD had realised the importance of the role media played in the success of the communication strategy and the benefits to be derived by staying close to the ground through the media and that was why it had introduced these series of training programme for media men through the whole continent.
The Media Manager of NEPAD expressed the hope that this form of collaboration with the African Media would develop so that the engagement of all African journalists continent wide would impact positively on the development of the continent and the visibility of NEPAD in that roles.
‘Review timing for release of loans to farmers’
April 7, 2008
Story: Abdul Aziz
Farmers in the Gomoa West District in the Central Region have appealed to rural and community banks to review the timing of granting loans to farmers to enable them to maximise the full benefits of the credit facilities.
They noted that the present procedure where loans were advanced to farmers in the middle of the farming season made it difficult for them to derive the full benefits of the loans.
The Tufuhene of Gomoa Ankamu, Nana Kojo Kwansah, spokesman for the farmers who made the appeal at the re-opening of the Ankamu-Junction agency of the Gomoa Ajumako Rural Bank, said the release of the credit facility to farmers far a head of the rainy season would go a long way to ease the frustrations of farmers and ensure high recovery rate of the loans.
Nana Kwansah therefore appealed to the banks to review their procedure for granting loans by cutting down bureaucracy, as well as interest rates to farmers.
He said it was unfortunate that the delay in granting loans to customers, especially farmers, made it impossible for farmers to repay the loans according to schedule.
The Tufuhene expressed the hope that the re-opening of the agency would afford the bank the opportunity to come out with comprehensive plans to ease the frustrations of customers to access credit facilities.
The Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the bank, Mrs Rose Enerstina Newman, said the bank had extended the days of doing business in the agencies from two to five in a week to enable the banks to meet the demands of its customers.
Mrs Newman, who is also the acting President of the Association of Rural Banks, said the bank would soon unveil more products to increase its share capital and render quality services.
The General Manager of the bank, Mr Robert Job Ankoh, said the bank’s re-opening was to curtail the long distances customers had to travel to transact business with the bank.
He assured the farmers that the bank had acquired land for the construction of office and residential accommodation for the staff of the bank who commuted from Agona Swedru to Ankamu.
He said 10 women groups had been trained under the micro-finance scheme of the bank and granted loans to expand their income-generating ventures.
Mr Ankoh said the bank had initiated a new product to enable salaried workers and business executives to purchase goods without using cash.
Story: Abdul Aziz
Farmers in the Gomoa West District in the Central Region have appealed to rural and community banks to review the timing of granting loans to farmers to enable them to maximise the full benefits of the credit facilities.
They noted that the present procedure where loans were advanced to farmers in the middle of the farming season made it difficult for them to derive the full benefits of the loans.
The Tufuhene of Gomoa Ankamu, Nana Kojo Kwansah, spokesman for the farmers who made the appeal at the re-opening of the Ankamu-Junction agency of the Gomoa Ajumako Rural Bank, said the release of the credit facility to farmers far a head of the rainy season would go a long way to ease the frustrations of farmers and ensure high recovery rate of the loans.
Nana Kwansah therefore appealed to the banks to review their procedure for granting loans by cutting down bureaucracy, as well as interest rates to farmers.
He said it was unfortunate that the delay in granting loans to customers, especially farmers, made it impossible for farmers to repay the loans according to schedule.
The Tufuhene expressed the hope that the re-opening of the agency would afford the bank the opportunity to come out with comprehensive plans to ease the frustrations of customers to access credit facilities.
The Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the bank, Mrs Rose Enerstina Newman, said the bank had extended the days of doing business in the agencies from two to five in a week to enable the banks to meet the demands of its customers.
Mrs Newman, who is also the acting President of the Association of Rural Banks, said the bank would soon unveil more products to increase its share capital and render quality services.
The General Manager of the bank, Mr Robert Job Ankoh, said the bank’s re-opening was to curtail the long distances customers had to travel to transact business with the bank.
He assured the farmers that the bank had acquired land for the construction of office and residential accommodation for the staff of the bank who commuted from Agona Swedru to Ankamu.
He said 10 women groups had been trained under the micro-finance scheme of the bank and granted loans to expand their income-generating ventures.
