December 24, 2008
AS the country prepares for a decisive presidential run-off on December 28, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, has reminded Ghanaians of their responsibility to ensure a peaceful and united Ghana.
The Information Minister said it behoved the two contesting political parties in the run-off to also ensure that Ghanaians remained as one people with a common destiny after a winner had finally been chosen.
“We need our collective energies and resources to tackle the issues that confront our people. After Sunday, December 28, the team that gets the mandate of Ghanaians must immediately begin to build on our achievements as a nation and to address issues that will move our country to a higher level,” he pointed out.
Reading from the Holy Bible to support his statement at a post-election meet-the-press organised in Accra yesterday, Mr Asamoah Boateng said it was God’s way of reducing the tension in the country by making it fail to get a winner in the first round of voting.
He said Ghanaians should remember that the rest of the world was watching how the country would come out successfully and urged the people not to give a chance to the “devil to destroy what we have so far achieved”.
Mr Asamoah Boateng took the opportunity to challenge the people not to let politics divide them but rather live peacefully with one another, irrespective of their ethnic, political, social and religious background.
On the run-off, the minister called on the electorate to go out and vote, adding that, “the job before all Ghanaians is not complete. This Sunday, December 28, we have been called to duty again. By the rules of the election, the two leading contenders and their political parties which emerged from the first round elections are pitting their strength against each other again”.
He complained about the attitude of some influential members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to cause confusion in the country and mentioned a statement issued by the spokesperson and press secretary to Prof J.E.A Mills, Mr Koku Anyidoho, to the effect that his party was winning and will, therefore, not take any “nonsense” from the Electoral Commission (EC) and also warned the Chairman of the Commission to be careful even though the result had, at the time, just begun to come in.
Mr Asamoah Boateng also alleged that supporters of the NDC stormed the terminal of the Metro Mass Transit in Tamale to beat the drivers, as well as take the keys to the vehicles from them, attacked and burnt the rice farm belonging to the Nanton-Naa, as well as attacked the chief of Shama in the Western Region.
“In various parts of the country, supporters of the NDC had resorted to insults and hooting at anyone perceived as not being with them. It is important for the NDC to recognise that elections are not meant as avenue for hate, destruction and war. It is an expression by the electorate of how and which team they trust to govern the country for the next four years,” he stressed.
Mr Asamoah Boateng said he found it difficult to understand why the NDC was trying to convince Ghanaians that they won the first round election, knowing very well that the 49.13 per cent which the New Patriotic Party (NPP) candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo, had was higher than the 47.92 per cent the NDC candidate, Prof J.E. Atta Mills, had.
“The government wishes to call on the leadership of the NDC to publicly affirm the commitment to the true spirit of democracy,” he stressed.
The minister said it was unfortunate that any recent move made by the agencies of the government was given political meaning and cited the measures taken to prevent pair trawling and also attempts by the judiciary to correct an earlier mistake it made by punishing some drivers wrongly.
The minister also touched on some irregularities which were recorded during the last elections and called on the EC to take action to safeguard the constitutional provisions governing elections in the country.
“Again there were reports of threats, intimidation and some EC officers compromising their discipline within close proximity of the polling centres. I wish to call on the security personnel at the various stations to fully assist in putting a stop to these electoral malpractices,” he stated.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
MoH honours workers (Page 35)
December 22,2008.
THE immediate past Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Professor Stephen Adei, has challenged Ghanaians not to allow party politics to continue to divide them but should rather form a united front if they want to develop as a nation.
He said it was unfortunate that people had deliberately created what he referred to as enhanced division, especially on political lines, which had negatively affected the development of the nation.
At an end-of-year get-together organised by the Ministry of Health (MOH) in Accra on Friday, Prof. Adei said the country was so much divided on the basis of New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) to the extent that some people found it extremely difficult to work with others even if those other persons could perform.
Touching on the upcoming presidential run-off scheduled for December 28, he predicted that it would be difficult for the winner to get more than 53 per cent of the total votes and said if it happened like that, the other 47 per cent of the electorate should not be sidelined but included in the building of the nation.
“There is the need for us to learn to work together because nobody ever succeeds alone,” he emphasised.
On the attitude of some civil servants, he stressed that it was wrong for people to believe that they could achieve results by doing the same thing over and over again and advised that it was important for people to change their way of doing things for the better if they actually wanted to move forward.
Prof. Adei also complained about the Ghanaian attitude where meanings were read into every move senior public officials made and said elsewhere, an employee could be hired or fired based on efficiency but “here you cannot do that without people giving all manner of reasons for your actions”.
The Minister of Health, Major Courage Quashigah (retd), said it was good that there would be Christmas celebration before the presidential run-off and urged people to remember the message of the season, which was peace, and go by it.
He took the opportunity to advise all Ghanaians, especially the ordinary people, to learn from events of some neighbouring countries where there had been conflicts because of elections and observed that when war broke, it was the ordinary person who suffered most.
Maj. Quashigah also reminded Ghanaians to avoid drunkenness during the Yuletide, since too much alcohol could cause people their lives either through accidents or ill health. He also spoke against people taking in too much food during the occasion.
Welfare messages were presented on behalf of the development partners, agencies under the ministry and the staff of the ministry.
As part of the programme, awards were presented to some personalities for their performance over the years and institutions who had helped the ministry perform its functions.
They included Maj. Quashigah, Dr (Mrs) Gladys Norley Ashietey, who is a deputy minister at the ministry; the Government’s Spokesperson on Social Services, Mr Kofi Amponsah Bediako. Others were Mr James Nortey, Ms Regina Abordoh and Ms Doris Parry, the overall best worker.
Institutions that were awarded were the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations International Children and Education Fund (UNICEF) the Department for International Development (DFID), the African Development Fund, the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Ghana and the Global Fund.
THE immediate past Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Professor Stephen Adei, has challenged Ghanaians not to allow party politics to continue to divide them but should rather form a united front if they want to develop as a nation.
He said it was unfortunate that people had deliberately created what he referred to as enhanced division, especially on political lines, which had negatively affected the development of the nation.
At an end-of-year get-together organised by the Ministry of Health (MOH) in Accra on Friday, Prof. Adei said the country was so much divided on the basis of New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) to the extent that some people found it extremely difficult to work with others even if those other persons could perform.
Touching on the upcoming presidential run-off scheduled for December 28, he predicted that it would be difficult for the winner to get more than 53 per cent of the total votes and said if it happened like that, the other 47 per cent of the electorate should not be sidelined but included in the building of the nation.
“There is the need for us to learn to work together because nobody ever succeeds alone,” he emphasised.
On the attitude of some civil servants, he stressed that it was wrong for people to believe that they could achieve results by doing the same thing over and over again and advised that it was important for people to change their way of doing things for the better if they actually wanted to move forward.
Prof. Adei also complained about the Ghanaian attitude where meanings were read into every move senior public officials made and said elsewhere, an employee could be hired or fired based on efficiency but “here you cannot do that without people giving all manner of reasons for your actions”.
The Minister of Health, Major Courage Quashigah (retd), said it was good that there would be Christmas celebration before the presidential run-off and urged people to remember the message of the season, which was peace, and go by it.
He took the opportunity to advise all Ghanaians, especially the ordinary people, to learn from events of some neighbouring countries where there had been conflicts because of elections and observed that when war broke, it was the ordinary person who suffered most.
Maj. Quashigah also reminded Ghanaians to avoid drunkenness during the Yuletide, since too much alcohol could cause people their lives either through accidents or ill health. He also spoke against people taking in too much food during the occasion.
Welfare messages were presented on behalf of the development partners, agencies under the ministry and the staff of the ministry.
As part of the programme, awards were presented to some personalities for their performance over the years and institutions who had helped the ministry perform its functions.
They included Maj. Quashigah, Dr (Mrs) Gladys Norley Ashietey, who is a deputy minister at the ministry; the Government’s Spokesperson on Social Services, Mr Kofi Amponsah Bediako. Others were Mr James Nortey, Ms Regina Abordoh and Ms Doris Parry, the overall best worker.
Institutions that were awarded were the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations International Children and Education Fund (UNICEF) the Department for International Development (DFID), the African Development Fund, the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Ghana and the Global Fund.
CPP members being forced to join NDC - Greenstreet (page 16)
December 19, 2008
THE General Secretary of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Mr Ivor Greenstreet has said the decision by the Northern Regional Secretariat of the party to support the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the December 28 presidential run-off might have been made under duress.
He said he had earlier on received information from the Northern Region that the CPP members were being forced to join the NDC else they risk having their houses burnt and other properties destroyed.
Reacting to a story carried by the Daily Graphic today (Thursday) in which the Northern Regional Secretariat of the CPP was reported to have declared its intention to support the candidature of Professor John Atta Mills of the NDC in the December 28 presidential election run-off, Mr Greenstreet said although he appreciated the difficulty the branch found itself, the Central Committee of the party would still have to deliberate on the issue and take a decision on it.
He said it was strange for the Secretariat to openly come out with that declaration after the Central Committee had categoricaly stated that CPP would not attach itself to either the New Patriotic Party (NPP) or the NDC during the run-off. He described the incident as untimely, unfortunate and reprehensible.
Mr Greenstreet said the CPP decided not to align itself with either the NPP or the NDC because the party had realised that its earlier decision to support each of the two parties in the past did not help develop the CPP but rather created problems within it.
“Instead of helping the party as one would have wished, such moves in the past had rather been divisive”, he stressed.
The General Secretary said the CPP had learnt its lesson the more now that the party had managed to win a parliamentary seat in the Jommoro Constituency through the daughter of the founder of the party, Madam Samia Nkrumah without support from any other political party and hoped to continue from there.
He stated that the executive had listened to concerns raised by the rank and file of the party as well as the general public and taken a final decision not throw its weight behind any party but rather allow the individual members to vote for their any of the parties in the race.
In today’s (Thursday) issue of the Daily Graphic, the Northern Regional Secretariat of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) was said to have declared its intention to support the candidature of Professor Mills in the December 28 presidential election run-off.
According to the secretariat, even though the national executive of the party was yet to take its final stand as to who to support in the run-off, ‘‘we of the Northern Region are meanwhile responding to the exigencies of this critical moment in our nation’s history.’’
‘‘It is a clash of the forces of peace and those of confrontational politics; it is a clash of ideas and manifestos; it is a clash between humility and arrogance; it is a clash of characters, and to remain neutral in the face of such clear choices will be unfortunate’’, the CPP branch indicated.
According to the Northern Regional Organiser of the CPP, Mr Basharu Daballi in a statement, the party entered into this year’s elections on a platform of change and that the decisive battle will be on December 28 ‘‘between the forces of change and the forces of stagnation’’.
tude.’’
THE General Secretary of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Mr Ivor Greenstreet has said the decision by the Northern Regional Secretariat of the party to support the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the December 28 presidential run-off might have been made under duress.
He said he had earlier on received information from the Northern Region that the CPP members were being forced to join the NDC else they risk having their houses burnt and other properties destroyed.
Reacting to a story carried by the Daily Graphic today (Thursday) in which the Northern Regional Secretariat of the CPP was reported to have declared its intention to support the candidature of Professor John Atta Mills of the NDC in the December 28 presidential election run-off, Mr Greenstreet said although he appreciated the difficulty the branch found itself, the Central Committee of the party would still have to deliberate on the issue and take a decision on it.
He said it was strange for the Secretariat to openly come out with that declaration after the Central Committee had categoricaly stated that CPP would not attach itself to either the New Patriotic Party (NPP) or the NDC during the run-off. He described the incident as untimely, unfortunate and reprehensible.
Mr Greenstreet said the CPP decided not to align itself with either the NPP or the NDC because the party had realised that its earlier decision to support each of the two parties in the past did not help develop the CPP but rather created problems within it.
“Instead of helping the party as one would have wished, such moves in the past had rather been divisive”, he stressed.
The General Secretary said the CPP had learnt its lesson the more now that the party had managed to win a parliamentary seat in the Jommoro Constituency through the daughter of the founder of the party, Madam Samia Nkrumah without support from any other political party and hoped to continue from there.
He stated that the executive had listened to concerns raised by the rank and file of the party as well as the general public and taken a final decision not throw its weight behind any party but rather allow the individual members to vote for their any of the parties in the race.
In today’s (Thursday) issue of the Daily Graphic, the Northern Regional Secretariat of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) was said to have declared its intention to support the candidature of Professor Mills in the December 28 presidential election run-off.
According to the secretariat, even though the national executive of the party was yet to take its final stand as to who to support in the run-off, ‘‘we of the Northern Region are meanwhile responding to the exigencies of this critical moment in our nation’s history.’’
‘‘It is a clash of the forces of peace and those of confrontational politics; it is a clash of ideas and manifestos; it is a clash between humility and arrogance; it is a clash of characters, and to remain neutral in the face of such clear choices will be unfortunate’’, the CPP branch indicated.
According to the Northern Regional Organiser of the CPP, Mr Basharu Daballi in a statement, the party entered into this year’s elections on a platform of change and that the decisive battle will be on December 28 ‘‘between the forces of change and the forces of stagnation’’.
tude.’’
Akwatia Political Crisis Takes Different Turn (Page 29)
December 19, 2008
THE problem that arose in the Akwatia Constituency during the December 7 parliamentary election seems to rage on since the two main contending candidates have taken different positions on the issue of the re-run in six polling stations where ballot boxes were destroyed.
While the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate, Dr Kofi Asare, said he accepted the decision by the Electoral Commission (EC) although he would have wished that the contents of the remaining ballot boxes already counted would be used to determine a winner, the candidate for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Baba Mohammed Ahmed Jamal insisted that there should be a re-run in whole constituency.
In a telephone interview with Dr Asare, he said since the EC was the final authority on the election, he had no option but to accept the commission’s decision and prepare for the re-run scheduled for December 28.
He said it was unfortunate that some people decided to take the law into their own hands and misbehave during the day of election, which created problems for everybody in the constituency and expressed the hope that at the end of the day, the right choice of the people would emerge.
At the time of the interview, Dr Asare said he was meeting with the executives in the constituency to discuss how best they could strategise to win more votes in the six constituencies.
Baba Jamal, however, said he would not accept anything short of a complete re-run throughout the constituency.
He explained that he had already sent a petition to the EC together with the other three candidates in the competition, adding that with the hard evidence presented to the commission, he was sure the EC would rescind its decision and conduct fresh election at all the 89 polling stations in the constituency.
Giving reasons for not accepting the EC’s decision, Baba Jamal said there were series of irregularities in some polling stations, which had been accepted and named. The results declared at Wenchi, Apinaman and Dwenase polling stations were more than 100 per cent.
He said his party agents were prevented from monitoring the process in those areas and, therefore, did not append their signatures to the results that were declared. He added that he had to go to those areas under tight military protection on election day
When he was questioned on his next line of action if the EC decided not to change its decision, Baba Jamal said the EC would accept his proposal after it had looked at his petition and the issues raised but was quick to add that if the worse came, his party would seek legal intervention.
On Tuesday, December 16, 2008, the Daily Graphic reported that voting would take place at six polling stations in the Akwatia Constituency where ballot boxes were said to have been tampered with during the December 7, 2008 general election to determine the winner of the parliamentary race.
The seat for the constituency is being keenly contested by Dr Kofi Asare of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and Baba Mohammed Ahmed Jamal of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who is also his party’s Deputy General Secretary.
The Akwatia re-run will be on December 28, 2008, alongside the presidential run-off, and the ballots cast will be added to those already counted for the declaration of the full results.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Chairman of the EC, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, said the decision to re-run the election at the six polling stations at Akwatia was arrived at after painstaking investigations by the EC.
At dusk on December 7, 2008 when results were being collated at Akwatia, supporters of the NPP and the NDC were said to have nearly clashed, compelling electoral officers and security personnel to convey the electoral materials and ballot boxes to the electoral office at Kade for collation.
Counting started at 7 a.m. the next day and ended at 3.10 p.m., according to the EC’s electoral officer, but the ballots in six boxes were not collated.
Two of the six ballot boxes were destroyed by 0 around 3.30 p.m. while voting was going on. Four other boxes, along with the electoral materials, were whisked away by machomen.
As a result of the development, the vote counting was limited to the rest of the remaining ballot boxes.
THE problem that arose in the Akwatia Constituency during the December 7 parliamentary election seems to rage on since the two main contending candidates have taken different positions on the issue of the re-run in six polling stations where ballot boxes were destroyed.
While the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary candidate, Dr Kofi Asare, said he accepted the decision by the Electoral Commission (EC) although he would have wished that the contents of the remaining ballot boxes already counted would be used to determine a winner, the candidate for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Baba Mohammed Ahmed Jamal insisted that there should be a re-run in whole constituency.
In a telephone interview with Dr Asare, he said since the EC was the final authority on the election, he had no option but to accept the commission’s decision and prepare for the re-run scheduled for December 28.
He said it was unfortunate that some people decided to take the law into their own hands and misbehave during the day of election, which created problems for everybody in the constituency and expressed the hope that at the end of the day, the right choice of the people would emerge.
At the time of the interview, Dr Asare said he was meeting with the executives in the constituency to discuss how best they could strategise to win more votes in the six constituencies.
Baba Jamal, however, said he would not accept anything short of a complete re-run throughout the constituency.
He explained that he had already sent a petition to the EC together with the other three candidates in the competition, adding that with the hard evidence presented to the commission, he was sure the EC would rescind its decision and conduct fresh election at all the 89 polling stations in the constituency.
Giving reasons for not accepting the EC’s decision, Baba Jamal said there were series of irregularities in some polling stations, which had been accepted and named. The results declared at Wenchi, Apinaman and Dwenase polling stations were more than 100 per cent.
He said his party agents were prevented from monitoring the process in those areas and, therefore, did not append their signatures to the results that were declared. He added that he had to go to those areas under tight military protection on election day
When he was questioned on his next line of action if the EC decided not to change its decision, Baba Jamal said the EC would accept his proposal after it had looked at his petition and the issues raised but was quick to add that if the worse came, his party would seek legal intervention.
On Tuesday, December 16, 2008, the Daily Graphic reported that voting would take place at six polling stations in the Akwatia Constituency where ballot boxes were said to have been tampered with during the December 7, 2008 general election to determine the winner of the parliamentary race.
