Story: Abdul Aziz
Great excitement and uproar from a teeming crowd greeted the unveiling of the Kantanka Obrempon limousine, manufactured by Apostle Kwadwo Safo, Head of Kristo Asafo Mission, at a ceremony at Awoshie, a suburb of Accra, yesterday.
The ceremony was the high point of this year’s Charity and Technology Exhibition held by the church.
The first people to take a ride in the limousine were ministers of state and one of the aspirants who participated in the contest for the flagbearership of the ruling New Patriotic Party.
They included Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Joe Baidoe-Ansah, Minister of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and President's Special Initiatives, and Dr Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, a former Chief Executive of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.
Other dignitaries included judges, senior civil servants and policy makers.
In an address, Mr Baah-Wiredu said the government was determined to ensure that entrepreneurs and businessmen reaped the full benefit of the Golden Age of Business.
He said that would ultimately lead the country to achieve the desired middle-income status by 2015.
He said Apostle Safo's work was an epitome of a good private sector initiative and deserved all the support from the government and all patriotic Ghanaians to make the venture more productive.
He assured Apostle Safo and others in the private sector that the government would not relent in its efforts to ensure that business thrived by offering a congenial atmosphere for private initiative.
He urged Apostle Safo to consider exploring some initiatives and interventions, such as the Venture Capital Fund, to expand his business.
Mr Baidoe-Ansah said the government was focussing more on the small and medium enterprises sector, which constituted about 70 per cent of all the industrial establishments and contributed nearly 85 per cent of manufacturing employment.
He said his ministry was working in close collaboration with the Kristo Asafo Mission under the Technology Innovation Centre for Capital Goods Manufacture to establish an integrated foundry and tools training centre to produce tools as spare parts for the agricultural and industrial sectors.
For his part, Apostle Kwadwo Safo said he had placed emphasis on invention and high technology because no country could develop without a sound technological base.
He said the church’s Gomoa Mpota Technological Centre would recruit young graduates to train them in the production of high technology items.
The inventions on display at the exhibition included his first two vehicles, the latest limousine and an excavator.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Friday, December 21, 2007
SUBJECT JUDGES' DECISIONS TO CRITICAL ANALYSIS (Page 24...Published Dec 17, 2007)
Story: Abdul Aziz
The Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina Wood, has called on Ghanaians, especially legal luminaries, to critically examine the decisions of judges and analyse them for the development of the judicial system.
Justice Wood explained that for sometime now the bench had no source of knowing what other institutions such as the Bar thought of their work as judges.
Mrs Wood made the call when she delivered the keynote address at the launch of a book, “The Role of the Supreme Court in the Development of Constitutional Law in Ghana’’ by Dr Seth Y. Bimpong-Buta, a former Director of the Ghana School of Law.
The Chief Justice said such reviews were useful in helping the judiciary to revise and reflect on their work so as to update their knowledge on the current state of the law.
She said the publication had, therefore, come to fill the yawning gap in the development of constitutional law in the country.
She commended Dr Bimpong-Buta, saying that his work would contribute in a great measure to the development of democratic culture and good governance in the country.
She recommended the book to the bench, Bar, teachers of the law, and all institutions and individuals who had an interest in the development and administration of law and justice.
Mrs Wood said the author had successfully demonstrated that the development of a democratic culture and good governance in the country did not depend on the Supreme Court alone, and that the complementary role of the Bar, civil society organisations (CSO), the media and the individual was crucial to the establishment of a truly democratic, peaceful and stable society.
Dr Bimpong-Buta said the book mainly praised the Supreme Court for some of its superb and courageous decisions since independence, that had helped in the development of constitutional rule in the country.
He said in doing so he was also compelled to comment on some of the shameful decisions of the Supreme Courts that enabled politicians to trample on the rights of Ghanaians, with far-reaching consequences.
