Page 24: Daily Graphic, March 30, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Managing Director of the State Housing Company (SHC), Mr Mark Nii Akwei Ankrah, says the emergence of slums in urban centres indicate that human development is being compromised.
He said the failure to holistically address the challenges of planning meant that slums would continue to emerge no matter how good and well-intentioned government policies were.
Speaking during a courtesy call on the Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL) Mr Ibrahim Awal, in Accra yesterday, Mr Ankrah said the SHC was to be reinvigorated to pursue a social housing scheme that would address the housing needs of Ghanaians.
In line with that, he said, a national housing road show would be organised this year to tour the various regions and climax it with a National Housing Conference to bring all stakeholders on board to streamline housing ownership.
Mr Ankrah said what currently existed in the country was a real estate enterprise, which did not factor in the needs of many Ghanaians.
According to him, home ownership was a gradual process but the present system made it appear that it was a one-stop process.
He said he was leading the SHC to revert to its core business of a social housing scheme provider through which prospective home owners would be assisted to own houses.
He said the company was also re-engineering its existing stock of houses through re-development and building of new ones with affordable high quality materials and to suit the needs of owners.
Mr Ankrah said the era of horizontal buildings in urban centres was over and it was important that vertical development was seen as the way out.
He said the vision of achieving affordable and quality houses would require the use of local materials and planning needs of the beneficiary communities, stressing that it should not be a wholesale package of using only a particular building material for all houses across the country.
He cited for instance that the use of clay and other materials could reduce the cost of pavements in the urban centres instead of cement.
“We are bringing in a lot of innovation and flexibility in the design of housing with the ultimate owner or user in mind,” he said.
Mr Ankrah stressed the need for Ghanaians to de-politicise the housing sector, adopt a collective responsibility and think outside the box to address the housing needs.
He explained that despite the low-key activities of the SHC, the company had been acquiring large tracts of land and would make them available for prospective home owners.
He said the company had set up a Professional Advisory Unit to assist prospective home owners, companies and interested groups in instituting home owning scheme for staff.
Mr Ankrah said the company would depend on the media, particularly the GCGL, to educate the populace on housing.
He also expressed concern about the challenges in house numbering in the country, as local assemblies often provided different house numbers other than what were provided by estate firms to their owners and, thus, created problems for identification and use of housings for business transactions.
Mr Awal pledged the support of the GCGL to partner the SHC to educate the populace.
He noted that housing was key in the socio-economic life of Ghanaians and it was, therefore, important that the populace were not only informed but educated as well on the sector.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Another case of defilement at Great Lamptey-Mills
Front Page: Daily Graphic, March 27, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A MUSIC teacher of Great Lamptey Mills Institute, Gideon Nana Ofei Dodoo, 26, has been arrested by the police for allegedly defiling a nine-year-old pupil of the school.
Police sources said a medical report had confirmed that the victim’s private part had been dangerously tampered with.
Dodoo was alleged to have gone into hiding since March 19, 2010 when the police started looking for him.
He was, however, arrested on Thursday, after school authorities assisted the police to locate his house.
The Tesano Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Emmanuel Bossoh, told the Daily Graphic that the suspect was alleged to have defiled the victim in November, 2009 but had warned her not to inform anyone about it.
He said the victim claimed that Dodoo told her she would die, if she informed anyone about it.
According to him, the victim said she had to endure the abuse in a toilet where Dodoo always had carnal knowledge of her.
Chief Supt Bossoh said the girl claimed Dodoo would usually ask her to wait for everyone to leave or when the school was very quiet.
He said the victim’s mother, however, detected the changes in the girl and upon interrogation, the girl informed her it was the Music teacher who had been sexually abusing her.
Chief Supt. Bossoh said the victim’s mother reported the matter to the police on March 19, 2010 and also indicated in her complaint that when she went to the school, the authorities allegedly wanted to “settle” her to keep the matter silent.
At the time of filing this report, Chief Supt. Bossoh said the docket was to be referred to the Accra Regional office of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) to take over the investigations.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A MUSIC teacher of Great Lamptey Mills Institute, Gideon Nana Ofei Dodoo, 26, has been arrested by the police for allegedly defiling a nine-year-old pupil of the school.
Police sources said a medical report had confirmed that the victim’s private part had been dangerously tampered with.
Dodoo was alleged to have gone into hiding since March 19, 2010 when the police started looking for him.
He was, however, arrested on Thursday, after school authorities assisted the police to locate his house.
The Tesano Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Emmanuel Bossoh, told the Daily Graphic that the suspect was alleged to have defiled the victim in November, 2009 but had warned her not to inform anyone about it.
He said the victim claimed that Dodoo told her she would die, if she informed anyone about it.
According to him, the victim said she had to endure the abuse in a toilet where Dodoo always had carnal knowledge of her.
Chief Supt Bossoh said the girl claimed Dodoo would usually ask her to wait for everyone to leave or when the school was very quiet.
He said the victim’s mother, however, detected the changes in the girl and upon interrogation, the girl informed her it was the Music teacher who had been sexually abusing her.
Chief Supt. Bossoh said the victim’s mother reported the matter to the police on March 19, 2010 and also indicated in her complaint that when she went to the school, the authorities allegedly wanted to “settle” her to keep the matter silent.
At the time of filing this report, Chief Supt. Bossoh said the docket was to be referred to the Accra Regional office of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) to take over the investigations.
Injunction against Methodist Church
Page 3: Daily Graphic, March 27, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE embattled Administrative Bishop of the Methodist Church, Ghana, Rt Rev Kow Bosomefi Egyir, on Thursday obtained an interlocutory injunction against the church from holding its extraordinary conference.
The conference, which was to have deliberated on recommendations of the Disciplinary Committee’s Report on the alleged sexual misconduct of Bishop Egyir, was postponed after the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, Ghana, Most Rev Emmanuel Asante-Antwi, was served with the injunction.
The church has, however, applied to the Human Rights Court to set aside the injunction.
According to the reliefs sought by Bishop Egyir, the procedures adopted by the Disciplinary Committee were in violation of the church’s constitution.
Moreover, he (Bishop Egyir) was also not given an opportunity to be heard.
It was also the contention of Bishop Egyir that he did not know the complainant or who was complaining and what was being complained about.
Confirming the development in an interview, Most Rev Asante-Antwi said as a law-abiding institution, the church had to comply with the orders of the court.
He said the church, however, took the necessary steps thereafter and had accordingly applied to set the injunction aside.
He explained that as the highest decision-making body of the church, Conference would have to validate or nullify any recommendation by any sub-unit of the church.
Bishop Egyir, who is currently on suspension and holidaying in the United States of America (USA), is alleged to have sexually misconducted himself by allegedly raping the 23-year-old daughter of another high-ranking member of the church.
The alleged victim, a student in a tertiary institution in Ghana, was alleged to have been sent by her father to deliver a parcel to the bishop when the incident allegedly took place.
Bishop Egyir was summoned to appear before the Disciplinary Committee of the church by February 3, 2010.
He was suspended after he had allegedly admitted before a pastoral committee set up to investigate the matter that he had misconducted himself sexually.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE embattled Administrative Bishop of the Methodist Church, Ghana, Rt Rev Kow Bosomefi Egyir, on Thursday obtained an interlocutory injunction against the church from holding its extraordinary conference.
The conference, which was to have deliberated on recommendations of the Disciplinary Committee’s Report on the alleged sexual misconduct of Bishop Egyir, was postponed after the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, Ghana, Most Rev Emmanuel Asante-Antwi, was served with the injunction.
The church has, however, applied to the Human Rights Court to set aside the injunction.
According to the reliefs sought by Bishop Egyir, the procedures adopted by the Disciplinary Committee were in violation of the church’s constitution.
Moreover, he (Bishop Egyir) was also not given an opportunity to be heard.
It was also the contention of Bishop Egyir that he did not know the complainant or who was complaining and what was being complained about.
Confirming the development in an interview, Most Rev Asante-Antwi said as a law-abiding institution, the church had to comply with the orders of the court.
He said the church, however, took the necessary steps thereafter and had accordingly applied to set the injunction aside.
He explained that as the highest decision-making body of the church, Conference would have to validate or nullify any recommendation by any sub-unit of the church.
Bishop Egyir, who is currently on suspension and holidaying in the United States of America (USA), is alleged to have sexually misconducted himself by allegedly raping the 23-year-old daughter of another high-ranking member of the church.
The alleged victim, a student in a tertiary institution in Ghana, was alleged to have been sent by her father to deliver a parcel to the bishop when the incident allegedly took place.
Bishop Egyir was summoned to appear before the Disciplinary Committee of the church by February 3, 2010.
He was suspended after he had allegedly admitted before a pastoral committee set up to investigate the matter that he had misconducted himself sexually.
Ayariga receives US trade delegation
Page 32: Daily Graphic, March 27, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Mahama Ayariga has pledged the government’s commitment to create a conducive business environment to help reduce the cost of doing business in the country.
He said the government acknowledged the challenges of non-availability of capital and technological skills as handicaps which greatly affected the private sector and investment generally.
Speaking during a courtesy call on him by a Louisiana State trade delegation, Mr Ayariga said the government would initiate policies that would reduce the cost of doing business in the country.
He said there already existed incentives in investing in the Free Zones and the deprived areas, particularly in the northern part of the country.
He said the US government continued to support Ghana through a number of initiatives and noted in particular training support being provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The Commercial Counsellor of the US Embassy in Accra, Ms Heather Byrnes, who led the team to the ministry, described the response and support of the government and companies to the delegation as tremendous.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Mahama Ayariga has pledged the government’s commitment to create a conducive business environment to help reduce the cost of doing business in the country.
He said the government acknowledged the challenges of non-availability of capital and technological skills as handicaps which greatly affected the private sector and investment generally.
Speaking during a courtesy call on him by a Louisiana State trade delegation, Mr Ayariga said the government would initiate policies that would reduce the cost of doing business in the country.
He said there already existed incentives in investing in the Free Zones and the deprived areas, particularly in the northern part of the country.
He said the US government continued to support Ghana through a number of initiatives and noted in particular training support being provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The Commercial Counsellor of the US Embassy in Accra, Ms Heather Byrnes, who led the team to the ministry, described the response and support of the government and companies to the delegation as tremendous.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Minister gets tough on shoddy jobs
Page 24: Daily Graphic, March 25, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
ALL contractors, engineers and consultants who undertake, certify and get paid for shoddy jobs at the expense of the taxpayer are to be blacklisted by the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing.
The move has become necessary following the realisation that some firms undertake projects but those projects become non-functional after they have been inaugurated.
The sector minister, Mr Alban Bagbin, told the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday that the ministry was revisiting the possibility of enforcing technical standards in development projects as part of efforts to reduce, if not eliminate, shoddy jobs by contractors and engineers.
He noted that some firms undertook shoddy jobs but got certified and paid for non-operational systems.
He cited the last major works on the Weija pumping station, which was inaugurated in November 2008 but had remained non-functional ever since it was constructed.
Mr Bagbin said the situation had contributed immensely to the water problem facing residents in the Accra and Tema metropolitan areas and indicated that those blacklisted would never be awarded government contracts again.
He noted that although 1,920 cubic millimetres of water was needed for daily urban water supply in 2010, only 634.740 cubic millimetres was produced, leaving a shortfall of 1,285.260 millimetres for managers of the country’s urban water systems to manage.
He said the ministry had outlined a short to medium and long-term strategy to address the water needs of Ghanaians.
In the short-term, the ministry was seeking to address the challenges of sources of water supply, the production, distribution, uses and sustainability of water.
Mr Bagbin said a major challenge to address seriously was that of training the personnel and making them to be disciplined and responsive, passionate and committed to their duties.
“We have a critical number of experienced and knowledgeable personnel but it is important to inspire them to be disciplined and productive,” he said.
He said the short-term objectives also called for more vigilance and protection of the distribution networks to avoid vandalism and tampering of water facilities.
That, he said, would also mean meeting some key users such as hospitals, educational institutions and industries to solicit their assistance in the rationalisation and control of water usage.
Mr Bagbin said the essence of the short-term programme was to reduce the percentage of unaccountable water to liberate the systems to ensure equitable distribution.
He said the percentage of unaccountable water had been put at more than 50 per cent but was quick to add that that amount included water supplied freely to government facilities.
He said that would also call for extensive metering of both government and private sector players to determine the quantum of free water being given out.
In the medium-term, he said, the ministry was seeking to replace all pieces of obsolete equipment and concentrate on the maintenance of the rest to make them functional.
He said the ministry had instituted a buffer zone programme under which people would be encouraged to plant economic trees along the banks of water basins.
Mr Bagbin said the programme was in place at Bawku and indicated that an impact assessment of the programme would soon be done so that it would be replicated in all other areas.
He said there was also a programme to get the youth involved in all activities of the Water Resources Commission so as to catch them young to appreciate the importance of protecting, conserving and managing the country’s water resources.
He said the Water Resources Commission had taken delivery of kits to help individuals along water bodies and water systems to measure the pollution levels of those water bodies so as to help them appreciate the effects of activities on the water sources and their attendant health hazards to the populace.
Mr Bagbin said a heavy dose of investment was required in the long term to address the production and distribution chain but that, he indicated, required a better management system to convince investors to pump money into the sector.
He said the ministry would, therefore, provide leadership to implement good programmes to win the confidence of all stakeholders.
Story: Albert K. Salia
ALL contractors, engineers and consultants who undertake, certify and get paid for shoddy jobs at the expense of the taxpayer are to be blacklisted by the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing.
The move has become necessary following the realisation that some firms undertake projects but those projects become non-functional after they have been inaugurated.
The sector minister, Mr Alban Bagbin, told the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday that the ministry was revisiting the possibility of enforcing technical standards in development projects as part of efforts to reduce, if not eliminate, shoddy jobs by contractors and engineers.
He noted that some firms undertook shoddy jobs but got certified and paid for non-operational systems.
He cited the last major works on the Weija pumping station, which was inaugurated in November 2008 but had remained non-functional ever since it was constructed.
Mr Bagbin said the situation had contributed immensely to the water problem facing residents in the Accra and Tema metropolitan areas and indicated that those blacklisted would never be awarded government contracts again.
He noted that although 1,920 cubic millimetres of water was needed for daily urban water supply in 2010, only 634.740 cubic millimetres was produced, leaving a shortfall of 1,285.260 millimetres for managers of the country’s urban water systems to manage.
He said the ministry had outlined a short to medium and long-term strategy to address the water needs of Ghanaians.
In the short-term, the ministry was seeking to address the challenges of sources of water supply, the production, distribution, uses and sustainability of water.