The seat for the constituency is being keenly contested by Dr Kofi Asare of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and Baba Mohammed Ahmed Jamal of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who is also his party’s Deputy General Secretary.
The Akwatia re-run will be on December 28, 2008, alongside the presidential run-off, and the ballots cast will be added to those already counted for the declaration of the full results.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Chairman of the EC, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, said the decision to re-run the election at the six polling stations at Akwatia was arrived at after painstaking investigations by the EC.
At dusk on December 7, 2008 when results were being collated at Akwatia, supporters of the NPP and the NDC were said to have nearly clashed, compelling electoral officers and security personnel to convey the electoral materials and ballot boxes to the electoral office at Kade for collation.
Counting started at 7 a.m. the next day and ended at 3.10 p.m., according to the EC’s electoral officer, but the ballots in six boxes were not collated.
Two of the six ballot boxes were destroyed by 0 around 3.30 p.m. while voting was going on. Four other boxes, along with the electoral materials, were whisked away by machomen.
As a result of the development, the vote counting was limited to the rest of the remaining ballot boxes.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
DFP declares support for Akufo-Addo
Story: Lucy Adoma Yeboah (December 16, 2008)
THE Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) has thrown its weight behind the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate, Nana Addo-Dankwa Akuffo Addo, for the run-off scheduled for December 28, 2008.
At a press conference held by the DFP in Accra yesterday, the General Secretary, Mr Bede A. Ziedeng, said the DFP strongly felt that the NPP administration had made the necessary efforts to put the Ghanaian economy on an even keel which yielded and continued to yield results, despite the numerous external shocks.
“It is a matter of course that, in the greater national interest, the party supports a candidate that will most likely continue to improve on our economic performance, and also maintain the goodwill and international support that Ghana currently enjoys. Nana Addo is the man to do it”, he observed.
Mr Ziedeng said the DFP was approached by the NPP to officially seek the party’s support in Nana Akuffo Addo’s bid for the presidency, and went on to explain that the DFP’s decision had been highly informed by the NPP’s interest and the respect for the party as a key player in Ghana’s contemporary politics.
In addition he stated that the party was also approached by the NDC but they could not accept the NDC’s invitation.
“Having taken this decision, the Democratic Freedom Party is now fully set to campaign for Nana Addo-Dankwa Akuffo Addo to win the run-off.
“We, therefore, call on all our members, field activists, supporters and sympathisers to campaign, and turn out to vote, and vote massively for Nana Addo-Dankwa Akuffo Addo of the New Patriotic Party on December 28, 2008”, he said.
At the general election held on December 7, 2008, the presidential candidate of the DFP, Mr Emmanuel Ansah-Antwi, polled 27,889, representing 0.33 per cent of the valid votes cast.
Mr Ziedeng said the DFP preferred the NPP to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) because it was a fact that the political climate created by the NPP had been congenial enough to allow for the steady growth and development of a party like theirs.
He observed that although the DFP was born as a political party whilst the NPP was in government, indeed, the DFP did not experience any obstacles.
“The DFP can thus be sure of its survival, growth and development under Nana Addo-Dankwa Akuffo Addo’s administration. This guarantee we do not want to trade off”, he stressed.
Mr Ziedeng pointed out that from the party’s political past, it felt the NPP had a more enviable human right record, adding that the DFP as a political party naturally supported a movement towards a freer political environment in which individuals and group rights were respected and treasured.
He also explained that the DFP had as one of its core policies contained in its manifesto the launch of a Green Revolution and one of the key components of the envisaged agricultural revolution, adding that with the initiative taken by the NPP government to subsidise fertiliser this year, even though not far reaching , would have been expected.
Present at the press conference were the patron of the DFP, Mr Obed Asamoah, the party’s presidential candidate in the last general election, Mr Emmanuel Ansah-Antwi, the deputy General Secretary, Mr John Ameka and other party executives.
THE Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) has thrown its weight behind the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential candidate, Nana Addo-Dankwa Akuffo Addo, for the run-off scheduled for December 28, 2008.
At a press conference held by the DFP in Accra yesterday, the General Secretary, Mr Bede A. Ziedeng, said the DFP strongly felt that the NPP administration had made the necessary efforts to put the Ghanaian economy on an even keel which yielded and continued to yield results, despite the numerous external shocks.
“It is a matter of course that, in the greater national interest, the party supports a candidate that will most likely continue to improve on our economic performance, and also maintain the goodwill and international support that Ghana currently enjoys. Nana Addo is the man to do it”, he observed.
Mr Ziedeng said the DFP was approached by the NPP to officially seek the party’s support in Nana Akuffo Addo’s bid for the presidency, and went on to explain that the DFP’s decision had been highly informed by the NPP’s interest and the respect for the party as a key player in Ghana’s contemporary politics.
In addition he stated that the party was also approached by the NDC but they could not accept the NDC’s invitation.
“Having taken this decision, the Democratic Freedom Party is now fully set to campaign for Nana Addo-Dankwa Akuffo Addo to win the run-off.
“We, therefore, call on all our members, field activists, supporters and sympathisers to campaign, and turn out to vote, and vote massively for Nana Addo-Dankwa Akuffo Addo of the New Patriotic Party on December 28, 2008”, he said.
At the general election held on December 7, 2008, the presidential candidate of the DFP, Mr Emmanuel Ansah-Antwi, polled 27,889, representing 0.33 per cent of the valid votes cast.
Mr Ziedeng said the DFP preferred the NPP to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) because it was a fact that the political climate created by the NPP had been congenial enough to allow for the steady growth and development of a party like theirs.
He observed that although the DFP was born as a political party whilst the NPP was in government, indeed, the DFP did not experience any obstacles.
“The DFP can thus be sure of its survival, growth and development under Nana Addo-Dankwa Akuffo Addo’s administration. This guarantee we do not want to trade off”, he stressed.
Mr Ziedeng pointed out that from the party’s political past, it felt the NPP had a more enviable human right record, adding that the DFP as a political party naturally supported a movement towards a freer political environment in which individuals and group rights were respected and treasured.
He also explained that the DFP had as one of its core policies contained in its manifesto the launch of a Green Revolution and one of the key components of the envisaged agricultural revolution, adding that with the initiative taken by the NPP government to subsidise fertiliser this year, even though not far reaching , would have been expected.
Present at the press conference were the patron of the DFP, Mr Obed Asamoah, the party’s presidential candidate in the last general election, Mr Emmanuel Ansah-Antwi, the deputy General Secretary, Mr John Ameka and other party executives.
Common People for Nana Addo (Page 30)
A GROUP of mostly young people calling themselves “Common People for Nana Addo” yesterday reminded Ghanaians not to make the mistake of voting for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the run-off since that would send the country many years back.
At its inaugural conference at Mambrobi in the Ablekuma South Constituency in Accra , the group, numbering more than 200, pledged their support for the New Patriotic Party (NPP’s) presidential candidate, Nana Addo-Dankwa Akuffo Addo, and promised to “win more souls for him” to win the presidential run-off.
The objective of the group, according to the speakers at the programme, was to sensitise the electorate to the need to vote for Nana Akuffo Addo, and after the party had come to power, form groups to lobby for development projects in their communities.
In a statement, a founding member of the group, Mr Charles Biney, said Ghanaians should make an informed choice by looking at the background of the two contending parties as well as the candidates and choose which one was in a better position to sustain the freedom the people were enjoying.
He said the NPP had over the years proved that it had the interest of the people at heart, and should therefore be given the opportunity to continue with the good works it had started else the electorate would live to regret as a people.
Mr Biney said there was enough evidence to indicate that the NPP had the capacity to develop Ghana further, considering the fact that the government had managed the economy so well even in the midst of such serious global economic crisis.
Another founding member of the group, Mr Steve Opoku-Koranteng, called on the youth to take their destiny in their own hands by voting for Nana Akuffo Addo who he was sure could come up with programmes to ensure a brighter future for every Ghanaian.
Mr Owusu-Koranteng, a United States-based Ghanaian, said there was the need for the members of the party to get down to the common people on the street, explain issues to them in order to convince them to vote for the NPP candidate.
Shouting a slogan “fired up” which had the response “ready to vote” by the crowd, Mr Opoku-Koranteng said each vote was important and should therefore not be wasted.
He observed that what the NPP had done for Ghana was incomparable and advised Ghanaians to go out in their numbers on December 28 to vote for Nana Akuffo Addo.
For her part, Ms Abenaa Boateng who is also a member of the group, called on those present at the programme not to discriminate against any one in their campaign but make the effort to get in touch with every one in their respective communities and try to explain to them why Nana Akuffo Addo was the better choice, adding “you would never know who you can convince”.
She advised the youth to support the campaign to get Nana Addo to power since it was clear that their future would be assured under his administration.
Present at the meeting were some seasoned members of the NPP in the Ablekuma South Constituency, notable among them were Madam Naomi Doodo aka Auntie Naa and Mr Seth Owusu.
At its inaugural conference at Mambrobi in the Ablekuma South Constituency in Accra , the group, numbering more than 200, pledged their support for the New Patriotic Party (NPP’s) presidential candidate, Nana Addo-Dankwa Akuffo Addo, and promised to “win more souls for him” to win the presidential run-off.
The objective of the group, according to the speakers at the programme, was to sensitise the electorate to the need to vote for Nana Akuffo Addo, and after the party had come to power, form groups to lobby for development projects in their communities.
In a statement, a founding member of the group, Mr Charles Biney, said Ghanaians should make an informed choice by looking at the background of the two contending parties as well as the candidates and choose which one was in a better position to sustain the freedom the people were enjoying.
He said the NPP had over the years proved that it had the interest of the people at heart, and should therefore be given the opportunity to continue with the good works it had started else the electorate would live to regret as a people.
Mr Biney said there was enough evidence to indicate that the NPP had the capacity to develop Ghana further, considering the fact that the government had managed the economy so well even in the midst of such serious global economic crisis.
Another founding member of the group, Mr Steve Opoku-Koranteng, called on the youth to take their destiny in their own hands by voting for Nana Akuffo Addo who he was sure could come up with programmes to ensure a brighter future for every Ghanaian.
Mr Owusu-Koranteng, a United States-based Ghanaian, said there was the need for the members of the party to get down to the common people on the street, explain issues to them in order to convince them to vote for the NPP candidate.
Shouting a slogan “fired up” which had the response “ready to vote” by the crowd, Mr Opoku-Koranteng said each vote was important and should therefore not be wasted.
He observed that what the NPP had done for Ghana was incomparable and advised Ghanaians to go out in their numbers on December 28 to vote for Nana Akuffo Addo.
For her part, Ms Abenaa Boateng who is also a member of the group, called on those present at the programme not to discriminate against any one in their campaign but make the effort to get in touch with every one in their respective communities and try to explain to them why Nana Akuffo Addo was the better choice, adding “you would never know who you can convince”.
She advised the youth to support the campaign to get Nana Addo to power since it was clear that their future would be assured under his administration.
Present at the meeting were some seasoned members of the NPP in the Ablekuma South Constituency, notable among them were Madam Naomi Doodo aka Auntie Naa and Mr Seth Owusu.
Monday, November 10, 2008
NCCE Takes Us to Electoral School (Page 27)
ON December 7, this year, Ghanaians will once again have the opportunity to elect a new president and Members of Parliament (MPs) to handle the affairs of the nation.
In spite of the fear being experienced by some people based on stories of election-related violence from some African countries, majority of Ghanaians are excited and anxiously looking forward to the election day. Excited because they surely believe that once again, Ghanaians will go through the process in such a manner that the rest of the world will have nothing to say but to salute .
But can anybody blame those who are apprehensive and have the feeling that some nasty thing could come out of the election? Some of us believe that group of people might be right since there are already instances to indicate that not all Ghanaians are peace loving after all.
It is significant to note that in recent times there have been alleged cases of murders, arson as well as physical and verbal attacks, all in the name of politics. What is making the situation tense is the fact that each of the two main political parties, namely the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) are bent on winning at all cost. While the two presidential candidates talk about the need for peaceful elections, their followers by their actions and pronouncements promise us “fire and brimstone” on a daily basis.
That is the reason why all peace-loving citizens together with many recognised institutions are working hard towards free and fair elections, come Sunday, December 7. One such institution which has a constitutional backing to educate the public on their civic rights and responsibilities is the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE). To achieve that objective, the commission has compiled some tit-bits to help guide us before, during and after the elections.
In its opening statement, the NCCE observed that peace is priceless and nothing should therefore, be done to compromise the relative peace Ghanaians are currently enjoying.
Another important advice the commission gave was that those politicians bent on winning at all cost should note that politics is not a do -or- die affair and should therefore relax and allow things to go on in a normal way without pushing the whole country into political turmoil.
The important thing that the NCCE touched on is that all that is expected of Ghanaians under the circumstance is that on December 7, 2008, all registered voters should go to their respective polling centres and vote peacefully since “we are one nation, one people with one common destiny”.
A portion of the compilation stated that: “Make election 2008 peaceful, vote and let your vote be counted. Election 2008 should be free, fair, transparent and peaceful. Peaceful elections is what every Ghanaian wants, so be just, fair and kind to your opponent”.
Some Election Offences
It is important for voters to note that it is an offence for one to have his or her name occurring twice in the register of voters.
It is also illegal to vote or attempt to vote more than once in the same election; to remove any notice lawfully exhibited in connection with an election; to be in possession of a ballot box or to tamper or interfere in any way with a ballot box or its contents.
It is an offence to give or receive money, a gift, a loan or something of value before or after an election in order to induce a voter to vote or not to vote in a certain way.
Registered voters should note that it is criminal to impede or prevent a voter from freely exercising his or her vote, to disclose information about whom a voter is about to vote for or has voted for or in any way to breach the secrecy of the vote.
While in the process of voting, it is wrong for one to display his or her marked ballot paper in such a way as to make the candidate being voted for known to others. Voters are not supposed to wear or display any symbol or emblem (including items of clothing) indicating support for a particular party or candidate 24 hours to and or on voting day as well as make a speech or sing a song, or beat a gong-gong or a drum, in support of a political party or a candidate 24 hours to as well as on elections day.
To prevent a situation where people would get drunk and for that matter disturb the peace during election, it is considered an offence for anybody to sell intoxicating liquor within 500 metres of a polling station on the polling day.
ENSURING PEACEFUL ELECTIONS
To maintain peace, voters have been advised to respect all officials managing elections at the various polling stations throughout the country.
Voters are also advised to respect those they meet at polling stations which include the Presiding Officer, Polling Assistants, political party agents as well as the security personnel stationed at the stations.
It is also important for all Ghanaians to note that political party executives or political party supporters are not part of the administration of elections and should therefore not try to act as such.
What is expected of registered voters as they go to their various polling stations is patiently wait for their turn should they meet a queue.
Voters are advised to be patient and peaceful at their polling stations. When they receive their ballot paper, ensure that they thump print properly against the photograph and the political party symbol of their preferred candidate and drop them in the appropriate box.
All things being equal, voting is supposed to starts at 7.00 a.m. and end at 10p.m. Ballot papers will be counted when polling ends at 5.00 p.m. and results will be announced at the individual polling stations immediately after counting of votes ends.
When all registered voters go by these simple rules accordingly, Ghanaians will have nothing but peaceful elections where both the winner and loser would accept the results as being the voice of the people.
In spite of the fear being experienced by some people based on stories of election-related violence from some African countries, majority of Ghanaians are excited and anxiously looking forward to the election day. Excited because they surely believe that once again, Ghanaians will go through the process in such a manner that the rest of the world will have nothing to say but to salute .
But can anybody blame those who are apprehensive and have the feeling that some nasty thing could come out of the election? Some of us believe that group of people might be right since there are already instances to indicate that not all Ghanaians are peace loving after all.
It is significant to note that in recent times there have been alleged cases of murders, arson as well as physical and verbal attacks, all in the name of politics. What is making the situation tense is the fact that each of the two main political parties, namely the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) are bent on winning at all cost. While the two presidential candidates talk about the need for peaceful elections, their followers by their actions and pronouncements promise us “fire and brimstone” on a daily basis.
That is the reason why all peace-loving citizens together with many recognised institutions are working hard towards free and fair elections, come Sunday, December 7. One such institution which has a constitutional backing to educate the public on their civic rights and responsibilities is the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE). To achieve that objective, the commission has compiled some tit-bits to help guide us before, during and after the elections.
In its opening statement, the NCCE observed that peace is priceless and nothing should therefore, be done to compromise the relative peace Ghanaians are currently enjoying.
Another important advice the commission gave was that those politicians bent on winning at all cost should note that politics is not a do -or- die affair and should therefore relax and allow things to go on in a normal way without pushing the whole country into political turmoil.
The important thing that the NCCE touched on is that all that is expected of Ghanaians under the circumstance is that on December 7, 2008, all registered voters should go to their respective polling centres and vote peacefully since “we are one nation, one people with one common destiny”.
A portion of the compilation stated that: “Make election 2008 peaceful, vote and let your vote be counted. Election 2008 should be free, fair, transparent and peaceful. Peaceful elections is what every Ghanaian wants, so be just, fair and kind to your opponent”.
Some Election Offences
It is important for voters to note that it is an offence for one to have his or her name occurring twice in the register of voters.
It is also illegal to vote or attempt to vote more than once in the same election; to remove any notice lawfully exhibited in connection with an election; to be in possession of a ballot box or to tamper or interfere in any way with a ballot box or its contents.
It is an offence to give or receive money, a gift, a loan or something of value before or after an election in order to induce a voter to vote or not to vote in a certain way.
Registered voters should note that it is criminal to impede or prevent a voter from freely exercising his or her vote, to disclose information about whom a voter is about to vote for or has voted for or in any way to breach the secrecy of the vote.
While in the process of voting, it is wrong for one to display his or her marked ballot paper in such a way as to make the candidate being voted for known to others. Voters are not supposed to wear or display any symbol or emblem (including items of clothing) indicating support for a particular party or candidate 24 hours to and or on voting day as well as make a speech or sing a song, or beat a gong-gong or a drum, in support of a political party or a candidate 24 hours to as well as on elections day.
To prevent a situation where people would get drunk and for that matter disturb the peace during election, it is considered an offence for anybody to sell intoxicating liquor within 500 metres of a polling station on the polling day.