Launching the book, Mr Justice V. C.R .A.C. Crabbe, a constitutional expert, who had presided over the drafting of two constitutions for the country, said the study of the law could be found in judgements.
Justice Crabbe said the publication of the book was, therefore, a one-stop shop for lawyers, teachers, judges and law students in search of information on landmark judgements in the country.
Nana (Dr) S .K. B. Asante, a constitutional expert who helped in drafting the 1992 constitution and chairman for the book launch, said Ghanaians needed to appreciate the fact, with some sense of gratification, that the country had enjoyed an uninterrupted constitutional regime for 15 years.
Dr Asante, therefore, observed that the occasional calls for amendment of the constitution stemmed from a failure to appreciate the critical role of the Supreme Court in interpreting, clarifying, refining and consolidating the constitution.
The Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina Wood, has called on Ghanaians, especially legal luminaries, to critically examine the decisions of judges and analyse them for the development of the judicial system.
Justice Wood explained that for sometime now the bench had no source of knowing what other institutions such as the Bar thought of their work as judges.
Mrs Wood made the call when she delivered the keynote address at the launch of a book, “The Role of the Supreme Court in the Development of Constitutional Law in Ghana’’ by Dr Seth Y. Bimpong-Buta, a former Director of the Ghana School of Law.
The Chief Justice said such reviews were useful in helping the judiciary to revise and reflect on their work so as to update their knowledge on the current state of the law.
She said the publication had, therefore, come to fill the yawning gap in the development of constitutional law in the country.
She commended Dr Bimpong-Buta, saying that his work would contribute in a great measure to the development of democratic culture and good governance in the country.
She recommended the book to the bench, Bar, teachers of the law, and all institutions and individuals who had an interest in the development and administration of law and justice.
Mrs Wood said the author had successfully demonstrated that the development of a democratic culture and good governance in the country did not depend on the Supreme Court alone, and that the complementary role of the Bar, civil society organisations (CSO), the media and the individual was crucial to the establishment of a truly democratic, peaceful and stable society.
Dr Bimpong-Buta said the book mainly praised the Supreme Court for some of its superb and courageous decisions since independence, that had helped in the development of constitutional rule in the country.
He said in doing so he was also compelled to comment on some of the shameful decisions of the Supreme Courts that enabled politicians to trample on the rights of Ghanaians, with far-reaching consequences.
Launching the book, Mr Justice V. C.R .A.C. Crabbe, a constitutional expert, who had presided over the drafting of two constitutions for the country, said the study of the law could be found in judgements.
Justice Crabbe said the publication of the book was, therefore, a one-stop shop for lawyers, teachers, judges and law students in search of information on landmark judgements in the country.
Nana (Dr) S .K. B. Asante, a constitutional expert who helped in drafting the 1992 constitution and chairman for the book launch, said Ghanaians needed to appreciate the fact, with some sense of gratification, that the country had enjoyed an uninterrupted constitutional regime for 15 years.
Dr Asante, therefore, observed that the occasional calls for amendment of the constitution stemmed from a failure to appreciate the critical role of the Supreme Court in interpreting, clarifying, refining and consolidating the constitution.
Friday, December 14, 2007
MINISTRY TO CLOSE UNAPPROVED ROUTES ON MOTORWAY (Back Page)
Story: Abdul Aziz
The Ministry of Transportation has embarked on an operation to close all unauthorised access routes on the Accra-Tema Motorway to avoid further accidents.
The unauthorised exit and entry points on the motorway had been a source of danger to the motoring public. It would be recalled that former President Jerry John Rawlings narrowly escaped death on the motorway when a vehicle appeared from an unauthorised route to cross his path.
According to Mr Ken S. Anku, a media consultant to the Ministry of Transportation, the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) was undertaking the exercise purely in the interest of the safety of the motoring public and not for any other considerations.
He said as a responsible and sensitive ministry, it had developed some short term and long term solutions to ease the effects of traffic jams that might result from the closure of those unauthorised routes.