Mr Bagbin said a major challenge to address seriously was that of training the personnel and making them to be disciplined and responsive, passionate and committed to their duties.
“We have a critical number of experienced and knowledgeable personnel but it is important to inspire them to be disciplined and productive,” he said.
He said the short-term objectives also called for more vigilance and protection of the distribution networks to avoid vandalism and tampering of water facilities.
That, he said, would also mean meeting some key users such as hospitals, educational institutions and industries to solicit their assistance in the rationalisation and control of water usage.
Mr Bagbin said the essence of the short-term programme was to reduce the percentage of unaccountable water to liberate the systems to ensure equitable distribution.
He said the percentage of unaccountable water had been put at more than 50 per cent but was quick to add that that amount included water supplied freely to government facilities.
He said that would also call for extensive metering of both government and private sector players to determine the quantum of free water being given out.
In the medium-term, he said, the ministry was seeking to replace all pieces of obsolete equipment and concentrate on the maintenance of the rest to make them functional.
He said the ministry had instituted a buffer zone programme under which people would be encouraged to plant economic trees along the banks of water basins.
Mr Bagbin said the programme was in place at Bawku and indicated that an impact assessment of the programme would soon be done so that it would be replicated in all other areas.
He said there was also a programme to get the youth involved in all activities of the Water Resources Commission so as to catch them young to appreciate the importance of protecting, conserving and managing the country’s water resources.
He said the Water Resources Commission had taken delivery of kits to help individuals along water bodies and water systems to measure the pollution levels of those water bodies so as to help them appreciate the effects of activities on the water sources and their attendant health hazards to the populace.
Mr Bagbin said a heavy dose of investment was required in the long term to address the production and distribution chain but that, he indicated, required a better management system to convince investors to pump money into the sector.
He said the ministry would, therefore, provide leadership to implement good programmes to win the confidence of all stakeholders.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Mumuni launches bio-passports
Page 25: Daily Graphic, March 24, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Alhaji Muhammed Mumuni, yesterday launched Ghana’s biometric passports with a call on Ghanaians with valid passports not to rush for the biometric ones.
He said the current generation of machine readable passports would be in use until November 24, 2015, and, therefore, any rush for the biometric passports by even those with valid passports would put unnecessary pressure on the Passport Office.
The launch attracted members of government, Diplomatic Corps, officials of the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, the Ghana Immigration Service, the Ghana Police Service, among others.
With the launch yesterday, Ghana thus joins Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to be issuing biometric passports.
A Ghanaian company, Buck Press Limited, has been contracted to produce the passport booklets and also set up the Passport Application Centres (PACs).
Under the arrangements, Ecobank, the National Investment Bank, the Ghana Commercial Bank and the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) would sell the passport application forms until such time that selected Ghana Post offices would be included.
A Mobile Passport Application Centre has also been set up to facilitate the applications of physically challenged persons in various institutions.
Alhaji Mumuni said only those in possession of hand-written passports were obliged to change them by April 1, 2010.
Fortunately, he said, some Ghanaians in the Diaspora were in possession of the hand-written passports and indicated that efforts were underway to replace all of them before the April 1, 2010 deadline.
He said the ministry recognised that there would be initial challenges and, therefore, appealed to applicants to exercise restraint, co-operate and support the Passport Office during the early days of the programme.
On the choice of colours for the passports, Alhaji Mumuni explained that the red, blue and green for Diplomatic, Service and Ordinary passports were in conformity with ECOWAS integration agenda.
Alhaji Mumuni said with the commencement of issuance of the biometric passports, there was going to be a reduction of identity theft and other problems associated with the old passports.
He commended the media, particularly the Daily Graphic, which had been in the forefront of educating the public on the transition to biometric passports.
He also expressed appreciation to members of the National Implementation Committee, which was established in 2005, for their dedication and commitment to the successful launch.
Alhaji Mumuni was hopeful that with time, the PACs would be decentralised throughout the country to make them more accessible to Ghanaians.
The acting Chief Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ambassador Lawrence Satuh, said the biometric passport was intended to enhance the dignity of Ghanaians anywhere in the world when they came face to face with immigration and other security agencies.
He noted that the introduction of the biometric passports would not be welcome news to middlemen, passport contractors and connection men, who made it their business to stand between genuine applicants for passports and the issuing authority for their personal gain.
He, therefore, warned them to desist from resorting to any kind of sabotage tactics, since the security agencies had been alerted to deal with them.
The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Ambassador Victor James Gbeho, in an address read on his behalf, described the launch as a significant milestone towards regional integration.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Alhaji Muhammed Mumuni, yesterday launched Ghana’s biometric passports with a call on Ghanaians with valid passports not to rush for the biometric ones.
He said the current generation of machine readable passports would be in use until November 24, 2015, and, therefore, any rush for the biometric passports by even those with valid passports would put unnecessary pressure on the Passport Office.
The launch attracted members of government, Diplomatic Corps, officials of the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, the Ghana Immigration Service, the Ghana Police Service, among others.
With the launch yesterday, Ghana thus joins Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to be issuing biometric passports.
A Ghanaian company, Buck Press Limited, has been contracted to produce the passport booklets and also set up the Passport Application Centres (PACs).
Under the arrangements, Ecobank, the National Investment Bank, the Ghana Commercial Bank and the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) would sell the passport application forms until such time that selected Ghana Post offices would be included.
A Mobile Passport Application Centre has also been set up to facilitate the applications of physically challenged persons in various institutions.
Alhaji Mumuni said only those in possession of hand-written passports were obliged to change them by April 1, 2010.
Fortunately, he said, some Ghanaians in the Diaspora were in possession of the hand-written passports and indicated that efforts were underway to replace all of them before the April 1, 2010 deadline.
He said the ministry recognised that there would be initial challenges and, therefore, appealed to applicants to exercise restraint, co-operate and support the Passport Office during the early days of the programme.
On the choice of colours for the passports, Alhaji Mumuni explained that the red, blue and green for Diplomatic, Service and Ordinary passports were in conformity with ECOWAS integration agenda.
Alhaji Mumuni said with the commencement of issuance of the biometric passports, there was going to be a reduction of identity theft and other problems associated with the old passports.
He commended the media, particularly the Daily Graphic, which had been in the forefront of educating the public on the transition to biometric passports.
He also expressed appreciation to members of the National Implementation Committee, which was established in 2005, for their dedication and commitment to the successful launch.
Alhaji Mumuni was hopeful that with time, the PACs would be decentralised throughout the country to make them more accessible to Ghanaians.
The acting Chief Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ambassador Lawrence Satuh, said the biometric passport was intended to enhance the dignity of Ghanaians anywhere in the world when they came face to face with immigration and other security agencies.
He noted that the introduction of the biometric passports would not be welcome news to middlemen, passport contractors and connection men, who made it their business to stand between genuine applicants for passports and the issuing authority for their personal gain.
He, therefore, warned them to desist from resorting to any kind of sabotage tactics, since the security agencies had been alerted to deal with them.
The President of the ECOWAS Commission, Ambassador Victor James Gbeho, in an address read on his behalf, described the launch as a significant milestone towards regional integration.
Monday, March 22, 2010
$5,000 ROBBERY * Four cops interdicted
Front Page: Daily Graphic, March 23, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Police Administration has interdicted four policemen who allegedly attacked and robbed a Belgian national of $5,000, GH¢700 and other personal effects.
The four policemen are Lance Corporal David Koomson of the Panthers Unit; L/Cpl Franklin Turkson of the James Town Police Station; Constable Isaac Shiburah of the Police Hospital and Constable Edward Opoku of the Armoured Car Squadron.
Corporals Shiburah and Opoku are on the run, while L/Cpls Koomson and Turkson, who appeared before the Osu Magistrate Court yesterday on charges of conspiracy to rob and robbery, have been remanded in prison custody to reappear on March 30, 2010.
They will also face a service enquiry.
The Police Administration has, subsequently, placed a handsome bounty on Shiburah and Opoku.
Briefing newsmen in Accra yesterday, the Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Kwesi Ofori, said the complainant, Thierry Boinnard, a Belgian resident in the USA, was suspected to have been lured into the country by two unidentified men.
He said the two unidentified men met the complainant at the Fiesta Royale Hotel and took him in a taxi to show him a gold refinery.
On reaching a spot near the main entrance of the Achimota Forest, four policemen in a black VW Golf, with registration number AS 3115 T, allegedly intercepted the taxi carrying the Belgian and the two other men.
According to DSP Ofori, the policemen handcuffed the complainant, beat him and took him to a spot near the Kumbaya Hotel, behind Peace FM in Accra, where the four policemen allegedly robbed the complainant of $5,000, GH¢700, a mobile phone worth $1,000 and a gold wristwatch valued at $25.
He said following a public announcement on an Accra-based radio station that some policemen had robbed a foreigner, all the patrol teams were alerted with the description of the VW Golf car the policemen were driving.
He said one of the patrol teams saw a VW Golf being driven by a policeman around the Achimota Golf Club and stopped it.
He said after initial interrogation, the policeman/driver was arrested and driven to the CID Headquarters for further questioning and it was in the course of that that the policeman allegedly admitted to committing the offence and mentioned the names of the others.
DSP Ofori described the two escapees as a risk to society and, therefore, appealed to members of the public to volunteer information leading to their arrest for a handsome reward.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Police Administration has interdicted four policemen who allegedly attacked and robbed a Belgian national of $5,000, GH¢700 and other personal effects.
The four policemen are Lance Corporal David Koomson of the Panthers Unit; L/Cpl Franklin Turkson of the James Town Police Station; Constable Isaac Shiburah of the Police Hospital and Constable Edward Opoku of the Armoured Car Squadron.
Corporals Shiburah and Opoku are on the run, while L/Cpls Koomson and Turkson, who appeared before the Osu Magistrate Court yesterday on charges of conspiracy to rob and robbery, have been remanded in prison custody to reappear on March 30, 2010.
They will also face a service enquiry.
The Police Administration has, subsequently, placed a handsome bounty on Shiburah and Opoku.
Briefing newsmen in Accra yesterday, the Director of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Kwesi Ofori, said the complainant, Thierry Boinnard, a Belgian resident in the USA, was suspected to have been lured into the country by two unidentified men.
He said the two unidentified men met the complainant at the Fiesta Royale Hotel and took him in a taxi to show him a gold refinery.
On reaching a spot near the main entrance of the Achimota Forest, four policemen in a black VW Golf, with registration number AS 3115 T, allegedly intercepted the taxi carrying the Belgian and the two other men.
According to DSP Ofori, the policemen handcuffed the complainant, beat him and took him to a spot near the Kumbaya Hotel, behind Peace FM in Accra, where the four policemen allegedly robbed the complainant of $5,000, GH¢700, a mobile phone worth $1,000 and a gold wristwatch valued at $25.
He said following a public announcement on an Accra-based radio station that some policemen had robbed a foreigner, all the patrol teams were alerted with the description of the VW Golf car the policemen were driving.
He said one of the patrol teams saw a VW Golf being driven by a policeman around the Achimota Golf Club and stopped it.
He said after initial interrogation, the policeman/driver was arrested and driven to the CID Headquarters for further questioning and it was in the course of that that the policeman allegedly admitted to committing the offence and mentioned the names of the others.
DSP Ofori described the two escapees as a risk to society and, therefore, appealed to members of the public to volunteer information leading to their arrest for a handsome reward.
Ghana goes biometric
Page 16: Daily Graphic, March 20, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
COME Tuesday, March 23, 2010, Ghana will join a number of countries issuing biometric passports to its citizens, in line with an International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) demand.
Under the ICAO regimes, it is recommended that member states issue biometric passports by April 1, 2010.
Biometric details are those which are unique to an individual, such as one’s fingerprint, the iris of his/her eye and facial features. Biometric passports are equipped with protection mechanisms to avoid and/or detect attacks.
Biometric passports may have either one or two modes of data storage. In one mode, the biodata of the holder is on a micro-chip embedded in the passport, while in the alternative storage mechanism, the biodata is stored in a two-dimensional (2D) Bar Code.
The main difference between the two modes of storage is that the micro-chip has a bigger storage capacity, although it is susceptible to identity theft or could easily be hacked into by hackers and could be easily damaged, while data stored on a 2D Bar Code is more secure and cannot be accessed without the authority of the holder.
Moreover, the cost of acquiring a biometric passport with a micro-chip is four times higher than that of 2D Bar Code biometric passport.
It has also been proven that illegal organisations, with the appropriate technology, have been able to access biometric passports embedded with micro-chips and managed to alter the data on the chips without the knowledge of either the holders or the passport-issuing authorities, especially in the United Kingdom and Belgium. Sophisticated equipment are also required to read biometric passports embedded with micro-chips but these may not be available at border posts which do not have regular supply of electricity.
Ghana’s choice of biometric passport seems to have been informed by the fact that the biometric passport is more secure because the data or information in the 2D Bar Code cannot be accessed unless the holder surrenders the passport. More so, the 2D biometric passport is more robust while the 2D Bar Code cannot be damaged unless the whole passport is destroyed.
The equipment used to read the 2D Bar Code is also readily available at almost all border posts and does not depend on electrical power and the price is also moderate.
The main disadvantage of the biometric passport is that the storage space in the 2D Bar Code is not as large as that of the e-passport.
Features of Ghana’s Biometric Passports
The paper used for this is a security-grade UV dead paper which is available only in Ghanaian passports and also contains the watermark image of the Supreme Court. As most fraudsters use solvents and acids to alter the passport, the paper contains chemicals, solvents and acids that make duplication impossible.
The background colours fuse in a predetermined shift from one colour to another and also have anti-photocopy and anti-scan designs which make all scanned or photocopied documents useless as they appear ‘moiré’. The passport also has a dual channel intaglio frame which increases its security and makes fraudulent representation impossible. As a result of the intaglio, a hidden image is only visible at a 90-degree angle.
The passport number is visible as black in natural daylight and fluoresces to green under UV light while the use of two-tone invisible fluorescent ultraviolet image and text for the Parliament building and Adinkra symbols make them invisible to the naked eye but can be seen with the use of an ultraviolet lamp.
On page numbering, ladder formation of the page numbers along the edge of the booklet prevents the removal and insertion of non-genuine pages. The pages are also perforated through a laser process, which fortifies its security.
Categories of Biometric Passports to be issued.
There are three categories of biometric passports to be launched; the Diplomatic, Service and Ordinary passports which are issued to citizens on the basis of their status.
Persons to be issued with diplomatic passports include some members of the First Family, ministers, deputy ministers, regional ministers, Members of Parliament, metropolitan/municipal/district chief executives and diplomats accredited to foreign countries.