ENSURING PEACEFUL ELECTIONS
To maintain peace, voters have been advised to respect all officials managing elections at the various polling stations throughout the country.
Voters are also advised to respect those they meet at polling stations which include the Presiding Officer, Polling Assistants, political party agents as well as the security personnel stationed at the stations.
It is also important for all Ghanaians to note that political party executives or political party supporters are not part of the administration of elections and should therefore not try to act as such.
What is expected of registered voters as they go to their various polling stations is patiently wait for their turn should they meet a queue.
Voters are advised to be patient and peaceful at their polling stations. When they receive their ballot paper, ensure that they thump print properly against the photograph and the political party symbol of their preferred candidate and drop them in the appropriate box.
All things being equal, voting is supposed to starts at 7.00 a.m. and end at 10p.m. Ballot papers will be counted when polling ends at 5.00 p.m. and results will be announced at the individual polling stations immediately after counting of votes ends.
When all registered voters go by these simple rules accordingly, Ghanaians will have nothing but peaceful elections where both the winner and loser would accept the results as being the voice of the people.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Workers to move to 3-tier pension scheme-It's automatic for those below 55 years (Page 3)
Saturday November 8, 2008
Workers aged below 55 and currently on the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) will automatically move to the new three-tier pension scheme when the Pension Bill is given presidential assent.
However, workers aged 55 and above will be exempted but they will have the option of joining if they so wish.
The Pension Reform Bill, which has already been passed by Parliament, is supposed to offer workers a better pension package.
When assented to, the bill will introduce a contributory three-tier pension scheme and establish a National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) to oversee the administration and management of registered pension schemes and the trustees of registered pension schemes.
Under the new scheme, a reconstituted SSNIT will manage the basic national social security scheme to cater for the first tier of the contributory three-tier scheme, in addition to the establishment of the second compulsory tier and the third voluntary tier pension schemes.
These were made known by the Project Consultant of the Pension Reform Implementation Committee, Mr Daniel Aidoo-Mensah, at a public lecture organised by the Actuarial Society of Ghana on the new three-tier pension scheme in Accra.
The Actuarial Society of Ghana is a professional body of actuaries who are employed in the financial services industry, especially in insurance and pension. It was formed in 1996 and has a membership of 100.
Speaking on the topic, “Overview of Pension Reforms in Ghana — The Three-Tier Structure”, Mr Aidoo-Mensah said the new scheme would decentralise public sector pension management to help to minimise the current hardships encountered by pensioners who had to travel to Accra to receive their pensions.
On the necessary transitional arrangements when the new law was introduced, he said Cap 30 was found to be unsustainable and, therefore, it would be phased out within four years from the commencement of the new scheme.
Mr Aidoo-Mensah said no new entrants would join Cap 30 when the law came into being and explained that the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department would continue to administer and pay gratuities and pensions to those who would remain on Cap 30 while it lasted.
Speaking on, “The Basic National Social Security Scheme”, Mr Theophilus Afenya of the Actuarial Department of SSNIT said as Ghana was currently undergoing systemic pension reforms, some of the issues which needed to be explained were the shape of the first tier, the size of the pillars, the financing of the existing pension debt, as well as measures to keep administrative costs as low as possible.
Workers aged below 55 and currently on the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) will automatically move to the new three-tier pension scheme when the Pension Bill is given presidential assent.
However, workers aged 55 and above will be exempted but they will have the option of joining if they so wish.
The Pension Reform Bill, which has already been passed by Parliament, is supposed to offer workers a better pension package.
When assented to, the bill will introduce a contributory three-tier pension scheme and establish a National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) to oversee the administration and management of registered pension schemes and the trustees of registered pension schemes.
Under the new scheme, a reconstituted SSNIT will manage the basic national social security scheme to cater for the first tier of the contributory three-tier scheme, in addition to the establishment of the second compulsory tier and the third voluntary tier pension schemes.
These were made known by the Project Consultant of the Pension Reform Implementation Committee, Mr Daniel Aidoo-Mensah, at a public lecture organised by the Actuarial Society of Ghana on the new three-tier pension scheme in Accra.
The Actuarial Society of Ghana is a professional body of actuaries who are employed in the financial services industry, especially in insurance and pension. It was formed in 1996 and has a membership of 100.
Speaking on the topic, “Overview of Pension Reforms in Ghana — The Three-Tier Structure”, Mr Aidoo-Mensah said the new scheme would decentralise public sector pension management to help to minimise the current hardships encountered by pensioners who had to travel to Accra to receive their pensions.
On the necessary transitional arrangements when the new law was introduced, he said Cap 30 was found to be unsustainable and, therefore, it would be phased out within four years from the commencement of the new scheme.
Mr Aidoo-Mensah said no new entrants would join Cap 30 when the law came into being and explained that the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department would continue to administer and pay gratuities and pensions to those who would remain on Cap 30 while it lasted.
Speaking on, “The Basic National Social Security Scheme”, Mr Theophilus Afenya of the Actuarial Department of SSNIT said as Ghana was currently undergoing systemic pension reforms, some of the issues which needed to be explained were the shape of the first tier, the size of the pillars, the financing of the existing pension debt, as well as measures to keep administrative costs as low as possible.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Germany to assist Ghana to Improve Rail system (Page 31)
GERMANY has affirmed its preparedness to assist Ghana to improve its railway system by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Ghana in Accra.
The leader of a delegation from Germany, Dr Otto Weisheu, who is also a member of the management board of the Bureau of Economic and Political Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany, signed on behalf of his government, while Ghana’s Minister of Harbours and Railways, Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, signed for Ghana.
Present at the meeting were Ghana’s Ambassador to Germany, Mr Grant Ohemeng Kesse; the Vice President/Regional Director of Africa Mobility Network Logistics DB International of Germany, Dr Emile Muvunyi, officials from the German Embassy in Ghana, the Ministry of Harbours and Railways, the Ghana Railways Company and the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA).
The MoU will pave the way for the German Railways Company (Deutsche Bahn AG) to begin feasibility studies and cost calculation and determine steps to be taken for the realisation of the modernisation on the railway system in Ghana.
In August this year, the German Railways Company expressed interest in assisting Ghana to improve on and modernise its railway system and Dr Weisheu, at that time, led a delegation to break the news to President John Agyekum Kufuor who was on a two-day visit to Germany.
The offer of help came barely 24 hours after the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, had pledged, during bilateral talks with President Kufuor, to encourage more investment flow from her country to Ghana.
At the signing ceremony in Accra on Tuesday, Prof Ameyaw-Akumfi said there was every indication to believe that unlike previous agreements, the latest MoU with the government of Germany would yield positive results.
He said the government had, since it took over power in 2001, tried to get investors to help in the railway sector, adding that the government would be happy to begin the project before it left office in January 2009.
He expressed his appreciation to the German government for accepting to come to assist Ghana and stated that improvement on the railway system would help lessen the transportation problems facing some Ghanaians.
For his part, Dr Weisheu said Germany appreciated the importance Ghana attached to rail transport and was, therefore, willing to help in that direction.
He announced that the German Railways Company was determined to come in with the needed technical expertise and funding and expressed the hope that when the project was implemented, it would help link many areas of the country where natural resources and agricultural produce abounded.
The leader of a delegation from Germany, Dr Otto Weisheu, who is also a member of the management board of the Bureau of Economic and Political Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany, signed on behalf of his government, while Ghana’s Minister of Harbours and Railways, Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, signed for Ghana.
Present at the meeting were Ghana’s Ambassador to Germany, Mr Grant Ohemeng Kesse; the Vice President/Regional Director of Africa Mobility Network Logistics DB International of Germany, Dr Emile Muvunyi, officials from the German Embassy in Ghana, the Ministry of Harbours and Railways, the Ghana Railways Company and the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA).
The MoU will pave the way for the German Railways Company (Deutsche Bahn AG) to begin feasibility studies and cost calculation and determine steps to be taken for the realisation of the modernisation on the railway system in Ghana.
In August this year, the German Railways Company expressed interest in assisting Ghana to improve on and modernise its railway system and Dr Weisheu, at that time, led a delegation to break the news to President John Agyekum Kufuor who was on a two-day visit to Germany.
The offer of help came barely 24 hours after the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, had pledged, during bilateral talks with President Kufuor, to encourage more investment flow from her country to Ghana.
At the signing ceremony in Accra on Tuesday, Prof Ameyaw-Akumfi said there was every indication to believe that unlike previous agreements, the latest MoU with the government of Germany would yield positive results.
He said the government had, since it took over power in 2001, tried to get investors to help in the railway sector, adding that the government would be happy to begin the project before it left office in January 2009.
He expressed his appreciation to the German government for accepting to come to assist Ghana and stated that improvement on the railway system would help lessen the transportation problems facing some Ghanaians.
For his part, Dr Weisheu said Germany appreciated the importance Ghana attached to rail transport and was, therefore, willing to help in that direction.
He announced that the German Railways Company was determined to come in with the needed technical expertise and funding and expressed the hope that when the project was implemented, it would help link many areas of the country where natural resources and agricultural produce abounded.
Nation honours farmers today ( Back Page)
Story: Lucy Adoma Yeboah
GHANAIANS from all walks of life, including President J.A. Kufuor, will turn out in large numbers at the Techiman Methodist School Park today to celebrate the achievements of the country’s farmers at the 24th National Farmers Day.
The theme for the occasion is : “Globalisation: its effects on agricultural production in Ghana”.
Unlike previous years when the day was declared as a statutory public holiday, the Ministry of the Interior has explained that although this year’s National Farmers Day will be observed today, the day will not be a public holiday.
The National Farmers Day, which was instituted in 1984, falls on the first Friday of December each year in which case this year’s celebration should have taken place on December 5.
The observance of the day this year has to be shifted to November 7 in view of the forthcoming national elections, which fall on Sunday, December 7, 2008.
In a statement issued earlier, the ministry, however, said December 5, 2008, the statutory Farmers Day this year, remained a public holiday.
On this occasion, the nation recognises the vital role farmers and fishermen play in the economy, especially the highly commendable output of farmers and fishermen in 1984, which was about 30 per cent growth, after the bad agricultural years of 1982 and 1983.
The National Farmers Day is, therefore, celebrated to motivate farmers and fishermen to produce more.
The first National Farmers Day was celebrated on December 6, 1985 at Osino in the Eastern Region.
The package for the best national farmer then comprised only a pair of wellington boots and a preset radio. Since then the value of the awards has improved from year to year, moving from bicycles to power tillers to tractors, then to pickups and finally to a three-bedroom house since 2002.
Despite the day not being a holiday, the focus of the nation is expected to shift to the commercial town of Techiman, where President J.A. Kufuor will address the Farmers Day for the last time as the Head of State.
A number of institutions, both public and private, have donated various sums of money and items through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) toward the celebration.
However, the government, just as it had done in previous years, will, on behalf of the people of Ghana, present the ultimate prize to the Best National Farmer as a form of appreciation to the winner and motivation to others in the agricultural sector.
GHANAIANS from all walks of life, including President J.A. Kufuor, will turn out in large numbers at the Techiman Methodist School Park today to celebrate the achievements of the country’s farmers at the 24th National Farmers Day.
The theme for the occasion is : “Globalisation: its effects on agricultural production in Ghana”.
Unlike previous years when the day was declared as a statutory public holiday, the Ministry of the Interior has explained that although this year’s National Farmers Day will be observed today, the day will not be a public holiday.
The National Farmers Day, which was instituted in 1984, falls on the first Friday of December each year in which case this year’s celebration should have taken place on December 5.
The observance of the day this year has to be shifted to November 7 in view of the forthcoming national elections, which fall on Sunday, December 7, 2008.
In a statement issued earlier, the ministry, however, said December 5, 2008, the statutory Farmers Day this year, remained a public holiday.
On this occasion, the nation recognises the vital role farmers and fishermen play in the economy, especially the highly commendable output of farmers and fishermen in 1984, which was about 30 per cent growth, after the bad agricultural years of 1982 and 1983.
The National Farmers Day is, therefore, celebrated to motivate farmers and fishermen to produce more.
The first National Farmers Day was celebrated on December 6, 1985 at Osino in the Eastern Region.
The package for the best national farmer then comprised only a pair of wellington boots and a preset radio. Since then the value of the awards has improved from year to year, moving from bicycles to power tillers to tractors, then to pickups and finally to a three-bedroom house since 2002.
Despite the day not being a holiday, the focus of the nation is expected to shift to the commercial town of Techiman, where President J.A. Kufuor will address the Farmers Day for the last time as the Head of State.
A number of institutions, both public and private, have donated various sums of money and items through the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) toward the celebration.
However, the government, just as it had done in previous years, will, on behalf of the people of Ghana, present the ultimate prize to the Best National Farmer as a form of appreciation to the winner and motivation to others in the agricultural sector.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Saudi loan approve for Bolga Hospital (Back Page)
A LOAN agreement for US$12 million was yesterday signed between the Government of Ghana and the Saudi Fund for Development to assist in financing rehabilitation and expansion works at the Upper East Regional Hospital in Bolgatanga.
The agreement was signed on behalf of the Government of Ghana by the Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Anthony Akoto Osei, and the Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of the Saudi Fund for Development, Mr Yousef I. Al-Bassam.
At the ceremony, Dr Osei said the government of Ghana would provide additional $2.05 million to support the implementation of the project.
He said the objective of the project was to support the government’s policy under the Health Sector Implementation Programme of constructing, rehabilitating and expanding fixed, as well as mobile health facilities through effective means in the deprived regions of the country.
Dr Osei noted that the rehabilitation of the Bolgatanga Hospital was a manifestation of that initiative, especially for the people of the Upper East Region.
Dr Osei observed that, the government and various institutions in Saudi Arabia had always been good to Ghana adding that in 1999, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa granted a loan facility of $4.1 million to Ghana for the first phase of the project and followed it up with an additional $1.2 million in 2003 to address a funding shortfall.
On his part, Mr Al-Bassam said in addition to the Bolgatanga Hospital, the Saudi Fund had previously participated in the financing of eight other developmental projects in the various sectors with more than $90 million.
He said the agreement showed the great interest the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had in supporting sincere and continued efforts of the government of Ghana in promoting the well being and economic prosperity of the people of Ghana.
A deputy Minister of Health, Mr Abraham Dwoma Odoom, said the ministry had taken steps to commence the implementation of the project from December, 2008.
The agreement was signed on behalf of the Government of Ghana by the Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Anthony Akoto Osei, and the Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of the Saudi Fund for Development, Mr Yousef I. Al-Bassam.
At the ceremony, Dr Osei said the government of Ghana would provide additional $2.05 million to support the implementation of the project.
He said the objective of the project was to support the government’s policy under the Health Sector Implementation Programme of constructing, rehabilitating and expanding fixed, as well as mobile health facilities through effective means in the deprived regions of the country.
Dr Osei noted that the rehabilitation of the Bolgatanga Hospital was a manifestation of that initiative, especially for the people of the Upper East Region.
Dr Osei observed that, the government and various institutions in Saudi Arabia had always been good to Ghana adding that in 1999, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa granted a loan facility of $4.1 million to Ghana for the first phase of the project and followed it up with an additional $1.2 million in 2003 to address a funding shortfall.
On his part, Mr Al-Bassam said in addition to the Bolgatanga Hospital, the Saudi Fund had previously participated in the financing of eight other developmental projects in the various sectors with more than $90 million.
He said the agreement showed the great interest the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had in supporting sincere and continued efforts of the government of Ghana in promoting the well being and economic prosperity of the people of Ghana.
A deputy Minister of Health, Mr Abraham Dwoma Odoom, said the ministry had taken steps to commence the implementation of the project from December, 2008.
Govt to pay arears of workers by Friday (Spread)
THE government has announced that all arrears due workers on the national payroll will be paid by next Friday, November 7, 2008.
It has also suspended the recovery of payment from workers who were overpaid in previous months until proper investigations have been conducted into the issue.
The payment of arrears will be made to teachers whose salaries were withheld when they went on unauthorised industrial action in October last year but were pardoned by the President.
The rest are arrears due some workers before the commencement of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Database II (IPPD II) spanning June to October 2006, as well as workers who have been receiving negative pay, zero pay or payments far below their actual salaries.
These were made known in Accra yesterday by the Controller and Accountant-General, Mr Christian Tetteh Sottie, at a press conference.
Present at the conference were the Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Anthony Akoto Osei, the Deputy Minister, Professor George Gyan Baffour, as well as some senior officials of the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD).
Mr Sottie took the opportunity to apologise to workers who had negatively been affected, adding that the problems with the IPPD II had been resolved.
He said to beef up the ICT unit of the department, a deputy controller who was an expert in ICT had been employed to help.
“Workers will, from November 2008, start seeing better results,” he gave the assurance.
In an answer to a question, Mr Sottie said the decision to suspend the recovery process was not political but rather a decision to correct an earlier mistake, adding that the law did not allow that a worker be paid less than 50 per cent of his or her actual salary by the end of each month.
For his part, Dr Akoto Osei said to get the best payroll system for Ghanaian workers, there was currently a back up to the computerised system, adding that if need be, a third system would be acquired to further resolve the problems with salaries.
He pointed out that the issue of workers’ salaries was considered important to the government, hence the instruction from the President to the ministry to find a solution to the anomalies associated with the payroll.
Dr Akoto Osei said unless there was evidence that someone intentionally did something to cheat the system, there was no need to apportion blame as to why there were problems with the system.
Prof Gyan Baffour said the government was right to suspend the recoveries until a decision had been taken as to how to go about them.
The chairman for the programme, who is also the Deputy Minister for Information and National Orientation, Mr Frank Agyekum, expressed gratitude, on behalf of the government, to all the affected workers for their patience.
It has also suspended the recovery of payment from workers who were overpaid in previous months until proper investigations have been conducted into the issue.
The payment of arrears will be made to teachers whose salaries were withheld when they went on unauthorised industrial action in October last year but were pardoned by the President.
The rest are arrears due some workers before the commencement of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Database II (IPPD II) spanning June to October 2006, as well as workers who have been receiving negative pay, zero pay or payments far below their actual salaries.
These were made known in Accra yesterday by the Controller and Accountant-General, Mr Christian Tetteh Sottie, at a press conference.
