Ghana----Load shedding is over

The public is to enjoy twenty-four hours of electric supply starting October 1st, 2007 as the national load shedding programme, which commenced in August 2006 has been terminated. A statement issued in Accra on Saturday by the Energy Minister, Mr Joseph Kofi Adda, said the decision was taken following a review of the power supply situation between government and the power utilities.

The statement said the deployment of the Compact Fluorescent Lamps was now in full force and encouraged all power consumers to cooperate with the implementation teams to ensure that incandescent bulbs were replaced with energy saving lamps.It reminded the public on the need to continue to conserve energy and asked all Ministries, Departments and Agencies as well as other public institutions to continue to comply with directives issued by the government on the use of air conditioning and lighting systems in buildings and offices.

The statement expressed appreciation to the public for its support and fortitude during the implementation of the load management programme and assured the public that measures being undertaken would ensure reliable and sustainable supply of power in the future.
Source:GNA

MoFA Declares--No More Bird Flu In Ghana

The Minister of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) has announced that Ghana is now an Avian Influenza-free country.

The ministry has therefore lifted all the quarantine measures and restrictions imposed on the movement of live poultry and poultry products in and out of the Tema and Sunyani municipalities as well as the Keta District of the Volta Region. Deputy Sector Minister in-charge of Livestock, Hon. Anna Nyamekye made this known at the weekly Meet-The-Press series in Accra yesterday.However, the ban on the importation of live birds and all poultry products from affected countries, she said, is still in force, stressing, “all security agencies along the country’s borders should continue to be vigilant and ensure that live birds and poultry products do not enter the country”.

According to Hon. Nyamekye, since Avian Influenza, also known as Bird Flu, is still present on the globe and in the West African sub-region, poultry farmers should endeavour to continue to ensure maximum bio-security on their farms so as to prevent the entry of the virus onto their farms.She noted that as part of efforts by the ministry and its related bodies to prevent the recurrence of the virus, MOFA and the various Veterinary Services Directorates would continue to educate the public on the disease as well as start the training of poultry farmers on the importance of bio-security on their farms.She indicated that the ministry in consultation with the Ghana Poultry Development Board has so far disbursed over ¢1.5 billion as compensation to farmers who had their birds destroyed as a result of the Bird Flu outbreak in May this year.“As at the time of the resolution of all the cases, 13.371 birds had died whilst a total of 27,356 birds were destroyed as part of our control measures.

“Farmers whose birds had to be destroyed have been paid reasonable compensation at rates agreed upon by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Ghana Poultry Development Board,” emphasised the deputy Minister. Hon. Nyamekye, flanked by officials from the Veterinary Services Department, reminded the general public that though there had been no reported human infections during the outbreaks, they should continue to wash hands thoroughly with soap and water and ensure that all poultry products were well cooked before eating.

It would be recalled that on Wednesday, May 2 this year, Ghana reported its first case of the Avian Influenza virus. The virus was first detected on a small-scale poultry farm on April 24, 2007 within the Tema Municipality. The disease was later detected on another farm at Asuokwa in the Sunyani Municipality and on a small-scale poultry farm at Aflao in the Ketu District of the Volta Region. These detections prompted the sector ministry and the Veterinary Services Department to adopt prevention measures including the destruction of affected birds to avoid further spread of the virus.
Source:Daily Graphic

Ghana Makes Marginal Gain On CPI Scale

Ghana ranked 69th among 180 countries on the 2007 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) with a total score of 3.7 points, showing a slight improvement over last year's 70th position with a score of 3.3 points.This was contained in the CPI annual report compiled by Transparency International (TI) and launched across the world on Wednesday.

Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII), the local affiliate of TI, which compiles the CPI on an annual basis, did the Accra launch.Mr Vitus Azeem, Executive Secretary of GII, told journalists that Ghana's current position showed a meagre improvement in the fight against corruption, and there was no cause for celebration."The fact is that Ghana is still stagnating between the score of 3 and 4 and has yet to attain the half way score of 5," he said. Globally only 46 (25.5 per cent) out of 180 countries scored five and above, and these were mostly developed countries.The criteria for awarding scores include grand political corruption, likelihood of encountering corrupt officials, misuse of public office for private or political party gain, level of achievement of anti-corruption efforts and country policy and industrial assessments.At the 69th position, Ghana fell behind only six 49 African countries named in the report. The six are Botswana (38), South Africa (43), Cape Verde (49), Mauritius (53), Namibia (57) and Tunisia (61). They scored between 4.2 and 5.4 points.Ghana scored the highest among all the West African countries, with Togo placing as low as 143 with a score of 2.3 points and Nigeria placing 147 with 2.2 points.Somalia, which is described as a failed state without a properly installed government, placed last on the rankings with 1.4 points. Iraq ranked 178 with 1.5 points.Mr Azeem advised government to introduce anti-money laundering measures to stop Ghana being a safe haven for stolen assets, stressing that multi-national companies must be made to implement effective anti-bribery codes to ensure that they were adhered to by subsidiaries and foreign officers.He also urged politicians involved in campaigning ahead of the 2008 elections to exercise their rights in a manner that would ensure the practicality of a free and fair election, which is necessary to prevent political corruption.The ninth position occupied by Norway with 8.7 points raised concerns at the launch, given the recent scandal involving the Norwegian-based Scancem, the mother company of GHACEM in Ghana. Mr Bede Zieden, Acting General Secretary of the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), noted that it was worrying that though it had been made sufficiently clear that a Norwegian company schemed a plan to corrupt the governments of developing countries, Norway scored high to place ninth on the CPI."I think they should have scored lower on grounds of exporting corruption to developing countries," he said.Dr Audrey Gadzekpo, a Director at GII, noted that no country could be accused of exporting corruption when developing countries themselves had weaker integrity systems and institutions.She said developing countries needed to strengthen their integrity systems and laws to make corruption less attractive and expensive for foreign multi-nationals.Dr Gadzekpo noted that though corruption was used based on perception, it did not mean corruption was non-existent and government actors should be seen to pursue the perception to establish the reality instead of demanding proof before taking action."The meeting point between the perception and the reality is in the commitment of government to work with civil society following leads to stem corruption," she said.
Source:GNA

Doing Business in Ghana Made Easier

Ghana ranks among the top 10 "reformers" worldwide who have made the most significant advances in the aggregate ease of doing business, according to the annual �Doing Business� report released by World Bank and the International Finance Corporation(IFC) on Tuesday.

The yearly report that tracks business reforms globally, lists only two African countries -- Ghana and Kenya -- in the top 10. High marks also go to Madagascar, Mozambique, Madagascar and Burkina Faso.
Singapore once again topped rankings for the best place in the world to do business, and Egypt is the leader in reforms to invite more business.

However, across the Sub-Saharan region, the report said business reforms are uneven, with six African countries occupying the last six positions in the list of 178 countries judged according to ease of doing business.
The IFC report, which looks at how government bureaucracy can affect, and often limit, business environments, also gave high marks for making it easier to conduct business to Croatia, Macedonia, Georgia, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, China and Bulgaria.

Doing business in Africa was once perceived as a difficult and complex undertaking. The reasons: the numerous processes associated with conducting business, combined with a fragile investment climate and inadequate infrastructure.
But, with fewer conflicts, more democratic elections, and economic growth rates that gradually have begun to compete with those of other developing regions, Africa is proving itself again a continent of positive change.

Developing nations compete with one another to move up on the World Bank rankings of 178 nations, figuring a better ranking will mean additional investment and, ultimately, economic growth.The report also becomes a way for the World Bank's private-sector unit, International Finance Corp., to encourage economic ministries to press ahead with market-friendly changes. A computer simulation model on a World Bank Web site, www.doingbusiness.org, lets officials see how changes in, say, their bankruptcy or tax rules would likely affect their standings.

Among the 10 areas tracked by the World Bank are regulations involved in starting businesses, obtaining licenses, registering property, getting credit, paying taxes and closing businesses. .
Source:GHP

Ghana Floods: Victims On the Brink Of Starvation

In Northern Ghana, the White Volta River is about four times wider than it is normally. Two farmers from Kpasenkpe community sit on a small pirogue watching the river that has inundated their maize fields, which were situated on its banks.

Here, around 400 km from the capital Accra, torrential rains started mid August."I lost everything, all my crops are destroyed. I had one hectare of maize and three hectares of grains," said Daniel Sebiyam, a farmer from Kpasenkpe.Around 3,000 people live in the community of Kpasenkpe. The crops growing in their fields - maize, rice, beans, soya beans and millet - were all washed away in the floods.Ghana Red Cross Society has been on hand to help people since the beginning of the floods.

Four hundred Red Cross volunteers have been mobilized in the affected area to assist the victims, provide first aid and health education. A Regional Disaster Response Team (RDRT) has visited communities in order to identify the worst affected people and get a better idea of the items most needed by families.Agambire Elishna, a Red Cross volunteer, has helped to register farmers to find out about their situations. "People are in urgent need of food. They are desperate and don't know what to do," he said.The weather conditions have been extremely difficult for the Northern and Upper East regions in Ghana this year.

First, there was drought for months and farmers were praying for rain. Then, the heaviest rains fell between 24-29 August, and it continued to rain day and night for about three weeks.The situation was aggravated when neighbouring Burkina Faso opened a flood gate of the Bagre dam, releasing an enormous amount of water into the White Volta River that flows into Ghana."In April, I lost my crops because there was no water but I planted again. Now I've lost the replanted crops in the floods. So there's nothing stored either," said Nelson T. Ndima, who has a wife and six children.The affected regions are known as the food basket of Ghana. The Northern region produces 40 per cent of the rice used in the county, and the Upper East has the highest production of yam in the country.