The diplomatic passport has a red front cover with the national coat-of-arms embossed on the back. The service passport, which has a blue cover, however, is issued to public servants proceeding on overseas training courses or persons empowered to perform specific duties in another country, on behalf of the government .
The ordinary passport, or green-cover passport, is issued to ordinary citizens and naturalised non-Ghanaians who apply for Ghanaian passports.
This passport captures a holder’s facial features and the biometric data of fingerprints which link the holder to the passport. The mode of application and acquisition is that the owner’s biometric data is initially captured and later verified to ensure the right ownership on delivery.
This is expected to help curb fraud, prevent multiple ownership of passports, identity theft and lead to the apprehension of people who may indulge in international acts of terrorism, money laundering and drug smuggling.
Mode of Acquisition
A prospective applicant is first expected to purchase a passport application form from a designated bank or an approved point of sale in the regional capitals and other centres.
The applicant subsequently fills the forms and submits the completed form to the nearest Passport Application Centre (PAC) in Accra, Kumasi, Sunyani, Sekondi/Takoradi, Ho or Tamale, together with relevant documents such as an old passport or birth certificate as evidence of payment to commence the application process. The PACs function as centres for demographic and biometric data capture and transfer, as well as distribution of passports.
At the PAC, applicants will be invited to take a digital photograph together with biometric data of fingerprints. Applicants, at this stage, are given submission receipts from the system and a turn-around date of 15 days or less to collect their biometric passport. All processing fees are paid in consonance with the speed of service delivery: The ordinary or expedited categories.
Data Transfer And Vetting
The COP at the Passport Office in Accra will accept all data transferred from the PACs nation-wide. The vetting process begins with the administrative vetting or verification of all demographic data, followed by the biometric vetting involving the passage of both the demographic and biometric data through the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS). This confirms the validity of the data stored as genuine for the applicant.
Those who already hold an ordinary passport but qualify and apply for Service or Diplomatic passport, will have their stored data transferred for automatic issuance. Data could also be transferred by the COP to border posts to track down fake passports.
The completed passports are dispatched from the Central Operations Production (COP) unit in Accra to the Passport Application Centre (PAC) where applicants can collect their passports by presenting submission receipts and going through a final biometric check to authenticate ownership of the travel document.
Story: Albert K. Salia
COME Tuesday, March 23, 2010, Ghana will join a number of countries issuing biometric passports to its citizens, in line with an International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) demand.
Under the ICAO regimes, it is recommended that member states issue biometric passports by April 1, 2010.
Biometric details are those which are unique to an individual, such as one’s fingerprint, the iris of his/her eye and facial features. Biometric passports are equipped with protection mechanisms to avoid and/or detect attacks.
Biometric passports may have either one or two modes of data storage. In one mode, the biodata of the holder is on a micro-chip embedded in the passport, while in the alternative storage mechanism, the biodata is stored in a two-dimensional (2D) Bar Code.
The main difference between the two modes of storage is that the micro-chip has a bigger storage capacity, although it is susceptible to identity theft or could easily be hacked into by hackers and could be easily damaged, while data stored on a 2D Bar Code is more secure and cannot be accessed without the authority of the holder.
Moreover, the cost of acquiring a biometric passport with a micro-chip is four times higher than that of 2D Bar Code biometric passport.
It has also been proven that illegal organisations, with the appropriate technology, have been able to access biometric passports embedded with micro-chips and managed to alter the data on the chips without the knowledge of either the holders or the passport-issuing authorities, especially in the United Kingdom and Belgium. Sophisticated equipment are also required to read biometric passports embedded with micro-chips but these may not be available at border posts which do not have regular supply of electricity.
Ghana’s choice of biometric passport seems to have been informed by the fact that the biometric passport is more secure because the data or information in the 2D Bar Code cannot be accessed unless the holder surrenders the passport. More so, the 2D biometric passport is more robust while the 2D Bar Code cannot be damaged unless the whole passport is destroyed.
The equipment used to read the 2D Bar Code is also readily available at almost all border posts and does not depend on electrical power and the price is also moderate.
The main disadvantage of the biometric passport is that the storage space in the 2D Bar Code is not as large as that of the e-passport.
Features of Ghana’s Biometric Passports
The paper used for this is a security-grade UV dead paper which is available only in Ghanaian passports and also contains the watermark image of the Supreme Court. As most fraudsters use solvents and acids to alter the passport, the paper contains chemicals, solvents and acids that make duplication impossible.
The background colours fuse in a predetermined shift from one colour to another and also have anti-photocopy and anti-scan designs which make all scanned or photocopied documents useless as they appear ‘moiré’. The passport also has a dual channel intaglio frame which increases its security and makes fraudulent representation impossible. As a result of the intaglio, a hidden image is only visible at a 90-degree angle.
The passport number is visible as black in natural daylight and fluoresces to green under UV light while the use of two-tone invisible fluorescent ultraviolet image and text for the Parliament building and Adinkra symbols make them invisible to the naked eye but can be seen with the use of an ultraviolet lamp.
On page numbering, ladder formation of the page numbers along the edge of the booklet prevents the removal and insertion of non-genuine pages. The pages are also perforated through a laser process, which fortifies its security.
Categories of Biometric Passports to be issued.
There are three categories of biometric passports to be launched; the Diplomatic, Service and Ordinary passports which are issued to citizens on the basis of their status.
Persons to be issued with diplomatic passports include some members of the First Family, ministers, deputy ministers, regional ministers, Members of Parliament, metropolitan/municipal/district chief executives and diplomats accredited to foreign countries.
The diplomatic passport has a red front cover with the national coat-of-arms embossed on the back. The service passport, which has a blue cover, however, is issued to public servants proceeding on overseas training courses or persons empowered to perform specific duties in another country, on behalf of the government .
The ordinary passport, or green-cover passport, is issued to ordinary citizens and naturalised non-Ghanaians who apply for Ghanaian passports.
This passport captures a holder’s facial features and the biometric data of fingerprints which link the holder to the passport. The mode of application and acquisition is that the owner’s biometric data is initially captured and later verified to ensure the right ownership on delivery.
This is expected to help curb fraud, prevent multiple ownership of passports, identity theft and lead to the apprehension of people who may indulge in international acts of terrorism, money laundering and drug smuggling.
Mode of Acquisition
A prospective applicant is first expected to purchase a passport application form from a designated bank or an approved point of sale in the regional capitals and other centres.
The applicant subsequently fills the forms and submits the completed form to the nearest Passport Application Centre (PAC) in Accra, Kumasi, Sunyani, Sekondi/Takoradi, Ho or Tamale, together with relevant documents such as an old passport or birth certificate as evidence of payment to commence the application process. The PACs function as centres for demographic and biometric data capture and transfer, as well as distribution of passports.
At the PAC, applicants will be invited to take a digital photograph together with biometric data of fingerprints. Applicants, at this stage, are given submission receipts from the system and a turn-around date of 15 days or less to collect their biometric passport. All processing fees are paid in consonance with the speed of service delivery: The ordinary or expedited categories.
Data Transfer And Vetting
The COP at the Passport Office in Accra will accept all data transferred from the PACs nation-wide. The vetting process begins with the administrative vetting or verification of all demographic data, followed by the biometric vetting involving the passage of both the demographic and biometric data through the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS). This confirms the validity of the data stored as genuine for the applicant.
Those who already hold an ordinary passport but qualify and apply for Service or Diplomatic passport, will have their stored data transferred for automatic issuance. Data could also be transferred by the COP to border posts to track down fake passports.
The completed passports are dispatched from the Central Operations Production (COP) unit in Accra to the Passport Application Centre (PAC) where applicants can collect their passports by presenting submission receipts and going through a final biometric check to authenticate ownership of the travel document.
Friday, March 19, 2010
4 Armed robbers nabbed
Page 25: Daily Graphic, March 19, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE timely response of the police yesterday led to the arrest of four suspected armed robbers at the Nyamekye Junction in Accra after the robbers had raided the house of a sister of a former Minister of Health, Dr Sipa Yankey, at East Legon in Accra.
The suspects — George Owusu Bempah, 25, an electrician; Odartey Lamptey, 23, a steel bender; Roger Agbadi, 24, a labourer, and Kwame Kumah, 23, the house boy at the victim’s residence, are currently in the custody of the police.
A Toyota Camry with registration number GT 844 X, laptops, DVD players, jewellery, a television set, DSTV decoder, a suitcase and about six mobile phones, among other items, were stolen.
The robbers allegedly held the houseboy and the house girl hostage and plastered their mouth before carrying out the robbery.
Roger, George and Odartey reportedly took turns to rape the house girl, who coincidentally happens to be the sister of Kwame Nkrumah, the orchestrator of the robbery.
Kwame is alleged to have taken photographs of his madam’s two vehicles and given them to the robbers ostensibly to show to prospective buyers but to the robbers to choose the car to rob.
In a bid to deceive the victim and the police, the robbers left behind a letter to the victim purporting to have emanated from her former labourer, Kwasi, as having organised his boys to rob her.
At the time of filing this report, the house girl had been sent to the Police Hospital for medical treatment.
Briefing the Daily Graphic after leading the police to arrest the robbers, the Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Rose Bio Atinga, and her deputy, ACP Christian Tetteh Yohuno, said the police had a distress call at about 9:30a.m. yesterday that some armed robbers had raided a house on Monrovia Road at East Legon near the Emmanuel Eye Clinic.
She said within 15 minutes that the police got to the scene, the robbers had sped off with the booty.
She said the police pursued the robbers upon hearing that they had taken to the Lapaz road.
According to her, the police fired at the robbers after they refused to stop and surrender themselves to the police.
DCOP Atinga said it was as a result of the shooting that the robbers gave up and were arrested.
ACP Yohuno said three days before yesterday’s incident, an informant had brought the pictures of the two vehicles to the Accra Regional Police Command.
He said the informant had indicated that the robbers were looking for prospective buyers before going to rob the vehicle to sell at GH¢12,000.
He explained that because the registration numbers of the vehicles were covered in the picture, it was extremely difficult to locate the owners of the vehicles.
For his part, a former Minister of Health, Dr Sipa Yankey, whose sister was robbed, expressed appreciation to the Inspector General of Police, Mr Paul Quaye, for the swift response to the call.
He said the timely response of the police showed that with more logistics and motivation, the police would rise up to the occasion.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE timely response of the police yesterday led to the arrest of four suspected armed robbers at the Nyamekye Junction in Accra after the robbers had raided the house of a sister of a former Minister of Health, Dr Sipa Yankey, at East Legon in Accra.
The suspects — George Owusu Bempah, 25, an electrician; Odartey Lamptey, 23, a steel bender; Roger Agbadi, 24, a labourer, and Kwame Kumah, 23, the house boy at the victim’s residence, are currently in the custody of the police.
A Toyota Camry with registration number GT 844 X, laptops, DVD players, jewellery, a television set, DSTV decoder, a suitcase and about six mobile phones, among other items, were stolen.
The robbers allegedly held the houseboy and the house girl hostage and plastered their mouth before carrying out the robbery.
Roger, George and Odartey reportedly took turns to rape the house girl, who coincidentally happens to be the sister of Kwame Nkrumah, the orchestrator of the robbery.
Kwame is alleged to have taken photographs of his madam’s two vehicles and given them to the robbers ostensibly to show to prospective buyers but to the robbers to choose the car to rob.
In a bid to deceive the victim and the police, the robbers left behind a letter to the victim purporting to have emanated from her former labourer, Kwasi, as having organised his boys to rob her.
At the time of filing this report, the house girl had been sent to the Police Hospital for medical treatment.
Briefing the Daily Graphic after leading the police to arrest the robbers, the Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Rose Bio Atinga, and her deputy, ACP Christian Tetteh Yohuno, said the police had a distress call at about 9:30a.m. yesterday that some armed robbers had raided a house on Monrovia Road at East Legon near the Emmanuel Eye Clinic.
She said within 15 minutes that the police got to the scene, the robbers had sped off with the booty.
She said the police pursued the robbers upon hearing that they had taken to the Lapaz road.
According to her, the police fired at the robbers after they refused to stop and surrender themselves to the police.
DCOP Atinga said it was as a result of the shooting that the robbers gave up and were arrested.
ACP Yohuno said three days before yesterday’s incident, an informant had brought the pictures of the two vehicles to the Accra Regional Police Command.
He said the informant had indicated that the robbers were looking for prospective buyers before going to rob the vehicle to sell at GH¢12,000.
He explained that because the registration numbers of the vehicles were covered in the picture, it was extremely difficult to locate the owners of the vehicles.
For his part, a former Minister of Health, Dr Sipa Yankey, whose sister was robbed, expressed appreciation to the Inspector General of Police, Mr Paul Quaye, for the swift response to the call.
He said the timely response of the police showed that with more logistics and motivation, the police would rise up to the occasion.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
BIO-PASSPORTS READY * Migration starts Tuesday
Front Page: Daily Graphic, March 18, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
ALL is set for the take-off of Ghana’s migration to the use of biometric passports on Tuesday, March 23, 2010.
So far, the Central Operations and Productions (COP) centre and the two Passport Applications Centres (PACs) for Accra are all ready for the smooth take-off.
Within six weeks of the launch, the PACs in Kumasi, Tamale and Ho will also start receiving biometric passport applications for processing.
The PACs in Sekondi/Takoradi and Sunyani will also be ready to receive and process applications after those in Kumasi, Tamale and Ho have been installed.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni, told the Daily Graphic yesterday that by the middle of this year, all the PACs would be on stream to facilitate the application and acquisition process.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has set April 1, 2010 for all member countries to commence the issuance of machine readable passports incorporating biometric data, while all non-biometric machine readable passports will cease to be accepted as regular travelling documents by other ICAO countries effective November 24, 2015.
That means that Ghanaians in possession of valid old passports can still use them until November 24, 2015.
Already, the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) has taken delivery of application forms and 750,000 biometric passport booklets ready for the launch.
Under the new regime, new passport fees of GH¢50 and GH¢100 will be charged for ordinary and expedited delivery services, respectively. It is expected that the new biometric passports will be issued between seven and 14 days.
The minister explained that the GH¢50 and GH¢100 covered the cost of the application forms.
Under the programme to migrate from the current generation of passports to biometric ones, seven PACs are to be initially established, with two in Accra and the rest in Tamale, Ho, Sekondi/Takoradi, Kumasi and Sunyani.
The PACs in Accra are located at the East Wing of the former Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and the Passport Office, where the COP centre, which will be the main point for vetting and issuance, is also located.
Ghana originally scheduled the take-off of the programme for July 2009 but that could not be done for various technical reasons.