Present at the conference were the Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Anthony Akoto Osei, the Deputy Minister, Professor George Gyan Baffour, as well as some senior officials of the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD).
Mr Sottie took the opportunity to apologise to workers who had negatively been affected, adding that the problems with the IPPD II had been resolved.
He said to beef up the ICT unit of the department, a deputy controller who was an expert in ICT had been employed to help.
“Workers will, from November 2008, start seeing better results,” he gave the assurance.
In an answer to a question, Mr Sottie said the decision to suspend the recovery process was not political but rather a decision to correct an earlier mistake, adding that the law did not allow that a worker be paid less than 50 per cent of his or her actual salary by the end of each month.
For his part, Dr Akoto Osei said to get the best payroll system for Ghanaian workers, there was currently a back up to the computerised system, adding that if need be, a third system would be acquired to further resolve the problems with salaries.
He pointed out that the issue of workers’ salaries was considered important to the government, hence the instruction from the President to the ministry to find a solution to the anomalies associated with the payroll.
Dr Akoto Osei said unless there was evidence that someone intentionally did something to cheat the system, there was no need to apportion blame as to why there were problems with the system.
Prof Gyan Baffour said the government was right to suspend the recoveries until a decision had been taken as to how to go about them.
The chairman for the programme, who is also the Deputy Minister for Information and National Orientation, Mr Frank Agyekum, expressed gratitude, on behalf of the government, to all the affected workers for their patience.
Ghana hosts workshop on anti-malarial drugs (Back Page)
A five-day international workshop on the safety, quality and efficacy of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recommended anti-malarial medicine within the sub-region has opened in Accra.
The workshop, which dealt specifically with the WHO recommended Artemisinim Combination Therapy (ACT) for the treatment of malaria, was attended by regulators of pharmaceutical products and manufacturers from five English-speaking West African countries, namely, Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone and The Gambia.
The workshop is aimed at helping local pharmaceutical companies in capacity building to enable them to produce ACTs by WHO standards.
Currently, all African countries have officially changed malaria treatment policies from chloroquine mono-therapy to ACTs, and since many of them are recipients of the Global Fund, they are required to purchase ACTs from manufacturers and suppliers which are certified by WHO.
In his remarks, a representative from the WHO headquarters, Dr Milan Smid, said ACTs represented a category of essential anti-malarials for which a complex regulatory evaluation of quality, safety and efficacy was needed because of the combination of active principles.
Dr Smid pointed out that as local manufacturers of ACTs increased and new combination products were submitted, it was critical that both manufacturers and national regulatory authorities had the tools to develop good quality dossiers to evaluate them effectively for the safety of the people.
He said the WHO contributed to the increased availability of ACTs by including them in the prequalification programme initiated by the United Nations and expressed the hope that the workshop would provide participants with adequate information on the programme to enable them to benefit from the programme.
Addressing the participants, a Deputy Minister of Health, Dr (Mrs) Gladys Norley Ashitey, said the quality of pharmaceutical products should not be compromised under any circumstance.
According to her, the circulation of substandard and counterfeit medicines did not only threaten the safety of patients but also undermined healthcare delivery which was vital in reducing morbidity and restoring health.
She said to achieve the desired objective, the government of Ghana had, over the past eight years, stepped up its support for the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) to strengthen its capacity to enable it to ensure that quality medicines were provided for Ghanaians.
The chairman for the programme, who is also the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the FDB, Rev Jonathan Martey, said problems relating to the safety and quality medicines existed in many countries, adding that some incidents had ended in tragedy, with children being the most vulnerable.
He identified the causes of such incidents as the use of medicines containing toxic substances or impurities, as well as medicines whose claims had not been verified, among others, and, therefore, called for effective medicine regulation to ensure safety, quality and efficacious medicine for the benefit of all.
The workshop, which dealt specifically with the WHO recommended Artemisinim Combination Therapy (ACT) for the treatment of malaria, was attended by regulators of pharmaceutical products and manufacturers from five English-speaking West African countries, namely, Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone and The Gambia.
The workshop is aimed at helping local pharmaceutical companies in capacity building to enable them to produce ACTs by WHO standards.
Currently, all African countries have officially changed malaria treatment policies from chloroquine mono-therapy to ACTs, and since many of them are recipients of the Global Fund, they are required to purchase ACTs from manufacturers and suppliers which are certified by WHO.
In his remarks, a representative from the WHO headquarters, Dr Milan Smid, said ACTs represented a category of essential anti-malarials for which a complex regulatory evaluation of quality, safety and efficacy was needed because of the combination of active principles.
Dr Smid pointed out that as local manufacturers of ACTs increased and new combination products were submitted, it was critical that both manufacturers and national regulatory authorities had the tools to develop good quality dossiers to evaluate them effectively for the safety of the people.
He said the WHO contributed to the increased availability of ACTs by including them in the prequalification programme initiated by the United Nations and expressed the hope that the workshop would provide participants with adequate information on the programme to enable them to benefit from the programme.
Addressing the participants, a Deputy Minister of Health, Dr (Mrs) Gladys Norley Ashitey, said the quality of pharmaceutical products should not be compromised under any circumstance.
According to her, the circulation of substandard and counterfeit medicines did not only threaten the safety of patients but also undermined healthcare delivery which was vital in reducing morbidity and restoring health.
She said to achieve the desired objective, the government of Ghana had, over the past eight years, stepped up its support for the Food and Drugs Board (FDB) to strengthen its capacity to enable it to ensure that quality medicines were provided for Ghanaians.
The chairman for the programme, who is also the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the FDB, Rev Jonathan Martey, said problems relating to the safety and quality medicines existed in many countries, adding that some incidents had ended in tragedy, with children being the most vulnerable.
He identified the causes of such incidents as the use of medicines containing toxic substances or impurities, as well as medicines whose claims had not been verified, among others, and, therefore, called for effective medicine regulation to ensure safety, quality and efficacious medicine for the benefit of all.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Ministry to announce ban on smoking in public places (Page 55)
THE Ministry of Health will, by next month, announce a ban on smoking in public places.
That is the first step in the ministry’s bid to protect non-smokers, including children, from the deadly effects of tobacco. Passive smoking or the inhaling of second-hand smoke has been proved to be as dangerous as smoking itself, since it also causes serious illnesses such as heart and lung diseases, as well as cancers.
In a speech read on his behalf at a stakeholders’ sensitisation workshop on the ban on smoking in public and workplaces held in Accra, a Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Abraham Dwoma Odoom, said in spite of the challenges that the ministry was likely to face, it had to embark on the ban to protect non-smokers from tobacco-related diseases and possible death.
The day’s workshop was organised by the Coalition of Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for Tobacco Control (CNTC) to highlight the public health implication of second-hand smoking, as well as secure the commitment of participants to support the ban and help implement it, especially at their individual places.
The participants, who formed groups to brainstorm on the way forward, included medical practitioners, researchers, people in the hospitality and tourism industries, journalists, artistes, among others.
Mr Odoom said it had become necessary for Ghana to take a bold step towards a tobacco-free society, since the country was among the 150 countries which had ratified the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), adding that signatories to the convention were expected to be committed to effective action against tobacco.
He mentioned some of the likely challenges that the ministry would face when the ban became effective as the fear of economic loss by key stakeholders whose interventions could make a difference in reducing the extent of exposure, as well as lack of adequate formal networks that could adequately support country-wide implementation.
He expressed the hope that all stakeholders would support the ministry in the area of information sharing, awareness creation and mobilisation of support in dealing with those challenges.
The Chairman for the function, Dr Akwasi Osei, complained about the attitude of some individuals who took delight in creating health problems for the rest of society because they smoked in public.
He advised that it was important they stopped smoking to protect themselves from ill health, adding that if they insisted on smoking, then they should do it in such a way that others would not be affected.
The Director of Human Resource at the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Ebenezer Appiah Denkyira, said there was an overwhelming consensus among medical and scientific authorities world-wide that second-hand smoke was a major threat to health, adding that the only effective way to prevent the problem was to enact comprehensive smoke-free airways that covered all indoor workplaces and public places, including restaurants, bars and other hospitality venues.
The acting Vice-President of CNTCl, Mr Oscar Bruce, said tobacco currently killed more than five million people world-wide, adding that roughly 14 people died in a day through smoking.
The Focal Person on Tobacco Control, Mrs Edith Wellington, expressed gratitude to the coalition for supporting the fight for tobacco-free society, noting that there was the need to continue with the fight for future generations.
That is the first step in the ministry’s bid to protect non-smokers, including children, from the deadly effects of tobacco. Passive smoking or the inhaling of second-hand smoke has been proved to be as dangerous as smoking itself, since it also causes serious illnesses such as heart and lung diseases, as well as cancers.
In a speech read on his behalf at a stakeholders’ sensitisation workshop on the ban on smoking in public and workplaces held in Accra, a Deputy Minister of Health, Mr Abraham Dwoma Odoom, said in spite of the challenges that the ministry was likely to face, it had to embark on the ban to protect non-smokers from tobacco-related diseases and possible death.
The day’s workshop was organised by the Coalition of Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for Tobacco Control (CNTC) to highlight the public health implication of second-hand smoking, as well as secure the commitment of participants to support the ban and help implement it, especially at their individual places.
The participants, who formed groups to brainstorm on the way forward, included medical practitioners, researchers, people in the hospitality and tourism industries, journalists, artistes, among others.
Mr Odoom said it had become necessary for Ghana to take a bold step towards a tobacco-free society, since the country was among the 150 countries which had ratified the World Health Organisation (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), adding that signatories to the convention were expected to be committed to effective action against tobacco.
He mentioned some of the likely challenges that the ministry would face when the ban became effective as the fear of economic loss by key stakeholders whose interventions could make a difference in reducing the extent of exposure, as well as lack of adequate formal networks that could adequately support country-wide implementation.
He expressed the hope that all stakeholders would support the ministry in the area of information sharing, awareness creation and mobilisation of support in dealing with those challenges.
The Chairman for the function, Dr Akwasi Osei, complained about the attitude of some individuals who took delight in creating health problems for the rest of society because they smoked in public.
He advised that it was important they stopped smoking to protect themselves from ill health, adding that if they insisted on smoking, then they should do it in such a way that others would not be affected.
The Director of Human Resource at the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Ebenezer Appiah Denkyira, said there was an overwhelming consensus among medical and scientific authorities world-wide that second-hand smoke was a major threat to health, adding that the only effective way to prevent the problem was to enact comprehensive smoke-free airways that covered all indoor workplaces and public places, including restaurants, bars and other hospitality venues.
The acting Vice-President of CNTCl, Mr Oscar Bruce, said tobacco currently killed more than five million people world-wide, adding that roughly 14 people died in a day through smoking.
The Focal Person on Tobacco Control, Mrs Edith Wellington, expressed gratitude to the coalition for supporting the fight for tobacco-free society, noting that there was the need to continue with the fight for future generations.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Workers urged to acquire more knowledge (spread)
Story: Lucy Adoma Yeboah
THE Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, has challenged Ghanaian workers to endeavour to acquire additional knowledge as a buck-up to their regular work schedules.
He said gone were the days when people concentrated on one particular occupation all their lives, adding that the Ghanaian worker needed to continually develop himself or herself in order not to be left behind in the changing world.
Mr Asamoah-Boateng made these comments in Accra yesterday at the launch of an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) capacity development centre. It was established by the ministry with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Institute for Communication Development (ICCD).
The centre is to provide opportunity for all government employees to acquire basic computer literacy to enable them to cope with the challenges of what is termed the Digital Age.
Mr Asamoah-Boateng said to improve upon its ICT capacity, the ministry had, within the last five years, established two important ICT centres within the Information Services Department (ISD) at its headquarters in Accra.
These, according to the minister, were the Ghana Portal, the centre which managed the official website of the Republic of Ghana (www.ghana.gov.gh) launched in 2003, and the second was the ICT capacity centre, which was launched yesterday.
For his part, the Country Director of IICD, Mr Olaf Orz, said the mission of the IICD was to assist developing countries in the use of ICT as strategic tool for sustainable development and poverty alleviation.
He said ICT was considered a tool to be used to support sector development such as education, environment, governance, health and livelihood, adding that to be sustainable, ICT development activities must respond to local demands and offer opportunities for development that were workable in the local context.
In his welcoming address, the acting Director of the ISD, Mr Samuel Asamoah, said the centre was well equipped to train the staff of the ministry and other government employees, as well as members of the public.
The chairman for the function who is the Chief Director of the National Security Council, Mr A. A. Ampong, said the provision of ICT in any sector was to reduce poverty and advised all government employees to take advantage of the centre to improve on their skills.
THE Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, has challenged Ghanaian workers to endeavour to acquire additional knowledge as a buck-up to their regular work schedules.
He said gone were the days when people concentrated on one particular occupation all their lives, adding that the Ghanaian worker needed to continually develop himself or herself in order not to be left behind in the changing world.
Mr Asamoah-Boateng made these comments in Accra yesterday at the launch of an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) capacity development centre. It was established by the ministry with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Institute for Communication Development (ICCD).
The centre is to provide opportunity for all government employees to acquire basic computer literacy to enable them to cope with the challenges of what is termed the Digital Age.
Mr Asamoah-Boateng said to improve upon its ICT capacity, the ministry had, within the last five years, established two important ICT centres within the Information Services Department (ISD) at its headquarters in Accra.
These, according to the minister, were the Ghana Portal, the centre which managed the official website of the Republic of Ghana (www.ghana.gov.gh) launched in 2003, and the second was the ICT capacity centre, which was launched yesterday.
For his part, the Country Director of IICD, Mr Olaf Orz, said the mission of the IICD was to assist developing countries in the use of ICT as strategic tool for sustainable development and poverty alleviation.
He said ICT was considered a tool to be used to support sector development such as education, environment, governance, health and livelihood, adding that to be sustainable, ICT development activities must respond to local demands and offer opportunities for development that were workable in the local context.
In his welcoming address, the acting Director of the ISD, Mr Samuel Asamoah, said the centre was well equipped to train the staff of the ministry and other government employees, as well as members of the public.
The chairman for the function who is the Chief Director of the National Security Council, Mr A. A. Ampong, said the provision of ICT in any sector was to reduce poverty and advised all government employees to take advantage of the centre to improve on their skills.
Price disparity of drugs threat to fight against malaria (page 38)
THE difference in the cost of recommended anti-malarial drugs within the public and private health sectors has been identified as a challenge to the fight against malaria in Ghana.
That is because while the first line anti-malarial drug of Artemisinim Combination Therapy (ACT) is sold at 30Gp at public health facilities, it goes for GH¢3 at private health institutions.
This came to light at the opening of a three-day 2008 Pfizer Mobilise Against Malaria (MAM) initiative meeting in Accra on Monday (yesterday).
The purpose of the meeting was to evaluate malarial control programmes that benefitted patients in Ghana, Kenya and Senegal.
It is to enable health experts to address critical gaps in malarial treatment and education and discuss best practices aimed at improving prompt and effective treatment.
In her presentation on “Gaps in Malaria Treatment,” Ms Lisa Foster of Pfizer Investments in Health said effective malarial drugs were currently available but there were critical obstacles to their distribution.
She added that the distribution of such drugs was hampered by weak healthcare systems and inadequate patient education, as well as care, adding that patients were often unaware of new and effective treatment prevention options.
In her address, the Programme Manager of the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), Dr Constance Bart-Plange, acknowledged the problem of accessibility and affordability of ACTs, especially in the rural communities, adding that many people had to resort to buying from licensed chemical sellers, whose prices were higher than those at the public health facilities.
She said the government had currently sent proposals to various development partners, who might help provide the drugs at lower prices or even free to all health service providers throughout the country.
In an interview with journalists, Dr Bart-Plange said malaria continued to be a problem in Ghana because many people failed to adhere to the issues of proper environmental practices, sleeping in insecticide treated nets and completing malarial treatment.
Presenting a report on the overview on MAM partner programmes, a representative of Family Health International (FHI), Dr Henry Magai, said MAM had the objective of improving on early detection of malaria to ensure early treatment.
He also said to further fight the disease, a series of training programmes on how to detect the disease and effectively manage it had been organised for licensed chemical sellers and their counter assistants, home givers and mothers of children under five years.
For his part, a representative of Ghana Social Marketing Foundation, Mr Geoff Anno, said his organisation had developed a training module, as well as community mobilisation manuals, for the benefit of people in the communities.
He blamed the inability of some Ghanaians to access affordable treatment in public health facilities on poor roads in certain parts of the country, adding that such people had to rely on the private sector whose products were not easy to afford.
A release to journalists at the meeting indicated that the three-country initiative, involving Ghana, Kenya and Senegal, was launched in 2007 and would be implemented over the course of five years (2007-2011).
It said through MAM, the group was providing grants, evaluation support and the technical expertise of Pfizer colleagues through the Pfizer Global Health Fellows (GHF) programme to support the country initiatives.
Malaria is the leading cause of under-five mortality and constitutes 10 per cent of Africa’s overall disease burden. In Ghana, malaria accounts for more than 44 per cent of reported out-patient visits and an estimated 22 per cent of under-five mortality in Ghana.
The release said Pfizer’s programme in Ghana aimed to reduce the rate of malarial morbidity and mortality by improving malarial symptom recognition, treatment, and referral through targeted training activities and complementary community mobilisation campaigns to improve the quality of treatment and strengthen the demand for care.
That is because while the first line anti-malarial drug of Artemisinim Combination Therapy (ACT) is sold at 30Gp at public health facilities, it goes for GH¢3 at private health institutions.
This came to light at the opening of a three-day 2008 Pfizer Mobilise Against Malaria (MAM) initiative meeting in Accra on Monday (yesterday).
The purpose of the meeting was to evaluate malarial control programmes that benefitted patients in Ghana, Kenya and Senegal.
It is to enable health experts to address critical gaps in malarial treatment and education and discuss best practices aimed at improving prompt and effective treatment.
In her presentation on “Gaps in Malaria Treatment,” Ms Lisa Foster of Pfizer Investments in Health said effective malarial drugs were currently available but there were critical obstacles to their distribution.
She added that the distribution of such drugs was hampered by weak healthcare systems and inadequate patient education, as well as care, adding that patients were often unaware of new and effective treatment prevention options.
