Front Page: Daily Graphic, November 28, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE National Security Co-ordinator, Dr Sam G. Amoo, has urged voters to go out in their numbers to exercise their franchise without fear because the security agencies have put in place adequate measures to ensure the safety of all Ghanaians.
He said the electorate should disabuse their minds of violence on election day or thereafter, as portrayed by sections of the media and some politicians to create fear and panic among the populace.
“The security agencies assure all that we are ready to fulfil our mandate with regard to the forthcoming elections. We shall provide a secure and congenial environment for all to play by the rules. We shall be fair and robust,” Dr Amoo told the Daily Graphic in an interview yesterday.
He said a rapid response strategy had been designed with standby forces in place to react promptly to reinforce and contain any crisis situation.
“Specialised police units like the Rapid Deployment Force, the Armoured Car Squadron, the Mounted Squadron, the Striking Force and multi-purpose vehicles would be deployed, together with appropriate military contingents, as part of the rapid response strategy,” he said.
Dr Amoo said joint patrols would be intensified, while the necessary strategies had been mapped out to deal with all the flash points identified by the security forces.
On logistics, he said more than 300 pick-ups had been procured for the task force operations, while the Ministry of Education had also confirmed its readiness to release an additional 300 vehicles to the National Security Council Secretariat for use in the regions and districts for security activities during the elections.
The National Security Co-ordinator said all ministries, departments and agencies were to release all available vehicles to the regional and district co-ordinating councils by the close of December 4, 2008 for the transportation of security personnel for election duties throughout the country.
He said arrangements had also been made with the GPRTU, PROTOA and M-Plaza for the hiring of additional vehicles in support of the transportation of security personnel to the various regions and districts.
“A comprehensive communication plan to cover the whole country for the operations of the election security task force has been put in place. Equipment for the communication strategy includes VHS radios, a national security communication system and Kasapa cellular phones,” he added.
According to Dr Amoo, the readiness of the security agencies was tested and rehearsed through nation-wide police/military joint training exercises between November 3 and 17, 2008.
He said the National Security Secretariat was convinced that on the D-day all concerned agencies would function like a seamless operational machine to achieve the ultimate goal of ensuring a secure and enabling environment for a free, fair and transparent electoral process.
He explained that while the activities and operations of the election security task forces were ongoing, the regional and district security committees would continue to function, stressing that “military and police commands will continue to operate in their traditional roles, with overlap responsibility with the various rapid response forces within their areas of responsibility”.
He said the Ghana National Fire Service would continue to play its traditional roles but would also be on standby to respond to any fire outbreak.
Dr Amoo was confident that the good people of Ghana would support and work with the security agencies to maintain peace with fairness and firmness.
“Lest we forget, we are a people who have gone through a lot in our young history: We have been freed (1957), we have been liberated (1966), redeemed (1972), revolutionised (1979 and 1981) and eventually we have achieved democratic dispensation. This, we believe, Ghanaians are all determined to keep,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr P. K. Acheampong, also says security personnel posted to monitor the elections at the polling stations would not be armed.
He told journalists at a meeting of the National Elections Security Task Force in Accra yesterday that only personnel of the Rapid Deployment Forces would be armed to cater for any eventualities.
He said the security agencies would safeguard the peace and deal with any person who tried to break the law on election day.
Responding to criticisms concerning the political affiliation of some police personnel, Mr Acheampong said the Police Administration did not pander to calls for the transfer of personnel because of allegations of political bias.
He recalled how a list of purported supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the police, which was submitted to him in 1996, while he was Ashanti Regional Police Commander, resurfaced in his office two months ago as sympathisers of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and for which reason they should be transferred.
Some of those persons, he noted, had long retired from the service, while others were deceased.
“We remain focused on our jobs and will not be derailed by some of these comments,” he asserted.
Mr Acheampong urged the political parties and media organisations to concentrate on educating the electorate and their party agents on the rules, regulations and guidelines governing the elections and not spew out lies about security personnel.
The Director of Elections at the EC, Mr Albert Kofi Arhin, said the cleaning of the voters register was an ongoing exercise.
He said a figure might be put out today but it could change the following day.
He said the EC had secured boats and canoes to use on election day in areas where they would be needed in carting election material.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
CEPS sets up anti-corruption unit
Page 3: Daily Graphic, November 26, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) has set up an anti-corruption and professional standards unit to deal with the misconduct of its members of staff in the discharge of their duties.
The unit, known as the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU), is expected to fairly, impartially and thoroughly investigate alleged misconduct of the staff with the view to making CEPS accountable. It is also to contribute to the attainment of its goals and objectives.
It is being established along the US Customs model, which is responsible for ensuring compliance with all customs-wide programmes and policies relating to corruption, misconduct or mismanagement and for executing internal security, integrity and management inspection programmes.
However, the Internal Affairs Unit of CEPS has been attached to the Investigations Department of the service, unlike the US unit which is separated from the Investigations Department.
A source close to the management of CEPS told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the unit would investigate criminal and serious misconduct by CEPS employees, screen potential CEPS employees for suitability, educate employees concerning ethical standards, integrity and responsibilities, evaluate physical security threats to CEPS employees, facilities and sensitive information, as well as inspect customs operations and processes for managerial effectiveness and improvement.
“The Internal Affairs Unit will become the conscience of the service,” it noted, adding that “the unit may also be charged with a variety of secondary objectives that seek to prevent misconduct or unethical behaviour before it begins or before it becomes a serious matter of public concern”.
The source said those proactive functions tended to centre around education, openness, prevention and transformation of any existing negative culture into one of high ethical standard.
It said to ensure that the purpose for which the unit was set up was achieved, the assistant commissioner responsible for the unit would report directly to the Commissioner of CEPS.
The source explained that the head of the unit reporting to the commissioner was a better option, since reporting through other commissioners could result in the dilution of reports, filtration of reports and cutting of budgets.
It explained that the unit was a modern management tool which was used to promote good governance.
According to the source, the setting up of the unit was in line with the motto and vision of CEPS, which was “Patriotism, Honesty and Fairness” and to provide world-class customs service, respectively.
The source said the vision of the unit was to help reduce corruption and promote integrity and professional standards, with its motto as “Excellence with Integrity”.
It said the unit had clearly distinct roles, namely, anti-corruption, allegations of misconduct, breach of ethical standards and review of complaints against employees, such as abuse of office.
The source said the investigations unit would deal with matters of tax evasion, narcotics, stolen vehicles/cargo theft, falsification/forgery of customs documents, management of informants, arrest and detention of suspects and preparation of dockets for prosecution.
It explained that because the cardinal objective of the IAU was to improve standards within CEPS, it would create the platform to also receive commendations regarding officers who had exhibited high professional standards and ethics “and will recommend hardworking officers for promotion and awards”.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) has set up an anti-corruption and professional standards unit to deal with the misconduct of its members of staff in the discharge of their duties.
The unit, known as the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU), is expected to fairly, impartially and thoroughly investigate alleged misconduct of the staff with the view to making CEPS accountable. It is also to contribute to the attainment of its goals and objectives.
It is being established along the US Customs model, which is responsible for ensuring compliance with all customs-wide programmes and policies relating to corruption, misconduct or mismanagement and for executing internal security, integrity and management inspection programmes.
However, the Internal Affairs Unit of CEPS has been attached to the Investigations Department of the service, unlike the US unit which is separated from the Investigations Department.
A source close to the management of CEPS told the Daily Graphic yesterday that the unit would investigate criminal and serious misconduct by CEPS employees, screen potential CEPS employees for suitability, educate employees concerning ethical standards, integrity and responsibilities, evaluate physical security threats to CEPS employees, facilities and sensitive information, as well as inspect customs operations and processes for managerial effectiveness and improvement.
“The Internal Affairs Unit will become the conscience of the service,” it noted, adding that “the unit may also be charged with a variety of secondary objectives that seek to prevent misconduct or unethical behaviour before it begins or before it becomes a serious matter of public concern”.
The source said those proactive functions tended to centre around education, openness, prevention and transformation of any existing negative culture into one of high ethical standard.
It said to ensure that the purpose for which the unit was set up was achieved, the assistant commissioner responsible for the unit would report directly to the Commissioner of CEPS.
The source explained that the head of the unit reporting to the commissioner was a better option, since reporting through other commissioners could result in the dilution of reports, filtration of reports and cutting of budgets.
It explained that the unit was a modern management tool which was used to promote good governance.
According to the source, the setting up of the unit was in line with the motto and vision of CEPS, which was “Patriotism, Honesty and Fairness” and to provide world-class customs service, respectively.
The source said the vision of the unit was to help reduce corruption and promote integrity and professional standards, with its motto as “Excellence with Integrity”.
It said the unit had clearly distinct roles, namely, anti-corruption, allegations of misconduct, breach of ethical standards and review of complaints against employees, such as abuse of office.
The source said the investigations unit would deal with matters of tax evasion, narcotics, stolen vehicles/cargo theft, falsification/forgery of customs documents, management of informants, arrest and detention of suspects and preparation of dockets for prosecution.
It explained that because the cardinal objective of the IAU was to improve standards within CEPS, it would create the platform to also receive commendations regarding officers who had exhibited high professional standards and ethics “and will recommend hardworking officers for promotion and awards”.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Give Ghana's democracy a chance to grow - Prez
Page 24: Daily Graphic, November 24, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
PRESIDENT John Agyekum Kufuor has called on Ghanaians to give the country’s budding democracy a chance to grow by respecting its electoral processes and conducting election campaigns with decorum.
“In fact, crying wolf, trumpeting imaginary electoral malpractice, using offensive and abusive language, wilfully preaching deceit just for winning political power will not be fair and rewarding to Ghana,” he stated.
Such tendencies, he noted, only facilitated traumatising political and ethnic intolerance, thereby polarising the nation’s political structures.
President Kufuor made the call in a speech read on his behalf in Koforidua on Saturday during the celebration of the 130th anniversary of the Akwantukese Festival of the chiefs and people of the New Juaben Traditional area and the 16th anniversary of the installation of Daasebre Oti Boateng as the Paramount Chief of the area.
“I, therefore, appeal, once more, to all political parties and presidential aspirants, as well as their followers, to address themselves to issues that will definitely help the good cause they are endeavouring to achieve in building a peaceful and progressive Ghana as we all want,” he stated.
President Kufuor said every true democrat knew that power was obtained only through the ballot box and that free and fair elections were either won or lost.
According to him, the outcome was the voice and decision of the people which should be respected by all and sundry.
He said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) should never destroy the nation just for political power, saying that was not the trait of the Danquah-Busia tradition.
“As believers in democracy, we are also respecters of its tenets, especially the outcome of elections conducted in an atmosphere of peace and on a level playing field,” he added.
He said the government had absolute confidence in the electoral process, as well as the Electoral Commission, and “shall never resort to undermining its noble cause and hard-earned international reputation”.
He said it would be absurd for anybody to think that the government would turn round and “throw away the water with the baby” to subvert the very fundamental human rights it was seeking to build.
President Kufuor said Ghana was more important than any political party or individual and it should, thus, be rated supreme to all other aspirations, whether personal or political.
According to him, “we must all learn to accept and subscribe to this important national code with love, respect and humility”.
He said he was convinced that Ghanaians, particularly political leaders and their followers, were all peace-loving and would never disrupt the electoral process and urged Ghanaians to be on guard against the few bad nuts in the system.
President Kufuor said the rule of law and good governance were the two major pillars of peace on which democracy thrived to breed the conducive socio-economic environment necessary for meaningful development in any nation.
He urged Ghanaians to co-operate with the EC, the law enforcement agencies, as well as the various local and international election observers.
President Kufuor called on chiefs, religious and opinion leaders to counsel the youth in their societies to comport themselves during the forthcoming elections.
“They should not allow themselves to be deceived or exploited and used by selfish politicians to disturb the peace we are all presently enjoying, especially before, during and after the elections. The youth must bear in mind that they have more at stake in the welfare of Ghana today than anyone else,” he said.
He made it clear that a devastated Ghana would not present any bright future to them.
He said conflicts rather brought pain, agony and deprivation and in many instances destitution, which in most circumstances rendered people refugees overnight.
President Kufuor urged traditional rulers to inspire the youth to aspire to the principle of believing in one nation with a common destiny and not be the perpetrators of any violence with the potential to tear the nation apart by war and rancour, to the enjoyment of grandiose lifestyles by greedy warlords.
In a welcoming address, Daasebre Oti Boateng noted that the Akwantukese Festival was to keep the people united so that they could help build Ghana into a Paradise.
He expressed regret, however, that Ghana was being torn apart by ethnic politics and urged Ghanaians to avoid that and put the national interest above any other consideration.
He reminded chiefs and elders that it was their duty to protect the people and preserve the resources of the country for the youth, children and posterity, stressing, “We must leave this nation a better place for them.”
Daasebre Oti Boateng urged the youth in the New Juaben municipality to comport themselves and promote peace before, during and after the elections so that their future would not be jeopardised by war and conflict.
Story: Albert K. Salia
PRESIDENT John Agyekum Kufuor has called on Ghanaians to give the country’s budding democracy a chance to grow by respecting its electoral processes and conducting election campaigns with decorum.
“In fact, crying wolf, trumpeting imaginary electoral malpractice, using offensive and abusive language, wilfully preaching deceit just for winning political power will not be fair and rewarding to Ghana,” he stated.
Such tendencies, he noted, only facilitated traumatising political and ethnic intolerance, thereby polarising the nation’s political structures.
President Kufuor made the call in a speech read on his behalf in Koforidua on Saturday during the celebration of the 130th anniversary of the Akwantukese Festival of the chiefs and people of the New Juaben Traditional area and the 16th anniversary of the installation of Daasebre Oti Boateng as the Paramount Chief of the area.
“I, therefore, appeal, once more, to all political parties and presidential aspirants, as well as their followers, to address themselves to issues that will definitely help the good cause they are endeavouring to achieve in building a peaceful and progressive Ghana as we all want,” he stated.
President Kufuor said every true democrat knew that power was obtained only through the ballot box and that free and fair elections were either won or lost.
According to him, the outcome was the voice and decision of the people which should be respected by all and sundry.
He said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) should never destroy the nation just for political power, saying that was not the trait of the Danquah-Busia tradition.
“As believers in democracy, we are also respecters of its tenets, especially the outcome of elections conducted in an atmosphere of peace and on a level playing field,” he added.
He said the government had absolute confidence in the electoral process, as well as the Electoral Commission, and “shall never resort to undermining its noble cause and hard-earned international reputation”.
He said it would be absurd for anybody to think that the government would turn round and “throw away the water with the baby” to subvert the very fundamental human rights it was seeking to build.
President Kufuor said Ghana was more important than any political party or individual and it should, thus, be rated supreme to all other aspirations, whether personal or political.
According to him, “we must all learn to accept and subscribe to this important national code with love, respect and humility”.
He said he was convinced that Ghanaians, particularly political leaders and their followers, were all peace-loving and would never disrupt the electoral process and urged Ghanaians to be on guard against the few bad nuts in the system.
President Kufuor said the rule of law and good governance were the two major pillars of peace on which democracy thrived to breed the conducive socio-economic environment necessary for meaningful development in any nation.
He urged Ghanaians to co-operate with the EC, the law enforcement agencies, as well as the various local and international election observers.
President Kufuor called on chiefs, religious and opinion leaders to counsel the youth in their societies to comport themselves during the forthcoming elections.
“They should not allow themselves to be deceived or exploited and used by selfish politicians to disturb the peace we are all presently enjoying, especially before, during and after the elections. The youth must bear in mind that they have more at stake in the welfare of Ghana today than anyone else,” he said.