Mr Ankoh said the bank had initiated a new product to enable salaried workers and business executives to purchase goods without using cash.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Election 2008...EC, OTHERS TO REVIEW CODE (Ib)
Story: Abdul Aziz
THREE institutions are expected to meet next week to review the code of conduct for political parties to ensure free, fair and transparent presidential and parliamentary elections in December this year.
The three institutions are the Electoral Commission (EC), the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA).
The review meeting will also be attended by representatives of all the political parties in the country.
The Deputy Chairperson of the NCCE, Mrs Augustina Akosua Akumanyi, announced this at the launch of the eighth National Constitution Week in Accra yesterday.
She said the representatives to the meeting were expected to be high ranking members of their parties and they would be required to append their signatures to the final document to make it binding on them.
Mrs Akumanyi further said the issues expected to be highlighted at the review meeting included violent actions that could lead to strife and mar the elections and the defacing of posters and billboards.
She emphasised that the final output would ensure that political parties were held accountable for any acts of violence and deviant behaviour by their activists.
Mrs Akumanyi said the representatives would also sign undertakings to ensure that they impress on their supporters to refrain from using offensive language and outright insults on their opponents to make the campaigning and the elections violence-free.
She indicated that the EC had recruited 1,700 people, to disseminate at the district and unit committee levels the code of conduct guiding the political parties to ensure that the foot soldiers of the various political parties knew their proper roles during the electioneering process.
Mrs Akumanyi said the NCCE had set aside the week beginning April 28, every year, as Constitutional Week because on the same date 16 years ago, Ghanaians voted massively in a referendum to approve the draft 1992 Constitution.
She said the NCCE would this year mount one year-long activities to remind Ghanaians of the importance of the Constitution and the need to defend it as a sacred document.
The Chairman of the Commission, Mr Larry Bimi, who launched the week, said this year’s elections were a crucial one, adding that it was the duty of the Commission to educate Ghanaians to be wary of trouble makers by reporting them to the appropriate authorities for the law to take its course.
He said the citizenry could not afford to sit on the fence and allow the country to take a nosedive into violence after elections.
Mr Bimi said the NCCE would, therefore, contribute its quota to ensure that the elections were conducted peacefully without rancour, bitterness and ill-will, for the attainment of political stability and economic development.
THREE institutions are expected to meet next week to review the code of conduct for political parties to ensure free, fair and transparent presidential and parliamentary elections in December this year.
The three institutions are the Electoral Commission (EC), the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA).
The review meeting will also be attended by representatives of all the political parties in the country.
The Deputy Chairperson of the NCCE, Mrs Augustina Akosua Akumanyi, announced this at the launch of the eighth National Constitution Week in Accra yesterday.
She said the representatives to the meeting were expected to be high ranking members of their parties and they would be required to append their signatures to the final document to make it binding on them.
Mrs Akumanyi further said the issues expected to be highlighted at the review meeting included violent actions that could lead to strife and mar the elections and the defacing of posters and billboards.
She emphasised that the final output would ensure that political parties were held accountable for any acts of violence and deviant behaviour by their activists.
Mrs Akumanyi said the representatives would also sign undertakings to ensure that they impress on their supporters to refrain from using offensive language and outright insults on their opponents to make the campaigning and the elections violence-free.
She indicated that the EC had recruited 1,700 people, to disseminate at the district and unit committee levels the code of conduct guiding the political parties to ensure that the foot soldiers of the various political parties knew their proper roles during the electioneering process.
Mrs Akumanyi said the NCCE had set aside the week beginning April 28, every year, as Constitutional Week because on the same date 16 years ago, Ghanaians voted massively in a referendum to approve the draft 1992 Constitution.
She said the NCCE would this year mount one year-long activities to remind Ghanaians of the importance of the Constitution and the need to defend it as a sacred document.
The Chairman of the Commission, Mr Larry Bimi, who launched the week, said this year’s elections were a crucial one, adding that it was the duty of the Commission to educate Ghanaians to be wary of trouble makers by reporting them to the appropriate authorities for the law to take its course.