In her address, the Programme Manager of the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), Dr Constance Bart-Plange, acknowledged the problem of accessibility and affordability of ACTs, especially in the rural communities, adding that many people had to resort to buying from licensed chemical sellers, whose prices were higher than those at the public health facilities.
She said the government had currently sent proposals to various development partners, who might help provide the drugs at lower prices or even free to all health service providers throughout the country.
In an interview with journalists, Dr Bart-Plange said malaria continued to be a problem in Ghana because many people failed to adhere to the issues of proper environmental practices, sleeping in insecticide treated nets and completing malarial treatment.
Presenting a report on the overview on MAM partner programmes, a representative of Family Health International (FHI), Dr Henry Magai, said MAM had the objective of improving on early detection of malaria to ensure early treatment.
He also said to further fight the disease, a series of training programmes on how to detect the disease and effectively manage it had been organised for licensed chemical sellers and their counter assistants, home givers and mothers of children under five years.
For his part, a representative of Ghana Social Marketing Foundation, Mr Geoff Anno, said his organisation had developed a training module, as well as community mobilisation manuals, for the benefit of people in the communities.
He blamed the inability of some Ghanaians to access affordable treatment in public health facilities on poor roads in certain parts of the country, adding that such people had to rely on the private sector whose products were not easy to afford.
A release to journalists at the meeting indicated that the three-country initiative, involving Ghana, Kenya and Senegal, was launched in 2007 and would be implemented over the course of five years (2007-2011).
It said through MAM, the group was providing grants, evaluation support and the technical expertise of Pfizer colleagues through the Pfizer Global Health Fellows (GHF) programme to support the country initiatives.
Malaria is the leading cause of under-five mortality and constitutes 10 per cent of Africa’s overall disease burden. In Ghana, malaria accounts for more than 44 per cent of reported out-patient visits and an estimated 22 per cent of under-five mortality in Ghana.
The release said Pfizer’s programme in Ghana aimed to reduce the rate of malarial morbidity and mortality by improving malarial symptom recognition, treatment, and referral through targeted training activities and complementary community mobilisation campaigns to improve the quality of treatment and strengthen the demand for care.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Baah-Wiredu voted Africa’s Best Finance Minister for 2008 (Page 47)
Story: Lucy Adoma Yeboah
THE late Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, has been adjudged the Best Finance Minister in Africa for 2008.
The posthumous award was given by the Development Economic Resource, publishers of the Annual Meetings Daily, a newspaper which highlights developments on the African continent during the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank annual meetings.
The award cited the contribution of the late minister to Ghana’s economic reform, which had consistently put the country on the map of best performing business environments in the world for the past three years.
The ceremony took place in Washington, DC, in the United States of America and the award was received in honour of Baah-Wiredu by the Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Anthony Akoto Osei.
Present were the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Paul Acquah, and Ghana’s Ambassador to the US, Dr Kwame Bawuah-Edusei.
Another African personality who received an award was the Governor of the Central Bank of Zambia, Mr Caleb Fundanga. He was adjudged the Best Central Bank Governor.
The award for the Best Commercial Bank went to Ethiopia, while the Africa Chief Executive Officer in the banking category award went to the First Bank of Nigeria.
Speaking on behalf of the award winners, the Governor of the Central Bank of Zambia, Mr Fundanga, paid tribute to Baah-Wiredu “for his enormous assistance to the development of Africa”.
He recounted that during the 2007 annual meetings of the World Bank and the IMF, he and Baah-Wiredu were voted the Best Central Bank Governor in Africa and the Best Finance Minister, respectively, in the emerging market group.
Baah-Wiredu, who died in a South African hospital on September 24, this year, will be buried in his home town of Asante Akyem Agogo on November 8, this year, after a state funeral in Accra.
Arrangements made by the government and members of his family indicate that his body, which has been flown in from South Africa, will lie in state at the forecourt of the State House on Thursday, November 6, 2008 for a state funeral, before being conveyed to Agogo on Friday, November 7, 2008 for the final funeral rites on November 8, 2008.
He was 56 and left behind a wife and six children.
THE late Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, has been adjudged the Best Finance Minister in Africa for 2008.
The posthumous award was given by the Development Economic Resource, publishers of the Annual Meetings Daily, a newspaper which highlights developments on the African continent during the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank annual meetings.
The award cited the contribution of the late minister to Ghana’s economic reform, which had consistently put the country on the map of best performing business environments in the world for the past three years.
The ceremony took place in Washington, DC, in the United States of America and the award was received in honour of Baah-Wiredu by the Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Anthony Akoto Osei.
Present were the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Paul Acquah, and Ghana’s Ambassador to the US, Dr Kwame Bawuah-Edusei.
Another African personality who received an award was the Governor of the Central Bank of Zambia, Mr Caleb Fundanga. He was adjudged the Best Central Bank Governor.
The award for the Best Commercial Bank went to Ethiopia, while the Africa Chief Executive Officer in the banking category award went to the First Bank of Nigeria.
Speaking on behalf of the award winners, the Governor of the Central Bank of Zambia, Mr Fundanga, paid tribute to Baah-Wiredu “for his enormous assistance to the development of Africa”.
He recounted that during the 2007 annual meetings of the World Bank and the IMF, he and Baah-Wiredu were voted the Best Central Bank Governor in Africa and the Best Finance Minister, respectively, in the emerging market group.
Baah-Wiredu, who died in a South African hospital on September 24, this year, will be buried in his home town of Asante Akyem Agogo on November 8, this year, after a state funeral in Accra.
Arrangements made by the government and members of his family indicate that his body, which has been flown in from South Africa, will lie in state at the forecourt of the State House on Thursday, November 6, 2008 for a state funeral, before being conveyed to Agogo on Friday, November 7, 2008 for the final funeral rites on November 8, 2008.
He was 56 and left behind a wife and six children.
Keep focus on MDGs — UN challenges governments (Back Page)
Saturday October 18, 2008
THE United Nations (UN) has challenged governments to keep their promise on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) else they would create conditions for grave human misery and global insecurity.
The organisation says the current economic uncertainties have made the task not only challenging but also more important, since about 100 million people are now at risk of falling into poverty.
In his message on the celebration of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which falls on October 17 each year, the UN Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-moon stressed that promises made by many governments to bolster food security, eradicate disease, ensure access to water and sanitation and manage financial crisis were not a matter of charity, but an obligation in the pursuit of human rights for all.
In Ghana, the celebration which was scheduled between October 17 and October 19, 2008, was organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other UN agencies. It was under the theme: “Human Rights and Dignity of People Living in Poverty”.
As part of the programme, the public has been asked to sign their names on special banners provided by the organisers or text freely, ‘No to Poverty’, to short code 442 to TiGO or Kasapa and 1395 to MTN as a sign of “standing up and taking action against poverty”.
In the speech which was read by the UNDP Representative in Ghana, Mr Daouda Toure, the UN Secretary-General said it was unfortunate that hundreds of millions of people were still deprived of basic human rights such as food, housing, education and decent working conditions.
The deprivations notwithstanding the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights some 60 years ago, which affirmed that “everyone has the right to standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family”.
He stated that poverty could not be eradicated without due respect for human rights, adding that “on this International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, let us guarantee the inherent dignity and equal rights of the human family and strive for a world free of poverty and injustice”.
For his part, the Administrator of the UNDP, Mr Kemal Dervis, said this year’s event came at a particularly challenging time for the world’s poor because of the high and volatile food and fuel crises, as well as the current global economic conditions threatening the gains that had been made to reduce poverty and advance development for large numbers of people.
He said in these difficult times, it was important the world recognise the rights of the poor and vulnerable.
Mr Dervis pointed out that it was also vital that governments in developing countries formulate a strong mix of social and economic policies that would stimulate productive public and private investments to sustain growth.
“Importantly, governments need to resist the pressure to reduce service delivery which impacts the poor particularly hard, and instead ensure that social safety nets are in place for the most vulnerable”, he stated.
He reiterated that it was also important to ensure that poor farmers and small-scale entrepreneurs have protection and opportunities they need to improve their livelihoods.
THE United Nations (UN) has challenged governments to keep their promise on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) else they would create conditions for grave human misery and global insecurity.
The organisation says the current economic uncertainties have made the task not only challenging but also more important, since about 100 million people are now at risk of falling into poverty.
In his message on the celebration of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which falls on October 17 each year, the UN Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-moon stressed that promises made by many governments to bolster food security, eradicate disease, ensure access to water and sanitation and manage financial crisis were not a matter of charity, but an obligation in the pursuit of human rights for all.
In Ghana, the celebration which was scheduled between October 17 and October 19, 2008, was organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other UN agencies. It was under the theme: “Human Rights and Dignity of People Living in Poverty”.
As part of the programme, the public has been asked to sign their names on special banners provided by the organisers or text freely, ‘No to Poverty’, to short code 442 to TiGO or Kasapa and 1395 to MTN as a sign of “standing up and taking action against poverty”.
In the speech which was read by the UNDP Representative in Ghana, Mr Daouda Toure, the UN Secretary-General said it was unfortunate that hundreds of millions of people were still deprived of basic human rights such as food, housing, education and decent working conditions.
The deprivations notwithstanding the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights some 60 years ago, which affirmed that “everyone has the right to standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family”.
He stated that poverty could not be eradicated without due respect for human rights, adding that “on this International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, let us guarantee the inherent dignity and equal rights of the human family and strive for a world free of poverty and injustice”.
For his part, the Administrator of the UNDP, Mr Kemal Dervis, said this year’s event came at a particularly challenging time for the world’s poor because of the high and volatile food and fuel crises, as well as the current global economic conditions threatening the gains that had been made to reduce poverty and advance development for large numbers of people.
He said in these difficult times, it was important the world recognise the rights of the poor and vulnerable.
Mr Dervis pointed out that it was also vital that governments in developing countries formulate a strong mix of social and economic policies that would stimulate productive public and private investments to sustain growth.
“Importantly, governments need to resist the pressure to reduce service delivery which impacts the poor particularly hard, and instead ensure that social safety nets are in place for the most vulnerable”, he stated.
He reiterated that it was also important to ensure that poor farmers and small-scale entrepreneurs have protection and opportunities they need to improve their livelihoods.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Illegal lotto operators given final warning (Back Page)
THE National Lotto Authority (NLA) has issued a final warning to illegal lotto operators who use unauthorised materials to sell the authority’s numbers to the public to stop or face the full rigours of the law.
The authority had also reiterated its earlier call to those individuals or groups as well as any other business entity interested in the lotto business to register and work with the authority.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, the Director of Operations of the NLA, Mr George Addo-Yobo, expressed regret that in spite of a court’s decision to outlaw activities of private lotto operators in the country, some individuals and groups either continued to draw their own numbers or use plain sheets of paper and other unauthorised materials to sell lotto in the name of the NLA.
To stop the practice, Mr Addo-Yobo said a combined team of police personnel and some staff of the NLA would soon visit lotto kiosks throughout the country to arrest offenders for subsequent prosecution.
The operations of what is usually referred to as banker-to-banker became illegal in Ghana after the Accra Fast-track High Court on August 20, 2008 dismissed an action instituted against the NLA by the Ghana Lotto Operators Association (GLOA).
The lotto operators had sought to question the constitutionality of the National Lottery Authority (NLA) Act 2006, Act 722.
In dismissing the case, the court also ordered the GLOA and six others to surrender their lotto drawing equipment to the NLA.
It also awarded a total cost of GH¢14,000 against the plaintiffs. Each of the plaintiffs was expected to pay GH¢2,000.
The plaintiffs were Obiri Asare and Sons Limited, Rambel Enterprise Limited, Dan Multipurpose Trading Enterprise Limited, Agrop Association Limited, Star Lotto Limited and From-Home Enterprises.
Mr Addo-Yobo observed that the fact that the members of the Ghana Lotto Operators Association (GLOA) had appealed against the court ruling did not allow them to operate, adding that “what they are doing is illegal”.
He said instead of registering with the NLA where their activities would be regulated in terms of payments to winners and taxes to the state, those banker-to-banker operators would want to cheat the system for their individual benefit, adding, “how does the government get them to pay the correct tax if they only write the numbers on ordinary pieces of paper which are not numbered or documented?”.
To get the message across, the NLA published a public announcement in the national dailies advising the general public to desist from dealing with such operators and asked stakers of the authority who would be served with coupons other than the legitimate coupons of the authority to report to the management on phone numbers 020-53171111, 024-0939397, 027-1578872, 028-5281102 or 021-671648.
The authority had also reiterated its earlier call to those individuals or groups as well as any other business entity interested in the lotto business to register and work with the authority.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday, the Director of Operations of the NLA, Mr George Addo-Yobo, expressed regret that in spite of a court’s decision to outlaw activities of private lotto operators in the country, some individuals and groups either continued to draw their own numbers or use plain sheets of paper and other unauthorised materials to sell lotto in the name of the NLA.
To stop the practice, Mr Addo-Yobo said a combined team of police personnel and some staff of the NLA would soon visit lotto kiosks throughout the country to arrest offenders for subsequent prosecution.
The operations of what is usually referred to as banker-to-banker became illegal in Ghana after the Accra Fast-track High Court on August 20, 2008 dismissed an action instituted against the NLA by the Ghana Lotto Operators Association (GLOA).
The lotto operators had sought to question the constitutionality of the National Lottery Authority (NLA) Act 2006, Act 722.
In dismissing the case, the court also ordered the GLOA and six others to surrender their lotto drawing equipment to the NLA.
It also awarded a total cost of GH¢14,000 against the plaintiffs. Each of the plaintiffs was expected to pay GH¢2,000.
The plaintiffs were Obiri Asare and Sons Limited, Rambel Enterprise Limited, Dan Multipurpose Trading Enterprise Limited, Agrop Association Limited, Star Lotto Limited and From-Home Enterprises.
Mr Addo-Yobo observed that the fact that the members of the Ghana Lotto Operators Association (GLOA) had appealed against the court ruling did not allow them to operate, adding that “what they are doing is illegal”.
He said instead of registering with the NLA where their activities would be regulated in terms of payments to winners and taxes to the state, those banker-to-banker operators would want to cheat the system for their individual benefit, adding, “how does the government get them to pay the correct tax if they only write the numbers on ordinary pieces of paper which are not numbered or documented?”.
To get the message across, the NLA published a public announcement in the national dailies advising the general public to desist from dealing with such operators and asked stakers of the authority who would be served with coupons other than the legitimate coupons of the authority to report to the management on phone numbers 020-53171111, 024-0939397, 027-1578872, 028-5281102 or 021-671648.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Maternal, child health campaign begins today (Women's Page 17)
Story: Lucy Adoma Yeboah
This year’s Integrated Maternal and Child Health Campaign (IMCH) will be held from October 16 to 18.
The three-day nation-wide campaign, which is being organised on the theme “Healthy Mothers and Children make a better Ghana” is aimed at creating awareness and encouraging people to take these campaigns seriously in order to reduce child mortality and morbidity, improve maternal health and reduce maternal mortality.
The National Child Health Unit of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) says about 80,000 children below the age of five, die each year from preventable diseases. That is because children at that age are most vulnerable to illnesses which easily kill them before they attain the age of five.
For this reason, the health sector has over the years embarked on series of cost effective interventions to reduce the high rate of child mortality as well as improve on maternal health in the country. Among these interventions are the introduction of the Child Health Promotion Weeks, the High Impact Rapid Delivery Approach, the Integrated Measles Campaign and the annual Integrated Maternal and Child Health Campaign (IMCH).
The GHS, in conjunction with the Ministry of Health (MOH), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Rotary Club of Ghana, jointly launched this year’s IMCH Campaign in Accra on Tuesday, October 6, 2008, to continue with its efforts of saving mothers and their children from illnesses and subsequent death.
Addressing the ceremony which was attended by health professionals, queens, child welfare groups and other stakeholders, the National Child Health Co-ordinator of the GHS, Dr Isabella Sagoe-Moses, called on Ghanaians to take immunisation programmes seriously since they impacted positively on the lives of children.
She said children under five would be given Vitamin A supplement, immunised against tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, pertusis, tetanus, yellow fever, Hepatitis B and Haemophilia influenza and will also be dewormed.
As part of the campaign, children below one year in the three northern regions and the Central Region would be offered free insecticide-treated nets as a top up to what had already been distributed to children throughout the country in earlier programmes to prevent malaria.
Dr Sagoe-Moses said to boost the immune systems of babies, mothers need to breast feed their children within half an hour of delivery and continue to feed on breast milk only till they were six months old.
She advised that it was important to immunise children against childhood diseases, make them to complete all required immunisations before they were 12 months old and also take them to clinic for Vitamin A supplement when they were six months old till they were five years old. She explained that Vitamin A made children and nursing mothers stronger and healthier.
One important information she gave was the fact that children were to be given worm expellers every six months instead of the usual three months and also a child should be fed before he or she was given a dewormer.
Dr Sagoe-Moses cautioned that Ghana faced the threat of importing poliomyelitis from neighbouring African countries, and explained that the deadly childhood disease, which had not affected any Ghanaian child since September 2003, was reported to have been affecting children in Nigeria.
In another development the Upper East Directorate of the GHS, in collaboration with UNICEF and other partners, has launched the campaign with a call on parents to partner the GHS in improving the well-being of women and children, reports Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bolgatanga.
In the Upper East Region a total of 550, 123 children under-five years will receive polio vaccination, Vitamin A supplementation and de-worming treatment, while long lasting insecticide-treated nets will be provided for children less than one year.
Again a total of 40, 750 pregnant mothers will be de-wormed and given vitamin A supplementation.
Launching the campaign, the Regional Director of Health Services, Dr John Koku Awoonor-Williams, said since the launch of the campaign the country had not recorded any death resulting from measles , while measles cases dropped drastically from 34,671 in 1994 to 434 cases in 2005.
He called on all Municipal and District Assemblies, heads of households, chiefs and community opinion leaders to help mobilise their communities for a successful programme.
He commended World Vision International, the Red Cross and UNICEF which has given GH c 13,000 towards the training of Community Based Agents and providing 40,000 bed nets for distribution.
This year’s Integrated Maternal and Child Health Campaign (IMCH) will be held from October 16 to 18.