He said as a first step, the ministry was in the process of providing alternative exit and entry points on the motorway at a location further west of the overhead cattle bridge.
Mr Anku explained that the intervention was intended to provide a safer access to residents located along the road.
He further said that in order to ease traffic movements within the Accra East corridor, the ministry, through the Department of Urban Roads, was continuing to improve on the La beach road.
The Ministry of Transportation has embarked on an operation to close all unauthorised access routes on the Accra-Tema Motorway to avoid further accidents.
The unauthorised exit and entry points on the motorway had been a source of danger to the motoring public. It would be recalled that former President Jerry John Rawlings narrowly escaped death on the motorway when a vehicle appeared from an unauthorised route to cross his path.
According to Mr Ken S. Anku, a media consultant to the Ministry of Transportation, the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) was undertaking the exercise purely in the interest of the safety of the motoring public and not for any other considerations.
He said as a responsible and sensitive ministry, it had developed some short term and long term solutions to ease the effects of traffic jams that might result from the closure of those unauthorised routes.
He said as a first step, the ministry was in the process of providing alternative exit and entry points on the motorway at a location further west of the overhead cattle bridge.
Mr Anku explained that the intervention was intended to provide a safer access to residents located along the road.
He further said that in order to ease traffic movements within the Accra East corridor, the ministry, through the Department of Urban Roads, was continuing to improve on the La beach road.
TRAGEDY AT ANYAA .....2 Kids die, another injured as school wall collapses (1b)
Story: Abdul Aziz
TWO kindergarten pupils of the Happy Souls Academy at Anyaa in the Ga West District who were seen off to school yesterday morning by their parents met their untimely death when a wall of the school building collapsed on them.
A third pupil who sustained serious injuries is on admission at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.
Four others who sustained minor injuries have been treated and discharged from Korle-Bu.
The Proprietor of the school, Mr Emmanuel Afful, who was at the school when the incident occurred, has been placed in custody at the Anyaa Police Station to assist the police in their investigations.
Mr Afful told the Daily Graphic at the police station just before he was put in cells that he was in his office when he heard some shouts.
He said he rushed out, only to be confronted with the scene of a wall that had collapsed on some of the children who were playing around it.
He said he and the teachers immediately went to the rescue of the children, adding that three of the seriously injured were rushed for first aid treatment at the El Bethel Clinic and Maternity Home at Anyaa, where they were referred to the Korle-Bu Hospital for further treatment.
Mr Afful said on arrival at the clinic, the midwife declared two of the three children as already dead, while the third one, who was in a state of unconsciousness, was put on drip and rushed to Korle-Bu for intensive care. The two dead pupils were deposited at the mortuary of the same hospital for autopsy.
The proprietor, in a statement to the Anyaa Police, gave the names of the dead as Sarah Siw and Samuel Mbaye, both four, while Benedict Djan Agyei is the one currently on admission at the ICU of Korle-Bu.
Madam Becky Ansong, the midwife in charge of the El Bethel Clinic, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that when a taxi pulled up at the clinic with three kids, she found out that two of them were already dead.
The third was attended to and taken quickly in a waiting taxi to the Korle-Bu.
A visit to the school revealed a sad spectacle, with bloodstained walls and floor and parents trooping there to find out whether their children had been affected.
Mr Kofi Twum, a parent who has three children in the school and who helped in the rescue operation, said seven children were caught by the collapsed building, with three seriously affected, while four sustained minor injuries.
He, however, said his three children were not injured, since they were far from the wall when it collapsed.
Mr Twum said some parents came to the school to either take their children home or to clinics within the vicinity for medical check-ups.
Later, officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), led by EX WO 1 Brookman Mensah of the Rapid Response Unit, arrived in the school to cordon off the danger area to prevent schoolchildren from playing around the remaining standing wall.
