The World Bank has advised Ghana to encourage private participation in the exploration, development and procurement in the petroleum sector currently handled by public organisations.
The bank has therefore called for the privatisation of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) and the Ghana Oil Corporation (GOIL). This is contained in the World Bank Economic Memorandum on 'Ghana Growth, Private Sector and Poverty Reduction' published recently.
The report was prepared with substantial participation from government with Mr. K.B. Amissah-Arthur, Deputy Minister of Finance leading the government counterpart team. The final report was also discussed with Dr. Kwesi Botchwey, the then Minister of Finance. It said the downside risk in oil exploration is considerable and the opportunity cost of development for public sector involvement in this area, indefensibly high. This is because Ghana is not considered to be a geological region of high prospectivity implying that the cost of development is enormous whereas the potential rate of return of may be low.
Two persons who allegedly posed as officials of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), and collected goods worth 48 million cedis from the Ghana National Trading Corporation (GNTC) have been put before a Community Tribunal in Accra.
Samuel Williams, 43, a painter and John Agbegli, 36, Transport owner, pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy to defraud and defrauding by false pretences. The Chairperson, Miss Mabel Bamfo, ordered that two accomplices now at large should be brought before the tribunal. Assistant Superintendent of Police Elizabeth Allando told the tribunal that sometime last July, two persons whose names she did not give for security reasons, introduced themselves as Purchasing Officials of SSNIT and collected a proforma invoice for some consumable items for the SSNIT cooperative shop. The prosecution said on August seven, the two persons introduced Agbegli as a financial officer of SSNIT who wanted to inspect the goods. Agbegli thereafter gave a cheque for 59,210,000 cedis to the storekeeper of the Technical Division of the GNTC and collected Air Conditioners, Freezers and gas cookers, all valued at 48 million cedis and promised to collect the remaining items the next day. ASP Allando said the accused persons and the other two, now at large, conveyed the goods to Kumasi and sold them. When the GNTC presented the cheque, it was dishonoured.
Investigations at SSNIT showed that the accused persons and their accomplices were not SSNIT Officials. Police investigations led to the arrest of Williams and Agbegli at their hide-out in Kumasi and retrieved one gas cooker from them.
The Ministry of Tourism has sent a paper to parliament, asking Members to set aside part of the Hoteliers Tax for the development of Tourism. Mr. Owuraku Amofa, Deputy Minister of Tourism, said this at the second National Tourism Conference in Accra.
The conference was attended by Tourism operators and investors. It aimed to find ways of improving and boosting tourism plants and the industry in general. Organised jointly by the Ministry of Tourism, Ghana Tourism Federation (GHATOF), Midwest Universities Consortium for International Activities (MUCIA) in the United States, and the World Tourism Organisation (WTO), the conference was sponsored by the Social Security Bank (SSB) and others. It had the theme: 'SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN GHANA - THE PUBLIC/PRIVATE SECTOR INITIATIVE.'
Mr. Amofa said the government has long realised the need to encourage Tourism Operators to function effectively to boost the industry. He said his Ministry is finding solutions to the soiling of Ghana's beaches. But the defecation problem should be the concern of all, particularly landlords, who should see to provide toilet facilities in their houses.
Mr. D.S. Amlalo , Senior Programme Officer, Environmental Protection Agency, said Tourism should be subjected to environmental planning and management, taking into account the well-being of the local population and their involvement in the planning stages. He did not favour the wholesale importation of foreign infrastructure since they may not be suitable to the local environment. Mr. Amlalo said there was the need to carefully consider the impact of Tourism on the natural environment, socio-cultural life of the target community and the economic. He said tourism must be managed within the nation's legal framework to ensure consistent and sustainable development.
Mr. Nathaniel H. Bowditch, a consultant who spoke on 'small-scale tourism business operations and management', said tourism should be viewed beyond infrastructure, airlines, and travel and tours. In this regard, business and investment assistance programmes must focus on potential tourism entrepreneurs and investors, providing them with the kind of information needed for the selection of appropriate business ventures. Mr. Bowditch said investment decisions in the industry should not be made based on the fact that everyone else is doing this or that. 'Ghana is setting out to build a tourism industry not just a series of hotels, restaurants and gift shops. Strategically choosing your tourism business will be ever more important as both competition and opportunity increase destinations such as Accra, Cape Coast, Elmina and Kumasi, emphasis should be placed on the development and joint packaging of activities. For instance, a hotel guests, or a hotel and the local museum education staff could jointly offer a special weekend seminar. Mr. Bowditch said tourism education must be taken more seriously in Ghana, in addition to excellent front office, housekeeping and catering skills training.