The three-day nation-wide campaign, which is being organised on the theme “Healthy Mothers and Children make a better Ghana” is aimed at creating awareness and encouraging people to take these campaigns seriously in order to reduce child mortality and morbidity, improve maternal health and reduce maternal mortality.
The National Child Health Unit of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) says about 80,000 children below the age of five, die each year from preventable diseases. That is because children at that age are most vulnerable to illnesses which easily kill them before they attain the age of five.
For this reason, the health sector has over the years embarked on series of cost effective interventions to reduce the high rate of child mortality as well as improve on maternal health in the country. Among these interventions are the introduction of the Child Health Promotion Weeks, the High Impact Rapid Delivery Approach, the Integrated Measles Campaign and the annual Integrated Maternal and Child Health Campaign (IMCH).
The GHS, in conjunction with the Ministry of Health (MOH), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Rotary Club of Ghana, jointly launched this year’s IMCH Campaign in Accra on Tuesday, October 6, 2008, to continue with its efforts of saving mothers and their children from illnesses and subsequent death.
Addressing the ceremony which was attended by health professionals, queens, child welfare groups and other stakeholders, the National Child Health Co-ordinator of the GHS, Dr Isabella Sagoe-Moses, called on Ghanaians to take immunisation programmes seriously since they impacted positively on the lives of children.
She said children under five would be given Vitamin A supplement, immunised against tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, pertusis, tetanus, yellow fever, Hepatitis B and Haemophilia influenza and will also be dewormed.
As part of the campaign, children below one year in the three northern regions and the Central Region would be offered free insecticide-treated nets as a top up to what had already been distributed to children throughout the country in earlier programmes to prevent malaria.
Dr Sagoe-Moses said to boost the immune systems of babies, mothers need to breast feed their children within half an hour of delivery and continue to feed on breast milk only till they were six months old.
She advised that it was important to immunise children against childhood diseases, make them to complete all required immunisations before they were 12 months old and also take them to clinic for Vitamin A supplement when they were six months old till they were five years old. She explained that Vitamin A made children and nursing mothers stronger and healthier.
One important information she gave was the fact that children were to be given worm expellers every six months instead of the usual three months and also a child should be fed before he or she was given a dewormer.
Dr Sagoe-Moses cautioned that Ghana faced the threat of importing poliomyelitis from neighbouring African countries, and explained that the deadly childhood disease, which had not affected any Ghanaian child since September 2003, was reported to have been affecting children in Nigeria.
In another development the Upper East Directorate of the GHS, in collaboration with UNICEF and other partners, has launched the campaign with a call on parents to partner the GHS in improving the well-being of women and children, reports Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bolgatanga.
In the Upper East Region a total of 550, 123 children under-five years will receive polio vaccination, Vitamin A supplementation and de-worming treatment, while long lasting insecticide-treated nets will be provided for children less than one year.
Again a total of 40, 750 pregnant mothers will be de-wormed and given vitamin A supplementation.
Launching the campaign, the Regional Director of Health Services, Dr John Koku Awoonor-Williams, said since the launch of the campaign the country had not recorded any death resulting from measles , while measles cases dropped drastically from 34,671 in 1994 to 434 cases in 2005.
He called on all Municipal and District Assemblies, heads of households, chiefs and community opinion leaders to help mobilise their communities for a successful programme.
He commended World Vision International, the Red Cross and UNICEF which has given GH c 13,000 towards the training of Community Based Agents and providing 40,000 bed nets for distribution.
Accra health workers woried over cholera outbreaks (Page 43)
Story: Lucy Adoma Yeboah
HEALTH personnel in the Greater Accra Region are worried over the frequent outbreak of cholera in the region.
They have attributed the causes to poor sanitation, including open defecation, poor waste disposal, poor food hygiene and low level of hand-washing practices across the region.
Another cause for the disease in the region is the perennial water shortage, which forces residents to use unsafe water.
A report made available to the Daily Graphic by the Greater Accra Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Irene Agyepong, indicated an uneven trend over the last 10 years, which seems to go up in one instance, comes down later only to move up again in another year.
The report indicated that between September 4 and October 10, this year, a total of 22 cases suspected to be cholera had been reported in the Accra Metropolitan Area, with the bulk of the cases coming from the Ashiedu-Keteke and Ablekuma sub-metropolitan areas.
The report also indicated the epidemic periods to be associated with periods of rain, especially when the rains were relatively light.
A total of 319 cases were reported in 1998 out of which nine died; 3,147 cases in 1999 of which 21 died, out of the 1,840 cases reported in 2000 , eight died, while 42 died out of the 1,387 cases reported in 2001.
The rest are 2,044 cases with 47 deaths in 2002, 156 cases in 2003 when four died, nobody died out of eight persons who had the disease in 2004.
The figure rose to 1,812 in 2005, claiming 21 lives; 1,290 cases in 2006 with 21 deaths; and in 2007, seven people were affected with none dying from the disease.
Out of 22 cases reported this year, seven have been confirmed by laboratory testing as cholera, nine treated without testing, two confirmed negative while the laboratory results of the remaining four are yet to be received by the Regional Directorate.
Chorela is a disease that spreads through faeces. The cholera bacteria are passed out in large quantities in faeces.
To prevent the disease, residents have been advised to use safe toilets such as KVIPs or water closets rather than defecate in the open, always wash their hands with soap and water after using the toilet and eat hot freshly prepared or heated food.
They are also to cover their food to protect it from flies, avoid food from food vendors with unsanitary practices and also report immediately to the nearest health facility any diarrhoea.
HEALTH personnel in the Greater Accra Region are worried over the frequent outbreak of cholera in the region.
They have attributed the causes to poor sanitation, including open defecation, poor waste disposal, poor food hygiene and low level of hand-washing practices across the region.
Another cause for the disease in the region is the perennial water shortage, which forces residents to use unsafe water.
A report made available to the Daily Graphic by the Greater Accra Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Irene Agyepong, indicated an uneven trend over the last 10 years, which seems to go up in one instance, comes down later only to move up again in another year.
The report indicated that between September 4 and October 10, this year, a total of 22 cases suspected to be cholera had been reported in the Accra Metropolitan Area, with the bulk of the cases coming from the Ashiedu-Keteke and Ablekuma sub-metropolitan areas.
The report also indicated the epidemic periods to be associated with periods of rain, especially when the rains were relatively light.
A total of 319 cases were reported in 1998 out of which nine died; 3,147 cases in 1999 of which 21 died, out of the 1,840 cases reported in 2000 , eight died, while 42 died out of the 1,387 cases reported in 2001.
The rest are 2,044 cases with 47 deaths in 2002, 156 cases in 2003 when four died, nobody died out of eight persons who had the disease in 2004.
The figure rose to 1,812 in 2005, claiming 21 lives; 1,290 cases in 2006 with 21 deaths; and in 2007, seven people were affected with none dying from the disease.
Out of 22 cases reported this year, seven have been confirmed by laboratory testing as cholera, nine treated without testing, two confirmed negative while the laboratory results of the remaining four are yet to be received by the Regional Directorate.
Chorela is a disease that spreads through faeces. The cholera bacteria are passed out in large quantities in faeces.
To prevent the disease, residents have been advised to use safe toilets such as KVIPs or water closets rather than defecate in the open, always wash their hands with soap and water after using the toilet and eat hot freshly prepared or heated food.
They are also to cover their food to protect it from flies, avoid food from food vendors with unsanitary practices and also report immediately to the nearest health facility any diarrhoea.
Experts discuss Malaria advocacy (Page 28)
Story: Lucy Adoma Yeboah
A DEPUTY Minister of Health, Dr Gladys Norley Ashitey, has said that Ghana is working very hard to ensure that 80 per cent of the population uses insecticide treated nets to protect themselves against malaria by 2015.
She said even though the country was still in the control phase of the disease, it planned to quickly progress towards the elimination of the disease in line with the global goals.
Dr Ashitey was addressing participants in Accra last Tuesday at the opening of a three-day annual international meeting for the Voices for Malaria-Free Future under the theme, “Consolidating Malaria Advocacy Investment to Date - Malaria Advocacy”.
Delivering the keynote address, Dr Ashitey said the country also had plans to strongly fight the disease by increasing the use of intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) for pregnant women, embark on indoor residual spraying as well as treatment programmes with new and more effective medication.
She also said the country was committed to the goals of the Global Malaria Action Plan (GMAP) which had the aim of eliminating malaria by 2015 adding that although Ghana, like many Saharan countries were still in the control phase of malaria, it was a critical part of the country’s plan to quickly cross that threshold and progress towards the total elimination of the disease.
She stressed that the achievement of this goal was not a dream but a course to which the government of Ghana was fully committed to and would like to maintain and strengthen collaboration with all its partners especially the Global Fund, the World Health Organisation (WHO), the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) and the Department for International Development (DFID).
The Global Malaria Action Plan (GMAP) came about when as major move towards elimination and eventual eradication of malaria, world political leaders and philanthropists launched a plan on September 25, 2008, with a promise of $3 billion to fight malaria around the world.
For the first time, GMAP selected 30 endemic countries and regions which included Ghana and 65 international institutions to accelerate the fight .
In her remarks, the Programme Manager of the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), Dr (Mrs) Constance Bart-Plange said malaria control programme in Ghana was achieving positive results and expressed the hope that the country would soon be free from the disease.
She said her outfit had enjoyed very fruitful working relations with some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Ghana, especially, Voices for Malaria-Free Future.
In a statement read on his behalf, the WHO Representative in Ghana, Dr Daniel Kertesz said the role of communication in malaria control could not be overemphasised adding that a sound communication strategy would support the access of beneficiaries and consumers to accurate health information through a language of their preference as well as channels of communication which required the least effort to access.
He, therefore, commended Voices for Malaria-Free Ghana for the effort it was making to get the right message to the people through community advocacy programmes.
Oh his part, the Director of Voices at Johns Hopkins Univsersity/Center for Communication Programme in the US, Dr Matthew Lynch said in two years, Voices had become a valued part of the malaria community acting as a strong Roll Back Malaria (RBM) partner throughout the world adding that the group had a strategic approach to advocacy as well as working in partnership but not as competitor to other stakeholders in the fight against malaria.
The Deputy Director General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) who was also the chairman for the function, Dr George Amofah expressed delight that many individuals and groups were currently supporting the fight against malaria and expressed the hope that the fight would be intensified for the country to achieve its set target.
A DEPUTY Minister of Health, Dr Gladys Norley Ashitey, has said that Ghana is working very hard to ensure that 80 per cent of the population uses insecticide treated nets to protect themselves against malaria by 2015.
She said even though the country was still in the control phase of the disease, it planned to quickly progress towards the elimination of the disease in line with the global goals.
Dr Ashitey was addressing participants in Accra last Tuesday at the opening of a three-day annual international meeting for the Voices for Malaria-Free Future under the theme, “Consolidating Malaria Advocacy Investment to Date - Malaria Advocacy”.
Delivering the keynote address, Dr Ashitey said the country also had plans to strongly fight the disease by increasing the use of intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) for pregnant women, embark on indoor residual spraying as well as treatment programmes with new and more effective medication.
She also said the country was committed to the goals of the Global Malaria Action Plan (GMAP) which had the aim of eliminating malaria by 2015 adding that although Ghana, like many Saharan countries were still in the control phase of malaria, it was a critical part of the country’s plan to quickly cross that threshold and progress towards the total elimination of the disease.
She stressed that the achievement of this goal was not a dream but a course to which the government of Ghana was fully committed to and would like to maintain and strengthen collaboration with all its partners especially the Global Fund, the World Health Organisation (WHO), the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) and the Department for International Development (DFID).
The Global Malaria Action Plan (GMAP) came about when as major move towards elimination and eventual eradication of malaria, world political leaders and philanthropists launched a plan on September 25, 2008, with a promise of $3 billion to fight malaria around the world.
For the first time, GMAP selected 30 endemic countries and regions which included Ghana and 65 international institutions to accelerate the fight .
In her remarks, the Programme Manager of the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), Dr (Mrs) Constance Bart-Plange said malaria control programme in Ghana was achieving positive results and expressed the hope that the country would soon be free from the disease.
She said her outfit had enjoyed very fruitful working relations with some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Ghana, especially, Voices for Malaria-Free Future.
In a statement read on his behalf, the WHO Representative in Ghana, Dr Daniel Kertesz said the role of communication in malaria control could not be overemphasised adding that a sound communication strategy would support the access of beneficiaries and consumers to accurate health information through a language of their preference as well as channels of communication which required the least effort to access.
He, therefore, commended Voices for Malaria-Free Ghana for the effort it was making to get the right message to the people through community advocacy programmes.
Oh his part, the Director of Voices at Johns Hopkins Univsersity/Center for Communication Programme in the US, Dr Matthew Lynch said in two years, Voices had become a valued part of the malaria community acting as a strong Roll Back Malaria (RBM) partner throughout the world adding that the group had a strategic approach to advocacy as well as working in partnership but not as competitor to other stakeholders in the fight against malaria.
The Deputy Director General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) who was also the chairman for the function, Dr George Amofah expressed delight that many individuals and groups were currently supporting the fight against malaria and expressed the hope that the fight would be intensified for the country to achieve its set target.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Cancer Awareness Month-Wear a Pink Ribbon (Women's Page 17)
As part of the Cancer Awareness month celebration in October a pink ribbon is worn to recognise the struggle that sufferers of breast cancer face. This is done by survivors of breast cancer, as well as family and friends of survivors and/or victims of the disease and people championing awareness of the disease.
“Pink for October” is an initiative started by Matthew Oliphant, an international Information and Communication Technology (ICT) specialist who asks that any websites willing to help make people aware of breast cancer, change their template or layout to include the colour pink, so that when visitors view the site, they see that the major colour of the site is pink. Then after reading a short amount of information about breast cancer, or after being redirected to another site, they become aware of the disease itself.
In Ghana, information posted on the websites of a health-related non-governmental organisation (NGO), Mammocare Ghana, indicates that breast cancer is a disease which affects women. It adds that almost 99 per cent of all cases are women.
According to health experts, womanhood and advancing age are major risk factors for the disease.
The average age for diagnosis has been established at 48 and, indeed, usually diagnosed at 39 in women who are still menstruating.
Incidence in Ghana of breast cancer has been estimated at 50-70 cases for every 100,000 women. Another issue is that the post-treatment survival rate is very low due to the low level of awareness, late detection, and high cost of treatment in the country.
Indeed, breast cancer has claimed the lives of some of Ghana's most illustrious women.
Wikipedia encyclopaedia defines breast cancer as a cancer that starts in the cells of the breast in women and sometimes men. Worldwide, breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer after lung cancer which is made up of about 10.4 per cent of all cancer incidence which affects both sexes. It is also considered the fifth most common cause of cancer death. In 2005, breast cancer caused 502,000 deaths worldwide.
Because the breast is composed of identical tissues in males and females, breast cancer also occurs in males. Incidence of breast cancer in men is approximately 100 times less common than in women, but men with breast cancer are considered to have the same statistical survival rates as women.
Breast cancer is typically a lump that feels different than the surrounding breast tissue.
According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), the first medical sign, or objective indication of breast cancer as detected by a physician, is discovered by mammogram. Lumps found in lymph nodes located in the armpits and/or collar-bone can also indicate breast cancer.
Indications of breast cancer other than a lump may include changes in breast size or shape, skin dimpling, nipple inversion, or spontaneous single-nipple discharge.
Pain is an unreliable tool in determining the presence of breast cancer, but may be indicative of other breast-related health issues.
Unexplained weight loss can occasionally herald the presence of breast cancer as well as fevers or chills. Bone or joint pains can sometimes be manifestations of breast cancer, as can jaundice or neurological symptoms. These symptoms are "non-specific," meaning they can also be manifestations of many other illnesses.
Lower age of first childbirth (less than 24 years maternal age), having more children (about 7 per cent lowered risk per child), and breastfeeding (4 per cent) per breastfeeding year, with an average relative risk around 0.7 have all been correlated to lowered breast cancer risk in medical studies.
Studies have shown that plant oestrogen intake, such as from soy products, in early adolescence may offer protection against breast cancer later in life but plant oestrogen intake later in life is not likely to influence breast cancer incidence either positively or negatively.
A study conducted among over 17,000 women found that those who consume 40 grams of alcohol (about 3-4 glasses) per day have a higher risk of breast cancer. However, in women who take 200 micrograms of folate (folic acid or Vitamin B9) every day, the risk of breast cancer drops below that of alcohol abstainers.
To prevent breast cancer, health experts advise that one should take foods rich in folate which include citrus fruits, citrus juices, dark green leafy vegetables (such as ‘nkontomire’), dried beans, and peas.
Exposure to second-hand smoke from cigarette increases breast cancer risk by 70 per cent in younger, primarily pre-menopausal women.
There is some evidence that exposure to tobacco smoke is most problematic between puberty and first childbirth. The reason is that breast tissue appears most sensitive to chemical carcinogens (a substance which can cause cancer) within that age.
Prophylactic oophorectomy (removal of ovaries), in high-risk individuals, when child-bearing is complete, reduces the risk of developing breast cancer by 60 per cent, as well as reducing the risk of developing ovarian cancer by 96 per cent.
Breast cancer screening is an attempt to find unsuspected cancers. The most common screening methods are self and clinical breast examination, X-ray mammography, and breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Genetic testing may also be used.
A programme released by the Cancer Society of Ghana, AfrOx and the Ministry of Health to mark the Cancer Awareness month includes free screening exercises at the Odorna Clinic, Radiotherapy Centre at Korle-Bu, as well as at the Adabraka and Maamobi polyclinics, Ridge Hospital, La and Tema General hospitals and the Atomic Energy Clinic, Kwabenya.
The mainstay of breast cancer treatment is surgery when the tumour is localised. Treatment possibilities include radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and immune therapy.
Individuals, especially women who are at higher risk, are expected to adopt healthy lifestyles and make conscious efforts to check any abnormality in their breasts, to ensure early detection and treatment of the disease.
“Pink for October” is an initiative started by Matthew Oliphant, an international Information and Communication Technology (ICT) specialist who asks that any websites willing to help make people aware of breast cancer, change their template or layout to include the colour pink, so that when visitors view the site, they see that the major colour of the site is pink. Then after reading a short amount of information about breast cancer, or after being redirected to another site, they become aware of the disease itself.