Alhaji Mumuni attributed the delay mainly to the non-availability of suitable buildings which could accommodate physically challenged persons.
He said the buildings for the PACs in the regions had been identified and were being refurbished to make them disability friendly.
He appealed to Ghanaians, especially those outside Accra, not to rush to Accra for the biometric passports after the launch but wait patiently until a PAC was opened close to them.
The minister said if there was an urgent need for one to travel, then the person might have to come to Accra.
He said personnel from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other security agencies, including the Ghana Immigration Service, had been trained to man the PACs.
Alhaji Mumuni said Ghana’s missions in London, Rome, Berlin and Washington had been identified to also issue the biometric passports until the time when it would be extended to other missions.
He said applicants would now have to personally submit their application forms at the application centres for their passport photographs to be taken with a high resolution camera, while fingerprints and signatures were also recorded.
“This means that instead of the applicant submitting photographs with a passport application form that is already thumb-printed somewhere, it will now be required that the photograph and the fingerprints of the applicants are taken at the application centres when he presents the forms. This is also intended to eliminate middlemen,” he said.
According to him, applicants would also send along their birth certificates and other documentation, including their national identification cards, to be vetted and scanned into the system at the PAC.
He said the information would be uploaded to the Central Operations and Production Unit of the Passport Office, where the details and certificates would be verified, during which all details would be vetted against the stop list.
Alhaji Mumuni said the forms would then be passed on to the directors for final vetting and authorisation to issue the passports, stressing that “all the processes, with the exception of the final vetting, printing and issuance, are expected to take place on the same day, thus enhancing service delivery”.
Story: Albert K. Salia
ALL is set for the take-off of Ghana’s migration to the use of biometric passports on Tuesday, March 23, 2010.
So far, the Central Operations and Productions (COP) centre and the two Passport Applications Centres (PACs) for Accra are all ready for the smooth take-off.
Within six weeks of the launch, the PACs in Kumasi, Tamale and Ho will also start receiving biometric passport applications for processing.
The PACs in Sekondi/Takoradi and Sunyani will also be ready to receive and process applications after those in Kumasi, Tamale and Ho have been installed.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni, told the Daily Graphic yesterday that by the middle of this year, all the PACs would be on stream to facilitate the application and acquisition process.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has set April 1, 2010 for all member countries to commence the issuance of machine readable passports incorporating biometric data, while all non-biometric machine readable passports will cease to be accepted as regular travelling documents by other ICAO countries effective November 24, 2015.
That means that Ghanaians in possession of valid old passports can still use them until November 24, 2015.
Already, the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) has taken delivery of application forms and 750,000 biometric passport booklets ready for the launch.
Under the new regime, new passport fees of GH¢50 and GH¢100 will be charged for ordinary and expedited delivery services, respectively. It is expected that the new biometric passports will be issued between seven and 14 days.
The minister explained that the GH¢50 and GH¢100 covered the cost of the application forms.
Under the programme to migrate from the current generation of passports to biometric ones, seven PACs are to be initially established, with two in Accra and the rest in Tamale, Ho, Sekondi/Takoradi, Kumasi and Sunyani.
The PACs in Accra are located at the East Wing of the former Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and the Passport Office, where the COP centre, which will be the main point for vetting and issuance, is also located.
Ghana originally scheduled the take-off of the programme for July 2009 but that could not be done for various technical reasons.
Alhaji Mumuni attributed the delay mainly to the non-availability of suitable buildings which could accommodate physically challenged persons.
He said the buildings for the PACs in the regions had been identified and were being refurbished to make them disability friendly.
He appealed to Ghanaians, especially those outside Accra, not to rush to Accra for the biometric passports after the launch but wait patiently until a PAC was opened close to them.
The minister said if there was an urgent need for one to travel, then the person might have to come to Accra.
He said personnel from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other security agencies, including the Ghana Immigration Service, had been trained to man the PACs.
Alhaji Mumuni said Ghana’s missions in London, Rome, Berlin and Washington had been identified to also issue the biometric passports until the time when it would be extended to other missions.
He said applicants would now have to personally submit their application forms at the application centres for their passport photographs to be taken with a high resolution camera, while fingerprints and signatures were also recorded.
“This means that instead of the applicant submitting photographs with a passport application form that is already thumb-printed somewhere, it will now be required that the photograph and the fingerprints of the applicants are taken at the application centres when he presents the forms. This is also intended to eliminate middlemen,” he said.
According to him, applicants would also send along their birth certificates and other documentation, including their national identification cards, to be vetted and scanned into the system at the PAC.
He said the information would be uploaded to the Central Operations and Production Unit of the Passport Office, where the details and certificates would be verified, during which all details would be vetted against the stop list.
Alhaji Mumuni said the forms would then be passed on to the directors for final vetting and authorisation to issue the passports, stressing that “all the processes, with the exception of the final vetting, printing and issuance, are expected to take place on the same day, thus enhancing service delivery”.
Housing project to create more jobs
Page 72: Daily Graphic, March 18, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
MORE than 75,000 jobs are to be provided under the government’s five-year national housing project, the Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Alban Bagbin, has disclosed.
“The construction of the various housing units will engage the services of contractors, artisans, consultants, building materials sellers and suppliers, food vendors, among others,” he added.
Speaking in an interview, Mr Bagbin said the project, which is to be implemented by STX Corporation of Korea, has a minimum of 30 per cent local participation which would ensure that Ghanaians actively participated in the project.
He said construction works on the 200,000 housing units was expected to begin in July, this year and indicated that the agreement between the Ghana government and STX Corporation was expected to be laid before Parliament next week for parliamentary approval to facilitate the take-off of the project.
He said under the first phase of the project, 30,000 housing units would be built for the security agencies as part of the government’s commitment to improve the acute accommodation situation facing the security agencies.
Mr Bagbin said the basic data collection and housing design under the 200,000 national housing project had already been completed.
He said STX Group of Korea, which would undertake the project, would build various industrial plants including a cement plant, rolling mill and autoclaved lightweight concrete plant, while IT would also seek the assistance of the Korean government to set up a training programme with Korea’s Knowledge Sharing Project to help develop Ghanaian human resources.
Mr Bagbin said the Ghana Police Service would benefit from 20,000 of the housing units for its personnel throughout the country in the next five years.
Mr Bagbin said the remaining 10,000 of the housing units allocated to the security agencies would go to the military and other security agencies.
He recalled that the Police Administration suspended enlistment into the service in June last year so as not to aggravate the already exacerbated accommodation problem, noting that the problems hindered recruitment and transfers in the security services “because it is not matched with provision of accommodation”.
Mr Bagbin said the construction of the housing units for the security services would not only help to separate the personnel from the civilian population but would enforce discipline, training and esprit de corps, stressing that “this will also help to mobilise personnel in case of emergency situations, which need urgent response”.
Story: Albert K. Salia
MORE than 75,000 jobs are to be provided under the government’s five-year national housing project, the Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Alban Bagbin, has disclosed.
“The construction of the various housing units will engage the services of contractors, artisans, consultants, building materials sellers and suppliers, food vendors, among others,” he added.
Speaking in an interview, Mr Bagbin said the project, which is to be implemented by STX Corporation of Korea, has a minimum of 30 per cent local participation which would ensure that Ghanaians actively participated in the project.
He said construction works on the 200,000 housing units was expected to begin in July, this year and indicated that the agreement between the Ghana government and STX Corporation was expected to be laid before Parliament next week for parliamentary approval to facilitate the take-off of the project.
He said under the first phase of the project, 30,000 housing units would be built for the security agencies as part of the government’s commitment to improve the acute accommodation situation facing the security agencies.
Mr Bagbin said the basic data collection and housing design under the 200,000 national housing project had already been completed.
He said STX Group of Korea, which would undertake the project, would build various industrial plants including a cement plant, rolling mill and autoclaved lightweight concrete plant, while IT would also seek the assistance of the Korean government to set up a training programme with Korea’s Knowledge Sharing Project to help develop Ghanaian human resources.
Mr Bagbin said the Ghana Police Service would benefit from 20,000 of the housing units for its personnel throughout the country in the next five years.
Mr Bagbin said the remaining 10,000 of the housing units allocated to the security agencies would go to the military and other security agencies.
He recalled that the Police Administration suspended enlistment into the service in June last year so as not to aggravate the already exacerbated accommodation problem, noting that the problems hindered recruitment and transfers in the security services “because it is not matched with provision of accommodation”.
Mr Bagbin said the construction of the housing units for the security services would not only help to separate the personnel from the civilian population but would enforce discipline, training and esprit de corps, stressing that “this will also help to mobilise personnel in case of emergency situations, which need urgent response”.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Two soldiers nabbed over assault
Page 31: Daily Graphic, March 16, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
TWO soldiers, one of whom allegedly stabbed a policeman on Sunday, were yesterday handed over to the Nima Police for further investigations.
Corporal Titus Quarcoo of the Recce Regiment and Corporal Dono Dickson of the 49 Engineers at Burma Camp were alleged to have assaulted someone in front of the Nima Police Station and when the police went to the rescue of the victim, Titus allegedly pulled a dagger and stabbed Corporal Prince Sutame of the Nima Police and absconded with his friend.
The Military Police, however, arrested and handed over the two soldiers to the Nima Police upon hearing reports of their conduct.
Briefing the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, the Greater Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Rose Bio Atinga, said a 23-year-old woman, Josephine Dela Gligo, who was at the centre of the controversy, allegedly sought the assistance of the two soldiers to retrieve her items from her ex-boyfriend.
She said Josephine and the two soldiers went to the residence of her boyfriend, Mr Kwame Sarfo, who is the complainant in the case, in a taxi.
She said when Mr Sarfo returned from church, the three visitors informed him of the reason for the visit.
According to DCOP Atinga, Mr Sarfo asked them to wait for his mother to return from church, as the items were in her room.
She said the soldiers wanted to ruffle Mr Sarfo so he quickly called a policeman to his aid.
The regional commander said when the policeman came, the two soldiers were still unrepentant in their behaviour, threatening to break into Mr Sarfo's mother’s room.
She said the policeman then asked Mr Sarfo to lodge a complaint at the Nima Police Station.
She said unknown to Mr Sarfo, Josephine and the two soldiers had already taken the lead to the police station while he (Sarfo) and the policeman were having their discussion.
At the police station, she said, the two soldiers became unruly, during which Cpl Dickson slapped a friend of Mr Sarfo’s.
DCOP Atinga said in the ensuing confusion, some policemen went to the victim’s rescue but Cpl Quarcoo pulled a dagger and stabbed Cpl Sutame.
Regrettably, she said, Josephine denied soliciting the assistance of the soldiers to retrieve her items from Mr Sarfo's house.
Story: Albert K. Salia
TWO soldiers, one of whom allegedly stabbed a policeman on Sunday, were yesterday handed over to the Nima Police for further investigations.
Corporal Titus Quarcoo of the Recce Regiment and Corporal Dono Dickson of the 49 Engineers at Burma Camp were alleged to have assaulted someone in front of the Nima Police Station and when the police went to the rescue of the victim, Titus allegedly pulled a dagger and stabbed Corporal Prince Sutame of the Nima Police and absconded with his friend.
The Military Police, however, arrested and handed over the two soldiers to the Nima Police upon hearing reports of their conduct.
Briefing the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, the Greater Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Rose Bio Atinga, said a 23-year-old woman, Josephine Dela Gligo, who was at the centre of the controversy, allegedly sought the assistance of the two soldiers to retrieve her items from her ex-boyfriend.
She said Josephine and the two soldiers went to the residence of her boyfriend, Mr Kwame Sarfo, who is the complainant in the case, in a taxi.
She said when Mr Sarfo returned from church, the three visitors informed him of the reason for the visit.
According to DCOP Atinga, Mr Sarfo asked them to wait for his mother to return from church, as the items were in her room.
She said the soldiers wanted to ruffle Mr Sarfo so he quickly called a policeman to his aid.
The regional commander said when the policeman came, the two soldiers were still unrepentant in their behaviour, threatening to break into Mr Sarfo's mother’s room.
She said the policeman then asked Mr Sarfo to lodge a complaint at the Nima Police Station.
She said unknown to Mr Sarfo, Josephine and the two soldiers had already taken the lead to the police station while he (Sarfo) and the policeman were having their discussion.
At the police station, she said, the two soldiers became unruly, during which Cpl Dickson slapped a friend of Mr Sarfo’s.
DCOP Atinga said in the ensuing confusion, some policemen went to the victim’s rescue but Cpl Quarcoo pulled a dagger and stabbed Cpl Sutame.
Regrettably, she said, Josephine denied soliciting the assistance of the soldiers to retrieve her items from Mr Sarfo's house.
Man, 32, held over arms
Page 31: Daily Graphic, March 16, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE police have arrested a 32-year-old physically challenged person, Moses Zametsi, for the illegal manufacture and supply of arms to suspected armed robbers.
Two locally made pistols were retrieved from the suspect’s house at Abor in the Volta Region last Friday.
He is currently in custody at the Accra Regional Police Command pending further investigations.
The Accra Regional Crime Officer, Superintendent Frank Adu-Fati, told newsmen in Accra yesterday that the police had information that the suspect was one of the manufacturers and suppliers of locally made pistols to suspected criminals.
He said investigations revealed that the suspect manufactured bangles but often manufactured the pistols on demand.
He said after a series of surveillance, the police swooped on Zametsi’s residence last Friday, March 12, 2010 and retrieved the two pistols.
Upon interrogation, he said, the suspect claimed he was not making enough sales from the sale of the bangles, hence his decision to manufacture the pistols on demand.
Supt Adu-Fati said investigations were still ongoing.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE police have arrested a 32-year-old physically challenged person, Moses Zametsi, for the illegal manufacture and supply of arms to suspected armed robbers.
Two locally made pistols were retrieved from the suspect’s house at Abor in the Volta Region last Friday.
He is currently in custody at the Accra Regional Police Command pending further investigations.
The Accra Regional Crime Officer, Superintendent Frank Adu-Fati, told newsmen in Accra yesterday that the police had information that the suspect was one of the manufacturers and suppliers of locally made pistols to suspected criminals.
He said investigations revealed that the suspect manufactured bangles but often manufactured the pistols on demand.
He said after a series of surveillance, the police swooped on Zametsi’s residence last Friday, March 12, 2010 and retrieved the two pistols.
Upon interrogation, he said, the suspect claimed he was not making enough sales from the sale of the bangles, hence his decision to manufacture the pistols on demand.
Supt Adu-Fati said investigations were still ongoing.