He made it clear that a devastated Ghana would not present any bright future to them.
He said conflicts rather brought pain, agony and deprivation and in many instances destitution, which in most circumstances rendered people refugees overnight.
President Kufuor urged traditional rulers to inspire the youth to aspire to the principle of believing in one nation with a common destiny and not be the perpetrators of any violence with the potential to tear the nation apart by war and rancour, to the enjoyment of grandiose lifestyles by greedy warlords.
In a welcoming address, Daasebre Oti Boateng noted that the Akwantukese Festival was to keep the people united so that they could help build Ghana into a Paradise.
He expressed regret, however, that Ghana was being torn apart by ethnic politics and urged Ghanaians to avoid that and put the national interest above any other consideration.
He reminded chiefs and elders that it was their duty to protect the people and preserve the resources of the country for the youth, children and posterity, stressing, “We must leave this nation a better place for them.”
Daasebre Oti Boateng urged the youth in the New Juaben municipality to comport themselves and promote peace before, during and after the elections so that their future would not be jeopardised by war and conflict.
Police spot 2 more "explosive" joints
Front Page: Daily Graphic, November 24, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE police have identified two additional warehouses belonging to the woman at the centre of the fire outbreak at Anyaa in Accra.
The two warehouses at Awoshie and Anyaa have both been secured by the police, while efforts are being made to evacuate the fire crackers and other items in them to enhance community safety.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr Samuel Kwesi Ofori, who is the Director of Police Public Affairs, told the Daily Graphic that the new warehouse at Anyaa was different from the one that was razed by fire last week.
He said the woman, Janet Sarba Akani, 40, who is of Ghanaian and Nigerian parentage, was to be put before court today on a charge of importing prohibited items.
The manufacture, possession or carrying of fire crackers, often known as knockout, display shells, artillery shells and ball and canister shells are prohibited under Executive Instrument (EI) 21, which was made on September 9, 1999.
DSP Ofori said other charges in relation to murder or manslaughter and causing bodily harm would be the prerogative of the Attorney-General’s Department after investigations into the matter had been completed.
He said the National Security Co-ordinator, Dr Sam Amoo, had set up an inter-agency committee to investigate the cause of the fire outbreak and also make appropriate recommendations to avert a recurrence.
He said initial investigations had revealed that the items had been imported from China.
He appealed to any person, companies or group of persons in possession of such prohibited items to submit them to the nearest police station.
DSP Ofori entreated community leaders and Ghanaians in general to take interest in issues of public safety and security around them.
He said in that way, they would be in a position to report any suspicious activities around them to the police for immediate action.
Meanwhile, a statement signed by DSP Ofori and issued in Accra last Friday said preliminary findings by the committee indicated that the explosion might have been caused by quantities of Christmas fire crackers filled with gunpowder.
“It is suspected that the items were exposed to a naked light which might have caused the explosion, judging from the fact that there was power outage in the area at the time,” it said.
It said the findings also revealed that the explosions which occurred were so powerful, “not because there was any ammunition in the warehouse but because of the large concentration of the fire crackers”.
The statement said no single bullet or empty shell had been found in the debris so far to suggest the presence of any ammunition.
It said checks by the committee had revealed that the owner of the warehouse dealt in fire crackers and toys.
It, therefore, dismissed allegations by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), which held a press conference on Thursday to demand answers to the fire explosion, that ammunition had been stocked in the warehouse.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE police have identified two additional warehouses belonging to the woman at the centre of the fire outbreak at Anyaa in Accra.
The two warehouses at Awoshie and Anyaa have both been secured by the police, while efforts are being made to evacuate the fire crackers and other items in them to enhance community safety.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr Samuel Kwesi Ofori, who is the Director of Police Public Affairs, told the Daily Graphic that the new warehouse at Anyaa was different from the one that was razed by fire last week.
He said the woman, Janet Sarba Akani, 40, who is of Ghanaian and Nigerian parentage, was to be put before court today on a charge of importing prohibited items.
The manufacture, possession or carrying of fire crackers, often known as knockout, display shells, artillery shells and ball and canister shells are prohibited under Executive Instrument (EI) 21, which was made on September 9, 1999.
DSP Ofori said other charges in relation to murder or manslaughter and causing bodily harm would be the prerogative of the Attorney-General’s Department after investigations into the matter had been completed.
He said the National Security Co-ordinator, Dr Sam Amoo, had set up an inter-agency committee to investigate the cause of the fire outbreak and also make appropriate recommendations to avert a recurrence.
He said initial investigations had revealed that the items had been imported from China.
He appealed to any person, companies or group of persons in possession of such prohibited items to submit them to the nearest police station.
DSP Ofori entreated community leaders and Ghanaians in general to take interest in issues of public safety and security around them.
He said in that way, they would be in a position to report any suspicious activities around them to the police for immediate action.
Meanwhile, a statement signed by DSP Ofori and issued in Accra last Friday said preliminary findings by the committee indicated that the explosion might have been caused by quantities of Christmas fire crackers filled with gunpowder.
“It is suspected that the items were exposed to a naked light which might have caused the explosion, judging from the fact that there was power outage in the area at the time,” it said.
It said the findings also revealed that the explosions which occurred were so powerful, “not because there was any ammunition in the warehouse but because of the large concentration of the fire crackers”.
The statement said no single bullet or empty shell had been found in the debris so far to suggest the presence of any ammunition.
It said checks by the committee had revealed that the owner of the warehouse dealt in fire crackers and toys.
It, therefore, dismissed allegations by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), which held a press conference on Thursday to demand answers to the fire explosion, that ammunition had been stocked in the warehouse.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Police get more vehicles to boost operations
Page 48: Daily Graphic, November 21, 2008
Story & Picture: Albert K. Salia
THE Ghana Police Service has taken delivery of 70 Nissan double-cabin pick-ups to beef up its operations.
The vehicles, which were provided by the government, are all fitted with light bars and radio communication equipment.
The Director of Transport of the Ghana Police Service, Superintendent Felix Fosu-Agyeman, and the officer in charge of Repairs at the Service Workshop, Supt Emmanuel Gali, disclosed this when they conducted the Daily Graphic round some of the vehicles yesterday.
Supt Fosu-Agyeman said the vehicles had already been distributed to the various regions and districts based on their operational needs.
He described the supply of the vehicles as timely, in view of the forthcoming general election.
According to him, the vehicles would strengthen the fleet available for both normal patrols and election monitoring activities.
Story & Picture: Albert K. Salia
THE Ghana Police Service has taken delivery of 70 Nissan double-cabin pick-ups to beef up its operations.
The vehicles, which were provided by the government, are all fitted with light bars and radio communication equipment.
The Director of Transport of the Ghana Police Service, Superintendent Felix Fosu-Agyeman, and the officer in charge of Repairs at the Service Workshop, Supt Emmanuel Gali, disclosed this when they conducted the Daily Graphic round some of the vehicles yesterday.
Supt Fosu-Agyeman said the vehicles had already been distributed to the various regions and districts based on their operational needs.
He described the supply of the vehicles as timely, in view of the forthcoming general election.
According to him, the vehicles would strengthen the fleet available for both normal patrols and election monitoring activities.
Talk of election tension and chaos - IT'S MEDIA HYPE* IGP declares
Front Page: Daily Graphic, November 21, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Chairman of the National Elections Security Task Force (NESTF), Mr P. K. Acheampong, has described the perception of tension and chaos surrounding the electioneering and the December elections as a creation of the media and some persons which did not reflect the situation on the ground.
Mr Acheampong, who is also the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) told the Daily Graphic that in spite of the hullabaloo being linked to the conduct of the campaigns and elections, indications from the regions were good.
He noted with satisfaction that apart from the unfortunate clashes in Berekum, Gushiegu and Agbogbloshie, a high level of tranquillity has characterised the electioneering of all the presidential candidates.
But he pointed out that the fact that the people involved in the disturbances at Gushiegu, Tamale, Agbogbloshie and Berekum were being prosecuted must be a signal to all the political players and potential trouble-makers that the security agencies were on top of the issues and would spare no one.
He said even in those incidents, the stakeholders, including the political parties, met the security agencies in their respective jurisdictions to resolve their differences.
Mr Acheampong said by its assessment, 95 per cent of the campaigns had been incident-free, particularly those involving the presidential candidates.
The IGP said in spite of the peace and tranquillity prevailing in the country vis-à-vis the electioneering, the security agencies were ready to deal with any problem that might arise in the course of the conduct or after the elections.
He said the preparedness of the security agencies was witnessed in the “excellent national simulation exercise conducted on November 16 and 18, 2008”.
He said the regional commanders would meet in Accra next week to review the operations and put finishing touches to the preparations for the elections.
He said at the regional commanders’ meeting, the security chiefs would discuss how the various regions could co-operate on elections day and thereafter.
That, he said, was necessary because the security situation in some regions or areas was not as serious as others.
According to him, the security personnel to monitor and maintain law and order during the elections would be deployed by December 5, 2008, three days after they had cast their vote in the special voting on December 2.
Mr Acheampong assured the electorate and Ghanaians in general that the security agencies were on top of security issues and they should, therefore, remain calm.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Chairman of the National Elections Security Task Force (NESTF), Mr P. K. Acheampong, has described the perception of tension and chaos surrounding the electioneering and the December elections as a creation of the media and some persons which did not reflect the situation on the ground.
Mr Acheampong, who is also the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) told the Daily Graphic that in spite of the hullabaloo being linked to the conduct of the campaigns and elections, indications from the regions were good.
He noted with satisfaction that apart from the unfortunate clashes in Berekum, Gushiegu and Agbogbloshie, a high level of tranquillity has characterised the electioneering of all the presidential candidates.
But he pointed out that the fact that the people involved in the disturbances at Gushiegu, Tamale, Agbogbloshie and Berekum were being prosecuted must be a signal to all the political players and potential trouble-makers that the security agencies were on top of the issues and would spare no one.
He said even in those incidents, the stakeholders, including the political parties, met the security agencies in their respective jurisdictions to resolve their differences.
Mr Acheampong said by its assessment, 95 per cent of the campaigns had been incident-free, particularly those involving the presidential candidates.
The IGP said in spite of the peace and tranquillity prevailing in the country vis-à-vis the electioneering, the security agencies were ready to deal with any problem that might arise in the course of the conduct or after the elections.
He said the preparedness of the security agencies was witnessed in the “excellent national simulation exercise conducted on November 16 and 18, 2008”.
He said the regional commanders would meet in Accra next week to review the operations and put finishing touches to the preparations for the elections.
He said at the regional commanders’ meeting, the security chiefs would discuss how the various regions could co-operate on elections day and thereafter.
That, he said, was necessary because the security situation in some regions or areas was not as serious as others.
According to him, the security personnel to monitor and maintain law and order during the elections would be deployed by December 5, 2008, three days after they had cast their vote in the special voting on December 2.
Mr Acheampong assured the electorate and Ghanaians in general that the security agencies were on top of security issues and they should, therefore, remain calm.
Anyaa fire: Two more die
Page 54: Daily Graphic, November 20, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
TWO more persons have died from the explosion that occurred at a warehouse at Ablekuma NIC in the Ga West District on Monday.
That brings to seven the number of persons who died in the incident, some of whom, including a mother and her baby, were burnt beyond recognition.
The latest deaths occurred at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital yesterday and the dead have been identified as Ali Bature and Joseph Nii Boye.
Six other persons are still on admission at Korle-Bu and the 37 Military Hospital.
They are Beatrice Normenyo and Stephen Ahiale, who are at Korle-Bu, Andrews Quao, three; Patricia Larbie, three; Dora Quao, 35, and Grace Quao, said to be in her 30s, all at the 37 Military Hospital.
Meanwhile, the owner of the warehouse, whose name is being withheld for security reasons, surrendered herself to the police yesterday.
The Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP James Oppong-Buanuh, told the Daily Graphic that the woman had been granted police enquiry bail after she had written her statement and been interrogated by the police.
On whether the excavation team was able to rescue any person or found more bodies under the rubble, he answered in the negative.
DCOP Oppong-Buanuh said those who died earlier in the inferno were yet to be identified.
Fire razed the warehouse on Monday evening at a time some workers were said to be offloading some goods into it.
It took personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service several hours to bring the fire under control.
Story: Albert K. Salia
TWO more persons have died from the explosion that occurred at a warehouse at Ablekuma NIC in the Ga West District on Monday.
That brings to seven the number of persons who died in the incident, some of whom, including a mother and her baby, were burnt beyond recognition.
The latest deaths occurred at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital yesterday and the dead have been identified as Ali Bature and Joseph Nii Boye.
Six other persons are still on admission at Korle-Bu and the 37 Military Hospital.
They are Beatrice Normenyo and Stephen Ahiale, who are at Korle-Bu, Andrews Quao, three; Patricia Larbie, three; Dora Quao, 35, and Grace Quao, said to be in her 30s, all at the 37 Military Hospital.
Meanwhile, the owner of the warehouse, whose name is being withheld for security reasons, surrendered herself to the police yesterday.
The Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP James Oppong-Buanuh, told the Daily Graphic that the woman had been granted police enquiry bail after she had written her statement and been interrogated by the police.
On whether the excavation team was able to rescue any person or found more bodies under the rubble, he answered in the negative.
DCOP Oppong-Buanuh said those who died earlier in the inferno were yet to be identified.
Fire razed the warehouse on Monday evening at a time some workers were said to be offloading some goods into it.
It took personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service several hours to bring the fire under control.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
18 companies to undertake testing of vehicles for DVLA
Page 31: Daily Graphic, November 19, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE management of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) has authorised 18 companies to undertake vehicle testing on its behalf.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra the acting Chief Executive of the DVLA, Mrs Mabel Sagoe, and the Director of Vehicle Inspection and Registration, Mr George Ackom, explained that seeding out of the vehicle testing duties of the DVLA would enhance its other regulatory roles, including establishment of standards and methodology for training as well as licensing of drivers.
They said the authority was awaiting government approval on the testing fees to be charged by the 18 companies, and denied that the offloading of the vehicle testing functions of the authority constituted a sell-out of the authority. They argued that it was in line with the provisions of the law establishing the authority which could be accessed by members of the public.
Section 3 (j) of the DVLA Act, Act 569, gives the authority the mandate to “license and regulate private garages to undertake vehicle testing”.
The acting chief executive wondered why Parliament would make such a provision for the licensing of private garages to undertake vehicle testing if it was not in the national interest.
Mrs Sagoe said what the DVLA currently did was visual inspection which did not augur well for road safety.
She said under such circumstances it was difficult for vehicle inspectors to know the state of a particular vehicle and also gave them power to fail or pass vehicles without any scientific basis.
She said some vehicle owners even refused to send their vehicles for the visual inspection and paid something extra which often went into the pockets of middlemen.
Mrs Sagoe said with the seeding out of the vehicle testing to private garages, the activities of the middlemen would be eliminated while car owners would be compelled to send their vehicles for testing.
She said the selected private garages were fully equipped with state of the art facilities to ensure that road safety standards were met.
She denied any secret meetings or clandestine moves between the authority and private garages.
According to her, advertisements were made in the media requesting for the expression of interest following which a number of companies applied.
She said the authority also held stakeholder consultations with road users, including road unions, to set the standards for the private garages.
Mrs Sagoe said the regional and district directors of the DVLA were also in the known about the proposed seeding out of the vehicle testing functions of the DVLA.
“The issue is not new because the process started under the leadership of the immediate past Chief Executive, Mr Joe Osei-Owusu, and staff were duly informed at staff durbars. The October 7, 2008 meeting was to inform the staff that the roll-out plan was almost ready,” she said, adding that there had not been any secret meetings or clandestine moves.