In Ghana, information posted on the websites of a health-related non-governmental organisation (NGO), Mammocare Ghana, indicates that breast cancer is a disease which affects women. It adds that almost 99 per cent of all cases are women.
According to health experts, womanhood and advancing age are major risk factors for the disease.
The average age for diagnosis has been established at 48 and, indeed, usually diagnosed at 39 in women who are still menstruating.
Incidence in Ghana of breast cancer has been estimated at 50-70 cases for every 100,000 women. Another issue is that the post-treatment survival rate is very low due to the low level of awareness, late detection, and high cost of treatment in the country.
Indeed, breast cancer has claimed the lives of some of Ghana's most illustrious women.
Wikipedia encyclopaedia defines breast cancer as a cancer that starts in the cells of the breast in women and sometimes men. Worldwide, breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer after lung cancer which is made up of about 10.4 per cent of all cancer incidence which affects both sexes. It is also considered the fifth most common cause of cancer death. In 2005, breast cancer caused 502,000 deaths worldwide.
Because the breast is composed of identical tissues in males and females, breast cancer also occurs in males. Incidence of breast cancer in men is approximately 100 times less common than in women, but men with breast cancer are considered to have the same statistical survival rates as women.
Breast cancer is typically a lump that feels different than the surrounding breast tissue.
According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), the first medical sign, or objective indication of breast cancer as detected by a physician, is discovered by mammogram. Lumps found in lymph nodes located in the armpits and/or collar-bone can also indicate breast cancer.
Indications of breast cancer other than a lump may include changes in breast size or shape, skin dimpling, nipple inversion, or spontaneous single-nipple discharge.
Pain is an unreliable tool in determining the presence of breast cancer, but may be indicative of other breast-related health issues.
Unexplained weight loss can occasionally herald the presence of breast cancer as well as fevers or chills. Bone or joint pains can sometimes be manifestations of breast cancer, as can jaundice or neurological symptoms. These symptoms are "non-specific," meaning they can also be manifestations of many other illnesses.
Lower age of first childbirth (less than 24 years maternal age), having more children (about 7 per cent lowered risk per child), and breastfeeding (4 per cent) per breastfeeding year, with an average relative risk around 0.7 have all been correlated to lowered breast cancer risk in medical studies.
Studies have shown that plant oestrogen intake, such as from soy products, in early adolescence may offer protection against breast cancer later in life but plant oestrogen intake later in life is not likely to influence breast cancer incidence either positively or negatively.
A study conducted among over 17,000 women found that those who consume 40 grams of alcohol (about 3-4 glasses) per day have a higher risk of breast cancer. However, in women who take 200 micrograms of folate (folic acid or Vitamin B9) every day, the risk of breast cancer drops below that of alcohol abstainers.
To prevent breast cancer, health experts advise that one should take foods rich in folate which include citrus fruits, citrus juices, dark green leafy vegetables (such as ‘nkontomire’), dried beans, and peas.
Exposure to second-hand smoke from cigarette increases breast cancer risk by 70 per cent in younger, primarily pre-menopausal women.
There is some evidence that exposure to tobacco smoke is most problematic between puberty and first childbirth. The reason is that breast tissue appears most sensitive to chemical carcinogens (a substance which can cause cancer) within that age.
Prophylactic oophorectomy (removal of ovaries), in high-risk individuals, when child-bearing is complete, reduces the risk of developing breast cancer by 60 per cent, as well as reducing the risk of developing ovarian cancer by 96 per cent.
Breast cancer screening is an attempt to find unsuspected cancers. The most common screening methods are self and clinical breast examination, X-ray mammography, and breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Genetic testing may also be used.
A programme released by the Cancer Society of Ghana, AfrOx and the Ministry of Health to mark the Cancer Awareness month includes free screening exercises at the Odorna Clinic, Radiotherapy Centre at Korle-Bu, as well as at the Adabraka and Maamobi polyclinics, Ridge Hospital, La and Tema General hospitals and the Atomic Energy Clinic, Kwabenya.
The mainstay of breast cancer treatment is surgery when the tumour is localised. Treatment possibilities include radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and immune therapy.
Individuals, especially women who are at higher risk, are expected to adopt healthy lifestyles and make conscious efforts to check any abnormality in their breasts, to ensure early detection and treatment of the disease.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
'Take immunisation programmes seriously' (Back Page)
THE National Child Health Co-ordinator of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Isabella Sagoe-Moses, has called on Ghanaians to take immunisation programmes seriously.
That, she said, was to ensure the protection of children, especially those under five, from preventable deaths.
Speaking at the launch of this year’s Integrated Maternal and Child Health Campaign in Accra yesterday, Dr Sagoe-Moses cautioned that Ghana faced the threat of importing poliomyelitis from neighbouring African countries.
She said the deadly childhood disease, which had not affected any Ghanaian child since September 2003, was reported to have been affecting children in Nigeria.
Poliomyelitis, often called polio or infantile paralysis, is an acute viral infectious disease spread from person to person, primarily through the faecal-oral route.
Polio epidemics have crippled thousands of people, mostly young children, and caused paralysis and death throughout much of human history.
Dr Sagoe-Moses said as of March 5, 2008, 32 wild cases of poliomyelitis had been reported in Nigeria, three in Niger, one in Angola and one in Chad.
Reports have it that Ghana has also not recorded any death from measles since 2002 and that there was a drop in the number of measles cases from 34,671 in 1994 to 434 in 2005.
She said, however, that people should not be complacent over these achievements but rather remain vigilant and also try hard to sustain the gains so far achieved.
Dr Sagoe-Moses said during the campaign, which is scheduled from October 16 to October 18, 2008, a series of services would be provided for children free of charge.
She said children under five would be given Vitamin A supplement, immunised against tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, pertusis, tetanus, yellow fever, Hepatitis B and Haemophilia influenza and also dewormed.
As part of the campaign, children below one year in the three northern regions and the Central Region would be offered free insecticide-treated nets as a top up to what had already been distributed to children throughout the country in earlier programmes to prevent malaria.
Speaking on the theme, “Healthy Mother and Children Make a Better Ghana”, a Deputy Minister of Health, Dr (Mrs) Gladys Norley Ashietey, said it was important for Ghanaians to realise that although they had invested and continued to invest in revamping the health systems, the country still had a long way to go in order to respond to the needs of every family.
She noted that campaigns such as Integrated Maternal and Child Health were designed to overcome some of the inherent challenges and obstacles that made it difficult to reach those who, for some reasons, were not able to take up services within the routine system.
The Director-General of the GHS, Dr Elias K. Sory, who chaired the function, said since it had been established that the routine services provided by health workers at the various facilities alone could not help solve the nation’s health problems, people would be encouraged to take advantage of such special annual programmes.
The Deputy Director-General of the GHS, Dr George Amofah, expressed the hope that Ghana would be able to achieve the Millennium Development Goal four (MDG 4) which touched on child health, adding that the country was on its way to eliminating many childhood diseases.
That, she said, was to ensure the protection of children, especially those under five, from preventable deaths.
Speaking at the launch of this year’s Integrated Maternal and Child Health Campaign in Accra yesterday, Dr Sagoe-Moses cautioned that Ghana faced the threat of importing poliomyelitis from neighbouring African countries.
She said the deadly childhood disease, which had not affected any Ghanaian child since September 2003, was reported to have been affecting children in Nigeria.
Poliomyelitis, often called polio or infantile paralysis, is an acute viral infectious disease spread from person to person, primarily through the faecal-oral route.
Polio epidemics have crippled thousands of people, mostly young children, and caused paralysis and death throughout much of human history.
Dr Sagoe-Moses said as of March 5, 2008, 32 wild cases of poliomyelitis had been reported in Nigeria, three in Niger, one in Angola and one in Chad.
Reports have it that Ghana has also not recorded any death from measles since 2002 and that there was a drop in the number of measles cases from 34,671 in 1994 to 434 in 2005.
She said, however, that people should not be complacent over these achievements but rather remain vigilant and also try hard to sustain the gains so far achieved.
Dr Sagoe-Moses said during the campaign, which is scheduled from October 16 to October 18, 2008, a series of services would be provided for children free of charge.
She said children under five would be given Vitamin A supplement, immunised against tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, pertusis, tetanus, yellow fever, Hepatitis B and Haemophilia influenza and also dewormed.
As part of the campaign, children below one year in the three northern regions and the Central Region would be offered free insecticide-treated nets as a top up to what had already been distributed to children throughout the country in earlier programmes to prevent malaria.
Speaking on the theme, “Healthy Mother and Children Make a Better Ghana”, a Deputy Minister of Health, Dr (Mrs) Gladys Norley Ashietey, said it was important for Ghanaians to realise that although they had invested and continued to invest in revamping the health systems, the country still had a long way to go in order to respond to the needs of every family.
She noted that campaigns such as Integrated Maternal and Child Health were designed to overcome some of the inherent challenges and obstacles that made it difficult to reach those who, for some reasons, were not able to take up services within the routine system.
The Director-General of the GHS, Dr Elias K. Sory, who chaired the function, said since it had been established that the routine services provided by health workers at the various facilities alone could not help solve the nation’s health problems, people would be encouraged to take advantage of such special annual programmes.
The Deputy Director-General of the GHS, Dr George Amofah, expressed the hope that Ghana would be able to achieve the Millennium Development Goal four (MDG 4) which touched on child health, adding that the country was on its way to eliminating many childhood diseases.
'Provide timely weather forecast' (Spread)
THE Minister of Communications, Dr Benjamin Aggrey Ntim, has urged meteorologists to provide sufficient and timely weather forecast, since a lot of human activities depend on such information.
He said the need for accurate meteorological information in Ghana was critical, since the country depended largely on hydro-electric power, adding that “the question of whether the rains will ensure all-year round generation of electricity at full capacity by the Volta River Authority at the Akosombo Dam keeps ringing in our ears all year round”.
The minister said this in a speech read on his behalf at the 8th European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMESAT) User Conference for Africa in Accra last Monday.
It is on the theme: “Use of Satellites for Monitoring Climate Change and Water Resources”.
The five-day international conference is being participated in by scientists, meteorologists, hydrologists, communication experts, among others.
The objectives are to inform African users of the state and plans of EUMESAT satellites, data, as well as products, in order to optimise the use of those data and products throughout the continent.
The conference is also to strengthen a well-established dialogue between EUMESAT and its main user community in Africa, especially national meteorological and hydrological services, as well as foster the use of EUMESAT data and products for various applications, especially in weather and climate forecasting.
Dr Aggrey Ntim said food security was becoming a major global threat which might endanger thousands of lives if EUMESAT in the developed world did not help to provide early warning mechanisms to support local meteorological and hydrological agencies to keep governments and policy makers alert.
He pointed out that accurate and consistent monitoring of the weather was key to human survival and called on meteorologists to explain issues of the weather in a language which the ordinary person would understand and make use of.
The Chairperson for the function, Captain Georgina Jopap, urged national meteorological agencies to collaborate to ensure higher standards in their performance.
There were messages from the Indian Ocean Commission, the European Commission (EU), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the EUMESAT Secretariat.
He said the need for accurate meteorological information in Ghana was critical, since the country depended largely on hydro-electric power, adding that “the question of whether the rains will ensure all-year round generation of electricity at full capacity by the Volta River Authority at the Akosombo Dam keeps ringing in our ears all year round”.
The minister said this in a speech read on his behalf at the 8th European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMESAT) User Conference for Africa in Accra last Monday.
It is on the theme: “Use of Satellites for Monitoring Climate Change and Water Resources”.
The five-day international conference is being participated in by scientists, meteorologists, hydrologists, communication experts, among others.
The objectives are to inform African users of the state and plans of EUMESAT satellites, data, as well as products, in order to optimise the use of those data and products throughout the continent.
The conference is also to strengthen a well-established dialogue between EUMESAT and its main user community in Africa, especially national meteorological and hydrological services, as well as foster the use of EUMESAT data and products for various applications, especially in weather and climate forecasting.
Dr Aggrey Ntim said food security was becoming a major global threat which might endanger thousands of lives if EUMESAT in the developed world did not help to provide early warning mechanisms to support local meteorological and hydrological agencies to keep governments and policy makers alert.
He pointed out that accurate and consistent monitoring of the weather was key to human survival and called on meteorologists to explain issues of the weather in a language which the ordinary person would understand and make use of.
The Chairperson for the function, Captain Georgina Jopap, urged national meteorological agencies to collaborate to ensure higher standards in their performance.
There were messages from the Indian Ocean Commission, the European Commission (EU), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the EUMESAT Secretariat.
Friday, October 3, 2008
EC to display voters' register on Sunday (Spread)
All potential voters in the country will have the opportunity to verify their names in the national voters’ register when the register is put on display from Sunday to Saturday.
The one-week exhibition will enable all those who endeavoured to have their names in the national register in 2004, 2006 and 2008 to confirm if that had been done by the Electoral Commission (EC) and will also enable others to heed the EC’s call to help clean the register of unqualified voters.
In addition it allows registered voters to ask for the correction of errors in their names, sex and age to prevent any disappointment on the voting day.
The 2006 register would also be on display alongside that of the 2008 provisional register to ensure a smooth exercise throughout the period.
All voters who registered in 2004, 2006 and 2008 are expected to go to their respective polling stations to check and ensure that particulars on their voters' identity cards tally with information in the register.
Ghanaians are expected to report incidents of death in the family and help with corrections such as wrong data and missing names.
Ghanaians, assembly members, family heads, Unit Committee members and relations of deceased are also expected to help clean the register by challenging unqualified persons such as minors and non-Ghanaians whose names are in the register.
The Director of Elections at the Electoral Commission, Mr Albert Arhin, appealed to Ghanaians to show commitment to the week-long exercise and help clean the register to ensure a smooth, free and fair election in December.
He said that the exercise would not be for fresh registration and persons who did double registration are also expected to get one cancelled to avoid prosecution and to ensure that the register was clean, accurate, credible, reliable and dependable.
According to EC officials, Challenge Forms would be available at all the polling centres for people to register their objection, or help remove names of minors, the deceased, aliens and other unqualified persons in the register to ensure that it was cleaned and ready for the 2008 elections.
At another forum later in Accra, the Electoral Commission announced that the list of voters who registered during the last limited registration exercise would be separated from the main register during the display of the full register scheduled for October 5 to October 11, 2008, reports Lucy Adoma Yeboah
It said that would enable the people in the communities to properly scrutinise the register in order to identify those who were not qualified but registered.
This was made known by the Chairman of the Electoral Commission, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan in Accra today (Thursday) at the First Public Forum and National Meeting organised by the Civic Forum Initiative (CFI) in conjunction with the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG). It was on the theme “Cleaning the Voters’ Register for Peaceful and Credible Election in December 2008”.
Dr Afari-Gyan pointed out that the EC would have to rely on all Ghanaians to help the nation get a clean register because the commission could not on its own, identify those who wrongly registered since the personnel had no means of identifying them but rather the people in the communities.
He said the total of about 13 million people on the voters’ register out of a population of 22 million Ghanaians was on the high side, adding that there was evidence to suggest that there were registration of minors, foreigners as well as those who had registered before (double registration).
To avoid arguments at the polling stations on election day, the Electoral Commissioner said his outfit would discuss with the various political parties to decide on whether to challenge those suspected of being unqualified to vote so as to stop them from voting or allow them to do that since they already had identification (ID) cards.
He called on the government, the various political parties, civil society groups and the public to support the EC in its quest to get a clean register for the election, adding that “I believe most sincerely that we will have a credible and peaceful election, come December 7, 2008 but it will depend on the people of Ghana”.
Dr Afari-Gyan, however, cautioned politically aligned civil society groups not to make any attempt to apply to perform as election observers because the EC would not allow that.
Making a presentation on the activities of the CFI, the Executive Director of IDEG, Dr Emmanuel Akwetey, said the group had the objective to mobilise citizens, communities and civil society actors to participate in the forthcoming exhibition and clean-up of the voters register, decentralise the observation of the elections and any attendant run-off elections by getting citizens, communities and civil society organisations involved in election related activities at the constituencies and polling station levels.
He said it would also establish a platform to enable civil society actors to participate collectively in dialogue with the EC and political parties on matters pertaining to the efficient management and integrity of the electoral process, as well as the credibility of the voting processes and results.
Dr Akwetey also touched on the initiative’s aim of enhancing voter education, citizen and community awareness through improved publicity of all activities pertaining to the delivery of a clean voters’ register and free and fair, credible and transparent election in December this year.
Speaking on behalf of women’s organisations, the National Co-ordinator of WILDAF, Ms Bernice Sam, advised every Ghanaian woman to educate at least one person on election related issues in order to prevent election conflicts.
For his part, Alhaji Mohammed Mamah Gado of the Office of the National Chief Imam said the office had decided to use the various mosques throughout the country to advise Muslim youth against allowing themselves to be used by self-seeking politicians who use them only to abandon them after they (the politicians) had achieved their political objectives.
The Secretary-General of the Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC), Mr Kofi Asamoah, said organised labour was concerned about violence in Ghanaian politics and, therefore, expressed the will to assist the EC to get a clean register for the elections at all cost.
A Deputy Chairman of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Mr Baron Amoafo, commended the CFI for its role in educating the public but reminded the group to collaborate with the commission in order to get the right message to the people.
The General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana who was also the Chairman for the function, Reverend Dr Fred Degbe said Ghana could do well by learning from the experiences of other countries and cited a case in Togo where unqualified voters failed to turn up to vote because the various registers were pasted at the polling stations for people in the community to scrutinise them.
The one-week exhibition will enable all those who endeavoured to have their names in the national register in 2004, 2006 and 2008 to confirm if that had been done by the Electoral Commission (EC) and will also enable others to heed the EC’s call to help clean the register of unqualified voters.
In addition it allows registered voters to ask for the correction of errors in their names, sex and age to prevent any disappointment on the voting day.
The 2006 register would also be on display alongside that of the 2008 provisional register to ensure a smooth exercise throughout the period.
All voters who registered in 2004, 2006 and 2008 are expected to go to their respective polling stations to check and ensure that particulars on their voters' identity cards tally with information in the register.