TWO kindergarten pupils of the Happy Souls Academy at Anyaa in the Ga West District who were seen off to school yesterday morning by their parents met their untimely death when a wall of the school building collapsed on them.
A third pupil who sustained serious injuries is on admission at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.
Four others who sustained minor injuries have been treated and discharged from Korle-Bu.
The Proprietor of the school, Mr Emmanuel Afful, who was at the school when the incident occurred, has been placed in custody at the Anyaa Police Station to assist the police in their investigations.
Mr Afful told the Daily Graphic at the police station just before he was put in cells that he was in his office when he heard some shouts.
He said he rushed out, only to be confronted with the scene of a wall that had collapsed on some of the children who were playing around it.
He said he and the teachers immediately went to the rescue of the children, adding that three of the seriously injured were rushed for first aid treatment at the El Bethel Clinic and Maternity Home at Anyaa, where they were referred to the Korle-Bu Hospital for further treatment.
Mr Afful said on arrival at the clinic, the midwife declared two of the three children as already dead, while the third one, who was in a state of unconsciousness, was put on drip and rushed to Korle-Bu for intensive care. The two dead pupils were deposited at the mortuary of the same hospital for autopsy.
The proprietor, in a statement to the Anyaa Police, gave the names of the dead as Sarah Siw and Samuel Mbaye, both four, while Benedict Djan Agyei is the one currently on admission at the ICU of Korle-Bu.
Madam Becky Ansong, the midwife in charge of the El Bethel Clinic, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that when a taxi pulled up at the clinic with three kids, she found out that two of them were already dead.
The third was attended to and taken quickly in a waiting taxi to the Korle-Bu.
A visit to the school revealed a sad spectacle, with bloodstained walls and floor and parents trooping there to find out whether their children had been affected.
Mr Kofi Twum, a parent who has three children in the school and who helped in the rescue operation, said seven children were caught by the collapsed building, with three seriously affected, while four sustained minor injuries.
He, however, said his three children were not injured, since they were far from the wall when it collapsed.
Mr Twum said some parents came to the school to either take their children home or to clinics within the vicinity for medical check-ups.
Later, officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), led by EX WO 1 Brookman Mensah of the Rapid Response Unit, arrived in the school to cordon off the danger area to prevent schoolchildren from playing around the remaining standing wall.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
ANDANIS, ABUDUS DISAGREE OVER FINAL PEACE AGREEMENT (Published Tuesday, December 11, 2007. Page 31)
Story: Abdul Aziz & Vincent Adedze, Tamale
With preparations already underway for the funeral of the late Na Mahamadu Abdulai IV, disagreement has arisen between the Abdulai and Andani gates in the Dagbon chieftaincy affair over a document currently circulating in Yendi.
While the Regent of Dagbon, Kampakuya Naa Yakubu Abdulai, is questioning the authenticity of the document which is said to emanate from the Otumfuo Committee of Eminent Chiefs, the Abudu gate is quoting it to support its stand of performing the funeral at the Gbewaa Palace.
In a statement issued in Yendi over the weekend, Naa Abdulai said the document was capable of inciting people to create violence in the area.
Naa Abdulai’s statement was issued on the same day the Abudu gate issued another statement which entreated the government to call to order certain individuals the gate claimed were intent on fomenting trouble in the area during the performance of the late Na Mahamadu Abdulai IV’s funeral.
Sources said the funeral for Na Abdulai was scheduled to be performed sometime this month and was the reason for the Abudu statement that “we equally believe that we can perform the funeral without much government security presence; the Abudu and Andani families both need to have sober reflections and to allow for the spirit of compromise, justice and fair play to help us in our quest to restore and preserve Dagbon custom”.
Both sides of the debate base their stand on a document headed “Final Peace Agreement” and said to have been issued by the Eminent Chiefs made up of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II; the Yagbonwura, Doshie Bawa; and the Nayiri, Mahama Abdulai Naa Bohugu.