Mrs Sagoe said the DVLA was a regulator and could only regulate if some of those functions were seeded out.
“It is also untrue that the staff of the vehicle section would lose their jobs. No staff would lose his/her job because the DVLA was already overwhelmed with other functions such as licensing of drivers, training and testing of driving instructors which would also require more hands to satisfy our clients,” she said.
Mrs Sagoe said the private garages would only charge testing fees which would be fixed by the government to avoid arbitrariness.
She said the private garages would be linked to the DVLA via the internet to ensure sanity and transparency in the vehicle testing process by the private garages so that after each testing, the DVLA would know which vehicle passed the test before a road user certificate would be issued to them.
For his part, Mr Ackom explained that the introduction of the private garages would also decongest vehicle testing centres and also halt the situation where all vehicles had to be taken to the DVLA offices.
According to Mr Ackom five of the private garages which have been given the authorisation to undertake the vehicle testing are based in Accra while the rest are spread across the country. He said other applications were still being processed.
He said Bivac International Ghana Ltd, located at Amasaman, Vito (S-Class Services Ltd) located at Dome, SPC Engineering & Transport Services at Weija, Intercity STC Coaches Ltd at the Light Industrial Area and Ben-Sam Auto Services at Oyibi were those given initial authorisation in Accra.
Mr Ackom said five others, Car Test Ltd, IT Recycle Ltd, Auto Parts, Road Safety Ltd and Koffson Inspection Ltd, were authorised in Tema to undertake the vehicle testing when Cabinet approves the take off of the project.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE management of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) has authorised 18 companies to undertake vehicle testing on its behalf.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra the acting Chief Executive of the DVLA, Mrs Mabel Sagoe, and the Director of Vehicle Inspection and Registration, Mr George Ackom, explained that seeding out of the vehicle testing duties of the DVLA would enhance its other regulatory roles, including establishment of standards and methodology for training as well as licensing of drivers.
They said the authority was awaiting government approval on the testing fees to be charged by the 18 companies, and denied that the offloading of the vehicle testing functions of the authority constituted a sell-out of the authority. They argued that it was in line with the provisions of the law establishing the authority which could be accessed by members of the public.
Section 3 (j) of the DVLA Act, Act 569, gives the authority the mandate to “license and regulate private garages to undertake vehicle testing”.
The acting chief executive wondered why Parliament would make such a provision for the licensing of private garages to undertake vehicle testing if it was not in the national interest.
Mrs Sagoe said what the DVLA currently did was visual inspection which did not augur well for road safety.
She said under such circumstances it was difficult for vehicle inspectors to know the state of a particular vehicle and also gave them power to fail or pass vehicles without any scientific basis.
She said some vehicle owners even refused to send their vehicles for the visual inspection and paid something extra which often went into the pockets of middlemen.
Mrs Sagoe said with the seeding out of the vehicle testing to private garages, the activities of the middlemen would be eliminated while car owners would be compelled to send their vehicles for testing.
She said the selected private garages were fully equipped with state of the art facilities to ensure that road safety standards were met.
She denied any secret meetings or clandestine moves between the authority and private garages.
According to her, advertisements were made in the media requesting for the expression of interest following which a number of companies applied.
She said the authority also held stakeholder consultations with road users, including road unions, to set the standards for the private garages.
Mrs Sagoe said the regional and district directors of the DVLA were also in the known about the proposed seeding out of the vehicle testing functions of the DVLA.
“The issue is not new because the process started under the leadership of the immediate past Chief Executive, Mr Joe Osei-Owusu, and staff were duly informed at staff durbars. The October 7, 2008 meeting was to inform the staff that the roll-out plan was almost ready,” she said, adding that there had not been any secret meetings or clandestine moves.
Mrs Sagoe said the DVLA was a regulator and could only regulate if some of those functions were seeded out.
“It is also untrue that the staff of the vehicle section would lose their jobs. No staff would lose his/her job because the DVLA was already overwhelmed with other functions such as licensing of drivers, training and testing of driving instructors which would also require more hands to satisfy our clients,” she said.
Mrs Sagoe said the private garages would only charge testing fees which would be fixed by the government to avoid arbitrariness.
She said the private garages would be linked to the DVLA via the internet to ensure sanity and transparency in the vehicle testing process by the private garages so that after each testing, the DVLA would know which vehicle passed the test before a road user certificate would be issued to them.
For his part, Mr Ackom explained that the introduction of the private garages would also decongest vehicle testing centres and also halt the situation where all vehicles had to be taken to the DVLA offices.
According to Mr Ackom five of the private garages which have been given the authorisation to undertake the vehicle testing are based in Accra while the rest are spread across the country. He said other applications were still being processed.
He said Bivac International Ghana Ltd, located at Amasaman, Vito (S-Class Services Ltd) located at Dome, SPC Engineering & Transport Services at Weija, Intercity STC Coaches Ltd at the Light Industrial Area and Ben-Sam Auto Services at Oyibi were those given initial authorisation in Accra.
Mr Ackom said five others, Car Test Ltd, IT Recycle Ltd, Auto Parts, Road Safety Ltd and Koffson Inspection Ltd, were authorised in Tema to undertake the vehicle testing when Cabinet approves the take off of the project.
Court issues warrant for arrest of MD
Pages 24/25: Daily Graphic, November 19, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
AN ACCRA Circuit Court has issued a warrant for the arrest of the Managing Director of Kae-Mebre Company, a road construction firm, Justice Kwasi Larbie.
He is alleged to have defrauded a businessman of GH¢157,806 on the pretext of supplying him with road construction equipment.
His accountant, Asamoah Agyapong, 42, is currently on bail after he was charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and defrauding by false pretences.
The court, presided by Mrs Ivy Heward-Mills, granted bail with two sureties with one to be justified.
The Nima Divisional Crime Officer, Deputy Supt of Police (DSP) Kwaku Duah, told the Daily Graphic that Agyapong was arrested on October 31, 2008 and was granted bail by the court on November 12, 2008 after almost six months search for him and his boss, Larbie.
According to him, Larbie introduced himself as an agent of Taisei Corporation of Japan, the company that constructed the Mallam-Cape Coast road.
He said Larbie said Taisei had asked him to sell off some of the equipment used in the construction work.
DSP Duah said the suspect took his victim to Mankessim, where the items were kept for disposal.
He said the victim became convinced on seeing the items and expressed interest in some of them.
He said Larbie, however, informed his victim that under the sales terms, the buyer was to pay the full cost of the equipment chosen before it was handed over to him or her.
DSP Duah said based on that, the victim paid GH¢157,806 to Larbie for the equipment to be supplied.
He said months after payments were made Larbie failed to supply the equipment.
He said out of frustration, the victim contacted Taisei Corporation for the equipment to be supplied.
DSP Duah said Taisei Corporation indicated that the company had already supplied the equipment to Larbie.
He said the victim was also informed that the equipment list he provided to Taisei Corporation was not what Larbie had paid for.
He said since then efforts to contact Larbie, who is dark in complexion and has a tribal mark on his right chin, had proved futile.
DSP Duah said the suspect was believed to be hiding in the Western Region and appealed to any member of the public who knew his whereabouts to contact the Nima Divisional Crime Office or the nearest police station.
Story: Albert K. Salia
AN ACCRA Circuit Court has issued a warrant for the arrest of the Managing Director of Kae-Mebre Company, a road construction firm, Justice Kwasi Larbie.
He is alleged to have defrauded a businessman of GH¢157,806 on the pretext of supplying him with road construction equipment.
His accountant, Asamoah Agyapong, 42, is currently on bail after he was charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and defrauding by false pretences.
The court, presided by Mrs Ivy Heward-Mills, granted bail with two sureties with one to be justified.
The Nima Divisional Crime Officer, Deputy Supt of Police (DSP) Kwaku Duah, told the Daily Graphic that Agyapong was arrested on October 31, 2008 and was granted bail by the court on November 12, 2008 after almost six months search for him and his boss, Larbie.
According to him, Larbie introduced himself as an agent of Taisei Corporation of Japan, the company that constructed the Mallam-Cape Coast road.
He said Larbie said Taisei had asked him to sell off some of the equipment used in the construction work.
DSP Duah said the suspect took his victim to Mankessim, where the items were kept for disposal.
He said the victim became convinced on seeing the items and expressed interest in some of them.
He said Larbie, however, informed his victim that under the sales terms, the buyer was to pay the full cost of the equipment chosen before it was handed over to him or her.
DSP Duah said based on that, the victim paid GH¢157,806 to Larbie for the equipment to be supplied.
He said months after payments were made Larbie failed to supply the equipment.
He said out of frustration, the victim contacted Taisei Corporation for the equipment to be supplied.
DSP Duah said Taisei Corporation indicated that the company had already supplied the equipment to Larbie.
He said the victim was also informed that the equipment list he provided to Taisei Corporation was not what Larbie had paid for.
He said since then efforts to contact Larbie, who is dark in complexion and has a tribal mark on his right chin, had proved futile.
DSP Duah said the suspect was believed to be hiding in the Western Region and appealed to any member of the public who knew his whereabouts to contact the Nima Divisional Crime Office or the nearest police station.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Eleven grabbed over illegal ivory trade
Front Page: Daily Graphic, November 18, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
ELEVEN people suspected to be members of an African network of illegal dealers in ivory and crocodile skin products have been rounded up at the Accra Arts Centre.
In a special operation co-ordinated in five other countries by the International Police Organisation (INTERPOL), almost 500 kilogrammes of ivory and ivory products, as well as large quantities of crocodile skin bags worth US$350,000, was seized in Accra alone.
The operation was code-named ‘Operation Baba’ in honour of the late Gilbert Baba, a Ghana Wildlife ranger who was killed by illegal wildlife dealers at the Mole National Park a decade ago.
The suspects are Tahiru Haruna, 29; Mohammed Kabiru, 29; Rose Mensah Akuoko, 25; Atta Issah, 30; Razak Tahiru, 18, and Benjamin Yakubu, 45.
The rest are Garba Ibrahim, 55; Musah Ali, 40; Jibril Alhassan, 27; Yakubu Osman, 28, and Sumaila Alhassan, 63.
The Accra South District Commander, ASP Albert Fii Ochil, told newsmen that under the Ghana Wildlife Conservation Regulations, Legislative Instrument 685, 1971, it was an offence to hunt, kill or possess any ivory or ivory product, crocodile skin and its products, among others, without permission from the Wildlife Department under the Forestry Commission.
He explained that based on the input of INTERPOL, which was co-ordinated by Mr Harry Solinger, a team of policemen, led by Chief Supt C. T. Yohunu, and some members of staff of the Wildlife Division embarked on the exercise at the Accra Arts Centre on Saturday.
He said the suspects claimed that the products had been brought to them already carved for sale by their agents in Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Benin, Cameroun, Togo and Gabon.
ASP Ochil, who is also the head of the Parliamentary Protection Unit, said the suspects were being processed for court, while the seized items were to be sent to the Police Forensic Laboratory for further examination.
The Executive Director of the Wildlife Division, Nana Kofi Adu-Nsiah, said Ghana had witnessed a very sharp decline in its elephant population and was the first country to propose a total ban on the ivory trade as a measure to conserve elephants.
He said Ghana was, therefore, happy to be part of the international effort to conserve African elephants, more so when ‘Operation Baba’ was in memory of one of Ghana’s dedicated officers, Gilbert Baba, who used to work at the Mole National Park.
“The co-operative effort between the police and the Wildlife Division is very much appreciated and it is our strong conviction that it is only with such efforts that we can enforce laws for the sustainable management of our natural resources,” he said.
Nana Adu-Nsiah said the exercise took place simultaneously in Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and Zambia.
He said the Secretary-General of INTERPOL, Mr Ronald K. Noble, had underlined the need for an international perspective in fighting such crimes.
Story: Albert K. Salia
ELEVEN people suspected to be members of an African network of illegal dealers in ivory and crocodile skin products have been rounded up at the Accra Arts Centre.
In a special operation co-ordinated in five other countries by the International Police Organisation (INTERPOL), almost 500 kilogrammes of ivory and ivory products, as well as large quantities of crocodile skin bags worth US$350,000, was seized in Accra alone.
The operation was code-named ‘Operation Baba’ in honour of the late Gilbert Baba, a Ghana Wildlife ranger who was killed by illegal wildlife dealers at the Mole National Park a decade ago.
The suspects are Tahiru Haruna, 29; Mohammed Kabiru, 29; Rose Mensah Akuoko, 25; Atta Issah, 30; Razak Tahiru, 18, and Benjamin Yakubu, 45.
The rest are Garba Ibrahim, 55; Musah Ali, 40; Jibril Alhassan, 27; Yakubu Osman, 28, and Sumaila Alhassan, 63.
The Accra South District Commander, ASP Albert Fii Ochil, told newsmen that under the Ghana Wildlife Conservation Regulations, Legislative Instrument 685, 1971, it was an offence to hunt, kill or possess any ivory or ivory product, crocodile skin and its products, among others, without permission from the Wildlife Department under the Forestry Commission.
He explained that based on the input of INTERPOL, which was co-ordinated by Mr Harry Solinger, a team of policemen, led by Chief Supt C. T. Yohunu, and some members of staff of the Wildlife Division embarked on the exercise at the Accra Arts Centre on Saturday.
He said the suspects claimed that the products had been brought to them already carved for sale by their agents in Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Benin, Cameroun, Togo and Gabon.
ASP Ochil, who is also the head of the Parliamentary Protection Unit, said the suspects were being processed for court, while the seized items were to be sent to the Police Forensic Laboratory for further examination.
The Executive Director of the Wildlife Division, Nana Kofi Adu-Nsiah, said Ghana had witnessed a very sharp decline in its elephant population and was the first country to propose a total ban on the ivory trade as a measure to conserve elephants.
He said Ghana was, therefore, happy to be part of the international effort to conserve African elephants, more so when ‘Operation Baba’ was in memory of one of Ghana’s dedicated officers, Gilbert Baba, who used to work at the Mole National Park.
“The co-operative effort between the police and the Wildlife Division is very much appreciated and it is our strong conviction that it is only with such efforts that we can enforce laws for the sustainable management of our natural resources,” he said.
Nana Adu-Nsiah said the exercise took place simultaneously in Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and Zambia.
He said the Secretary-General of INTERPOL, Mr Ronald K. Noble, had underlined the need for an international perspective in fighting such crimes.
Kufuor's achievements far exceed failures - Boahen
Page 47: Daily Graphic, November 17, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Minister of State at the Interior Ministry, Nana Obiri Boahen, says the achievements of the Kufuor administration far exceed its failures.
"I agree that as human beings, we have had our shortcomings in government. However, the achievements chalked up far exceed our failures. I am convinced that there is still room for improvement," he said.
Nana Boahen stated that when he addressed Ghanaian residents in Praia, Cape Verde, after attending the ECOWAS Ministerial Conference on Illicit Drug Trafficking as a security threat to West Africa in that country.
The minister, who had since returned home, noted that Ghanaians abroad, who had recently visited home, would attest to the massive development projects going on.
"Without the slightest reservations, I can say that no government, since 1972, has been able to perform creditably well as the present government has done," he said.
Touching on elections, Nana Boahen said the government had no intention whatsoever of rigging the elections, but "will create a conducive atmosphere for free, fair and credible elections that must be accepted by all".
He said apart from the hue and cry that the government would rig the elections, it was the threat of an eruption of war by what he called "prophets of doom". ???? Not clear.
Nana Boahen gave the assurance that the government would not shirk its responsibility for the maintenance of law and order.