Ghanaians are expected to report incidents of death in the family and help with corrections such as wrong data and missing names.
Ghanaians, assembly members, family heads, Unit Committee members and relations of deceased are also expected to help clean the register by challenging unqualified persons such as minors and non-Ghanaians whose names are in the register.
The Director of Elections at the Electoral Commission, Mr Albert Arhin, appealed to Ghanaians to show commitment to the week-long exercise and help clean the register to ensure a smooth, free and fair election in December.
He said that the exercise would not be for fresh registration and persons who did double registration are also expected to get one cancelled to avoid prosecution and to ensure that the register was clean, accurate, credible, reliable and dependable.
According to EC officials, Challenge Forms would be available at all the polling centres for people to register their objection, or help remove names of minors, the deceased, aliens and other unqualified persons in the register to ensure that it was cleaned and ready for the 2008 elections.
At another forum later in Accra, the Electoral Commission announced that the list of voters who registered during the last limited registration exercise would be separated from the main register during the display of the full register scheduled for October 5 to October 11, 2008, reports Lucy Adoma Yeboah
It said that would enable the people in the communities to properly scrutinise the register in order to identify those who were not qualified but registered.
This was made known by the Chairman of the Electoral Commission, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan in Accra today (Thursday) at the First Public Forum and National Meeting organised by the Civic Forum Initiative (CFI) in conjunction with the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG). It was on the theme “Cleaning the Voters’ Register for Peaceful and Credible Election in December 2008”.
Dr Afari-Gyan pointed out that the EC would have to rely on all Ghanaians to help the nation get a clean register because the commission could not on its own, identify those who wrongly registered since the personnel had no means of identifying them but rather the people in the communities.
He said the total of about 13 million people on the voters’ register out of a population of 22 million Ghanaians was on the high side, adding that there was evidence to suggest that there were registration of minors, foreigners as well as those who had registered before (double registration).
To avoid arguments at the polling stations on election day, the Electoral Commissioner said his outfit would discuss with the various political parties to decide on whether to challenge those suspected of being unqualified to vote so as to stop them from voting or allow them to do that since they already had identification (ID) cards.
He called on the government, the various political parties, civil society groups and the public to support the EC in its quest to get a clean register for the election, adding that “I believe most sincerely that we will have a credible and peaceful election, come December 7, 2008 but it will depend on the people of Ghana”.
Dr Afari-Gyan, however, cautioned politically aligned civil society groups not to make any attempt to apply to perform as election observers because the EC would not allow that.
Making a presentation on the activities of the CFI, the Executive Director of IDEG, Dr Emmanuel Akwetey, said the group had the objective to mobilise citizens, communities and civil society actors to participate in the forthcoming exhibition and clean-up of the voters register, decentralise the observation of the elections and any attendant run-off elections by getting citizens, communities and civil society organisations involved in election related activities at the constituencies and polling station levels.
He said it would also establish a platform to enable civil society actors to participate collectively in dialogue with the EC and political parties on matters pertaining to the efficient management and integrity of the electoral process, as well as the credibility of the voting processes and results.
Dr Akwetey also touched on the initiative’s aim of enhancing voter education, citizen and community awareness through improved publicity of all activities pertaining to the delivery of a clean voters’ register and free and fair, credible and transparent election in December this year.
Speaking on behalf of women’s organisations, the National Co-ordinator of WILDAF, Ms Bernice Sam, advised every Ghanaian woman to educate at least one person on election related issues in order to prevent election conflicts.
For his part, Alhaji Mohammed Mamah Gado of the Office of the National Chief Imam said the office had decided to use the various mosques throughout the country to advise Muslim youth against allowing themselves to be used by self-seeking politicians who use them only to abandon them after they (the politicians) had achieved their political objectives.
The Secretary-General of the Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC), Mr Kofi Asamoah, said organised labour was concerned about violence in Ghanaian politics and, therefore, expressed the will to assist the EC to get a clean register for the elections at all cost.
A Deputy Chairman of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Mr Baron Amoafo, commended the CFI for its role in educating the public but reminded the group to collaborate with the commission in order to get the right message to the people.
The General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana who was also the Chairman for the function, Reverend Dr Fred Degbe said Ghana could do well by learning from the experiences of other countries and cited a case in Togo where unqualified voters failed to turn up to vote because the various registers were pasted at the polling stations for people in the community to scrutinise them.
Ghana to host symposium on breast cancer (October 2, 2008, Page 58)
THE Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, in conjunction with two international non-governmental organisations — Hope Xchange in Rome and Susan G. Komen for the Cure in the US, will organise a one-day symposium on breast cancer in Accra on October 16, 2008.
In addition, the group will on October 17, 2008, inaugurate a cancer centre it had, together with the Catholic Church in Ghana, put up in Kumasi. The centre will also handle eye surgery.
The Rector of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, Professor Paul Kwame Nyame told the Daily Graphic in Accra that the objective of the symposium was to bring together specialists from the US, Italy, Austria and Ghana, to deliberate on how to deal with the disease, which is gradually becoming a major health issue globally.
He said participants in the symposium would include doctors, nurses, pharmacists, women groups and others interested in knowing more about breast cancer.
He said topics to be discussed included the global situation of breast cancer especially the Ghanaian situation, partners in fighting breast cancer, treatment of breast cancer, critical role of education in breast cancer, patients’ perceptive of survival of breast cancer and prevention of breast cancer, if possible.
Professor Nyame said the symposium was likely to benefit a number of Ghanaian health workers who had over the years embarked on a series of work on the disease and cited Professor E.Q. Archampong of the Department of Surgery, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, as one such person.
In one of his write-ups titled, “Changing Patterns of Neoplasia: Cancer of the Breast”, Prof. Archampong said “breast cancer is a highly emotive problem, for this is the condition that has been killing our mothers, sisters and wives and recently in the African context, also our daughters”.
He noted that there was clinical impression of rising incidence in the Ghanaian population in recent years.
Quoting from a survey report, he said a total of 1154 cases of breasts were reviewed showing annual incidence that increased progressively from 25 in 1976 to 82 in 2003, a nearly four fold increase over the 25-year period and on average, a doubling of the incidence every decade.
“There were a few gaps in the data collected, so the incidence could be higher still, some 26 cases were male, an average one to two a year. The youngest patient was 21 years old; from this age the incidence rose sharply reaching a peak in the 40-49 age group. The curve fell off in similar fashion, without a secondary peak in the above 60s,” he pointed out.
In addition, the group will on October 17, 2008, inaugurate a cancer centre it had, together with the Catholic Church in Ghana, put up in Kumasi. The centre will also handle eye surgery.
The Rector of the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, Professor Paul Kwame Nyame told the Daily Graphic in Accra that the objective of the symposium was to bring together specialists from the US, Italy, Austria and Ghana, to deliberate on how to deal with the disease, which is gradually becoming a major health issue globally.
He said participants in the symposium would include doctors, nurses, pharmacists, women groups and others interested in knowing more about breast cancer.
He said topics to be discussed included the global situation of breast cancer especially the Ghanaian situation, partners in fighting breast cancer, treatment of breast cancer, critical role of education in breast cancer, patients’ perceptive of survival of breast cancer and prevention of breast cancer, if possible.
Professor Nyame said the symposium was likely to benefit a number of Ghanaian health workers who had over the years embarked on a series of work on the disease and cited Professor E.Q. Archampong of the Department of Surgery, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, as one such person.
In one of his write-ups titled, “Changing Patterns of Neoplasia: Cancer of the Breast”, Prof. Archampong said “breast cancer is a highly emotive problem, for this is the condition that has been killing our mothers, sisters and wives and recently in the African context, also our daughters”.
He noted that there was clinical impression of rising incidence in the Ghanaian population in recent years.
Quoting from a survey report, he said a total of 1154 cases of breasts were reviewed showing annual incidence that increased progressively from 25 in 1976 to 82 in 2003, a nearly four fold increase over the 25-year period and on average, a doubling of the incidence every decade.
“There were a few gaps in the data collected, so the incidence could be higher still, some 26 cases were male, an average one to two a year. The youngest patient was 21 years old; from this age the incidence rose sharply reaching a peak in the 40-49 age group. The curve fell off in similar fashion, without a secondary peak in the above 60s,” he pointed out.
NIB organises seminar on new banking product (October 2, 2008,Page 54)
Story: Lucy Adoma Yeboah
THE National Investment Bank (NIB) Limited yesterday organised a day’s seminar for pastors and church administrators on its new banking product purposely designed to offer financial assistance to churches for their development projects.
Dubbed the “NIB Churchlink Account”, the product is a hybrid of a current account and an investment account specifically designed to offer churches high interest, the flexibility of a cheque book and a loan facility when required.
Presenting the product to the participants, the Head of Marketing and Corporate Banking of the NIB, Mr Clifford Mettle, said the product offered churches access to an unsecured overdraft amount of 40 per cent of the their monthly credit turnover, adding that the loan was available for virtually every purpose.
He said the bank would offer, among other things, free financial consultancy services, weekly mobile cash collection service on Sundays and after any major fund-raising activity to protect the money from robbers, as well as provide higher interest on savings.
Touching on the necessary requirements to qualify a church for those services, Mr Mettle said a church must be legitimately registered, should easily be located, be constitutionally governed and must have a well-constituted committee in place.
He explained that if a church was interested in the product but lacked any of those requirements, the bank was prepared to assist it to put them in place.
The Deputy Managing Director of the NIB, Mr K. Owusu Tweneboah, said the bank had already assisted some churches, such as the Methodist and the Catholic churches, financially to enable them to put up structures on their respective university campuses, adding that the launch was to offer the same opportunities to others.
Speaking on the topic, “The Bank and Church Financial Management”, the Vicar-General of the Accra Archdiocese of the Catholic Church, the Very Reverend Father Francis Adobole, said the church could effectively perform its function of evangelisation if there were competent human institutions to support that work through other means.
He said since the financial needs of the church was unlimited, some unhealthy practices had been introduced into church worship by church administrators to raise more funds and mentioned the introduction of what he termed “multiple offerings” at church services.
“This practice is making poor church members uncomfortable, as they are unable to cope with the rate at which demands are made of them,” he noted.
Rev Father Adobole advised church leaders to take advantage of the NIB Churchlink Account to enable their churches to benefit.
He advised the management of the bank to take concrete and practical steps to do away with bureaucracies and encumbrances known to be associated with certain banking operations in the country to enable the target group to access the facility easily.
THE National Investment Bank (NIB) Limited yesterday organised a day’s seminar for pastors and church administrators on its new banking product purposely designed to offer financial assistance to churches for their development projects.
Dubbed the “NIB Churchlink Account”, the product is a hybrid of a current account and an investment account specifically designed to offer churches high interest, the flexibility of a cheque book and a loan facility when required.
Presenting the product to the participants, the Head of Marketing and Corporate Banking of the NIB, Mr Clifford Mettle, said the product offered churches access to an unsecured overdraft amount of 40 per cent of the their monthly credit turnover, adding that the loan was available for virtually every purpose.
He said the bank would offer, among other things, free financial consultancy services, weekly mobile cash collection service on Sundays and after any major fund-raising activity to protect the money from robbers, as well as provide higher interest on savings.
Touching on the necessary requirements to qualify a church for those services, Mr Mettle said a church must be legitimately registered, should easily be located, be constitutionally governed and must have a well-constituted committee in place.
He explained that if a church was interested in the product but lacked any of those requirements, the bank was prepared to assist it to put them in place.
The Deputy Managing Director of the NIB, Mr K. Owusu Tweneboah, said the bank had already assisted some churches, such as the Methodist and the Catholic churches, financially to enable them to put up structures on their respective university campuses, adding that the launch was to offer the same opportunities to others.
Speaking on the topic, “The Bank and Church Financial Management”, the Vicar-General of the Accra Archdiocese of the Catholic Church, the Very Reverend Father Francis Adobole, said the church could effectively perform its function of evangelisation if there were competent human institutions to support that work through other means.
He said since the financial needs of the church was unlimited, some unhealthy practices had been introduced into church worship by church administrators to raise more funds and mentioned the introduction of what he termed “multiple offerings” at church services.
“This practice is making poor church members uncomfortable, as they are unable to cope with the rate at which demands are made of them,” he noted.
Rev Father Adobole advised church leaders to take advantage of the NIB Churchlink Account to enable their churches to benefit.
He advised the management of the bank to take concrete and practical steps to do away with bureaucracies and encumbrances known to be associated with certain banking operations in the country to enable the target group to access the facility easily.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Remembering Baah-Wiredu- A week ago tomorrow (Spread)
THE one-week celebration of the death of the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, will be observed in his home town of Agogo in the Asante-Akyem North District tomorrow.
The President, Mr J. A. Kufuor, is expected to lead a team of mourners to observe the traditional celebration.
Other chief mourners who will support the President to observe the one-week celebration include the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Ebenezer Begyina Sekyi Hughes; the Omanhene of the Agogo Traditional Area, Nana Kwame Akuoko Sarpong; the Queen of the Agogo Traditional Area, Nana Abena Serwaa; the National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Peter Mac Manu, and the Kyidomhene of the Agogo Traditional Area and the Head of the Kootia Aduana Royal Family, Nana Kwakye Tutu.
The rest are the members of the Asante Akyem North and South Municipal and District assemblies, the entire membership of the NPP, the mother of the deceased, Obaapanin Yaa Tiape (aka Yaa Afra), the Wiredu Family, the widow, Mrs Margaret Baah-Wiredu, and her children, ministers, Members of Parliament and officials and staff of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.
Mr Baah-Wiredu, who left the country on September 11, 2008 for a medical check up in Johannesburg, South Africa, died on Wednesday, September 24, 2008 after a surgery.
He was 56 and left behind a wife and six children.
The late Finance Minister, who was also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Asante-Akyem North, was said to have arrived in Johannesburg on September 12 in the company of his personal physician, Dr Nyantakyi.
Since the news of his death was received in Ghana in the afternoon of September 23, Ghanaians from all walks of lives have found it hard to believe that such a devoted son of Ghana could pass on at this crucial time in the history of the country.
Hundreds of sympathisers, including the clergy, politicians, government officials, colleagues and relatives, continue to troop to the Cantonments residence of the late minister to express their condolences to the bereaved family and sign a book of condolence which has been opened for sympathisers.
Last Saturday his wife, Mrs Margaret Akua Baah-Wiredu, arrived in Accra from South Africa. Mrs Baah-Wiredu, who joined her husband after the deceased had undergone the surgery, came ahead of the body, which is expected to arrive in Accra by the end of the week.
As a chartered accountant who got elected into Parliament on the ticket of the NPP in 1997, Mr Baah-Wiredu had been a minister in President Kufuor’s government since 2001.
He was first the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, then Minister for Education Youth and Sports, and then Minister of Finance and Economic Planning.
Born on June 3, 1952 in Agogo, Baah-Wiredu started his secondary education at the Kumasi High School in 1967 and obtained the GCE (Ordinary Level) certificate in 1972. He had his Sixth Form education at Prempeh College, also in Kumasi, and proceeded to the University of Ghana in 1974, obtaining a BSc degree in Administration (Accounting option). He then did a four-year course with the Institute of Chartered Accountants, qualifying as a chartered accountant in 1985.
He worked in various positions with the now defunct Ghana Airways, the Volta River Authority and as senior consultant on computer systems and finance manager of Ananse Systems. In addition, he was a partner in Asante Wiredu and Associates, an accounting firm, prior to becoming an MP.
The President, Mr J. A. Kufuor, is expected to lead a team of mourners to observe the traditional celebration.
Other chief mourners who will support the President to observe the one-week celebration include the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Ebenezer Begyina Sekyi Hughes; the Omanhene of the Agogo Traditional Area, Nana Kwame Akuoko Sarpong; the Queen of the Agogo Traditional Area, Nana Abena Serwaa; the National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Peter Mac Manu, and the Kyidomhene of the Agogo Traditional Area and the Head of the Kootia Aduana Royal Family, Nana Kwakye Tutu.
The rest are the members of the Asante Akyem North and South Municipal and District assemblies, the entire membership of the NPP, the mother of the deceased, Obaapanin Yaa Tiape (aka Yaa Afra), the Wiredu Family, the widow, Mrs Margaret Baah-Wiredu, and her children, ministers, Members of Parliament and officials and staff of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.
Mr Baah-Wiredu, who left the country on September 11, 2008 for a medical check up in Johannesburg, South Africa, died on Wednesday, September 24, 2008 after a surgery.
He was 56 and left behind a wife and six children.
The late Finance Minister, who was also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Asante-Akyem North, was said to have arrived in Johannesburg on September 12 in the company of his personal physician, Dr Nyantakyi.
Since the news of his death was received in Ghana in the afternoon of September 23, Ghanaians from all walks of lives have found it hard to believe that such a devoted son of Ghana could pass on at this crucial time in the history of the country.
Hundreds of sympathisers, including the clergy, politicians, government officials, colleagues and relatives, continue to troop to the Cantonments residence of the late minister to express their condolences to the bereaved family and sign a book of condolence which has been opened for sympathisers.
Last Saturday his wife, Mrs Margaret Akua Baah-Wiredu, arrived in Accra from South Africa. Mrs Baah-Wiredu, who joined her husband after the deceased had undergone the surgery, came ahead of the body, which is expected to arrive in Accra by the end of the week.
As a chartered accountant who got elected into Parliament on the ticket of the NPP in 1997, Mr Baah-Wiredu had been a minister in President Kufuor’s government since 2001.
He was first the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, then Minister for Education Youth and Sports, and then Minister of Finance and Economic Planning.
Born on June 3, 1952 in Agogo, Baah-Wiredu started his secondary education at the Kumasi High School in 1967 and obtained the GCE (Ordinary Level) certificate in 1972. He had his Sixth Form education at Prempeh College, also in Kumasi, and proceeded to the University of Ghana in 1974, obtaining a BSc degree in Administration (Accounting option). He then did a four-year course with the Institute of Chartered Accountants, qualifying as a chartered accountant in 1985.
He worked in various positions with the now defunct Ghana Airways, the Volta River Authority and as senior consultant on computer systems and finance manager of Ananse Systems. In addition, he was a partner in Asante Wiredu and Associates, an accounting firm, prior to becoming an MP.
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