VICE PRESIDENT ASKS DISTRICT ASSEMBLIES TO ENFORCE BYE-LAWS
The Vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, has asked district assemblies to enforce anti-bushfire bye-laws to check bushfires and their repercussions.
Alhaji Mahama, who was addressing a durbar of the chiefs and people of Nandom in the Lawra District of the Upper West Region, to mark their annual Kakube festival, also advised farmers to stop the traditional farming practises of slash and burn. He added that those who went on hunting expeditions and deliberately set fire to trap animals must stop such unhealthy practices.
The Vice-President assured the people that the construction of the Kamba Irrigation Dam was under serious consideration and expressed the hope that the project would raise the living standard of the people, since it would create many job opportunities.
The Nandom Naa, Naa (Dr.) Puore Puobe Chiir VII, commended the government for the significant development projects undertaken in the Nandom Traditional Area, describing them as testimonies to government?s sincere and genuine commitment to improve the conditions of rural communities.
CARDINAL APPIAH-TURKSON CALLS ON VICE PRESIDNET
The President of the Catholic Bishops Conference, Peter Cardinal Appiah-Turskon, has urged politicians and political parties to pursue the path of peace before, during and after the December polls.
He said, Ghana was a beacon of peace on the African continent and that ghanaians must endeavour to protect that image.
Cardinal Appiah-Turkson gave the advice on Saturday, when he paid a courtesy call on the Vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, at the Regional Residency in Wa, the Upper West Regional capital.
The Vice-President was in the region to attend the Kakube Festival of the chiefs and people of Nandom in the Lawra District, while Cardinal Appiah-Turkson was in Wa to participate in activities marking the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Catholic Church in the region.
Alhaji Mahama repeated the government?s commitment to a peaceful, free and fair elections in December and asked Cardinal Appiah-Turkson and the entire clergy in the country to pray for a peaceful election next month.
WORLD BANK PROMISES MORE FUNDS
The World Bank has so much confidence in the management of Ghana?s economy that it is prepared to give Ghana more money to undertake development and infrastructure projects.
The Country Director of the World Bank in Ghana, Mr. Mas Karlson, who said this, added that ?Ghana has become the beacon of political and economic hope for the whole of Africa?.
Mr. Karlson stated this at the launch of a $60 million community-Based Rural Development Project (CBRDP) at Ajumako Essiam, which has been approved by the International Development Association (IDA) in support of Ghana?s development efforts.
The project is aimed at empowering rural communities in all the districts to increase their access to social and economic resources to reduce poverty.
The World Bank?s Task Team Leader for the project, Mr. Charles Annor-Frempong, said ?the project is expected to increase rural incomes, to improve the access of rural people to basic social services and to build capacity with a view to significantly increasing investments in economic, social and environmental activities?.
All sub-projects under the main project (CBRDP) will be implemented by the communities themselves or under their control.
CANADIAN HIGH COMMISSIONER CALLS ON THE MINISTER OF ROADS AND TRANSPORT
The Canadian High Commissioner to Ghana, Mr. Donald J. Bobiash, has described Ghana?s economy as a success story in Africa.
He said, Ghana?s economy was performing well as a result of prudent management policies adopted by the government.
Mr. Bobiash, who said this in Accra, when he paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Roads and Transport, Dr. Richard Anane, maintained that those policies had resulted in a stable economic environment.
The High Commissioner said in line with this, Canada?s development assistance to Ghana had tripled over the last four years, from $12.8 million in 2001 to $48 million in 2004, adding that his government had been impressed with the Ghanaian economy due to the rapid economic growth in all spheres of the economy.
On his part, Dr. Anane said over the years, Ghana had benefited a lot from Canada through the cordial relations between the two countries.
He, therefore, appealed to the High Commissioner to channel some of its aid and grants into the road and transport sectors of the economy and hinted that the national airline was revamping itself and would add Canada to its routes due to the number of Ghanaians who were resident there.
GHANA, IRAN SIGN MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
The Government of Ghana and the Islamic Republic of Iran has signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a development assistance grant covering an amount of $1.5 million (equivalent to ?13.8 billion) for the supply of hospital ambulances to the government of Ghana.
The acquisition of the ambulances was in line with the government?s aim of establishing an effective ambulance service throughout the nation to enhance the emergency response of hospitals and clinics.
Dr. Nii Noi Ashong, Minister of State for Economic Planning, initialled for Ghana government while Mr. Ahmed Pabarji, Director of Economic Co-operation of the Iranian Foreign Ministry initialled on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
UN SEMINAR ON STATISTICS OPENS IN ACCRA
The Minister of State for Economic Planning, Dr. Nii Noi Ashong, has stressed the importance of statistics as tools in the policy-making processes of countries and regional organisations.
He said, without statistics, the levels and achievements from development interventions could not be correctly assessed, adding that when that happened the objectives and targets for the future could not be realistically determined or tracked, and progress towards equal opportunities cannot be accurately measured.