He said the government has also put in place security plans to deal appropriately with anybody or a group of persons who would want to subvert the democratic process embarked upon since 1992.
"The elections would be peaceful and it will interest you all to note that observers are coming from across the world. Ghana is seen as a beacon of hope for the entire continent and we cannot sacrifice this because of power," he stated.
Nana Boahen said all that the government and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) wanted was the mandate of the people to lead Ghana into the middle-income status by 2015," he said.
According to him, the Kufuor administration had laid a sound economic foundation for a take-off, and assured them that the proceeds from the oil find would be used for industrialisation to create more jobs.
He said the government had created a congenial and conducive environment for investment and, therefore, urged them to encourage genuine, law-abiding and proper investors to invest in Ghana.
Nana Boahen advised them not to engage in the drug business, either as couriers or sellers, since the law would not spare them when caught.
He told them that ECOWAS leaders were determined to go all out to fight the drug menace and would not spare anyone caught in the illicit trade.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Minister of State at the Interior Ministry, Nana Obiri Boahen, says the achievements of the Kufuor administration far exceed its failures.
"I agree that as human beings, we have had our shortcomings in government. However, the achievements chalked up far exceed our failures. I am convinced that there is still room for improvement," he said.
Nana Boahen stated that when he addressed Ghanaian residents in Praia, Cape Verde, after attending the ECOWAS Ministerial Conference on Illicit Drug Trafficking as a security threat to West Africa in that country.
The minister, who had since returned home, noted that Ghanaians abroad, who had recently visited home, would attest to the massive development projects going on.
"Without the slightest reservations, I can say that no government, since 1972, has been able to perform creditably well as the present government has done," he said.
Touching on elections, Nana Boahen said the government had no intention whatsoever of rigging the elections, but "will create a conducive atmosphere for free, fair and credible elections that must be accepted by all".
He said apart from the hue and cry that the government would rig the elections, it was the threat of an eruption of war by what he called "prophets of doom". ???? Not clear.
Nana Boahen gave the assurance that the government would not shirk its responsibility for the maintenance of law and order.
He said the government has also put in place security plans to deal appropriately with anybody or a group of persons who would want to subvert the democratic process embarked upon since 1992.
"The elections would be peaceful and it will interest you all to note that observers are coming from across the world. Ghana is seen as a beacon of hope for the entire continent and we cannot sacrifice this because of power," he stated.
Nana Boahen said all that the government and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) wanted was the mandate of the people to lead Ghana into the middle-income status by 2015," he said.
According to him, the Kufuor administration had laid a sound economic foundation for a take-off, and assured them that the proceeds from the oil find would be used for industrialisation to create more jobs.
He said the government had created a congenial and conducive environment for investment and, therefore, urged them to encourage genuine, law-abiding and proper investors to invest in Ghana.
Nana Boahen advised them not to engage in the drug business, either as couriers or sellers, since the law would not spare them when caught.
He told them that ECOWAS leaders were determined to go all out to fight the drug menace and would not spare anyone caught in the illicit trade.
Testing readiness of Task Force for Dec 7 polls - 2-DAY MOCK DRILL * to rock country
Front Page: Daily Graphic, November 15, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE National Election Security Task Force has dedicated tomorrow and Monday to the creation of mock election and crisis situations in designated areas nation-wide, to rehearse appropriate responses for peace to prevail during the December 7 polls.
The exercise, code-named “Exercise Peace Angel”, is to test the preparedness and capability of the security agencies in handling polls-related crises during the forthcoming elections.
A statement signed by the National Security Co-ordinator, Dr Sam G. Amoo, explained that the aim of the exercise was to synchronise operational plans and procedures and rehearse in a bid to integrate the various functions of security groups, task forces and agencies.
It appealed for public support and co-operation in the exercise, which will subsequently be replicated in the regions and districts.
It said the public might, therefore, see uniformed members of security services conducting scenarios as part of the training programme.
“We would want to assure the public that this is part of our resolve to ensure a peaceful election, by creating a congenial atmosphere for voters to exercise their right to vote,” it said.
The statement expressed regret about any inconvenience the training programmes might cause.
In the Greater Accra Region, a regional simulation exercise will take place in two constituencies tomorrow.
The constituencies are the Korley-Clottey and Okaikoi North and will involve selected polling stations in those constituencies, as well as the Achimota Forest between 6am and 6pm.
The communities in which the exercises will take place are the Cocoa Clinic, Global Revival Church, the Bubiashie Antioch Academy, Kaneshie Church of Pentecost, Kaneshie One and Two Primary, all in the Okaikoi North Constituency, the Osu Chief’s Palace polling stations one and two, the Osu Cinema Hall and the Osu District Education Centre, all in the Korley-Clottey Constituency and the Achimota Forest.
The Accra Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) James Oppong-Buanuh, told the Daily Graphic that journalists would be part of the 12-hour exercise to reassure the general public of the openness and transparency of the exercises.
In that way, he said, the journalists would have adequate information with which to educate the public on security arrangements for the elections and help erase any doubts in the minds of the public.
DCOP Oppong-Buanuh appealed to residents of the affected communities to remain calm and go about their daily activities as usual.
“We want the people to have a feeling of what to expect on the election day in case of any trouble anywhere,” he stated.
DCOP Oppong-Buanuh, who is also the chairman of the Greater Accra Regional Elections Security Task Force, said the simulation exercise and the security arrangements for the elections were not to intimidate any individual, group or political party.
He said the task force had identified all the flash points in the regions and mapped out adequate arrangements to deal with any troubles there.
He, however, pointed out that the security arrangements were not for the flash points only but also all the electoral centres.
According to him, one person could turn an otherwise peaceful and calm electoral centre into a trouble zone, hence the need to prepare for all the electoral centres.
DCOP Oppong-Buanuh said more than 1,000 security personnel would be deployed throughout the region on the election day and thereafter to restore law and order in places where lawlessness might break out mainly due to electoral disputes and jubilation of victors.
Explaining the rationale behind the exercises, Dr Amoo gave the assurance that the security agencies were fully prepared to maintain total security during the elections to enable the Electoral Commission to conduct the polls in a free and peaceful atmosphere.
He noted that it was rather unfortunate that certain personalities often referred to the sad events in Kenya and Zimbabwe as possible repercussions should the election results not favour their political parties.
Dr Amoo called on Ghanaians to have the belief that the December 7 polls will lead to the consolidation of democratic governance and serve as a model for the rest of the countries in the sub-region, some of which have experienced violence and even civil wars.
He urged Ghanaians not to see the elections as a war but just a regular contest for the leadership of the country adding that “it will be done in a peaceful manner”.
Dr Amoo expressed regret at the frequent reference to the elections by social commentators as a period when Ghana would experience an armagadom and charged Ghanaians to look at the polls as normal experiences in the life of any democratic society.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE National Election Security Task Force has dedicated tomorrow and Monday to the creation of mock election and crisis situations in designated areas nation-wide, to rehearse appropriate responses for peace to prevail during the December 7 polls.
The exercise, code-named “Exercise Peace Angel”, is to test the preparedness and capability of the security agencies in handling polls-related crises during the forthcoming elections.
A statement signed by the National Security Co-ordinator, Dr Sam G. Amoo, explained that the aim of the exercise was to synchronise operational plans and procedures and rehearse in a bid to integrate the various functions of security groups, task forces and agencies.
It appealed for public support and co-operation in the exercise, which will subsequently be replicated in the regions and districts.
It said the public might, therefore, see uniformed members of security services conducting scenarios as part of the training programme.
“We would want to assure the public that this is part of our resolve to ensure a peaceful election, by creating a congenial atmosphere for voters to exercise their right to vote,” it said.
The statement expressed regret about any inconvenience the training programmes might cause.
In the Greater Accra Region, a regional simulation exercise will take place in two constituencies tomorrow.
The constituencies are the Korley-Clottey and Okaikoi North and will involve selected polling stations in those constituencies, as well as the Achimota Forest between 6am and 6pm.
The communities in which the exercises will take place are the Cocoa Clinic, Global Revival Church, the Bubiashie Antioch Academy, Kaneshie Church of Pentecost, Kaneshie One and Two Primary, all in the Okaikoi North Constituency, the Osu Chief’s Palace polling stations one and two, the Osu Cinema Hall and the Osu District Education Centre, all in the Korley-Clottey Constituency and the Achimota Forest.
The Accra Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) James Oppong-Buanuh, told the Daily Graphic that journalists would be part of the 12-hour exercise to reassure the general public of the openness and transparency of the exercises.
In that way, he said, the journalists would have adequate information with which to educate the public on security arrangements for the elections and help erase any doubts in the minds of the public.
DCOP Oppong-Buanuh appealed to residents of the affected communities to remain calm and go about their daily activities as usual.
“We want the people to have a feeling of what to expect on the election day in case of any trouble anywhere,” he stated.
DCOP Oppong-Buanuh, who is also the chairman of the Greater Accra Regional Elections Security Task Force, said the simulation exercise and the security arrangements for the elections were not to intimidate any individual, group or political party.
He said the task force had identified all the flash points in the regions and mapped out adequate arrangements to deal with any troubles there.
He, however, pointed out that the security arrangements were not for the flash points only but also all the electoral centres.
According to him, one person could turn an otherwise peaceful and calm electoral centre into a trouble zone, hence the need to prepare for all the electoral centres.
DCOP Oppong-Buanuh said more than 1,000 security personnel would be deployed throughout the region on the election day and thereafter to restore law and order in places where lawlessness might break out mainly due to electoral disputes and jubilation of victors.
Explaining the rationale behind the exercises, Dr Amoo gave the assurance that the security agencies were fully prepared to maintain total security during the elections to enable the Electoral Commission to conduct the polls in a free and peaceful atmosphere.
He noted that it was rather unfortunate that certain personalities often referred to the sad events in Kenya and Zimbabwe as possible repercussions should the election results not favour their political parties.
Dr Amoo called on Ghanaians to have the belief that the December 7 polls will lead to the consolidation of democratic governance and serve as a model for the rest of the countries in the sub-region, some of which have experienced violence and even civil wars.
He urged Ghanaians not to see the elections as a war but just a regular contest for the leadership of the country adding that “it will be done in a peaceful manner”.
Dr Amoo expressed regret at the frequent reference to the elections by social commentators as a period when Ghana would experience an armagadom and charged Ghanaians to look at the polls as normal experiences in the life of any democratic society.
Friday, November 14, 2008
"Submit names of those voting on Dec 2"
Page 31: Daily Graphic, November 14, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Electoral Commission (EC) has requested heads of the security services to submit the names of security personnel who will be performing duties on December 7 to the returning officer for each constituency through the applicant’s superior officer before November 24, 2008.
This is to facilitate the processing of the personnel to vote on Tuesday, December 2, 2008, the special voting day for security personnel whose duties on December 7, 2008 will not allow them to vote at the polling stations where they registered.
Special voting centres will be opened in each of the 230 constituencies in the country for that purpose.
A memorandum from the EC, dated November 12, 2008 and addressed to the Inspector-General of Police and the Chief of Defence Staff and copied to all regional directors of the EC, stated that “the list to be prepared by the superior officers of the applicants must contain the following: name of the applicant, voter ID number and polling station code”.
The memorandum, signed by Mr C.O. Addei, requested that “applicants to be considered for special voting must present their voter ID cards to enable the superior officers compile the list”.
Under the heading, “Processing of security personnel for special voting”, the memorandum said the list, when prepared, should be submitted to the regional director of the EC in the region concerned for further action.
The Chairman of the National Election Security Task Force, Mr Patrick Kwarteng Acheampong, who is also the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), announced this at a news conference in Accra yesterday to address what the task force described as misconceptions and provide answers to nagging questions in the minds of Ghanaians.
He expressed regret that some politicians had started peddling falsehood that the heads of the security agencies were collecting the voter ID cards of security personnel with a view to preventing them from voting.
He wondered how a superior officer might know which party a subordinate officer was going to vote for, for which reason he or she would collect that subordinate’s ID card to hide.
“I wish to assure all and sundry that no senior or junior officer of any of the security services has been mandated to collect any other officer’s card,” he stated.
Mr Acheampong appealed to politicians to have faith in themselves and in the electoral process to ensure that the democratic path chosen by Ghanaians became the envy of all.
He denied that the security services were in concert with the EC to rig the elections on behalf or a group or some groups.
“With all due respect, we do not see how this can be done, with the aid of the security services either as corporate bodies or individual officers,” he stated.
Mr Acheampong explained that most aspects of the electoral process, from the printing of ballot papers, through the escort of election materials and officials, to the day of the elections when ballot boxes were opened and shown to the public before voting started, were all supposed to be monitored by the agents of the political parties.
“The key agents are representatives of the political parties who monitor the printing of the ballot papers, what happens at the polling stations before, during and after voting and especially the counting of votes and declaration of results for each polling station,” he noted.
“We do not see how any member of this task force or the security services can influence these steps and we shall be very grateful if any individual or political party could give us some hint as to how the security services can or will assist in election malpractice,” he said.
Mr Acheampong noted that commanders of the various services at the national and regional levels were men and women of integrity, consummate professionals who had at least 25 years of diligent and loyal service to Ghana.
According to him, those officers had supervised men and women of the security services in the conduct of elections since 1979 and “if any of them had picked up a reputation for dishonesty, they would not have reached the high pedestal that they occupy now”.
He, therefore, urged politicians to stop whining about the security services and continue with their campaigns in the knowledge that they had nothing at all to fear from the security services.
“If any information comes to notice, it will be fully investigated and any officer found to be indulging in any malpractice will be dealt with according to the regulations of our services and the laws of Ghana,” he assured the nation.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Electoral Commission (EC) has requested heads of the security services to submit the names of security personnel who will be performing duties on December 7 to the returning officer for each constituency through the applicant’s superior officer before November 24, 2008.
This is to facilitate the processing of the personnel to vote on Tuesday, December 2, 2008, the special voting day for security personnel whose duties on December 7, 2008 will not allow them to vote at the polling stations where they registered.
Special voting centres will be opened in each of the 230 constituencies in the country for that purpose.
A memorandum from the EC, dated November 12, 2008 and addressed to the Inspector-General of Police and the Chief of Defence Staff and copied to all regional directors of the EC, stated that “the list to be prepared by the superior officers of the applicants must contain the following: name of the applicant, voter ID number and polling station code”.
The memorandum, signed by Mr C.O. Addei, requested that “applicants to be considered for special voting must present their voter ID cards to enable the superior officers compile the list”.
Under the heading, “Processing of security personnel for special voting”, the memorandum said the list, when prepared, should be submitted to the regional director of the EC in the region concerned for further action.
The Chairman of the National Election Security Task Force, Mr Patrick Kwarteng Acheampong, who is also the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), announced this at a news conference in Accra yesterday to address what the task force described as misconceptions and provide answers to nagging questions in the minds of Ghanaians.
He expressed regret that some politicians had started peddling falsehood that the heads of the security agencies were collecting the voter ID cards of security personnel with a view to preventing them from voting.
He wondered how a superior officer might know which party a subordinate officer was going to vote for, for which reason he or she would collect that subordinate’s ID card to hide.
“I wish to assure all and sundry that no senior or junior officer of any of the security services has been mandated to collect any other officer’s card,” he stated.
Mr Acheampong appealed to politicians to have faith in themselves and in the electoral process to ensure that the democratic path chosen by Ghanaians became the envy of all.
He denied that the security services were in concert with the EC to rig the elections on behalf or a group or some groups.
“With all due respect, we do not see how this can be done, with the aid of the security services either as corporate bodies or individual officers,” he stated.