He said the citizenry could not afford to sit on the fence and allow the country to take a nosedive into violence after elections.
Mr Bimi said the NCCE would, therefore, contribute its quota to ensure that the elections were conducted peacefully without rancour, bitterness and ill-will, for the attainment of political stability and economic development.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
GHANA TO STRIKE URANIUM DEPOSITS (PAGE 3)
Story: Abdul Aziz
THE acting Director of Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), Dr B.J.B. Nyarko, has said that the country stands the chance of striking uranium deposits in commercial quantities since there is an association between gold and uranium.
He explained that a study of gold tailings at the Nuclear Research Reactor at Kwabenya revealed traces of uranium in pits in gold-mining areas in the country.
Dr Nyarko said the research, carried out by GAEC, was not on a large scale and that a major prospecting and exploration was needed to establish the link.
He, however, said the link of gold with uranium depended on a number of factors, the major one being the formation of rocks in the gold-mining areas.
Dr Nyarko said this to the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday after the opening of an international seminar on Safe Management of Radioactive Waste in Accra.
He said GAEC had established a waste management centre, where all disused radioactive materials were deposited at Kwabenya to prevent them from contaminating food and water sources, as well as human beings.
He said currently, there were 30 institutions using radioactive materials and their premises were constantly being monitored by trained inspectors.
Dr Nyarko said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in collaboration with the GAEC, was therefore organising a series of training programmes for member countries in Africa on Advanced Detection Equipment and Safe Management of Radioactive Waste.
He said because Ghana was developing fast into a middle income country, it could not help but rely increasingly on radioactive materials for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in medicine and for processing techniques in industries and mines.
The acting director said the waste management centre was the only authorised radioactive waste management control institution established in Ghana and co-ordinates nation-wide waste safety and security programmes.
He commended IAEA for the special attention it has attached to developing robust and sustainable radiation protection and waste safety infrastructure in African member states, especially in Ghana.
Dr Gordon Linsley, a radiation and waste safety consultant, told the Daily Graphic that in South Africa gold and uranium were sometimes mined from the same gold pits.
Dr Linsley therefore expressed surprise that the gold pits in Ghana were up till now not yielding uranium in commercial quantities.
Professor J.H. Amuasi, the co-ordinator of the School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences, who chaired the opening ceremony, said the international community was concerned about the threat of terrorism and the illicit trafficking in materials for the production of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
Prof. Amuasi said the IAEA and GAEC were therefore taking practical steps in contributing to world efforts at halting illicit trafficking of materials for the production of dangerous and offensive weapons.
The participating countries include the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Libya, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Ghana.
THE acting Director of Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), Dr B.J.B. Nyarko, has said that the country stands the chance of striking uranium deposits in commercial quantities since there is an association between gold and uranium.
He explained that a study of gold tailings at the Nuclear Research Reactor at Kwabenya revealed traces of uranium in pits in gold-mining areas in the country.
Dr Nyarko said the research, carried out by GAEC, was not on a large scale and that a major prospecting and exploration was needed to establish the link.
He, however, said the link of gold with uranium depended on a number of factors, the major one being the formation of rocks in the gold-mining areas.
Dr Nyarko said this to the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday after the opening of an international seminar on Safe Management of Radioactive Waste in Accra.
He said GAEC had established a waste management centre, where all disused radioactive materials were deposited at Kwabenya to prevent them from contaminating food and water sources, as well as human beings.
He said currently, there were 30 institutions using radioactive materials and their premises were constantly being monitored by trained inspectors.
Dr Nyarko said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in collaboration with the GAEC, was therefore organising a series of training programmes for member countries in Africa on Advanced Detection Equipment and Safe Management of Radioactive Waste.
He said because Ghana was developing fast into a middle income country, it could not help but rely increasingly on radioactive materials for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in medicine and for processing techniques in industries and mines.
The acting director said the waste management centre was the only authorised radioactive waste management control institution established in Ghana and co-ordinates nation-wide waste safety and security programmes.
He commended IAEA for the special attention it has attached to developing robust and sustainable radiation protection and waste safety infrastructure in African member states, especially in Ghana.