Dr. Ashong said this when delivering his keynote address at the opening ceremony of a three-day UN seminar on statistical organisation and user-producer relations in Accra on the theme: ?Strengthening statistical capacity building in support of the Millenium Development Goals in West African States?.
In her remarks, the Government Statistician, Dr. Grace Bediako, said that the seminar would enable heads of statistics to learn from each other, share information about challenges and consult on how to confront difficult issues.
She said, as the ECOWAS sub-region shared similar economic circumstances, issues such as the form of statistical organisation, centralised system and function, making a national statiscal office effective development among other things would be deliberated on.
FUEL DEREGULATION WILL NOT INCREASE PRICES
The Minister of Energy, Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, has said the intended deregulation exercise being undertaken by the government in the petroleum industry would not lead to any increase in the price level of petroleum products.
Dr. Nduom, who disclosed this when a four-member delegation from Shell Global Oil Products paid a courtesy call on him at his office in Accra on Thursday, said the deregulation exercise had become necessary to enable the private sector have adequate resources to invest in the country?s oil sector to help to supplement TOR?s production capacity.
The Minister disclosed that a commission to ensure that all the prospective marketing companies brought in quality petroleum products was already in place and as such it would help check the pricing of the products and ensure that the consumer, the marketer and the importer did not lose.
The Chief Executive Officer of SHELL Global Oil Products, Mr. Rob Routs, who led the delegation, said SHELL was proud to be associated with Ghana?s oil industry and that it was committed to providing quality petroleum products for the people of this nation.
GHANAIAN TIMES STAFF NAMED WOMAN OF THE YEAR
The Assistant Editor of the Ghanaian Times, Ms. Adwoa Asiedu, has been declared ?Woman of the Year 2004? by the American Biographical Institute (ABI) and its Board of International Research.
This is in recognition of her lifetime achievements as a journalist. Ms. Adwoa Asiedu is the first African journalist to receive the title.
In honour of her achievement, the ABI has invited her to occupy three positions within its establishment. These are a permanent membership of the ABI?s Professional Women?s Advisory Board, a lifetime Deputy Governorship of the ABI, and a three-year term as Secretary-General of the ABI?s United Culture Convention.
CONFERENCE ON COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN FOREST MANAGEMENT OPENS
The Dean of Students of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Professor E. K. Frimpong, has advocated effective communication between researchers and end users of research findings.
Professor Frimpong, who was speaking at the opening of a four-day conference on communication skills in forest management, cautioned that in the absence of such communication, the output of academic research would be of no help to national development.
It was organised by Tropenbos International-Ghana, in collaboration with the International Union of Forestry Research Organizations (IUFRO). The conference was aimed at sharpening the communication skills of participants, besides creating a network of information officers to propagate research results.
The gathering brought together more than 20 participants drawn from public affairs departments and scientific research institutions across the country.
Professor Frimpong said that research could play a major role in the nation?s drive for development and, therefore, it was incumbent on all ghanaians to make this a reality.
The Programme Team Leader of Tropenbos International-Ghana, Mr. S. K. Nketia, said there was a need to develop a strong institutional philosophy, and a system for the recognition and promotion of scientists and researchers.
NATIONAL WORKSHOP ON INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT OPENS IN ACCRA
The Minister of Works and Housing, Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, has said that the provision of potable water and sanitation remains one of the development priorities under the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS).
He said, referring to water, ?in our quest to provide this essential services to our people as a means of reducing poverty, we must be mindful of the need to manage the resource in such a manner as not to jeopardize its continuous existence?.
Alhaji Idris said this at the opening of a national workshop on integrated water resource management under the theme: ?Water management ? the cornerstone of GPRS?.
The Minister stressed the importance of Ghana?s position in the Volta River Basin as a major down stream user, and urged the Volta Basin organisation, embracing Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d? Ivoire, Ghana, Mali and Togo to ensure that the management of the basin was done in a co-ordinated fashion.
In an overview of the theme, the Chairman of Ghana Water Partnership, Nii Boi Ayibonte, said that water was an essential resource for socio-economic development and that its management should involve community participation at the lowest level.
The Chairman of the Water Resources Commission, Professor Clement Dorm-Adzobu, urged the partnership to broaden its base to ensure full representation in water resource management.
CHIEF IMAN IN TRIPOLI
The National Chief Iman, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharabutu, has left Accra for Tripoli, Libya, at the head of Ghana?s delegation to the Seventh General Congress of the World Islamic Call Society (WICS) scheduled for November 26 to 29, 2004.
A statement issued by the WICS in Accra said, the Chief Iman was accompanied by Major Alhaji Mohammed Essah (Rtd.), President of the Coalition of Muslim Organisations and Sheikh Mohammed Sani Adam, a Muslim clergy of the WICS.
More than 200 Islamic organisations from all over the world are expected to participate in the conference.
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