While the Abudus draw from it the mandate to organise the funeral of the late Naa Mahamadu Abdulai IV at the Gbewaa Palace, Regent Kampakuya, Naa Yakubu Abdulai, said reports reaching him indicated that there was some outward expression of disaffection among the people of Dagbon arising from the contents of the document.
He cited two portions of the document which he said convinced him that it could not have come from such respected Eminent Chiefs.
He explained that the Eminent Chiefs would not allow the situation in which a unitary Dagbon Kingdom would have two palaces (old and new) occupied by two regents (regent of Dagbon and regent of his father) at the same time.
He said the Eminent Chiefs knew that no custom, especially no Dagbon custom, would allow the occupation of two palaces by two different regents or chiefs of one kingdom at the same time under any condition.
He further said that no external body could direct the rightful chief of Dagbon on how to govern his kingdom as long as he was within Dagbon custom and national law.
Naa Abdulai said the Eminent Chiefs would not also advocate the selection and enskinment of a Ya Naa by persons who did not qualify by custom to do so and thereby create a cycle of litigation and eventual violence.
He said he was, therefore, fortified in his belief in the non-authenticity of the document because it was incompatible with the known mandate of the eminent chiefs.
The mandate of the Otumfuo Committee, he explained, was to establish how best all the necessary customary rites could be performed before an appropriate date for the burial of Ya Naa Yakubu Andani II was fixed by the traditional authorities in Dagbon.
He said the second mandate was to mediate for reconciliation between the Abudulai and Andani royal families and third to advise the government on the customary procedure to be pursued to achieve a lasting peace within Dagbon state in particular and Ghana as a whole.
Naa Abdulai, therefore, appealed to all citizens of Dagbon to take time and study any document which may come into their possession before allowing themselves to be excited or incited by its contents.
Stating the position of the Abudu gate at a press conference in Yendi, the Secretary to the Abudu family said it was important to state the position of the Abudu family regarding recent developments in the Dagbon chieftaincy issue.
Of critical concern to both parties was the performance of the final funeral rites of Na Mahamadu Abdulai at the Gbewaa Palace.
Mr Iddrisu observed that “the attitude of the Andani leadership and of recent his children, widows and even some members of the press regarding the performance of the funeral of Na Mahamadu, is not the best”.
“We entreat our Andani cousins to come join us bid farewell to the Dagbon King, for we shall always be there for them and for Dagbon,” he further said.
He cautioned against those individuals who hide behind the name of the Andani family to “issue empty and sometimes serious threats” to cause confusion in Dagbon, as well as scare officialdom to manipulate justice and fairness to their advantage.
“Let it be said here and now that the Committee of Eminent Chiefs’ duty is to sort out the confusion regarding Dagbon custom and to return it to normalcy,” the secretary stressed.
Mr Iddrisu expressed regret and surprise that “the very road map from which the Andani family has benefited is today found unacceptable and contrary to Dagbon custom”.
He noted that the funeral of Na Abdulai would be performed in the Gbewaa Palace, pending the “green light from the Committee of Eminent Chiefs as a customary and legal necessity, come the due date scheduled for it”.
With preparations already underway for the funeral of the late Na Mahamadu Abdulai IV, disagreement has arisen between the Abdulai and Andani gates in the Dagbon chieftaincy affair over a document currently circulating in Yendi.
While the Regent of Dagbon, Kampakuya Naa Yakubu Abdulai, is questioning the authenticity of the document which is said to emanate from the Otumfuo Committee of Eminent Chiefs, the Abudu gate is quoting it to support its stand of performing the funeral at the Gbewaa Palace.
In a statement issued in Yendi over the weekend, Naa Abdulai said the document was capable of inciting people to create violence in the area.
Naa Abdulai’s statement was issued on the same day the Abudu gate issued another statement which entreated the government to call to order certain individuals the gate claimed were intent on fomenting trouble in the area during the performance of the late Na Mahamadu Abdulai IV’s funeral.