Monday, March 15, 2010
uniBank, Shareworld Travels sign pact
Page 57: Daily Graphic, March 15, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
SHAREWORLD Travels, a tour company that specialises in pilgrimage trips, has signed an agreement with uniBank Ghana Ltd under which the bank will offer financial support to prospective pilgrims to various religious sites.
Under the agreement, prospective pilgrims will have to make all payments to the bank directly, while the bank also offers soft loans to those who could not meet the cost. They would, however, be expected to pay back between one and 24 months.
The bank would also open a pilgrimage account for those who might want to make savings towards pilgrimage.
The Director-General of Shareworld Travels, Mr Isaac Kuffour, and the Chief Executive Officer of Unibank Ghana Ltd, Mr Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, signed for their respective organisations, while Mrs Tali Tal, the Israeli Co-ordinator for Ghana and representative of the Israeli Embassy in Abuja, witnessed the document.
Mr Kuffour said since ancient times, pilgrimages had been a unique expression of worshipping God by the Israelites.
“Today, pilgrimages are one of the most important elements in our Christian life. When we go on a pilgrimage, we enter into the times and places of our Christian story and remember the events surrounding the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Standing where our Lord was baptised, crucified, or buried connects us more intimately to our Christian faith,” he added.
For his part, Mr Owusu-Amoah explained that it was in the interest of the bank to assist in improving Christian pilgrimages so that spiritual obligations could be fulfilled.
“We are already in support and assisting the churches in terms of musical instruments, church buildings and other projects,” he said, adding that “we feel happy to be associated with the pilgrimage programme.”
Mr Owusu–Amoah gave the assurance that money deposited at the bank by pilgrims would not be paid to Shareworld until all arrangements for hotels and visas had been secured for the pilgrims.
He reminded members of the public that the programme had nothing to do with the so-called seekers of greener pastures advised those with such ideas stay away from the programme.
Mrs Tali commended Shareworld and uniBank for their good teamwork and said her office would assist them when the need arose.
Under a schedule of programme for March and October each year, pilgrims to Israel will visit and pray at sites like the Mountain of Temptation, Dead Sea, Sea of Galilee, River Jordan, Gethsemane, Golgotha, Upper Room, the tomb of Jesus, Tiberias, Nazareth, Western Wall, Mt. of Ascension, Mt. Olives, Mt. of Beatitudes, Cana, the Pool of Bethesda, Elijah and the Baal, 14 Stations of the Cross, Qumran, Capernaum, and Ela Valley – where David defeated Goliath.
Story: Albert K. Salia
SHAREWORLD Travels, a tour company that specialises in pilgrimage trips, has signed an agreement with uniBank Ghana Ltd under which the bank will offer financial support to prospective pilgrims to various religious sites.
Under the agreement, prospective pilgrims will have to make all payments to the bank directly, while the bank also offers soft loans to those who could not meet the cost. They would, however, be expected to pay back between one and 24 months.
The bank would also open a pilgrimage account for those who might want to make savings towards pilgrimage.
The Director-General of Shareworld Travels, Mr Isaac Kuffour, and the Chief Executive Officer of Unibank Ghana Ltd, Mr Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, signed for their respective organisations, while Mrs Tali Tal, the Israeli Co-ordinator for Ghana and representative of the Israeli Embassy in Abuja, witnessed the document.
Mr Kuffour said since ancient times, pilgrimages had been a unique expression of worshipping God by the Israelites.
“Today, pilgrimages are one of the most important elements in our Christian life. When we go on a pilgrimage, we enter into the times and places of our Christian story and remember the events surrounding the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Standing where our Lord was baptised, crucified, or buried connects us more intimately to our Christian faith,” he added.
For his part, Mr Owusu-Amoah explained that it was in the interest of the bank to assist in improving Christian pilgrimages so that spiritual obligations could be fulfilled.
“We are already in support and assisting the churches in terms of musical instruments, church buildings and other projects,” he said, adding that “we feel happy to be associated with the pilgrimage programme.”
Mr Owusu–Amoah gave the assurance that money deposited at the bank by pilgrims would not be paid to Shareworld until all arrangements for hotels and visas had been secured for the pilgrims.
He reminded members of the public that the programme had nothing to do with the so-called seekers of greener pastures advised those with such ideas stay away from the programme.
Mrs Tali commended Shareworld and uniBank for their good teamwork and said her office would assist them when the need arose.
Under a schedule of programme for March and October each year, pilgrims to Israel will visit and pray at sites like the Mountain of Temptation, Dead Sea, Sea of Galilee, River Jordan, Gethsemane, Golgotha, Upper Room, the tomb of Jesus, Tiberias, Nazareth, Western Wall, Mt. of Ascension, Mt. Olives, Mt. of Beatitudes, Cana, the Pool of Bethesda, Elijah and the Baal, 14 Stations of the Cross, Qumran, Capernaum, and Ela Valley – where David defeated Goliath.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
'Give more support to NACOB'
Page 14: Daily Graphic, March 10, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE United States government has stressed the need for increased funding and logistical support for the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) so as to sustain the fight against drug trafficking.
While acknowledging successes in President J. E. Mills’s first year in office in the fight against drug trafficking, the US government expressed regret that Ghana’s own funding for NACOB and law enforcement agencies remained insufficient and warned that “unless the government remedies this situation and provides adequate resources to combat narcotics trafficking, little progress will be made quickly, and none sustained over the long term”.
These were contained in the 2010 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), a report by the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the US State Department issued to the US Congress on March 1, 2010.
It made it clear that progress required strong and sustained political will and continued international assistance for Ghana to confront those difficult issues, giving an assurance that “the U.S. government will press Ghana to increase the resources and capabilities of those fighting illegal narcotics, money laundering and other international crimes”.
The report said the US government’s counter-narcotic and anti-crime goals in Ghana were to strengthen Ghanaian law enforcement capacity generally, to improve interdiction capacities, to enhance NACOB’s capacity, and to reduce Ghana’s role as a transit point for narcotics.
In line with those objectives, it said, in 2009 the U.S. supported Ghana’s counter-narcotic efforts and made plans for additional support in future years, adding that AFRICOM had provided approximately $500,000 toward the construction of an evidence storage and training facility at the CID headquarters in Accra.
When completed, the facility would store drugs collected as evidence in pending court cases.
Additionally, it said, AFRICOM had contracted to construct a security room at the airport to house a State Department-funded body scanner to detect drugs ingested by passengers and other contrabands concealed on or in a person’s body.
It said the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) had also provided more than $333,000 to fund a special prosecutor in the Ghanaian Ministry of Justice, stressing that the prosecutor would work with local prosecutors to improve Ghana’s capacity to investigate and prosecute organised criminal activity and to enforce its laws against narcotics trafficking.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE United States government has stressed the need for increased funding and logistical support for the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) so as to sustain the fight against drug trafficking.
While acknowledging successes in President J. E. Mills’s first year in office in the fight against drug trafficking, the US government expressed regret that Ghana’s own funding for NACOB and law enforcement agencies remained insufficient and warned that “unless the government remedies this situation and provides adequate resources to combat narcotics trafficking, little progress will be made quickly, and none sustained over the long term”.
These were contained in the 2010 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), a report by the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the US State Department issued to the US Congress on March 1, 2010.
It made it clear that progress required strong and sustained political will and continued international assistance for Ghana to confront those difficult issues, giving an assurance that “the U.S. government will press Ghana to increase the resources and capabilities of those fighting illegal narcotics, money laundering and other international crimes”.
The report said the US government’s counter-narcotic and anti-crime goals in Ghana were to strengthen Ghanaian law enforcement capacity generally, to improve interdiction capacities, to enhance NACOB’s capacity, and to reduce Ghana’s role as a transit point for narcotics.
In line with those objectives, it said, in 2009 the U.S. supported Ghana’s counter-narcotic efforts and made plans for additional support in future years, adding that AFRICOM had provided approximately $500,000 toward the construction of an evidence storage and training facility at the CID headquarters in Accra.
When completed, the facility would store drugs collected as evidence in pending court cases.
Additionally, it said, AFRICOM had contracted to construct a security room at the airport to house a State Department-funded body scanner to detect drugs ingested by passengers and other contrabands concealed on or in a person’s body.
It said the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) had also provided more than $333,000 to fund a special prosecutor in the Ghanaian Ministry of Justice, stressing that the prosecutor would work with local prosecutors to improve Ghana’s capacity to investigate and prosecute organised criminal activity and to enforce its laws against narcotics trafficking.
3 Arrested over fake currency
Page 48: Daily Graphic, March 10, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THREE members of a family, including a father and his son, were yesterday arrested for allegedly dealing in fake dollar notes.
A bag containing some of the fake dollars in $100 bills and dollar-size plain papers were retrieved from the residence of the three at Abossey Okai in Accra.
The suspects, Robert Gokeh Mensah, 37, his father, Robert Kwesi Mensah, 53, and Nyamikeh Mensah, 50, are currently in custody at the Accra Regional Police Command for further investigations.
The three were picked up about 2:30 a.m. yesterday when operatives of the National Security Secretariat had a tip-off that some persons were transacting business at the residence of the three and that the transactions were suspected to border on cocaine.
A source close to the operations team told the Daily Graphic that when the team got to the house, the bag containing the fake dollars was found in one of the rooms.
It said Gokeh claimed the bag had been given to him a month ago by a cousin of his whom he identified only as Kwame.
It said when Gokeh was asked if he knew the contents of the bag, he said he did not know.
The source said Gokeh claimed Kwame had promised to come for the bag when need be but that he had since not come for it, although Kwame visited Gokeh often.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THREE members of a family, including a father and his son, were yesterday arrested for allegedly dealing in fake dollar notes.
A bag containing some of the fake dollars in $100 bills and dollar-size plain papers were retrieved from the residence of the three at Abossey Okai in Accra.
The suspects, Robert Gokeh Mensah, 37, his father, Robert Kwesi Mensah, 53, and Nyamikeh Mensah, 50, are currently in custody at the Accra Regional Police Command for further investigations.
The three were picked up about 2:30 a.m. yesterday when operatives of the National Security Secretariat had a tip-off that some persons were transacting business at the residence of the three and that the transactions were suspected to border on cocaine.
A source close to the operations team told the Daily Graphic that when the team got to the house, the bag containing the fake dollars was found in one of the rooms.
It said Gokeh claimed the bag had been given to him a month ago by a cousin of his whom he identified only as Kwame.
It said when Gokeh was asked if he knew the contents of the bag, he said he did not know.
The source said Gokeh claimed Kwame had promised to come for the bag when need be but that he had since not come for it, although Kwame visited Gokeh often.
2 Cops arrested for extortion
Page 3: Daily Graphic, March 9, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A POLICEMAN and an ex-policeman have been arrested for allegedly extorting money from a young man on a frame-up charge of smoking Indian hemp.
Incidentally, the ex-policeman, Godwin Prince Yorke had on July 31, 2008, been dismissed from the Ghana Police Service for extortion.
Yorke and his friend, Lance Corporal Ebenezer Donkor, have been handed over to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for further investigations.
The Director-General of the Police Intelligence and Professional Standards (PIPS) Bureau, DCOP Timothy Ashley told the Daily Graphic at the weekend that the alleged suspect in the wee-smoking case, petitioned PIPS that L/Cpl Donkor and Yorke wrongfully arrested him on February 17, 2010, for smoking “Bonto”, a locally treated tobacco.
He said Donkor and Yorke arrested the petitioner and subsequently demanded GH¢200 from him to drop the case.
According to him, the petitioner claimed that after persistent harassment, he paid GH¢80 and promised to pay the balance later.
DCOP Ashley said the petitioner then petitioned PIPS following intense pressure from the policeman and the friend to collect the balance of GH¢120.
He said PIPS then gave the petitioner GH¢100 in GH¢5 denomination after their serial numbers had been taken.
He said the petitioner then asked Donkor and Yorke to collect GH¢100 from his wife at Santa Maria.
DCOP Ashley said at about 11:50a.m. on March 3, 2010, Yorke went to the house of the petitioner to collect the GH¢100 where he was arrested.
According to him, on March 4, 2010, Donkor, who is stationed with the Highway Patrol team, was invited for questioning.
He said Donkor allegedly admitted that he and Yorke collected GH¢80 from the complainant after he pleaded for leniency and were to collect a balance of GH¢120 from him later.
DCOP Ashley said Donkor claimed that at the time the petitioner called them to collect the balance, he (Donkor) was on duty and, therefore, asked Yorke to pick it up.
Story: Albert K. Salia
A POLICEMAN and an ex-policeman have been arrested for allegedly extorting money from a young man on a frame-up charge of smoking Indian hemp.
Incidentally, the ex-policeman, Godwin Prince Yorke had on July 31, 2008, been dismissed from the Ghana Police Service for extortion.
Yorke and his friend, Lance Corporal Ebenezer Donkor, have been handed over to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for further investigations.
The Director-General of the Police Intelligence and Professional Standards (PIPS) Bureau, DCOP Timothy Ashley told the Daily Graphic at the weekend that the alleged suspect in the wee-smoking case, petitioned PIPS that L/Cpl Donkor and Yorke wrongfully arrested him on February 17, 2010, for smoking “Bonto”, a locally treated tobacco.
He said Donkor and Yorke arrested the petitioner and subsequently demanded GH¢200 from him to drop the case.
According to him, the petitioner claimed that after persistent harassment, he paid GH¢80 and promised to pay the balance later.
DCOP Ashley said the petitioner then petitioned PIPS following intense pressure from the policeman and the friend to collect the balance of GH¢120.
He said PIPS then gave the petitioner GH¢100 in GH¢5 denomination after their serial numbers had been taken.
He said the petitioner then asked Donkor and Yorke to collect GH¢100 from his wife at Santa Maria.
DCOP Ashley said at about 11:50a.m. on March 3, 2010, Yorke went to the house of the petitioner to collect the GH¢100 where he was arrested.
According to him, on March 4, 2010, Donkor, who is stationed with the Highway Patrol team, was invited for questioning.
He said Donkor allegedly admitted that he and Yorke collected GH¢80 from the complainant after he pleaded for leniency and were to collect a balance of GH¢120 from him later.
DCOP Ashley said Donkor claimed that at the time the petitioner called them to collect the balance, he (Donkor) was on duty and, therefore, asked Yorke to pick it up.
Two soldiers held over robbery
Page 31: Daily Graphic, March 9, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
TWO soldiers from the 48 Field Engineers Regiment have been arrested by the police for attempted robbery.
The Accra Regional Police Command has taken over investigations into the conduct of Lance Corporal Imoro Ibrahim and Sepr Raymond Ntiri who were arrested by some civilians who had gone to the rescue of the person the soldiers wanted to rob of GH¢280.