Mr. Pryce Kojo Thompson, Managing Director of SSB, called for a credit system that would enable landlords to secure loans for toilet facilities, which would help solve the problem of defecation at the beaches.
The Public Account Committee of Parliament has commended the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) for creditable performance in spite of constraints that militate against it. Making the commendation on behalf of the committee, the chairman, Dr. Owusu Agyekum, said all necessary conditions would be created to enhance the operations of the revenue-collecting institution.
The Committee, which was on a familiarisation visit to the CEPS office at Kotoka International Airport, learnt that personnel there operate with limited facilities. Besides, some of the officers work under very hot conditions, which affect productivity. It acknowledged the officers' sense of discipline and commitment to duty. Dr. Agyekum, however, told the officers about public concern over delays in the clearing of goods at the airport and urged them to take steps to quicken the process.
He hinted that the committee would recommend for the enactment of laws that would boost the operations of CEPS, which he said accounts for 70 per cent of total government revenue. The commissioner of CEPS, Mr. Issac Ewun-tohma, called on the government to provide the institution with the necessary tools to enable it perform more efficiently. He warned that any constraint on the operations of the service would affect the nation's revenue collection capacity. The committee was conducted round CEPS facilities at the arrival and departure halls, the state warehouse, long room, some sections of the cargo village and the laboratory where members were briefed on the operations of each facility.
A five-day Chinese trade exhibition and fair has ended in Accra. With most of the exhibits sold out. The fair which aimed at promoting bilateral trade between Ghana and China was under the auspices of the Ministry of Trade and industries and the Eastern Ray Group, Ghana Limited.
Over 600 different products made up of textiles, light industrial machinery, porcelain wares handicrafts, among others, were exhibited by 24 enterprises from the Hubei Province of China. The Leader of the Trade Delegation Mr. Wang Quang, said the Fair was very successful. He said they had secured contracts with a number of Ghanaian companies and would soon be exporting heir goods to Ghana, adding, 'there is great potential for the establishment of our companies here to produce the items locally.' Mr. Quang said there was also the possibility of establishing joint ventures in the areas of mining and agriculture between the province of Hubei and Ghana while the province imports Aluminium and Bauxite from Ghana.
Mr. Tak Hu, Chairman of the Eastern Ray Group, was very grateful to the government, adding that, 'The exhibitors were very impressed with the efficiency of the Trade Fair Authority and the Ghana Supply Commission.'
Dr. Owusu Agyekum, Chairman of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee, says the Government of Ghana committed to encouraging the private sector to be the engine for the growth of the economy.
To this end, Parliament would support Government's effort to ensure that all problems that affect the rapid growth of the sector are removed. Dr. Agyekum was speaking at the offices of 'Cargo D'or', a private Ghanaian cargo airline company, during a familiarisation visit of the committee to facilities at the Kotoka International Airport. The Committee visited Cargo D'or to verify reports that the company was on the verge of collapse, following a decision by the Ghana Civil Aviation Authorities to privatise its ground handling operations. As a result of this decision, all ground handling operations are being done at the cargo village.
Ms. Justine Titi Donkor, Legal Adviser to the company, told the committee that following the decision to transfer all ground handling operations to the cargo terminal, Cargo D'or is virtually out of business. She said the company's bonded warehouse is almost empty and cargo handling equipment lie idle. Ms. Donkor noted that using the facilities at the cargo terminal would impose additional cost on the company, a situation which she said would force it to increase prices of its export commodities, mainly pineapple. She explained that the company is in a competitive market with Cote D'Ivoire and because buyers are reluctant to pay the price being offered, its exports are dwindling. She said, 'we want to work, and all that we are asking for is for the government to create the enabling environment for us to revamp our operations.'
Dr. Agyekum advised the company to hold dialogue with the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority and the operators of the cargo terminal, in a bid to resolve the impasse.
The rinderpest disease which used to kill thousands of cattle annually in the past is no more a threat in the country. This follows the successful implementation of the pan African Rinderpest Control Campaign in the country and other countries in the West Africa Sub-region.
This was announced by Dr. Mensah Agyen-Frimpong, Brong Ahafo Regional Director of the veterinary services department at the inauguration of the Yeji Branch of the Livestock Farmers Association. He said the campaign which began in the country in 1992 was sponsored by the Ghana Government and Agencies like the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Dr. Agyen-Frimpong said in view of the virtual elimination of the disease the department will conduct the last anti-rinderpest vaccination this year. He therefore called for the full co-operation of Livestock Farmers during the exercise to ensure that the disease is completely eliminated.