A six-member field assessment and coordination team (FACT) from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies arrived at Tamale, Northern Ghana, on Saturday. During the coming days, the FACT team will join Ghana Red Cross volunteers in visiting 200 more households in the affected districts in order to have a more precise picture of the disaster."We haven't been able to access all communities yet because of destroyed roads, broken bridges and the remoteness of the communities," said Benonita Bismark, head of operations at Ghana Red Cross.Although the water level in the flood zones dramatically dropped last week, the health situation remains difficult.

People suffer from diarrhoea, malaria and snake bites. Health centres are difficult to reach because of destroyed roads and there is a shortage of adequate medicines and clean water.An invasion of black flies has also caused problems among the population. In Kpasenkpe, people have been sent to hospital because of blurred vision and skin problems caused by the black flies."Now the amount of black flies has diminished because the government sprayed the area last week," said Mary Azindow, a mother of nine children.At least the Kpasenkpe residents have been able to save their houses, as these have been built on ground higher than the farm land. But in many parts of the Upper East region people lost not only their crops but also their homes - and have had to seek shelter in schools and churches.

On September 20, the International Federation launched a joint emergency appeal for Ghana and Togo for 2.5 million Swiss francs (US$ 2.1million, €1.5 million) to help 82,000 flood victims during the coming six months.
Source:International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) - Switzerland

Kufuor calls for global action on climate change

President John Agyekum Kufuor on Monday rallied the United Nations (UN) to lead a global response to face up to the challenges posed by climate change."A global vision with global resolve to plan and mobilise resources on an equally global scale for sustained solutions is imperative."

The world body, he said, must therefore, as a matter of urgency, marshal and mobilise both the developed and developing nations to appreciate the threat as universal, so that all would cooperate to save mankind.President Kufuor was contributing to a high-level discussion on "Climate Change" at the UN Headquarters in New York. He was one of the 20 Heads of State invited to participate in the event by the UN Chief Ban-Ki Moon.

"The Challenge of Adaptation: From Vulnerability to Resilience" was the theme.President Kufuor, who is Chairman of the AU, noted that in Africa and other poor countries across the world, the phenomenon was already making it difficult to guarantee the necessities of life.These countries including Ghana, he said, were feeling the impact of the change resulting from misinformed handling of the environment as well as effluence caused by the industrialized nations.He cited erratic rainfall, drought and desertification, floods and other weather-related disasters, and said, these were endangering human life and affecting agricultural productivity, food and water security.

Heavy rains recently flooded large swathe of countries in the West, Central and East Africa, leaving thousands of people in misery, submerging food crop farms, washed away roads and bridges and destroyed homes.The three Northern Regions of Ghana and parts of the Western Region devastated by the floods had been declared disaster zones and President Kufuor said, this had something to do with climate-change, if not wholly caused by it.He said the ability of the Continent and other developing countries to deal with the challenge was however, limited. General poverty, over-reliance on nature, especially in agriculture, little or no access to technology to adapt, or to mitigate the impact combined, make these countries vulnerable.

President Kufuor recognized the establishment of Funds like the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Trust Fund and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) for adaptation projects and said although these were in the right direction, they tended to be reactive and not substantial enough.He said they needed to be broadened to include, not only assistance for relief and adaptability but should be made more proactive for achieving the integrated long-term solutions the world must achieve for survival.
Source:GNA

Malaria strikes Two Brittish Girls On trial For Carrying Drugs

The two British schoolgirls accused of trying to smuggle £300,000 of cocaine out of Africa have both been struck down by malaria.Yetunde Diya and Yasemin Vatansever, who are both 16, were rushed into hospital after falling ill with fevers and flu-like symptons.Last night a narcotics officer who has been helping to look after them said: "Both girls have been very unwell - they are weak and listless.

"The pair - who each accepted £3,000 and a free holiday in return for "carrying a package" - are being held in squalid conditions in between court appearances.Their concrete cell is in a narcotics department building surrounded by open sewers - the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes which carry the disease that kills three million people a year.They are only allowed out for a daily shower, court appearances and - now - weekly trips to the hospital for treatment.

The girls, both students from North London, were arrested at the end of June as they tried to board a British Airways flight in Ghana. They were each carrying a laptop bag with 7lbs of cocaine stashed in secret pockets.They have both pleaded not guilty to drug smuggling. In July the Sunday Mirror was the first paper to gain access to the girls, who told us: "We have been stitched up. We just want to go home."The two former friends now barely speak, with Yetunde blaming Yasemin for persuading her to take part.Their trial is expected to last another fortnight. If found guilty they face up to three years behind bars in Ghana.
Source:sundaymirror.