Their arrest was on the instructions of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, and the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Lt Gen Blay, when they heard the conduct of the two soldiers.
The Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Rose Bio Atinga, told the Daily Graphic that the soldiers allegedly traced their victim from the Ring Road Central branch of the Western Union to the Nima Traffic Light intercession at 2 p.m. last Friday.
She said when the victim’s taxi reached the traffic intercession, the soldiers, who were also in a taxi, allegedly asked their driver to cross the victim’s taxi.
She said the victim was dragged out of his taxi and just when the soldiers were about pushing him into their taxi, the victim raised alarm, attracting passers-by to his rescue.
According to her, the soldiers were overpowered and taken to the Nima Police Station where they claimed the victim was a thief.
DCOP Atinga said when asked what the victim had stolen, the soldiers said it was a passer-by who had told them that he was a thief.
She said the driver of the taxi the soldiers were using, however, told the police that the soldiers had made him to wait at the premises of the Western Union for almost an hour and asked him to trail the victim as soon as he boarded a taxi.
Story: Albert K. Salia
TWO soldiers from the 48 Field Engineers Regiment have been arrested by the police for attempted robbery.
The Accra Regional Police Command has taken over investigations into the conduct of Lance Corporal Imoro Ibrahim and Sepr Raymond Ntiri who were arrested by some civilians who had gone to the rescue of the person the soldiers wanted to rob of GH¢280.
Their arrest was on the instructions of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr Paul Tawiah Quaye, and the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Lt Gen Blay, when they heard the conduct of the two soldiers.
The Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Rose Bio Atinga, told the Daily Graphic that the soldiers allegedly traced their victim from the Ring Road Central branch of the Western Union to the Nima Traffic Light intercession at 2 p.m. last Friday.
She said when the victim’s taxi reached the traffic intercession, the soldiers, who were also in a taxi, allegedly asked their driver to cross the victim’s taxi.
She said the victim was dragged out of his taxi and just when the soldiers were about pushing him into their taxi, the victim raised alarm, attracting passers-by to his rescue.
According to her, the soldiers were overpowered and taken to the Nima Police Station where they claimed the victim was a thief.
DCOP Atinga said when asked what the victim had stolen, the soldiers said it was a passer-by who had told them that he was a thief.
She said the driver of the taxi the soldiers were using, however, told the police that the soldiers had made him to wait at the premises of the Western Union for almost an hour and asked him to trail the victim as soon as he boarded a taxi.
'Prophet' held for allegedly defiling 10yr daughter
Page 48: Daily Graphic, March 9, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Head Pastor of Jesus Blood Prophetic Ministry at Oblogo, Prophet Nana Kofi Yirenkyi, is in custody for allegedly defiling his 10-year-old daughter.
Although Prophet Yirenkyi, also known as Jesus One Touch, is alleged to have attempted to blame his house help cum watchman for defiling the daughter, the victim is reported to have told some elders of the family and the police that it was his father who had been defiling her.
A medical report from the Akropong Government Hospital has also confirmed that the victim’s hymen had been tampered with.
Prophet Yirenkyi was checked in at the cells of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) at 6 a.m. on March 5, 2010 when he was brought from the Akropong Police Station, where the case had initially been reported on March 1, 2010.
Police sources told newsmen in Accra yesterday that the victim’s mother reported to the Akropong Police on March 1, 2010 that her daughter had been sexually abused.
They said when the victim’s mother initially informed Prophet Yirenkyi about the incident, he claimed it was his house help and indicated that he had beaten and sacked him.
According to the police, the victim’s mother did not take kindly to the incident and reported the incident to some family elders, who interrogated the girl on the issue.
The police said the girl, however, said it was his father, not any other person, and gave vivid details as to what the father did to her on each occasion he defiled her.
The sources said the matter was immediately reported to the Akropong Police, who effected the arrest of Jesus One Touch on March 2, 2010.
The sources said the suspect told the Akropong Police that he (suspect) had ever reported the incident to the SCC Police in Accra.
They explained that since the offence was committed in Accra, the docket was referred to the Accra DOVVSU for further investigations.
The sources said checks at the SCC Police Station did not show that any such case had been reported to the station.
Investigations are ongoing.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Head Pastor of Jesus Blood Prophetic Ministry at Oblogo, Prophet Nana Kofi Yirenkyi, is in custody for allegedly defiling his 10-year-old daughter.
Although Prophet Yirenkyi, also known as Jesus One Touch, is alleged to have attempted to blame his house help cum watchman for defiling the daughter, the victim is reported to have told some elders of the family and the police that it was his father who had been defiling her.
A medical report from the Akropong Government Hospital has also confirmed that the victim’s hymen had been tampered with.
Prophet Yirenkyi was checked in at the cells of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) at 6 a.m. on March 5, 2010 when he was brought from the Akropong Police Station, where the case had initially been reported on March 1, 2010.
Police sources told newsmen in Accra yesterday that the victim’s mother reported to the Akropong Police on March 1, 2010 that her daughter had been sexually abused.
They said when the victim’s mother initially informed Prophet Yirenkyi about the incident, he claimed it was his house help and indicated that he had beaten and sacked him.
According to the police, the victim’s mother did not take kindly to the incident and reported the incident to some family elders, who interrogated the girl on the issue.
The police said the girl, however, said it was his father, not any other person, and gave vivid details as to what the father did to her on each occasion he defiled her.
The sources said the matter was immediately reported to the Akropong Police, who effected the arrest of Jesus One Touch on March 2, 2010.
The sources said the suspect told the Akropong Police that he (suspect) had ever reported the incident to the SCC Police in Accra.
They explained that since the offence was committed in Accra, the docket was referred to the Accra DOVVSU for further investigations.
The sources said checks at the SCC Police Station did not show that any such case had been reported to the station.
Investigations are ongoing.
Ghana makes more seizures of illicit drugs
Page 32: Daily Graphic, March 6, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
Ghana made more seizures of cocaine last year as against the same period in 2008. In the first half of 2009, 62 kilogrammes of cocaine were seized by the law enforcement agencies in Ghana as against 33 kilogrammes seized in 2008.
According to the latest statistics released by the US Government, the 2009 half-year cocaine seizure represented 89 per cent more than the seizures in whole of 2008.
In its 2010 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), the US Government noted that Ghana also recorded seizures of 1.7 kilogrammes of cannabis as compared to the 1.4 kg seized in the whole of 2008, representing 22 per cent more. Additionally, more than two kilogrammes of heroin were seized compared to no heroin seizures in 2008.
The report which assessed various countries’ performance in the fight against narcotics, was analysed by the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the US State Department and submitted to Congress on March 1, every year.
It attributed the increase in seizures to greater vigilance on the part of the Ghanaian Government but noted that in spite of the progress being made in the country, corruption and a lack of resources continued to impede interdiction efforts.
It explained that while law enforcement authorities arrested low level narcotics traffickers, Ghana has had less success pursuing the so-called drug barons.
The report also acknowledged that on December 16, 2009, three alleged members of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), were expelled from Ghana and put into custody of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents in Accra, who transported the suspects to the United States.
It said the three were being charged with narcotics terrorism conspiracy and conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organisation.
On corruption, it said “corruption is pervasive in Ghana’s law enforcement community, including sections of the police and the NACOB. Despite the regular arrests of suspected narcotics traffickers, Ghana has a low rate of conviction, which many officials believe is likely due to corruption within the judicial system”.
The report cited as an example, the replacement of approximately 12 kilogrammes of narcotics at the Police CID Headquarters in January, 2008, with cornstarch, while the narcotics were stored in the police evidence room and noted that although the former President appointed a commission to investigate the theft, which reported its findings in April, 2008, “the President left office in January, 2009 without making public the commission’s findings”.
The report acknowledged the resolve of President J. E. A. Mills to stop people from using Ghana as a narcotics transit corridor and vigorously fight for the total eradication of hard drugs in the country.
In an interaction with President Mills at the Castle on February 3, 2010, the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Mr Johnnie Carson, applauded Ghana for showing great commitment towards fighting the drug menace and other forms of organised crime in the country.
Story: Albert K. Salia
Ghana made more seizures of cocaine last year as against the same period in 2008. In the first half of 2009, 62 kilogrammes of cocaine were seized by the law enforcement agencies in Ghana as against 33 kilogrammes seized in 2008.
According to the latest statistics released by the US Government, the 2009 half-year cocaine seizure represented 89 per cent more than the seizures in whole of 2008.
In its 2010 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), the US Government noted that Ghana also recorded seizures of 1.7 kilogrammes of cannabis as compared to the 1.4 kg seized in the whole of 2008, representing 22 per cent more. Additionally, more than two kilogrammes of heroin were seized compared to no heroin seizures in 2008.
The report which assessed various countries’ performance in the fight against narcotics, was analysed by the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the US State Department and submitted to Congress on March 1, every year.
It attributed the increase in seizures to greater vigilance on the part of the Ghanaian Government but noted that in spite of the progress being made in the country, corruption and a lack of resources continued to impede interdiction efforts.
It explained that while law enforcement authorities arrested low level narcotics traffickers, Ghana has had less success pursuing the so-called drug barons.
The report also acknowledged that on December 16, 2009, three alleged members of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), were expelled from Ghana and put into custody of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents in Accra, who transported the suspects to the United States.
It said the three were being charged with narcotics terrorism conspiracy and conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organisation.
On corruption, it said “corruption is pervasive in Ghana’s law enforcement community, including sections of the police and the NACOB. Despite the regular arrests of suspected narcotics traffickers, Ghana has a low rate of conviction, which many officials believe is likely due to corruption within the judicial system”.
The report cited as an example, the replacement of approximately 12 kilogrammes of narcotics at the Police CID Headquarters in January, 2008, with cornstarch, while the narcotics were stored in the police evidence room and noted that although the former President appointed a commission to investigate the theft, which reported its findings in April, 2008, “the President left office in January, 2009 without making public the commission’s findings”.
The report acknowledged the resolve of President J. E. A. Mills to stop people from using Ghana as a narcotics transit corridor and vigorously fight for the total eradication of hard drugs in the country.
In an interaction with President Mills at the Castle on February 3, 2010, the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Mr Johnnie Carson, applauded Ghana for showing great commitment towards fighting the drug menace and other forms of organised crime in the country.
A look into Ghana's Foreign Policy
Page 30: Daily Graphic, March 5, 2010.
Article: Albert K. Salia
Foreign policies are generally designed to help protect a country's national interest, security, ideological goals, and economic prosperity. This can occur as a result of peaceful co-operation with other nations, or through aggression, war, and exploitation.
The concepts of free, proud, confident Africa has been dominant in Ghana’s foreign policy objectives since 1957 with Dr Kwame Nkrumah, spearheading that policy as Prime Minister. Since then, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been the sector body responsible for the conduct of Ghana's external relations and now operates spelt in line with Articles 40, 41, 73 and 84 of the 1992 Fourth Republican Constitution.
Usually, creating a foreign policy is the job of the head of government and the foreign minister (or equivalent). In some countries the legislature also has considerable oversight.
It is important to indicate that some critics of Ghana’s foreign policy have described it as “follow-the-crowd type” or a country without any foreign policy at all. That, they explain, is because Ghana’s foreign policy has no coherent and distinctive doctrinal orientation and niche.
They argue that first, the markers of such a foreign policy are government officials who are reactionary rather than proactive; second, officially stated foreign policy goals are usually vague and the foreign minister frequently flip-flops; and third, the Executive rather than well-trained professionals becomes the implementer of the policy.
It has been argued that since Nkrumah administration, Ghana’s foreign policy has been marked by those three tendencies.
Many Ghanaians were unhappy at the frequent trekking of former President J. A. Kufuor during his first term. Foreign policy experts contend that frequent trips of Presidents are typical of states without any well-established foreign policy niche.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as mandated by the Constitution, is to promote and protect the interest of Ghana and those of her citizens abroad and safeguard her security and prosperity through the promotion of friendly and productive relations with all countries. This is meant to enhance Ghana's image abroad and promote economic co-operation between Ghana and other countries through increased Ghana exports, foreign investments, expanding tourism and scientific, technological and cultural links.
The ministry is also responsible for the provision of economic, political and security information and advice to the government, provision of prompt and reliable information to Ghanaian nationals abroad to encourage them to participate in Ghana's economic development. It also plays a positive and creative role in the affairs of the United Nations (UN), Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), The Commonwealth and other international organisations to which Ghana belongs, as well as the integration of member states of the African Union and ECOWAS.
Another important principle of Ghana's foreign policy involves the closest possible co-operation with neighbouring countries with which the people of Ghana share cultural and historical bonds, ties of blood and economics. The results include various bilateral trade and economic agreements and permanent joint commissions involving Ghana and its immediate neighbours, sometimes in the face of latent ideological and political differences and mutual suspicion, as well as numerous reciprocal state visits by high-ranking officials. These measures have contributed significantly to sub-regional co-operation, development, and the reduction in tension.
As an example of Ghana's interest in regional co-operation, the country enthusiastically endorsed the formation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in 1975. This organisation was created specifically to foster inter-regional economic and political co-operation. It has served as a useful vehicle for contacts with neighbouring West African governments and for channelling increased Ghanaian exports to regional markets. Since 1990, ECOWAS has been engaged in a peacekeeping mission in Liberia to which Ghana has contributed a large contingent of troops. Ghana has participated in other international peacekeeping efforts as well, sending soldiers to operations of the United Nations (UN) in Cambodia in 1992-93 and Rwanda in 1993-94.
In fact, Ghana’s foreign policy since independence has been underpinned by these policy objectives with little variations, depending on the regime in power. Ghana's foreign policy since independence has been characterised by a commitment to the principles and ideals of nonalignment and Pan-Africanism as first enunciated by Kwame Nkrumah in the early 1960s.
From all these, one can conclude that Ghana’s foreign relations has been structured around three major goals: Attracting development assistance and investment capital; maintaining friendly ties with neighbours; and playing an active and constructive role in international and regional fora by engaging in peacekeeping and election monitoring missions. These goals reflect pragmatism dictated by poor economic conditions and the need to compete globally for development assistance.
For Nkrumah, nonalignment meant complete independence from the policies and alliances of both the East and the West and support for a world-wide union of so-called non-aligned nations as a counter to both East and West power blocs. Pan-Africanism, by contrast, was a specific African policy that envisioned the liberation of African peoples from Western colonialism and the eventual economic and political unity of the African continent.
For Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia, despite developing strong foreign contacts and arranging various joint projects with foreign governments, his inability to negotiate favourable repayment loan terms became a major setback for his administration. He had been confident that with Ghana having reverted to constitutional rule, he could negotiate with the Western powers to reschedule Ghana's foreign debt repayments, but that was not to be.