The Brong Ahafo Deputy Minister in-charge of Agriculture, Mr. George Maison advised livestock farmers to put in place measures to check their animals from straying. He said frequent straying of cattle, goats and sheep, among others, leads to the destruction of crop farms and the pollution of sources of drinking water. Mr. Maison urged members of the association to follow strictly all the animal husbandry practices recommended by personnel of the Veterinary services department to ensure higher production.
Mr. Baffour Gyekye, vice-chairman of the Association and last year's National Best Small Scale ruminants Farmer appealed to the government to assist the Association to construct a dam in the area for their animals. This, he said, will prevent them from drinking from the same source which the people use.
Christians and Muslims at Walewale in the west Mamprusi district in the northern region have smoked the peace pipe to end hostilities which started last December over a disputed piece of land.
The Muslims have thus replanted the trees they destroyed at the Saint Paul's Catholic Church premises as a gesture of reconciliation and understanding. Mr. Ben Saibu Buluri, Member of Parliament for the West Mamprusi said that the reconciliation followed discussions involving him and the district Chief Executive, the Iman, the Catholic Bishop of Bolgatanga-Navrongo and some opinion leaders. He said the Muslim community apologised to the church for the damage caused to its property.
Mr. Buluri appealed to leaders of the two religious bodies for national unity. The district Chief Executive, Mr. E.Y. Gumah, said the District Administration would support the effort of Religious Organisations in the District to promote peace and harmony among the people.
A heated argument between two drinkers at a popular pito bar at Vieri, a village near Wa, ended in the death of one of them, a 38-year-old farmer, Wantam Bortaa. Bortaa died instantly at the bar when Kwame Kworbe, the person he was arguing with, got enraged and hit him repeatedly in the stomach and the ribs with a number of empty pito pots.
Sergeant Aaron Osei of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), of the Wa Police, told the Graphic that on September 18, the deceased went to his usual pito base at Vieri for a drink. Whilst there, according to the police, Kwame Kworbe also came in for a drink and in the course of drinking, an argument ensued between the two. Kworbe got enraged at one point, pick one empty pito pot after the other and started hitting Bortaa repeatedly in the ribs and in the stomach. The pito seller raised an alarm but before people arrived at the scene, Kworbe had bolted.
Bortaa died at the drinking spot and the case was reported to the police. Meanwhile, the Wa police have appealed to the public to assist them apprehend Kworbe.
A self-styled pastor of an eight-member Christian sect, who forced an wedded woman to leave her husband for an old widow, "because the end of the world is near" is in the grips of the law for allegedly stealing iron sheets.
The pastor, Mr. Prosper Tutu, together with his hypnotised victim, Mr. Emmanuel Mawuena Gyata, who left his wedded wife, Olivia Klu, for an old widow, Grace Nfodzo, are facing charges of stealing roofing sheets belonging to Mawuena's father. Pastor Tutu allegedly told Mawuena that he had had a vision that the end of the world was near and therefore all properties should be sold and proceeds used to worship God. According to a family sources,Mawuena, with the help of the pastor, sold his father's five bundles of roofing sheets for over C300,000. Out of this amount, he took only C25,000, with the rest allegedly going to Pastor Tutu, who many now described as a "doomsday pastor". Hypnotised Mawuena also sold his wedding suit, while the wife also gave her wedding ring and other things to another member of the sect.
Mawuena's father, who could not understand his son's mode of worship, demanded his roofing sheets which Mawuena could not produce. The matter was reported to the police who arrested Mawuena. He later confessed that Pastor Tutu had asked him to sell the sheets for God's service. Investigations on Pastor Posper Tutu and his sect at Afife-Kofe, near Ho, revealed that the pastor took his mother from his Afife-Kofe E.P. church catechise father, and has since been a nuisance to the residents of the area. Togbe Kwaku Doe Francis, alias Sumanguru, a land owner of Afife-Kofe, told sources that Proper Tutu turned a bedroom he had given to his (Tutu) brother, into a church. According to Sumanguru, he could not understand how a bedroom could be turned into a church. Moreover, there were allegations of spiritism and anti-social acts such as breaking of marriages, being committed by the sect members. Furthermore, they were making themselves too much of a nuisance thus he ejected them from the room. Presently the sect has moved to a flat near Afife-Kofe, with one Madam Agness Akosua Attah heading it, in the absence of Pastor Tutu.
Investigations into the background of Madam Agnes Akosua also revealed that, her father, Borkor Attah Kwasi, a powerful jujuman from Togo, settled at Afife-Kofe in the mid-40s. Agnes, a dropout from Accra Secretariate school, is said to be Pastor Tutu's chief supporter. Meanwhile her daughters, Dinah, Doris and Emelia, who are said to have dropped out of school when they were in the sixth form and form five respectively, are now teenage mothers. Residents of Afife-Kofe say this is because the sect does not encourage education. Pastor Tutu and his victim, Mawuena, would appear in court soon to answer to the charges of stealing.