Dr Gordon Linsley, a radiation and waste safety consultant, told the Daily Graphic that in South Africa gold and uranium were sometimes mined from the same gold pits.
Dr Linsley therefore expressed surprise that the gold pits in Ghana were up till now not yielding uranium in commercial quantities.
Professor J.H. Amuasi, the co-ordinator of the School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences, who chaired the opening ceremony, said the international community was concerned about the threat of terrorism and the illicit trafficking in materials for the production of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
Prof. Amuasi said the IAEA and GAEC were therefore taking practical steps in contributing to world efforts at halting illicit trafficking of materials for the production of dangerous and offensive weapons.
The participating countries include the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Libya, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Ghana.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
200-MEMBER CUBAN MEDICAL TEAM EXPECTED IN JUNE (BACK PAGE)
Story: Abdul Aziz
Two hundred Cuban medical personnel are expected in the country by June this year for posting to various hospitals, particularly the three northern regions, where there is an urgent need for medical personnel.
The group includes nine professors, the first to be part of a Cuban Medical Brigade, who would be posted to the School of Medicine and Health Sciences of the University for Development Studies, Tamale.
Mr Kwasi Osei-Adjei, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and NEPAD, announced this at the closing of the 14th session of the Ghana-Cuba Permanent Joint Commission for Co-operation.
He said the government appreciated the services of the Cuban Medical Brigade, who had worked over the years and continued to work in hospitals in the regions and districts.
He said the Cubans had made a positive contribution towards the realisation of the government's objective of improved health delivery to the people of Ghana, adding that he looked forward to further collaboration between the two countries in addressing the critical health issues of the people.
Mr Osei-Adjei said the country was particularly happy that in addition to the medical brigade, Cuba was also sending a number of medical professors to lecture at the University for Development Studies Medical School.
He said their services would help train more doctors locally and address the current shortage of health professionals in the country.
The minister stressed that the government attached great value to the scholarships that Cuba offered Ghanaian students in various disciplines because they contributed to the manpower needs of the country,
He, however, stated that the low level of formal trading activities between Ghana and Cuba was a matter of great concern to both countries.
He said the issue of low trade was extensively discussed during the 14th session, and the issue of how economic relations between the two countries could be better developed and sustained was critically examined.
He said as a first step, co-operation in the cocoa industry in particular had been adequately addressed by the experts on both sides and that it would encourage the trading of other related products between the two countries.
Mr Ricardo Ruiz, Senior Minister of Governmental Business of Cuba, who led the Cuban delegation, said other areas the two countries agreed to co-operate in included malarial and pest control, genetic engineering, biotechnology, and information technology and communication (ICT).
Two hundred Cuban medical personnel are expected in the country by June this year for posting to various hospitals, particularly the three northern regions, where there is an urgent need for medical personnel.
The group includes nine professors, the first to be part of a Cuban Medical Brigade, who would be posted to the School of Medicine and Health Sciences of the University for Development Studies, Tamale.
Mr Kwasi Osei-Adjei, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and NEPAD, announced this at the closing of the 14th session of the Ghana-Cuba Permanent Joint Commission for Co-operation.
He said the government appreciated the services of the Cuban Medical Brigade, who had worked over the years and continued to work in hospitals in the regions and districts.
He said the Cubans had made a positive contribution towards the realisation of the government's objective of improved health delivery to the people of Ghana, adding that he looked forward to further collaboration between the two countries in addressing the critical health issues of the people.
Mr Osei-Adjei said the country was particularly happy that in addition to the medical brigade, Cuba was also sending a number of medical professors to lecture at the University for Development Studies Medical School.
He said their services would help train more doctors locally and address the current shortage of health professionals in the country.
The minister stressed that the government attached great value to the scholarships that Cuba offered Ghanaian students in various disciplines because they contributed to the manpower needs of the country,
He, however, stated that the low level of formal trading activities between Ghana and Cuba was a matter of great concern to both countries.
He said the issue of low trade was extensively discussed during the 14th session, and the issue of how economic relations between the two countries could be better developed and sustained was critically examined.