While he patiently tried to negotiate with the Western powers Ghana's foreign debt repayments with little result, he became increasingly subjected to attacks over what appeared to be his weak stance towards Ghana's creditors, especially since his clearly pro-Western stance seemed to yield few results.
One issue for which he faced much criticism was his stance towards South Africa. Despite South Africa's adoption of the apartheid system, Dr Busia believed he could open a dialogue with a country seen by most to be a racist regime. Many in Ghana simply could not understand why the black leader of an African country would ever consider that they could negotiate with such a regime, and his attempts to better relations with South Africa were largely met with a negative public response.
When the National Redemption Council (NRC) of Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong took over power on January 13, 1972 from the Busia Progress Party (PP), its nationalist and populist Yentua (we won’t pay) policy to mounting foreign debts of the Busia regime was initially popular but was unsustainable.
While popular with the general public, who understandably did not follow economics, the policy, not long, had its disastrous side becoming apparent.
Acheampong's idea that Ghana should become self-sufficient proved to be a complete disaster, and with few Western trade partners, Ghana continued to suffer economically in ways that made the record of the Busia government look glowing in comparison.
The Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), like most of its predecessors, made serious and consistent attempts at the practical application of these ideals and principles, and its successor, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government of President J. J. Rawlings, followed in the PNDC's footsteps. Under President Rawlings’s NDC, Ghana remained committed to the principle of nonalignment in world politics. Ghana was also opposed to interference in the internal affairs of both small and large countries. That was a departure from Nkrumah's foreign policy approach; Nkrumah was frequently accused of subverting African regimes, such as Togo and Cote d'Ivoire, which he considered ideologically conservative.
The NDC government, like the PNDC before it, believed in the principle of self-determination, including the right to political independence and the right of people to pursue their economic and social development free from external interference. Another feature of NDC rule carried over from the PNDC era was faithfulness to what a leading scholar of Africa has called "one of the most successful neo-classical economic reform efforts supported by the IMF and the World Bank".
The broad objectives of Ghana's foreign policy thus included maintaining friendly relations and co-operation with all countries that desire such co-operation, irrespective of ideological considerations, on the basis of mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs. Africa and its liberation and unity are naturally the cornerstones of Ghana's foreign policy.
NDC policy was to adhere faithfully to the OAU(now AU) Charter.
Former President Rawlings’s regional co-operation efforts were rewarded in August 1994 when he became ECOWAS chairman, a post that had eluded him while he was the military dictator heading the PNDC.
He immediately undertook several initiatives to reduce tensions and conflict in West Africa. Notable among them was the Akosombo Accord of September 12 (which year?????????) , designed to end civil war in Liberia.
Under President John Agyekum Kufuor, Ghana’s foreign policy was centred on economic diplomacy, with President Kufuor taking centre stage by undertaking many travels abroad. By his fourth year in office, President Kufuor had become Ghana’s most travelled leader since independence with more than 63 visits to foreign countries.
President Kufuor’s foreign policy also sought to enhance peaceful neighbourliness with the view to removing the tension and suspicion that had characterised relations between Ghana and her neighbours, particularly Togo. The relations among Ghana, Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire became excellent as a result of the constant consultations between President Kufuor and his colleagues. Indeed, Ghana was seen as a haven of peace and a trustworthy and sincere neighbour, genuinely committed to peace and progress in the sub-region.
In February 2004, Ghana became the first country to voluntarily subject itself to NEPAD's Peer Review Mechanism, which resulted in the inspection of the government's democratic, human rights and economic objectives by a team of African observers.
The successful handover of power from former President Kufuor to President J. E. A. Mills after an acrimonious election further boosted the image of Ghana in the international community. This peaceful handover in a region where civil strife had characterised some countries saw the first black American President, President Barack Obama, visiting Ghana between July 10-11, 2009, to salute Ghanaians for their democratic credentials, as well as Ghana’s contribution to world peace and conflict resolution. Since then, Ghana has and continues to receive rare positive reviews in the comity of nations.
Foreign Minister Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni, at a forum with members of the Diplomatic Corps, made it clear that there would not be a shift in Ghana’s foreign policy objectives.
He said promoting and enhancing bilateral and multilateral co-operation would continue to be key pillars in the country's foreign policy as President Mills’s government was committed to providing an attractive and conducive environment for the smooth functioning of all diplomatic missions and consulates.
The Mills’s government had been seen to be promoting good neighbourliness and placing high premium on relations with ECOWAS and African states while furthering the desire to promote friendly relations with all other countries, especially development partners.
Economic diplomacy, which requires greater attention to the promotion of trade, investment and tourism, facilitation of investment flows into Ghana, particularly towards key sectors such as energy, agriculture and agro-processing, ICT, infrastructural development and the hospitality industry, has been evident.
Alhaji Mumuni said the pursuit of peace and security would continue to be given high priority in the conduct of Ghana's foreign policy as they were essential for growth and prosperity and noted that it was his conviction that Ghana's internal peace, security and development remained inseparable from that of the sub-region.
The leadership positions occupied by Ghanaian nationals in various multilateral institutions also enhance the country’s profile in the comity of nations. Mr Kofi Annan and Dr K. Y. Amoako are the respective immediate past heads of the United Nations and the Economic Commission for Africa while Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas, until recently, President of the ECOWAS Commission, is now heading the African Caribbean Pacific (ACP) Secretariat in Brussels, Belgium.
Indeed, the country takes credit for the work of these and other nationals in the field of international diplomacy and Ghana often supports their work by launching mediation sessions to bring peace to war-torn countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the Cote d’Ivoire and also by hosting conferences that enhance the prospects for democracy and development in Africa.
Despite its limited resources, Ghana has been an active participant in democracy promotion abroad. It has mediated disputes in other countries, the most recent being the one the Kofi Annan brokered in Kenya; provided technical assistance; and participated in election monitoring and peacekeeping. Ghanaian leaders have participated in international fora and been vocal by publicly condemning actions that subvert the democratic process.
Ghana has always being cognisant of its weak capacity for unilateral action in the international arena and hence augments its power by developing close ties (usually at the presidential level) with more powerful states.
Ghana’s limited capacity for unilateral action also has led it to pursue many foreign policy activities through multilateral channels such as the United Nations, the African Union (AU), and the Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS). Membership of these organisations provides Ghana with a platform for protecting some of its interests, as well as to establish itself as a leader on several issues of concern to the African continent. For example, through the UN and ECOWAS, Ghana has been able to engage in numerous peacekeeping missions, which earns it international respect as a partner for global stability and a moral leader in African affairs.
It is important to also recognise that Ghana’s involvement in international peacekeeping functions is sometimes also driven more by a desire to raise funds for its military than peace and security concerns. Such pragmatism allows Ghana to influence events in neighbouring African countries, sometimes to an extent that belies her small size and resources.
Ghana’s other foreign relations “assets” include its status as a “role model” for the prominent role several Ghanaian nationals play in global affairs. Ghana’s “role model” status arises out of the country’s position as the first African state south of the Sahara to gain independence from colonial rule and the dynamic leadership of its first president, Kwame Nkrumah, in the Pan-Africanist movement.
The decision to implement World Bank-sponsored economic reform programmes two decades ago and recent democratic reforms have also reinforced the “role model” image and somewhat established Ghana as a leader of the movement for political change and rejuvenation of the African continent.
The change in government from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to the then opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) and back to the NDC has been seen as symbolic lesson for other African leaders.
Clearly, the mark of Ghana’s foreign policy has been that when strategic interests are at stake, Ghana’s leaders have chosen co-operation and friendship over criticism.
Article: Albert K. Salia
Foreign policies are generally designed to help protect a country's national interest, security, ideological goals, and economic prosperity. This can occur as a result of peaceful co-operation with other nations, or through aggression, war, and exploitation.
The concepts of free, proud, confident Africa has been dominant in Ghana’s foreign policy objectives since 1957 with Dr Kwame Nkrumah, spearheading that policy as Prime Minister. Since then, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been the sector body responsible for the conduct of Ghana's external relations and now operates spelt in line with Articles 40, 41, 73 and 84 of the 1992 Fourth Republican Constitution.
Usually, creating a foreign policy is the job of the head of government and the foreign minister (or equivalent). In some countries the legislature also has considerable oversight.
It is important to indicate that some critics of Ghana’s foreign policy have described it as “follow-the-crowd type” or a country without any foreign policy at all. That, they explain, is because Ghana’s foreign policy has no coherent and distinctive doctrinal orientation and niche.
They argue that first, the markers of such a foreign policy are government officials who are reactionary rather than proactive; second, officially stated foreign policy goals are usually vague and the foreign minister frequently flip-flops; and third, the Executive rather than well-trained professionals becomes the implementer of the policy.
It has been argued that since Nkrumah administration, Ghana’s foreign policy has been marked by those three tendencies.
Many Ghanaians were unhappy at the frequent trekking of former President J. A. Kufuor during his first term. Foreign policy experts contend that frequent trips of Presidents are typical of states without any well-established foreign policy niche.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as mandated by the Constitution, is to promote and protect the interest of Ghana and those of her citizens abroad and safeguard her security and prosperity through the promotion of friendly and productive relations with all countries. This is meant to enhance Ghana's image abroad and promote economic co-operation between Ghana and other countries through increased Ghana exports, foreign investments, expanding tourism and scientific, technological and cultural links.
The ministry is also responsible for the provision of economic, political and security information and advice to the government, provision of prompt and reliable information to Ghanaian nationals abroad to encourage them to participate in Ghana's economic development. It also plays a positive and creative role in the affairs of the United Nations (UN), Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), The Commonwealth and other international organisations to which Ghana belongs, as well as the integration of member states of the African Union and ECOWAS.
Another important principle of Ghana's foreign policy involves the closest possible co-operation with neighbouring countries with which the people of Ghana share cultural and historical bonds, ties of blood and economics. The results include various bilateral trade and economic agreements and permanent joint commissions involving Ghana and its immediate neighbours, sometimes in the face of latent ideological and political differences and mutual suspicion, as well as numerous reciprocal state visits by high-ranking officials. These measures have contributed significantly to sub-regional co-operation, development, and the reduction in tension.
As an example of Ghana's interest in regional co-operation, the country enthusiastically endorsed the formation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in 1975. This organisation was created specifically to foster inter-regional economic and political co-operation. It has served as a useful vehicle for contacts with neighbouring West African governments and for channelling increased Ghanaian exports to regional markets. Since 1990, ECOWAS has been engaged in a peacekeeping mission in Liberia to which Ghana has contributed a large contingent of troops. Ghana has participated in other international peacekeeping efforts as well, sending soldiers to operations of the United Nations (UN) in Cambodia in 1992-93 and Rwanda in 1993-94.
In fact, Ghana’s foreign policy since independence has been underpinned by these policy objectives with little variations, depending on the regime in power. Ghana's foreign policy since independence has been characterised by a commitment to the principles and ideals of nonalignment and Pan-Africanism as first enunciated by Kwame Nkrumah in the early 1960s.
From all these, one can conclude that Ghana’s foreign relations has been structured around three major goals: Attracting development assistance and investment capital; maintaining friendly ties with neighbours; and playing an active and constructive role in international and regional fora by engaging in peacekeeping and election monitoring missions. These goals reflect pragmatism dictated by poor economic conditions and the need to compete globally for development assistance.
For Nkrumah, nonalignment meant complete independence from the policies and alliances of both the East and the West and support for a world-wide union of so-called non-aligned nations as a counter to both East and West power blocs. Pan-Africanism, by contrast, was a specific African policy that envisioned the liberation of African peoples from Western colonialism and the eventual economic and political unity of the African continent.
For Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia, despite developing strong foreign contacts and arranging various joint projects with foreign governments, his inability to negotiate favourable repayment loan terms became a major setback for his administration. He had been confident that with Ghana having reverted to constitutional rule, he could negotiate with the Western powers to reschedule Ghana's foreign debt repayments, but that was not to be.
While he patiently tried to negotiate with the Western powers Ghana's foreign debt repayments with little result, he became increasingly subjected to attacks over what appeared to be his weak stance towards Ghana's creditors, especially since his clearly pro-Western stance seemed to yield few results.
One issue for which he faced much criticism was his stance towards South Africa. Despite South Africa's adoption of the apartheid system, Dr Busia believed he could open a dialogue with a country seen by most to be a racist regime. Many in Ghana simply could not understand why the black leader of an African country would ever consider that they could negotiate with such a regime, and his attempts to better relations with South Africa were largely met with a negative public response.
When the National Redemption Council (NRC) of Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong took over power on January 13, 1972 from the Busia Progress Party (PP), its nationalist and populist Yentua (we won’t pay) policy to mounting foreign debts of the Busia regime was initially popular but was unsustainable.
While popular with the general public, who understandably did not follow economics, the policy, not long, had its disastrous side becoming apparent.
Acheampong's idea that Ghana should become self-sufficient proved to be a complete disaster, and with few Western trade partners, Ghana continued to suffer economically in ways that made the record of the Busia government look glowing in comparison.
The Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), like most of its predecessors, made serious and consistent attempts at the practical application of these ideals and principles, and its successor, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government of President J. J. Rawlings, followed in the PNDC's footsteps. Under President Rawlings’s NDC, Ghana remained committed to the principle of nonalignment in world politics. Ghana was also opposed to interference in the internal affairs of both small and large countries. That was a departure from Nkrumah's foreign policy approach; Nkrumah was frequently accused of subverting African regimes, such as Togo and Cote d'Ivoire, which he considered ideologically conservative.
The NDC government, like the PNDC before it, believed in the principle of self-determination, including the right to political independence and the right of people to pursue their economic and social development free from external interference. Another feature of NDC rule carried over from the PNDC era was faithfulness to what a leading scholar of Africa has called "one of the most successful neo-classical economic reform efforts supported by the IMF and the World Bank".
The broad objectives of Ghana's foreign policy thus included maintaining friendly relations and co-operation with all countries that desire such co-operation, irrespective of ideological considerations, on the basis of mutual respect and non-interference in each other's internal affairs. Africa and its liberation and unity are naturally the cornerstones of Ghana's foreign policy.
NDC policy was to adhere faithfully to the OAU(now AU) Charter.
Former President Rawlings’s regional co-operation efforts were rewarded in August 1994 when he became ECOWAS chairman, a post that had eluded him while he was the military dictator heading the PNDC.
He immediately undertook several initiatives to reduce tensions and conflict in West Africa. Notable among them was the Akosombo Accord of September 12 (which year?????????) , designed to end civil war in Liberia.