Sources said the funeral for Na Abdulai was scheduled to be performed sometime this month and was the reason for the Abudu statement that “we equally believe that we can perform the funeral without much government security presence; the Abudu and Andani families both need to have sober reflections and to allow for the spirit of compromise, justice and fair play to help us in our quest to restore and preserve Dagbon custom”.
Both sides of the debate base their stand on a document headed “Final Peace Agreement” and said to have been issued by the Eminent Chiefs made up of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II; the Yagbonwura, Doshie Bawa; and the Nayiri, Mahama Abdulai Naa Bohugu.
While the Abudus draw from it the mandate to organise the funeral of the late Naa Mahamadu Abdulai IV at the Gbewaa Palace, Regent Kampakuya, Naa Yakubu Abdulai, said reports reaching him indicated that there was some outward expression of disaffection among the people of Dagbon arising from the contents of the document.
He cited two portions of the document which he said convinced him that it could not have come from such respected Eminent Chiefs.
He explained that the Eminent Chiefs would not allow the situation in which a unitary Dagbon Kingdom would have two palaces (old and new) occupied by two regents (regent of Dagbon and regent of his father) at the same time.
He said the Eminent Chiefs knew that no custom, especially no Dagbon custom, would allow the occupation of two palaces by two different regents or chiefs of one kingdom at the same time under any condition.
He further said that no external body could direct the rightful chief of Dagbon on how to govern his kingdom as long as he was within Dagbon custom and national law.
Naa Abdulai said the Eminent Chiefs would not also advocate the selection and enskinment of a Ya Naa by persons who did not qualify by custom to do so and thereby create a cycle of litigation and eventual violence.
He said he was, therefore, fortified in his belief in the non-authenticity of the document because it was incompatible with the known mandate of the eminent chiefs.
The mandate of the Otumfuo Committee, he explained, was to establish how best all the necessary customary rites could be performed before an appropriate date for the burial of Ya Naa Yakubu Andani II was fixed by the traditional authorities in Dagbon.
He said the second mandate was to mediate for reconciliation between the Abudulai and Andani royal families and third to advise the government on the customary procedure to be pursued to achieve a lasting peace within Dagbon state in particular and Ghana as a whole.
Naa Abdulai, therefore, appealed to all citizens of Dagbon to take time and study any document which may come into their possession before allowing themselves to be excited or incited by its contents.
Stating the position of the Abudu gate at a press conference in Yendi, the Secretary to the Abudu family said it was important to state the position of the Abudu family regarding recent developments in the Dagbon chieftaincy issue.
Of critical concern to both parties was the performance of the final funeral rites of Na Mahamadu Abdulai at the Gbewaa Palace.
Mr Iddrisu observed that “the attitude of the Andani leadership and of recent his children, widows and even some members of the press regarding the performance of the funeral of Na Mahamadu, is not the best”.
“We entreat our Andani cousins to come join us bid farewell to the Dagbon King, for we shall always be there for them and for Dagbon,” he further said.
He cautioned against those individuals who hide behind the name of the Andani family to “issue empty and sometimes serious threats” to cause confusion in Dagbon, as well as scare officialdom to manipulate justice and fairness to their advantage.
“Let it be said here and now that the Committee of Eminent Chiefs’ duty is to sort out the confusion regarding Dagbon custom and to return it to normalcy,” the secretary stressed.
Mr Iddrisu expressed regret and surprise that “the very road map from which the Andani family has benefited is today found unacceptable and contrary to Dagbon custom”.
He noted that the funeral of Na Abdulai would be performed in the Gbewaa Palace, pending the “green light from the Committee of Eminent Chiefs as a customary and legal necessity, come the due date scheduled for it”.
DISABLED SOCIETY TO EXPAND BUSINESS ...(Published Monday, Dec 10, 2007. Page 55)
Story: Abdul Aziz
THE Ghana Society of the Physically Disabled (GSPD) is to diversify its operations by branching into the hospitality industry by producing tooth picks for restaurants.