He said as a first step, co-operation in the cocoa industry in particular had been adequately addressed by the experts on both sides and that it would encourage the trading of other related products between the two countries.
Mr Ricardo Ruiz, Senior Minister of Governmental Business of Cuba, who led the Cuban delegation, said other areas the two countries agreed to co-operate in included malarial and pest control, genetic engineering, biotechnology, and information technology and communication (ICT).
Thursday, April 17, 2008
VOLTA BASIN CONTAINS MORE MINERALS — SURVEY (PAGE 3)
(PUBLISHED MARCH 18, 2008)
Story: Abdul Aziz
THE acting Director of the Geological Survey Department (GSD), Mr John Agyei Duodu, has expressed optimism that Ghana is on the threshold of discovering minerals in commercial quantities in the Volta Lake Basin.
Mr Duodu explained to the Daily Graphic that preliminary results from a hydrogeology of the Voltaian Basin, which stretches into Burkina Faso and Togo, were hinting at the fact that minerals such as gold, diamonds, bauxite and iron ore, as well as hydrocarbon, existed in the area.
He said the (GSD) had since 2005 received support from a number of national and international contractors interested in the implementation of the 40-million euro European Union (EU)-funded Mining Sector Support Programme.
According to him, the funds were being utilised for geological mapping and mineral prospecting projects (geophysics) of the Voltaian Basin to pave the way for commercial exploration.
Mr Duodu said one of the major hydrogeological investigations of the basin was carried out in 1966 by experts from the then Soviet Union.
Those investigations, he said, pointed to oil discovery in the Voltaian Basin.
He, however, pointed out that a greater part of the basin was not covered by geological mapping of any appreciable scale and the inadequate geophysical data prevented early explorers from gaining a clear idea of the potential of the area.
Mr Duodu said that formed the basis of the government implementing the Mining Sector Support Programme (MSSP) to completely unearth the mineral potential of the area.
He added that under the MSSP, the government was aiming at providing an up-to-date geological and geophysical information for the discovery of new mineral resources.
He said a substantial part of those efforts had been focused on the Voltaian sedimentary basin, which covers about 98,000 km2 of the territory of Ghana and has been identified as a priority area by the GSD.
Mr Duodu said the mapping and prospecting activities had been ongoing for the past three years in the basin and some aspects of them were expected to be concluded in June 2009.
Story: Abdul Aziz
THE acting Director of the Geological Survey Department (GSD), Mr John Agyei Duodu, has expressed optimism that Ghana is on the threshold of discovering minerals in commercial quantities in the Volta Lake Basin.
Mr Duodu explained to the Daily Graphic that preliminary results from a hydrogeology of the Voltaian Basin, which stretches into Burkina Faso and Togo, were hinting at the fact that minerals such as gold, diamonds, bauxite and iron ore, as well as hydrocarbon, existed in the area.
He said the (GSD) had since 2005 received support from a number of national and international contractors interested in the implementation of the 40-million euro European Union (EU)-funded Mining Sector Support Programme.
According to him, the funds were being utilised for geological mapping and mineral prospecting projects (geophysics) of the Voltaian Basin to pave the way for commercial exploration.
Mr Duodu said one of the major hydrogeological investigations of the basin was carried out in 1966 by experts from the then Soviet Union.
Those investigations, he said, pointed to oil discovery in the Voltaian Basin.
He, however, pointed out that a greater part of the basin was not covered by geological mapping of any appreciable scale and the inadequate geophysical data prevented early explorers from gaining a clear idea of the potential of the area.
Mr Duodu said that formed the basis of the government implementing the Mining Sector Support Programme (MSSP) to completely unearth the mineral potential of the area.
He added that under the MSSP, the government was aiming at providing an up-to-date geological and geophysical information for the discovery of new mineral resources.
He said a substantial part of those efforts had been focused on the Voltaian sedimentary basin, which covers about 98,000 km2 of the territory of Ghana and has been identified as a priority area by the GSD.
Mr Duodu said the mapping and prospecting activities had been ongoing for the past three years in the basin and some aspects of them were expected to be concluded in June 2009.
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