Mr Acheampong explained that most aspects of the electoral process, from the printing of ballot papers, through the escort of election materials and officials, to the day of the elections when ballot boxes were opened and shown to the public before voting started, were all supposed to be monitored by the agents of the political parties.
“The key agents are representatives of the political parties who monitor the printing of the ballot papers, what happens at the polling stations before, during and after voting and especially the counting of votes and declaration of results for each polling station,” he noted.
“We do not see how any member of this task force or the security services can influence these steps and we shall be very grateful if any individual or political party could give us some hint as to how the security services can or will assist in election malpractice,” he said.
Mr Acheampong noted that commanders of the various services at the national and regional levels were men and women of integrity, consummate professionals who had at least 25 years of diligent and loyal service to Ghana.
According to him, those officers had supervised men and women of the security services in the conduct of elections since 1979 and “if any of them had picked up a reputation for dishonesty, they would not have reached the high pedestal that they occupy now”.
He, therefore, urged politicians to stop whining about the security services and continue with their campaigns in the knowledge that they had nothing at all to fear from the security services.
“If any information comes to notice, it will be fully investigated and any officer found to be indulging in any malpractice will be dealt with according to the regulations of our services and the laws of Ghana,” he assured the nation.
CPU won’t be involved in electoral process - IGP
Page 16: Daily Graphic, November 14, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
PERSONNEL of the Community Protection Unit (CPU), under the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment will not be involved in the maintenance of law and order on elections day, December 7, 2008.
They would, however, continue to provide other public order services such as traffic control throughout the country.
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Patrick K. Acheampong, announced this at a press conference by the National Elections Security Task Force (NESTF) in Accra yesterday.
He said, the maintenance of law and order, was the responsibility of the security services and no other organisation, agency or person, stressing that “no individual or other groups of persons have been mandated to ensure security at the stations”.
Mr Acheampong, who is also the Chairman of the NESTF, reminded Ghanaians that officers of the Electoral Commission were responsible for the conduct of elections at the polling stations while the security services were responsible for maintaining law and order.
He said any party agents who were dissatisfied with anything should make a complaint to the electoral officers in accordance with the regulations.
He said, criminal offences would, however, be dealt with by the security services.
Mr Acheampong also warned those who might take offensive weapons to electoral centres to stay off or be arrested and prosecuted for the appropriate offences irrespective of the personality involved.
He said, the security personnel would be adequatly prepared to apprehend people with offensive weapons on them either through body searches or other security mechanisms.
Mr Acheampong reminded Ghanaians that the privilege to carry a gun under the N.R.C.D 9, was not sacrosanct.
“The permit can be withdrawn when it is in the national interest to do so,” he stated.
He gave the assurance that the security services were fully prepared and poised to perform their functions in a non-partisan, unbiased but firm manner to assist the Electoral Commission to conduct free, fair and transparent elections.
As to whether the task force had been working in concert with the political parties on its preparations and security measures, Mr Acheampong said a lot of interactions had been taken place at the regional and district levels where most of the problems were.
He cited for instance the recent infraction at Berekum between supporters of the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress where the district task force met all the political parties to address security challenges.
Story: Albert K. Salia
PERSONNEL of the Community Protection Unit (CPU), under the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment will not be involved in the maintenance of law and order on elections day, December 7, 2008.
They would, however, continue to provide other public order services such as traffic control throughout the country.
The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Patrick K. Acheampong, announced this at a press conference by the National Elections Security Task Force (NESTF) in Accra yesterday.
He said, the maintenance of law and order, was the responsibility of the security services and no other organisation, agency or person, stressing that “no individual or other groups of persons have been mandated to ensure security at the stations”.
Mr Acheampong, who is also the Chairman of the NESTF, reminded Ghanaians that officers of the Electoral Commission were responsible for the conduct of elections at the polling stations while the security services were responsible for maintaining law and order.
He said any party agents who were dissatisfied with anything should make a complaint to the electoral officers in accordance with the regulations.
He said, criminal offences would, however, be dealt with by the security services.
Mr Acheampong also warned those who might take offensive weapons to electoral centres to stay off or be arrested and prosecuted for the appropriate offences irrespective of the personality involved.
He said, the security personnel would be adequatly prepared to apprehend people with offensive weapons on them either through body searches or other security mechanisms.
Mr Acheampong reminded Ghanaians that the privilege to carry a gun under the N.R.C.D 9, was not sacrosanct.
“The permit can be withdrawn when it is in the national interest to do so,” he stated.
He gave the assurance that the security services were fully prepared and poised to perform their functions in a non-partisan, unbiased but firm manner to assist the Electoral Commission to conduct free, fair and transparent elections.
As to whether the task force had been working in concert with the political parties on its preparations and security measures, Mr Acheampong said a lot of interactions had been taken place at the regional and district levels where most of the problems were.
He cited for instance the recent infraction at Berekum between supporters of the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress where the district task force met all the political parties to address security challenges.
Educate stakeholders in Ghana’s oil industry ... Appiah-Adu urges RMU
Page 11: Daily Graphic, November 14, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A PRESIDENTIAL Staffer, Professor Kwaku Appiah-Adu, has challenged the Regional Maritime University (RMU) to organise holistic programmes to educate stakeholders in Ghana’s oil industry on security, environmental, health and safety threats that the emerging oil industry would give to the country.
He urged the RMU to establish demand-driven programmes such as certificates and training courses in legal and maritime issues, alternative livelihood and community issues to expand its academic domain, so as to meet the general needs of all stakeholders.
“Introduction of these courses will offer the university the opportunity to provide support for the emerging upstream petroleum industry in areas of standards development, training students in modern technology and academic research to help the students or staff of oil companies expand on their competence to ensure relevance to the industry’s standards,” he said.
Prof. Appiah-Adu made the call at an open forum organised by the RMU on the theme, “Safety training: A critical component for the sustainable development of the oil and gas sector” in Accra.
He said the university could introduce diploma and degree programs such as maritime and petroleum policy, international, maritime human resource development and maritime business communication as well as introduce courses relating to petroleum administration so that oil companies could train their staff on management, procurement and crisis management.
Prof. Appiah-Adu, therefore, urged the university authorities to acquire modern equipment to bridge the gap of theoretical analysis and practical demands to meet the changing global trend.
Globalization and technology have turned the world into a global village, and the environment should not be seen as a society, but should be competitive internationally and the standards in education and training must be kept, he stated, adding that, “Through this the country can manage its natural resources and industries effectively.”
Prof. Appiah-Adu said the petroleum industry needed to focus on providing adequate security to protect it to ensure the promotion of investor confidence.
According to him, putting effective regulatory framework in place to guide operations of companies would not be enough to ensure the safety of the industry against terrorism, piracy, vandalism, sabotage and other illegal activities.
He said apart from the safety, environmental and security issues, the industry was also faced with challenges of maintaining law and order, creation of community and livelihood issues as well as an enabling environment for the industry.
Prof. Appiah-Adu expressed the hope that the forum would enable stakeholders to collaborate towards finding solutions to issues raised on the petroleum industry.
The Rector of RMU, Captain Aaron Obeng Turkson, said the forum was to enlighten stakeholders on the safety in the off shore oil and gas sector.
He said RMU’s contribution to the development of maritime industry dated as far back as the 50’s when the institution was established by producing graduates to member and non-member countries.
Capt. Obeng Turkson indicated that safety was paramount and would form an integral part of the oil and gas industry, covering issues that would enhance the execution of jobs effectively and make a difference to not only realise the benefits but for more realistic and sustainable management.
He said the RMU in collaboration with its partners would continue to build on its dream and vision of being a maritime centre of excellence with emphasis on preventive maritime safety for the long term Sustainability of the industry.
Capt. Turkson said the collaboration would enrich their training programmes and help protect the image and reputation as a maritime player in education especially in the area of safety.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A PRESIDENTIAL Staffer, Professor Kwaku Appiah-Adu, has challenged the Regional Maritime University (RMU) to organise holistic programmes to educate stakeholders in Ghana’s oil industry on security, environmental, health and safety threats that the emerging oil industry would give to the country.
He urged the RMU to establish demand-driven programmes such as certificates and training courses in legal and maritime issues, alternative livelihood and community issues to expand its academic domain, so as to meet the general needs of all stakeholders.
“Introduction of these courses will offer the university the opportunity to provide support for the emerging upstream petroleum industry in areas of standards development, training students in modern technology and academic research to help the students or staff of oil companies expand on their competence to ensure relevance to the industry’s standards,” he said.
Prof. Appiah-Adu made the call at an open forum organised by the RMU on the theme, “Safety training: A critical component for the sustainable development of the oil and gas sector” in Accra.
He said the university could introduce diploma and degree programs such as maritime and petroleum policy, international, maritime human resource development and maritime business communication as well as introduce courses relating to petroleum administration so that oil companies could train their staff on management, procurement and crisis management.
Prof. Appiah-Adu, therefore, urged the university authorities to acquire modern equipment to bridge the gap of theoretical analysis and practical demands to meet the changing global trend.
Globalization and technology have turned the world into a global village, and the environment should not be seen as a society, but should be competitive internationally and the standards in education and training must be kept, he stated, adding that, “Through this the country can manage its natural resources and industries effectively.”
Prof. Appiah-Adu said the petroleum industry needed to focus on providing adequate security to protect it to ensure the promotion of investor confidence.
According to him, putting effective regulatory framework in place to guide operations of companies would not be enough to ensure the safety of the industry against terrorism, piracy, vandalism, sabotage and other illegal activities.
He said apart from the safety, environmental and security issues, the industry was also faced with challenges of maintaining law and order, creation of community and livelihood issues as well as an enabling environment for the industry.
Prof. Appiah-Adu expressed the hope that the forum would enable stakeholders to collaborate towards finding solutions to issues raised on the petroleum industry.
The Rector of RMU, Captain Aaron Obeng Turkson, said the forum was to enlighten stakeholders on the safety in the off shore oil and gas sector.
He said RMU’s contribution to the development of maritime industry dated as far back as the 50’s when the institution was established by producing graduates to member and non-member countries.
Capt. Obeng Turkson indicated that safety was paramount and would form an integral part of the oil and gas industry, covering issues that would enhance the execution of jobs effectively and make a difference to not only realise the benefits but for more realistic and sustainable management.
He said the RMU in collaboration with its partners would continue to build on its dream and vision of being a maritime centre of excellence with emphasis on preventive maritime safety for the long term Sustainability of the industry.
Capt. Turkson said the collaboration would enrich their training programmes and help protect the image and reputation as a maritime player in education especially in the area of safety.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Do illegal migrants have rights?
Page 7: Daily Graphic, November 12, 2008.
Asks Albert K. Salia
“THE mass expulsion of non-nationals shall be prohibited. Mass expulsion shall be that which is aimed at national, racial, ethnic or religious groups” - Article 12 (5) of the African (Banjul) Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
IT is an understatement to say that in most West African countries, the legal system is inadequate to protect the rights of many vulnerable and disadvantaged groups.
In many of them, there is little or no public funding for legal aid, most members of the legal profession are concentrated in large cities and not easily accessed by large numbers of rural population while non-governmental organisations (NGO) legal services are under-funded.
To make the situation worse, much of the citizenry in the sub-region have little or no knowledge of their basic legal rights. Moreover, many in West Africa lack the economic capacity to pursue the enforcement of their rights, particularly in an environment where there were systemic challenges in the slow pace of the administration of justice in many jurisdictions and members of the legal profession are seen as resistant to voluntary or even required pro bono obligations.
The problem is compounded with concerns about corruption in the justice system which individual litigants are more vulnerable to and at the same time less well-equipped to tackle.
It is in the wake of all these that the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) launched the West African Public Interest Litigation Centre (WAPILC) to help improve access to justice for citizens of the sub-region by initiating and supporting public interest litigation in national, sub-regional, and regional courts and other adjudicatory fora.
The strategy envisages that once decided by a court or other tribunal, critical public interest litigation including good governance, rule of law and human rights issues, can benefit several others either directly or indirectly.
Through the WAPILC, a West Africa Public Interest Lawyers Forum to support individual persons and organisations advocating the rule of law in West Africa, would be established.
The centre will also facilitate information sharing between public interest litigation centres in West African countries by promoting public interest communities and networks of mutual interest and support.
The centre would maintain a documentation unit which serves as a repository of up-to-date information on contemporary human rights, public interest and constitutional issues in the region.
The facility will also disseminate regional human rights instruments on ECOWAS and UEMOA and research on comparative law and practice in West Africa with respect to public interest cases and the legal systems in West Africa.
For instance, it is a fact that the media, not only in Ghana but elsewhere in the sub-region, often give publicity to stories of deportees from other countries without the requisite questions on the rights of the deportees and whether appropriate steps were taken before deporting them.
In any case, in what conditions were they deported? What happens to them after their arrival? Indeed, most often, the deportees are threatened with prosecution but nothing is heard thereafter.
Whether we like it or not migration has come to stay and it would continue to be part of mankind. Migration has become part of globalisation and populations need to understand the impact, complexities of the phenomenon, issues that are involved in integration and how to deal with them.
Migration was a growing global phenomenon, particularly in Africa, which could only be managed if proper policies were in place.
Migration is linked to escaping from poverty to seek opportunities and security for families, which no state could stop.
Many people move to improve their livelihood options, seek opportunities and to escape poverty. Other reasons for movement of people include forcible displacement or coercion as a result of wars, violent conflicts and human rights abuses and discrimination.
Attacks, therefore, on innocent migrants and the manhandling of migrants by receiving states would not stop the phenomenon and should, therefore, be condemned.
For most people in Africa, migration has become a necessity for security, education, employment and an avenue to realise their aspirations.
The challenge, therefore, is for African governments to adopt comprehensive migration policies that will address the challenges facing migrants and citizens of receiving states.
Such a policy should include legislation and programmes to educate not only the citizenry of receiving states but also the migrants.
The framework must also address potential sources of migratory flows, structural causes of migration, absorption capacity of states, as well as integration issues in receiving states.
It is a fact that most of the migrants were young unemployed people from relatively poor countries moving for relatively better prospects and perceived prosperity for themselves and their families. Unfortunately, they are often accused of stealing jobs and competing with indigenes for other resources and public goods.
No doubt, this is often a reflection of the frustration and resentment by citizens of receiving states with their own governments, which in turn, take on migrants, seen as easy targets.
Migrants have a right to go from place to place to seek better conditions of life and also have the right to be protected by receiving governments.
Governments have the right to control the level of migration through policies and legislation in a measured way, but the absence of such a regulatory framework would make citizens think they have a responsibility to curb what they consider as a threat to their security or economic well-being.
While there has been greater integration of the global markets for goods and services, for which the international community has devised rules and regulations for flows across borders, there has not been the development of concomitant rules and regulations to effectively and efficiently facilitate the flow of humans within the global market framework.
As a result there has emerged a phenomenon of irregular migration where migrants were exposed to serious abuses and exploitation including human smuggling and trafficking and other trans-national crimes that threaten the security of sovereign states.
This has resulted in the rise of detention of illegal migrants without due process in the name of preserving the security of the state as well as the rampant imposition of more stringent visa requirements for certain groups and contributing to a climate of intolerance.
This is why every country should have a migration legislation in place and also ensure the enforcement of its laws so that those who breach the laws would be dealt with while vulnerable migrants are protected.
As the Director of the Ghana Immigration Service, Ms Elizabeth Adjei, said in a recent interview, “A deliberate and comprehensive policy framework and management are required to leverage migration as a vehicle to secure national interests”.
She said it was important that countries and their populations were sensitised to the migration cycle to enable them to appreciate the motivation for migration.
Ms Adjei admitted that the presence of migrants could cause tension, especially in countries with high unemployment rates.