Under President John Agyekum Kufuor, Ghana’s foreign policy was centred on economic diplomacy, with President Kufuor taking centre stage by undertaking many travels abroad. By his fourth year in office, President Kufuor had become Ghana’s most travelled leader since independence with more than 63 visits to foreign countries.
President Kufuor’s foreign policy also sought to enhance peaceful neighbourliness with the view to removing the tension and suspicion that had characterised relations between Ghana and her neighbours, particularly Togo. The relations among Ghana, Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire became excellent as a result of the constant consultations between President Kufuor and his colleagues. Indeed, Ghana was seen as a haven of peace and a trustworthy and sincere neighbour, genuinely committed to peace and progress in the sub-region.
In February 2004, Ghana became the first country to voluntarily subject itself to NEPAD's Peer Review Mechanism, which resulted in the inspection of the government's democratic, human rights and economic objectives by a team of African observers.
The successful handover of power from former President Kufuor to President J. E. A. Mills after an acrimonious election further boosted the image of Ghana in the international community. This peaceful handover in a region where civil strife had characterised some countries saw the first black American President, President Barack Obama, visiting Ghana between July 10-11, 2009, to salute Ghanaians for their democratic credentials, as well as Ghana’s contribution to world peace and conflict resolution. Since then, Ghana has and continues to receive rare positive reviews in the comity of nations.
Foreign Minister Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni, at a forum with members of the Diplomatic Corps, made it clear that there would not be a shift in Ghana’s foreign policy objectives.
He said promoting and enhancing bilateral and multilateral co-operation would continue to be key pillars in the country's foreign policy as President Mills’s government was committed to providing an attractive and conducive environment for the smooth functioning of all diplomatic missions and consulates.
The Mills’s government had been seen to be promoting good neighbourliness and placing high premium on relations with ECOWAS and African states while furthering the desire to promote friendly relations with all other countries, especially development partners.
Economic diplomacy, which requires greater attention to the promotion of trade, investment and tourism, facilitation of investment flows into Ghana, particularly towards key sectors such as energy, agriculture and agro-processing, ICT, infrastructural development and the hospitality industry, has been evident.
Alhaji Mumuni said the pursuit of peace and security would continue to be given high priority in the conduct of Ghana's foreign policy as they were essential for growth and prosperity and noted that it was his conviction that Ghana's internal peace, security and development remained inseparable from that of the sub-region.
The leadership positions occupied by Ghanaian nationals in various multilateral institutions also enhance the country’s profile in the comity of nations. Mr Kofi Annan and Dr K. Y. Amoako are the respective immediate past heads of the United Nations and the Economic Commission for Africa while Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas, until recently, President of the ECOWAS Commission, is now heading the African Caribbean Pacific (ACP) Secretariat in Brussels, Belgium.
Indeed, the country takes credit for the work of these and other nationals in the field of international diplomacy and Ghana often supports their work by launching mediation sessions to bring peace to war-torn countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the Cote d’Ivoire and also by hosting conferences that enhance the prospects for democracy and development in Africa.
Despite its limited resources, Ghana has been an active participant in democracy promotion abroad. It has mediated disputes in other countries, the most recent being the one the Kofi Annan brokered in Kenya; provided technical assistance; and participated in election monitoring and peacekeeping. Ghanaian leaders have participated in international fora and been vocal by publicly condemning actions that subvert the democratic process.
Ghana has always being cognisant of its weak capacity for unilateral action in the international arena and hence augments its power by developing close ties (usually at the presidential level) with more powerful states.
Ghana’s limited capacity for unilateral action also has led it to pursue many foreign policy activities through multilateral channels such as the United Nations, the African Union (AU), and the Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS). Membership of these organisations provides Ghana with a platform for protecting some of its interests, as well as to establish itself as a leader on several issues of concern to the African continent. For example, through the UN and ECOWAS, Ghana has been able to engage in numerous peacekeeping missions, which earns it international respect as a partner for global stability and a moral leader in African affairs.
It is important to also recognise that Ghana’s involvement in international peacekeeping functions is sometimes also driven more by a desire to raise funds for its military than peace and security concerns. Such pragmatism allows Ghana to influence events in neighbouring African countries, sometimes to an extent that belies her small size and resources.
Ghana’s other foreign relations “assets” include its status as a “role model” for the prominent role several Ghanaian nationals play in global affairs. Ghana’s “role model” status arises out of the country’s position as the first African state south of the Sahara to gain independence from colonial rule and the dynamic leadership of its first president, Kwame Nkrumah, in the Pan-Africanist movement.
The decision to implement World Bank-sponsored economic reform programmes two decades ago and recent democratic reforms have also reinforced the “role model” image and somewhat established Ghana as a leader of the movement for political change and rejuvenation of the African continent.
The change in government from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to the then opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) and back to the NDC has been seen as symbolic lesson for other African leaders.
Clearly, the mark of Ghana’s foreign policy has been that when strategic interests are at stake, Ghana’s leaders have chosen co-operation and friendship over criticism.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Police kill notorious criminal in gun battle
Page 3: Daily Graphic, March 2, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
ONE of the most wanted criminals in the country, John Kofi Fiagbedzi, alias Spider, was yesterday killed in a gun battle with the police when he led an attack on the residence of Ghana’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Baba Kamara.
Spider had been on the police wanted list since 2006 after he had escaped from the Police Hospital where he was receiving treatment for wounds he received from a US Marine in December that year.
The police then placed a GH¢4,000 bounty each on Spider and his accomplice, Mathias Kwesi Tsegah, who are said to have committed a series of robberies in Accra, Kumasi, Ho and other parts of the country.
Two foreign pistols, 26 rounds of ammunition, a car jerk, a screw driver and two mobile phones were retrieved from Spider after he had been shot. Some gold bracelets belonging to Mr Kamara’s wife were also found on Spider.
Tsegah is suspected to have escaped with GH¢6,680 which they had taken from Mr Kamara during the nearly 45- minute exercise after tying their victims.
Spider, Tsegah and a third suspect, identified as Aaron, who is currently in custody, were alleged to have robbed a Ghanaian woman of $64,000 on the GIMPA road in 2008, while Spider single-handedly robbed a foreigner of his Pathfinder vehicle on the Spintex Road in 2008.
The police also mentioned the robbery of a forex bureau near the St John’s Grammar School in early 2009 and another robbery on December 7, 2009, during which a RAV4 vehicle was snatched from its owner. The vehicle was later retrieved from Ho during the Yam Festival there.
Briefing newsmen in Accra yesterday, the Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Rose Bio Atinga, who was assisted by her deputy, ACP Christian Tetteh Yohuno, said between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. on Monday, the two armed young men entered Mr Kamara’s house.
She said someone in one of the rooms sent a distress call to a soldier friend, who in turn called the Police Information Room.
According to her, when the police got to the house, a policeman and a soldier had already laid ambush in the house upon hearing the distress calls on their walkie-talkie.
DCOP Atinga said at the time of the robbery, lights in the house had been put out and it was unclear whether it was the robbers who had done that.
She said when the victims pleaded with the robbers to leave, since they expected a high profile visitor, the attackers declined to leave.
She said it was after a while that the two assailants decided to leave and, typical of Spider’s escapades, he started firing from his two pistols with the view to scaring away neighbours.
DCOP Atinga said as soon as the robbers came out of the house, Spider assisted Mathias to jump out of the house amidst the firing.
She said Spider was unlucky, as he was hit by the police response. She was certain that Mathias could also have been hit by a bullet, and, therefore, appealed to members of the public, especially health facilities, to report anyone with bullet wounds to the nearest police station.
On the December 21, 2006 incident, DCOP Atinga said Spider had been stabbed at Tesano by a US Marine who was on holidays in Ghana.
She said Spider was remanded in prison custody in Nsawam after he had successfully been operated upon by surgeons at the Police Hospital.
She said Spider’s condition deteriorated six months after and he was brought back to the Police Hospital for treatment.
She said although Spider was on police guard, he managed to escape from the hospital, which resulted in the loss of job by the policeman guarding him.
She said the Police Administration subsequently put a GH¢2,000 bounty on him, while one of his foreign victims also added GH¢2,000 to it.
Story: Albert K. Salia
ONE of the most wanted criminals in the country, John Kofi Fiagbedzi, alias Spider, was yesterday killed in a gun battle with the police when he led an attack on the residence of Ghana’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Baba Kamara.
Spider had been on the police wanted list since 2006 after he had escaped from the Police Hospital where he was receiving treatment for wounds he received from a US Marine in December that year.
The police then placed a GH¢4,000 bounty each on Spider and his accomplice, Mathias Kwesi Tsegah, who are said to have committed a series of robberies in Accra, Kumasi, Ho and other parts of the country.
Two foreign pistols, 26 rounds of ammunition, a car jerk, a screw driver and two mobile phones were retrieved from Spider after he had been shot. Some gold bracelets belonging to Mr Kamara’s wife were also found on Spider.
Tsegah is suspected to have escaped with GH¢6,680 which they had taken from Mr Kamara during the nearly 45- minute exercise after tying their victims.
Spider, Tsegah and a third suspect, identified as Aaron, who is currently in custody, were alleged to have robbed a Ghanaian woman of $64,000 on the GIMPA road in 2008, while Spider single-handedly robbed a foreigner of his Pathfinder vehicle on the Spintex Road in 2008.
The police also mentioned the robbery of a forex bureau near the St John’s Grammar School in early 2009 and another robbery on December 7, 2009, during which a RAV4 vehicle was snatched from its owner. The vehicle was later retrieved from Ho during the Yam Festival there.
Briefing newsmen in Accra yesterday, the Accra Regional Police Commander, DCOP Rose Bio Atinga, who was assisted by her deputy, ACP Christian Tetteh Yohuno, said between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. on Monday, the two armed young men entered Mr Kamara’s house.
She said someone in one of the rooms sent a distress call to a soldier friend, who in turn called the Police Information Room.
According to her, when the police got to the house, a policeman and a soldier had already laid ambush in the house upon hearing the distress calls on their walkie-talkie.
DCOP Atinga said at the time of the robbery, lights in the house had been put out and it was unclear whether it was the robbers who had done that.
She said when the victims pleaded with the robbers to leave, since they expected a high profile visitor, the attackers declined to leave.
She said it was after a while that the two assailants decided to leave and, typical of Spider’s escapades, he started firing from his two pistols with the view to scaring away neighbours.
DCOP Atinga said as soon as the robbers came out of the house, Spider assisted Mathias to jump out of the house amidst the firing.
She said Spider was unlucky, as he was hit by the police response. She was certain that Mathias could also have been hit by a bullet, and, therefore, appealed to members of the public, especially health facilities, to report anyone with bullet wounds to the nearest police station.
On the December 21, 2006 incident, DCOP Atinga said Spider had been stabbed at Tesano by a US Marine who was on holidays in Ghana.
She said Spider was remanded in prison custody in Nsawam after he had successfully been operated upon by surgeons at the Police Hospital.
She said Spider’s condition deteriorated six months after and he was brought back to the Police Hospital for treatment.
She said although Spider was on police guard, he managed to escape from the hospital, which resulted in the loss of job by the policeman guarding him.
She said the Police Administration subsequently put a GH¢2,000 bounty on him, while one of his foreign victims also added GH¢2,000 to it.
Starmer here to assist SFO
Page 31: Daily Graphic, March 2, 2010.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales, Mr Keir Starmer, is in the country to hold discussions with stakeholders in Ghana’s criminal justice system with the view to strengthening relations between Ghana and the United Kingdom.
The discussions are centred on offering training to and equipping some of Ghana’s crime fighting agencies, particularly the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which is currently being re-positioned as the Economic and Organised Crime Agency with an expanded mandate to deal with money laundering, cyber fraud, among others.
At a meeting with the leadership of the SFO, Mr Starmer pledged the commitment of the UK to assist Ghana with the requisite training for staff of the SFO and provide logistics for the organisation.
He noted, for instance, that while some SFO staff were already receiving training, the stay of the Head of Governance and Justice at the British High Commission, Mr Roger Coventry, had been extended from nine to 19 months.
He said international collaboration held the key to fighting organised crime, hence the UK’s support to Ghana to help it contribute efficiently and effectively to dealing with the menace.
Mr Starmer said organised crime was a menace to the world and that it was only through joint collaborations by states that a major headway could be made.
He expressed satisfaction with the widening of the remit of the SFO and pledged continuous support to the new agency when it became operational.
The Board Chairman of the SFO, Mr Justice Amonoo Monney, expressed appreciation to the UK government for the support so far and explained that with the expansion of the mandate of the SFO, personnel of the agency would require more expert training to enable them to confront the challenges of fighting organised crime.
The Executive Director of the SFO, Mr Biadela Mortey Akpadzi, said it looked forward to recruiting more personnel to enable it to deal with its expanded mandate.
He said the SFO would also be prosecuting on the authority of the Attorney-General, hence the need to ensure that staff were adequately trained in investigations, monitoring and prosecutions.
Story: Albert K. Salia
THE Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales, Mr Keir Starmer, is in the country to hold discussions with stakeholders in Ghana’s criminal justice system with the view to strengthening relations between Ghana and the United Kingdom.
The discussions are centred on offering training to and equipping some of Ghana’s crime fighting agencies, particularly the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which is currently being re-positioned as the Economic and Organised Crime Agency with an expanded mandate to deal with money laundering, cyber fraud, among others.
At a meeting with the leadership of the SFO, Mr Starmer pledged the commitment of the UK to assist Ghana with the requisite training for staff of the SFO and provide logistics for the organisation.
He noted, for instance, that while some SFO staff were already receiving training, the stay of the Head of Governance and Justice at the British High Commission, Mr Roger Coventry, had been extended from nine to 19 months.
He said international collaboration held the key to fighting organised crime, hence the UK’s support to Ghana to help it contribute efficiently and effectively to dealing with the menace.
Mr Starmer said organised crime was a menace to the world and that it was only through joint collaborations by states that a major headway could be made.
He expressed satisfaction with the widening of the remit of the SFO and pledged continuous support to the new agency when it became operational.
The Board Chairman of the SFO, Mr Justice Amonoo Monney, expressed appreciation to the UK government for the support so far and explained that with the expansion of the mandate of the SFO, personnel of the agency would require more expert training to enable them to confront the challenges of fighting organised crime.
The Executive Director of the SFO, Mr Biadela Mortey Akpadzi, said it looked forward to recruiting more personnel to enable it to deal with its expanded mandate.
He said the SFO would also be prosecuting on the authority of the Attorney-General, hence the need to ensure that staff were adequately trained in investigations, monitoring and prosecutions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