The rate of abandonment of newly-born babies keep rising in may parts of the Country. Three of such cases have been recorded recently in Accra, Ashiaman and Jinjini, in the Brong Ahafo region respectively.
In Accra, the body of an almost two-month-old baby was washed ashore Coco Beach resort creating a very pathetic scene. According to the beach guards, they woke up on Wednesday on September 13, to find the corpse lying on the beach. They therefore reported the case to the Nungua Police who came to convey the body to the Korle-Bu mortuary. When contacted, the police confirmed the story and said they were investigation the case.
At Ashiaman, the early birds who took their refuse to the garbage dump near "Asensu Bar' caught the real worm. Theirs was an abandoned day-old baby boy wrapped in polythene and dumped in a bush near the garbage dump. The baby, who had it's umbilical cord still hanging onto its navel, was found dead, but it is not know whether it was dumped alive and died later on, or whether it was still born. When the Criminal Investigation Department at Ashiaman Police Station, they denied any knowledge of the incident. In a related development, on August 24, an Agricultural Extention Officer at Jinijini found an abandoned baby girl in his pit latrine in his backyard house. He reported the case to the police and with the assistance of a few neighbours, they managed to remove the dead baby from the latrine. The perpetrators of these criminal acts have not yet been apprehended as investigation continue.
A 26-year-old hardened criminal, Kofi Asiedu, alias big Joe, of timber market, was last September 11, convicted to six months imprisonment with hard labour, on his own plea. Kofi Asiedu pleaded guilty on two charges of unlawful entry and stealing.
According to P/W Inspector Asibi, one Kwesi Asiedu, also of the Timber market, decided to sleep outside his wooden structured-bedroom due to the heat in his room. He thus locked the door, put the keys in his pocket and slept right in front of the door. Kofi Asiedu on the other hand took advantage of the situation and broke into the room through a small opening behind the structure, by pulling part of the wood. On entering the room, he parked Kwesi's clothes into a suitcase and went through the pockets of some more clothes he found hanging in the room and stole an amount of C50,000. Greed and selfishness however got the better of Kofi. After filling the suitcase, he decided to add Kwesi Asiedu's tape recorder to the booty. In the process the recorder fell heavily to the ground and the noise woke Kwesi Aseidu up.
On entering his room, he saw 'Big Joe' squeezing his way out through the opening he had created. He then raised an alarm and Kofi was arrested. After being severely beaten, he was taken to the James Town Police Station. Kofi was detained for two days and arraigned before an Accra District Magistrate court, presided over by Judge N.K. Minta. He was fined C50,000 in default, serve a six months jail sentence. On September 12, a day after Kofi Asiedu had been sentenced for breaking into Kwesi's room, he was brought before the court again on a "warrant of goaler" ordeer, a warrant which brings criminals from jail to face another charge after a previous sentence.
The Ministry of Health has started the construction of surgical theatre complex at the Korle-Bu teaching hospital to augment the limited number of theatres that are presently in good working condition.
The complex, which is scheduled to be completed by April next year, is made up of eight theatres including specialised ones for Ophthalmics, Endoscopy, Orthopaedics, Ear-Nose and Throat (ENT), Urology and general Surgery. The Hospital Administrator, Air Commodore K.K. Pumpuni, said that the project is being financed by the German Government. He said the engineers, Hospital Engineering Limited, had already started civil works and pre-installation activities at the first floor of the surgical block where the theatre complex will be housed. The Ministry of Health, he said, has taken measures to ensure that equipment for the project which have arrived at the Tema Port are delivered promptly.
Air Commodore Pumpuni said the complex will comprise supporting facilities such as a sub sterilisation unit, anaesthetic preparation rooms and an in-house laboratory for quick examinations during surgery. It will also have Mobile X-rays and processing facilities as well as a central recovery area with up-to-date patient monitoring devices. In addition, he said, the theatres will have ceiling-mounted medical gas supplies to provide oxygen, nitrous oxide, compressed air and vacuum. Air Commodore Pumpuni further stated that each operating theatre lamp will be installed with built-in cameras which will transmit surgery through a central video system to the Medical Students Conference on an upper floor. his he said, will enable the students to learn at first hand, surgical procedures and techniques. Air commodore Pumpuni noted that with the improvement in theatre facilities, the hospital will need more wards to cater for the increase number of patients as a result of the increased surgical facilities.