Besides, some migrants could undermine a country’s culture, security, human rights, cohesion and other development issues of receiving countries.
It is for such reason that some countries insist that migrants to their countries learn their language and culture before moving in.
The bad management of migration could lead to conflicts and disintegration of states.
It is important to state that the rights of migrants do not also cease just because they are migrants. It is, therefore, imperative that human rights activists join the OSIWA initiative and support the process to ensure its success.
Asks Albert K. Salia
“THE mass expulsion of non-nationals shall be prohibited. Mass expulsion shall be that which is aimed at national, racial, ethnic or religious groups” - Article 12 (5) of the African (Banjul) Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
IT is an understatement to say that in most West African countries, the legal system is inadequate to protect the rights of many vulnerable and disadvantaged groups.
In many of them, there is little or no public funding for legal aid, most members of the legal profession are concentrated in large cities and not easily accessed by large numbers of rural population while non-governmental organisations (NGO) legal services are under-funded.
To make the situation worse, much of the citizenry in the sub-region have little or no knowledge of their basic legal rights. Moreover, many in West Africa lack the economic capacity to pursue the enforcement of their rights, particularly in an environment where there were systemic challenges in the slow pace of the administration of justice in many jurisdictions and members of the legal profession are seen as resistant to voluntary or even required pro bono obligations.
The problem is compounded with concerns about corruption in the justice system which individual litigants are more vulnerable to and at the same time less well-equipped to tackle.
It is in the wake of all these that the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) launched the West African Public Interest Litigation Centre (WAPILC) to help improve access to justice for citizens of the sub-region by initiating and supporting public interest litigation in national, sub-regional, and regional courts and other adjudicatory fora.
The strategy envisages that once decided by a court or other tribunal, critical public interest litigation including good governance, rule of law and human rights issues, can benefit several others either directly or indirectly.
Through the WAPILC, a West Africa Public Interest Lawyers Forum to support individual persons and organisations advocating the rule of law in West Africa, would be established.
The centre will also facilitate information sharing between public interest litigation centres in West African countries by promoting public interest communities and networks of mutual interest and support.
The centre would maintain a documentation unit which serves as a repository of up-to-date information on contemporary human rights, public interest and constitutional issues in the region.
The facility will also disseminate regional human rights instruments on ECOWAS and UEMOA and research on comparative law and practice in West Africa with respect to public interest cases and the legal systems in West Africa.
For instance, it is a fact that the media, not only in Ghana but elsewhere in the sub-region, often give publicity to stories of deportees from other countries without the requisite questions on the rights of the deportees and whether appropriate steps were taken before deporting them.
In any case, in what conditions were they deported? What happens to them after their arrival? Indeed, most often, the deportees are threatened with prosecution but nothing is heard thereafter.
Whether we like it or not migration has come to stay and it would continue to be part of mankind. Migration has become part of globalisation and populations need to understand the impact, complexities of the phenomenon, issues that are involved in integration and how to deal with them.
Migration was a growing global phenomenon, particularly in Africa, which could only be managed if proper policies were in place.
Migration is linked to escaping from poverty to seek opportunities and security for families, which no state could stop.
Many people move to improve their livelihood options, seek opportunities and to escape poverty. Other reasons for movement of people include forcible displacement or coercion as a result of wars, violent conflicts and human rights abuses and discrimination.
Attacks, therefore, on innocent migrants and the manhandling of migrants by receiving states would not stop the phenomenon and should, therefore, be condemned.
For most people in Africa, migration has become a necessity for security, education, employment and an avenue to realise their aspirations.
The challenge, therefore, is for African governments to adopt comprehensive migration policies that will address the challenges facing migrants and citizens of receiving states.
Such a policy should include legislation and programmes to educate not only the citizenry of receiving states but also the migrants.
The framework must also address potential sources of migratory flows, structural causes of migration, absorption capacity of states, as well as integration issues in receiving states.
It is a fact that most of the migrants were young unemployed people from relatively poor countries moving for relatively better prospects and perceived prosperity for themselves and their families. Unfortunately, they are often accused of stealing jobs and competing with indigenes for other resources and public goods.
No doubt, this is often a reflection of the frustration and resentment by citizens of receiving states with their own governments, which in turn, take on migrants, seen as easy targets.
Migrants have a right to go from place to place to seek better conditions of life and also have the right to be protected by receiving governments.
Governments have the right to control the level of migration through policies and legislation in a measured way, but the absence of such a regulatory framework would make citizens think they have a responsibility to curb what they consider as a threat to their security or economic well-being.
While there has been greater integration of the global markets for goods and services, for which the international community has devised rules and regulations for flows across borders, there has not been the development of concomitant rules and regulations to effectively and efficiently facilitate the flow of humans within the global market framework.
As a result there has emerged a phenomenon of irregular migration where migrants were exposed to serious abuses and exploitation including human smuggling and trafficking and other trans-national crimes that threaten the security of sovereign states.
This has resulted in the rise of detention of illegal migrants without due process in the name of preserving the security of the state as well as the rampant imposition of more stringent visa requirements for certain groups and contributing to a climate of intolerance.
This is why every country should have a migration legislation in place and also ensure the enforcement of its laws so that those who breach the laws would be dealt with while vulnerable migrants are protected.
As the Director of the Ghana Immigration Service, Ms Elizabeth Adjei, said in a recent interview, “A deliberate and comprehensive policy framework and management are required to leverage migration as a vehicle to secure national interests”.
She said it was important that countries and their populations were sensitised to the migration cycle to enable them to appreciate the motivation for migration.
Ms Adjei admitted that the presence of migrants could cause tension, especially in countries with high unemployment rates.
Besides, some migrants could undermine a country’s culture, security, human rights, cohesion and other development issues of receiving countries.
It is for such reason that some countries insist that migrants to their countries learn their language and culture before moving in.
The bad management of migration could lead to conflicts and disintegration of states.
It is important to state that the rights of migrants do not also cease just because they are migrants. It is, therefore, imperative that human rights activists join the OSIWA initiative and support the process to ensure its success.
Korle-Bu records breakthrough
Page 3: November 11, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
GHANA’S premier hospital, the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, yesterday recorded a medical breakthrough when it performed the first kidney transplant in the country.
An 11-member team from the Birmingham University Hospital, with support from Transplant Links in the United Kingdom, assisted their Ghanaian counterparts to undertake the kidney transplant on a 24-year-old male.
The 21-year-old sister of the patient donated one of her kidneys to the brother.
The harvesting of the kidney from the donor took about two hours to complete at 11:30 a.m. before the beneficiary was brought in for the transplant, which started about 2.00 p.m. and ended at 3.00 p.m.
Two more are scheduled to be done today and Wednesday.
More than 200 Ghanaians across the country need kidney transplant, many of whom have had to depend on renal dialysis to survive. A dialysis costs 100 euros per session and kidney patients require three sessions of dialysis a week.
Charity Transplant Links of the UK facilitated the trip of the British surgeons, including the internationally acclaimed Ghanaian kidney transplant specialist, Dr Dwomoa Adu, anaesthetists and nurses to collaborate with their Ghanaian counterparts, including Dr Charlotte Osafo, the Head of the Dialysis Unit at Korle-Bu, Dr Samuel Gepi-Attee, Dr Bernard Morton, Dr J. E. Mensah, Dr Matthew Kyei, all of the Urology Unit, and Dr Henry Baddoo, an anaesthetist of the hospital, among others.
Under the programme initiated by the UK charity organisation, the team would visit Ghana three times next year and continue the collaboration until a fully trained Ghanaian team is put in place within two years to undertake the transplant on its own.
The cost of each transplant is $30,000.
An elated Dr Osafo described the successful transplant as a victory for "my numerous dialysis patients and all those who have not been able to pay for the dialysis".
She said kidney transplant was the best solution to kidney problems, since dialysis was expensive and not the best way out.
She expressed the hope that people would support the Kidney Foundation to assist hundreds of Ghanaians to undertake kidney transplant.
According to her, 10 per cent of medical admissions at the hospital were attributed to renal failure, stressing that "kidney transplant is an escape from death".
Dr Osafo said a time would come when patients might not even get dialysis due to the increase in cases of kidney failure.
"I am grateful to God that this dream has become possible. It gives the team the greatest joy because this nation has lost a lot of manpower through kidney failure," she said.
Dr Osafo said to show how nation-wide the problem was, the first three patients were selected from Kumasi, Cape Coast and Accra for people to appreciate its enormity.
The head of the surgeons from the UK, Mr Andrew Ready, said the team recognised the problem in Ghana, hence the decision to kick-start the kidney transplant project.
He said the team would be visiting frequently until Korle-Bu became self-sufficient in manpower and equipment to handle cases on its own.
For her part, Dr Jennie Jewitt-Harris, who is the Head of Charity Transplant Links, said the organisation sought to bring joy to the homes of many who might otherwise lose their loved ones to kidney failure.
She said during such visits and programmes, the UK team shared experiences with and transferred skills to their local counterparts and facilitated the purchase of medical equipment to support the hospitals.
"It has been really exciting and I am happy that it has been successful. It is a dream come through, particularly the efforts of Dr Osafo and Dr Morton in putting this together," she added.
Story: Albert K. Salia
GHANA’S premier hospital, the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, yesterday recorded a medical breakthrough when it performed the first kidney transplant in the country.
An 11-member team from the Birmingham University Hospital, with support from Transplant Links in the United Kingdom, assisted their Ghanaian counterparts to undertake the kidney transplant on a 24-year-old male.
The 21-year-old sister of the patient donated one of her kidneys to the brother.
The harvesting of the kidney from the donor took about two hours to complete at 11:30 a.m. before the beneficiary was brought in for the transplant, which started about 2.00 p.m. and ended at 3.00 p.m.
Two more are scheduled to be done today and Wednesday.
More than 200 Ghanaians across the country need kidney transplant, many of whom have had to depend on renal dialysis to survive. A dialysis costs 100 euros per session and kidney patients require three sessions of dialysis a week.
Charity Transplant Links of the UK facilitated the trip of the British surgeons, including the internationally acclaimed Ghanaian kidney transplant specialist, Dr Dwomoa Adu, anaesthetists and nurses to collaborate with their Ghanaian counterparts, including Dr Charlotte Osafo, the Head of the Dialysis Unit at Korle-Bu, Dr Samuel Gepi-Attee, Dr Bernard Morton, Dr J. E. Mensah, Dr Matthew Kyei, all of the Urology Unit, and Dr Henry Baddoo, an anaesthetist of the hospital, among others.
Under the programme initiated by the UK charity organisation, the team would visit Ghana three times next year and continue the collaboration until a fully trained Ghanaian team is put in place within two years to undertake the transplant on its own.
The cost of each transplant is $30,000.
An elated Dr Osafo described the successful transplant as a victory for "my numerous dialysis patients and all those who have not been able to pay for the dialysis".
She said kidney transplant was the best solution to kidney problems, since dialysis was expensive and not the best way out.
She expressed the hope that people would support the Kidney Foundation to assist hundreds of Ghanaians to undertake kidney transplant.
According to her, 10 per cent of medical admissions at the hospital were attributed to renal failure, stressing that "kidney transplant is an escape from death".
Dr Osafo said a time would come when patients might not even get dialysis due to the increase in cases of kidney failure.
"I am grateful to God that this dream has become possible. It gives the team the greatest joy because this nation has lost a lot of manpower through kidney failure," she said.
Dr Osafo said to show how nation-wide the problem was, the first three patients were selected from Kumasi, Cape Coast and Accra for people to appreciate its enormity.
The head of the surgeons from the UK, Mr Andrew Ready, said the team recognised the problem in Ghana, hence the decision to kick-start the kidney transplant project.
He said the team would be visiting frequently until Korle-Bu became self-sufficient in manpower and equipment to handle cases on its own.
For her part, Dr Jennie Jewitt-Harris, who is the Head of Charity Transplant Links, said the organisation sought to bring joy to the homes of many who might otherwise lose their loved ones to kidney failure.
She said during such visits and programmes, the UK team shared experiences with and transferred skills to their local counterparts and facilitated the purchase of medical equipment to support the hospitals.
"It has been really exciting and I am happy that it has been successful. It is a dream come through, particularly the efforts of Dr Osafo and Dr Morton in putting this together," she added.
Police warn of weapons at electoral centres
Page 55: November 10, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Police Administration has issued a strong reminder that it is illegal for anyone to carry any weapon, lethal or non-lethal, licensed or unlicensed, to polling stations or electoral centres on December 7.
The Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Kwesi Ofori, said in an interview that the list of banned weapons on election day included all forms of pistols, pump action guns, single and double-barrelled guns, locally manufactured guns, jack knives, machetes, kitchen knives, forks, petrol bombs, stones, clubs and non-lethal weapons such as pepper sprays, perfume sprays or any other adapted implement that could be used to cause bodily harm.
He said the electorate would only be going to cast their votes to elect their leaders at the constituency and national levels, "not going to war", stressing that "weapons are, therefore, not needed at the polling and election centres".
DSP Ofori, therefore, warned political parties, their followers and other persons not to carry any such weapons to election centres.
He also warned the political leadership not to engage the services of machomen or make any pseudo security arrangements on election day because there would be no need for such arrangements, as the National Security Task Force would be in firm control of affairs.
DSP Ofori said the security services would not compromise on security arrangements for the elections and "anyone who breaches these security arrangements will be arrested, investigated and dealt with according to law".
He said the security services would conduct thorough bodily search on any person suspected to be carrying any kind of weapon.
According to him, the National Elections Security Task Force had outlined elaborate security arrangements to ensure that this year’s elections were incident-free.
"The security coverage of the elections will be done by the legally mandated security agencies which will be operating under the umbrella of the National Elections Security Task Force through its regional and district task forces," he said.
The National Elections Security Task Force is made up of personnel from the Police Service, the Immigration Service, the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), the Fire Service and the Prisons Service.
DSP Ofori said the national task force, which was under the chairmanship of the Inspector-General of Police, Mr P. K. Acheampong, had done a lot of work at the strategic, operational and tactical levels to ensure incident-free elections.
He explained that violence in elections since 1992 had been attributed to the activities of machomen and pseudo security arrangements by political parties and candidates on election day.
He made it clear that the administration of the elections was the responsibility of electoral officers, while the security agencies would be responsible for ensuring the security of the elections.
DSP Ofori said no use of physical force, including aggressive behaviour such as insults, on electoral officers would be tolerated.
He mentioned some electoral offences as giving one’s voter ID card to another person to vote, forgery, counterfeiting or fraudulently destroying a ballot paper or the official mark on a ballot paper, supplying a ballot paper to any person without authority, selling or offering to sell a ballot paper to any person, as well as purchasing or offering to purchase a ballot paper from any person.
Other offences, he said, were intentionally putting anything other than the ballot paper into the ballot box, possessing a ballot paper which had an official mark without authorisation, opening, taking, destroying or interfering with a ballot box, ballot paper in use or intended to be used for the purposes of an election, printing a ballot paper or anything capable of being used as a ballot paper at an election, making a mark on a ballot paper issued to somebody with the intention of it being counted as the vote of that person and voting at an election at which one was not entitled to vote.
DSP Ofori said the rest were voting more than once at an election, interfering with the work of a presiding officer, removing posters lawfully posted in connection with the election, compelling somebody to vote in a particular way, impeding or preventing a voter from freely exercising his/her right to vote, assisting a political party or a candidate to gain unfair advantage over others and making or publishing by written or spoken word or by song a false statement about the personal character of a candidate or the conduct of a political party.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Police Administration has issued a strong reminder that it is illegal for anyone to carry any weapon, lethal or non-lethal, licensed or unlicensed, to polling stations or electoral centres on December 7.
The Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Kwesi Ofori, said in an interview that the list of banned weapons on election day included all forms of pistols, pump action guns, single and double-barrelled guns, locally manufactured guns, jack knives, machetes, kitchen knives, forks, petrol bombs, stones, clubs and non-lethal weapons such as pepper sprays, perfume sprays or any other adapted implement that could be used to cause bodily harm.
He said the electorate would only be going to cast their votes to elect their leaders at the constituency and national levels, "not going to war", stressing that "weapons are, therefore, not needed at the polling and election centres".
DSP Ofori, therefore, warned political parties, their followers and other persons not to carry any such weapons to election centres.
He also warned the political leadership not to engage the services of machomen or make any pseudo security arrangements on election day because there would be no need for such arrangements, as the National Security Task Force would be in firm control of affairs.
DSP Ofori said the security services would not compromise on security arrangements for the elections and "anyone who breaches these security arrangements will be arrested, investigated and dealt with according to law".
He said the security services would conduct thorough bodily search on any person suspected to be carrying any kind of weapon.
According to him, the National Elections Security Task Force had outlined elaborate security arrangements to ensure that this year’s elections were incident-free.
"The security coverage of the elections will be done by the legally mandated security agencies which will be operating under the umbrella of the National Elections Security Task Force through its regional and district task forces," he said.
The National Elections Security Task Force is made up of personnel from the Police Service, the Immigration Service, the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS), the Fire Service and the Prisons Service.
DSP Ofori said the national task force, which was under the chairmanship of the Inspector-General of Police, Mr P. K. Acheampong, had done a lot of work at the strategic, operational and tactical levels to ensure incident-free elections.
He explained that violence in elections since 1992 had been attributed to the activities of machomen and pseudo security arrangements by political parties and candidates on election day.
He made it clear that the administration of the elections was the responsibility of electoral officers, while the security agencies would be responsible for ensuring the security of the elections.
DSP Ofori said no use of physical force, including aggressive behaviour such as insults, on electoral officers would be tolerated.
He mentioned some electoral offences as giving one’s voter ID card to another person to vote, forgery, counterfeiting or fraudulently destroying a ballot paper or the official mark on a ballot paper, supplying a ballot paper to any person without authority, selling or offering to sell a ballot paper to any person, as well as purchasing or offering to purchase a ballot paper from any person.
Other offences, he said, were intentionally putting anything other than the ballot paper into the ballot box, possessing a ballot paper which had an official mark without authorisation, opening, taking, destroying or interfering with a ballot box, ballot paper in use or intended to be used for the purposes of an election, printing a ballot paper or anything capable of being used as a ballot paper at an election, making a mark on a ballot paper issued to somebody with the intention of it being counted as the vote of that person and voting at an election at which one was not entitled to vote.
DSP Ofori said the rest were voting more than once at an election, interfering with the work of a presiding officer, removing posters lawfully posted in connection with the election, compelling somebody to vote in a particular way, impeding or preventing a voter from freely exercising his/her right to vote, assisting a political party or a candidate to gain unfair advantage over others and making or publishing by written or spoken word or by song a false statement about the personal character of a candidate or the conduct of a political party.
Investor advisory council commends government
Page 47: November 10, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Ghana Investors Advisory Council has commended the government for turning around the economy from a heavily indebted poor country status to the achievement of more than six per cent Gross Domestic Product.
It noted that in spite of the challenges that confronted Ghana in the early part of President Kufuor’s administration, the government had achieved remarkable success that was acknowledged world-wide.
"Ghana is now regarded by the World Bank as one of the top 10 reforming countries in the world and the best place to do business in West Africa," it said.
These were contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the eighth meeting of the council at Akosombo at the weekend.
The council consists of 33 selected corporate leaders from the international and local private sector and four observers and it was inaugurated in May 2002 to advise the President of Ghana on the strategies to be taken to attract investment into Ghana’s economy and improve the business climate.
The communiqué recognised the challenges that confronted Ghana at the inception of the council, notably macro-economic instability, extremely high interest rates, the high cost of doing business, low levels of investment and later the energy crisis, escalating petroleum and rising food prices.
It commended the government for the significant progress made on the mutually agreed specific interventions key to Ghana achieving its developmental goals, especially reforms in the financial sector, labour, land administration, the public sector, agriculture and agri-business to build investor confidence and a firm level of competitiveness in Ghana.
It noted in particular the establishment and operationalisation of the International Financial Services Centre, further liberalisation and improved management of the foreign exchange market and a strong re-denominated currency that was stable, with an impressively low record of depreciation.
It also mentioned increased availability of credit to the business community, the passage of legislation to facilitate the establishment of private employment centres, consistently improved minimum wage for workers from GH¢0.31 in 2000 to GH¢2.25 currently and income for farmers such as the quadrupling of the producer price of cocoa from GH¢21.7 in 2000 to GH¢102 currently.
Other achievements, it said, were the creation of the first land information bank, the establishment of functioning client services units in 23 government agencies and the passage of the Pension Reform Bill into law that expanded access to long-term funds.
The communiqué said the council also acknowledged the complementary achievements in the energy, communications and road transport sectors, as well as ports, harbours and railways.
It also mentioned the expansion of the road network by 60 per cent from 38,000 kilometres to 64,000 kilometres, the easing of port congestion and reduction in ship turn around time through measures such as the construction of new container terminals and the modernisation of cargo handling, as well as significant and continuing reduction in the time it took to export and import goods.
"We recognise the high level of responsiveness of the entire Executive machinery to our critical reviews and recommendations," it said, stressing, "We collectively express the view that the council has served its purpose as intended at its inception in 2002."
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Ghana Investors Advisory Council has commended the government for turning around the economy from a heavily indebted poor country status to the achievement of more than six per cent Gross Domestic Product.
It noted that in spite of the challenges that confronted Ghana in the early part of President Kufuor’s administration, the government had achieved remarkable success that was acknowledged world-wide.
"Ghana is now regarded by the World Bank as one of the top 10 reforming countries in the world and the best place to do business in West Africa," it said.
These were contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the eighth meeting of the council at Akosombo at the weekend.
The council consists of 33 selected corporate leaders from the international and local private sector and four observers and it was inaugurated in May 2002 to advise the President of Ghana on the strategies to be taken to attract investment into Ghana’s economy and improve the business climate.
The communiqué recognised the challenges that confronted Ghana at the inception of the council, notably macro-economic instability, extremely high interest rates, the high cost of doing business, low levels of investment and later the energy crisis, escalating petroleum and rising food prices.
It commended the government for the significant progress made on the mutually agreed specific interventions key to Ghana achieving its developmental goals, especially reforms in the financial sector, labour, land administration, the public sector, agriculture and agri-business to build investor confidence and a firm level of competitiveness in Ghana.
It noted in particular the establishment and operationalisation of the International Financial Services Centre, further liberalisation and improved management of the foreign exchange market and a strong re-denominated currency that was stable, with an impressively low record of depreciation.
It also mentioned increased availability of credit to the business community, the passage of legislation to facilitate the establishment of private employment centres, consistently improved minimum wage for workers from GH¢0.31 in 2000 to GH¢2.25 currently and income for farmers such as the quadrupling of the producer price of cocoa from GH¢21.7 in 2000 to GH¢102 currently.
Other achievements, it said, were the creation of the first land information bank, the establishment of functioning client services units in 23 government agencies and the passage of the Pension Reform Bill into law that expanded access to long-term funds.
The communiqué said the council also acknowledged the complementary achievements in the energy, communications and road transport sectors, as well as ports, harbours and railways.
It also mentioned the expansion of the road network by 60 per cent from 38,000 kilometres to 64,000 kilometres, the easing of port congestion and reduction in ship turn around time through measures such as the construction of new container terminals and the modernisation of cargo handling, as well as significant and continuing reduction in the time it took to export and import goods.
"We recognise the high level of responsiveness of the entire Executive machinery to our critical reviews and recommendations," it said, stressing, "We collectively express the view that the council has served its purpose as intended at its inception in 2002."
Youth urged to acquire skills
Page 29: November 10, 2008.
A SENIOR police officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Felix Mawusi, has urged the youth to acquire skills and academic qualifications to enable them to assume leadership positions in future.
He said leadership positions were bestowed on people who were adequately prepared and capable of holding themselves out to lead and defend their people.
DSP Mawusi was speaking on the topic, "The Youth and Their Calling", at a forum organised by the youth of the Alajo branch of the Church of Christ in Accra on Monday.
It formed part of activities marking the youth week of the church. Other activities outlined for the week include a lecture on dieting, quiz and debates, special youth prayers and football matches.
Using Ezekiel 22:30 as a point of reference, DSP Mawusi said certain conditions needed to be met before one could be entrusted with a leadership position.
Those conditions, he indicated, included academic qualifications and professional skills.
Unfortunately, DSP Mawusi said, instead of concentrating on acquiring the requisite skills, training and academic qualifications, the youth were being bombarded by the increasing impact of modernisation through foreign culture.
He said although the youth were often referred to as future leaders, leadership positions were not automatic when they became adults.
He reminded them of what God said in Ezekiel 22:30, "I looked for someone who could build a wall, who could stand in the places where the walls have crumbled and defend the land when my anger is about to destroy it, but I could find no one."
DSP Mawusi said God did not just look for anybody but one with skill and capability, stressing that "God will not leave the land in the hands of any unskilled person".
He said the youth must always see the problems they faced as challenges and strategise to overcome them.
In that way, DSP Mawusi said, they would become extraordinary and revel in their hard work.
A SENIOR police officer, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Felix Mawusi, has urged the youth to acquire skills and academic qualifications to enable them to assume leadership positions in future.
He said leadership positions were bestowed on people who were adequately prepared and capable of holding themselves out to lead and defend their people.
DSP Mawusi was speaking on the topic, "The Youth and Their Calling", at a forum organised by the youth of the Alajo branch of the Church of Christ in Accra on Monday.
It formed part of activities marking the youth week of the church. Other activities outlined for the week include a lecture on dieting, quiz and debates, special youth prayers and football matches.
Using Ezekiel 22:30 as a point of reference, DSP Mawusi said certain conditions needed to be met before one could be entrusted with a leadership position.
Those conditions, he indicated, included academic qualifications and professional skills.
Unfortunately, DSP Mawusi said, instead of concentrating on acquiring the requisite skills, training and academic qualifications, the youth were being bombarded by the increasing impact of modernisation through foreign culture.
He said although the youth were often referred to as future leaders, leadership positions were not automatic when they became adults.
He reminded them of what God said in Ezekiel 22:30, "I looked for someone who could build a wall, who could stand in the places where the walls have crumbled and defend the land when my anger is about to destroy it, but I could find no one."
DSP Mawusi said God did not just look for anybody but one with skill and capability, stressing that "God will not leave the land in the hands of any unskilled person".
He said the youth must always see the problems they faced as challenges and strategise to overcome them.
In that way, DSP Mawusi said, they would become extraordinary and revel in their hard work.
Forged British visa applications reduce
Page 3: November 7, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE number of forged visa applications to the British High Commission has reduced from 40 per cent in 2004 to eight per cent this year.
The Immigration Liaison Manager of the British High Commission, Mr Paul Stafford, said in Accra yesterday that as a result of the success of the Visa and Documentation Fraud Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), the United Kingdom’s Border Agency International Group was providing £26,500 for the purchase of a vehicle and equipment for the unit.
Mr Stafford was speaking when he visited the Director-General of the CID, DCOP Frank Adu-Poku.
He said the British Government had also decided to replicate the programme throughout the world.
"This is in recognition of the achievements of the Visa and Documentation Fraud Unit of the CID in reducing the submission of forged documents by visa applicants to the British High Commission in Ghana," he stated.
He said since the unit was set up in 2004, through the instrumentality of the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) K. K. Amoah, more than 3,200 visa applicants had been arrested at the British High Commission for submitting forged or fraudulently obtained documents or for identity abuse.
Prior to the inception of the exercise, he said, an assessment of visa applications showed that 40 per cent of all applications submitted to the High Commission contained forged or fraudulently obtained documents.
Mr Stafford said it was as a result of the success of the programme that senior officials in the United Kingdom recognised Ghana’s efforts as an "outstanding example of how to reduce fraud and work with local law enforcement agencies".
In addition to the CID boss, Mr Stafford also commended Chief Inspector Antwi Tanoh and Inspector Joseph Mannoh for being excellent ambassadors for the CID in ensuring the success of the unit.
DCOP Adu-Poku expressed the appreciation of the Police Administration for the resources that various foreign missions were providing to support the work of the unit.
He gave the assurance that the vehicle and equipment would be put to good use to reduce the incidence of forged documents in visa applications.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE number of forged visa applications to the British High Commission has reduced from 40 per cent in 2004 to eight per cent this year.
The Immigration Liaison Manager of the British High Commission, Mr Paul Stafford, said in Accra yesterday that as a result of the success of the Visa and Documentation Fraud Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), the United Kingdom’s Border Agency International Group was providing £26,500 for the purchase of a vehicle and equipment for the unit.
Mr Stafford was speaking when he visited the Director-General of the CID, DCOP Frank Adu-Poku.
He said the British Government had also decided to replicate the programme throughout the world.
"This is in recognition of the achievements of the Visa and Documentation Fraud Unit of the CID in reducing the submission of forged documents by visa applicants to the British High Commission in Ghana," he stated.
He said since the unit was set up in 2004, through the instrumentality of the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) K. K. Amoah, more than 3,200 visa applicants had been arrested at the British High Commission for submitting forged or fraudulently obtained documents or for identity abuse.
Prior to the inception of the exercise, he said, an assessment of visa applications showed that 40 per cent of all applications submitted to the High Commission contained forged or fraudulently obtained documents.
Mr Stafford said it was as a result of the success of the programme that senior officials in the United Kingdom recognised Ghana’s efforts as an "outstanding example of how to reduce fraud and work with local law enforcement agencies".
In addition to the CID boss, Mr Stafford also commended Chief Inspector Antwi Tanoh and Inspector Joseph Mannoh for being excellent ambassadors for the CID in ensuring the success of the unit.
DCOP Adu-Poku expressed the appreciation of the Police Administration for the resources that various foreign missions were providing to support the work of the unit.
He gave the assurance that the vehicle and equipment would be put to good use to reduce the incidence of forged documents in visa applications.
Immigration Service ready to secure country’s borders
Page 72: November 6, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) says the country’s border patrol machinery has been put on high alert in readiness for the forthcoming elections.
"We have taken extreme precaution to protect and secure the country’s borders for the elections," Ms Elizabeth Adjei, Director-General of GIS told the Daily Graphic in an interview yesterday.
She said apart from the regular personnel posted to the country’s borders, about 1,000 additional personnel of the recently created Border Patrol Unit of the GIS were patrolling the length and breath of the country, particularly the known unapproved routes.
According to her, 500 more personnel would be deployed by the middle of this month to sensitive border posts during and after the elections.
Ms Adjei said the Border Patrol Unit was now handling the physical protection of both entry and exit points of the country, adding that the GIS had set up about 20 patrol bases covering the entire land mass of the country.
She said the border patrol personnel have been supplied with logistics, particularly communication gadgets including radios, cell phones, transport and established mobile border teams to check the unapproved routes.
She said the GIS was monitoring all the threats, including the influx of people into the country, especially if there were extraordinary movements of people to and from other countries.
Ms Adjei said the personnel, together with other security services, would intensify the search on vehicles and their contents as the elections drew nearer.
Ms Adjei cautioned personnel of the GIS to remain neutral and professional in the task assigned them during the forthcoming elections.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) says the country’s border patrol machinery has been put on high alert in readiness for the forthcoming elections.