This is to ensure that the society’s factory that currently produce chalk operates throughout the year instead of the current practice of closing down for lack of market for chalk.
Mr Elvis Kosi Alipui, Production Manager of the chalk factory, said recently, the factory had to close down and the 17 workers sent home because of lack of market for 30,000 boxes of chalk produced.
He said, however, that when the Ghana Education Service (GES) heard of the stock, it issued a cheque for ¢105 million to clear it.
He said apart from clearing the stock, the GES had awarded another contract to the factory to produce 50,000 boxes of chalk for 2008.
He said when the tooth pick line was added to the chalk factory, it would assist to limit the constraints of cash flow associated with the chalk factory to enable it to expand in the future to meet more demands.
Mr Alipui said the society was sourcing funds for members of the society to learn different trades such as tailoring, computer programming and craftsmanship to open joint ventures as part of the diversification process.
He, therefore, appealed to non- government organisations (NGOs) to come to the aid of the society.
He said the chalk factory which was closed recently for lack of contracts would be re-opened in January for production to start on the 50,000 boxes of chalk for the GES valued at ¢175 million.
The production manager said the factory when producing at full capacity was capable of generating employment for 33 physically disabled persons but it was currently employing only 17 persons.
He said when many institutions offered them contracts the company could be able to expand its operations to employ more people to ensure equity in the society, as well assist the disabled to come back to the mainstream society, to contribute their quota to national development.
Mr Alipui said many disabled people had now acquired skills but required funds to put these skills into practice to prevent them from going back to the streets to beg for alms, which was a dent on the image the Ghana Society of the Physically Disabled had worked hard to improve.
THE Ghana Society of the Physically Disabled (GSPD) is to diversify its operations by branching into the hospitality industry by producing tooth picks for restaurants.
This is to ensure that the society’s factory that currently produce chalk operates throughout the year instead of the current practice of closing down for lack of market for chalk.
Mr Elvis Kosi Alipui, Production Manager of the chalk factory, said recently, the factory had to close down and the 17 workers sent home because of lack of market for 30,000 boxes of chalk produced.
He said, however, that when the Ghana Education Service (GES) heard of the stock, it issued a cheque for ¢105 million to clear it.
He said apart from clearing the stock, the GES had awarded another contract to the factory to produce 50,000 boxes of chalk for 2008.
He said when the tooth pick line was added to the chalk factory, it would assist to limit the constraints of cash flow associated with the chalk factory to enable it to expand in the future to meet more demands.
Mr Alipui said the society was sourcing funds for members of the society to learn different trades such as tailoring, computer programming and craftsmanship to open joint ventures as part of the diversification process.
He, therefore, appealed to non- government organisations (NGOs) to come to the aid of the society.
He said the chalk factory which was closed recently for lack of contracts would be re-opened in January for production to start on the 50,000 boxes of chalk for the GES valued at ¢175 million.
The production manager said the factory when producing at full capacity was capable of generating employment for 33 physically disabled persons but it was currently employing only 17 persons.
He said when many institutions offered them contracts the company could be able to expand its operations to employ more people to ensure equity in the society, as well assist the disabled to come back to the mainstream society, to contribute their quota to national development.
Mr Alipui said many disabled people had now acquired skills but required funds to put these skills into practice to prevent them from going back to the streets to beg for alms, which was a dent on the image the Ghana Society of the Physically Disabled had worked hard to improve.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
'EMPOWER WOMEN TO NEGOTIATE SAFE SEX' (December 6, 2007)...Page 17
Story: Abdul Aziz
THE government has called on the civil society organisations (CSO) to partner it to empower women and to make them capable of negotiating safe sex.
This is because the Abstinence, Be faithful and Use Condoms (ABC) concept, as a means of halting the spread of HIV/AIDS, has been facing several constraints.
The Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Abraham Odoom, who made the call at an international conference on AIDS, said one of the major constraints of abstinence was that it was not an option for poor women and girls who had no choice but to marry at an early age.
He said being faithful was also not protecting women whose partners were not faithful to them.
Mr Odoom reiterated that the tool for using condoms for protection against HIV/AIDS had been found to be a decision that was not made by women but by only men.
He said the Ministry of Health and the civil society, therefore, needed to strategise to put the power and the tools for preventing HIV in the hands of women to safeguard their health status.
He explained that a strong collaboration between the CSOs and the government could reach out to women, whether they were faithfully married mothers or sex workers trying to make a living, to be independent and never needed their partners’ permission to save their own lives.
Mr Odoom, therefore, urged participants who were drawn from Central, East, West and Southern Africa, Europe and the United States to make central theme of the 2-day conference how to empower women to negotiate safe sex and not depend on the caprices of men.
Prof. S.A. Amoa, Director-General of the Ghana Aids Commission (GAC), said actively engaging the civil society organisation had been high on the agenda of the GAC, because CSOs had been identified as vehicles through which the grassrooots communities could be reached.
He said contrary to the belief that CSOs misused funds provided them for intervention activities, they contributed in no small measure towards achieving the objectives of the national response.
Mr Vitus Nanbigne, Co-ordinator of Woyome Foundation for Africa (WOFA), an international HIV/AIDS charity organisation, commended the Ministry of Health for supporting the NGO to hold the conference in Ghana.
He said the core objectives of WOFA was to establish hospitals, treatment, rehabilitation and research centres across Africa.
He said construction of the first hospital in Africa would start in Accra next year.
Mr Nanbigne said the AIDS Hospital in Accra would comprise 350 rooms, an HIV/AIDS research facility that would be opened to all researchers.
THE government has called on the civil society organisations (CSO) to partner it to empower women and to make them capable of negotiating safe sex.
This is because the Abstinence, Be faithful and Use Condoms (ABC) concept, as a means of halting the spread of HIV/AIDS, has been facing several constraints.
The Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Abraham Odoom, who made the call at an international conference on AIDS, said one of the major constraints of abstinence was that it was not an option for poor women and girls who had no choice but to marry at an early age.
He said being faithful was also not protecting women whose partners were not faithful to them.
Mr Odoom reiterated that the tool for using condoms for protection against HIV/AIDS had been found to be a decision that was not made by women but by only men.
He said the Ministry of Health and the civil society, therefore, needed to strategise to put the power and the tools for preventing HIV in the hands of women to safeguard their health status.
He explained that a strong collaboration between the CSOs and the government could reach out to women, whether they were faithfully married mothers or sex workers trying to make a living, to be independent and never needed their partners’ permission to save their own lives.
Mr Odoom, therefore, urged participants who were drawn from Central, East, West and Southern Africa, Europe and the United States to make central theme of the 2-day conference how to empower women to negotiate safe sex and not depend on the caprices of men.
Prof. S.A. Amoa, Director-General of the Ghana Aids Commission (GAC), said actively engaging the civil society organisation had been high on the agenda of the GAC, because CSOs had been identified as vehicles through which the grassrooots communities could be reached.
He said contrary to the belief that CSOs misused funds provided them for intervention activities, they contributed in no small measure towards achieving the objectives of the national response.
Mr Vitus Nanbigne, Co-ordinator of Woyome Foundation for Africa (WOFA), an international HIV/AIDS charity organisation, commended the Ministry of Health for supporting the NGO to hold the conference in Ghana.
He said the core objectives of WOFA was to establish hospitals, treatment, rehabilitation and research centres across Africa.
He said construction of the first hospital in Africa would start in Accra next year.
Mr Nanbigne said the AIDS Hospital in Accra would comprise 350 rooms, an HIV/AIDS research facility that would be opened to all researchers.
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