"We have taken extreme precaution to protect and secure the country’s borders for the elections," Ms Elizabeth Adjei, Director-General of GIS told the Daily Graphic in an interview yesterday.
She said apart from the regular personnel posted to the country’s borders, about 1,000 additional personnel of the recently created Border Patrol Unit of the GIS were patrolling the length and breath of the country, particularly the known unapproved routes.
According to her, 500 more personnel would be deployed by the middle of this month to sensitive border posts during and after the elections.
Ms Adjei said the Border Patrol Unit was now handling the physical protection of both entry and exit points of the country, adding that the GIS had set up about 20 patrol bases covering the entire land mass of the country.
She said the border patrol personnel have been supplied with logistics, particularly communication gadgets including radios, cell phones, transport and established mobile border teams to check the unapproved routes.
She said the GIS was monitoring all the threats, including the influx of people into the country, especially if there were extraordinary movements of people to and from other countries.
Ms Adjei said the personnel, together with other security services, would intensify the search on vehicles and their contents as the elections drew nearer.
Ms Adjei cautioned personnel of the GIS to remain neutral and professional in the task assigned them during the forthcoming elections.
8,000 Liberian refugees return home
Page 47: November 6, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
ABOUT 8,000 Liberian refugees in Ghana have so far returned home on the voluntary repatriation exercise initiated in April this year under the auspices of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
They were made up of 3,728 males and 4,221 females with 15,000 more refugees waiting to be repatriated under the programme.
Out of those repatriated, 195 went in April, 924 in May, 1,475 in July, 2,266 in August, 1,281 in September and 485 in October, 2008.
The Interior Minister, Dr Kwame Addo-Kufuor, disclosed this to the Daily Graphic after the Tripartite Committee for the Voluntary Repatriation of Liberian Refugees in Ghana had issued a joint statement on the status of the exercise in Accra .
It was the outcome of a Third meeting of the Tripartite Committee for the voluntary repatriation of Liberian refugees in Ghana.
In the statement, the committee expressed their commitment to supporting the voluntary repatriation of Liberian refugees from Ghana to Liberia until March, 31, 2009.
It said a verification exercise would be conducted in mid-January, 2009, to ascertain the number of Liberian refugees in Ghana, determine those with Ghanaian family links, update their profile, and determine refugees' intentions to either return to Liberia or remain in Ghana.
"Following the verification exercise, the Government of Ghana and the UNHCR are encouraged to conduct an information campaign to inform the Liberian refugees opting to remain in Ghana of processes and procedures," it added.
In view of the challenges confronting the carting of their belongings and the nature of the bad road from Cote d’Ivoire to Liberia, the committee agreed to identify a sea-worthy vessel to use in addition to already existing modes of transportation.
"The government of Liberia will continue to make efforts towards creating an enabling environment to receive returnees, through development initiatives as part of the Poverty Reduction Strategy," it stated.
The committee stressed that reintegration opportunities, particularly in the area of skills training, micro-grants and micro-finance, would be made available to returnees who fulfil the criteria set by those programmes.
It acknowledged Ghana’s plans to relocate refugees from Buduburam to other parts of Ghana upon completion of the organised voluntary repatriation, stressing that "their status will be in accordance with national and regional instruments in force in Ghana".
Dr Addo-Kufuor said it was not the intention of the government to "push" the refugees out of the country but rather to pave the way for de-camping Buduburam township as a refugee camp to revert to its status as an ordinary Ghanaian town.
He said any Liberian who chose to stay in Ghana was welcome.
He explained that the verification exercise became necessary following the arrival of some refugees from Cote d’Ivoire.
Story: Albert K. Salia
ABOUT 8,000 Liberian refugees in Ghana have so far returned home on the voluntary repatriation exercise initiated in April this year under the auspices of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
They were made up of 3,728 males and 4,221 females with 15,000 more refugees waiting to be repatriated under the programme.
Out of those repatriated, 195 went in April, 924 in May, 1,475 in July, 2,266 in August, 1,281 in September and 485 in October, 2008.
The Interior Minister, Dr Kwame Addo-Kufuor, disclosed this to the Daily Graphic after the Tripartite Committee for the Voluntary Repatriation of Liberian Refugees in Ghana had issued a joint statement on the status of the exercise in Accra .
It was the outcome of a Third meeting of the Tripartite Committee for the voluntary repatriation of Liberian refugees in Ghana.
In the statement, the committee expressed their commitment to supporting the voluntary repatriation of Liberian refugees from Ghana to Liberia until March, 31, 2009.
It said a verification exercise would be conducted in mid-January, 2009, to ascertain the number of Liberian refugees in Ghana, determine those with Ghanaian family links, update their profile, and determine refugees' intentions to either return to Liberia or remain in Ghana.
"Following the verification exercise, the Government of Ghana and the UNHCR are encouraged to conduct an information campaign to inform the Liberian refugees opting to remain in Ghana of processes and procedures," it added.
In view of the challenges confronting the carting of their belongings and the nature of the bad road from Cote d’Ivoire to Liberia, the committee agreed to identify a sea-worthy vessel to use in addition to already existing modes of transportation.
"The government of Liberia will continue to make efforts towards creating an enabling environment to receive returnees, through development initiatives as part of the Poverty Reduction Strategy," it stated.
The committee stressed that reintegration opportunities, particularly in the area of skills training, micro-grants and micro-finance, would be made available to returnees who fulfil the criteria set by those programmes.
It acknowledged Ghana’s plans to relocate refugees from Buduburam to other parts of Ghana upon completion of the organised voluntary repatriation, stressing that "their status will be in accordance with national and regional instruments in force in Ghana".
Dr Addo-Kufuor said it was not the intention of the government to "push" the refugees out of the country but rather to pave the way for de-camping Buduburam township as a refugee camp to revert to its status as an ordinary Ghanaian town.
He said any Liberian who chose to stay in Ghana was welcome.
He explained that the verification exercise became necessary following the arrival of some refugees from Cote d’Ivoire.
6 firms to print ballot papers
Front Page: November 5, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
SIX local printing houses have been given the contract to print the ballot papers for the December 7 general election and release them to the Electoral Commission (EC) this week.
The Director of Elections at the EC, Mr Albert Kofi Arhin, announcing this when he addressed security chiefs within the southern command, named the six companies, which are all Accra-based, as the Buck Press, Innolink, Yarsarko, Fonstad, Act Commercial and Check Point.
The day-long meeting was to enable the security chiefs to appraise themselves of the electoral processes, engage in test operations for communication and mobility and plan joint practical exercises against any security challenges that the elections may pose.
Present at the meeting were the Inspector-General of Police, Mr P. K. Acheampong, the Chief of the Defence Staff, Lt Gen J. B. Danquah, and the Director of the Ghana Immigration Service, Ms Elizabeth Adjei.
Mr Arhin said the EC would require a 24-hour guard during the printing of the ballot papers and added that it would, therefore, need the support of the security agencies during the printing of the papers.
He noted that the EC had often borne the brunt of the elections as its staff were often intimidated and beaten up.
Mr Arhin said the commission appreciated the role of the security services in the success of the elections.
According to him, after the printing of the ballot papers, the EC would still need security assistance to escort the papers and other election materials to the regions on the eve of the elections for the allocation and distribution of the materials to the polling stations.
Mr Arhin said other areas the EC needed security presence and protection were the counting of votes, the carting of ballot boxes to the collation centres, the Operations Room of the EC, the premises of the EC itself, as well as the places where electronic scoreboards would be mounted throughout the country.
He explained that the stakes in this year’s elections were high but gave the assurance that the EC would do what it could to ensure peaceful elections and urged the security agencies to support it with the requisite security.
Mr Arhin told the security chiefs that the presiding officers would be in charge of the elections at the various centres and urged them to co-operate with the officers.
He said the EC was aware that the security personnel could not cover the entire length and breadth of the country and had, therefore, issued out the list of flash points to the security chiefs.
The National Security Co-ordinator, Dr Sam Amoo-Ghartey, said the commitment of the country’s security system to ensure a secure and peaceful environment for free and fair elections was on course.
"This joint police/military exercise constitutes a vital part of the preparations of the election task force to ensure a congenial and secure environment for the forthcoming elections," he said.
He said the National Task Force had been decentralised and replicated in all the 10 regions and the 170 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies, with non-political appointees as chairpersons.
He said the goal of the joint exercise in the internal security areas of operations was to synchronise and rehearse operational plans and procedures.
Dr Amoo-Ghartey expressed the hope that by the end of the exercise the roles and functions of all agencies involved would have been synchronised and integrated into a seamless operation machine to achieve the ultimate goal of ensuring a secure and enabling environment for a free, fair and transparent electoral process.
"Lest we forget, we are a people who have gone through a lot in our young history: We have been freed, we have been liberated, redeemed, revolutionised and eventually we have achieved democratic dispensation. This, we are sure, we are all determined to keep," he said.
The General Officer Commanding the Southern Command of the Ghana Armed Forces, Brigadier-General Emmanuel Okyere, announced a nation-wide simulation exercise on November 16, 2008 to test the preparedness of the security services for the December 7 polls.
He said journalists would be embedded in the exercise to erase any doubts about it.
Story: Albert K. Salia
SIX local printing houses have been given the contract to print the ballot papers for the December 7 general election and release them to the Electoral Commission (EC) this week.
The Director of Elections at the EC, Mr Albert Kofi Arhin, announcing this when he addressed security chiefs within the southern command, named the six companies, which are all Accra-based, as the Buck Press, Innolink, Yarsarko, Fonstad, Act Commercial and Check Point.
The day-long meeting was to enable the security chiefs to appraise themselves of the electoral processes, engage in test operations for communication and mobility and plan joint practical exercises against any security challenges that the elections may pose.
Present at the meeting were the Inspector-General of Police, Mr P. K. Acheampong, the Chief of the Defence Staff, Lt Gen J. B. Danquah, and the Director of the Ghana Immigration Service, Ms Elizabeth Adjei.
Mr Arhin said the EC would require a 24-hour guard during the printing of the ballot papers and added that it would, therefore, need the support of the security agencies during the printing of the papers.
He noted that the EC had often borne the brunt of the elections as its staff were often intimidated and beaten up.
Mr Arhin said the commission appreciated the role of the security services in the success of the elections.
According to him, after the printing of the ballot papers, the EC would still need security assistance to escort the papers and other election materials to the regions on the eve of the elections for the allocation and distribution of the materials to the polling stations.
Mr Arhin said other areas the EC needed security presence and protection were the counting of votes, the carting of ballot boxes to the collation centres, the Operations Room of the EC, the premises of the EC itself, as well as the places where electronic scoreboards would be mounted throughout the country.
He explained that the stakes in this year’s elections were high but gave the assurance that the EC would do what it could to ensure peaceful elections and urged the security agencies to support it with the requisite security.
Mr Arhin told the security chiefs that the presiding officers would be in charge of the elections at the various centres and urged them to co-operate with the officers.
He said the EC was aware that the security personnel could not cover the entire length and breadth of the country and had, therefore, issued out the list of flash points to the security chiefs.
The National Security Co-ordinator, Dr Sam Amoo-Ghartey, said the commitment of the country’s security system to ensure a secure and peaceful environment for free and fair elections was on course.
"This joint police/military exercise constitutes a vital part of the preparations of the election task force to ensure a congenial and secure environment for the forthcoming elections," he said.
He said the National Task Force had been decentralised and replicated in all the 10 regions and the 170 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies, with non-political appointees as chairpersons.
He said the goal of the joint exercise in the internal security areas of operations was to synchronise and rehearse operational plans and procedures.
Dr Amoo-Ghartey expressed the hope that by the end of the exercise the roles and functions of all agencies involved would have been synchronised and integrated into a seamless operation machine to achieve the ultimate goal of ensuring a secure and enabling environment for a free, fair and transparent electoral process.
"Lest we forget, we are a people who have gone through a lot in our young history: We have been freed, we have been liberated, redeemed, revolutionised and eventually we have achieved democratic dispensation. This, we are sure, we are all determined to keep," he said.
The General Officer Commanding the Southern Command of the Ghana Armed Forces, Brigadier-General Emmanuel Okyere, announced a nation-wide simulation exercise on November 16, 2008 to test the preparedness of the security services for the December 7 polls.
He said journalists would be embedded in the exercise to erase any doubts about it.
Don't use small arms during elections
Page 31: November 4, 2008.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE President of the West African Action Network on Small Arms (WAANSA), Mr Baffour Dokyi Amoa, has called on Ghanaians to avoid the use of small arms and light weapons during and after the December polls.
"WAANSA would like to take this opportunity to remind the good people of Ghana that it is ironic for anyone seeking to rule this country to want to destroy it in the first place," he said.
Mr Amoa made the call when WAANSA presented 4,000 of two posters it had printed to the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) to enable the NCCE to educate Ghanaians on the need to use the ballot to build the nation and not bullets to destroy it.
According to him, as Ghana’s elections were barely a month away, it was time for Ghanaians to act positively and peacefully.
"We should not act in ways that would cause offence. Neither should we make provocative pronouncements or conduct ourselves in ways that would satisfy our self-fulfilling prophecies," he said.
Mr Amoa said the unfortunate incidents in Fadama, Bawku, Gushiegu and Tamale in the Greater Accra, Upper East and Northern regions had reawakened the fears of the presence of illicit small arms and light weapons in the country.
He reminded Ghanaians of the irreparable damage and harm such weapons cause and urged those in possession of them to submit them to the security forces.
He said this was the time for youth leaders in the communities and political parties to advise their followers to work to protect the country.
Mr Amoa called on the Intra Party Action Committee (IPAC) and the Electoral Commission (EC) to intensify their interactions so as to build the confidence of all stakeholders to guarantee the credibility of the outcome of the elections.
A deputy chairperson of the NCCE in-charge of Programmes, Mr Baron Amoafo, who received the posters, commended WAANSA for the support.
He said the NCCE would use the posters to educate Ghanaians, particularly the political parties for an incident free elections.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE President of the West African Action Network on Small Arms (WAANSA), Mr Baffour Dokyi Amoa, has called on Ghanaians to avoid the use of small arms and light weapons during and after the December polls.
"WAANSA would like to take this opportunity to remind the good people of Ghana that it is ironic for anyone seeking to rule this country to want to destroy it in the first place," he said.
Mr Amoa made the call when WAANSA presented 4,000 of two posters it had printed to the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) to enable the NCCE to educate Ghanaians on the need to use the ballot to build the nation and not bullets to destroy it.
According to him, as Ghana’s elections were barely a month away, it was time for Ghanaians to act positively and peacefully.
"We should not act in ways that would cause offence. Neither should we make provocative pronouncements or conduct ourselves in ways that would satisfy our self-fulfilling prophecies," he said.
Mr Amoa said the unfortunate incidents in Fadama, Bawku, Gushiegu and Tamale in the Greater Accra, Upper East and Northern regions had reawakened the fears of the presence of illicit small arms and light weapons in the country.
He reminded Ghanaians of the irreparable damage and harm such weapons cause and urged those in possession of them to submit them to the security forces.
He said this was the time for youth leaders in the communities and political parties to advise their followers to work to protect the country.
Mr Amoa called on the Intra Party Action Committee (IPAC) and the Electoral Commission (EC) to intensify their interactions so as to build the confidence of all stakeholders to guarantee the credibility of the outcome of the elections.
A deputy chairperson of the NCCE in-charge of Programmes, Mr Baron Amoafo, who received the posters, commended WAANSA for the support.
He said the NCCE would use the posters to educate Ghanaians, particularly the political parties for an incident free elections.
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